Chapter 106
The chaotic vibe from the attack began to settle down, thanks to Noah’s party. The absence of casualties played a huge role in this.
It took about a week to repair the damaged buildings and to easily deal with the hyenas lurking around.
Once the organization got back on track, Noah and I immediately started planning to leave Cardishian.
We can’t live in the Demon King’s land after being targeted by his army — that’s just asking for trouble.
Noah, Lily, and Nero began filtering out those who would leave with us very strictly. We used magical tools to ensure that no traitors like ‘Jeolmi’ were hiding among the leaders and only gathered those who passed our tests.
Once the trusted leaders gathered in the meeting room, Noah dove straight into the main topic.
Various opinions were thrown around. Some suggested splitting into several parties and scattering in all directions, while others thought we should flee to a land that the Demon King’s army couldn’t find and live in hiding.
Since I had knowledge from the original story, I could tell if their seemingly good ideas were actually full of danger.
“Scattering everywhere is risky. The Demon King’s army is actively conquering other nations. Eventually, even the lands currently held by humans will end up in their hands. Instead of scattering, we need to focus on escaping to the empire with the biggest strength.”
In the original story, all nations except the empire fell into the Demon King’s hands. Just before the last empire was about to fall, the last hero, Iris, showed up like a shooting star.
So, it’s a must that we aim for the empire when we escape.
“As long as we remain in the Demon King’s land, it’s only a matter of time before we get caught. Even if we live in some remote place, they will find us eventually.”
The Demon King’s army is filled with people who can wield all sorts of bizarre powers, not just dark magic. Even if we hide in a land where even demons struggle to survive, we’ll still get found out.
As I presented my opinions confidently along with backup reasons, the meeting gradually began to revolve around me.
“The first thing we need to discuss is how many people want to leave the Demon King’s land. Not all members of Nest can just pack up and go.”
Those born and raised in Cardishian, who have their core values messed up, have no choice but to stay here. Most of those at the outside headquarters fall into this category.
Even among former slaves, there were many who looked down on others and tried to wield the power of the Nest organization.
There was also no one to educate them properly, and many of them had bad personalities from the start.
If we include those types in the escape party, it’s sure to be a disaster.
The escape route was decided by me, with knowledge of the original story, along with Nero, who handled information, and Noah. The other leaders ended up with the task of filtering out who would escape with us.
They initially filtered using magical tools that show a person’s level of malice and then began a second round of filtering by observing rumors and actions.
Their target escape time was set for a week from now.
With time being tight, we had to move quickly.
“…Lian, are you okay?”
“Ah, yeah. I’m fine.”
Noah kept worrying about Lian, checking on her multiple times as they worked. Each time, the sweet scent that he hadn’t noticed before would brush past Lian’s nose, causing her to shut her eyes tightly.
Julianna watched the two with a mischievous grin.
As busy days went by, preparations rolled smoothly. When there was about a week left until our departure, the final list of those escaping was only just decided.
The number was smaller than expected. A total of 98 people, which was less than a tenth of the organization’s members. Excluding the leaders, most of the organization would end up sticking around in Cardishian.
“Since the Nest organization dominates Cardishian, it seems most people want to stay here.”
“Many think that even if the Demon King’s army or other organizations target us, it’s a problem for later.”
Nest is like a giant corporation that nobody in Cardishian dares to mess with. Even if other businesses aimed for Nest or the owner changed, most members wanted to stay.
A lot of these folks had greedy and cruel sides hidden beneath. That’s why the leaders didn’t really try to keep them around.
Upon hearing the report, Noah smiled bitterly. It was frustrating that the once-injured, former slave kids had grown into greedy adults.
With the situation somewhat sorted out, I was snuggling into my blankets, getting ready to sleep on a night after the sun set.
Thud!
Just then, I heard light footsteps outside the door.
Bang!
The door swung open without a knock. I instantly sat up and looked towards the door. The total darkness of the room, with no windows, made it hard to see anything, but Lian quickly figured out who it was.
“Jess, what’s going on at this hour?”
“Boss!”
Jess dashed in and leap-rolled onto me.
“Whoa!”
Feeling a big puppy pouncing on me, I crashed onto the bed. Rubbing the back of my head, which was aching, I said to Jess.
“Eh… Jess, you can’t just jump on me like that—”
Before I could even finish my sentence, Jess flopped down on top of me. My body froze up.
