Chapter 377: Where Do You Stand?
"They’ve gotten quite heavy. It might not be long before I can’t carry them anymore."
He could still manage if it was only one of them, but then the other would get jealous, so being able to carry both at once like this probably would not last much longer.
"They’re already bigger than Lian. Even though she’s the older sister, Lian was sulking about it."
The difference between humans and beastmen appeared sooner than expected, and Lian had been distressed by how quickly she was being overtaken physically.
It was not that Lian was growing slowly.
The twins, being beastmen, were simply growing faster, while Lian herself was developing at a normal pace.
"This place is nice and cool with all these trees."
The house, originally built to remain hidden, was surrounded by trees.
Even in the early morning, the branches blocked the harsh sunlight.
While carrying the two children, Qiong Xing stepped into the garden and sat down in the shade of a nearby tree.
"...Did you also not sleep well because of the heat?"
As he felt the drifting breeze against his body, a familiar face from the day before appeared along with the sound of small footsteps.
Rohen seemed unsure of what to say.
He keeps a certain distance hesitated and did not come closer.
Qiong Xing could not help but smile at his expression, which looked almost like a child who had been scolded by his mother.
"Have you reached your own answer?"
It was not as if he had given him homework, but the fact that Rohen had come here likely meant he had thought things through in his own way and come to speak with him.
It felt improper to have a guest sitting on the ground, but since carrying the two children had also tired him out, Qiong Xing did not stand and simply gestured to the space beside him.
"I’m sorry, but I have the children with me. If you need a seat, could you bring one from over there yourself?"
"No. I should be the one apologizing for coming so early in the morning."
Without complaining, Rohen obediently sat down beside him.
When he looked at him closely, he was not in his usual combat gear, but wore a white shirt and navy trousers, a rather light outfit.
"Are you off work today?"
"Yes. No, actually, I was supposed to be working, but the captain... how should I put it... was considerate, or rather... he said he couldn’t stand watching me like that and sent me away."
Rohen, who normally seemed strict enough to push even the captain around, was now being told he was too miserable to be left alone and had been sent away.
The contrast made Qiong Xing want to laugh.
"So even though he’s usually like that, he really is a good captain. To think he would notice his subordinate was troubled and push him forward like that."
When Qiong Xing said he seemed like a good superior, Rohen nodded slightly, looking a bit embarrassed.
"So then?"
Qiong Xing could more or less guess what the conversation was about, but since Rohen was still not speaking, he called out to him.
"Um... I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday."
"I see."
"But I couldn’t come to a conclusion on my own, so I also consulted the captain and the prime minister..."
He must not have found an answer.
Rohen fell silent again and this time Qiong Xing did not offer any help.
Time passed quietly as the wind drifted through the garden.
Eventually, Rohen who had been keeping his head down the entire time finally lifted his face.
"Why them? Why did they have to be beastmen? There must have been others more suitable for you. Even if they weren’t beastmen, there are plenty of people who could—"
"Is that your answer?"
"..."
Honestly, Qiong Xing was disappointed in him.
He had not intended to force an answer, but somewhere in his heart he had thought Rohen would not reject it outright even if he could not accept it.
"You say this as if it’s for my sake, but in the end, you simply cannot accept beastmen like them, can you? And I am not a child. I can find my own partner, and I do not need your permission."
If he could not accept it, that was fine.
Qiong Xing understood that not everyone could understand and accept things the way he did.
But if that was the case, he wished they would just say so plainly, instead of pretending to be worried about him while denying Leander and the others as unworthy.
"If I may be blunt, what exactly do you have that makes you superior to beastmen like them?"
"Eh?"
"In living with them, I have learned just how powerless I am. Things I struggle with, they accomplish easily with one arm. They see farther than humans, possess stronger bodies, and live longer lives. What do you have that surpasses any of that?"
He looked straight into Rohen’s eyes and asked.
But in the end, there was no answer.
"Where exactly do you think you are superior to beastmen like them?"
The answer was probably that he had been unable to respond immediately.
He was made painfully aware of his own helplessness, yet it was difficult to simply discard everything he had believed to be common sense until now.
"I..."
"Are you planning to take these children away from me using that so-called common sense of yours?"
"I’m not—!"
He tried to insist that was not what he meant, that he would never do such a thing, but under the steady gaze fixed on him, the words would not come out.
"These children are beastmen. They were born beastmen. They are humans, but they are also my precious children whom I gave birth to in pain. And yet, just because they are beastmen, are you saying I should let them be taken from me, sold to slave traders, forced to work, and simply watch them die? Is that what you call normal?"
Comments