Showing up out of nowhere to interrogate our ideology—answering with "I just came to ask~" wouldn't be believable. Mayor Triver, with his veteran experience, discerned our true purpose.
"I understand what you mean. You must be feeling anxious about the turbulent situation in Ende. If the city falls into chaos, it will be difficult to oppose the Wolf King."
"I wouldn't say I'm anxious."
"You've just arrived in Ende, so you probably don't know the situation. I understand."
Nodding, Mayor Triver smiled with a gaunt face and spoke.
"However, I hope you can understand us as well. The pig beastmen have endured far too much hardship. If they can receive compensation even like this, I intend to devote myself to it."
"Is that compensation occupying Oberli by force and then abusing power?"
"It's hard to call it abuse, considering they had no power to return to before this happened. As you well know, it's because the pig beastmen have endured far too much hardship."
Part of the Ende mayor's job includes soothing collaborators who have grown dissatisfied. While some in the public frown upon it, calling it lobbying, Mayor Triver understood the importance of lobbying better than anyone.
"You are likely well aware of this. The Warlord Agartha, a descendant of the Five Lords who possessed a power beloved by all, desired slaves who spoke human words but toiled like beasts. Just like a king of beasts. Thus, she committed a taboo and conceived beings known as beastmen. Through a taboo too horrific to even speak of."
The Third Taboo, Intercourse. A forbidden taboo that was previously doubted to even be possible before the Warlord.
Skipping over the explanation tactfully, Mayor Triver continued.
"In the Warlord's nation, pig beastmen were born solely to be eaten. That is why their numbers were vast, and they took on all the menial tasks. All beastmen were lowly slaves, but the pig beastmen were exceptional even among them. They were worked to the bone, and when they were no longer needed, they were slaughtered."
"Still, the orcs thrived quite a bit after the fall of the Ten Nations. Back then, they were a force that threatened the empire in their own right."
"Beasts that are eaten frequently must be just as numerous. The pig beastmen, with their large population, flourished briefly after the fall of the Ten Nations, but that was all. Unlike other beastmen who easily integrated into civilization with their innate talents, the orcs, with their large forces, were kept in check by the empire and vassal states and ultimately collapsed. They were orcs in name only; in reality, they were closer to refugees, so it was a natural outcome."
Collapsed was a very polite way to put it. To humans, pig beastmen were proof of sin, threatening enemies, and targets of discrimination and hatred. The victorious humans used every possible method to eradicate the pig beastmen before their very eyes.
"It was only after the appearance of the Hairy Saint that eating pig beastmen was treated as a taboo. Before that, being hunted for food was a frequent occurrence; it was an era of madness where cookbooks on preparing pig beastmen were even published. They have endured far, far too much hardship."
"Still, thanks to the Hairy Saint, they are equal now, right? The past doesn't justify their current rioting."
"The balance was skewed from the very beginning. Not only humans, but even fellow beastmen committed grave sins against the pig beastmen, driving them into the abyss. It is far too cruel to demand that a balance so terribly ruined by irredeemable sin be restored solely through lawful means. I want to fix the broken scales, even in this way."
"Yeah. I understand, but..."
'It doesn't seem like a good choice. Something will go wrong.'
Seeing the worry revealed on the regressor's face, Mayor Triver gave a hollow smile.
"It is alright. This is my duty. Please focus entirely on defeating the Wolf King. I will tend to Ende no matter what."
"You look like you're about to die right now; what are you going to do if you collapse from overwork?"
"Heh. This much is nothing... Hmm. It seems we have a guest outside."
A faint vibration had been felt outside the office for a while now. Sensing the presence, the regressor withdrew the Tian Ying that had seized the space. The moment the seal was lifted, the office door burst open, and Urkupang strode in. Completely agitated, he confronted the mayor.
"Mayor Triver. What were you doing? No matter how much I knocked, there was no answer, and the door wouldn't open. You're the mayor, for heaven's sake..."
"He was talking to me."
The regressor answered for him. Urkupang, who had been crossing the office without hesitation, faltered upon seeing the regressor. Intimidated, his eyes darted around.
"Y-You, why are you here?"
"What."
"Ah... right. You could have come to see the mayor too. But I have urgent business and need to report..."
"What's the urgent business?"
"Why should I tell you... No, I suppose you should hear it."
Being closer to a beast helps sometimes. Instinctively subdued, Urkupang reported in a somewhat unconfident voice.
"Wolves appeared. Shepherds working on the outskirts of Ende were attacked, and the guard squad was annihilated. Over 20 people are dead, and nearly half the sheep flock is gone. The search party and the guard squad are in chaos right now. I think it needs to be resolved."
Bad news is something you wish wouldn't actually arrive, even if you know it's coming someday. Mayor Triver spoke as if the inevitable had arrived.
"It seems the wolves' offensive has begun."
Mayor Triver immediately rummaged through the pile of documents and found a small file. Adding a token and an envelope, he gathered them neatly, handed them to Urkupang, and instructed him.
"This document lists where the necessary supplies are. If you show the token, you should be able to receive a day's worth of supplies. Take this and report to Lord Grull. Having fought beasts outside Ende, he will come up with an appropriate solution."
"Lord Grull. Everyone would acknowledge his countermeasures."
"I'll go too. I need to see it for myself."
"Y-You should stay..."
Urkupang didn't want to be in the same space as the regressor, but who could stop the regressor when he insisted on going? Watching the dead-faced Urkupang, Mayor Triver spoke up.
"Urkupang. I believe I mentioned it last time. Did you deliver it to Poina of Orcma?"
