For all those who are thinking about becoming vegan, this chapter might help you with a decision. If not, also not bad, I just came up with the idea during work. I personaly don't care about the topic.
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Clair POV:
Yure led us through a small hidden door and motioned us to follow him. A lot of soldiers were watching us while we walked through a military camp. Some were sitting and taking care of their weapons, while others were talking and eating at a large table.
“The captain is inside the fortress,”Yure said while we walked past the guards of the fortress.
“Don't you need to check us for weapons?” asked Ilza.
“Do you plan to attack us?” he asked back with a laugh.
“Ähm no, or do we?” Ilza said and then asked us.
“No, we might be here because they sent an army towards Kirk and Raska, but we're not here to stop them,” I answered.
“See, no reason to take your weapons. And we're inside a military camp, how much could you do anyway?” He said and stopped in front of a door. He then knocked a few times and opened it after the “Come in” came from inside.
“General! These three came out of the mountain and I deemed it necessary for you to see them,” Yure said with a salute and then stepped back.
The general sat behind a desk and looked pretty human for a demon, his only demonic features were two large horns at the back of his head. Come to think of it, he's the most human looking individual we've seen since coming out of the mountain. Every soldier looked more demonic than he. Some had wings, other a different skin colour or claws. But most of them had one or more of such features. Yure, by the way, has a dark red skin colour and green eyes with slitted pupils.
“Hello, my name is Drago and I'm the acting general of the fifth army of the Duren Empire and this base. Who are you and what do you want?” He asked after his introduction. His stats were in the 40.000 so he was no pushover.
“I'm Drull, this is Ilza and my Master Clair, we came here to investigate how your army came from Schwarzwald and why”, Drull said and motioned to each of us.
“Hmm, Drull? Are you the Arch Demon Drull?” He asked.
“Yes, you surely have heard of me and my achievements in the army,” said Drull proudly.
“No, not really. I wasn't born when you left, but I heard of an Arch Demon who lost a Master Pact fight against a small elfen woman,” he said with a grin. Drull was instantly depressed and sulked in a corner, while Ilza tried hard to not snicker. The emphasis lies on tried.
“So I assume that you are said elf?” Drago then asked and looked at me.
“Yup, did you hear that from Dria?”, I asked.
“Yes, general Dria mentioned your involvement when she came back.”
“Did she also mention that she lost in the same way as Drull? I'm now also her master,” I asked with a grin.
“No she did not, but be sure that I will remind her to mention it at the next grand meeting of us generals,” he answered with an equal grin.
“So as Drull said, we want to know why you attacked and then speak about a peace treaty between Duren and Aeron,” I said and brought the topic back on track.
“Then it would be best for you to go to our capitol and speak with the emperor,” said Drago.
“Sure, Drull do you know where it is?” I asked the still slightly depressed Drull.
“Did they change it in the last 2000 years?” asked Drull and got a denying nod.
“Then yes Master, I do know where it is.”
“Good. See you, Drago,” I said and Drago waved at us while we walked out.
“Can we stop at my parent's house before we met the emperor?”, asked Drull as we flew towards the capitol.
“Why not? I wanted to meet them for some time now. What do you think Ilza?” I asked Ilza who was in my arms because she has no wings like me or Drull.
“I have nothing against it. Hope we can eat something there, I'm starving,” was Ilza's reply.
“Mom is a really good cook,” assured Drull before he changed his course and we followed closely.
We flew over the land of Duren and it reminded me of the German word “Dürre”, which can be translated to drought. Duren was a dry country, almost a dessert. It would explain why the inhabitants are stronger. They have had to adapt to their environment.
“Drull, do you know why demons are what they are? I mean how did you came to be? Humans, at least those on my home planet, developed from apes. But what was your origin? Or is it the influence of mana?”, I asked and noticed a herd of monster who were chased by another herd of monster. Probably the natural food chain.
“I'm not so sure myself. Some think that we were created by a god, others think that it was the influence of mana. Some places in this world have a higher mana satiety than others. Most of them are in Duren and Schwarzwald. I think it sounds logical that we were changed by mana. We all have some similarities with humans. It could be possible that our ancestors left the main human camp and then changed according to their environment,” explained Drull.
