Chapter 38

Soma stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

After somehow finishing the shocking dish in the fantasy world, Soma felt like praising himself for still being able to apply the "mottainai spirit" (the spirit of not wasting anything) that had been praised worldwide, even in this foreign world. He walked to the carriage with a slightly unsteady gait, and Hopkins watched his back with a wry smile.

"Well, I'm going to the guild to greet them. What about you two?" Hopkins said. It wasn't a good idea to bring unrelated people to a guild with a strong sense of camaraderie, especially since Soma and Shemul could potentially bring disaster to the town. If it were discovered that he had brought such people to the guild, it could severely damage the guild's reputation. Hopkins could still make excuses about his family being held hostage, but he couldn't involve the merchant guild.

Feeling the sentiment in Hopkins' tone, Soma thought for a moment and said, "We want to walk around the town a bit. Is that okay?"

"This carriage is my precious property, so please don't break it," Hopkins replied. He would feel more at ease if they waited in the carriage, but there was no choice. If they broke the carriage, he would make them pay a hefty compensation, Hopkins firmly decided.

However, Soma said something unexpected. "Shemul and I want to walk around the town. Is that really not okay?"

"What do you mean? What about this carriage?"

"Isn't Hopkins going to ride in it to the guild?"

The conversation wasn't quite syncing. Hopkins paused, calmed himself, and organized his thoughts before speaking to Soma as if to a child who didn't understand.

"Listen carefully. The jar on the back of the carriage—"

It contained the military funds taken from the fort.

"It's too heavy to carry, and it's not something that should be seen by just anyone. The town is dangerous, too."

Not knowing who might be listening, Hopkins used vague terms to explain how dangerous the town was, even if it didn't look like it.

However, Soma's response was completely unexpected. "Yes, that's why can't Hopkins keep it for us?"

Even Hopkins, who was usually composed, forgot about his hostage situation and blurted out his honest thoughts. "Are you an idiot?"

He hadn't seen the contents, but the jar likely contained at least a thousand Agnises (silver coins, equivalent to 100,000 Dinars). With that much money, one could open a shop in the city or live a life of luxury in the capital for a year with slaves. The hostage situation was irrelevant; for such a large sum, many would gladly sell their families.

Trusting such a large sum to someone else was simply not sane. It was foolish, utterly foolish.

However, Soma didn't show any anger at Hopkins' harsh words and replied calmly. "But if you wanted to, you would have already reported us to the soldiers. There's no point in worrying about it now."

Hopkins' jaw dropped. This boy must have grown up in a place where everyone was kind and trustworthy. He didn't need to suspect that a smiling person was a fraudster or be wary of approaching people as potential thieves or murderers. It was as if he had grown up in a place where strangers helped and supported each other.

Hopkins wanted to tell him to discard such naive thoughts with a barrage of insults, but Soma continued, "Besides, if Hopkins were a bad person who would steal, he wouldn't say such things, right?"

The insults that had risen to his throat turned into a silent breath. He felt embarrassed by Soma's gaze.

Unable to bear it any longer, Hopkins approached the carriage, making a loud noise to hide his embarrassment, and shouted at Shemul, who was inside. "What's wrong with that kid?! Is he naturally charming or something?!"

Shemul, who had been grooming herself, looked up at the sky for a moment before answering. "Hmm. Does that mean I'm also charming?"

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In the end, Soma and Shemul parted ways with Hopkins, who was heading to the guild by carriage, and made their way to a spot where they could see the town wall at the edge of the town.

"Can we climb this wall?"

Soma asked, and Shemul, wearing a hooded cloak given by Hopkins to avoid being seen, looked up at the wall and replied, "It's difficult. It's not as high as the fort, but it's too high to jump over. And it's too thick to break through easily."

The wall was about as high as the roof of a single-story house in Japan. Even for a Zoan with high physical abilities, it wasn't easy to jump over.

"But if we carry a ladder and run, we'll just become a good target, right?"

The Zoans' greatest strength was their mobility when moving on all fours. Carrying a ladder would negate that strength.

As they walked along the wall, they came to a river flowing through the center of the town. Looking down from the stone embankment, a foul smell hit their noses. The river, with its slow, gentle flow, was dark and murky, with various kinds of trash floating on the surface. It seemed to be quite deep, though it wasn't visible from above.

The river flowed out of the town through an arched hole in the wall, which was reinforced with several thick iron bars.

"It would be difficult to enter the town from the river," Soma said.

He thought about using a tube to breathe underwater and cutting the iron bars from below, but even if a few Zoans could infiltrate the town, it wouldn't be enough. They could only cause chaos for a short time, and to take control of the town, they needed to bring in a large Zoan army.

The town's guards would also be aware of the risk of the river being an entry point. In a battle, this area would be heavily guarded.

Instead, he thought about building a dam upstream and breaking it to flood the town with water and logs, but quickly dismissed the idea. If that happened, as the town's commander, he would order the soldiers to rain arrows on the Zoans swimming in the river and position troops on both banks to kill the Zoans with spears. It would be a slaughter.

"It's difficult. We can't take the town unless we can get a large number of allies inside."

"We Zoans are not good at attacking such stone towns," Shemul said apologetically.

Soma thought about the methods he knew from manga and novels for taking a fortified city or castle: siege, negotiation, internal assistance, destruction of the walls, weakening the defenders, surprise attack, and unconventional tactics.

