Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 259

259―――――

Befriending the Beasts

“I… I’m living like this…”

Every time the middle-aged cat-man sniffled and asked for a hug, it was a real struggle to suppress the urge to tell him to get lost immediately.

Fortunately, Zion’s quick-witted mother-in-law, Yumi, seemed to sense her son-in-law’s inner thoughts and promptly snatched Gus the Great’s ear.

“Kkeueoeoeok!”

“Come with me, you damned old man.”

“Ear, ear, ear!

My ear is falling off!

You woman!

Please don’t do this!

Not the ear!”

The Great King, the leader of the Myaohn tribe, was acting like this, of all people.

At this point, one might expect the other Myaohn to look at him with considerable disdain, but those gathered around seemed unfazed, as if this was a common occurrence.

Rather, they seemed more curious about Zion than about Gus the Great or his wife, Yumi.

“Nyaang.”

Suddenly, Ria rushed over, linked arms with Zion, and pulled him forcefully to her side.

Signifying that this human man was hers, and no cat should set their sights on him from now on.

“Tch.”

At that, a few women grumbled and returned to their daily routines.

Some went to practice hunting, others headed to sunny spots to sunbathe, and so on.

“…This is much more chaotic than I imagined.”

“It’s always like this.

Just because they’re beast-people, just because they’re the Myaohn, doesn’t mean they’re any different.

They just live a slightly more agile and slightly freer life than humans.”

A little more than slightly, it seemed.

Zion muttered inwardly and followed Gus the Great and Yumi.

“So.

You heard from Ria, I presume.

Judging by the fact that you arrived right on time.”

“That’s right.”

“Frankly speaking, our Myaohn tribe welcomes you to some extent, but the Wolrang [Wolf-like beast people] and Hobi [Tiger-like beast people] tribes are uncertain.

We are beast-people, but we can’t force our thoughts on them.”

As if he had thrown away his earlier lighthearted demeanor, Gus the Great muttered in a very serious and low voice.

As he said, if this meeting were only among the Myaohn, there would be no problem with Zion’s participation.

After all, Zion was the mate of Ria, the current princess of the Myaohn tribe, so he could be considered part of the same tribe.

But the other two tribes, Wolrang and Hobi, were different.

Zion was an official guest of the Myaohn, but that was only the Myaohn’s business; it wasn’t their business, as they were different tribes.

Whether they welcomed him or opposed him was ultimately up to their choice.

“In my opinion, I think this was too hasty.”

Yumi sat elegantly with her legs crossed, looking at Zion and Ria.

And then, she glared at her husband, Gus the Great, who had rushed into things too hastily, with a slightly cold look.

“It’s good that you called the Wolrang’s chieftain and the Hobi’s grand matriarch.

What’s next?

You caused such a ruckus that the Wolrang and Hobi were surprised and accepted the tribal meeting, but what’s next?

There’s nothing, you damned old man.

Were you planning to call them and just say you wanted to say hello!”

“No, you old hag!

Stop hitting me!

The Great King is going to die!”

“Just die already, you scoundrel.

I can’t live a full life because of you, I can’t!”

“Nyaang?

What on earth are you talking about?

Mom, Dad?”

Even Ria was reacting as if she was hearing this for the first time.

At that, Yumi grabbed Gus the Great’s lips with an even angrier face.

“Eueueueup!”

“Oh ho?

Now you didn’t even explain it to your daughter?

Don’t tell me you just proudly said, ‘This father has called a tribal meeting!’ right?

Without any reason, just saying it’s urgent?”

“I, is that true?”

Ria asked in a flustered voice, and Gus the Great glanced around before nodding.

Thanks to that, not only Yumi and Ria, but even Zion covered his face, muttering, ‘Oh, shit.

God.’

‘No, damn it!

I thought you had made up some appropriate excuse before calling everyone!’

The words ‘I’m going crazy’ were about to burst out, but Gus the Great, a man who still didn’t know his sin, shouted confidently.

“I didn’t call you without any reason!

The world is dangerous, so I said let’s talk about it, and that’s why I called you to gather!”

“…This damned old man?

So.

The world is dangerous, so what?

If there’s a beginning, there must be a process and an end.

You’re not thinking about anything else, just that the world is dangerous, so let’s gather and chat, is that what you were thinking?

What’s the exact topic, what’s the topic!”