“You mean that the elfs got their high mana reserves and pointed ears because they had to live in a thick forest with lots of mana? Or that the dwarfs are so small and strong because they lived their lives as minors?”, asked Ilza.
“Yes, the best example are the beastkin. Each clan is adapted to their specific environment,” said Drull and I could only agree. Either that or something created them like the god did with me. I mean it isn't possible to create live, humans on earth constantly created new species through their breeding. Sure they stayed under one subcategory, but they still were a different species.
We spent the rest of our flight in silence and reached a ranch with a large house on the top of a hill.
“That's my families human ranch,” said Drull proudly.
“Your parents are raising humans?” I asked interestedly.
“Oh yes, the best human meat and milk you'll find throughout the whole Duren Empire”, answered Drull still proudly.
“Interesting,” I muttered and we descended. The house almost looked like your average American southern states farm domicile.
Drull opened the front door and walked inside.
“MOM?! I'm home and brought friends!”, shouted Drull as he walked through the entrance room and inside a living room.
“Is that you Dru? I'm in the kitchen,” came the reply from a mature sounding female. We followed Drull and shortly after reached a large kitchen. A woman who looked like she was in her late forties stood inside. She had two large horns on her forehead and tugged in wings on her back. Her skin was also red and she was standing at the oven and cooked something that smelled good, albeit not as good as chicken.
She looked at us and smiled as she saw Drull. She then put her stirring spoon away and hugged Drull with a happy expression.
“It's good to see you sweety, how do you do?”, she said and released her hug.
“I'm fine mom, these are Ilza and my Master Clair”, said Drull with an embarrassed undertone.
“Oh my, so you're the person who managed to defeat both my children?”, she asked amused and scrutinised me, “Yes,yes, you are indeed strong”, she then said with a nod.
“Honey? I heard someone, is Dria back?”, said someone with a deep manly voice.
The owner of the voice came around the corner of a door which led out of the kitchen to the outside. It was a large man who looked exactly like Drull in his demon form, just a little older and with some scars.
“Yes dear, Dru is back and he brought his friend and Master”, answered Drull's mother.
He looked at us and then focused his gaze on me. “So you are the woman who forced my dear little princess in a Master-Subordinate relationship? Where she is forced to do all your biddings? I demand you to release her, fight me and do as I said when I win”, he said and rushed at me, only to get stopped by the wooden spoon of Drull's mother. The man impacted on the floor and left a dent before he fell into blissful sleep.
“Sorry, my husband is sometimes a little hotheaded. And it sadly seems like my children both inherited this trait from him. But where are my manners, my name is Drana and this brute on the floor is Dronro” said Drull's mother apologetically.
“It's okay, nice to meet you. I'm Clair and as Drull said got in a Master-Subordinate relationship after freeing him from the dungeon he was trapped inside”, I said and smiled at her.
“Is it a coincidence that you all have similar names?”, asked Ilza.
“You don't know how many people ask the same. It's only half a coincidence, my name and the name of my husband are only similar by chance. But we decided to name our children similar to us. This way they are easier recognised as our children and it's also easier to remember”, said Drana and continued to cook while speaking to us.
“Urgh, what happened?”, asked Dronro who was slowly waking up.
“Nothing dear, you just rushed to conclusions like you always do”, said Drana as if it was a common occurrence, which it probably was.
“Oh okay, what was the reason?” he then asked and sat down at the dining table that stood in the middle of the kitchen.
“Dru here and his friends. You demanded of Clair that she has to release Dria from her Master-Subordinate relationship”, Drana said calmly.
“Ah, right, release her!”, demanded Dronro and looked at me with a heated glare.
“She's the one who attacked me and demanded me to release Drull. She also said that she will become my subordinate when she loses, which she did. But why aren't you asking the same for Drull?”, I said and also sat down, Drull and Ilza followed suit.
