[Humanize (Moderate)] inflicted on [Young Stygian-Scaled Fenrir, Saori Segawa]

“Saori Segawa, vice-leader of Aurora, and Princess Hestia’s head retainer. A pleasure to meet you once again, Madam.” The burly man and I grasped our hands in a handshake, with both of us putting our strength into it. I was originally intending to hold back, but this man was strong enough to make me change my mind.

Staring into his scarred face where I noticed he was blind in his right eye, I gave him a short curtsey out of respect, before standing as tall as I could, but he was still a bit taller than me. He was probably around the same height as Yorshka, or perhaps a bit shorter. Regardless, despite meeting me in a suit, I could see his muscles barely being contained behind his clothes.

“Marquess Alessio Franzesco Lifcio, correct? You say ‘meet,’ but at best, we have only seen each other twice—once during the anniversary ball and another time when Lady Hestia spoke with King Drangleic and all seven dukes.”

I was speaking about that time we went to that ball made in honor of the founding anniversary for the Kingdom of Artorias, and then latter was when Hestia formalized our alliance with Artorias.

When the man heard me say this, he released my hands and gave a hearty laugh, stroking his shaved chin with an interested look. He agreed, but the fact I knew his name despite never personally meeting was what impressed him. After all, as a princess’s retainer, why would I need to know the name of some marquess?

Well, the reason was this marquess was the ruler of Port Annencia, Artorias’s only harbor city, and the right-hand man of Duke Lecartiglio, the current Grand Duke of Military Affairs. As if I wouldn’t try to know the important personages of this country. And, thankfully, knowing who I was supposed to address helped me quite a bit when I had to find a place to dock four grimgarian-made ships full of beastmen slaves.

Once again, networking was king. It also helped that I borrowed Ellaine’s manatech bird to send a preemptive notice about our arrival so our ships wouldn’t be sunk by the cannons.

“The rebuild seemed to be going well,” I brought up, prompting the Marquess to agree, telling me the mages did a good job.

Looking around the city, I was currently in the port area of Annencia. About a month ago, this whole city was the recipient of a grimgarian attack—the same attack I had intended to thwart with my attack on “Grimmeirgon,” the grimgarian nation founded by the Ogre King, Kreigst Thunderslayer.

There wasn’t any rubble lying around and the many houses I noticed in this giant multi-layered city had already been repaired. Although it didn’t look like an attack had happened, it was easy to notice that the majority of the buildings looked brand new.

I looked up and took in the multi-layered view of the city, with the harbor town at the very bottom protected by giant walls built on the ocean floor right in front of the piers, with three gates allowing ships to enter. The second layer looked like the commoner’s part, as most of the buildings didn’t really catch your eyes aside from their sturdy design, probably made that way in case of tsunamis, sieges, or such. The third layer was the noble district, with their mansion homes, and at the very top, you had the palace itself.

If I had a camera, I would immortalize this sight. Just like Griffonpeak, I was astonished by this incredible scenery.

“Tasianna told me the city was in a terrible state when you left. I know mages expedite construction, but this is still spectacular,” I noted.

“Lady Duchess Morgiana sent her mages to help us out, and then we had Lord Duke Myrrdin doing the same. Both of them wish to have Lord Duke Lecartiglio’s support for the next Grand Duke selection,” he informed me. “Well, good for us! The Lecartiglio Duchy puts more focus on martial achievements, so if you’re a mage, you would rather go somewhere else. Extra hands made sure our kingdom’s only big port is back in business.”

So, when not around to help Hestia or their king, the nobles are being nobles. Well, to be expected.

However, this little greeting of ours had to stop when the Marquess sighed and looked behind me. “Well, I would love to show you my appreciation for helping my city by invading the grimgarians' base. We have a fantastic winery which uses a sea fruit to create wine even sailors cannot handle more than three glasses of, but … business, Madam. Sadly, business.”

