Chapter 102
The second day of the Lord’s Council.
The eting was still dragging on today.
It seed they hadn’t reached any agreent overnight, as the sa words were being repeated again and again.
“What a total ss.”
Last night, I also t briefly with the Lord of Haken.
He asked to join forces if troops were mobilized through the Council, and I agreed.
We wanted the disturbance in Levelium to be settled as soon as possible, even by a day.
Considering he ca to personally, it seed he had also discussed opinions with other lords, but there wasn’t any sign of real progress.
It was a tragedy born from each lord’s different circumstances, positions, and goals.
At this rate, the Council might end without any tangible outco.
“It’s true the Empire bastards’ troops have thinned out quite a bit, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Didn’t the Empire bastards co in by sea? What’s going on there?”
“Seems like there’s a route that runs straight down the coastline. The nearby Nagas even seem to have relocated their habitats.”
“Then that ans they could replenish their forces through that sa route again?”
“Probably.”
“They’ll likely bring as many as they can. If it were , I’d do the sa.”
“Since there’s no telling how long that route will stay open.”
At this point, I had half given up on expecting anything from the Lord’s Council.
We were focusing on finding our own way to survive.
First, by checking the situation in Levelium.
It was true the Empire bastards had a gap in their forces, but both Yuria and I predicted that it wouldn’t last long.
The three lords claiming this was the weakest ti weren’t exactly wrong.
“It’d be too much for us to move first, right? Even if we launched a siege with our territory’s forces, winning wouldn’t really be winning.”
“That’d be plain stupidity.”
We couldn’t know exactly how many of their troops remained, but facing them alone was impossible.
Even a full-scale battle would be unpredictable—and yet we’d have to storm a fortified city.
Besides, the territories the Empire bastards occupied weren’t just one or two.
Rather than doing that, it’d be much better to wait for them to co toward us and respond with defense.
We’d be facing far more troops, but it would still be a much more efficient way to fight than laying siege.
“It’s a bit disappointing that we can’t take advantage of this gap.”
We had no choice but to give up on an attack.
No matter how I thought about it, there was no angle that made sense.
That ant we had to focus on defense—and while the enemy replenished their forces, we had to prepare sothing on our end too.
“What a troubleso situation. No matter how ruined they are, the Empire is still the Empire. Even as remnants, they must have quite the numbers.”
As I was thinking about whether there was any good solution—
A welco guest ca to see .
It was Elline, the representative of the Dog Tribe living in Vines, and the Guide of the Dog Tribe herself.
Elline, the owner of the “Good-Dog rchant Group,” with whom I had established trade in Rubina, was also soone I was acquainted with.
She had warmly welcod , the Guide of the Rabbit Tribe.
‘Co to think of it, Elline’s expression didn’t look too good either.’
During the Council, Elline stayed beside the Lord of Vines.
So we often ran into each other, but—how should I put it?
She seed to have a lot of complaints.
And honestly, I couldn’t bla her.
For beastn, a eting with this kind of atmosphere must be incredibly frustrating.
They weren’t the type to sit around debating which area to abandon or sacrifice for profit.
They’d rather say: “Let’s gather our troops and hit Levelium right now! et here by this ti! Oooh! Good!”
That’s probably the kind of eting a beastman would prefer.
‘And besides, their opponent is the Empire, right? No way they could let that slide.’
Beastn and the Empire were races that couldn’t share the sa sky.
As soon as Yuria, a fox tribe mber, heard the Empire bastards were coming, she decided to migrate, and even the Rabbit Tribe turned red-eyed at the word “Empire.”
Lion Tribe? No need to even ask. Their stance was always “if you see one, beat it.”
So it was only natural the Dog Tribe felt the sa way.
Within the Vines Territory, those most dissatisfied with the Lord of Vines’ decisions were none other than the Dog Tribe.
‘And now the representative of the Dog Tribe ca to see ? Of course, we’re not strangers, but still…’
I had a feeling this wasn’t just a casual visit for greetings.
