494 – Ende’S Spring – 2
Like any other city, Ende has a garbage dump.
And in Ende, a city where many pig-beasts live, there is a residential area where pig-beasts mainly reside.
And, the two are one.
The city built by humans resembles the flesh of the Creator. It greedily consumes food, and gathers the waste left over after digestion and sends it out of the body. Before sending it out, the garbage dump is the last place where it is rummaged through in case there is anything that can be obtained again.
That was the pig-beast’s main residence and workplace.
“Oink. Oink oink.”
The terrible stench makes the nose run. Even for pig-beasts, who are more resistant than other beasts, the pungent smell is unbearable. A sound not much different from a pig comes out of the stuffy nose.
The pig-beast rummaged through the garbage, making pig noises.
“Honey?”
One of the pig boys who were rummaging through the garbage like that found something in the stench. The pig boy, who had been groping the garbage with a strong sense of smell, soon dug up one spot in particular. At that moment, the boy’s face was filled with joy.
“Honey! I found it!”
The large sack was filled with meat bones. The bones, which had been boiled so much that they were white without any blood, did not even show anything that looked like meat.
But even that was precious food. If you split it in half and suck it, you will get water, and if you scrape the fascia attached to the end with a knife, you will get the feeling of thinly sprouted raw meat. It is a rare windfall in this garbage dump.
“Honey. Who the hell wrapped it up so tightly? It’s hard to tell.”
Anyone could see that it was pork… but what kind of meat is important to those who are in a hurry for a day? The pig boy was delighted as if he had found a treasure in the middle of a garbage dump.
Such pig-beasts are dozens, hundreds. Pigs in the trash can, living their lives by rummaging through the city’s excrement.
“Are you still living like this?”
Someone who was watching it approached with a sigh. The pig boy was startled by the sudden approach and hid the bone under his body.
“Who, who…”
When he turned his head, a pig-beast with a huge size was standing in front of him.
There are countless scars drawn over the bursting muscles. Most of them are traces of being torn by beasts. However, the scars engraved on the body seemed to be proof of strength rather than traces of defeat.
The being who wore two tusk-like curves around his waist and looked at him with eyes that contained both contempt and pity… was none other than a pig-beast.
The pig boy, who belatedly checked his folded ears, hugged the bone tightly and shouted.
“This is mine! Don’t look down and get out!”
“Don’t worry. I’m not trying to take it away. I’m not interested.”
“Then why!”
“My name is Grull. I am a savage who lives on the Enger Plains.”
Grull’s name is widely known among pig-beasts. He is a strong man who is convinced, and a great man who protects the wilderness outside Ende.
The atmosphere was not ordinary enough to be called an impersonation. The pig boy’s eyes flashed.
“Are you really Grull?”
“Show me.”
Grull raised his hand and thrust it into the pile of garbage. And he raised his arm vigorously.
Then, dozens, hundreds of garbage piles floated up at the same time. Without scattering or falling.
It is something that is only possible with qigong. It is a feat that requires tremendous strength and qigong to be poured into different garbage. It is much more likely that he is Grull than that someone with this level of qigong would dare to impersonate Grull.
In fact, he was Grull.
“Why did Grull come to such a place…”
The boy, who faced the glory of the orc, suddenly felt a sense of alienation. It was like a huge farce that the glory of the orcs came before him, who was rummaging through the bones thrown away in the garbage dump and having fun. The pile of bones that I had found with joy a little while ago now felt like a terrible shame. I wanted to throw it away right away.Grull knelt on one knee before the flushed boy.
From Noble mtl dot com
“How long will you live like this?”
“What, what do you mean?”
“I mean scavenging in the garbage dump. Enduring the stench, rummaging through the refuse, treating the scraps of food others have discarded as if they were treasure. That miserable existence.”
It wasn’t an accusation or an insult. It was a simple statement of fact. The pig boy clamped his mouth shut. He felt like any more words would make him break down.
Grull spoke as if he understood the boy.
“Instead of living like this, you should follow me. It’s not too late for you. If you accept my teachings, you too can become the master of your own life.”
A powerful being who spoke sense was offering to teach him personally. To pass up this opportunity would be a lifelong regret. The boy responded to the unexpected proposal.
“No, thank you.”
It was an abrupt reply. But it was also sincere. Instead of throwing away the pile of bones, the boy hugged it tighter. Grull’s eyes twitched.
“Hmph. You intend to continue living like this?”
“Why not? That’s how everyone lives! Me, my parents, my friends, everyone!”
The boy spat on the ground. It was as if all the dark emotions he had been holding inside were pouring out with that one act.
“What else is there to do? Become a deliveryman? That’s just talk. Make clothes? That’s just sheep. Do some manual labor? That’s just dogs! Scavenging is all we can do!”
“There are other ways.”
“Like you, fighting for your life in the harsh wilderness, honing your ki? In a place where you could get hurt, injured, or even die if you’re unlucky?”
The boy was young, but he was a pig beastman. He knew how persuasive Grull could be.
And he knew what was happening outside the End.
The wilderness. A place where predators with sharp teeth hunted their prey. A wasteland outside civilization where the strong ruled and the weak became food.
He might be ashamed of his life scavenging in the garbage dump, but he didn’t want to die there. He wanted to live in this world, even if he had to wallow in filth.
“No, thank you. I want to live.”
“In such misery?”
The pig boy hugged the pile of bones tightly and looked up at Grull with resentful eyes.
“What makes me miserable… isn’t this place, it’s you, Grull.”
The two stared at each other for a long time. The pig boy, the weakest of the weak, and Grull, who spoke sense. Grull was the first to break the standoff.