His frown drew my attention to the four docked grimgarian ships, where I noticed a large commotion. The beastmen slaves were slowly walking down the exit ramp, only for them to be confronted by guards blocking their paths. Similar to entering a city through the gates, you had to get your identity verified before you could enter. While Asaka and I didn’t have any issues since we had our IDs, there were over 1000 beastmen who didn’t. Another logistical nightmare.

“Back away! Put your hands up!” One of the guards called out as multiple of his colleagues drew their spears at an approaching leonid.

The lion beastmen snorted with a gruff tone, cracking his hands at this threat. “I fought and killed more than my share of human fodder. You western humans are softer than the Empire’s, so how do you think you can stop us?”

“‘Hand ups?’ You drop your weapons, or I’ll ram my horn into your head! Not even your mother would recognize you!” a rhinoncerum growled. Despite being in nothing but rags and bits of rusted metal armor he picked up from some orc, he and many other of the warrior caste beastkin were not exactly being cooperative.

“Over a 1000 of them … have you heard how we have an immigration problem right now?” I nodded at the Marquess’s question.

My students had told us how beastmen slaves from the Atadoro Kingdom were fleeing into the Lecartiglio Duchy, causing a huge public safety issue as many were stealing and harassing the residents. It was a large enough of a problem that Duke Lecartiglio was forced to leave the capital and return to his home to handle the matter right before the demonkins attacked Griffonpeak.

“Tensions are high for dealing with any beastman. Our duchy and nobles were never big fans of them, but it has just gotten worse. Unless you’re a Caedhulen or Loatryxian, my seaman will dislike you, the residents will mistrust you, and our beastmen residents, those who've lived here in the city for years, will avoid you. With everything happening, they don’t want to associate themselves with foreign beastmen.”

[“In other words, you would need to push your authority onto them to let these thousand into the city,”] Belzac spoke with me, and I agreed.

It took us two days to reach Port Annencia by ship due to the beat-down state of them. Since they were carried by the wind and using the oars, instead of some sort of engine, it took us a while for the malnourished and weakened beastmen to row us over here. We had to have Shoyi push them during the night to even make it in time.

As mentioned, there were over 1000 beastmen spread on these four ships, including my pack and I. We required a ton of food, and while we fortunately got some rations by stealing from the grimgarians, we only had enough for a day until people began to go without meals. The slaves were already used to scraps of food, so they, thankfully, didn’t eat much. Water was also easy to make since a few of the beastmen were shamans and had [Create Water].

I couldn’t enter the subspace during this time since I was forced to act as the peacekeeper. People might have been celebrating being freed, but that also meant old tensions were reignited. I was used to caring for, at most, 100 students on a school trip. Not a 1000 children, teenagers, and adults all cramped on four separate ships with vastly different cultures I couldn’t understand, not to mention, some of them couldn’t even speak Common!

Regardless, I had to control them. They were here because of me, and my Divine Quest wasn’t over just yet. I still had to bring them to the dwarves so they could help them return to Carmaniate.

When I walked up to them, the normal, non-aggressive beastmen took a step back, separating themselves from the 47 warriors confronting the guards. The city’s guards noticed this and took a step back, giving me the space to confront them.

Some of the larger beastmen sub-races, like the leonid, rhinoncerum, and bovline, towered over me. I recognized a few who scorned me for running away from the Ogre King, but after our one night stay on the ship, most didn’t want to stand in my way as I walked over to their leader. Surprisingly, when I learned about this yesterday, I didn’t expect who this leader of theirs would be.

“Tell them to stand down, Shizar,” I ordered, prompting the person to reveal themselves behind two panthereons.

It was a loopridae woman.

“You think we’re the ones at fault here, Belzac’s Successor?” the rabbit beastman rebuked me, eying me in anger with her two elongated upper canines. She tilted her head, letting her one intact rabbit ear hang loosely to the side. “We ain’t taking this shit. We got the treatment from those demihumans, we ain’t ignoring it for humans. Especially not some soft westerners.”

Looking at rabbit beastmen—the loopridae—was a constant reminder that in the far past, there was some super strong rabbit monster that managed to turn into a humanoid with a skill before, ahem, making love with somebody. I have met some feisty rabbit monsters before, but I had not expected the leader of this group to be a rabbit. A rabbit who earned the respect of leonids, rhinoncerum, and many more.

