WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 493: Ende's Spring - Finale

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The Obelisks had been arrested and imprisoned. The recognized humans were confined to their homes, and only beastkin now walked Oberli's streets. The most numerous among them were the pig-kin who had succeeded in their revolution.

Considering that not a single pig-kin had been in Oberli before this, the world had truly turned upside down overnight. Only the relatively few humans were newly dissatisfied with the situation, while joy and satisfaction grew more abundant the lower one went. From a utilitarian perspective, Ende had become paradise.

Of course, there were a few human exceptions too insignificant to care about. Duke Erectus, who had somehow escaped amid the chaos, was one. So were the regressor, who was technically a guest, and I, walking around proudly as a contributor to the revolution.

So what were the regressor and I doing?

"You said you were a magician! You said you had nipped the troublemakers in the bud! Then what the hell is this supposed to be?"

Hmm. The greatest obstacle had appeared. I had to convince the regressor, who was flustered by this unexpected turn of events. If I failed, she would probably "normalize" Ende through somewhat forceful means.

Still, it was easier to ask forgiveness than permission. What could I do when it had already happened?

"Mr. Shei, I was originally trying to help Ende. That's why I worked as the Magician and crushed the pig-kin's conspiracy at its roots."

"Crushed it? You ended up helping them."

"That's because the pig-kin didn't give up. Look at the protest they held back then."

If Orcma's desires had only been about profit, they should have despaired and fled the moment I interfered. Yet the pig-kin wanted more than that. Once every other option had been taken from them, they acted in the most primal way possible.

"I cut off Orcma's arms and legs, choked off their funding, and even pulled all their teeth, but they still took to the streets with nothing but their bare bodies. It wasn't me who provoked division, either. The division had been there from the start. The cracks had only been hidden."

"You weren't aiming for this from the beginning?"

"Even if I had been, it would've been impossible unless thousands of people rose up. I don't have the ability to control that many people."

"Mm..."

'Well, discrimination between beastkin and humans has always existed. Ende has always been among the first to face that wave. Whether things go well or badly in Ende, discrimination itself never disappears...'

I was almost forgiven. The old saying really was right. If I had confessed first and tried to get permission, I would've missed the golden opportunity.

"And there's a more important reason."

"What is it?"

"Seeing the state Ende is in, I think it'll be easier to catch the King of Wolves this way."

The Obelisks, composed mainly of energy practitioners from the duchies, were certainly powerful. Still, they were only a security force for a frontier city. Against a mystery like the King of Wolves, Gruel alone, having reached the principles, mattered more than the entire Obelisk force.

"That's true."

I might look reckless, but I had nothing on the regressor. To her, this much chaos was on the smaller side. She only called me out because I was the one who had caused the change.

The regressor agreed with me.

"I'm here too, so we can kill the King of Wolves if things go smoothly. I was trying not to create unnecessary variables... Still, the city's strength is intact."

"Either way, we only need to catch the King of Wolves."

"As long as you remember that, I don't care."

'Can inexperienced pig-kin really lead the city well? Will the duchies just sit back and watch this happen? The aftermath will be a problem, but...'

There were some issues, but the regressor was not the type to dwell on what came after.

'If it comes down to it, I can just regress!'

With the average regressor mindset, she made her decision without hesitation.

I was the Magician, a vigilante who had driven Orcma to the brink of collapse, if only briefly, and set the city's order straight.

Not every pig-kin knew me, but the ones in Orcma knew me deep in their bones. Their reaction was quite different from the jealousy and rage they had shown the recognized humans.

Most of them felt dread, fear, and bewilderment.

"The Magician?"

"Why the hell is that bastard here?"

Urukpaing, the foremost contributor to the revolution. Bonkrak, who had opened Oberli's locks to welcome the pig-kin inside. Gulta, who had immediately secured wagons and horses to seize control of Oberli's logistics. Halfana, who had converted the plaza and city hall into places for pig-kin to stay.

The Magician was the mastermind behind this revolution, recognized as such by every one of those contributors.

"Hello. May I come in too?"

I waved as I approached Urukpaing, who stood guard before the plaza with Bonkrak and Gulta.

Their reaction was intense. Bonkrak went pale and ran away, while Gulta worked on a wagon and tried hard to ignore me. Wasn't that a little much? It wasn't like I was a ghost.

Only Urukpaing, who had never met me face-to-face, greeted me with a somewhat uncomfortable expression.

"...Hmph. Welcome, Magician. Come in."

"Is someone inside?"

"Chieftain Gruel, the Elder Mother, and Oberli's clan chiefs have gathered. They're trying to sort out the situation."

Urukpaing snorted forcefully, then spoke as if demanding recognition.

"Some said it wasn't appropriate for a human like you to be included. Everyone in Orcma is more wary of you than expected, so I had to work hard to persuade them."

