Chapter 51

“Hey there, young man, what are you doing here?”

“I got caught for hitting a disobedient pig.”

“Ever since ancient times, disobedient beasts must be disciplined with a whip.”

The young man nodded in agreement.

“What about you, old man?”

“I got caught for forcibly mounting a goat.”

“A goat is understandable.”

Once again, they nodded their heads. Their gaze turned toward me this time.

“Hey, black-haired foreigner. What were you caught for?”

“I abandoned a beastman.”

“What? Have you ever seen such a trashy kid?”

“Abandon a beastman? Don’t you have any blood or tears? Haven’t you thought about the feelings of a discarded beastman?”

Who do these bastards think they are?

They’re the ones who commit violence and eat beastmen, yet they rush in, claiming I abandoned one?

“From the beginning, I never abandoned a beastman. I merely set them free.”

“Those who abandon always say the same as you. They say they returned them to nature. That they freed them. The truth is that they irresponsibly discarded them because they didn’t want to raise them.”

“No. I fed them, raised them, let them sleep, and even returned them safely to their homeland. What’s so wrong with that? What kind of good master is there in this world?”

“Hey! The place for beastman slaves is by the master’s side. If you can’t take responsibility until the end, don’t take them in from the start! Tsk. You were just a lunatic who didn’t understand the feelings of others.”

The old man looked at me as if I were a scum he didn’t even want to associate with and turned away.

Not only that, but everyone in the prison turned away, creating distance. In their eyes, I probably looked like some kind of leech.

‘Is letting a beastman free really considered abandonment?’

Common sense says that setting them free is a good thing. I’m not a sadist, and where in the world would you find a weirdo who wants to be a slave?

The furry races have done all this for these bastards, yet they repay kindness with malice. It’s so unjust.

‘So what happens to me now?’

Am I going to rot away in this dark prison for the rest of my life?

I don’t have time to be stuck here; I only feel frustrated.

It was on the third day since I was imprisoned.

As I let out a deep sigh, Seira approached, holding documents in one arm.

“Please open this.”

The beastman guard opened the locked prison door and pulled me outside. Seira gestured for me to follow her.

“May you be cursed. You wicked child.”

“Abandoned beastmen will be waiting with their claws sharpened.”

Prisoners leaned forward, cursing while leaning against the iron bars. I wiped the saliva that was spilling onto my clothes.

‘Don’t tell me it’s an execution or something, right?’

I followed Seira, spinning my thoughts tightly.

‘Would I be able to escape if I wore a stealth robe?’

I still had enough points left to buy a stealth robe.

The problem is that if I sneak close, I could get caught right away. Beastmen have sensitive noses. Even if I hide my appearance, I will be detected without fail.

As a weakling, I can’t shake off even Seira, and I’ve concluded that escape is absolutely impossible.

So, the best I can do is to use my tongue vigorously.

“Uh, Seira? Can we clear up some misunderstandings?”

“What misunderstandings?”

“That I abandoned a beastman.”

How could I possibly abandon them when I love beastmen so much?

Seira didn’t give me any attention or answer. Still, I tried with all my might to convey my feelings.

“I’m serious. Even now, I’m trying to suppress my desire to pet your tail.”

Then, as if tempted, her tail, which had been swaying, suddenly stopped moving.

It came closer and hugged my hand. Only then did she turn her head to look at me, her eyes filled with disdain.

“You perverted child….”

It got worse.

‘I’m sorry, slaves. I guess this is where it ends for me.’

We walked down a long hallway.

Seira stopped in front of a door.

“Let’s go in.”

Who on earth could be inside?

I opened the door with a worried mind. Peeking inside, I saw the person there.

“Y-you, Death God Carami!”

“Furry Bolt, you gay bastard…?”

“What?”

“Ah, that was a slip of the tongue, gay bastard.”

“Seems like being locked up in prison has driven you crazy. That can happen.”

Inside the room was none other than the beastman enthusiast, Bolt. This was my first time seeing him since Slave Carnival.

“Why are you here, Bolt?”

“Because I like beastmen, I often visit Vestia. When I heard that you got caught, I rushed here.”

“I appreciate that, but what difference does it make if you came, Bolt?”

Seira interjected.

“Lord Bolt is a benefactor who collects beastman slaves scattered throughout the Traur Kingdom. For us in Vestia Kingdom, he is like a savior.”

“I do the same, don’t I? Besides, Bolt…”

Furry Bolt the gay gathers beastmen slaves to satisfy his perverse desires. I’m a hundred times better than that bastard, right?

But Seira’s expression soured.

“The important thing is how the beastmen got here. They prefer to be loved than abandoned. Not by someone like you.”

