When something is hollow, the earth is called desolate, but the sky is called clear. And both were words that described the Enger Plains. In a corner of the Enger Plains, the night sky of Ende—where even clouds flying through the sky grew tired and fell to the earth—was so clear that one could not count all the starlight glittering like jewels. A night where beasts howled in the distance, wishing to send their voices to the brightly rising moon.
"Ugh, these ungrateful piggy bastards...!"
From a stifling mansion with no yard to gaze at the night sky nor windows to hear the sound, a human was spitting out his fury.
"I took them in, sheltered them, and fed them, yet they don't know gratitude and attack their master? And then they strut around as if they're the lords of the city. When in reality, they rely on the Grull's power for everything!"
As his voice grew louder, Welsh, a dog beastman watching from beside him, nervously perked up his ears.
"Master. Someone might hear you. Please, lower your voice..."
"Shut up! Don't interrupt me when I'm speaking!"
Seething, he paced around the room and violently kicked the desk. The desk flipped over, and the water bottle resting on it lost its balance and fell.
Just before the bottle hit the floor, a soft tail wrapped around it. Thanks to the tail moving like a hand, the water bottle escaped the crisis of falling.
Watchdogs learn qi techniques to protect their masters. Unlike other beastmen, dog beastmen were given the opportunity to learn professional qi techniques, and they continued to develop them in their own way. Among them were those who wielded Unique Demonic Arts, and even the furry saint was a dog beastman. Dog beastmen virtually enjoyed a status no different from humans.
The Watchdog clan? Humans even use other humans as servants. The fact that dog beastmen held that position rather meant they were that close to humans.
Supporting the desk with his knees, snatching the cup with his hands, and lifting the water bottle with his tail. Displaying remarkable concentration, Welsh restored the dining table with the cup and water bottle back to its original state before it tipped over. That feat even made the noisy Duke Erektus shut his mouth for a moment.
"If only those piggies were even a quarter like you."
He seemed to have forgotten his anger, but only for a moment. Quickly recalling his fury, Duke Erektus was still seething with unresolved rage.
"Should I contact the home country? No, if I couldn't even properly rule this pathetic city, I'd only become a laughingstock. But I can't hide like a criminal when I am the ruler of Ende! I must reclaim it. But how?"
Connections, power, money, people. He had lost a considerable amount through the revolution, but still had enough left to count. It was then that Duke Erektus racked his brain to reclaim the city with his remaining resources.
Welsh, who had been calmly waiting, cautiously spoke up.
"Master. When a storm rages, briefly lowering your body is also a good method."
"Are you commanding me right now?"
Duke Erektus shot back, his eyes flashing white. When Welsh fell silent as if accustomed to it, Duke Erektus continued speaking on his own.
"Hide like a coward? That makes even less sense. This city belongs to my ancestor, Saint Enger. It is graced by his grace, who drove out the piggies and beasts and expanded the plains. Naturally, I too must drive out the beasts and expand this land! Your job is not to advise me, but to serve me..."
"Shh. Wait a moment."
Welsh quickly reached out and covered Duke Erektus's mouth. It was an exceedingly insolent action for a servant, but Duke Erektus must have sensed the unusual atmosphere as he kept his mouth shut as instructed.
"I hear a strange sound from outside. Master, prepare to escape."
Duke Erektus was displeased at having to abandon the safe house he had好不容易 obtained, but he prepared to leave without complaint. Separate from his emotions, Welsh's judgment had never been wrong when it came to protecting him.
When they pushed the closet aside, a hole dropping downward appeared. Welsh held tightly to his master and slid down. Arriving from the 3rd floor to the 1st floor in an instant, they opened a small auxiliary door and slipped out of the mansion.
Behind Duke Erektus, the murmuring of orcs could be heard.
"Sniff. Is this really the right place? Aren't we just wasting our time?"
"A sorcerer found this place. If we search, they'll turn up."
"Even for a sorcerer, how would they know if a Duke is hiding here? Neither sorcery nor magic can do that."
"I heard from Mr. Gulta that they use real sorcery. Maybe they're finding the Duke through sorcery?"
"Sorcery my ass. Rats are meant to pop out when you poke around. Let's go."
Duke Erektus, who had been doing his best to stay quiet, reacted violently upon hearing the word rat.
"Rat? Those filthy piggies dare...! Welsh, kill those bastards!"
"Endure it."
They outnumbered them. Taking them down would be easy, but if their location was discovered, they would face endless pursuit. Lightly ignoring Duke Erektus's command, Welsh rather roughly dragged Duke Erektus and fled.
After Welsh had taken Duke Erektus far away, a commotion arose near the mansion.
"Wait! There's a secret passage here!"
"They were here just a moment ago!"
"Search the vicinity like catching rats!"
But the Duke and his servant were already far away. The scrambling orcs reported in belatedly. Though their reporting system was considerably slow for a pursuit team, this too would be a good experience for the orcs who had never done anything organized.
Hiding in Ende was no difficult task. A city where all kinds of beastmen and humans gathered was strange no matter who came, making even somewhat unusual people seem ordinary.
Moreover, in Ende, there were far more people who feared change than those who welcomed the Duke's downfall. Welsh used that to somehow arrange lodgings for his master.
"Something's strange."
"What... is."
Duke Erektus, exhausted from consecutive escapes, answered. Realizing his master's stamina had reached its limit, Welsh paused and looked around.
