30-66

EP.66 The Next Ally is a Cow Beastkin 

The morning after a pleasurable night. 

Three people were sitting at the table: myself, Milleille, and Satiana. 

Including Eintri, who was assisting, there were four of us in total. 

“Well then, since we’re now unofficially allies, let’s work well together from here on.” 

Now there was nothing to fear. 

Milleille was on our side. 

This meant the king couldn’t touch us recklessly anymore. 

With the Demon King’s army, Milleille’s forces, and my own abilities combined, even rebellion was possible. 

“So, Hero, what are your plans?” 

“I haven’t heard anything except that I should establish my position. Since we’ve come this far, you must have a plan, right?” 

Both of their gazes turned to me. 

It wouldn’t be bad to just watch how things unfold, 

but it’s better to take action than to do nothing. 

“I do have a plan.” 

“What is it?” 

“Do you remember when I told you about the lady general in the east?” 

Milleille quickly caught on to my intention. 

“So you mean to cooperate with that lady general?” 

“That’s right. She’s ambitious, so she won’t be satisfied just by cooperating with another country.” 

“But the problem comes after you defeat the king together, doesn’t it?” 

Ambitious people are hard to handle. 

Even if you keep them under you, you never know when they’ll rebel. 

In that case, it’s best to just let them have what they want. 

“Let her cooperate and even become king.” 

“I can’t tell if you’re not greedy or just not interested.” 

I brushed off Satiana’s criticism. 

“I have no intention of becoming king anyway.” 

“But couldn’t she become your enemy again if she ascends the throne?” 

“That would be difficult. I’m the one supporting her kingship. Plus, with the Demon King’s army and Milleille’s cooperation, only a fool would refuse.” 

I have no interest in the troublesome business of being king. 

It just so happened that the king became the target of my revenge. 

Honestly, once my revenge is over, I just want to live a carefree life. 

“I just want to live freely and spend a lot of time in the bedroom.” 

“I knew it. You’re just a guy with an absurdly strong sex drive…” 

Satiana’s usual criticism. 

But this time, Milleille delivered an unexpected counter. 

“Looks like… the Demon King was conquered by you just like I was?” 

“Huh…?!” 

“Judging by that reaction, I’m right.” 

“N-no…! Uh… it’s just that this guy did whatever he wanted…” 

Satiana spilled the truth easily. 

She couldn’t keep up with Milleille’s wit. 

Technically, the Demon King’s side held a higher position, 

but in reality, Milleille was smiling as she watched Satiana flustered. 

“Since you’re in similar situations, get along well.” 

“Ugh…! D-don’t say unnecessary things…!” 

Milleille answered cheerfully in Satiana’s place. 

“Yes~ Hero~♥” 

“Milleille…” 

Eintri quietly called her master’s name from the side. 

She seemed a bit shocked by Milleille’s flirtatious attitude. 

“Eintri, don’t you want to get along?” 

“N-no… Hero…” 

“That’s not it. Call me what you usually do. Milleille gave you permission, didn’t she?” 

Eintri had become my personal knight. 

It wasn’t something I demanded. 

After hearing what Eintri had gone through, Milleille gave her permission. 

Refusing or disliking it was not allowed. 

Either way, it was a command from her master. 

“Yes… M-master…” 

“That girl is pretty pitiful too…” 

Satiana looked at Eintri with pity. 

“By the way… sorry to interrupt, but may I share some news?” 

“Hm? Is there news?” 

“I heard that beastkin have formed groups and are raiding nearby villages.” 

Now that I think about it, I’d heard something like that in passing. 

Apparently, bandits had appeared in the kingdom and it was a problem. 

I thought it was just a common occurrence, but it seems it wasn’t. 

“Beastkin, huh… That’s a unique kind of bandit.” 

“They don’t seem like ordinary bandits.” 

“Is there something bothering you?” 

“Well… I heard they’re acting for the rights of beastkin…” 

I think I get what this is about. 

Beastkin are a race that’s easily discriminated against. 

“Rather than rights… they’re probably gathering to settle somewhere or to strengthen themselves.” 

“They’re not harming children or committing extreme pillaging, but damage is damage…” 

“That’s a rather kind bandit.” 

Maybe they’re trying to maintain a positive public image. 

But to the king, they’re just a target for subjugation. 

“If I had no connection, I’d just let them run wild…” 

“But it seems they’re targeting our territory…” 

I had no desire to subjugate them. 

