Chapter 291: Interlude - Banquet (1)

Leoru lifted his glass with a heavy expression. “Alright then, everyone, raise your glasses.”

He looked around at the gathered members of the Silver Mane Tribe.

One by one, warriors wrapped in bandages stepped forward and raised their own cups. They all faced a burial site built on the edge of the village, a resting place for the warriors who had died fighting the demonkin in the recent uprising.

“The first drink is for the warriors who have left us.”

Leoru poured his drink over the gravestones. The clear liquor flowed down like tears, soaking the stones.

“The second drink is for those who couldn’t leave.”

The injured filled their cups and downed the liquor in one go. The gravely wounded ones could barely lift their cups, but each of them swallowed the strong liquor as if it were nothing.

“The final drink is for ourselves.”

The villagers tilted their cups in unison. Among them were young beastkin, such as Leo and Riru, but even they shut their eyes tightly and drank the strong liquor.

Leoru looked over the Silver Mane Tribe and quietly said, “For the past hundred years, our tribe lived in fear and hunger, stripped of our home.”

The weight of that sorrow burst forth, and more of the tribe began to cry.

“But—!” Leoru stomped and commanded their attention.

Thud!

“No matter how much the demonkin stole from us, they could never take away one thing!”

The light returned to the teary eyes of the Silver Mane warriors.

“Warriors who upheld the pride of wolves! I am proud of you more than anyone else!”

Leoru raised his trembling glass high.

“Let it be declared here and now!” he shouted, strong and clear. “The Silver Mane Tribe... No, all beastkin are now truly free from the demonkin! We are wolves with pride once again!”

The village erupted with cheers.

“

Whoooooo!

”

Leoru warmly watched as the villagers cried tears of joy and embraced one another.

When the cheers finally began to fade, he said, “It may be shameful to admit, but our freedom from the demonkin wasn’t something we achieved on our own.”

Leoru stepped aside from the platform and glanced toward Kwon Oh-Jin. With an awkward look, Kwon Oh-Jin stepped up onto the platform.

“This is the great warrior who pierced the heart of that vicious Kalike!” Leoru introduced Kwon Oh-Jin to the villagers who hadn’t participated in the battle.

Feeling the weight of all the attention, Kwon Oh-Jin bowed. “If it weren’t for the brave Silver Mane warriors who fought ahead of me, I wouldn’t have been able to kill Kalike.”

He wasn’t just saying that to be humble. If the Silver Mane warriors hadn’t already taken down two of the demonkin before he arrived, it would’ve been impossible to face all three on his own.

“The Silver Mane Tribe will never forget what we owe you, Mr. Oh-Jin.” Leoru bowed deeply in gratitude. “You two, please come up as well.”

He looked at Song Ha-Eun and Isabella.

“

Eh?

U-Us too? Song Ha-Eun asked.

“You are the ones who protected our villagers from being taken hostage.”

“

Umm...

”

Faced with Leoru’s firm insistence, both Song Ha-Eun and Isabella joined them on the platform. Leoru glanced around for Riarc, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“As many of you already know, these two saved our village from the wicked demonkin while our warriors were away.”

Cheers exploded from the crowd again.

“

Whoooooo!

”

The Silver Mane Tribe, who had once been wary of Kwon Oh-Jin’s outsider group, now welcomed them with the same enthusiasm as the Hidden Leaf did when Baruto became Hokage.

Song Ha-Eun scratched her head, clearly overwhelmed by the praise. “

Uh...

w-well...”

Isabella stepped forward in her place. With graceful poise, she bowed toward Leoru. “If it hadn’t been for the chief’s kindness in welcoming strangers like us, we wouldn’t have been able to fulfill our mission either.”

She warmly smiled.

“Thank you for inviting us to this celebration.”

Her breathtaking beauty left the beastkin murmuring in awe.

Leoru nodded with a gentle smile. “There’s plenty of food and drinks, so please enjoy yourselves.”

Another wave of cheers rose, and Kwon Oh-Jin’s group stepped down from the platform.

“And now...” Leoru trailed off as his gaze shifted to the other side of the gathering.

Various tribes had gathered beyond the village: the Black Mane, Brown Mane, Red Mane, and more. They were all part of the anti-demonkin faction.

Though they hadn’t fought the demonkin head-on like the Silver Mane Tribe, they had secretly freed Silver Mane slaves, provided much-needed supplies, and supported the resistance from the shadows.

The representative of each tribe stepped forward before Leoru.

“The Black Mane Tribe acknowledges Leoru of the Silver Mane Tribe as Khan.”

“The Red Mane Tribe acknowledges Leoru of the Silver Mane Tribe as Khan.”

“The Brown Mane Tribe acknowledges Leoru of the Silver Mane Tribe as Khan.”

With their backs straight, they struck their chests three times with their fists.

Leoru lightly nodded as he looked around at the beastkin of the anti-demonkin faction.

“The demonkin’s wicked tongues once led us to bare our fangs against each other, but we are all proud beastkin who share the blood of wolves.”

Though Kalike and the demonkin who followed him had died, pro-demonkin factions who had enjoyed power under their reign still existed. To rebuild the kingdom and ensure peace, the remaining beastkin needed to avoid further conflicts among themselves.

However, even among the anti-demonkin faction, deep grudges had long festered between the different tribes. This feast had been planned to dance, drink, and laugh together until those emotional rifts could begin to heal.

“Today is the day the beastkin reclaim their freedom for the first time in a hundred years!”

Many unresolved issues remained. At least for today—

“Let’s forget everything and drink!”