"You're kind, considering I only helped you escape prison once."

"Hmph. A debt must be repaid. That's a mercenary's iron rule."

'If he's that dangerous, we should keep him close and watch him. Hmph, everyone's too scared.'

Urukpaing looked away from me and glanced sidelong at the regressor.

'Besides... with that thing here, it'd be difficult to harm him anyway. What is that monster? The energy alone is one thing, but its very presence feels wrong. My fur feels like it's standing on end. Could Lord Gruel defeat that thing?'

As Urukpaing's thoughts dragged on, the regressor shot them a glare.

"What are you looking at?"

"...I wasn't looking."

Urukpaing flinched and quickly turned away. Urukpaing gestured for me to hurry.

"The meeting's about to begin. Go inside, Magician."

"Okay. Keep up the good work."

I greeted them warmly and entered the plaza with the regressor and Azzy. Behind me, I read Urukpaing's aggrieved thoughts.

'No, wait. I'm a guard. It isn't strange for me to look at people coming in. Why did he get angry at me for looking?'

The regressor and I headed into Oberli's plaza.

I had visited it once before, but its atmosphere was completely different now.

Stone seats with no armrests, nothing but bare slabs. At the center of the plaza, which formed a circle in gradual tiers, stood a platform for speakers. It was meant to focus the audience's attention on whoever stood there.

Last time, it had been a little crowded but calmly attentive. Now, excitement and anticipation filled the plaza.

The pig-kin snorted in excitement just from sitting in a plaza they had never thought they would enter in their lives. In contrast, the other beastkin who lived in Oberli sat silently, ears and tails stiff with anxiety at the abrupt change.

"...It seems today's meeting will be long, given how many guests have come."

Even so, Mayor Triber continued the meeting from the platform in the calm voice of old age.

"First, I would like to welcome the Beast Faction's chieftain, who has traveled all the way to Ende. We had planned to prepare a grand banquet, but..."

Mayor Triber's gaze settled on an empty seat. The cow beastkin, the only member of the Beast Faction attending the meeting, crossed their arms.

"The chieftain won't attend."

"Is that all right?"

"We're the Beast Faction. Ende's internal affairs have nothing to do with us. Feed us, sort things out among yourselves, and tell us the results... That is the chieftain's message."

It was Gruel's message, drawing a clear line between the Beast Faction and Ende. The pig-kin grumbled in dissatisfaction, but Mayor Triber nodded.

"I understand. Then I will yield the floor to the next speaker."

Mayor Triber stepped aside for the young pig-kin standing beside them. The pig-kin took the platform confidently and looked around with an overwhelmed expression. They had taken Oberli by force, but how much suffering had pig-kin endured before they could come here?

"I am Poina, chief of the Crimson Hammer tribe! I was the one who pushed for this march! Thankfully, I stand here as the representative of Orcma's many chiefs."

The female pig-kin standing on the platform for Orcma began her speech with a confident expression.

"First, the purpose of our march is to end the discrimination and hatred toward pig-kin that are widespread in Ende. We had no intention of attacking recognized humans, nor do we intend to turn our backs on the duchies. As people who believe in the same god and live on the same land, we resist not to live in a relationship where we eat and are eaten, but to stand as equals!"

"...That was a little violent to call it that."

An Oberli dog beastkin muttered, then quickly lowered their head beneath the glares of several pig-kin. Poina smiled with satisfaction at the sight of the beastkin trembling in fear.

"Some may say that. But this never would have happened without deeply rooted hatred in the first place. If Erectus... if that cruel recognized human had not provoked us, this march would have ended without a single drop of blood."

Poina continued with a sneer.

"No. Perhaps we should thank him for giving us a reason to be angry."

Snickering laughter rose from all around the plaza. Now that they were the victors, the pig-kin freely showed their feelings.

"Orcma has no intention of ruling or exploiting Ende. Ende and Oberli will continue living as they always have. We will only take a few measures to end hatred and discrimination. Other than that, your lives will not be different from before."

Poina paused, biting her lip before she continued.

"...Except for Duke Erectus."

"Put a bounty on him!"

"Form a hunting party and catch him!"

"Give whoever catches him all his property and power!"

Whew. He must have provoked them badly. Neither the regressor nor enraged pig-kin could have stopped that mouth of his from bringing disaster upon him.

It was good that I had let him live. If the regressor had properly taught him a lesson back then, the fire would never have caught.

"Anyway. All of Oberli's clan chiefs, please tell your clans not to panic and to continue their livelihoods. With that, I will conclude my speech..."

"What about the King of Wolves?"

The regressor cut in sharply without Poina calling on her.

"The King of Wolves is the most urgent issue right now. That's why the Beast Faction came here too. Do you have a plan to deal with the King of Wolves?"

