504 – The Inverted Pyramid Collapses In An Instant
It’s not a matter of being evil or inconsiderate. It’s just that the world they live in is fundamentally different. Their common sense is distorted…or rather, there are too many people who think that way. At this point, it’s not even a question of right or wrong.
It’s just different. When you build a tower with different blocks, it balances precariously, and the slightest touch can send it tumbling down. Just like now.
“Why are you, a superior being, here in this place?”
“Because the beast bit me. But this is the end. My homeland may have abandoned Ender, but they will not tolerate rebellion. If I inform the vassal states, they will show the power of humanity.”
Well, the vassal states wouldn’t want to invest too many resources in this troublesome land. They have other priorities.
“If you don’t inform them, it’s over, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“If I, a pig-kin who cares about the rights of pig-kin, were to stop you here and sell you to the orcs…all that talk about human superiority and the power of the vassal states would be useless, wouldn’t it?”
With a sly smile, Welsh flinched and stepped forward. His ears and tail stood up stiffly, as if he were extremely tense. Duke Erektus spoke in disbelief.
“Me, sell me? You would side with the beast?”
“Maybe, maybe not. I’m just curious. What is this human superiority you speak of? You look more pathetic than anyone right now.”
“Me?”
“Yes. The very duke who claims to be superior is running away like a coward. If it weren’t for the capable servant who has been watching over you, you would have been caught already. Look. You’re relying on Welsh right now.”
Welsh, who was clinging to Welsh’s back, looked more like a mother and son than a servant and master. If he had looked in a mirror, he wouldn’t have been able to refute my words, but Duke Erektus replied easily.
“Welsh is my servant, and at the same time, he is a pig-kin. It is natural for him to protect me.”
“There is nothing natural in the world. Just as your reign, which seemed so natural, has come to an end.”
“That was only possible because the pig-kin children incited the ignorant pig-kin and attacked by surprise!”
“Are you, a human, incapable of incitement? And you’re complaining about being ambushed? Can you really call yourself great or noble with such a gap? You can’t win with words, you can’t win with strength, you can’t win with politics. What do you have left? Your arrogance?”
“Benefits…!”
“I don’t know if humans are superior or not, but one thing I do know. If that’s the case, then you, who were defeated by the orcs, must be a beast as well. You certainly look like one right now.”
Duke Erektus pointed a finger at me and shouted, but I ignored him and returned to the main topic.
“Oh. Actually, I’m not really interested in you, Erektus. You’re a bit too clichéd. I came here because I’m more interested in Welsh.”
He must have been even more offended by my lack of interest. Welsh, who had pushed his even more boisterous master aside, stepped forward.
“…If I satisfy your curiosity, will you let my master go?”
“Huh? I never intended to catch him in the first place. Why would I catch him?”
“You’re on the side of the orcs,”
“No. I’m on the side of humanity. And he’s a human too. I will help him as much as I help the orcs.”
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“Help him?”
“Yes. You may agree with me in your heart, but this is helping him. It’s a good experience, isn’t it?”
Welsh, who had been a loyal servant, couldn’t bring himself to deny it. However, he wasn’t naive enough to believe my words at face value. He still kept an eye on me and my surroundings, and tried to ignore the panting Aji nearby.
“What do you mean by being interested in me?”
“I understand that the pig-kin want to regain their rights. It’s understandable. It’s natural to believe that all pig-kin are equal. If you’re a pig-kin. But what are you? Why are you protecting a duke when you’re a pig-kin?”
“…Is that a question?”
“If the answer is ‘because he’s my master’, then that’s not the question I asked. I want to know what you expect from him.”
He was born a servant and educated to be one. Through an education that was close to brainwashing, Welsh became a servant who could give his life for his master.
But Welsh is also human. He wouldn’t follow and protect him without anything, with only blind faith. Among the races I know, the only one who succeeded in this brainwashing is the Holy Emperor. Even that was done with the immense power of prophecy, and it’s an insult to even compare him to Duke Erektus.
“There is no reason to follow my master.””I’m not asking you why. I can tell just by looking. A foolish master like that isn’t worth serving. But you still follow him because there’s something you expect from him.”