The nights in Ende were disorderly and noisy. The sound of hooves, cries, and various other noises brushed past them. Normally, it was just annoying noise, but being pursued now, it concealed the identities of the Duke and the Watchdog.
"Today, the sounds are flowing in one direction."
"It seems they've finally learned how to line up..."
"That's impossible. They're probably restricting people from going out into the streets to catch us."
"Hmph. Do you think those bastards who don't even listen properly will comply with orders? Those piggy brats don't know why we built the Obeli."
That it had already failed was evident just by looking around. They seemed to have set up barricades to block passage, but impatient beastmen were already leaping over rooftops. The attempt at control led to yet another chaos.
"The problem is that this was an action taken to catch us. They haven't given up. They will definitely try to catch us... and they're heading in the right direction better than I thought."
"These ungrateful bastards... Not content with biting their master, they want to drive me out entirely?"
Duke Erektus shuddered.
One can be bitten by a beast they raised. Beasts have poor self-control. But if they try to drag you out of the house while biting, or try to lock you up somewhere, that is now a rebellion. It had come to a situation where heads must roll.
"I must inform the vassal state."
"Can your safety be guaranteed during that time?"
"Safety? They are the ones who must guarantee it. If they don't want to be annihilated for their rebellion!"
Welsh's expression darkened. But Duke Erektus, who didn't care about a dog's reaction, continued speaking.
"Who expanded these plains? Who spread civilization? Who planted the flag in this city, Ende, which even graciously accepted beastmen, and led everyone? It is my ancestor, the great saint, Saint Enger!"
A saint of the Holy Imperial Court, who brought civilization to the Enger Plains, and a historical strategist who repelled the vampires. Saint Enger.
Duke Erektus trembled as he invoked the name of Ende's founder.
"He personally said so. Beastmen are like livestock too, as long as their disposition is docile, they can sufficiently coexist beside us. Thanks to that grace, both piggies and horsemen could live in Ende! How dare they attack me, his descendant?! I will no longer show mercy. Beasts deserve to be treated as beasts!"
Whether Saint Enger said that to persuade people, or if that level of awareness was considered enlightened by the standards of that time, I don't know. Yeah. Right. Beasts should be treated as beasts.
As I nodded and timed my appearance, Aji jumped out before me. Seeing Welsh, Aji wagged his tail and spun in circles.
"Woof! Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you!"
"Wang?"
Welsh, who had been wary of the unknown intruder, recognized Aji's identity and dropped her guard. Wagging her tail just the same in greeting, she suddenly realized that Aji wouldn't have come alone.
"If Wang... then who?"
I wanted to make a more dramatic entrance, but Aji spoiled it. I also slipped out of the alley and waved my hand.
"Hello. It's our first time meeting face-to-face, isn't it?"
Duke Erektus first examined the area above my head and behind my waist. Confirming the presence or absence of ears and a tail, he relaxed his face and asked.
"A human? Who are you?"
"The guest who came to the Obeli with the King of Dogs at that time."
"Was there such a human?"
"He stood silently and watched us. At the time, I thought he didn't step forward because he was someone exploited like me..."
"I am exploited, that's correct. You saw it right. As expected, the exploited recognize the exploited!"
Unlike Duke Erektus who hadn't even considered me, she remembered me. How touching.
Meanwhile, Duke Erektus, looking at me, adjusted his clothes and approached.
"I didn't expect to meet a human here. If you guide me outside this city, I will reward you greatly."
Duke Erektus maintains some semblance of manners toward humans. That doesn't mean he's polite.
I've been quite active in Ende, and he doesn't know who I am? News really travels slowly. Or maybe he just doesn't care.
Welsh stopped Duke Erektus, who was stepping closer solely because I was merely a human.
"Don't go, Master."
"Welsh. Do not interrupt while I am speaking with a human."
"No. That person is the human called a sorcerer. He is not your ally, Master."
Ah, I see. He relaxed because he had someone to think for him. Welsh held Duke Erektus back and glared at me.
"He is the one who helped the Orcma and seized the Obeli."
"Seized the Obeli? How?"
"He arrested the leaders of the Orcma and imprisoned them in the Obeli's dungeon, then released them when the Obelisk went out to greet the Grull. From the inside, the Orc mercenaries took the Duke hostage and seized the Obeli."
She seems more competent than her master. Well, horses are faster than humans so they're used as mounts, and cows are stronger than humans so they're used for farming, right? Servants are also used because they're more polite, sociable, better at remembering things, and more capable than oneself.
"He is on the orcs' side. Finding us right now must be his doing too."
"That's wrong. I am on the side of humans. I just consider orcs to be human as well."
"Human?"
It might seem like an obvious statement, but there are facts that aren't obvious to some. For Duke Erektus, the idea that pig beastmen were human was one of them.
"Human? Do you see them as the same humans as me?"
Common sense is so shallow, isn't it. I asked in disbelief.
"Of course. They are the same humans."
"Dirty, lacking, and ungrateful beasts are human?"
He knows them well. I nodded and took up his words.
"Of course. They are the same beasts."
"Beasts? Humans are beasts?"
"Then what are humans? Noble and superior beings like gods?"
It was openly sarcastic, but Duke Erektus received the words without a change in his expression.
"Isn't that obvious? Humans are the chosen beings molded by the Celestial Gods in Their own image. They are the ruling species of the earth and the lords of all creation that all beasts look up to. It is only natural for such humans to rule over other beasts."
Wow. That's amazing. Looking at Duke Erektus who truly believed it, I momentarily lost my words.