WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 490: Ende's Spring - 3

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The pig-kin marched with placards in hand, shouting at the top of their lungs and leaving the regressor bewildered. First by their numbers, then by what they were doing. After reading the words on the placards, she quickly returned to my side.

"What is that?!"

I answered calmly.

"A peaceful protest."

"A peaceful protest?"

"Yes. They aren't using weapons. They're marching around with placards and shouting. How peaceful could it be?"

"Woof!"

The people around us muttered in bewilderment or displeasure, but they did not get particularly worked up. Since there was no fighting, Azzy seemed at ease too.

One person, however, looked deeply troubled: the regressor.

"Why now, when the King of Wolves is about to attack?"

"Isn't that why they're protesting now? It'd be better if the city had no distractions when it has to fight the King of Wolves. Now that Ende is desperate, this is the perfect time."

"It's unexpected. That's what's throwing me off."

From the regressor's perspective, it really was nothing but bewildering. Frowning, she scratched the back of her neck and muttered.

"Honestly, there won't be a problem fighting without them. Other than Gruel, pig-kin aren't very useful."

Still, it was always better to have more allies. Even if they were of no immediate use to me, it was better than letting them go over to the other side.

"But it'll be a problem if they stir things up too much. If anything goes wrong, Gruel and the other beastkin will split apart. If we handle this badly and the pig-kin side with the werewolves, it'll become troublesome. Let's resolve this."

Having made up her mind, the regressor drew Jizan and Skywarbler and strode forward. Since I could not read her thoughts until just before she acted, I hurriedly grabbed her shoulder.

"You startled me! Why?!"

"Why? How exactly are you planning to resolve this?"

"We show them some strength and tell them to leave."

"You're going to suppress a peaceful protest with force? That'll only make the backlash worse!"

It wasn't as though the regressor did not know that. She was simply obsessed with resolving this situation.

"Then what do we do? Let them cause trouble all day?"

"Even if we're going to stab them in the back later, for now we should promise them benefits, coax them along, and send them home!"

"...Stab them in the back?"

"Of course. It's the easiest way to get through this situation, isn't it? Buy time first and think about what comes next later."

Pretending to meet the other side's demands while dragging things out and postponing the problem was the most basic political skill. The more urgent the situation, the more effective it was.

'...You can say something like that so openly. How cowardly.'

Cowardly? They're being cowardly too! Ende is in a crisis, so they're taking it hostage and threatening us! Politics is cowardly by nature!

'But you're right. Suppressing them by force would cause problems too.'

"Fine. What are we doing?"

"Why are you asking me? Oberli is the side that has to promise them benefits. Shei, go to Oberli and bring people who can negotiate."

"What are you going to do?"

"Me? Do I have to do something too?"

"Of course you do! Don't act like this is someone else's problem! You and Azzy are the ones who have to fight the King of Wolves!"

Azzy and I looked at each other and tilted our heads. That was true, but still. The city's affairs moved regardless of what I wanted, which made things awkward. Honestly, they weren't fighting to help Azzy and me. They were fighting for themselves. It would help me, of course.

Complicated. So complicated.

"All right. I just have to stop this commotion for now, right?"

"Can you do it?"

"There are plenty of ways. The question is which one to choose."

I pulled my collar closed and lowered my hood. In Ende, even suspicious clothes were just another personal style. As I walked toward the packed crowd, I waved to the regressor.

"Go to Oberli and bring people with you, Shei. I'll disperse the protesters here."

"Really? Can you do that?"

"You told me to do it, but now that I say I will, you're asking if I can? Do you have a split personality?"

'I don't trust him, but I am curious how he'll resolve this. Does the King of Humanity have a way to deal with this situation?'

It wasn't because I was the King of Humanity. I was just curious too. Whether this situation could be resolved or not.

A march was a great current. Alongside that current, another path formed. The Orcma protesters' march had created long walls of people on both sides, made up of Ende citizens watching the beastkin protest with interest. Whether that interest was positive or negative, I did not know.

I slipped into that wall.

A march had a goal, and that goal was usually somewhere high up. Naturally, the Orcma protesters were headed for Oberli.

"This isn't about how we live. For pigs, it's about being boiled!"

"Beastkin are people too!"

"Give us the right to stand proud!"

As though trying to vent every grievance that had built up until now, Orcma's pig-kin marched while shouting themselves hoarse. Waves of placards swayed, displaying slogans written over and over again. The words, drawn in black and red, all laid out their grievances.

There could be many disagreements over those claims, but no one could deny that what was written there was true. Having gained their own measure of legitimacy, they continued marching beneath the watchful eyes of Ende's citizens.

"Chief Constable, what do we do?"

"What do you think? Do they look like they'll stop?"

"Not at all!"

"Damn it. Fall back for now!"

The security force facing them hesitantly retreated before their momentum. Ende's security force was little more than errand runners who mediated disputes. They had neither the strength nor the authority to handle something this large.

"The Obelisks need to come! What happened to the person we sent earlier?!"

"Well, most of the Obelisks are away!"

The Obelisks were currently out meeting Gruel and the Beast Faction. There was no one left who could stop the Orcma protesters.

As the security force, pushed back to the foot of the hill leading to Oberli, struggled with what to do, a messenger brought welcome news.

"Though he's no Obelisk, someone has come from Oberli!"

