Chapter 62

As the declaration from the Garuda King, who spoke from high above, reached Connie Kazon, she wore a complex expression.

A gradual transition to democracy.

The abolition of class names.

A gradual abolition of slavery.

The implementation of compulsory and higher education.

Though it would take time, it could be evaluated as a bold decision. Most of the northern countries had already implemented or were planning to implement these measures before Miss Tajima was summoned as a hero.

However, Miss Tajima also preached that people are born equal, and that there should be no discriminatory practices or privileged classes that exploit the people.

Since the northern countries had largely abolished or reduced the power of royal and noble families after the Magic Revolution and the World War, the legitimacy of Miss Tajima's words was clear. However, the Garuda King stated that he would continue to reign as a king, albeit in a limited capacity, and would wield military power even after the transition to democracy.

Furthermore, he did not address issues of gender discrimination or prostitution.

Why didn't he do these things, even though he should have received the same excellent education?

Not understanding this, Connie unconsciously frowned.

What Connie did not know, or perhaps did not want to know, was that the Garuda King felt an ideological invasion from Albaum through Miss Tajima's education. He also sensed an economic invasion from merchants who, through bribery, had tried to infiltrate various fields after the previous king was influenced to build casinos.

If this continued, Albaum would likely devour everything—culture, ideology, and economy—and might even divide the country.

To prevent this, and to avoid being manipulated by the northern countries, the Garuda King made his decision.

With less ideological infiltration now, he could still use the authority of the king and repel the impending threats. He could also be flexible within the kingdom. The Garuda King thought this way.

Whether this decision was the best could only be judged by future historians.

However, Connie did not understand any of this.

To hear the true intentions, Connie headed to the royal castle after the declaration.

But she was turned away at the gate.

Thinking it was inevitable right after the declaration, she made an appointment.

However, when she met the Garuda King on the appointed day, he only expressed joy at their reunion and did not listen to her words.

"I am a Rattana, and you are an Albaum."

The king said nothing more, and Connie left the castle, stunned by the king's transformation.

Meanwhile, as the Garuda King's declaration continued, Zang carried the exhausted Yobi and quietly left the capital with Yuki, setting up camp on their usual beach.

The sun had long set, and only the small fire spirit Zang had materialized floated in the moonlit sand.

Zang, with Yuki at his back, continued to draw a picture.

Perhaps because he was not used to killing, his nerves were still sharp, and he could not sleep.

He did not want to get used to it, but he also did not fall into excessive self-loathing.

He killed to survive.

That was all.

And Zang finished the drawing.

Ironically, his heightened senses allowed him to complete the image accurately, and his fingers reflected it in the drawing. The influence of the life spirit might have also unconsciously manifested as magic.

When Zang stretched slightly, Yuki, who had been closing her eyes, peeked at the drawing.

After staring at it for a while, Yuki gently stroked Zang's cheek with her tail and closed her eyes again.

Zang smiled wryly and leaned on Yuki's body.

He wanted to ask how Yuki felt about the drawing but was also afraid.

He glanced at Yobi.

He noticed that Yobi, maintaining a subtle distance, was watching him without turning her face.

Zang had killed her ex-husband, Naber.

You avenged me.

Thank you.

If Yobi had said this with a full smile, Zang would have found it suspicious.

People's hearts cannot be so easily divided.

Of course, Zang had already received Yobi's gratitude, but it was not with a full smile or a satisfied expression.

Still, there was no tone of blame.

It seemed Yobi herself did not know how to handle her emotions.

When the task was done, it was not a simple "goodbye."

She suppressed her conflicted emotions, said nothing, and stayed by Zang's side.

She was trying to keep her promise.

Zang closed his eyes, feeling Yuki's soft white fur on his neck.

On a whim, he had bought a slave.

He wanted someone who would never betray him.

Such a thing was impossible even in Japan, and now he found it absurd.

His thoughts had been distorted after losing his blessing and nearly being killed by the hero.

However, he did not want to deny such thoughts.

He still wanted someone who would never betray him.

But if he thought about it calmly, he realized it was not something that could be achieved overnight.

He could only laugh at himself for not realizing this.

"Is it okay?"

At Yobi's hesitant voice, Zang opened his eyes.

Zang looked at Yobi, who seemed to be asking if there was something wrong.

Yobi hesitated for a moment but then spoke up.

"Can I see the drawing?"

"What, that's all?"

Zang cut the drawing from his notebook and handed it to Yobi.

Yobi, looking at the drawing, said softly,

"Is the small bat Dao?"

"Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to offend, but did it make you uncomfortable?"

Zang realized that calling a bat-type beast person a bat might be offensive, like calling a person a monkey, and bowed his head.

"No, I don't feel offended. It doesn't seem like you meant to mock. Rather..."

Yobi stopped and stared at Zang's drawing.

A drawing in black ink, with a detailed woman and a faintly sketched landscape.

Dark clouds were moving away in the distance, and the moon was just beginning to show from the tail of the clouds.

A small boat without oars floated on the midnight sea of Ankwaar.

A woman in a worn white dress sat on the edge of the boat, looking up at the night sky.

She had a delicate, sad, and beautiful profile.

A small bat was flying unsteadily toward the moon.

