#064. The Beastfolk Revival is too ‘Good’ (2)

#064. The Beastfolk Revival is too ‘Good’ (2)

With the beastfolk of the Carnivorous clade defeated, the surviving unfortunates were tied and taken as prisoners.

“Saintess Cecilia! I never expected you to bring such a large host of reinforcements. I am truly grateful.”

“Underwhelming Saint! This is awkward now, so couldn’t you go hide somewhere for a little bit?!”

Cecilia, upon seeing Ian approaching to offer his thanks, was utterly horrified.

Unintentionally, she was guilty of false advertising, exaggerated packaging, and blatant overstatement.

“Where is the man worthy of becoming our new leader? Immediately send out the search parties. The strongest man is destined to join our mercenary band.”

“The glory of becoming the Pae Wang’s subordinate belongs to Andaltion, the Thunderer! The other mercenaries will not steal the glory of this old man!”

“He must be at least two meters tall. Let’s find him before the mercenary bands screw it up.”

“What in blazes is all this commotion?”

The ones who came as reinforcements are wandering about, spouting nonsense about some Supreme Overlord and the Strongest Man or whatnot.

Ian stared intently up at Cecilia, who he presumed held the answers to this whole mess.

“Ugh. Don’t look at me like that, you scrub. It’s embarrassing. People might think I’m some second-rate Saintess!”

“Were you embarrassed?”

“Ugh. N-no! I meant, it’s embarrassing to be…misunderstood!”

Ian knew Cecilia was prone to embarrassment, despite her haughty demeanor, but he couldn’t ignore the outsiders scouring the village while spreading suspicious rumors.

Those who considered Sodom their true home would hardly take kindly to this rabble disturbing the peace.

As it stood, the righteous souls who had fought side-by-side against the beastkin were in danger of turning against each other, the villagers and outsiders dividing into opposing factions.

“There is nothing more tragic than the righteous suspecting and antagonizing each other. Please, help put an end to this misunderstanding.”

Despite Ian’s plea, Cecilia merely groaned, hesitating.

Two thoughts were swirling in her mind.

The guilt-tinged pleasure of receiving such a fervent request from Ian.

And the tantalizing possibility of exploiting the situation, demanding a selfish reward.

That groan was the sound of a woman struggling to suppress her desires in favor of her duties as a Saintess.

Of course, Ian didn’t understand that subtext.

He interpreted it based on his own assumptions.

‘Cecilia is the Saintess of the Order. This whole affair cannot be orchestrated by her, nor can it be happening with her knowledge or understanding.’

The Order was connected to the Council of Nobles, and Cecilia couldn’t possibly be free from their pressure.

Here, now, facing the beastkin, she had to be someone thoroughly manipulated by the mind control sorcerer.

Therefore, what he had to do was the same as before.

“Please.”

“Ugh… I suppose I have no choice. If it’s a request from Ian…”

To protect the Saintess Cecilia from her adversaries, he would suppress and distort her will.

Once again, Ian was overcome with guilt for this act of villainous mind control, for stealing a person’s freedom when Cecilia confessed.

“Actually… I orchestrated those silly rumors about you, Ian. I thought if you were known as the Second-Rate Saint, people would underestimate you, and it would be easier to identify you for security and protection purposes…”

“So, that’s why this sudden legend about Ian, the Child Overlord who killed a bear in one blow at the age of ten, began circulating.”

“Sorry… I didn’t think they’d spread such outlandish tales… Men don’t like that kind of thing, do they?”

In a world where the roles of men and women were reversed, almost no man would enjoy being called a hulking, muscle-bound brute.

Still, knowing that the rumors were spread to protect him, Ian’s heart softened.

“I don’t like being defined as someone I’m not, but I don’t dislike the idea of becoming a strong man.”

“Really…?”

“Really. Strength means having the power to forge your own path in life. That’s admirable.”

A shadow flickering across the nearby wall seemed unusually large.

Perhaps the wind was making the tree on the other side shiver.

“Seeing my mother makes me wish I were just a little stronger.”

If he were a strength-enhancing sorcerer instead of a mind-controlling one, he could have annihilated their enemies with overwhelming power.

The reality of relying on his mother’s and everyone else’s strength felt a bit painful.

“But that doesn’t mean I dislike who I am now. Even with my lack of strength, there are things I can do for everyone.”

“Second-Rate Saint!! Don’t say such things!!”

“Pardon? What sort of talk is that supposed to be?”

“Ugh, even cluelessness should have its limits. You’re a real simpleton, a blithering dimwit!”

“Huh??”

He couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

Ian felt pointlessly cowed by the unjust barrage.

* * *

The mercenaries sought information about Ian.

“Ian? There’s only one Ian in our village.”

“Teresa’s son, that one.”

“Teresa? Who’s Teresa? Only the strongest adventurer in this whole place.”

A supreme overlord raised under the strongest…

The mercenaries nodded.

“We’ve come to the right place. Where is this Ian? We have matters of some urgency to discuss with him, related to the mercenary company.”

“Heh. Now she’s not only dragging in adventurers and beastkin, but mercenaries too? Honestly, there’s no end to the Teresa family’s capabilities, I tell you.”

Thanks to the loose tongue of one village resident, locating Ian wasn’t difficult.

The difficulty lay in the chasm between the Ian they sought, and the Ian that actually existed.

“What is *that*?”

“He’s so small.”

“Is that a *child*?”

“That little body vanquished those notorious brutes?”

“Something feels off here.”

Their ill forebodings were confirmed.

Cecilia herself confessed, right in front of Ian, that it had all been hearsay, idle rumor.

The mercenaries were incensed.

A mercenary company lives on popularity.

A male mercenary leader, stronger than any woman, was just the ticket to send their popularity soaring like a rocket.

Cecilia had taken advantage of their situation, deceived them.

“Should we flip the table?”

“Hold on.”

A ranking member of the company stayed the hands of those about to rise.

-*I don’t like being defined as someone different from who I am, but I don’t dislike the idea of becoming a strong man.*

-*Really…?*

-*I really mean it. Being strong is a wonderful thing, being able to walk your own path in life.*

And then, he heard it.

The astonishing sight of the boy showing no aversion to, indeed, demonstrating respect for the lowly work usually reserved for women.

It’s not that there are no men doing adventurer work.

But most of them are a sorry lot.

None of them were proud of what they did.

“Indeed. So *that’s* why they call him a saint.”

Maybe a smaller Ian wasn’t so bad after all.

Nodding in agreement, the mercenaries eavesdropping from beyond the wall were soon startled.

“When I look at Mom, I always think about how I wish I were just a little stronger.”

“But that doesn’t mean I dislike who I am now. Even if I lack brute force, I can still do things for everyone that only *this* version of me can.”

Though the man himself was referring to his roles as a brainwashing expert and an adventurer’s guild employee, to the ears of those listening, his words sounded strangely suggestive.

The mercenaries were intrigued.

What secret service could only a small, powerless man provide?

Curiosity gnawed.

Driving them mad with wanting.

A noble saint was all well and good, but the secret services of such a saint were even better.

“Let’s put our mercenary work on hold for a bit and settle down here.”

“Agreed.”

“Aye.”

The mercenaries decided to temporarily reside in the Sodom Guild until they could discover what only Ian could do and experience it for themselves.

Selfish as their decision was, it also piqued the interest of others who were looking for Ian.

“He might not be the *big* Ian, but the *little* Ian must have something special. Just look at those self-serving mercenaries, bowing their heads so readily.”

Rangers, renowned fighters, and even high-ranking archers decided to join the Sodom Guild, one after another.

The news spread beyond the village of Sodom, and the Beastmen belonging to the Beastmen Restoration Society, who had belatedly arrived in Westwood with their main force, were greatly agitated.

“The advance team got demolished, and archers and mercenaries are joining the Sodom Guild? Could it be… the nobles have betrayed us? Otherwise, there’s no way archers, such valuable soldiers, would become adventurers!”

Beastmen of the ferocious animal lineage were creatures incapable of gratitude.

The idea of joining the village to repay a favor was beyond them.

Their understanding, rooted solely in the logic of power, led them to interpret the situation as the addition of “the Marquis’s private soldiers” stationed in the Westwood’s Guild Alliance.

“Now I see that we shouldn’t have been attacking Sodom. We should have re-evaluated our relationship with the nobles who were using the Beastmen for their petty schemes.”

“I heard there aren’t that many archers. Wouldn’t it be better to just attack Sodom?”

“Are you an idiot? They got annihilated with that small number. There must be more hidden troops.”

“Indeed. So that’s it.”

“If they’ve pulled that many troops out of Sodom, the city’s standing army strength should be even lower, right?”

The enraged beastmen of the ferocious animal lineage belonging to the Beastmen Restoration Society immediately changed course.

Not towards the village of Sodom, but towards the cities of the nobles.

It was like a bolt from the blue for the local nobles, who were heading to the capital with large numbers of troops to participate in an audience chamber meeting and pressure the King, never imagining anyone would dare raid a noble’s city.