novelraw Chapter 89
Chapter 89
Chapter 89
The daughter of the Master of the Level Merchant Group, Yuria McBane, was a breathtaking beauty that would leave anyone speechless.
Her delicate features looked as though they had been painted, and her hair was as smooth as silk.
Her skin was so flawless that I almost unconsciously reached out to touch her cheek.
Even though she was dressed in a silk gown that didn’t reveal much of her figure, it still couldn’t hide the dazzling curves of her body.
“Really, she is beautiful.”
I have to admit her looks. She’s a top-class female.
Not even a lioness or a female knight could compete with her appearance. Foxes were always like this.
Their tribe had something about them that bewitched others.
Coincidentally, there were quite a few beauties around me.
Of course, Leisha was one, and Irene was also an extraordinary beauty.
Even among the Crimson Comet and the warrior women of the Black Wolf Tribe, there were many beautiful ones.
Because of that, I prided myself on having rather high standards when it came to women, but this was something else.
Her very presence was different from the way she carried herself.
Even though she had fainted and lay unconscious, she still exuded a dangerous allure.
She had been captivating even in her human form, but in her Fox Tribe form she was even more breathtaking.
Her lustrous silver hair and tail were irresistibly enchanting.
Even I, who prided myself on being relatively detached from such desires, felt something stirring as I looked at the unconscious Yuria (in fox form).
Treat her first.
‘Ah, right. First, the internal injuries?’
I had heard that Yuria used some kind of great shamanic spell or something to escape from the castle.
There had also been talk about poisoned arrows.
Whatever it was, her body had taken quite a toll.
“It’s clearly internal injuries. And also poisoning.”
There was only one method to treat someone who had collapsed from both internal injuries and poisoning.
Our territory’s specialty: the Suppository Potion.
However, in Yuria’s case, her internal injuries were so severe that an ordinary Suppository Potion wouldn’t be very effective.
“Which is why it has to be the Special Suppository Potion.”
After the usefulness of Suppository Potions had been proven, we succeeded in ‘suppository-fying’ all of the potions in our territory.
As the lord, I carried not only the Special Potions but also antidotes and various remedies in suppository form.
This was so they could be used immediately in an emergency.
“But do I really have to do this myself again? I’m getting déjà vu…”
Just accept it.
“Ugh, seriously.”
It wasn’t unfamiliar for me to use a Suppository Potion on an unconscious woman.
I had already done it once with Irene.
With as calm a touch as possible, I skillfully lifted her dress and swiftly administered the Suppository Potion.
The key point here was to keep repeating to myself that this was purely a medical act and to remain honest with myself about that.
Since I had already done it once, I was able to finish this procedure without much disturbance, cleanly and efficiently.
“Wake up soon and explain what in the world is going on.”
There was far too much I needed to hear from her.
“Lord! How is she?”
As I stepped out of the wagon, a Fox Tribe man rushed toward me.
He must have wanted to check on Yuria’s condition.
“I stopped the urgent danger for now. She’ll need some time to recuperate, though.”
“That’s truly a relief. She was unconscious, and we couldn’t do anything.”
“That’s a tricky situation, yes. The only flaw of the potion is that. Anyway, what do you plan to do now?”
“First, the young lady must wake up. Only then can we decide anything.”
“I see. But since you were headed this way, your destination must have been Johnson?”
“Yes, that’s correct. We planned to head toward Johnson Territory with the members of the Merchant Group.”
“As I thought.”
That explained it.
The movement of such a large group in this direction could mean only that.
I didn’t know the exact reason, but it seemed Yuria had planned to come to us.
But that was her side’s plan, and from ours, it wasn’t something we could decide lightly.
It wasn’t just one or two people but hundreds, and it was a group with its own leader. Taking them into our territory wasn’t a simple matter.
I had thought of them simply as refugees and considered accepting them, but if they were a group with a leader, then it required serious consideration.