“You little punk! What did you just say…”
Erectus seemed to find it harder to bear that he wasn’t the subject of the conversation. But he was powerless. He couldn’t stop me or Welsh.
“Really. I don’t expect anything from my master.”
“You know how futile it is to expect change. But there must be something you wish for? Compensation, gifts, rewards, praise.”
“I don’t expect those things… anymore.”
Even if he doesn’t expect them, there are things he wishes for. The more unattainable they are, the wider the gap grows. Welsh clenched his fists and said,
“My master isn’t a kind person. But even a master like that used to be gentle.”
“When?”
“Long ago, when I was young. Children who are to become attendants are educated by their masters…”
Watchdog families stay by their masters’ sides from birth. This is to make them recognize their masters from a young age and develop loyalty. It’s better to raise a well-bred dog from a young age than to bring in a fully grown dog that has been drinking water outside.
“He was mean even when I was young. When I learned martial arts and my body became stronger, he came with a whip and beat me. When I dressed in clean clothes, he threw mud water on me. He cackled as he watched me stand there in vain. My master always used to torment me.”
Wow. He really was a piece of trash. He was a jerk from the start.
“But even so, there were times when my master was kind. When I was in pain and sitting in a corner crying, my master wiped my face with the handkerchief he was using. When I lost a precious gift, he dug through the dirt with me to find it. At that time, I was really happy and joyful…”
Welsh, who was reminiscing about a time when he was younger and more innocent, before his twisted personality had hardened, lowered his eyes slightly.
“Wait, looking back, there were only a few times like that over the long years. But even so, there were… good times. I don’t expect him to be like that again. But still…”
He’s still naive.
It’s typical gaslighting. He’s being used and tormented, but because he’s been through it since he was so young, he accepts it as normal and becomes overly conscious of the occasional kindness. It’s like when one good deed stands out after a hundred evil ones.
But on the other hand, it means that even such a nasty human being had a time when he was innocent. He must be secretly hoping that he will be like that again.
It’s really sad. How can I make that happen? I have to turn that nasty human into a person. Changing someone isn’t something I can do.
Just when I was about to express my regret, Aji suddenly jumped up and barked.
“I’m the same!”
“…King?”
“Me too!”
Aji smiled brightly and turned his face to Welsh.
“Humans fight each other. But ask humans! Order them. Make promises, but don’t keep them.”
He means that the humans he likes fight each other, try to use Aji as a weapon to hurt humans, and don’t bother to fight the wolf king they promised to fight…
Wow, that’s really bad. Who is it? For the record, it’s not me. The human king who has lost all his power is irrelevant to the human average.
As I was breaking up with the humans, Aji smiled brightly at Welsh.
“Woof! I’ll keep my promise someday! Because it’s a promise!”
“King…”
He’s in the same situation as Welsh. No, it’s on a much larger scale. Welsh only feels that way towards his master, but Aji is friendly to all humans.
Humans are social animals. Welsh found a small comfort in seeing Aji, who was much worse off than he was. And Welsh, who felt a twinge of conscience for taking comfort in the king’s misfortune, asked,
“What if you don’t keep it until the end?”
“Keep it!”
“What if you don’t? What if the king’s friends change their minds, or if something urgent comes up and you can’t do it?”
“Wait!”
“How long?”
“When?”
Looking at Aji tilting his head, one can see the cruelty of a promise with no time limit. It doesn’t even end with death. It goes on and on in the world until it is fulfilled.
It’s impossible to even guess. Only the king of beasts could do it. Welsh hugged Aji tightly and whispered,
“…I’m sorry, King.”
“Woof? Why?”
“No. It’s nothing. I just wish I could help the king fight the wolves…”She has someone she must protect before Aji. Of course, the same goes for Aji. Promises are important, but Aji protects humans regardless of promises.
“It’s okay! Human, protect!”
“Thank you, King. My master is Lord Erectus, but you are my king.”
The dog and the dog’s servant ended their brief reunion by touching noses. Although they were in the same boat, Welsh, who was relatively better off, was more heartbroken than Aji, who did not understand her situation.
“That’s great. I wish I had a servant like that.”
Lord Erectus, who was startled by my approach, almost fell backward. I kindly grabbed him and said.
“You’re so devoted to me for something I did for you briefly a long time ago. It’s a loyalty I can’t expect from Aji. Aji shows his teeth and growls if I don’t give him a piece of meat.”