“Drull is able to watch himself, but my little princess always gets lost and I fear that evil men will take advantage of her friendly and helpful personality,” he said in a fearful voice. A voice that dripped with the statement of “Overly Protective Father”.
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“Dria is old enough to fight in the army, so she is also old enough to decide what she wants to do”, said Drana in a tone that suggested that it wasn't the first time she said that.
“But war is different, she doesn't have to talk with these evil men when she kills them”, said Dronro as a counter argument but was ignored by his wife.
“Do you stay for dinner, Dru?”, asked Drana in a tone that sounded more like an order than a question.
“Yes mom, I told them how good of a cook you are”, answered Drull.
Drana smiled at the compliment and then said, “We have human child steak for dinner, I hope it is to your liking.”
“Was it a girl?”, I asked.
“Oh no, we don't butcher the female cubs they are used for the milk production. We only butcher them when they aren't able to give enough milk. Why?”, answered Drana.
“Oh nothing”, I answered.
“Master doesn't like to kill female children, she thinks they are cute and adorable”, answered Drull.
“Yes, they are quite cute sometimes”, agreed Drana. “Nerveless, they are only cattle. Never make the mistake to name your food, it only makes it harder to kill them when it's time for the butcher”, advised Drana wisely.
“Do you want to pet some?”, she then asked.
“I'd like to. I'm interested in the whole concept of using humans as cattle”, I answered.
“Dear, please show Clair the stable and give her a tour”, said Drana in a sweet voice.
“Yes honey, follow me”, said Dronro a bit grumpily but stood up and motioned me to follow nonetheless.
“I'll stay here and help Mrs. Drana”, said Ilza. Drull kept sitting and watched his mother cooking.
“These are our stables, we currently have one male for breeding, twenty-five adult females, four young females and three young males. We mostly sell the males quickly to other farms who will then raise them for the meat.
Do you want to see the young ones?”, he explained while walking to a large stable.
“I'd like to, how do you breed them?”, was my answer and he led me to a smaller stable on the back side of the larger one.
“Many generations of breeding with the best males and females for producing milk led us to the current product we managed to produce. The milk we produce is fresh, high in quality and tastes good”, he said in a business man tone.
“I see, so it's not different from breeding pigs or cows?”, I asked.
“Indeed, the process is the same. We managed to create a species that is able to bear children after 9 years. They are then able to produce milk for 20 more years before we have to butcher them,” He further said and opened a door that led us into the smaller barn. The inside was dimly lit and had two separated areas. Both areas were filled with hay for a softer floor. One area was filled with boys who looked to be around 4 to 8 and the other had girls ranging from 5 to 12. They laid down and were sleeping or looked just around.
“They don't act like normal humans”, I said and stepped to the fence of the female area.
“That is only natural, these humans are raised for producing milk. We are separating them from their mothers only a few days after birth and then raise them with a bottle. They don't have a life like normal humans and aren't meant to. They only know this barn, me and my wife”, he explained and fetched a few apples.
He then put the apples in a manager and the girls came and began to eat the apples.
“You can pet them if you want”, suggested Dronro and petted one of the girls.
“This one will be an adult in a few weeks. She will then breed with our male and bear children. After that, she's ready to give milk. We repeat the process each year for a guaranteed milk supply”, he further said and pointed at the twelve-year-old looking girl.
“I see”, I said and petted one of them. She didn't react to me and kept eating, like an animal. She's probably just that, an animal. Humans and other intelligent beings are influenced from birth and act accordingly to their surroundings. It's only natural to act that way if they are raised for it.
It surely is possible to mould a person to your liking if you start shortly after his/her birth.
“It's a hard job, feeding them, keeping them healthy and breeding. But it pays off and we can live from the money we get by selling their milk and meat”, Dronro then said and gave the boys who were waiting at their manager something to eat before walking through another door, while saying, “Come, I show you how we're milking the females”.
I followed and we stepped inside the larger barn, it to was filled with hay. Women with ages ranging from 14 to 25 were inside and completely in the nude. The barn was warm enough for them to stay naked.