This was something to discuss once Yuria woke up.
“For now, let’s return to the territory. We’ll talk after Yuria wakes up.”
“Yes, understood.”
Still, the immediate plan was to move toward our side and get the situation in order.
Judging from the atmosphere, the chase must have been intense.
Everyone was exhausted, and there were quite a few injured, so even if they were to leave again, they would need time to recover.
So for now, it was best to return to the territory and wait for her to wake up.
On the way back to the territory, I was able to hear from the Fox Tribe man about why their destination had been Johnson.
But honestly, what I heard was somewhat baffling.
“So at first, you thought of Haken? That’s why you sent Ninetale, who was practically Yuria’s personal mercenary band, to Haken?”
“Yes, and the plan was to approach the Lord of Haken by winning the Martial Arts Tournament and request communication with the young lady. After all, the decision ultimately rested with the two lords.”
“But you lost.”
“Hah, a Master participating in such a contest… Our mercenary was quite a strong one.”
“Well, yes, that was a bit much.”
Yuria’s first candidate for refuge had been Haken.
But since Haken wasn’t a region where she had business ties, she had no connection to the lord.
So she had sent Ninetale to participate in the Martial Arts Tournament to at least establish a link, but when Sir Roman entered the competition, the plan had to change.
‘So that mercenary who made it to the finals was Yuria’s person, Ninetale.’
I couldn’t tell from so far away. The scent didn’t carry that far.
‘True. Still, the name Ninetale is certainly very fox-like.’
Is it? I wouldn’t know. We don’t have nine-tailed foxes in this land.
That mercenary who had fought Sir Roman in the finals had certainly been a skilled one, enough to earn a nod.
And hearing now that his name was Ninetale, it made sense. It was indeed a very fox-like name.
“We planned to reestablish contact once the tournament was over. But then, we saw it.”
“Saw what?”
“We saw the Lord rush in with a sword for the sake of his woman and utterly crush the champion.”
“Ah, yes. That happened. But what of it?”
“The moment we saw that, the public sentiment in headquarters shifted entirely toward Johnson Territory.”
“…Wait. Why?”
Apparently, while Haken had been the first choice for settlement, Johnson Territory had also been a strong candidate.
It was geographically easier to connect with the beastmen in the north and supplied high-quality meat.
However, because it was too close to the Levelium region and smaller in scale, it was pushed to second place, as it couldn’t guarantee safety if a direct threat arose.
But after seeing me act in Haken, their view had shifted, and Johnson Territory became their first choice for settlement.
“So, after directly witnessing my martial strength, you all decided I was trustworthy. Is that it?”
“Of course, it was important that the Lord was a Master. And the Black Lion beside you as well. But more than that……”
“More than that?”
“It was moving to see you recklessly put yourself at risk for the sake of your woman.”
As expected, foxes are foxes.
‘And what does that even mean?’
Foxes place great importance on affection. You could say they are romantic.
“Really?”
Some even say the reason foxes can transform into humans is to bond with them. Many of them do end up with humans. Above all, they fall in love easily.
‘That’s quite a strange story.’
Listening to the explanation, they seemed like a peculiar race.
I couldn’t understand why that was such a winning point, but to the Fox Tribe, it must have been quite impressive.
And to think they fall for humans so easily.
It was hard to picture Yuria, who had rejected countless proposals, actually falling for a human.
Still, if that was a trait of the Fox Tribe, I just had to take it as it was.
After all, whether it was the Rabbit Tribe, the Fox Tribe, or the Lion Tribe, as someone who wasn’t a beastman, it was impossible for me to understand them completely.
I couldn’t even properly understand Rudick, who was a fellow human—how could I ever fully understand beastmen?
Of course, Rudick was rather unusual even among humans.
And isn’t all of this the arrangement of Lord Bestia?
‘You’re springing worship on me now?’
In the end, wasn’t it after seeing their master wreak havoc that they came here? And the fact that you were able to wreak havoc was thanks to Lord Bestia’s blessing.