Making a brief disgusted face, Urkupang averted his gaze and spoke.
"...I'm not your subordinate. Deliver that yourself."
"I emphasize it every time we meet. You must help as well. Without Lord Sapien, Ende's guard and security squads are nothing but a disorganized rabble. It is a difficult task for him, but it must be done eventually. If everyone in Ende doesn't cooperate, we won't be able to overcome this crisis."
"Tch. I got it!"
Urkupang walked away, grumbling as if he had been saddled with an unwanted chore. Seeing the regressor follow him out, he was startled.
If the wolves have invaded, this is probably just the beginning. I don't know if they'll hold out until then, though. Well, should I start heading out too?
"Azi. Let's go too."
"Woof! I'm going!"
Just as I was about to leave with Azi, who was giving a vigorous salute, Mayor Triver quietly called out to me.
"Magician. A word, please."
"What is it?"
"Thank you for persuading him. Thanks to you, I have one less worry. However..."
"However?"
Mayor Triver asked me with a face full of doubt.
"Do you truly believe they are human?"
"Didn't you hear what I said to Mr. Shei earlier? Are you doubting my words?"
"I don't doubt you. But, Magician. I heard of what you have done. While acting as a magician, you subjected Orcma to harsh trials."
No, not harsh. I didn't kill anyone, and there was barely any blood.
"I am not blaming you. To your eyes, seeking to defeat the Wolf King, Orcma must have looked like a suspicious group disrupting the city. However, with your level of power, there must have been a more certain and moderate method to stop Orcma. I am convinced that someone who deliberately chose 'such methods' would not regard pig beastmen as equals."
Such methods, huh. Is he talking about blackmail, threats, theft, and disruption? That's pretty peaceful.
Tsk tsk. He knows one thing but is ignorant of two. I'm the one offering true unconditional kindness.
"Then your conviction is wrong. No one thinks of them as much as I do. Even you, while colluding with Orcma, only supported them from behind; you never even thought of turning Ende completely upside down."
At the casually spilled secret, Mayor Triver sharply inhaled. Looking at me with an expression of sheer horror, he asked with difficulty.
"...How do you know that?"
"The King of Dogs appeared. Decided to fight the Wolf King. Grull came looking. It turns out Orcma knew about the secret conversation we had in Oberli. How could Orcma, who couldn't even set foot in Oberli, know Oberli's confidential information? Naturally, someone from Oberli must have passed it on."
I read his thoughts. From the very beginning, Mayor Triver had been conducting secret welfare for the pig beastmen. The reason for keeping it secret was that official welfare in itself could cause division.
"But who would secretly give useless confidential information to mere pig beastmen? That much, I absolutely couldn't figure out. But today, after hearing you say you want to restore the tilted scales, I knew. It was you, or someone acting on your orders."
I read their thoughts, of course. Mayor Triver's, and even the Orcma elders'. Thanks to that, I knew the two were in cahoots.
If he's not a public figure, there's no way they would leave a vassal state's ultra-high-ranking noble holding the position of Ende's mayor intact just because he's 'useful'. Not when it's the stupid pig beastmen. They should have either pulled him down or kept him under surveillance.
"That is..."
"It's fine. I am kind to all humans. I even intended to listen to your wish, let alone the pig beastmen. How is it? The changed face of Ende? Are you satisfied?"
It probably wasn't as beautiful as you expected. It probably wasn't as gradual as expected either. But surely this sight is the result Mayor Triver wished for.
However, even though his wish had become reality, Mayor Triver looked anxious.
"...The timing is a bit bad. The Wolf King is coming."
"No. It's the best timing. Strong external pressure forges internal unity. You also wanted everyone to unite, which is why you passed the information about the Wolf King's arrival to Orcma, right?"
"The pig beastmen lack experience in managing a city. This is too difficult a task for them."
"The more difficult it is, the faster the broken scales can be restored. It might not be lawful, but so what? Lord Grull and Mr. Shei are here too. If they overcome this crisis with their help, the pig beastmen will truly take their rightful place."
"But."
"You're anxious, right?"
I know why he's dragging his words. Smiling, I poked at his sore spot.
"You can't believe it, right? You think it won't work? Incompetent, noisy, distracted, lacking persistence, full of pointless victimhood, and not even listening to reason. That's what pig beastmen are to you, aren't they? At least, up until now."
People do not wish for reality. They always stand on the stairs they have stepped on and look up. Only the thirsty crave water, only the hungry desire daily bread, and only the humans buried underground wish to reach upward.
Mayor Triver believes everyone is equal, and wishes it to be so.
Because the reality he knows is not.
"You are just at that level. They might become equal someday, but since they're still lacking, you believe the pig beastmen need a ladder. Well, I understand that belief. Pig beastmen are human too, so it'd be nice if they became equal."
The wind blows from there. It moves humans to bridge the gap between belief and reality. It is his wish that drives Mayor Triver to act.
I merely obliged willingly. Be it beastman or human. Those wishes are all precious.
"Unlike you, I am genuine. Just as I wouldn't be surprised that the sun rose in the east today, the fact that pig beastmen are human is so obvious to me I wouldn't even bother saying it out loud."
Suddenly speaking up, I tilted my head at the slightly changed nuance. What was it? I said the same thing, so what felt different? Ah.
"No, should I say pig beastmen are also human? Well, it doesn't matter. Whatever the order. Because that's what being 'equal' means."
Nod. Deliberately lowering and raising my head dramatically, I moved forward with a smile, leaving behind Mayor Triver, who was staring wide-eyed.