Ch.401Chapter 401 – Before Heading to the Snowy Field (1)

After subduing Baren, some time later.

By the time the heat of battle had subsided and all the bear beastmen had calmed down, we were gathered in the largest building in the bear tribe’s capital.

From a distance, it looked like a large tent made of connected animal hides, several times larger than the other houses.

I was told it served as both a meeting hall for deciding tribal matters and as the chieftain’s residence.

In other words, it was Baren and Jusha’s home.

“…So you didn’t come with the intention of attacking our tribe?”

“That’s right.”

I spoke directly to the bewildered-looking Baren.

“I only came to demand compensation for the disrespect.”

“By disrespect, you mean…”

“Yes, we did commit a discourtesy!”

Jusha interrupted, her face slightly pale, as if wanting to prevent her father from saying something inappropriate.

“So, compensation, right? Of course we’ll provide it…!”

Jusha spoke quickly, apparently still afraid of me.

I couldn’t help but frown at her somewhat desperate demeanor.

‘…I don’t like this.’

Seeing a child so clearly afraid of me gave me a sense of self-loathing.

It was painful to watch someone so young trying so hard to appease me.

In a way, her reaction was a sign that things were proceeding according to our plan, but I still didn’t like seeing a child act this way.

Eventually, I found myself asking Baren:

“Chieftain. Are you going to let the child keep speaking?”

“Hmm.”

At my words, Baren’s face seemed to brighten a bit.

He too probably disliked seeing his still-young daughter continue like this.

Though it was a brief moment, I could clearly sense we had formed a mutual understanding not to burden the child.

Baren nodded and looked at Jusha.

“So, about the compensation…”

“Jusha. That’s enough.”

Baren said quietly.

Jusha quickly looked at Baren and said:

“But!”

“I will handle the discussion. And if you continue like this, problems that could be resolved won’t be.”

“But…!”

“…Consider your father’s feelings. And that person’s feelings too.”

Only then did Jusha look at me with slightly surprised eyes.

Soon she carefully addressed me:

“Um, did I offend you somehow?”

I could see Jusha’s eyes watching me cautiously.

For now, reassuring this child should be the priority.

“There’s nothing particularly offensive.”

“Then…”

“But I would like you to understand this.”

I spoke quietly, looking at Jusha.

“I have no intention of fighting further, and neither does Baren.”

“Is that so?”

“Dialogue was the goal from the beginning. I used somewhat rough methods because I expected bear beastmen to approach aggressively in their warrior way, but that’s all.”

I said this to reassure Jusha.

But still seemingly afraid, Jusha quietly said:

“But we need to take responsibility…”

‘A child like her talking about responsibility.’

I remembered Noah’s words about Jusha being the future of the bear tribe, a mutant.

I somewhat understood what he meant, but also thought it was too much.

‘Responsibility is too much for a child.’

I didn’t know her exact age, but she was clearly not an adult.

Taking responsibility is an adult’s job, not something for children.

And fortunately, there had been no casualties among the bear beastmen due to any failure to control our strength.

Though there were quite a few who were injured more than expected, they said everyone would be fine with proper care, which was a relief.

In other words, since no one was seriously injured, the weight of responsibility shouldn’t be too heavy.

There was absolutely no need to pressure a child about taking responsibility in this situation.

Whatever we wanted, her father could provide sufficiently.

“Little miss. I have no intention of making you take responsibility for everything.”

I spoke quietly, looking at Jusha.

“And you don’t need to be so afraid of me. Right now, I’m having a conversation with you all as equals.”

“But…”

“If you say otherwise, it would only mean I’m a monster incapable of dialogue. Do I look like a monster to you?”

I quietly asked Jusha.

She looked at me silently, then quietly said:

“…You don’t look like that kind of person.”

“Then it’s settled.”

I spoke quietly, looking at Jusha.

“There’s no need to fear me, child. You can relax.”

Slightly imitating Diana’s manner of speaking, I set down the scabbard I had been wearing at my waist.

Jusha stared blankly at this for a moment, then quietly bowed her head and said:

“…In just a few years, I’ll be an adult…”

“Which means you’re still a child for those few years.”