“They are trained to our commands. Let me show you”, he said and then walked over to a corner, where he grabbed a bucket. He then walked up to a woman and said, “Milking time”.
The woman looked at him with a blank face, grabbed the bucket and then began to milk herself.
“This way we have less work. It's good that humans are more intelligent than other animals, that and they have thumbs”, he said with a laugh and we watched as she proceeded to squeeze the milk out of her nipples.
“A lot of people would find this either grotesque or kinky”, I commented and keep watching with interest. How might they feel? Is their personality established enough to have a negative opinion to this live style? Is this any different from what we do with cows? I mean the process is the same, the only difference is that cows aren't able to speak with us. Well, these women aren't the speakers either.
“So what do you think?”, asked Dronro and brought me out of my thoughts.
“What do you mean?”, was my reply.
“Most people, who didn't grow up in Duren, are disgusted how we handle humans”, he explained.
“This isn't the first or second generation, and they don't know anything else. I don't differ between these humans and other animals. It surely would be possible to raise one of the youngest children like a normal human, however, this is also true with any other intelligent individual. Our environment determines how we act and what we think. I might have grown up between humans, but I'm pretty fucked up in the head, so I see no problem with this. Milk isn't good for us anyway, meat even less”, I said and he looked at me with a new gained look of interest and respect?
“It's remarkable to stay this level-headed in such a situation. Please tell me what you meant with not good for us”, he said after a moment.
“Do you know the illness called cancer?”, I asked but he shook his head.
“Hmm, let me explain. Your body consist out of many small things called cells. Each of these cells have a specific purpose, like the blood or your skin. They all also have a living span, some only a few minutes, other years and a few even your whole live time. They reproduce by copying themselves. The copy then leaves their “home” and does it work, while the original produces more copies. But there is a problem with a copy, it can be flawed. This flaw is called cancer and makes the copy build it's own copies without a limit. These new cells can then hinder or harm the good ones and this can result in death.
And here comes meat and milk into the picture. Both have things inside that let the body build more copies and more copies mean that the chance for a flaw is higher, which will then, as I said, result in cancer and death”, I said and he looked a bit unbelievingly.
“How do you know all this and do you want to say that meat and milk are poisonous for us?”, he asked.
“I'm not from this world, my world had way more technology and was able to analyse the body of a human way beyond anything what is possible on this planet. And no meat isn't poisonous in itself. Only high amounts of it. Around 470 gram are healthy for an adult human a week. I don't know about demons”, I answered.
“Why do you know that about humans and not about elfs?”, he then asked.
“Easy, I was once a human”, I said with a smile and walked back to the kitchen, leaving a stunned Dronro behind.
Drana just finished the meal as I walked in and we all sat down. Dronro came ten minutes later, he said he had to feed the cattle.
The steak was good, perfectly cooked and with potatoes and vegetables as a side dish. I took a cake out of my inventory for desert and we had a nice evening with lots of laughs and giggles. Drana especially liked the story in which Drull was beaten by a desk I forgot in the slums of Turonis. I found out about that from Renè. Drull was still sour about it and countered with my reaction to the spider from the abandoned mountain city.
“So what are you doing here in Duren?”, asked Drana at one time.
“We came here to find out how the demons attacked from the western border or Kirk and Raska and then want to propose an alliance between Duren and Aeron”, I answered.
“Then you have to meet the emperor, he's a nice guy. I can bring you to him”, said Dronro.
“That would be nice, last time we wanted to meet royalty we had to knock out a bunch of guards”, I said with a laugh.
“Yeah, and the same before that”, said Ilza between her own laughs and the rest also started to laugh.
“Kinda sounds like it was interesting, you sure I should come with you? I mean all good things are threes”, he said.
“Well, we could sneak in and knock them out while we do that”, suggested Drull.
“Yeah, Varus face will surely be hilarious if we surprise him with a sneak attack. Let's mimic the form of humans, it would only increase his surprise that a bunch of weak humans managed to sneak up on him”, said Dronro and we all agreed.
We talked a little bit more and then went to sleep. Tomorrow will surely be a funny day.