“…I apologize.”
Grull turned away, squeezing out the words with difficulty. As he walked slowly away, he heard someone sniffling behind him. He didn’t know if it was because of the stench or because of him. Grull tried his best to ignore it.
Someone approached him as he walked past the garbage dump, his steps heavy. It was a small beastman wearing leather armor and a necklace made of bones. There were many small beastmen in the End, but this water buffalo beastman with curved horns looked much rougher and fiercer. Even without the necklace of bones around his neck.
The water buffalo beastman snorted and asked.
“Chieftain. I found you. Where have you been?”
“I just visited my hometown for the first time in a while.”
The small beastman paused at the word ‘hometown’, then spoke as if nothing had happened.
“The Obelisk is waiting. He’s been at a standstill with the savage beastmen warriors because the chieftain suddenly disappeared.”
“I understand. Go.”
“Don’t you feel sorry?”
“Me? To you? Why?”
He had left without a word while visiting the End. As a result, the fierce beastmen warriors were in an uneasy standoff with the Obelisk. They were struggling to prevent a clash. It was a difficult situation for any normal commander.
But Grull was not a normal commander.
“Hmph. If they get rowdy, beat them up. Either me or the Obelisk! You have the strength and the will to do it!”
“No, that’s a bit…””Then you have nothing to be sorry about. It’s your fault! I don’t feel sorry for such a thing.”
Grool walked past the pig beastman and strode away. So Suin, who was taken aback by the brazen answer, followed him with a hollow laugh.
***
That day was noisier than usual. Despite being a mansion in a secluded area, there were unusually many people coming and going, and they were all busy as if they were being chased by something.
The clattering sound came close to the door and quickly faded away. I asked, wondering about the presence I often felt.
“There are unusually many people coming and going. Shay, what’s going on today?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Shay often visits Oberlier. I thought you might know something.”
Perhaps because there were many people chattering around, the regressor answered irritably.
“Something is going on, but it’s none of their business.”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing. Grool is coming.”
“Grool? You mean Grool, the orc gladiator? The one who lives on the plains outside Ende?”
Grool, the pig beastman who had come to his senses. I had heard stories about him even though I had only been in Ende for a short time. He was a pig beastman who had come to his senses through martial arts.
It was a great thing. Martial arts are difficult for beastmen to master. Martial arts are a human technique that has been developed over thousands of years, and beastmen, who have different senses than humans, have difficulty acquiring it.
For example, let’s say you are training to not drop a plate placed on your head and knees while lowering your posture and maintaining your balance. Humans must concentrate with the muscles of their whole body tense, but beastmen instinctively use their tails to maintain their balance.
It may seem like it’s not necessary to use it, but if you don’t use it forcibly, it’s a big penalty in itself. If you use it, you will be far from martial arts training. Ears and tails are definitely advantages, but they are also factors that hinder training at the same time. It’s even more so when it comes to martial arts.
It’s not for nothing that General Ebon of the military cut off his ears and tail. In fact, in the old days, many people cut off their ears and tails in order to overcome discrimination and learn martial arts.
“Then it’s a big deal.”
“That big deal hasn’t been passed on to the people of Ende. It’s a secret. So it can’t be the reason why they’re running around so busy.”
“It must have been leaked.”
“Who leaked it? Who would come down from Oberlier to Ende and leak that information?”
“Didn’t Shay do it? Shay is the best at speaking carelessly.”
“I don’t have anyone to talk to here except you!”
“That’s a bit sad.”
Don’t just tell me to go out and work, go out and make some friends too. I’m busy working all the time and I don’t have any social life at all.
Anyway, I suddenly became curious and said, getting up.
“Shall we go out and check it out?”
“Let’s do it. I’m curious too.”
“Grool is coming, but Shay isn’t going?”
“There’s no need to go. It’s between the city and the beastmen. It’s not like I’m going to be in Ende forever, so it would be strange for me to get involved.”
‘There will be political talk, which is annoying and something I can’t do anything about.’
So that’s it. You had an ulterior motive too.
I put on my coat and prepared to go out. Then, Aji reacted by pricking up his ears.
“Woof? A walk?”
“No, you stay home.”
“Arrr!”
“aaa! I got it!”
He wouldn’t leave me alone. I took a shabby robe from the hanger and handed it to Aji.
“Here. Put this on.”
“Woof? It’s stuffy!”
“Oh my. If you don’t wear it, you can’t go for a walk.”
It’s not possible to attract the attention of every dog beastman on the street. I put the robe on Aji, who had become docile, and went out into the street with the regressor.The mansion was certainly in a secluded area. The closer we got to the center of Ende, the more the noise and excitement intensified. People were building barricades as if they were blocking something, and beyond them, shouts and cheers filled the streets.
All kinds of emotions echoed. The wind was blowing hard. The wind that was blowing in people’s hearts.
Hmm. I guess it came out like this. What is this… It’s difficult.
The regressor, who was shorter than me, had not yet realized what was going on.
“What is it? Is there something to see?”
“No. That’s…”
“I’ll fly up and take a look.”
The regressor, who had soared up in an instant, was soon shocked by the sight he saw.
“Ende! Listen to our voices!”
“We are all equal beasts!”
“Stop the discrimination!”
“Pigs are not food!”
There are many beastmen in Ende. But among them, the number of pig beastmen is overwhelmingly large. Even if only 10% of the more than 30,000 of them gathered, it would be 3,000. It was a number larger than a small army.
More than that, a number that was by no means small filled the streets and marched.
This novel is going downhill..