“…Anyway, I was wrong…”

“Ahem!”

I deliberately coughed.

Soon Jusha stared at me blankly, then made an “oops” face and slipped behind Baren.

From there, she peeked out slightly and said:

“…Thank you for your consideration.”

I nodded quietly, looking at Jusha.

Her face brightened a bit, as if she finally realized I wouldn’t harm her in any way.

‘It’s certainly not pleasant to see a child afraid.’

Children are precious.

She was still peeking at me from behind Baren, probably because she didn’t yet know exactly what kind of person I was, but her brightened expression suggested she had calmed down somewhat.

I wanted to wait until Jusha was completely at ease, but unfortunately, we had matters to attend to, so it seemed better to proceed with the conversation while hoping she would bear with us a little longer.

“Shall we begin then?”

“Let’s do that.”

Baren said, looking down at me.

It wasn’t that he was being arrogant; he was simply taller than me.

“What do you want from me, Baren?”

“I have three demands.”

I said, looking at Baren.

“First, don’t deliberately drag us into the problems of the bear tribe or Bestia. Second, when friction occurs with other beastmen within Bestia, the bear tribe will back us up.”

The first demand was to prevent any disruption to our journey if we got involved in bear tribe or Bestia affairs.

The second was to avoid unnecessary friction with other beastmen by borrowing the influence of the bear tribe, which had established considerable power in Bestia.

Fortunately, Baren seemed to understand the reasons well enough, as he nodded and said:

“These days, even though our influence has been somewhat diminished by the impressive momentum of Rizanis and the lizardmen, the bear tribe’s standing in Bestia is by no means weak. Both demands seem easy enough to fulfill. And the last one?”

“Supplies for venturing deep into the snow fields. And a guarantee of safety.”

Baren’s expression changed slightly.

I elaborated further:

“Actually, we have sufficient supplies ourselves, but I’m requesting this in case there’s something we’re not aware of.”

“Safety? The dangers of the snow fields aren’t something the bear tribe can fully manage.”

“Just guarantee it as far as the bear tribe’s power reaches. We’ll handle the rest ourselves.”

Baren closed his eyes for a moment, as if thinking.

Then he nodded and said:

“…So you want safe passage from bear tribe territory to the edge of the snow fields. I understand.”

Baren looked at me and said:

“But from what you’re saying, it sounds like you need to go deep into the snow fields.”

“I have business at the Warrior’s Sanctuary and beyond.”

I spoke indirectly about Evgenia’s sanctuary.

Since Noah had mentioned the sanctuary was a place for great warriors, Baren, who was once one of them, would probably know about it.

At my words, Baren’s expression changed slightly.

“The Warrior’s Sanctuary…”

“As far as I know, there’s no rule against humans entering, right?”

I asked preemptively in case he might say it was off-limits.

Even if he did, I was planning to force my way in anyway.

However, Baren had no such intention and shook his head, saying:

“You misunderstand. There’s no law against humans entering. In fact, in Bestia, proper laws are…”

“…I’ll pass on the local situation.”

I quickly cut him off, not wanting to hear about what seemed like an even more lawless place than I’d imagined.

Baren bowed his head once.

“I apologize. Anyway, humans entering the snow fields is not an issue. I was just surprised because it’s been a while since I’ve seen humans wanting to go there.”

“There have been humans who entered?”

“Yes. Not all together, but at different times. The most recent was a woman. Her name was definitely…”

“Perhaps, Maria?”

Sera asked tensely.

Baren tilted his head slightly and said:

“…I think it might have been. To be precise, I only briefly saw her from a distance talking with other beastmen about entering, so I’m not certain.”

“Do you know what kind of beastmen they were?”

Baren hesitated for a moment.

Then, he quietly said:

“They were lizardmen.”

“What?”

“They were lizardmen. At that time, they weren’t very powerful… but they treated that woman with great respect. As if they were looking at a benefactor of their tribe.”

Baren added that the reason he noticed even from a distance was because the lizardmen were being exceptionally courteous.