The woman was watching the small bat intently.

Yobi was lost in the drawing, forgetting the time.

Was Dao picked up by the goddess?

The religious beliefs in Ankwaar were a mix of local beliefs like "Ancestral Spirits," "The Question of the Death God," and "The Wandering Child," the Moon Goddess, and the Sandora religion brought by the northern people. The Sandora religion had little influence in the Rattana Kingdom, which had never been dominated by the north, but the kingdom had been isolated from surrounding countries by the northern nations, leading to an increase in monster attacks and a temporary period when a "Moon Goddess's Attendant" was present.

While the "Moon Goddess's Attendant" did not deeply reform the social life of the Rattana Kingdom, it is said that the right of women to divorce from slavery was imposed by the "Moon Goddess's Attendant," leaving the belief in the Moon Goddess in the Rattana Kingdom.

As a result of the mixing of local beliefs and the belief in the Moon Goddess, it became said that children who left this world without knowing the Gushthi were protected by the Moon Goddess.

Some of the "Scholar" and "Servant" classes stubbornly refused to incorporate the belief in the Moon Goddess, but the "Commoner" and "Slave" classes, and some of the "Servant" class, believed in the Moon Goddess's compassion.

Yobi, influenced by her parents, believed in the Moon Goddess's compassion and wished for Dao to be picked up.

Suddenly, Yobi looked up and saw the horizon beginning to turn white.

Zang was buried in Yuki's white fur, sleeping.

Compared to the northern people and beast people, Zang's slightly childlike face, frowning in sleep, looked like a child troubled by a bad dream.

The person who helped with the revenge.

And the person who killed Naber.

When Naber was fighting, Yobi could not hear what he was saying.

Her ears were good, but it seemed something like the wind was interfering.

Why was Naber smiling?

She could only guess, but Naber exposed his father's crimes and treated Yobi as a victim.

By being killed by Zang, all the hostility was directed at Zang.

Thinking about it, Naber's death also completely severed the connection with the Rwang family, which was an absolute custom.

In other words, Naber could be said to have died to make it easier for Yobi to live.

If that was the case, it was not hard to understand why he smiled.

Yobi thought he was a selfish person.

He abandoned Dao and sold me.

Yet he sacrificed himself to clear my path.

Why couldn't he hate me until the end?

No, I understand.

Even if Naber protected her, or acted like a villain and took the blame, there would be no future as Naber envisioned.

Society, customs, and discrimination would not allow it. There would always be a scar.

For Naber, that was not enough.

He probably wanted to eliminate as many obstacles as possible for her to live.

So he did everything he could, regardless of the consequences.

Even if it meant involving others.

Yobi looked at Zang again.

Yuki, frowning in her sleep, was stroking Zang with her tail.

The person who helped with the revenge.

And the person who killed Naber.

There was a debt that could not be repaid.

As promised, or even without a promise, she would not betray him.

Even if it went against her parents' teachings, she would not betray him.

But...

Yobi stared at Zang's face, which had softened slightly from being stroked.

"What, are you sleeping?"

At the husky voice of a woman, Yobi jumped and looked up.

A giant woman with brown skin, standing in the sunlight, had her hands on her hips and was looking at Zang with a bemused expression.

"Who are you?"

Yobi tensed, but noticed that Yuki was still sleeping with Zang.

"Huh? Oh, I'm Iryada Bargain, a hunter. Didn't you hear from Krand?"

Iryada showed her hunter tag, which she took from her chest.

Yobi had heard from Zang that they had been on the same ship to Sauran, and that they had been shipwrecked due to the mischief of spirits and had been separated.

"Sorry, I'm Kun... no, Yobi."

"Whatever, it's fine. ...Are you drawing again?"

Iryada looked at the drawing in Yobi's hand with a bemused expression and then went to Yuki.

As Iryada bent down, Yuki opened her eyes and patted Zang with her tail.

"...Ah, good morning."

Zang woke up and greeted Iryada, who had suddenly appeared, in his usual tone.

"Good morning."

"...Ah, Iryada. You're early."

"This morning. A bird person at the Rattana Association said someone might be sleeping outside, so I came to check. Sure enough, you were sleeping. Well, it's fine, I have something to talk about."

Iryada squatted on the sand.

Zang sat up, washed his face with water magic, and moistened his throat.

"Sorry."

Iryada suddenly bowed her head.

"Well, just let me hear your story. I've had a lot happen too."

Iryada raised her head and started talking.

In summary, she couldn't go to Sauran for a while.

She managed to escape from the female teacher who was a hero, but there were signs of a monster rampage throughout Ankwaar.

This was thought to be the result of unprecedented expansion and the complete conquest of ruins, which no one in the world could have predicted.

As a result, high-ranking hunters like Iryada were given a quasi-mandatory request for investigation and extermination, which Iryada accepted to minimize the number of victims.

"Only high-ranking hunters are given quasi-mandatory requests. You might want to stay somewhere. A lot of heroes are being deployed, including Hayato, it seems."

The mention of Hayato made Zang's mood the worst it could be from the start.

"If you've decided, that's fine. Where are you going?"

"Back to Kumegia right away."

Zang thought for a moment and said, "Alright, then."

"