Looking at this shorter woman, I noticed her human-like face had a deep gash scar underneath the left side of her head, exactly where her missing left ear was supposed to be. As a member of the warrior caste, she was a soldier and had fought the Empire before being enslaved by the grimgarians. A war vet, essentially, and her glare showed how undaunted she was, even towards me.

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“I thought I had already made myself clear. While I am on this Divine Quest to bring you back home, you will not cause trouble to the people on our way. You will not loot, kill, or otherwise vandalize their lives.” I crossed my arms, trying to act intimidating without using my skills. “You owe me your freedom.”

“And I am holding everybody back. You know what we did with humans directing their weapons at us back in Carmaniate? We strung them by the legs and dragged them on the hot ground of the savannah to make them regret what they did. They do this in the north? The snowfolks bury them in an early snow grave,” the brown-white furred loopridae spoke back. “We are being tolerant. You think we can fight cities like this?”

She gestured down at her body—thin like a stick, barely enough muscles to perform physical labor for the grimgarians. She was wearing a ragged one-piece dress made from linen, so used up there were holes which showed glimpses of her dirted, rough skin and fur. The other warriors were in the similar situation—just enough muscles to work, but not enough to fight for too long.

In their situation, even if they managed to unarm some of the soldiers and take some weapons, I knew the Marquess wouldn’t let this sit. I haven’t appraised any of the beastmen yet, but even if they had somebody who was over level 100, you couldn’t do much with numerous ailments weakening your body.

“You want us to stand down? You tell them to stand down, Belzac’s Successor. Carmaniate follows the strong, we respect those able to stand tall. We endured the grimgarians long enough because they beat us, but you are telling us to lower our heads for these humans?! We would rather die!”

“TO THE DEATH!” The over 40 warriors around her shouted in unison.

I failed. As such, I activated [True Wolven Bloodlust].

“Grk!”

And just like that, everybody was silenced, as my bloodlust was spread through my aura. The howling of wolves replaced their roars as the four original members of my shadow pack emerged from the various shadows around, heralding the appearance of mother, Varya, and Shoyi. Shere and Ajay, Rajah’s siblings, also showed up, trying their best to roar, but it only made them seem cuter. Thankfully, they were sitting on their growling mother’s back, a rank B tiger with fur as sharp as blades, so nobody could make fun of them.

I didn’t assume my true form as all of us stared the beastmen down. Carmaniate respected strength? Then so be it. I shall handle it like a Carmanian.

“I do not want to lecture you here; we are not friends, only acquaintances at this point. While I am trying my best to change, I like it best when things go smoothly. One part about it is to respect another culture or city whenever you travel. It makes sense.” I noticed my eyes were exuding red mist, something the even Shizar couldn’t help but gulp at. “Respect must be earned, I agree with that. It also works vice-versa, for them.”

I pointed at the guards, then the Marquess, and then to his bodyguards behind him.

“You are here as guests; these people are willing to grant you a safe haven because I asked them to. I asked them to give you a space to recuperate, so we can make our way towards the dwarves, allowing all 1357 of you to return to Carmaniate! If you disrespect them, you disrespect me!” I put my foot down, unwilling to let any beastman the chance to do whatever they wanted. It would be chaos. “Tell me, Shizar, can you control all 1357 who came on the boat? Can you ensure they will not cause any trouble?”

“… I cannot. The shamans do not look up to me, but to you. You are a Champion of Goddess Edna, after all, Belzac’s Successor. There are rogues amongst us, too, people I would not give a chance to creep out of their holes. Some warriors will also not agree with me, or you, because they come from a different tribe,” the loopridae answered as precisely as she could, just like a soldier reporting to a superior.

“Exactly. Do you think I can control all of you when I do not know anybody well enough to build rapport? It is impossible, even with my shadow pack. And you are asking me to have the people in this city to make room for you? Can I vouch that you will not blemish my reputation, Shizar?”