“Carami, how could you abandon such lovely children? How can you commit such a horrific act? Beastmen fear being abandoned more than death. Truly, a Death God.”

“…….”

I gave up on conversing.

In a world where I am worse than that guy who abuses beastmen. I’ve wasted my life.

“You were meant to rot in prison, but Lord Bolt has advocated for you.”

“What number?”

“While staying in Vestia, you will learn how to treat beastmen by being with Lord Bolt. If you can change, I will reconsider the charges of abandoning beastmen.”

“…….”

You want me to learn? From this guy?

Furry Bolt the gay grinned.

“I’ll be counting on you for a while, Carami. I’ll make you into a beastman enthusiast.”

***

On the way out of the building.

Seira followed me. Ever since she pinned me to the ground, every move she made made me nervous.

“Why are you following me?”

“It’s a business trip. I have to observe whether you are doing something ridiculous, whether your attitude toward beastmen is changing. I’ll be evaluating you from the side.”

“Well, I’m innocent….”

She wouldn’t believe a word I said unless I exposed my brain. In the end, I had no choice but to show how good a slave merchant I was.

I sighed but decided to be grateful that I had safely arrived in Vestia.

“Thank you, Bolt.”

“Haha, is there anything to be thankful for? We humans should help each other while living abroad.”

Indeed, there’s no one I can trust more than Bolt.

As we exited the building, a beastman standing outside approached us.

If I say a beastman from Taosle, they are generally divided into two categories: the cosplay-type beastman with only ears and tails, which can be considered human, and the 80% beastmen preferred by furrians.

The woman before me was somewhere in between. Long, beautiful green hair that flowed to the sides like a cover. Her arms resembled a bird’s wings, and her feet were like those of a bird. She was a bird beastman.

“Lord Bolt!”

“Oh, My Birdie. Why did you come all the way here instead of waiting at the store?”

“I was worried about my master…. Is this person the Death God slaver?”

“Yeah. He’s a friend of mine. He will be with me for a while. Carami, meet my slave Birdie.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Carami.”

“I-I’m Birdie….”

Birdie, the bird beastman, looked at me with anxious eyes. I was scary, and being Bolt’s friend made her have no choice but to engage with me.

The atmosphere was awkward.

Bolt subtly offered help.

“You’ll be seeing each other often, so being uncomfortable like this is no good. Carami, pet Birdie’s head.”

“Right now?”

“Birdie loves having her head petted. It’s the quickest way to close the distance.”

“Hmm….”

“Beastmen and humans shouldn’t be treated the same way, you know?”

Is this right?

I glanced at Seira, but she didn’t try to stop me. So that meant if I withdrew here, I’d likely lose points in my evaluation.

‘Right, since I’m in Vestia, I have to follow Vestia’s laws.’

Each species has its own culture, and the beastmen are a subgroup with even more subdivision.

In this case, it seems appropriate to follow Bolt’s advice.

“Well then, excuse me for a moment. Please let me know if you don’t like it.”

“Y-yes….”

I carefully placed my hand on Birdie’s head and started petting her while observing her reaction.

“Ugh.”

“Oh….”

It feels really interesting. The softness, different from ordinary hair, feels like well-groomed bird feathers.

It feels so good that I even found myself thinking about saving a bird beastman.

“Ah….”

But what is this sound?

While I was lost in petting her head, something strange was happening below. Birdie couldn’t stay still and was writhing.

Her face turned a deep red, and strange moans escaped her lips.

“…Bolt? Why is this happening?”

“Birdie is a parrot beastman. She loves having her head and neck petted. Nothing forms a bond better than this.”

Is it okay to keep petting her like this?

Something feels off.

“Hah, ugh. It feels good. Birdie is really happy!”

….

Suddenly her breath became ragged like an old man’s?

‘And Birdie…?’

Why is she referring to herself in the third person? At this timing of all times.

Birdie is a parrot beastman.

Parrots are creatures that mimic humans.

So this moaning and dialogue imply that she’s mimicking someone….

By the time my thoughts reached there, I subtly removed my hand.

“How about it? Do you feel like you’re getting closer to Birdie now?”

Bolt spoke with a grin, as if nothing was wrong with the previous situation.

Seira nodded to herself, writing something on a document. The surrounding people looked on with content smiles as well.

Only I couldn’t smile. I had just petted her head… but I felt my precious inner self had been soiled. An indescribable sense of revulsion washed over me.

I realized.

‘I can’t stay here any longer.’

This isn’t a paradise for beastmen but rather a den of beasts. If I’m not careful, I might lose my humanity and devolve into a beast.