“Have you been well?”
“Ah, yes, Elline. Are the Dog Tribe at peace?”
“Yes, thanks to your concern, our tribe is doing well.”
The conversation began with a simple exchange of greetings, asking about each other’s tribes.
After greeting , Elline also turned to Yuria, asking about her well-being.
“So the Fox Tribe has chosen Johnson Territory after all.”
“That’s how it turned out.”
“I think that was a good decision.”
“Yeah, I think so too. It’s been even better than I expected.”
“I’m really glad to hear that.”
Two beastn won, each leading their own tribes.
Judging by the atmosphere, they seed to know each other to so extent.
Since Elline traveled for trade, she must’ve t Yuria several tis before.
So it wasn’t strange for them to be acquainted.
But Elline also seed to know that Yuria was the Chieftain of the Fox Tribe.
How did she recognize Yuria, though?
Even the Black Rabbit wasn’t sure at first.
That mysterious woman wouldn’t have revealed herself as a beastman on her own.
—That Dog Tribe female is a Priestess. The Dog Tribe’s Priestesses are originally shamans. Shamans can imdiately recognize other shamans.
‘Ah, really? That’s pretty fascinating.’
If Priestess ant sothing like a temple maiden or a holy woman, then it seed that for beastn, Priestesses were actually shamans.
So that ant there were two of those rare beastman shamans in this room right now?
Since Yuria was one too.
That was quite sothing.
“Well, now that greetings are out of the way—what brought you all the way here to see ?”
“I ca because I had sothing to ask you, Lord Iron.”
“What is it?”
“The Empire bastards in Levelium. Are you just going to sit back and watch them?”
“Ah, that. Well…”
Even though we were of different tribes, she was a Guide.
There was no reason not to trust a fellow Guide.
So I told her the truth about our situation.
That it was difficult to act right away, but that we’d probably clash with the Empire bastards soon enough.
Then, after quietly nodding and listening to my words for a mont, Elline made a proposal.
“If you end up clashing with the Empire bastards, please let us know. We’ll join the battle.”
“Oh, really? But are you sure that’s fine? Lord Mishel doesn’t seem to have any intention of doing that.”
“It doesn’t matter. The Dog Tribe are rcenaries anyway. We only do as much as we’re paid for.”
“I see.”
That was truly delightful news.
I had been worried about how to reinforce our forces quickly, but if the Dog Tribe helped us, that was a huge relief.
Of course, given the distance, they wouldn’t be able to support us in full force, but the Dog Tribe were one of the most reputable fighters among the beastn.
Even Leisha acknowledged their superiority in group warfare.
‘Still, sounds like things aren’t going too smoothly on their side either. rcenaries, huh?’
I knew the Dog Tribe had settled in Vines quite a while ago, yet they were still considered rcenaries—that was odd.
With power like the Dog Tribe’s, shouldn’t they have been accepted as part of the territory by now?
“The people of Vines are unbelievable. They don’t even recognize the Dog Tribe as residents.”
“Really?”
“There’s so subtle discrimination. It used to be less noticeable, but ever since the territory stabilized, it’s gotten worse.”
“Ah, I see.”
So it was just humans being… human.
That’s how humans are, aren’t they?
They discriminate over sothing as simple as skin color—so of course, they couldn’t fully accept beastn with animal ears and tails, no matter how human they looked.
‘In that sense, our residents in Johnson Territory are true nobles.’
Our people only consider two things.
Whether sothing helps them survive, and whether it benefits the territory.
From that point of view, there’s no better neighbor than the beastn.
That’s also why the beastn were welcod by our residents.
It seems those who live comfortably still can’t abandon their human nature completely.
‘Anyway, it’s not bad news. In fact, this could be…’
While talking with Elline, I realized there might be another possibility.
Perhaps there was another way to strengthen our territory’s military power.