The excited atmosphere cooled as everyone faced the unavoidable reality. A few pig-kin gave the regressor harsh looks for ruining the mood, but she was not the kind of person who cared about that.

Poina had apparently ignored the regressor and me until now. Only then did she notice there was a human present and frown.

"Who is that human?"

The elders of Oberli exchanged silent looks at Poina's question. Mayor Triber answered for those holding their tongues.

"That is the man from the estate on the outskirts. The human recommended by the Purple Merchant Guild, who brought the King of Dogs here. He possesses immense wealth and is a hero acknowledged by Chieftain Gruel as well. He is staying in Ende to fight the King of Wolves."

"Ah, the one I heard about..."

The Purple Merchant Guild was a patronage merchant guild of the duchies. Realizing that Shei's status was no ordinary matter, Poina answered in a more restrained tone.

"The King of Wolves is important as well. But there are far too many matters to handle today. It has not even been a full day since the revolution. We need time to settle the chaos."

"The King of Wolves won't wait for us."

"We haven't even had a proper meal yet. Let's eat first and speak with the person in charge of the military afterward. Where is Oberli's military commander?"

Mayor Triber answered once again.

"That would be Sapien-gong, who is receiving treatment in prison right now."

"Ah."

Once the Obelisks' position came up, Poina looked troubled.

Sapien, Oberli's strongest recognized human and authority figure, was a very burdensome opponent. Given enough time, Sapien could defeat all of Orcma with bare hands, and many beastkin followed Sapien. If Sapien's restraints were loosened even slightly and Sapien escaped, it would be a disaster. Killing Sapien was impossible too, because of the duchies' reaction. Sapien was a hot potato.

All Poina could do was stall for time and wait for the potato to cool.

"Hmph. Once he recovers... we will call him in and resume preparations."

"That would be best."

Even setting Poina's thoughts aside, it was unrealistic to demand that the pig-kin who had seized power today immediately come up with a solution. The regressor decided to let it go for now. It was not because she was generous. The Obelisks' plan had not been anything special anyway.

Once the regressor sat down, Poina's expression brightened again. Partly because she had avoided a difficult question, but also because she smelled something coming from outside the plaza.

"The meal is arriving at just the right time..."

Elder Mother Halfana led strong orc workers carrying huge cauldrons and large cuts of meat into the plaza. A savory smell filled the air. The pig-kin, who had been starving since morning without eating anything, drooled heavily.

The beastkin of Oberli, who were not particularly hungry, looked uncomfortable.

"You're eating in the plaza?"

"Try finding somewhere for all these orcs to eat. Will you lend us the dining tables in your homes?"

Poina snapped at them, then called the pig-kin over and piled food onto their plates. The hungry pig-kin shoved one another as they tried to receive food. A few of them were knocked around and dropped their meals on the ground.

Some fussy people might believe food that had fallen to the ground could no longer be eaten. To pig-kin, though, the ground was simply an extra plate. Snorting, they swept the food from the ground back onto their plates with their hands without the slightest hesitation.

As if it were treasure.

"You don't need to pick up what you dropped! Get more on a new plate!"

Poina shouted, but habits did not disappear so easily. Once the pig-kin were gone, nothing resembling food remained on the ground. Only damp marks showed that something had been there.

Anyway, the pig-kin who had safely secured their shares buried their heads in their meals. Poina raised her plate like a toast toward the pig-kin, who no longer cared about the meeting.

"Kurul ta ruk. May Ende have a better tomorrow."

"Kurul, munch, ta ruk!"

Few pig-kin responded to Poina's toast. Everyone was too busy stuffing meat into their mouths.

Should I call that pitiful or filthy? Perhaps they were the same thing.

Come to think of it, I hadn't eaten either. As one of Orcma's contributors, I was entitled to a meal, right?

"It's free food. Do you want some too, Mr. Shei?"

"No."

"Woof! Woof woof!"

"All right. I'll bring yours too."

Manhan Quanxi would make tastier food once we got home, but somehow it felt like a loss not to eat free food. I quickly approached Elder Mother Halfana and held out my hand. She flinched and grimaced when she saw me, but perhaps because she had been through so much in her life, she firmly shut her mouth and filled my plate with meat.

Whew. It was rough, but there was plenty of it. The complete opposite of Manhan Quanxi. It was good to eat like this sometimes. A person shouldn't eat only fine food. When I returned to my seat, I gave Azzy a large piece, then tore off a hearty chunk and put it in my mouth.

Mm, it tasted a little different from what I had eaten at Kitchen Gluta before. The cooking method seemed similar, so what was different?

As I tilted my head, I read the thoughts of a cow beastkin nearby and realized.

This was...

The taste of beef.

Spring had come to Ende with the taste of beef.

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