WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 507: A Promise Kept

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The easiest way to bring down a rebel army was to restore the old regime. It might have been a stretch to compare Oberli's recognized humans to kings, but Gruel understood that freeing the recognized humans and the Obelisks would be fatal to Orcma.

Orcma itself did not know its weakness. It was so focused on driving Azzy out that it had completely forgotten about Oberli and left it unattended. At this point, its downfall was only natural.

Definitely smarter than Orcma. Though that comparison set the bar far too low.

"Weren't you going to find Mr. Shei? I saw the Beast Faction warriors earlier."

"More precisely, I was looking for those moving the King of Dogs. I heard they had been found... but for some reason, I felt like waiting here."

Only Gruel could stand against the regressor. I had assumed Gruel would go when she started causing trouble. My mistake.

Still, Gruel was also someone I needed to meet.

"What do you want?"

"Leave for the principality."

Gruel answered simply. He did not seem inclined to explain why, so I did it for him.

"You want us to lure the wolves to the principality?"

Gruel hesitated for a moment, apparently surprised that I had seen through him.

"...You know."

"More of a guess than knowledge. You aren't from Ende, and you weren't planning to do anything here even after the coup succeeded. Your goal was to protect the Beast Faction from the beginning. Wasn't it?"

"Calling it protecting the Beast Faction makes me sound like some sort of king. I only seek to preserve the natural order."

Perhaps deciding there was no need to hide it now that it had been exposed, Gruel folded his arms and continued.

"Those you call the Beast Faction have been nomads, wandering the wilderness alongside buffalo since ancient times. They are strong and warlike... but they are not stable. Floods, droughts, rampaging wild beasts. Whenever disaster sweeps across the southern plains, their numbers fall greatly. Yet disasters always pass. When better days come, they prosper again. That is the natural order."

"And?"

"But... the wolves have remained on the Enger Plain for too long."

Gruel turned to look into the distance. South of Ende lay land that was parched for half the year and flooded for the other half. Beasts had to keep moving. Humans were no different.

"Floods and droughts pass over the plains. Yet the wolf pack, which should grow for a time and then diminish again, has stayed there too long. It roams from the old territory of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand to Ende, killing buffalo and attacking humans."

It had all happened because no King of Dogs had appeared to fight the King of Wolves. Gruel looked at Azzy as he spoke.

"If the King of Dogs is here, the King of Wolves will surely head north. If the King of Dogs goes as far as the principality, it will be even more certain. I do not care what it takes as long as the wolves are dealt with. Better to draw them all the way to the principality and finish it properly."

From the Beast Faction's perspective, all that mattered was the wolves leaving the Enger Plain. What happened to Ende or the principality was irrelevant.

To the Oberli guards, it was news like a bolt from the blue.

"Are you planning to keep the recognized humans imprisoned...?!"

"That's not the issue! The principality above us, wolves below us! Ende will be in danger!"

Even if the Obelisks and recognized humans were freed, they could not defeat Gruel. With them restrained, Gruel could control Ende however he pleased. The guards' faces darkened. If things continued this way, the dog-kin who had failed in the coup would face even worse persecution.

There was one thing I did not understand.

"Wait. Then why did you come to Ende? If your goal was to drive out the King of Wolves, there was no reason to risk coming here."

"Because I had to confirm one possibility."

"A possibility?"

"The possibility of defeating the King of Wolves in Ende. The surest way to remove the King of Wolves from the Enger Plain is... to kill the King of Wolves, is it not?"

It might have been possible if nothing had gone wrong. But the pig-kin held their protest, the Obelisks grew wary and restrained the Beast Faction, and the Beast Faction, which could not afford to find themselves isolated in an unfamiliar city, sided with the pig-kin instead. With the Obelisks gone, the pig-kin seized power in the city.

Up to that point, it had been fine. Then the pig-kin disappointed Gruel. Without showing any leadership or ability, they chose to avoid the fight.

Disappointing, but not a bad outcome for Gruel.

"Looking at how things have gone, it is already beyond saving. There is no choice but to take the second-best option."

"So you're pulling out too."

"It is a cold choice. Better than keeping a promise that cannot be fulfilled."

No one wanted to fight the wolves. There were only people who wanted to use them, avoid them, or turn away from them.

Gruel was probably no different. Of course, he might have held some hope as well...

"Awoooooo!"

That was when it happened.

A dog let out a long howl. The sudden cry startled not only the Oberli guards but even Gruel.

Me? My ears hurt. The howl had come from right beside me.

"Woof! Woof woof! Awooo!"

Azzy barked at the sky several times. Her howls carried an emotion humans could not understand.

Anyone who claimed beasts were emotionless machines would have reconsidered if they heard it. Azzy's cry was that mournful.

"Awooooo..."

Azzy barked toward the sky, refusing to look at the ground. The King of Dogs represented every dog. She had taken human form to convey her will to humans. The emotions Azzy released stirred every dog and dog-kin in Ende.

Howls rose from every corner of Ende. The dog-kin stopped backing away as well.

"King?"

"Why are you howling...?"

"Awoo, awoo."

After pouring all her strength into that cry, Azzy raised her head. A black crack appeared near her forehead. The incomplete-looking crack twisted and expanded, then entwined into one like woven plant stems.

