It’s Not an Anomaly, I’m Just Too Strong (4)

Yona had no intention of getting involved in this rebellion or anything else.

It was someone else’s business to begin with, and as Alec said, the moment Yona, a Kapatian, intervenes saying she’s a saint and can’t stand by and watch these outrageous people — it becomes interference in internal affairs.

‘But if there’s an Archduke there, it’s a different story.’

Even a rebellion needs a hill to lean on.

Given that there’s a big difference in population between the Azrami tribe and the Prairie Gilled tribe, for them to attack the Azrami imperial family, it must mean either their individual fighting power is tremendously different or they have something that allows them to ignore the difference in military strength.

As Alebiang said, there was a high probability that an Archduke was there.

Gods aren’t as common as stones rolling on the street, and given that the Prairie Gilled tribe also has a god despite Berbaria’s presence, it’s highly likely that a Demon Archduke has been inflating the Prairie Gilled tribe’s ego.

The Archduke is one of Yona’s objectives.

Dealing with all the Archdukes is the current goal for now.

She hasn’t decided exactly what to do after that, but anyway, dealing with the Archdukes is the right thing to do now.

“Right?”

“Yeah. That’s the right thing to do.”

They would arrive in Esima in three or four days.

To arrive while it was still bright, the group was having their last camping night.

On a night when everyone else was asleep around the campfire.

On this night when a round, bright moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the entire ground.

Yona and Alec had volunteered to keep watch while the others slept.

“I hope it doesn’t get complicated.”

Yona muttered as she pushed a log into the campfire.

If it comes down to a clash of power, it should be fine now.

Yona was confident.

After all, she had Berbaria, and she had absorbed Damian’s power.

Damian apparently used spellcraft for solo combat, perhaps because he had no friends and traveled alone, but as Yona learned it, that wasn’t the case.

She could even cast buffs on those she recognized as allies, and although it was difficult for Yona to participate directly in combat without parchment talismans, it was enough to provide support from behind.

“If it’s just about clashing with power, it might be okay. But… hmm, I don’t know…”

“Is it because of what Alebiang said?”

“Yeah.”

What Alebiang had said was bothering her.

Alebiang’s words that each Archduke has their own characteristics, and while some want to clash with power, others don’t.

And her words that this time might be a bit different were bothering her.

“It’s okay. It’ll be alright.”

“…Really?”

Alec’s face, reflected in the crimson flames of the campfire, was flushed red.

Looking at Alec’s grinning face, Yona felt her heart strangely settling.

A vague sense of reassurance that somehow everything would work out.

That everything would be okay.

“Yona, you.”

Alec, who had been poking at the campfire, asked Yona in a seemingly casual, quiet voice.

And Yona, who had been staring into the campfire, answered in a similar voice.

“Do you still think you want to go back to being a man?”

“Man—”

Hmm.

Yona closed her mouth with a gulp.

Going back to being a man, and returning to the original world—

These two propositions.

This had been her original goal.

That’s why Yona didn’t stop insisting she was a man, even when treated like a mental patient.

She had even gone to the magician community to receive treatment.

But now—

“…M-Man… huh.”

She wasn’t sure.

Yona suddenly tried to recall her memories from the previous world.

‘…Huh.’

Yona hadn’t been reborn in this world, nor had she suddenly been possessed, but had dropped into this world at some point.

So, her memories of her world before coming to this world should remain intact.

But those memories weren’t coming back properly.

What did Yona’s face look like when she was a man?

What kind of life had she lived, what kind of life had she led, who had she lived with, she couldn’t remember these things.

‘What was… my name?’

“…I don’t know.”

Yona, who had been sitting still and blankly thinking with her mouth open, answered with an awkward smile.

But Alec didn’t even look at her, just silently, just quietly staring at the campfire.

“…What’s wrong with you? Are you sick somewhere?”

Even when she asked out of slight worry, there was no answer from Alec, and rather, Alec sitting blankly with a dazed look in his eyes seemed literally like his soul had left him. He was just staring blankly at the campfire.

“…Baldy?”

Even when she called out again in a whisper, Alec’s eyes remained unfocused and didn’t turn towards Yona.

A feeling like her heart was dropping.

Holding her heart that was beating loudly and irregularly, Yona got up and approached Alec.

She had been keeping some distance because being close caused pain, and Yona had been refraining from staying close for too long.

But now— it wasn’t the time to worry about such things. Rather, she needed to quickly approach and make Alec come to his senses. An unpleasant feeling as if something was creeping up, telling her something was wrong.

“Baldy… Hey, Alec!”

Yona grabbed Alec’s shoulders and shook him.

But Alec’s gaze didn’t turn towards Yona, and rather, his rattling head was just shaking according to Yona’s hand movements.