“J-Jess?”
Sniff sniff…
Jess squinted and buried her nose into my neck, sniffing away. I shrunk my neck and grabbed Jess’s shoulders.
“Jess, why are you acting like this? Explain yourself—ugh!”
Before I could finish, Jess began to rub her body against mine. It was like a dog trying to mark its territory on something new.
When Jess rubbed her back against me, her fragrant hair tickled my face, and just when she tried to rub her front—no, before that, I grabbed her shoulders and halted her actions.
“Whimper…”
Immediately, Jess began to whine like a puppy caught by the scruff, making me feel like I had done something terribly wrong. Shaking my head firmly, I said.
“Jess, you really need to explain why you’re doing this.”
“Grrowl… I’m removing the marking left by the Four Heavenly Kings.”
“Marking?”
“Noah said the Four Heavenly Kings marked you, so we have to escape!”
“Oh…”
Looks like she understood being targeted by the Four Heavenly Kings as having been ‘marked.’ I recalled a tidbit from the original story.
‘Among beastmen, marking is similar to territory marking.’
For a beastman, allowing another beastman to mark something or someone precious to them is like a betrayal.
So it made sense that Jess was all hyped up and came rushing over.
‘…That’s not strange, is it?’
The thought of Jess’s earlier exclamation “Marriage! Let’s start a tribe!” popped into my mind, but I quickly brushed it aside.
‘It’s just because we consider each other family.’
Maybe because I had known Jess since she was a child? It was hard to let my mind wander down that path.
Just as I thought that—
Thump!
“Huh?”
Jess weakly grabbed my wrists. Even with my gag filter in play, there’s no way a regular human could overpower a beastman.
In an instant, the bed shook, with Jess pinning my wrists down. My eyes, now adjusted to the dark, captured the sight of Jess’s ears perked up and her pupils dilating while licking her lips.
“Boss, I’ll clear all the marks left by the Four Heavenly Kings!”
Jess’s tail swayed, brushing against my feet. In contrast to her cute tone, Jess’s eyes were like a predator eyeing its prey. I froze, feeling like a deer caught in headlights.
‘Wait! Does she mean she wants to eat me to remove the marks?’
The image of Jess chomping me to bits flashed through my mind.
‘This could be a reward… no, definitely not!’
In this gag-filled world, even being stepped on by a cute girl could be a reward, so I unwittingly entertained such a thought. Quickly shaking off the absurd notion, I began trying to soothe Jess.
“That… doesn’t have to happen right now. How about we talk about it in the morning? I’m really sleepy right now!”
As Jess’s mouth inched closer to my neck, I started to ramble. Just when I thought she might bite me—
“Ugh!”
Jess suddenly yelped and dashed away.
“…What on earth are you doing?”
Iris’s icy voice echoed in my ears. I exhaled a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding and sat upright.
I could see Jess, held by the scruff in Iris’s grip, whining and pleading.
“I was just trying to remove the marks from the boss!”
“Marking? Noah explained that wasn’t the case earlier.”
“If it leaves a trace, it’s a mark!”
“No, it’s not.”
“Yes, it is!”
If I let them go on like this, an all-out brawl would break out, so I waved my hands lightly to grab their attention. Thankfully both directed their gazes at me, seeming adjusted to the dark.
“Jess, I wasn’t marked, so you really don’t have to do that. And even if I was, you have to get permission before doing something like that.”
“Whimper…”
Jess drooped her ears, looking all sad and mopey.
“It’s late now, so return and get some sleep.”
“…Can’t I sleep with you?”
“…No.”
If Jess were still an adorable little kid, it might have been different, but she had grown to the point where sharing a bed just wasn’t appropriate.
‘If I sleep with her, I’ll get no rest at all.’
For that reason, I firmly pointed towards the door and hastily told her to go to bed. Jess trudged off toward the door but turned back to glance at me with her ears and tail drooping.
‘Thank goodness it’s dark.’
If the room was bright, I might have easily fallen for those sad puppy eyes. Jess was that cute.
Click.
After Jess left, it was just Iris and me left in the room.
“Speaking of which, Iris, what brings you here…”
Splash.
Before I could finish, Iris climbed onto the bed, laying beside me with her head on the pillow, looking up at me with a calm face.
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