"Fucking humans..."

I curse silently to myself as I take a bite of the sour fruit they dare to call 'food'.

When I look around me, I only see faces of those who had given up.

I'm the only one here, who is still determined to get revenge.

It's pathetic...

Even the Nouria foxman clan head has the expression of resignation.

I always thought he was just pretentious, but to give up and abandon your own family?

It grosses me out...

I take another bite as I look outside of the cage into the darkness.

Darkness isn't really an issue for me, though.

Shadow wolfmen have better eyesight than the regular black kind.

But even with better eyesight, I can't see through the curtain near the entrance.

Sigh...

Why isn't anyone from my clan here with me anyway?

I'm sure my fellow people would never lose hope.

Did they purposely place me with those here to break my spirit?

That sounds just like something these humans would do.

Tch...

Maybe I shouldn't have broken that bitch's leg...

If I didn't do that, she wouldn't have sold me back and I would have a better chance of escaping.

But with the stronger contract on me now, I can't even attempt to escape.

Shit...

I sink my teeth into the fruit again as I frown at the others in this cage.

I hate being near such weaklings.

Where did all of their pride go?

They act all high and mighty during negotiations, but when things go sour, they all turn meek.

Suddenly, my ears pick up some sounds from beyond the curtain.

They are the sounds of somebody talking.

It seems that there is a new 'customer' to buy one of us.

A moment later, the curtain is drawn away and light is let in.

Then, two figures enter.

One of them is the fat and ugly slave dealer.

The other one is a suspicious hooded human.

Although it's dark and hard to see, I can tell it's a female.

"Is there anyone to your liking here?"

Prompted by the slave dealer, the hooded figure scans everyone inside and stops on me.

After a few seconds of silence, the human points at me and faces the slave dealer.

"I want to ask him a question."

"A question...?

Go ahead..."

In response to the figure's voice, the slave dealer momentarily furrows his brows before allowing it.

A question?

What could a filthy human possibly want to ask me?

I bet she will just want to taunt me in some way.

She comes closer to the cage and partially reveals her face before silently asking.

"Do you know a beastman girl called 'Reiza'?"

?!

Reiza?!

Does she know her?!

I almost jump from my sitting position while tossing aside the fruit and tightly grab the iron bars.

That, however, triggers the contract's punishment and my stomach starts to hurt.

But I clench the bars even tighter to endure it.

"What...do you know...about Reiza..."

But I couldn't endure it for long and eventually staggered and hit the ground.

While I was lying on the ground and looking up at the human, I saw a faint smile on her face.

"I'll buy him."

Without much of a delay, the woman announced she would buy me.

Who is she?

How does she know Reiza?

"Are you sure?

This one is very aggressive as you can see.

He even went against the contract and broke his previous owner's leg."

"Don't mind it."

"...as you wish."

After she confirmed it, she looked at me and put on a smile.

"We'll talk later, okay?"

The pain didn't let me answer, so I just glared at her.

Just what does she know?

Is she going to show me Reiza's corpse and laugh at me?

Shit...I hate humans so much...

|= A little while later =|

After I was contracted to her, she lead me to a carriage of sorts.

The strange thing was that she didn't put shackles on me nor did she put me in a cage.

Is she taunting me?

"Well then...

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Let's get to the point.

Seeing as you reacted to the name 'Reiza', I assume that you know her."

"What did you do to her?!

Where is she?!"

The woman squints her eyes into a frown before sighing.

"Alright then...

First, calm down.

We are not enemies."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

She is trying to gain my trust now?

What is her purpose?

"Reiza isn't someone we want to make an enemy out of.

If you are someone close to her, the same will apply to you."

...what is she blabbering about?

They don't want to make an enemy out of Reiza?

Weren't they holding her hostage?

"So first, I need to know who you are and what relation you have to Reiza.

Otherwise I won't tell you anything more."

Who am I?

What relation I have with her?

"My name is Renar!

And Reiza is my niece!

I took care of her since she was little!"

"N-niece?"

Her eyes widened before a smile appeared on her face.

"In that case, nice to meet you sir Renar, my name is Inette."

"I apologize for the treatment of you and your close ones."

...what's with that?

Why is she suddenly sucking up to me?

"Well, from the looks of it, you don't know what has become of your niece."

What is she trying to say?

What has become of Reiza?

"Long story short, she is now classified as an ancient monster."

...

My niece is what?

|= ??? =|

Unbelievable.

No, really.

Why should I believe all of that?

Trapped in a dungeon and being sent back in time?

Ridiculous...

...

But the way she apparently acted is a lot like her.

She kept going with firm determination and eventually got out.

Could all of that nonsense be true...?

...but she didn't even remember her origins...

Did that 'god' also mess with her memories?

"And that's about all we know about her.

So, will you be willing to tell us about her as well?"

I look at the woman who is still smiling.

Something irritates me about that smile...

But I guess I can tell them a little bit about Reiza.

If I don't, they might doubt my identity.

And since they appear to be afraid of Reiza, they won't handle me poorly if I prove myself.

"My brother, Reiza's father, and his wife sacrificed their own lives in a war with Nouria foxman tribe.

That was when Reiza was only four years old.

From then on, I took it on myself to raise her.

But she did not take their deaths too well.

She became very unsociable and barely spoke to anyone.

And also, for some reason, she became more ferocious and aggressive than any other kid.

I still remember when the other kids brought her back in tatters after she fought a wild boar to death.

She could have just ran away when it attacked them, but she tenaciously battled with it.

I thought, that that tenacity of hers would one day bring her death.

But..."

I look the woman straight into her eyes.

"If what you said is true, it just might have saved her."

As I recall the next part, I close my eyes and tighten my fists.

"But then, that night came.

Somehow, those fuckers managed to pick off our village's guards without sounding the alarm.

From then on, they used some darts coated in paralyzing poison and captured or killed everyone in the village.

I have no idea what they did to Reiza or what happened to her afterward."

"Is that so..."

She put her hand on her chin and seemed to be thinking about something.

But I interrupted her.

"And you still didn't tell me who you people are.

Who do you work for?"

The woman pointed her eyes at me again before speaking.

"Well...

The king."

The king...?

"Don't worry.

The king himself will probably want to meet you.

You can ask more questions then."

...

The king, she says...

The leader of humans.

If I really get to meet him, then maybe all of this about Reiza is true.

Just how much has she changed I wonder?