“Alec! Damn it… Alebiang!”

An intuition that this wasn’t something she could solve alone.

Yona called out loudly for Alebiang. It was difficult for her to come up with a solution for this kind of situation, and if anyone, the mage Alebiang might be able to respond. With this judgment, Yona called for Alebiang.

But there was no answer from Alebiang either.

Only then did Yona look around.

“Wh-What… What is this…?”

There was nothing.

The Jakerocco was nowhere to be seen, and none of the camping group was visible.

Moreover, the prairie where they had been camping was gone, and even Alec who had been with her was nowhere to be seen.

The place where Yona was, was the very inn they had stayed at a few days ago.

That very inn with terrible soundproofing.

As Yona looked around with a bewildered expression wondering what was going on, her gaze fell on a desk.

That very desk to which Yona owed a great deal.

That very familiar desk.

Seeing that desk, a tingling sensation began to rise from her lower abdomen.

A black cat yawned long as it looked down at Alec and Yona, both collapsed.

The cat stretched its body long as it yawned.

The cat, too large to be considered an ordinary cat, was as big as the carriage that Ceres had been pulling, and its stretching form was also too long to be seen as any other cat.

【Even for a Saint, her mental barrier is pathetically weak, meow.】

After stretching big, the cat sat down again and scratched its face with its hind legs.

Then it licked its front paws a few times and wiped its face with those paws.

【I was worried about how it would be since she had absorbed both Berbaria and Damian, but now I see there was no need to worry, meow.】

“That’s right, Lord Catsy.”

The one standing beside the cat was a lizardman.

He looked like Barikian but was smaller in size, and wore a crown woven with brilliantly colorful feathers on his head.

【Those guys will now be trapped in that form forever, meow.】

“Oh… As expected of Lord Catsy…!”

【Is this all you wish for, meow?】

Catsy turned to look at the lizardman with a purring sound.

“As you said, taking over the imperial family is our job. When that’s done, we’ll prepare and offer the food you mentioned.”

【It’s not food, meow. It’s called chu-ru, meow.】

“Ah, I apologize. Ch-chu-ru, that thing… I’ve strictly ordered to procure both shrimp and salmon, so we’ll make sure to prepare it without fail.”

The cat named Catsy yawned long.

He had been sleeping deeply in the demon realm when he suddenly woke up and saw a huge rock placed beside him.

And when he curiously tapped the rock, it revealed an exit to the human world that had been hidden by the rock, and Catsy immediately came down to the human world.

Having descended to the human world like that, he heard the plea of the Prairie Gilled tribe’s priest earnestly praying for their god, and eventually came to descend there.

【What should we do with those guys, meow? They won’t wake up forever, but you don’t want to leave them like that, do you, meow?】

“We intend to move them to our camp pitched near the imperial palace. We plan to display them in front of the Azrami tribe besieged in the imperial palace to break their fighting spirit.”

Adinimm, the priest of the Prairie Gilled tribe, thought the time had finally come.

They had already received promises of non-interference from the other five tribes that make up the council, and it had become a civil war purely between the Azrami tribe and the Prairie Gilled tribe. He thought they could subdue the weak Azrami in an instant and recapture the imperial power, and he firmly believed it would be so, but unexpectedly, the Azrami tribe’s resistance in the imperial palace was quite strong.

Because of that, they had not yet succeeded in seizing imperial power.

Instead, while the imperial palace was in an isolated state, the external state administration was effectively in the hands of the Prairie Gilled tribe, but even so, that was merely a puppet government and not officially recognized as the imperial power of this generation.

Only by occupying the imperial palace and sitting on the golden throne inside the imperial palace can one be recognized as the emperor of the Katus Empire.

One must receive the recognition of the golden throne that carries on the will of Akota, the lizardman who was a companion of Hero Siwoo and the founder of this Katus Empire.

Otherwise, the Prairie Gilled tribe is nothing more than an invader—

‘If Lord Catsy hadn’t descended, we wouldn’t have even dared to attempt this.’

Catsy, the indigenous faith passed down through tradition in the southern region of Katus.

Without Catsy’s power, even that would have been impossible.

The imperial guard is composed of each tribe and follows only the master of the imperial family.

The imperial guard protecting the current imperial family, the Azrami tribe, and defending the imperial palace is fighting against the invading Prairie Gilled tribe, and their strength is incomparable, so the Prairie Gilled tribe alone could not have aimed for such a great undertaking.

Everything has become possible because of Catsy.

‘If it weren’t for the golden throne, we would have already completed the occupation of the imperial palace with Lord Catsy’s power… No, it’s fine. It’s just a matter of time anyway. We just need to push a little more.’

The resistance within the imperial palace cannot last long.

Everything was turning in favor of the Prairie Gilled tribe.