A siege involved surrounding the town with a large army and starving it into submission, but that would lead to a prolonged battle. Before the town could be taken, reinforcements from the Holmea kingdom would arrive, and the Zoans would be caught between the besieged and the besiegers.

Negotiation involved persuading or threatening the town to open its gates. Internal assistance involved turning the defenders to their side. However, the Zoans had no leverage to offer the town or its people, and any threats would likely be ignored.

Destruction of the walls involved literally breaking down the walls to create an entry point for the army. However, the Zoans lacked the technology and knowledge to build siege engines like catapults. Digging tunnels from a distance to collapse the walls was even more impractical.

Weakening the defenders involved luring them out or directly attacking the town to reduce their numbers. However, luring all the defenders out was impossible, and a direct attack would be foolish. Archers were needed to kill the soldiers on the walls, but among the Zoans, only Shahata could use a bow and arrow effectively.

A surprise attack involved attacking quickly before the town was prepared. However, on this open plain, the Zoan army would be spotted long before they reached the town, and it wouldn't be a surprise.

"Unconventional tactics are the only option left, but they are unconventional and not easy to come up with."

In manga and movies, there were extreme methods like using hot air balloons to drop soldiers into the town or catapulting them in, but those were not realistic.

They turned to leave the wall and head for the bridge over the river. As they walked, they saw a man staggering towards them, swaying from side to side. He occasionally brought a leather bag to his mouth, and it was clear he was drunk. Not wanting to cause any trouble, they tried to avoid him by walking on the edge of the road.

However, their attempt to avoid him drew his attention. As they passed, the drunk man blocked Shemul's path and peered into her hood rudely.

"Hey! You're a Zoan, aren't you?"

The drunk man was surprised by the sight of a Zoan slave but quickly focused on Shemul's curvaceous figure, a lecherous smile spreading across his face.

"Wow, what a fine body. Even as a beast, you'd be useful in that way."

He then turned to Soma, "Hey, kid! Want to sell her to me? I can give you five Agnises (five silver coins)."

As he spoke, he began to grope Shemul's buttocks in a lewd manner. Shemul's fur bristled with disgust. She knew causing a scene would be troublesome, so she tried to suppress her anger and humiliation.

Touching someone else's slave was a serious breach of etiquette, but the drunk man's rudeness was fueled by his intoxication and the fact that Soma looked like a weak boy.

"She's not for sale. —Shemul, let's go."

Soma's tone was harsh, as if something precious to him had been defiled. The drunk man's face turned red with anger, not from the alcohol but from Soma's attitude.

"What did you say, you brat! Are you angry that I touched the slave you're using for your own needs? Huh? You must have had a good time last night, didn't you?"

Soma, who had been trying to leave, turned back at the extremely vulgar remarks. He felt something wet hit his cheek. Touching his face, he felt a slimy sensation. Realizing it was the man's spit, Soma's anger flared, but before he could react, a heavy, wet thud echoed.

"Oink!!"

The drunk man fell backward with a pig-like scream. Soma looked at Shemul, who had punched the man with all her strength and was now staring at her fist, looking flustered.

Soma quickly picked up the leather bag of alcohol that had fallen from the drunk man's side and poured its contents over him. He then took a silver coin from the small bag of military funds that Hopkins had given him as a precaution and placed it in the drunk man's hand.

"Let's go, Shemul!"

"Ah! ...Okay."

Soma took Shemul's hand and ran. They avoided the main streets and ran through the back alleys until they reached an empty lot at the edge of town. Confirming that no one was around, Soma sat down, breathing heavily.

"Wow, that was a shock."

He laughed, remembering the drunk man's ugly face, nose bleeding and eyes rolled back.

"That... Soma, I'm sorry. I lost my temper."

Shemul, who had insisted on coming along, felt guilty for causing trouble. Her ears drooped slightly, as if in shame.

"It's okay. It probably won't be a big deal."

The drunk man's words would likely be ignored, given his strong smell of alcohol. If he realized he had a silver coin, he would probably keep it and forget the incident.

Feeling sorry for Shemul, who still looked down, Soma tried to cheer her up. "If it does become a big deal, we can always run with Shemul."

Hearing that she was relied upon, Shemul's drooping ears perked up.

"More importantly, I'm sorry for making you feel bad."

"It's fine. I hit him hard, so I'm not worried about it."

"Right. Not just that, but the collar and everything..."

Soma had heard that Shemul was called the "Noble Fang" by the Zoans for her pride. He felt guilty for making her, a proud Zoan, call him "Master" and wear a collar like a beast.

However, Shemul's reaction was different from what he expected.

"Is there something wrong with this collar?"

Soma blinked at Shemul's casual response.

"But, it's like a slave collar, isn't it?"

Shemul sighed deeply and shook her head slightly, as if saying, "You don't understand."

She looked Soma in the eye and said, "I trust you, Soma."

Soma was taken aback by the sudden declaration.

"I'm stupid, so sometimes I get anxious because I don't understand what you're thinking. I worry that your plans might be dishonorable. I fear that what you're doing might lead to the destruction of the Zoans."

These were thoughts she could never express in front of other Zoans.

"But I believe in Kisa Soma, who is gentle, weak, and hurt, yet still tries to do something for us. I believe in you as a person."

Shemul believed in Soma as a