With a deafening cheer, the feast began.

***

As the feast commenced and the scent of alcohol drifted from the village, a silver-haired man stood silently in the forest away from the village.

He deeply sighed. “

Haaa

.”

Riarc bit his lip as he looked down at his old friend’s grave.

“You idiot,” he muttered gloomily and rested his hand on the gravestone before him. “Does a man called Khan belong in a place like this?”

Normally, the beastkin who inherited the name of Khan would be buried in the Warrior’s Tomb beneath the royal castle. However, Horus had never formally inherited the Khan’s title. Worse, he had surrendered the kingdom to the demonkin.

Because of that, he was denied a resting place in the Warrior’s Tomb. Instead, he was buried in an isolated forest far from the castle, where Riarc had once dragged him to when they skipped class as kids.

“

Hmph

. On second thought, maybe a shabby grave like this suits a fool like you.”

Riarc poured an entire bottle of liquor over the gravestone. The bottle emptied within seconds.

A single droplet fell onto the wet stone, but it wasn’t from the bottle. His shoulders trembled as he dropped his head.

“Hey, are you crying?”

“

Huh!

” Riarc snapped his head up and turned toward the voice.

Kwon Oh-Jin walked toward him with a bottle of liquor in hand.

“W-What are you doing here?!” Riarc asked.

“I came to watch you bawl your eyes out.”

Riarc frantically shook his head. “I-I wasn’t crying!”

Kwon Oh-Jin laughed and sat down beside him. “Will you be okay?”

“With what?”

“Handing the title of Khan over to Leoru.”

He had finally achieved what he longed for and freed the beastkin. Surely, he dreamt of watching the kingdom restore itself.

“Isn’t there something more important for me to do now than sit on the Khan’s throne?” Riarc asked.

“I don’t think much would change without you.”

“

Hmph

. Don’t pretend to sound cool, kid.”

“You caught me.” Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled and shrugged.

Having fought the demonkin, he learned firsthand just how crucial having Riarc truly was.

“The place I belong is by Lady Vega’s side.” Riarc smiled faintly while thinking of the goddess.

“How’s Vega doing?”

“She’s resting at the Sanctum. She’ll be able to return soon.”

“So the restrictions of the Law really did weaken, huh?”

Normally, using her blessing would require her to remain in the Sanctum for weeks. Those constraints had weakened significantly.

Kwon Oh-Jin set down the bottle he brought and handed Riarc an empty cup. Riarc took it without a word. They filled their cups and clinked them in silence.

With just one sip, the sharp scent of alcohol filled Kwon Oh-Jin’s mouth, making him grimace. “Damn. Why is this so strong?”

He winced and shook his head.

Riarc downed his own cup in one go, unfazed. “

Aaahh

. Looks like traditional beastkin liquor is a bit too much for a kid like you.”

“

Huh?

”

“Liquor is supposed to be bitter like life.”

“What a boomer.” Kwon Oh-Jin dryly laughed. “Come to think of it, this is the first time we’ve had a drink with just the two of us.”

“We didn’t even in the past timeline?”

Kwon Oh-Jin shrugged as he refilled his cup. “Who knows?”

The two of them sat in front of Horus’s grave and emptied the entire bottle in no time.

“Guess it’s about time we head back.” Kwon Oh-Jin stood up with the empty bottle in hand.

He hadn’t told Song Ha-Eun or Isabella that he had come here, so they were probably searching for him by now.

“Aren’t you coming?” he asked Riarc.

“I’ll stay a little longer.”

“Okay.” Kwon Oh-Jin nodded and turned away.

Just as he was about to head back to the village, Riarc called out, “Hey, kid.”

“Yeah?”

Riarc hung his head in silence. Then, almost inaudibly, he muttered, “T-Thanks.”

“

Huh?

What was that?”

“

Ahem!

I said, t-thank you!”

“

Hmm?

I didn’t quite catch that. Mind saying it again?”

“Y-You damn kid!” Riarc fiercely glared at him.

Kwon Oh-Jin burst out laughing and waved. “I’m going.”

Now alone, Riarc looked at the night sky that had settled into darkness. Among the stars, one shone especially bright.

“In the end, I’m becoming emotionally attached just like you.” Riarc softly laughed as he looked at his old friend’s gravestone.

***

After parting ways with Riarc, Kwon Oh-Jin headed straight to the village. The feast seemed to be in full swing as drunken beastkin yelled at the top of their lungs.

He could feel the heated energy in the air as he walked. Soon, he spotted Song Ha-Eun and Isabella searching for him like he had expected.

“Mr. Oh-Jin? Where are youuu?”

“Oh-Jin, you brat! How could you leave such a pretty girl like me behind?!”

However, he hadn’t expected them to both get drunk.

“Are you two drunk?”

With flushed faces, Song Ha-Eun and Isabella ran toward him. Standing before him, Isabella glanced sideways at Song Ha-Eun and signaled with her eyes.

Even under the influence of alcohol, Song Ha-Eun quickly turned to hide her embarrassment.

“Unnie, come on. We said we’d do it together, remember?”

“B-But it’s embarrassing...” Song Ha-Eun hesitated.

“Then I’m going to do it alone, okay?”

Isabella took a step forward and, like a puppy welcoming its owner home, raised both arms cheerfully. “

Woof woof!

Welcome back, Master!”

“Excuse me...?” Kwon Oh-Jin’s jaw dropped as he questioned what he just heard.

Song Ha-Eun, still looking away in shame, finally managed to squeeze out a line. “

M-Meow...

W-Welcome back...”

What the hell is going on?