Ch.111111. Autonomous Territory

# After accepting the Hero’s alliance proposal, the Beast King felt tension rising.

How nice it would be to have just one clever advisor by his side at a time like this.

This thought naturally came to him while conversing with Erick Wellesley, who had his hand lightly resting on the holy sword. Even knowing it was an impossible wish, he couldn’t help but long for it. That’s how desperately he needed an advisor.

This wasn’t the first time he had harbored such a desire.

In fact, he had wished for it consistently since childhood.

His parents could teach him nothing but hatred for humans and hunting skills, and his tribespeople worshipped him like a god but couldn’t serve as conversation partners.

Though he loved them dearly, there were limits to what they could do together.

Sometimes he had tried teaching particularly intelligent individuals how to read, but it was futile. Regardless of intelligence, they couldn’t understand why they should learn something like letters.

Not that he resented his kind for it.

While Leoneo was relatively intelligent, he hadn’t abandoned his beastman nature. He enjoyed basking in the sparse sunlight filtering through the primeval forest and gnawing on roughly charred animals, bones and all.

But right now, he desperately needed an advisor. The outcome of this conversation could determine the fate of all beastmen.

‘Ideally, we’d be allocated territory where even the weakest individuals could live safely. But they won’t give that up easily. So then…’

Should he ask for a region inhospitable to humans where few lived?

He’d heard there was a monster-infested frontier in the south and a great forest in the west. The latter would probably be better.

“Hero. What if we went to the great forest? If you don’t interfere, we’ll manage coexistence with the elves ourselves.”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

The reply suggested the Hero didn’t care much about elves. He said those who wanted to go to the great forest could do so. However, he had another destination to propose.

“There’s a place called the Kingdom of Microssia.”

“…Kingdom?”

The country that Tetrad member Bynessa and the succubus had invaded together.

Though he didn’t know what it looked like or exactly where it was, he knew it had suffered greatly at the hands of the Demon Lord’s army.

“Are you suggesting I take my kind there?”

“Yes. I’ll send you there after we eliminate the Demon Lord.”

At first glance, it seemed like an insane proposal.

How could beastmen from the Demon Lord’s army settle in a country that had been invaded by that same army? It was obvious that the struggle would continue until one side perished. Though they would certainly win, many weaker beastmen would die in the process.

“That’s unacceptable…”

“Hear me out. I’m not saying to mix with humans. The kingdom consists of 60 islands. We’ll empty several large ones for you to settle on. Some islands are big enough to establish countries, so you won’t be uncomfortable.”

“What…?”

Evicting tens or hundreds of thousands of people from their homes to give that land to beastmen as an autonomous territory?

He wondered if such words should really come from the Hero who protected humanity. Yet the Hero continued calmly explaining his plan.

“The kingdom has been declining since the Demon Lord’s army’s invasion.”

“I’ve eliminated all the royalty, nobility, knights, and mages who ruled there for political reasons… Of course, I didn’t do it willingly, but with a heavy heart.”

“After defeating the Demon Lord, I’ll relocate the residents, and you can bring your kind to settle there.”

A proposal to provide a fresh start for his kind. He said they wouldn’t need to deal with the Empire’s people who they had fought to the death, nor would there be adversaries threatening beastmen’s lives.

Though as a lizardman he could barely taste sweetness, he thought this was the most fitting situation for the expression “sweet offer.”

The Hero even explained how they could obtain food after settling in the kingdom.

“The kingdom is currently struggling with wyverns. They’re not threatening to us, but they’re living disasters to fragile humans.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Deal with the wyverns appropriately and live off the rewards. If you take down a few, humans won’t care that you were once a Tetrad of the Demon Lord’s army. They’ll gladly offer meat, fish, and fruit. That’s how you can live.”

The offer was so kind it was almost unbelievable.

‘Even the Demon Lord’s army never gave me such benefits.’

Honestly, the Demon Lord’s army had never shown any kindness to beastmen. The only time was when they gave gold after yielding to the Beast King’s show of force.

He wanted to accept the Hero’s offer immediately, but… being accustomed to mistreatment, he found excessive kindness suspicious.

Why would the Hero create an autonomous region for beastmen, even at the expense of fellow humans? Surely a Hero would love humanity.

Before he could ask, the Hero spoke first.

“Truthfully, more than a few of my Academy classmates, seniors, and juniors have died at the hands of your beastmen. I have special affection for the kingdom, so it’s not easy for me to give that territory to you. I’m being honest.”

“Then why go this far?”

To this question, the Hero simply answered, “Because regardless of my hatred for beastmen, I respect your strength.” He said he didn’t want to make an enemy of someone strong enough to take responsibility for all beastmen.