“I was really pleased with the horned rabbit at we received this ti. Everyone loved it.”
“That’s great to hear.”
“Of all the things we’ve tried, that was truly amazing. I don’t regret moving to Johnson Territory at all.”
“The children especially love it.”
“Right, right. If you soak the horned rabbit jerky and make it into a stew, breakfast is ready in no ti.”
After establishing a new cooperative relationship to face the Empire bastards, we chatted about smaller things.
Elline told how much the Dog Tribe had enjoyed the horned rabbit at from our latest trade.
Even Yuria chid in, and the atmosphere turned pleasant.
Whether Dog Tribe or Fox Tribe, it seed no beastman could escape the charm of horned rabbit at.
“Oh, the temple. Well, the more temples and priests, the better, right?”
“But the situation doesn’t look great. It’s such a remote area that I’m not sure any priest would want to co here.”
As the conversation went on, the topic shifted to how this trip to the Holy City Saint had a secondary goal—to invite priests and establish temples.
They wanted to bring priests to Johnson Territory, but it didn’t look easy.
However, Elline offered a slightly different opinion.
“That might not necessarily be the case.”
“What do you an?”
Honestly, I had already given up on that matter.
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t imagine any priest willingly following us all the way to Johnson Territory.
But Elline just smiled mysteriously, as if to say I was mistaken.
“You don’t know yet, huh? Then I won’t say more. You’ll find out soon enough. Oh, actually, maybe I should help a little.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if you just told now?”
“No, no. Save the fun for later.”
‘What on earth does she an by that?’
—That female… she’s far more cunning than she looks. It’s no cri to strike a beast that stops talking mid-sentence.
She stopped right at the most curious part, driving crazy.
That’s just cruel, isn’t it?
She looked like a calm golden retriever, yet she pulled sothing that wicked.
Still, I decided to let it slide for now.
If I was going to find out soon anyway, pressing her about it would just make things awkward.
For today, it was enough of a success to learn what the Dog Tribe was thinking through Elline.
‘The Dog Tribe had all rushed to Vines Territory the mont Elline decided to migrate. It’s highly likely they’ll do the sa again for this war.’
It was practically a given that the Dog Tribe would lend us their strength.
“You can use this to contact .”
“This is… a shamanic paper?”
“Yes. Since you’re with the Fox Tribe, you must know how to use it.”
“Of course, I do.”
Elline handed a sheet of shamanic paper.
On the gray A4-sized sheet were tightly written red shamanic characters I couldn’t understand.
It was the sa type of shamanic paper commonly used by the Fox Tribe for information exchange.
“Carrying mana communicators is illegal to prevent espionage. There are also magical tools that detect them.”
“Oh, really?”
I hadn’t known that.
But thinking about how things had been going lately, it was clear that the friction between the three High Lords was deeper than I thought.
I used to believe they kept each other in check but united when needed—but after seeing them in person, that clearly wasn’t the case.
These days, the trend seed to be shifting even more in that direction.
‘If even Irene doesn’t know, maybe the Lord of Haken thinks differently… or maybe not. The Haken side has also shifted most of its trade to Rubina because of spies. That’s the reason too, isn’t it?’
If things had gotten tense enough for them to keep each other under such watchful eyes, then taking precautions against spies made sense.
It was only natural to restrict tools like mana communicators that spies could easily use.
In that regard, the shamanic paper was an excellent alternative for exchanging information.
‘Although… is that a puppy?’
This particular shamanic paper had one difference from those used by the Fox Tribe.
On one side, there was a cute drawing of a puppy.
That white puppy drawing looked very much like the Puppy Spirit of the Dog Tribe I had seen back in Rubina.
“Oh my, that’s adorable. Should we start drawing symbols like this on our shamanic papers too?”
Even Yuria, the shamanic paper expert, gave Elline’s paper high praise.
Well, cute things are always right, after all.
With a design like this, no one would ever confuse it with the Fox Tribe’s shamanic papers.
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