It just felt like taking care of someone else’s headache. 

Still, I couldn’t just ignore it. 

“I’ll have to go myself.” 

“What are you planning to do?” 

In the past, there would have been no way. 

I would have just watched. 

But now, with Milleille as an ally, I couldn’t just leave it be, and there were ways to resolve it. 

“I’ll persuade them.” 

“Oh… you mean to incorporate them into our territory?” 

As expected of Milleille. 

She figured out my plan before I even said it. 

“You’re sharp. If we help them settle peacefully instead of fighting, and if they’re strong enough to trouble the kingdom’s army, they’ll be useful.” 

“They won’t trust you so easily.” 

“If I explain the situation honestly, it’ll work out. They can’t do anything to me anyway.” 

From the beastkin’s perspective, it’s something to be grateful for. 

It’s better than pinning hopes on a faint chance. 

Instead of living as bandits, they can look forward to a more certain future. 

We’d also gain powerful allies. 

“By the way, I heard the beastkin leader is a beautiful woman…” 

“Hmm… then I’ll leave things here to you and go myself!” 

As I stood up, Satiana looked at me incredulously. 

“You have another motive, don’t you?” 

Of course, it’s not a purely noble purpose. 

But they are bandits, after all. 

Shouldn’t they pay for their pillaging? 

“I’ll take care of it, including the punishment for what they’ve stolen so far.” 

If I can win over the beastkin leader and the lady general, 

with both on my side, the king will be nothing but a puppet. 

“Then I’ll entrust everything to you, Hero.” 

“Leave it to me, Lady Milleille.” 

I left to meet the leader of the bandit group. 

“For the rights of beastkin!” 

The beastkin were gathered in a dense forest. 

They were similar to humans, but faced discrimination. 

The reason was simple: 

They looked human, but had animal ears or horns. 

Just for that, they were often exploited. 

“Leader Aliya! The ones who went on the raid succeeded!” 

“That’s great. As expected, Leader Aliya’s orders were right!” 

“Alright, let’s wait for Leader Aliya to speak.” 

At the center of the group was a woman. 

A beautiful woman with green hair. 

On her head were horns, marking her as a beastkin, along with unique ears. 

“It’s thanks to all of you.” 

Aliya was a cow beastkin. 

To be precise, she was of a monster lineage similar to a cow. 

But even among beastkin, such details weren’t scrutinized. 

Beastkin have diverse traits by individual. 

Comparing bloodlines was meaningless. 

More than anything, they had risen up against their current oppression. 

“What happened with the kingdom’s army?” 

“They’re too busy clashing with the eastern nobles to pay attention to us. There’s been almost no damage.” 

“That’s good.” 

“It’s a chaotic time, thanks to the eastern lady general baring her fangs.” 

The kingdom’s army had no leeway. 

The king was suffering from headaches every day. 

Problems he thought would be easily resolved kept growing. 

“There’s no war yet… but at least we can cross into another country if needed.” 

“Anything’s better than serving under King Brutus. I heard the hero wasn’t even treated well and was sent to fight the Demon King?” 

“Our next target is there.” 

“Hm…? What do you mean, there? Is the hero the target?” 

A companion asked with curiosity, but Aliya shook her head. 

“Not the hero. The hero and the king don’t get along. It’s a region where even the kingdom’s army can’t easily intervene. Especially since it’s ruled by the neutral noble Milleille.” 

“So it’s a troublesome region in many ways.” 

“It’s also a good place for us to operate.” 

Beastkin are strong, 

but compared to the numbers of humans, they’re at a disadvantage. 

They were outnumbered, and there wasn’t much difference in training. 

They had to target areas where the kingdom’s army couldn’t easily intervene. 

“But isn’t that where the hero is?” 

One of the companions asked with concern. 

As he said, there was always a chance the hero would get involved. 

“The hero probably isn’t that diligent. He’s got his hands full with the Demon King.” 

“Still… what if the hero shows up?” 

“In that case… I’ll try to persuade him. If he’s a righteous hero, he should understand the plight of us beastkin.” 

Doing nothing wasn’t an option. 

They had supplies from their raids for now, but didn’t know how long they’d last. 

They were also a bit naive about the hero. 

“This time, I’ll step up too. If anything happens… leave me behind.” 

Aliya didn’t know that the hero was nothing like she imagined.