“If we can give up a few islands and get help from you and your kind, it’s a profitable deal for us. I’m just making a cold calculation.”

“……”

Respect.

It was a statement that reminded him of the treatment he had received from the Demon Lord’s army.

Memories surfaced: going to rescue his kind with an injured body after effectively neutralizing the Hero’s party last year without receiving any reward; being coldly ignored whenever he advocated for all-out war against the Empire.

Along with those memories came the humiliation he had felt each time.

‘Of all people, it’s the Hero who first acknowledges my struggles.’

It felt as if some of his accumulated resentment was being washed away.

Before accepting the Hero’s proposal, Leoneo looked at the tribal chiefs again. As always, they were giving him looks of unwavering trust.

Of course, that trust was directed more at the pack leader than the king, but that was the nature of beastmen.

‘Yes. This is enough.’

Not a Tetrad of the Demon Lord’s army, but a leader of beastmen. That was enough.

The Beast King finally felt his heart lighten.

***

“Very well. I’ll be your guide. But keep your promise after eliminating the Demon Lord.”

The Beast King spoke with what seemed like a relieved expression. Of course, “relieved” was just my guess, as I lacked the ability to read emotions on a reptile’s face.

But I doubted my guess was wrong.

After all, the beastmen’s long-cherished wish to live independently in a safe land would be fulfilled, albeit in a limited way.

In return, I gained the help of an active Tetrad member.

‘Though I simply called him a guide, it won’t end there.’

Frankly, it was essentially an agreement to raise our swords together against the Demon Lord. Given the Beast King’s past actions, he wouldn’t just provide directions and stand by watching.

The Beast King seemed to have made up his mind and became quite proactive.

“I can’t guarantee it, but I’ll try to get trained wyverns. I’m not sure if wyverns trained by high-ranking demons will allow you to ride them.”

“It’s worth trying.”

“And if possible, we should move up the execution date. The Demon Lord’s castle will find out about our contact one way or another. Perhaps even now, a high-ranking demon’s familiar is observing us from somewhere I can’t detect.”

I could address this concern.

I quickly devised a scheme and suggested to the Beast King: “Pretend you’re interacting with humans to conduct counter-intelligence.” That way, the Demon Lord’s army would waste time trying to determine if the excuse was true or false.

“Oh, and while you’re at it, have your beastmen pretend to look for gold dust in places like valleys. Gold mines are often found near places where gold dust appears. Say you’re trying to lure humans with it.”

“You people are all about gold.”

“Yes. But you don’t need to keep up the pretense for long. We’ll set out for the Demonic Land as soon as the Saintess’s abilities improve… Just hold out a little longer.”

That concluded our negotiation.

Before parting, I made sure to ask about the recently recruited Tetrad member (not the lich I killed). If they possessed strength on par with the Beast King, they would be a force we couldn’t ignore.

Unfortunately, the Beast King said he didn’t know their identity.

“They didn’t tell me. I just know they exist.”

He said he had no idea what race they were from, how strong they were, or what they were doing where. He shared this information with a self-deprecating remark about his own standing.

‘He doesn’t know? This isn’t about standing.’

While there was no doubt the Beast King and his subordinates were treated like beasts, it didn’t seem like information was withheld just to insult him. They probably hid it out of caution against the Beast King, who had even negotiated with me.

Thanks to these circumstances, I could guess who the other Tetrad member was.

It seemed that succubus, Iclit, had been promoted to Tetrad.

A low-level succubus with minimal magical power.

She must have become stronger somehow after becoming a Tetrad, but at best she’d only be as strong as an average high-ranking demon. From a purely strategic perspective, it was a meaningless appointment. This meant she wasn’t promoted to Tetrad for combat purposes.

I couldn’t tell what she was doing or where, but it was clear she wasn’t in the Demonic Land.

“What’s wrong, Hero? What I said about not knowing the other Tetrad member is true. I have no reason to lie to you now.”

“No, I’m not doubting you. I just have a rough idea. She might be causing trouble somewhere on the continent right now.”

At my words, the Beast King narrowed his vertical pupils as if he had some idea too. He was indeed intelligent.

As soon as I confirmed his reaction, I turned to leave. I didn’t say anything pathetic like we’d see each other again soon. I only said a passing word to the Saintess, who was swallowing nervously.

“Saintess, I too feel guilty toward the people of the kingdom, but this method is best for them as well.”

“What…?”

“Please understand.”

Of course, I said this for the Beast King to hear. But my statement that this method was best for the kingdom wasn’t a lie. Rather than slowly perishing, it wouldn’t be bad for them to offer some food and rely on the Beast King’s strength.

Shortly after, I headed toward the imperial capital, leaving the beastmen behind. I was returning victorious after dealing with two Tetrad members in just a few days’ time.