At his wife’s sharp criticism, Gus the Great became tongue-tied.

And then, he succeeded in turning his wife inside out once again by saying, ‘Isn’t that something we can just find naturally while talking about the world?’

‘…’

At that point, it was almost like he was deliberately trying to make her burst.

Zion watched Gus the Great and Yumi and recalled the words of his father, the great sage.

―Listening to your wife may not bring benefits, but at least you won’t suffer losses.

Why?

Because at least you won’t get nagged.

If you do get nagged, whether you did something wrong or not, just apologize.

Unless you want to know what you did wrong starting tomorrow morning.

―

Recalling once again that they were always lessons that became bone and flesh, Zion cautiously opened his mouth.

“Um, Gus the Great.”

“You can call me father-in-law!”

“…”

Thwack!

Yumi immediately struck Gus the Great in the stomach.

Thanks to that, he clutched his stomach, coughing, and waved his hand as if to say, ‘Go ahead and speak.’

“If there isn’t a specific topic set yet, I would like to get more involved.”

“…Is that possible?

I don’t mind, but the Wolrang’s chieftain and the Hobi tribe’s grand matriarch are not easy people.

Especially the Hobi tribe, they especially hate humans.

You know why, right?”

The Hobi tribe had the fewest members of the three tribes, but they often produced the most outstanding warriors.

As their name suggested, they were a collection of much larger beasts than the Myaohn or Wolrang tribes.

Unlike the two groups that compromised with humans to some extent and lived relatively well, they always maintained a hostile atmosphere towards humans and occasionally hunted their livestock.

The Myaohn and Wolrang sides asked and protested, begging them not to do that.

Humans also repeatedly warned them to speak up if they had any complaints, but it only subsided for a while, and in the end, it always repeated itself to the same extent.

‘The reason they show so much animosity towards humans.

It’s because humans committed terrible acts in the past, though not now.’

Humans wanted the beautiful, soft, durable, and rare fur of the Hobi tribe.

Because of this, nobles and even the royal family turned a blind eye and supported the slave traders who attacked them.

As time passed, it was determined that creating internal strife would no longer be beneficial, so all hostile acts against other races were nationally prohibited, but those who had been severely harmed could not let go of their animosity towards humans even after time passed.

“I know.

Even now, there are rumors of unidentified groups occasionally attacking livestock, and that they are the Hobi tribe.”

“Fortunately, you know well.”

“But it’s also an urgent matter.

Similar to the Great King’s words that the world is dangerous and we should talk about it.”

“…Is something really going on?

I just thought it was always noisy because of the power struggles that humans usually wage.”

“It’s a more urgent matter.

If things go wrong, not only Hispania [A kingdom] but also all the other races living within it could be harmed.”

At Zion’s words, not only Gus the Great and Yumi but even Ria had a ‘Really?’ expression.

Of course, because he hadn’t said a single word to her, who had been with Zion all along.

‘Sorry, Ria.

But what can I do?

Originally, the world is all about deceiving and being deceived.’

Zion, who conveyed his apologies inwardly, continued to speak with the most sincere, serious, and mournful expression and voice he could muster.

“As a result of my investigation, it seems that the fairies are plotting something.

In order to be trusted by the descendants of light alone!”

―

Sasaasak―.

Although it was midday, the deep forest was so dark that even the sunlight barely penetrated.

In the meantime, the bushes shook, and soon, crimson eyes appeared and advanced all at once.

Keureureu―.

Just hearing it would make ordinary humans tremble and collapse, and the huge beasts opened their mouths, revealing their fangs, and…

“…Good grief.

What wind blew to call this tribal meeting so urgently.”

“Chieftain, isn’t it the first time the Myaohn tribe’s Great King has called a tribal meeting?”

“That’s what I’m saying.

Did he get hit by his wife so much that his head cracked?”

If Zion had heard it, he might have chuckled, saying, ‘That’s a very likely possibility.’

From a human’s point of view, beasts that might be dogs, wolves, or even more terrifying creatures jumped over the stream and quickly took on the form of beast-people.

They all had black hair and eyes, and their appearances and speech were very rough, giving them all the atmosphere of being warriors worth a hundred men.

‘I’ve heard that the world is dangerous.

But was it enough to call a tribal meeting so urgently?