I then looked at the warriors around me. “Can any of you? Or, do you not respect me for doing what was correct? Dying against the Ogre King in a duel? For whatever reason. Honor? Glory? I do not share your vengeance, nor is my life worth throwing it away like a coward.”

“You dare call us cow—”

“Grrrk!” Just as a rhinoncerum was about to rebuke me, Uno already had his jaw around his head, ready to bite it off before he could react in time. With Uno’s fangs penetrating his skin, letting blood flow down his face and neck, the rhinocerum beastmen could only shudder as he glimpsed at his death.

“Yes. You are cowards,” I reiterated myself. “Tell me, is your life so worthless you wanted to throw it all away in a worthless fight? Even if I had an escape plan where my shadow pack could protect all of you? I managed to protect those who couldn’t fight and the shamans, but you warriors allowed yourself to die! I cannot stop suicides!”

I still remembered the blood-soaked harbor village filled with grimgarian and beastmen bodies. Most of the deaths were from the warriors, with a few being from enthusiastic youngsters. They overestimated themselves. Yes, your opponents were goblins and kobolds, but still healthy, well-fed goblins and kobolds with weapons.

“You should hold those who died in your heart, those who endured slavery with you, but to those who threw away their lives for honor or glory and nothing else? You should be ashamed. Heroes are those who have died to save others, to buy meaning with their deaths! Do not spoil their deaths with your selfishness!”

I took a deep breath there, realizing I was turning emotional from my memory of my human father. Another person I couldn’t forget was Eshe—Hestia’s Saintess mentor, and a good friend to her, who gave her life to save the people of a foreign country.

Once I recovered, I continued, “Call me a coward, but my life has more meaning than to die by the hand of a ‘king.’ My life has a higher calling to serve my mistress, a person I have dedicated my dream with! I have a duty to prop her up! I have a duty to live for her and our friend’s sake! … Can any of you say the same? Or are you only fueled by pitiful vengeance? You!”

I pointed at a bovline woman, the same one I chastised for trying to continue fighting to avenge her fallen partner.

“Will you die to join your partner? Are you willing to die in the grimgarians' land? Do you not have people back home?”

She went silent, looking around with her brows wriggling around in contemplation. “O-our children. My parents. Our siblings. Those we helped escape during the raid. I-I need to know if they are still alive.”

“And you wanted to die before knowing that?” I dug that point even deeper into her conscience.

Her eyes widened up, mouth agape. She clenched her hands, gritting her teeth together to hold back the anger and tears. “… I forgot. I forgot. It has been so long …”

And the same realization happened to the many beastmen around her, even those behind this warrior caste group began to reminisce about their past. The years of working had broken them down, fueling their hearts with only hatred. Now, free from bondage, they were allowed to remember the happiness they left behind in their home.

“My mate. H-has she forgotten about me?”

“… My son would only think of me as weakling. Beaten by grimgarians, enslaved, and left to die. I can’t allow that as his father!”

Whatever their reason, I could tell I was getting to them. As such, I turned to Shizar who had her eyes closed. When I called her name, she opened them and looked me straight into the eyes.

“I need your word and your assistance. It will be a long trip.”

Students rarely ever spoke with teachers about their inner problems or troubles. While I would regularly have students coming into the teacher’s room to ask me for advice or study tips, I rarely got to know them intimately. Even in my class, I hadn’t known Tatsuya’s hatred for Franz was so deep-seated. I didn’t know Franz met Tatsuya once along with his young cousin.

Even Kyouya, who couldn’t forgive himself for losing contact with his childhood friend just because his parents moved away. He felt betrayed that Tatsuya didn’t tell him about how his mother was sued and how their family was put in a precarious and controversial situation. Kyouya, though, understood why and always wanted to pay him back for it, developing some sort of martyr complex.

I mean, I didn’t even give Asaka a chance. I was so tunnel-visioned on making money, I was never able to think of her as anything but a risk to my raise and bonus. I was a terrible teacher who only thought of her students as nothing more than a financial boon. It took me dying, meeting Hestia and Tasianna, and then meeting my students in this world to understand it all.

I am pathetic.

