WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 504: Boiling the Hunting Dog First

──────

If the opponent was human, Azzy was helpless. As the King of Dogs, she could only resist as cautiously as possible without harming them.

But if the opponent was not human, Azzy was more dependable than any other Beast King. She would tear everything apart with a beast's savagery, yet never harm a human.

"Awooooo!!"

Azzy shot forward and knocked down a wolf. The wolf desperately twisted to survive, but Azzy seized it precisely by the scruff and flung it aside. It rolled across the ground, writhed a few times, then went limp.

While one wolf fell, the rest of the pack fled far away. With blood around her mouth, Azzy threatened the wolves in the distance. Unable to even consider revenge, the pack lowered their heads like defeated soldiers and fled across the plain.

Azzy kept her fur raised and glared until the wolves vanished. Then her expression relaxed, and she barked brightly at the humans she had protected.

"Woof!"

The King of Dogs was friendly. Even with blood around her mouth, it was hard for humans to be afraid of Azzy.

Yet the people collecting the bodies of those killed by wolves looked at Azzy with resentment.

Sensitive to human emotions, Azzy sensed the strange hostility beneath their gazes and tilted her head.

"...Woof?"

"What are you smiling about...? My son is dead...."

The woman crying over the body covered in straw clenched her skirt. Though Azzy could not see it, she could feel the woman's emotions. Her ears and tail drooped.

"The wolves shouldn't have invaded in the first place.... Why do we have to fight wolves?"

"Woof."

"It's because of you! Because you're here...!"

The woman glared at Azzy and shouted in a trembling voice.

"If you hadn't been here, the wolves wouldn't have invaded this place!"

"Hey, sister-in-law! Calm down!"

"That's enough. The King came to help us!"

"What help? There wasn't any problem until recently! I was happy with my child! But now it's all over! It's all over!"

Some blamed Azzy, some tried to stop them, some watched the mood, and some subtly took sides and egged them on. Amid all the noise, Azzy gradually curled into herself. Her raised fur lay flat again, and the tail she had been wagging so energetically tucked close as she nervously watched the people.

Good grief. You should learn to be more flexible.

I finally caught up after Azzy had chased off every wolf, only to be met with people pointing fingers at her. Panting, I said, "Huff, huff. Damn, I'm out of breath. Azzy, are you done here?"

"Woof...."

"Good. You did well. Let's go back. Apparently, there's an important meeting."

Azzy nodded and set off at once. Having just arrived, I had to turn right around without even getting a chance to catch my breath.

"Hey, hey, hey. Slow down. Walking humans get tired."

My stamina had improved enough that it was not as hard as before, but I still could not keep up with Azzy. As I hurried after her, she suddenly stopped and spoke.

"Woof. You hate me?"

"No. Why?"

Azzy crouched down and spoke without looking at me.

"Woof woof. Humans say they hate me. They say they wish I wasn't here."

"Well, that can happen. Not everyone in the world likes dogs."

"I like humans."

"You should learn to dislike people sometimes too. There are plenty of bad humans in the world."

"There are no bad humans in the world."

"I feel like that should be the other way around."

There were enough bad humans to trip over. But there were no bad dogs. That was because all bad dogs died or became wolves. Dogs could not help being good, and Azzy, the King of Dogs, was practically goodness incarnate.

"So humans who treat you badly are the truly bad ones."

"Woof? You?"

"What about me? When have I ever treated you badly?"

"Promise! You didn't keep it!"

"Did I break it because I wanted to? And wasn't the promise originally supposed to be different from this? Didn't something change along the way?"

"How would I know!"

Yeah. What would you know? You and I were both nothing more than animals.

Still, a promise was a promise. No matter what problem came up, I had to keep it. Only then would I learn what problem had arisen. There was a difference between keeping it and postponing it, but breaking it was never an option. When death was not an option, I had to make progress somehow, little by little.

"Don't take it too hard. I'll wrap it up quickly."

"Woof."

I had planted seeds in their hearts. They would make a cruel choice, one nurtured by unease, anxiety, and fear.

But they were under one huge misconception as well.

That their choice could change the world.

The emergency assembly announced by Orcma was held in Ende rather than Oberli. There was no space in Ende large enough to gather people, so they cleared out the tent camp on the outskirts to make room. Even so, with most of Ende's citizens gathered there, the open ground was packed too tightly to set foot in.

The one who appeared on the platform before all of Ende was none other than Orcma's Poina.

"We are now facing a great disaster."

Normally, Mayor Triber or Sapien would have spoken, and someone with a loud voice would have relayed the speech through a loudspeaker. But Poina said that if they gave her the script, she would speak herself. Mayor Triber hesitated a little, but respected her resolve. Poina's voice was loud enough that a single loudspeaker carried her words clearly.

