novelraw Chapter 157
Chapter 157
Chapter 157
The Imperial Army’s proposal was simple.
In exchange for handing over the Silver Fox statue that Octosia possessed, they wanted the Cow Tribe to open the southern path they had blocked.
Although Octosia had lost all his strongholds, it seemed he intended to preserve whatever forces he had left.
But trading a single Divine Relic for the entirety of the Empire remnants?
Was this really a fair deal?
“If it’s the Cow Tribe, they’ll obviously refuse—”
-They seem determined to accept it.
“…They’re accepting this?”
-Everyone’s extremely excited about getting the Divine Relic back.
I thought the warlike Cow Tribe would never accept such a deal, but that was my mistake.
From what Rudick said, the majority were in favor of accepting it.
It’s not even the Cow Tribe’s Divine Relic—it’s the Fox Tribe’s—and they’re still accepting?
-Even if it belongs to another tribe, a Divine Relic is still a Divine Relic. Though the expressions differ, the reverence for Lord Bestia is sincere. They’ll try to receive it no matter what.
‘…I see. That’s unexpected.’
Hearing that rabbit’s explanation, it seemed the value of a Divine Relic was far greater than I had thought.
To the point that they were willing to release the entire Imperial Army just to obtain one.
The Beastmen really did operate on a different logic.
“Wait, stop the meeting for now. This isn’t something to decide so easily.”
But I had no choice but to stop it.
A Divine Relic was important, sure—but was it really worth going this far?
At worst, the Imperial bastards were already practically surrounded.
Now that we know Octosia has the Divine Relic, we could just wipe them out and take it.
-Hmm… does it work like that? But in this situation, wouldn’t it be better if the Imperial bastards head south?
‘Because they’ve already lost all their strongholds?’
-If they go south now, it’ll become complete chaos.
That wasn’t wrong.
Vines and New Level were already building their own power bases in Levelium, and if the Imperial Army got involved too, it would become a complete mess.
So if the goal was to check Vines or New Level, letting the Imperial Army go might be worth considering.
But even that didn’t sit well with me.
‘Still… the Empire and the Beastmen are fundamentally incompatible.’
They’re enemies with no room for compromise.
The two great territories can at least be negotiated with to some extent.
But letting a force that is guaranteed to become an enemy go free, leaving future trouble behind—it doesn’t suit me.
‘And more importantly… can we even make a proper deal with the Empire?’
-That’s…
‘You can’t guarantee it either, right?’
Octosia had obtained the Fox Tribe’s Divine Relic through Albert McBane.
He had stabbed Albert in the back after a brief alliance and confiscated it.
Naturally, he would also know that the Fox Tribe and Yuria had escaped to Johnson Territory.
Yet instead of negotiating with us, they were trying to trade the Divine Relic with the Cow Tribe.
That alone was suspicious.
This was the Cow Tribe’s territory, and they were indeed the main force here—but if you’re trading a Divine Relic, it would make more sense to negotiate with us.
‘The fact that they chose the Cow Tribe instead of me—a human—already feels suspicious. Aren’t they just planning to stab us in the back and run?’
-Isn’t it because they think you’ll do exactly that? Either way, it’s the Cow Tribe blocking their retreat.
‘…That might be true. Still, something feels off.’
No matter how I looked at it, I didn’t like this deal.
This was something that needed more time and consideration.
“Anyway, tell the Cow Tribe to put this deal on hold for now.”
-…Alright. I’ll deliver the message.
However, because the Imperial Army’s proposal was so shocking, while I was communicating with Rudick, I failed to notice that someone had come by and quietly left.
---
Maybe because I had too much on my mind, I couldn’t fall asleep.
If it was the Fox Tribe’s Divine Relic, then it was definitely something we had to recover.
‘…I might have to go over to the Cow Tribe camp.’
Still, the fact that the deal was with the Cow Tribe bothered me.
With those Cow Tribe guys, it wouldn’t be strange at all if they got stabbed in the back by the Empire and ended up crying in regret.
Beastmen tend to commit unimaginable reckless acts, so it might be better for me to go personally to keep them in check.
‘Just in case, I need to prepare thoroughly.’
And letting this drag on like this would be troublesome, so I also needed a decisive plan.
No matter what they say, I had no intention of letting the Imperial Army return to Levelium.
If necessary, I could use what I had prepared just in case.
I thought things would go smoothly and I wouldn’t need to go that far—but judging by how things were unfolding, I needed to be ready.
‘It’s better to keep this from Yuria.’
Apparently, even the Cow Tribe was excited at the thought of recovering the Divine Relic.
If even they were excited, then what about Yuria—the one it actually belongs to?
She might seem smart at first glance, but she’s surprisingly scatterbrained and prone to reckless behavior.
Just the fact that she had moved into the inner quarters as the returned lord’s wife proves she’s not exactly normal.
-…Isn’t the problem that you can’t take what’s right in front of you?
‘Shut up.’
“…What?”
Just as I was thinking I should keep this from Yuria—
A red-glowing Diary appeared before my eyes.
“What is this now?”
The Diary had remained silent even during the war with the Empire, yet now it suddenly appeared.
The timing was strange.
I let out a sigh without realizing it.
Still, since it appeared, I had to check.
With a bitter smile, I grabbed the Diary.
‘…This is the meeting hall? Why does the atmosphere feel like this?’
What the vision showed was a conference room.
Inside were me, Leisha, Limond, and Gariman—the Cow Tribe Chieftain.