However, at the same time, I also realized why student representatives were so invaluable. People the rest of the students could speak with about their troubles. Have a reliable student take care of the class’s problems while relaying everything to me. In addition, they understood themselves better than an outsider like me. Teachers in Japan were, after all, respected figures similar to a public servant. That also meant you couldn’t always confide with them.

Shizar, understanding the meaning behind my words, nodded. “I shall also introduce you to the other groups’ leader, Belzac’s Successor. I apologize. I acted out of line. I shall follow your orders as long as you lead us well. Ma’am!”

She suddenly saluted with the rest of the warrior caste.

Good.

With things settled, the identification process could continue. In the meantime, I also asked the Marquess if he could help me transport these beastmen to the dwarves, but he told me it would be quite expensive. I told him to put a tab on Aurora, only to have his assistant show me a recipe of Aurora’s debts made in Hestia’s name.

So, how much did yo— Hestia?! HOW did you …

“Madam?” Marquess Lifcio called out worryingly.

“Sorry, I think I just had a heart attack. A blackout.”

The amount of money Aurora owed people was so astonishing, my brain immediately pushed the number to the back of my head. It was so drastic, my heart skipped a beat or two. For some reason, I wanted to puke right about now. My stomach felt bad.

In any case, Marquess Lifcio had an open plain right in front of the city, next to a farming village, reserved for me and the beastmen to settle in for a few days. Allow them to gain some strength while doing some jobs. We would build the refugee camp there until all the slaves regained their energy and we could move up north, make our way to the dwarves.

Leaving the area for a while, I went into an empty alleyway where I opened the subspace. From inside it, Asaka walked out, looking squeaky clean. I couldn't help but feel happy to see her finally have the chance to take a bath, as it meant that I could finally have a proper bath of my own after like a week! I felt so grimy.

Sadly, Asaka wouldn’t let me have this without some bad news.

“Hestia was sent into a trap?!” I let out while keeping my voice quiet to prevent people from hearing me, only to use [Air Shield] around us to stop everybody from eavesdropping.

Asaka then explained to me everything Svena was told about the situation in Inkoran-Tazul, the capital of the dwarves. The rest of my students appeared there to hunt Hestia down, and for some unexpectant reason, chaos was currently wrecking havoc inside there as the Dwarven High King entered the dungeon to save Hestia from dragonslayers and whoever took over the dungeon she was diving into.

This was the reason why Hestia was gone for so long. Why she couldn’t enter her subspace to teleport people. She was trapped and probably had her [Room] runes broken. It was the worst situation.

“I’m going there,” Asaka stated. “However, Segawa, you need to stay here to make sure those beastmen can’t cause any trouble. If you leave now, all hell will break loose here. Don’t worry, the moment I find Hestia, I’ll have her teleport you to the dwarves.”

“Make sure you stay alive, alright!” I told her, trusting her with this mission.

“Tsk … You know you have this terrible personality of always putting pressure on me, right? It’s a real curse getting all these responsibilities.” She grimaced, reminding me of one of the reasons why I disliked her back on Earth. Now, though, I have accepted this part of her personality. “But … sure. Haruka will be in danger if Hestia dies.”

She then took out what looked like a small statue of an elven woman. She was wearing a long, black robe, covering up everything but her pale face as she gaze into a ghost-like object. This was Ilsaphone’s small portable shrine, given to Asaka for her to pray and speak to her.

She set it down and prayed for a moment. Minutes passed before she opened her eyes again.

“She told me if I visit the onnikai village, then she will officially recognize me as her Saintess,” she told me; meaning, she would fulfill her Divine Quest once she returned to the village.

In other words, her unique Job would be unlocked and she would gain the real effect of her title, adding another blessed to Aurora’s power. It felt a bit strange to say Asaka would become a power figure for our future.

“Then, I’ll be off,” she told me before we went back to the Marquess, requesting for him to have a griffon or hippogryph knight to fly her towards her destinations. Once they were off, I could only pray that everything would work out fine.

My shadow pack is ready to fight Aurora’s enemies, Hestia! Call for me!