"Wolves have appeared. The wolf pack that roamed outside Ende is tearing through our fences and devouring sheep and people. These cruel, savage wolves are not satisfied with that. They intend to bite every one of us inside these walls to death. To those beasts, we are nothing but prey."

Unlike what one might expect from a pig beastkin, Poina was a skilled speaker. She read through the script without faltering, despite her nasal voice. Mayor Triber compared the script to Poina's words and slowly nodded.

Mayor Triber believed that all beastkin were equal and that, given the chance to learn, they could become equal to a certain extent. Beastkin needed opportunities. The circumstances were unfortunate, but Mayor Triber did not think they were entirely bad. If the pig beastkin overcame this war, they would gain pride.

"But they are only beasts."

But from here on, her speech was not in the script.

After briefly watching Mayor Triber's reaction, Poina pulled out an extra sheet of paper she had prepared beneath the script.

It was a new speech written by Orcma.

"Wolves do not bite an entire flock of sheep to death. Their goal is to fill their bellies, not wipe out sheep. It is the same here. The wolves' goal is not to kill every one of us. Beasts do not attack a city for such a reason. The wolves have another purpose."

"...Miss Poina?"

Poina believed that all beastkin were equal, and that pig beastkin deserved the same treatment as everyone else. Given the opportunity, they would demonstrate the same capabilities. That was why she had attacked Oberli and seized power.

And now, she had to protect the opportunity she had gained.

Even if she had to cast everything else aside.

"The wolves are targeting the King of Dogs."

Poina pointed at Azzy. Suddenly singled out, Azzy jolted and opened her eyes wide.

"Why would wolves attack a powerful city? Why would the King of Wolves come to Ende? It is all because the King of Dogs is here. Put another way, if the King of Dogs leaves this city, the wolves will withdraw from the city and pursue the King of Dogs."

"Miss Poina, this is...! Mm!"

Urukpaing restrained Mayor Triber as they tried to step forward. Having silenced the mayor, Orcma continued the speech without interruption.

"We can overcome this threat. But when there is a wiser way to avoid it, there is no reason to turn Ende, our home and livelihood, into a battlefield."

Murmurs rose from the crowd, but no jeers. Orcma had already spread the rumors through the pig beastkin. In Ende, already thrown into chaos by attacks and looting, it was all too easy to single someone out.

Poina shouted more forcefully than ever.

"I will issue an expulsion order against the King of Dogs."

Orcma's members, the planted supporters brought in by the pig beastkin, and the beastkin who had heard and firmly believed the rumors all let out a cheer. Everyone in Ende's crowd except the dog beastkin applauded the decision.

"Ende will not fight the wolves. King of Dogs, please leave the city before today is over."

"Woof? Me? You mean me?"

Only now realizing they were talking about her, Azzy pricked up her ears and asked. Before I could offer even a gentle reply, the crowd raised its voice.

"Get out!"

"Get out!"

People who normally could not keep order to save their lives sure knew how to keep time when it came to this. The crowd's chant gradually became a single voice.

Azzy was the King of Dogs. She was sensitive not only to humans, but to the emotions of crowds as well. Under the collective hostility of the people rejecting her, Azzy gradually shrank into herself. Her helpless gaze turned toward me, as though asking what she should do now.

Sorry. I don't have an answer for you right now.

'...'

The regressor did not react even after things had come to this. She already knew my plan. But she was so displeased that killing intent was pouring from her in waves.

Good thing I told her beforehand. If I hadn't given her a heads-up, a few of them might have lost their right arms.

"Uh, huh?"

"Stop this farce!"

That was when Mayor Triber broke free of Urukpaing's restraint and rushed onto the platform. The startled orcs tried to stop them, but Poina quickly motioned for them to hold back.

'Shouldn't we stop the mayor?'

'Triber is a highly respected dog beastkin. If we stop them, people will definitely talk.'

'But if we let them speak...'

'I have a way.'

After quickly exchanging opinions, the orcs decided to leave them alone. Mayor Triber stood on the platform, panting as they shouted.

"This is a covenant! We must fight the wolves! If we run away or abandon it, we will all lose our pride!"

"Dog beastkin would say that. I won't stop you. Dog beastkin, take up your weapons and go protect the King of Dogs. You have the freedom to choose."

Poina spoke with a mocking edge.

If they wanted to fight the King of Wolves, they could. She would not stop them. It was a common rhetorical tactic, forcing only one's own opinion under the guise of choice, but orcs practicing politics this way were no different from humans anymore.

"It isn't because of a promise with the King of Dogs! It is because of the treaty we made with the duchy!"

But could they truly accept an equal fight?

Why had Ende become a free city of beastkin? Why was it a city ruled by recognized humans, where humans held power but hardly lived there?

What did they have to fight to become truly equal?

Mayor Triber cried out as though vomiting blood.

"Ende's autonomy was won on the condition that we fight the wolves! Ende is the duchy's shield! It is a bulwark against the ever-growing threat of wolves!"

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried