Chapter 90

A little earlier. Before the meeting, Garam gathered the main figures and began with a heavy tone.

"Now, I want to discuss how we should treat Soma from here on."

Soma, suddenly made the subject of the conversation, was taken aback. He had not felt any inconvenience until now, so he did not understand why his treatment was being discussed at this point.

"Um... Is something wrong with the way it is now?"

"It's definitely not going to work."

Garam said it firmly.

His strong tone made Soma and Shemul exchange glances, not understanding why Garam was so determined.

This was also the case for the others present, including Shunupa, the younger sister of the head priestess of the Eye Clan, and Shishuru, the daughter of the Claw Clan who assisted Garam, as well as Banuka, who had joined after guiding Bararak to the tent.

However, only Zugg was sitting with his arms crossed, looking troubled.

Garam explained to everyone, as if breaking it down.

"Indeed, I am the Great Clan Chief. In battle, I can lead all the Zoan clan warriors. If there is a conflict between clans, I can mediate. I can promise to do my best as a Great Clan Chief, though it might be seen as self-conceit. But—"

Garam clenched his fist on his knee.

"—that's all I can do."

Garam said it with a self-deprecating tone.

"We have managed to drive away the people of the Kingdom of Holmea. However, they will never give up. There will surely be another battle in the near future. This plain is like being swallowed by a great whirlpool of the times. The one who should govern this plain from now on must be someone who can see the direction of the whirlpool and deal with it.

But, to be honest, the situation this plain is in is beyond what someone like me can handle."

Everyone was speechless at the content Garam, known as the strongest warrior of the plain, spoke with a hint of regret.

Only Zugg, however, remained silent.

"Well, that's to be expected..."

As soon as he said that, he was glared at by Shishuru, who was sitting with them. Feeling the quiet anger in his niece's gaze, Zugg hurriedly defended himself.

"To be honest, I'm in a similar situation. I can fight the enemy in front of me as much as I want. But if I'm told to fight a human country, I have no idea what to do."

"Then, what do you suggest, Uncle?"

Zugg, who let slip, "That's why I don't like strong-willed women," to his niece, who still had a harsh tone, was glared at even more fiercely and hurriedly stated his opinion.

"Everyone should already know, right? The only way is to entrust the future of this plain and the Zoan to Lord Soma. For that, we can't have Lord Soma remain as just a guest."

Garam nodded in agreement.

"Zugg is right. Until now, we have accepted Soma's proposals and passed them on to the warriors. But from now on, that won't work."

"Thanks to Soma, we were able to reclaim the plain. But I've also seen warriors who have forgotten this and are getting arrogant. Some of them might even say they don't want to be ordered around by a mere guest."

"To prevent that, Soma must stand above us."

As if they had agreed beforehand, Garam and Zugg spoke about the same issue, and those present were surprised. The fact that these two, who represented the Zoan, had the same concern without prior consultation made it clear that it was a bigger problem than they had thought.

"Then, are you going to make Soma the Great Clan Chief?"

The only position Shemul could think of that would oversee all the Zoan warriors was that.

"That's impossible."

It was Shunupa who firmly rejected Shemul's suggestion. As the younger sister of the head priestess, she was well-versed in various customs and no one could deny her words.

"The Great Clan Chief is a position that brave warriors are recognized by all the clan chiefs. I'm sorry, but Lord Soma is not a warrior..."

To become the Great Clan Chief, one must first be a warrior. But Soma did not meet this prerequisite.

Shemul then made a suggestion.

"Soma is my 'Lord Below the Navel.' Then, can I take the warrior's ceremony on his behalf?"

In duels and such, if the party involved cannot fight for some reason, a friend or acquaintance can take their place. Since Soma was Shemul's 'Lord Below the Navel,' it would be reasonable for Shemul to take the ceremony on his behalf.

However, Shunupa shook her head.

"I don't think that would work. Your son is already a warrior. There is no precedent for a warrior taking the warrior's ceremony, and it wouldn't make sense."

"Then, how about appointing him as a warrior by the authority of the clan chief?"

Shishuru suggested the method by which the bow user Shahata of the Fang Clan, who could not take the warrior's ceremony, became a warrior.

But Shunupa shook her head again.

"I don't think that would work either. The biggest problem is Lord Soma's favor... It would be awkward to make someone who can't fight a warrior."

This time, Zugg made a suggestion.

"Then, how about making Soma Garam's sworn brother? We can form a bond of sworn brothers and make Soma the elder brother."

At Zugg's suggestion, Soma thought of the Peach Garden Oath from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Imagining Garam as Guan Yu and Zugg as Zhang Fei, he chuckled at the thought of being called "Brother" by the two of them.

"Sure, but being Garam's elder brother is a bit... At least, being the younger brother—"

"That's out of the question!"

Banuka immediately and strongly opposed.

"Being Garam's sworn brother is out of the question! No, absolutely out of the question!"

The strong tone from Banuka, who seemed to be seething with resentment, left Soma and Shemul bewildered.

From their lack of understanding of why Banuka was so strongly opposed, it was clear that it was not the kind of relationship they had suspected, and Garam secretly felt relieved.

"Besides, even if we did, people might say that Soma is just putting on airs as the sworn brother of the Great Clan Chief Garam. It would be better to make it more clear that he stands above us."

Banuka's opinion, which seemed to be based on personal feelings, still had a point.

"Then, is there anything else?"

Garam asked, but everyone fell silent.

After a while, Shunupa broke the silence.

"What about the title of Clan King?"

Everyone looked at each other. Garam, representing everyone, asked Shunupa.

"Shunupa, what is a Clan King? I've never heard of it."

"It's a story from a long time ago, but it's about one of the Great Clan Chiefs, the great hero Dair Muhaka Mumba of the Tail Clan. As you know, the Tail Clan places great importance on the lineage of the clan chiefs. The great hero Mumba did not want to stand above the Tail Clan's chief. So, after a discussion among the clan chiefs at the time, they created the title 'Clan King,' which combines the human king and the Great Clan Chief, and had it taken by the son of the Tail Clan's chief, finally convincing the great hero Mumba to become the Great Clan Chief."

Everyone was surprised at the title they had never heard before, but Shunupa continued with a wry smile.

"Since the title of Clan King was created solely to make the great hero Mumba the Great Clan Chief, there are no specific conditions. Considering the situation at the time, it seems that the Clan King could be taken as long as the clan chiefs recommended it and the Great Clan Chief recognized it."

---

When Bararak, who had not heard the story of the Clan King before, heard it again from Shunupa, he was stunned. After a while, a half-hearted voice escaped from his mouth.

"So, the Clan King is someone recognized by the Great Clan Chief and stands above him? Meaning, he commands all the Zoan..."

"That's right."

Shunupa answered calmly.

Bararak became enraged.

"Are you kidding me?! Are you telling me that our proud Zoan warriors should follow a human who is even inferior to the Genovanda?! Why should the Zoan, the masters of the plain, follow a mere human boy who can only come up with a few tricks?!"

Pointing at Garam and Zugg in turn, Bararak shouted.

"You, you, you must be out of your minds! The proud Zoan following a human boy? Such a humiliation cannot be allowed!"

At that moment, a loud laugh echoed.

It was Zugg.

"I get it! Now I understand how Garam and the others felt at that time."

Zugg was laughing, slapping his knee and shaking his shoulders. Feeling uneasy at Zugg's behavior, Bararak asked him.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're forgetting something important."

Confused by Zugg's vague answer, Bararak, fearing he had made a mistake, raised his voice.

"So, what are you saying?!"

"You don't mean to forget the favor of the son over there, do you?"

Recognizing Shemul standing behind Soma, whom Zugg pointed to, Bararak opened his mouth wide in surprise. He had heard about how Zugg was cornered in the clan meeting before the fort was taken, but had completely forgotten about it.

Garam, seeing Bararak in a daze, said to him.

"I'm not saying this on a whim or for fun. I want you to understand that this is my decision after considering the future of the plain and the Zoan."

"The future, you say?"

In Bararak's mind, the only thing that mattered was how to make his clan prosper. Therefore, he was taken aback by the words "the future of the plain and the Zoan" that suddenly came out of Garam's mouth.

Thinking that Garam had gone mad for not only promoting a lowly human child but also spouting incomprehensible words, Bararak looked around for agreement. However, only he and the warriors of the Mane Clan he had brought with him were in a panic.

Until now, Bararak had thought that the other clans, despite some differences, were still the same Zoan. But the people here now did not seem like the same Zoan at all. At least, not the Zoan he knew.

What had changed them?

He did not know what it was, but Bararak felt a sense of fear towards the existence that had changed the Zoan he knew so much.

However, it was impossible for Bararak to realize that this existence was the human child he was watching with bated breath.

Garam urged Bararak, who was in confusion.

"As the son of Garguz of the Fang Clan, the Great Clan Chief, I nominate Kizaki Soma as the Clan King. —Do you have any objections?"

It was a question put forward by Garam, the Great Clan Chief, with his honor and name on the line. It was not something to be answered lightly. However, the other two responded immediately.

"No objections. I recognize Lord Soma as the Clan King," said Zugg.

"The Eye Clan has no objections," said Shunupa.

With the two of them agreeing in succession, all eyes naturally turned to Bararak, who had not yet made his stance clear.

What should he do? How should he get out of this situation?

The humiliation of having to accept a human child as their Clan King and the fear of the Mane Clan being isolated were fiercely conflicting in Bararak's mind.

A suppressed voice came from behind Bararak.

"Do not act rashly, Clan Chief."

It was his son, Banuka.

"Banuka, that's presumptuous