3 bar menu

64. Discussions on Ice

A bridge imitating the back of the serpent dragon carved out of ice. I turned my attention to the person in front of me. The great lord who rules this territory remained unfazed even in this situation.

「Duke Abik. Though it might be bad manners, shall we have a “discussion”?」

The Royal Guards who were standing in the rear retreated to the side as if they had received a command. The person being protected was a man in his prime, clad in full body armor. Seeing him, Altora behind me murmured in fear.

「Duke Abik…」

I knew from the moment the flag was sighted that the duke would also be here, but he looked a little older than he looked in the portraits.

The duke stood up and announced his name in a clear voice befitting his age.

「I am Attilan Abik’s eldest son and current head of the family, Ishabanu Abik. Let me hear your name.」

「I’m Marge Siu. There’s no need to hide it anymore, I’m the king of the werewolf race.」

The entire army stirred at my answer. I proceeded with Shizuku as I heard whisps such as “King?”, “Call himself a king within the duke’s territory?”, “Is he planning to compete with the duke as someone of a higher rank?”, etc. Altora, whose hands were tied, followed a little later.

Eventually, we stood right in front of Duke Abik. He turned his attention to Shizuku before me.

「…To think there were still werewolves, especially those with the endemic skill.」

Shizuku did not say anything. His eyes indicated that she was not childish enough to open her mouth during a meeting between two leaders without permission.

「She is a descendant of a werewolf tribe that was once driven from this land in a war. She is the daughter of the village chief who has remained hidden in a certain place and protected the blood for three generations.」

「Then, she must be descended from the Wolf King. His name and great renown has been passed down even in our family. So… since they are claiming the title of king again, it is safe to assume that they intend to rebel, correct?」

The air was tense as this was the first question that striked at the heart of the matter. If this is a rebellion, Lord Abik has the right and duty to suppress it. A war that will never end will begin until one side achieves complete victory.

My job is to gain the continuation of the Wolf’s Hidden Village from this person. Creating a space for dialogue in this way was the first barrier, but it was only a starting point.

Shizuku glanced at me and nodded slightly. I slowly nodded in return and replied to Lord Abik.

「No. This is not a rebellion. It could never be a rebellion.」

「You say never? How?」

「Because beasts can’t cause a rebellion.」

Shizuku’s body trembled. She has memories of being told that she was not human and being exploited due to that. Still, I placed my hand on Shizuku’s shoulder as she stared straight ahead, and continued.

「There is no law in this country that addresses these demi-humans as humans. They understand language and have civilization, but they are not humans but beasts. I understand that it was the royal family, the main line of the aristocracy, that decided that. Is it not?」

Demi-humans are not humans in this country. At least that’s what the law says. That’s why Guran was able to openly exploit Shizuku, and the Knight’s Order are able to slaughter demi-humans and those who cooperate with them as a legal measure.

As expected, Duke Abik’s reply was clear.

「Of course, I am aware of that as well. Therefore, this sortie is nominally carried out to exterminate vermin.」

「What is a vermin?」

「As the name suggests, it is a beast that causes harm to the people of the territory.」

「Then I would like to hear your answer. What kind of harm did these werewolves cause or attempt to cause to the local people?」

This question is just a prelude. Depending on the answer, the direction of the situation could change at once.

「We suspect that our private soldiers were killed by werewolves.」

「…I see.」

I got him.

As expected, the werewolves were suspected of killing Bellman’s squad. The mercenaries involved in Guran’s case were not citizens of the territory, and Guran himself ended up unscathed – at least practically.

It was inevitable that the case involving the presumed dead Bellman would become a good cause.

Still, if it were a human, it wouldn’t be possible to punish them just by suspicion, but if it was a beast… then it could be easily exterminated.

That’s why Lord Abik used his suspicions as a basis. I used it in reverse.

「Am I correct in understanding that the werewolves will be exterminated because they killed the Bellman squad?」

「Don’t say there’s a burden of proof. It may be possible if it was humans, but humans have no such responsibility for beasts. If you claim innocence, then prove it.」

「Platoon leader Bellman and two others are protected in our village. They are treated as prisoners of war.」

Duke Abik’s eyebrows twitched.

「…No, there should be four.」

「Miss Mello Brandy alone escaped. I pursued her, but she evaded capture and disappeared to the west. If necessary, I will bring Mr. Bellman here to testify.」

As if thinking that such an easy lie would not be possible, Duke Abik moved on to the next question without asking for proof.

「Is that why Brandy was reported as “missing” instead of dead? But why are the Bellman squad who were reported dead still in the werewolf village?」

「It’s because the Bellman squad released monsters into the wild and attempted to massacre the werewolf race.」

I felt the air around me change. I could feel the eyes of the soldiers on little Shizuku.

「……Oh?」

「The lord’s private army discovers a beast in the territory, deems it dangerous and exterminates it. That should be acknowledged. But how do you intend to justify releasing monsters into the wild as a means of doing so?」

The important thing is not the fact that the monsters were released into the wild. The question is whether the werewolves were dangerous enough to exterminate them using such a method.

Skepticism grew among the soldiers. Even though they have seen Shizuku’s power, she was still a small girl. The information that they tried to kill her by feeding her to monsters makes a strong impression, especially on ordinary soldiers who have a family.

This is a question for them.

Is the girl in front of them, the werewolf race, more dangerous than monsters? Does Duke Abik think so? Will he answer that it is okay to feed Shizuku to monsters?

Or will he admit his subordinate’s negligence and exterminate the soldier who protected him as a “vermin”?

「…Marge Siu, correct?」

「Yeah.」

「When I heard that the person who seemed to be the mastermind was a former subordinate of Altora-dono, I think I may have underestimated you too much.」

「Lord Abik, your answer.」