Does the Myaohn tribe have any news that our Wolrang don’t know?

Damn it, I can’t know anything.’

The Myaohn and Wolrang were unknowingly conscious of each other as rivals.

Of course, it wasn’t to the extent of fighting to the death, but if one side started a fight first, they wouldn’t avoid or ignore it, but would jump in with a ‘Yeah, let’s do it’ attitude.

In that situation, Gus the Great, the leader of the Myaohn tribe, seemed to know something and urgently requested a meeting, so it was quite a blow to the pride of ‘Hound,’ the chieftain of the Wolrang tribe.

‘Kkeueung.

It’ll be a bit of a pain if my subordinates act up.’

Hound, who was smacking his lips and running, suddenly noticed that something was watching him intently, kicked off the ground, and kicked up a stone of appropriate size, kicking it straight to that spot.

Shoo-oong!…

At the same time as the sound suddenly disappeared, something rushed out of there like lightning.

It was a truly instantaneous attack, but Hound slightly twisted his body to avoid it, lightly pushed it away with his hand, and opened his mouth.

“I almost did it seriously, Grand Matriarch.

If you keep surprising me like this, I might hurt you even if you’re my granddaughter.”

“…Hahaha!”

Then, an old man’s laughter was heard from across the way.

Immediately after, several beast-people with stripes drawn on their cheeks appeared.

The huge beast that had attacked Hound spun softly in the air and transformed into a woman, standing next to him.

“Long time no see, Hound.”

“Have you been well, Paulga-nim [Respected title].”

“I apologize for the previous action, Wolrang Chieftain.”

“It’s okay, Lafra.

You’re just like your grandmother, even your personality is strange.

Anyway, the Hobi are all incomprehensible.”

Even while grumbling like that, there was no great animosity between the Wolrang and Hobi.

Unlike the fairies, who were always divided into factions and fighting each other, the beast-people had a strong mindset of at least trying to live well among their own kind.

“Were you waiting for us, having arrived first?”

“Yes.”

“If you go just a little further, the meeting place will come out, but you deliberately lurked here and thought of playing tricks on us.

You’re really amazing, huh?

You’re amazing.”

Even with Hound’s grumbling, Paulga, the grand matriarch of the Hobi tribe, only smiled and urged them to move on.

As the guests from Wolrang and Hobi arrived at the meeting place, the Myaohn warriors guarding the area stepped back all at once, and Gus the Great and Ria appeared from among them.

“Gus the Great.”

“Chieftain Hound.”

“Grand Matriarch Paulga.”

They called each other’s names and greeted each other simply.

Then, as if by appointment, they sat down on the chairs prepared in front and looked around at each other.

“…?”

As expected, it was the Hobi who first noticed that there was a stranger.

They sensed the strong smell of a race they particularly disliked among the Myaohn and made a light cry, meaning ‘What is this?’

“Ah, calm down.

I was going to introduce him anyway.”

“Introduce?”

“He’s my son-in-law.

Ria… well, she used to be Winnie, but now she’s the mate of my daughter who received a new name from her mate.”

Saying that, Gus the Great gestured slightly.

Immediately after, a handsome young man stepped forward slightly and bowed gracefully.

“Nice to meet you, beast-people.

I’m Zion Clausen from Hispania.”

“Human?”

“Why is a human appearing at a meeting of beast-people?”

The Hobi tribe immediately showed displeasure.

The Wolrang, though not as much as them, also looked at Gus the Great, meaning that this was definitely not right.

Gus the Great was about to open his mouth to calm them down when.

“Since we’ve met such precious people, we must give them a precious treat.”

Zion said that and clapped lightly.

Then, several Myaohn women, who were Ria’s bodyguards and porters, came in carrying something full and put it down in front of them with a groan.

“I look forward to working with you again, Wolrang Chieftain, and Hobi Grand Matriarch.”

The gift that Zion showed them was something that even the fiercest beast could not help but follow.

It was the highest quality meat, a full course of full courses with a variety of types, both raw and moderately cooked.

―The way to befriend animals is simple.

It’s food.

If you become friends with food, it’s quick.

―

Remembering his father, who communicated with the dogs in the countryside while saying ‘Oogjuju,’ Zion smiled.

―――――――Author’s Notes―――――――

Meat is loved by both humans and beasts.

I really like meat too, I’ll try it once!