“You’re also ordering the King of Dogs.”
“Aji? Ordering him? hahahaha, you’re saying something strange. Aji is my friend. Friends can ask for favors and help each other. But that doesn’t change the fact that we’re friends.”
“Friends? With the King of Dogs?”
“What’s so strange about that?”
“The King of Dogs is a beast in human form.”
Oh. It’s a perspective I haven’t heard in a long time. Unlike the regressors, he treats Aji as a special dog. But then again, it’s strange to treat Aji as a human when he doesn’t even treat his own kind as humans. I admit it. You’re really consistent.
“I’m the same beast. Is there any reason why we can’t be friends?”
“…”
A moment ago, he might have argued. However, after hearing the conversation between me and Welsh, he seemed to be thinking a lot.
“Even if they’re not dogs, humans are not equal. Like you and me. But even if they’re not equal, can’t we give them compliments or praise them?”
“…So. What do you want from me? Do you want me to think of dogs as equal to humans?”
What are you talking about? Why would I? I don’t care what you think. Anyway, as the human king, I can read the minds of dogs, so they’re in the human category. Of course, that only applies to me, and if they don’t believe it, that’s fine.
“No? Why would I try to change your mind? I don’t care what you think or want.”
“What?”
“I don’t. Your desires are so simple that I don’t even want to hear them.”
Lord Erectus is not particularly evil or cruel.
It’s just that, from his point of view, dogs are not human. Since they are not equal in the first place, it doesn’t really matter what he does. It’s not like livestock and pets would be happy to be taken care of.
Is that why? Lord Erectus wanted a more boast-worthy achievement. Like raising the King of Dogs or defeating the King of Wolves. Something big that other humans would recognize.
Ah. He seems to have given up for now, but he added the task of retrieving Ender from the pig-dog.
Lord Erectus just had a normal desire for recognition, like anyone else. It’s just that there were no ‘humans’ around him who were qualified to recognize him.
So, what does he need? An achievement? A ‘human’ who will watch over him and recognize him?
“There are people who praise you so deeply for a kindness you did when you were young. But you’re not the kind of person who would be satisfied with that. Whether you have the ability to do so is a secondary issue.”
If you change your thinking a little, Lord Erectus already has both of them. A small act of kindness and a servant who cherishes it. It’s just that it was a small achievement that he couldn’t accept, and an unqualified dog.
What if he’s not satisfied with the present and wants something more? There’s nothing I can do. I can only pray that he works hard.
It’s the orcs’ job to catch them and block the communication to the principality. I took Aji, who was greeting Welsh, and left through the dark back alley. I didn’t bother to read where they were going. There was no need.
Soon after, I encountered the orcs who were blocking the passage. I saw Gultha, who was building a wall with a cart in the front, and approached him naturally.
“Haven’t you found them yet?”
“We’re tracking them by their scent now! We’ll find them soon!”
Oh. He says he’s tracking them by their scent with the dog’s sense of smell. Now…?
I tilted my head and asked.
“Huh? Then what have you been doing until now?”
“…We were looking for a way to do that!”
“Ah. Yes. You should add that to the manual. Thank you for your hard work.”
Did the entire response manual disappear? No matter how much the Triber market helps, there are still errors in such trivial areas.Just as I was about to pass them by, Gul’ta called out to me in a hurry.
“Wait. Magician! Is there any way to find him?”
“You mean where they are right now? I would hire a keen-nosed swine to track them down.”
It was a sarcastic remark, but it was too sophisticated a joke for an orc. Gul’ta asked with a smile.
“Oh! Do you have a keen-nosed swine? If so, introduce me!”
“…It’s too late now. It would be much faster if you did it.”
“Tsk. Tell me quickly next time!”
Hmm. It’s a mess even at night. I wonder if I’ll be able to properly rule Ender and seize power like this.
But it’s their ideal and desire. It’s their ability that’s being tested. Let’s watch a little longer.
As I was about to return to the mansion, Aji sniffed at the smell on my body and asked.
“Meng? Smell, find?”
“No, don’t find it.”
If the wolf comes to my nose, I won’t be able to keep watching. But my promise to Aji comes before their desires?