“Do you remember when this was?”

“It was quite some time ago. Maybe 10 years, or 15 years. Since I only briefly saw this from afar, I can’t say for certain.”

Baren said apologetically.

“However, judging by their reaction, I suspect the woman might have visited even earlier than that. The lizardmen didn’t try to stop her at all.”

His words made me ponder a bit.

‘…Lizardmen again, huh.’

I really wanted to confirm if it was truly Maria, but once again, the connection was with the lizardmen.

Honestly, I didn’t want to get involved with them because of the bad impression they left…

‘It would be good if we could confirm whether it was really Maria.’

If it was Maria, it would mean Sera’s grandmother had been here, increasing the likelihood that the Philosopher’s Stone was here.

Especially, it might be at the final seal.

As I was slightly considering how to find and contact a friendly lizardman, Baren spoke again.

“I remember the other one clearly because it left a strong impression.”

“Who was it?”

“A man who didn’t reveal his name. However, recently he’s been called this.”

Baren looked at me and said:

“The Dragon Slayer.”

There was only one person I knew who was called the Dragon Slayer.

“…Idea.”

So that guy had also visited the Warrior’s Sanctuary.

It must have left quite an impression, as Baren quietly said:

“It was several years ago. Before the woman I mentioned earlier. He had the face of someone who had lost everything. To be honest, it felt like he was going in there to die. I was concerned and tried talking to him.”

“What did he say?”

At my question, Baren began to recall.

Then, with a slightly unpleasant expression, he said:

“He kept muttering that he lost everything because he was weak, that he needed to become stronger, that he had to abandon everything… He sounded like a madman. It was eerie, like someone who had lost something precious in an instant.”

Baren said this while placing his hand on Jusha’s head and continued:

“I just remember looking at his back and vowing not to end up like that.”

“I see.”

Well, as they say, there’s no grave without a reason—Idea must have gone through something too.

But that’s all.

The fact that he’s my enemy hasn’t changed, and he still needs to pay for what he’s done.

‘So Idea knows the geography of the snow fields.’

Although we have Somnus, so things should work out somehow, this means Idea himself knows the terrain.

We shouldn’t act too leisurely and risk being caught up to.

“…We’re getting off track. To get to the conclusion, can you agree to all the conditions?”

“Excuse me, but…”

“Yes. I will agree to all of them.”

Baren quietly interrupted Jusha.

Jusha immediately looked at Baren and said:

“But, Dad. What about Rizanis…?”

“We have no choice. We’ll have to deal with Rizanis and the lizardmen ourselves.”

Reassuring Jusha, Baren looked at me and said:

“The bear tribe will honor all conditions. This all started because I failed to read your intentions and acted on my own, so it’s right that I take responsibility and apologize.”

Baren said in a serious voice:

“I swear. From not dragging you into unnecessary fights to accepting all your requests.”

“Thank you.”

I felt somewhat relieved, thinking that things were progressing quickly.

Whether the bear tribe would actually keep their word remained to be seen, but for now, the negotiation could be considered successful.

“I’m glad the dialogue went well, Mr. Kay.”

“Yes.”

I smiled at Sera as I spoke.

Baren looked down at Jusha for a moment, then gently turned to me.

“Despite my impudence, I have one favor to ask of you, Kay.”

“A favor?”

“Yes.”

Baren spoke solemnly.

“Of course, you don’t have to honor this request. I promise not to express any complaints if you refuse. In fact, I’m hesitant to bring it up since it would place a significant burden on you.”

I considered refusing outright without hearing the content, but then my eyes met Jusha’s.

‘This isn’t right.’

Naturally, my companions were far more important than that child.

I shouldn’t create a situation where my companions might be endangered by agreeing to Baren’s request.

But seeing those eyes that hadn’t fully relaxed yet, I felt I couldn’t refuse harshly.

‘I guess I have no choice.’

Just because I listened didn’t mean I couldn’t refuse.

I might as well hear what he had to say.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing too grand…”

Baren composed himself and spoke.

A moment later, my eyes widened involuntarily at the words that came from his mouth.