"Beat wolf."

A crown split in half floated above Azzy's head.

It was the symbol possessed by a Beast King. The crown I no longer had after losing my strength. Yet... Azzy had one. Only half of one.

Half? Wait. Why only half? Where was the rest?

"If humans keep promise, if fight in pack with me. Beat wolf. Can do it."

Words spoken while wearing the crown were spoken on behalf of all dogs. Azzy was speaking for every dog.

"Fight with me. If humans keep promise, I protect humans too."

Gruel was beastkin. Like all beastkin, he respected the Beast King.

Yet Gruel was also human, and the High Chieftain responsible for the Beast Faction. He spoke awkwardly.

"Even if you say that..."

"It won't work, right? Sorry. Our Azzy asked too much."

You did your best, Azzy. But humans would not move just because of your sincerity. He was neither dog nor pig. He was simply human.

I would persuade the human.

"You're a Piggie like Orcma in the end, so what kind of request is this? Fine. We'll go as you wish."

"...Orcma?"

At the mention of his disappointing kin, Gruel's eyebrow twitched. Having succeeded in provoking him, I shrugged.

"Orcma wanted to run away by sacrificing Azzy because they thought they would lose if they fought. You said you were disappointed in them, yet you're trying to run away by sacrificing Ende in the same way. You're no different."

"If I am not to be the same, I must face the wolves and fight."

He had struck at the heart of it. Still, I could not simply be pleased that my opponent was sharp. Sharp people saw through my intentions as well.

Gruel muttered, then spoke with a strange expression.

"You are strange, Magician."

"What?"

"You helped Orcma bring down the recognized humans. You raised the pig-kin to the highest position, then laughed as they ruined themselves."

...I had thought he did not know much about Ende's situation, but he must have gathered quite a bit of information while staying in Oberli. Gruel did not hide his wariness toward me.

"Yet now you are provoking me into fighting the King of Wolves. What is your true intent? If you wanted to fight the wolves, you did not have to help Orcma in the first place."

A thought seemed to occur to Gruel, and he asked sharply.

"Is chaos all you desire?"

This was why I disliked sharp people. He had turned around and questioned my intent.

Still, I had to answer for Azzy's sake. Gruel had reached Li. Li was the power to complete one's own world and bring it into being. He would only act when his own heart moved him.

I answered fairly honestly.

"I don't think anything in this world can be taken for granted. Not having animal ears does not automatically give you the right to rule over others. The fact that all humans are equal does not give them the right to take away what others had enjoyed. It is nothing more than using what is 'taken for granted' as a weapon to satisfy one's own desires."

The recognized humans who acted proud without strength, the pig-kin who enjoyed power without ability. They had all learned of their weakness and foolishness. Strip away a layer, and in the end, they were all beasts and humans.

I wanted to know that. And I confirmed once again that I was right.

"The only thing you can take for granted is the desire of beasts. I've confirmed it all, so now I should do what needs to be done."

"And that is helping the King of Dogs save humans? Of all things?"

Gruel looked intrigued. I asked irritably.

"What is the problem?"

"The King of Dogs is a Beast King, yet her goal is nobler than that of any human."

That was because Azzy was strange. It made no sense for a beast to refrain from attacking humans under any circumstances in the first place. How many dogs bit people?

Still, a promise was a promise, so I had to keep it. That was why people should not get bitten. By animals or contracts.

"They say the demon who tests humans is actually the one seeking God more than anyone else. In that sense, you are the same."

Why were we bringing the Bible into this? Just answer already.

"You are the same too. Someone might think I am the mastermind here. You gave the pig-kin their chance."

He had asked the Piggie boy if he wanted to become a disciple the moment he arrived, then helped Orcma as soon as he heard they had launched a coup. He had no right to interrogate me. He should interrogate himself first.

"If you want to be noble, stay away from Ende to the end. The pig-kin protested after you came, succeeded in their revolution because of you, and enjoyed power through your strength. What mattered most to Orcma was that you subdued the Obelisks. The one who moved this board was you, Gruel."

"So I was tested as well, is that what you are saying?"

Called out in return, Gruel gave a self-mocking chuckle.

"...Yes. I was holding expectations for my kin on my own."

"Stop expecting things from others and do it yourself. Before hoping your kin become admirable, show them that yourself. Be an example."

Gruel unfolded his arms. He was the one who had led the Beast Faction into Ende. He had possessed enough will to fight from the start.

He had lost that drive after seeing the state of the city, but resolve came and went as it pleased.

"...The King of Dogs will fight even without me, won't she?"

"She's been fighting since before you were born."

"Do not misunderstand. I am not fighting for my kin or for honor. It is because the King of Wolves seems worth fighting. I refuse to die like a dog, or rather, like a pig."

Gruel turned and strode away. Before him stood the prison holding the Obelisks. Looking at the building, which was quite luxurious for a prison, Gruel asked Azzy and me.

"Can we win?"

The promise would be kept. Having confirmed Gruel's resolve, Azzy shouted confidently.

"Win!"

"Then."

Gruel grabbed the prison door and pulled. The huge, thick iron gate, the only part of the luxurious prison that truly looked like a prison, tore away like paper.

Footnotes:

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