The atmosphere was heavy, as if something bad had happened.
And in front of us stood a man who looked like an Imperial Knight, wearing a vile smile.
-We have captured the Fox Tribe Chieftain. Surrender quietly.
It was shocking news—Yuria had been captured by the Imperial forces.
“…What is this?”
Why would Yuria—perfectly fine—get captured by the Imperial bastards?
In this situation, is it even possible for them to capture her?
Unless Yuria did something insane like going into their camp herself.
‘…Wait. Something insane? Don’t tell me…’
Did she sneak into the Imperial camp the moment she heard about the Divine Relic?
Otherwise, this makes no sense.
‘No, more importantly—how did she even find out?’
-Did she overhear you?
‘Overhear? Ah… come to think of it…’
The place where I communicated with Rudick was filled with Mana Communication Crystals and Shamanic Message Papers.
Yuria was working as a communications runner in this war, relaying information from various places to me.
Which meant she frequently visited that location.
It wasn’t impossible that she went there to check the Shamanic Message Papers and overheard my conversation with Rudick.
‘Still, even so, acting that recklessly—…No, this isn’t the time.’
First, I needed to find Yuria.
If she heard about the Divine Relic, then there’s no telling what she might do.
I immediately ran toward her room.
Yuria’s quarters weren’t far from my own.
As the Fox Tribe Chieftain, she was staying in quite a nice room.
A space thoughtfully prepared by the Cow Tribe.
I rushed there in one breath and flung the door open without hesitation.
“Eek!”
And there she was—
Yuria, dressed in a tight-fitting black stealth outfit.
She flinched in shock as the door burst open.
That crazy woman had clearly been about to act the moment she learned about the Divine Relic.
Was she planning to infiltrate the Imperial camp and steal it?
‘Got you.’
Of course, she got caught before she could even start.
---
Caught wearing something like a kunoichi outfit, Yuria was quietly dragged to my room.
“What? I’m the Chieftain and a Shaman. I’m trying to retrieve our Divine Relic.”
She spoke as if she had done nothing wrong.
That confidence was enough to make me want to punch her.
And to make matters worse, the black stealth outfit suited her annoyingly well.
Her fox ears and tail matched perfectly with the form-fitting outfit that highlighted her figure.
‘I wish she’d just keep this as cosplay…’
She was the only Fox Tribe member here—what did she think she could accomplish alone?
Are Fox Tribe members still Beastmen at heart?
When they’re reckless, they’re completely beyond reason.
“Hmph. So what are you going to do about it? The Empire has our Divine Relic—how can I just sit still? And you—you were planning to reject the deal, weren’t you?”
She clearly knew about the Divine Relic.
Well, that much was obvious the moment she tried to act on her own.
She must have overheard my conversation with Rudick.
‘Still… she’s not stupid.’
She might be a bit scatterbrained and loose in the head, but she’s not dumb.
I figured it was worth hearing her reasoning.
“I was planning to use Shamanism to conceal myself and raid that Regent’s tent.”
“That’s it?”
“What more do you need? No matter how strong a Master is, they can’t detect Shamanic concealment.”
Shamanic concealment, huh.
Right—when we rescued the Rabbit Tribe, wasn’t there a time when a Fox Tribe member suddenly appeared out of nowhere?
One of Yuria’s subordinates.
He had been following us the whole time, yet I didn’t notice him at all until he revealed himself.
So this Shamanic concealment was definitely useful.
-But she still got caught, didn’t she?
In the end, she’d just get caught and become a prisoner, so what’s the point?
I needed to rein her in somehow.
So I explained that since the Imperial Army was already surrounded, retrieving the Divine Relic wouldn’t be difficult.
But—
“What if that Regent runs away with it? If a Master is determined to escape, can you stop them?”
“…Run away? Alone, abandoning his army?”
That made me pause.
She was asking whether we could stop Octosia if he abandoned his army and fled alone.
Would that Regent really go that far?
But the Empire was far too vile to be trusted.
They had been beaten badly in this war, but that was only because they underestimated the Beastmen.
Considering how despicable they were, abandoning their army and fleeing alone wasn’t impossible.
‘…This changes things.’
-We should accept the deal first.
‘Yeah…’
In that case, the best option would be to accept the deal, retrieve the Divine Relic, and then eliminate the Imperial Army afterward.
And for that, I would need to go to the Cow Tribe’s camp myself.
To respond flexibly to the Imperial bastards, I needed to be on-site.
“So, you want to retrieve the Divine Relic?”
“Yeah, we’ll make the deal. But no more reckless actions like this—”
“Hmph. You think I like doing this? Just wearing this outfit is embarrassing enough.”
Fortunately, she wasn’t completely unreasonable.
Once I said we’d proceed with the deal, she gave up on her reckless infiltration plan.
But there was something she refused to give up.
“I’m joining the deal too. That Divine Relic belongs to our tribe.”
“Do you really have to?”
“If the Empire hands over a similar-looking fox statue and claims it’s the Divine Relic, can you tell the difference?”
“…Hmm.”
She insisted on participating in the deal.
Saying she was the only one who could properly identify the Divine Relic.
And she wasn’t wrong.
The Empire would absolutely pull something like that.
Anyone who wasn’t from the Fox Tribe would have difficulty distinguishing a fake from the real thing.
Honestly, even I couldn’t sense anything special from other tribes’ Divine Relics.
Except for the one belonging to the Rabbit Tribe, of which I am the Guide.