"Who?"

"Duke Erectus, a recognized human!"

"Oh, really?"

The chief constable's face brightened.

A recognized human was among Oberli's highest ranks, a person of power of noble origin from the duchy. Duke Erectus, in particular, headed the Department of Heat, which supplied the city with charcoal, coal, and arcane furnaces. He held the city's interests in his hands.

Duke Erectus had the power to resolve this. Relieved by that fact alone, the chief constable shouted.

"Bring the loudspeaker! You, escort Duke Erectus, and you, tell the pig-kin representatives! A recognized human has come to hear what they have to say!"

The chief constable cursed the powerful every day after being pushed around by them, but when an incident had slipped beyond their control, they could not have been happier to see one. They hurriedly welcomed Duke Erectus.

"No need."

"Pardon?"

"There's no need to call them. I didn't come to hear them out. I came to speak."

But the chief constable was only Ende's chief constable. They did not know what kind of person Duke Erectus was.

Duke Erectus took the loudspeaker without so much as an introduction. He did not try to draw the protesters' attention.

He simply spoke irritably.

"What exactly are you dissatisfied with? What do you expect us to do?"

Accompanied by the Obelisks guarding him and his attendants, Duke Erectus stepped forward confidently and frowned as he read the words on the placards. Looking over the slogans describing the pig-kin's complaints and problems, he tilted his head.

"Nicely written. You all know your place well enough. So why? You know it, but now you want to overstep it?"

The Orcma protesters recognized the recognized human who had appeared before them. The protesters, who had paid no attention to the security force, paused briefly before a recognized human.

Duke Erectus was a bigger figure than expected, but they had anticipated someone would come out. The pig-kin leading the protest stepped forward and began to speak.

"Duke Erectus! We..."

"I'm speaking! Don't interrupt!"

Duke Erectus had not come for a conversation. Dismissing the protester's words, he used the loudspeaker to shout so everyone could hear.

"Then what should we do with you? You're too slow to use as delivery workers. Should we put you in charge of grooming when your fur is short and coarse? You have less strength and endurance than cattle, yet all you do is demand things?!"

The other side clearly had no intention of listening, but this was still a chance to convey Orcma's will to Oberli. During a pause in the shouting, the pig-kin leading the protest desperately voiced their opinion.

"That's not what we're saying! We are discriminated against even in matters unrelated to that! You only need to look at Oberli. Not a single pig-kin has ever become the head of a clan!"

"If you were that capable, at least one of you would have come to Oberli! Someone like Gruel would have been invited even if he had not wanted to come! You aren't even that much!"

Gruel. His name had come up again. The glory of pig-kin, often used to condemn pig-kin. A few orcs bristled and spat curses in rising inferiority, but their ununified voices scattered as meaningless noise.

Reading their sense of defeat, Duke Erectus snorted and stepped closer.

"At least Oberli's other beastkin have strengths worth showing off! Your only strength is that you're delicious!"

Silence descended over the noisy streets of Ende.

It was as though the world had suddenly frozen. Even the fervent wind seemed to hold its breath, and a horrifying thought forced its way into everyone's minds.

Ende was a city of beastkin. An uncomfortable truth that everyone knew and everyone was involved in.

That was why it was an open taboo that should never have been spoken aloud, yet it had come from a recognized human's mouth.

Duke Erectus continued speaking without caring about their reaction.

"Ah, but now even that is gone, isn't it? The Holy Maiden took pity on you and accepted you as well. You should be grateful that even the one strength you had is gone, instead of whining here!"

To make use of their strength, the only option was to kill and eat them. They should be grateful for escaping that fate.

Even the pig-kin who had led the protest bristled in anger and trembled all over at those words.

"You... cruel..."

"Cruel? You think it means the same thing when you say it with your snout. I am a recognized human. I am different from you!"

Duke Erectus's speech and conduct were rough and careless. Still, it was difficult to say he lacked manners. When dealing with humans such as the regressor or Sapien, he listened to their opinions in his own way. He had the ability to lead the Department of Heat, and he was not foolish.

Yet even Duke Erectus constantly spewed abuse at beastkin.

Because to Duke Erectus, beastkin truly were not human.

"'Cruel' is a word used only for humans! You beasts made in the Queen's Womb!"

* * *

Long ago, long ago. In a time far away.

Agartha, Queen of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand, pondered before a pig.

Pigs grew quickly and ate anything. Above all, they were very delicious livestock. Their meat was tender and fatty, making a delicacy no matter how it was cooked. Agartha, who had personally sampled hundreds of recipes, smacked her lips in regret.

Pigs were delicious.

But they were useless.

This was a wasteland already short on water and food. It might have been different if they could cultivate the Enger Plain, but humanity had not yet prospered enough for that. To raise pigs in Agartha's lands, people had to give up food for themselves.

They were hard to handle, useless, and could not work properly. Compared to cattle, sheep, horses, or dogs, they were far inferior creatures. Some priests had already begun spreading teachings that forbade raising or eating pigs.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were beasts that worked like humans while producing delicious meat?

As Agartha muttered to herself, an idea suddenly came to mind. It was so pure that it became demonic, a method that committed dozens of sins at once.

There was only one misfortune.

She had the ability to do it.

It may be different now, but in the beginning.

Beastkin were not human.

They were only slightly improved livestock.

Footnotes:

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