‘Wait… is that really how it works?’
So, me being sent to Haken had been for this?
After going in circles, it turned out that a fox beastman had shifted their steps toward Johnson Territory. It was hard to argue against the rabbit’s words.
And it was also true that the Fox Tribe had deeper ties with Bestia than a human like Irene.
‘But can you really draw such a big picture from this? That seems like a stretch.’
The more I thought about this diary, the more questions only piled up.
“It would be best if you heard the details directly from the young lady.”
“Alright, I understand. Then I’ll hear the full story from her directly.”
I didn’t know the finer details yet, but one thing was clear: these people intended to settle in our territory.
For now, that was enough. With that in mind, I led the group toward the territory.
“My, there are more people than I expected.”
“Right? Seems like a lot of them were hidden in the wagons.”
What I realized while leading the group was that the number of people was far greater than I had imagined.
The wagons I thought were just for cargo were actually crammed full of people, their interiors covered with boards so they couldn’t be seen.
When I asked the Fox Tribe man, he said the number was close to two thousand. The number was so large, I thought I had misheard him.
But even after asking several times, the answer was the same.
“Well, isn’t that a good sign? Even while fleeing, they prioritized saving people over wealth.”
“That’s true. They really did escape with nothing but their lives.”
If those wagons were filled with people and not possessions, then Yuria truly had escaped with only her life.
Human lives came before wealth.
Anyone would say that was obvious, but reality often turned out different.
Especially since the merchant groups around Levelium were ruthless enough to make even the Lion Tribe shudder.
Perhaps Yuria had been able to make that decision precisely because she was a beastman.
Their way of thinking was different from humans.
“Oh? You’re suddenly saying you need houses built?”
“Yes. Please just build some temporary shelters for now. Nothing has been decided yet.”
“Haha, leave it to me. I’ll have them up in no time.”
As soon as we arrived at the territory, I asked Elder Benetrang to build temporary lodgings.
Even if their joining wasn’t confirmed yet, they still needed a place to rest.
Of course, with the current weather, they could have camped outside around the wagons without too much trouble.
But since there were many children among them, I felt it necessary to show at least that much consideration.
During the day it was warm, but at night it became rather chilly in Johnson Territory this time of year.
Perfect weather for children to catch colds.
After requesting the temporary shelters, I gathered the leadership of the territory for a meeting.
The final decision would be made after Yuria woke up and I heard everything from her directly, but I needed to collect the opinions of others beforehand.
“The real question is, who were those people?”
“Exactly.”
“Imperials. That’s certainly no ordinary matter.”
The sudden appearance of the Empire was already a problem.
“What about the Level Merchant Group? If she suddenly left them, doesn’t that mean there’s trouble with them too?”
“That we can’t know. We have no idea what the situation is in Levelium.”
Not knowing what had happened to the Level Merchant Group only deepened the dilemma.
“But isn’t any relationship with the Empire over now, anyway? We slaughtered so many of their knights.”
“Even without that, the Empire isn’t worth talking to.”
“The Empire and pigs are one and the same.”
“True, there’s no dealing with them.”
One thing was clear: no one here had any intention of maintaining good relations with the Empire.
That went for the beastmen who already ground their teeth at the very mention of the Empire, as well as the existing residents of Johnson Territory.
Even Butler Harold didn’t look pleased, which showed how irreconcilable the two sides were.
‘See? Even today.’
The moment we spotted Imperials, every knight instantly shifted into battle mode.
This was in the DNA of the people of the Ribella Peninsula.
When it came to the Empire, their instinct was to kill first.
Indeed. The only good Imperial is a dead Imperial. Even Lord Bestia despises them.
If even the rabbit said that much, nothing more needed to be said.
“The Empire must feel the same way. The point is, Imperials have appeared in this region, haven’t they?”
Something about the situation was clearly ominous.