The White Cat That Swore Vengeance Was Just Lazing on the Dragon King’s Lap - Volume 4 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Journey

A few hours had passed since Ruri and the others departed from the castle, and their journey had been smooth sailing for the most part. Ruri rode on Kotaro while Arman and Celestine rode aboard the carriage pulled by winged beastmen. The other soldiers flew in a protective circle around the three high-profile individuals.

In terms of speed, Kotaro was the fastest, followed by the dragonkin and then the demi-humans of the Nation of the Beast King. Everyone else matched their pace to the winged beastmen.

While the dragonkin were flying comfortably, the winged beastmen were struggling to keep up. But even so, Kotaro started to feel their party was going too slow. He decided to use his powers to conjure up the winds and speed up the stragglers. Now with a gracious tailwind assisting all of them, their speed increased and the beastmen were able to fly a little more comfortably by relying more on the wind than their manpower. Arman and the others were thrilled they were flying at a faster pace than when they first left.

As soft and fluffy as Kotaro’s back was, hours on end in the same position was starting to do a number on Ruri’s derriere. They had taken a few short breaks along the way, but with hunger starting to set in, Ruri wanted to take a legitimate break.

Just as she thought that, Arman called out, “I know it’s a little early, but we’re setting up camp around here, so take us down!”

Ruri was relieved to hear those words as they descended upon an area with a tiny lake. Apparently, Arman and his party had taken a break here when they initially came to the Nation of the Dragon King. They quickly proceeded with the prep work, as if following a set process.

Ruri jumped off of Kotaro’s back and proceeded to stretch with a satisfied grunt. Once she had warmed up her stagnant and stiffened muscles, she said, “Joshua, I’ll help. What should I do?”

“Oh, thanks. I’d appreciate it. Well...on second thought, you should probably just kick back and take it easy.”

“Why?”

“Well, ’cause, look at that,” Joshua said, pointing. There, as everyone else around them ran around trying to set up camp, Arman and Celestine relaxed in a hastily constructed rest area.

“I mean, it’s only natural that a Beloved be treated on the same level as a king. We normally wouldn’t let them do this kind of menial labor.”

“Hmm. Well, they do their own thing. Celestine-san is probably used to being waited on hand and foot since she’s lived that lifestyle her entire life, but I can’t really sit by and kick up my feet while everyone else is working,” Ruri said, stating her true opinions on the matter.

Joshua simply chuckled. “You should probably act a little more like a Beloved should, Ruri. Every nation’s Beloved is used to being cared for from a young age. They normally don’t have that sense of selflessness.”

“I can’t really help it, though. People only started referring to me as a Beloved since I came to this world. Also, no one in the castle treats me in the same courteous way they treated Celestine-san. Okay, actually, I think they did treat me pretty politely at first, but it kind of got more and more sloppy over time. Then again, I’d hate it if they started standing on ceremony now, this late into things.”

“Well, you were a cat at first. Besides, dragonkin tend not to ham it up even toward someone like His Majesty.”

“Well, you may have a point,” Ruri conceded. The Dragon King reigned as the supreme being in the kingdom, but the other dragonkin interacted with Jade in a rather friendly manner. Of course, there was a certain level of courtesy to their speech and manners, but there were times when dragonkin would hail him down in the hallways and chat things up with him. Jade never got angry in response. In fact, he would often actively engage in conversation and include himself in the circle, so dragonkin probably valued camaraderie over social status.

Naturally, that camaraderie only applied between dragonkin. Other races weren’t nearly as friendly. In fact, other races were always awestruck by the Dragon King, and even if they wanted to speak to him, they would be too tense to hold an amicable conversation.

Incidentally, that apparently wasn’t the case for humans. Most of them possessed little to no mana, and their senses were inferior to demi-humans, so they neither noticed the immense mana nor the instinct-triggering awe that dragonkin exuded. That was why there were so many human officials in the nation’s ranks. The reason why there were so few in the military went without saying, but it was obviously because they couldn’t hold a candle to dragonkin or any other demi-humans in terms of magical and physical prowess. Also, perhaps as a result of their lack of fear, a great number of dragonkin picked humans for their mates as well.

Basically, to put a long story short, dragonkin acted friendly with Jade, so they acted that way with Ruri as well. Granted, since Ruri only traversed the upper floors of the castle, which were mostly composed of dragonkin, if she happened upon a member of a different race, they would likely stand on ceremony for her.

“Well, all of that aside, I should help anyway.”

“I get ya, but just imagine what they’d think. ‘Look at those dragonkin, making their Beloved work like that.’”

“Our business is ours, and theirs is theirs. If Jade-sama were here, I’m positive he’d tell me to do as I please. Or rather, he’d be taking initiative and moving around.”

“Well, you got a point. His Majesty could just order us around, but he’s an awfully active ruler, all things considered.” That much was clear from the fact that he would travel around the royal capital in secret.

“If Jade were here” seemed to be the line that sealed the deal as Joshua reluctantly gave Ruri a task. “Gather some dry branches and build a bonfire for us, then.”

“Alrighty!” Ruri said, triumphantly starting her newly assigned work.

As she carried out her task, the people of the Nation of the Beast King came up to her saying, “No, let us,” and, “You shouldn’t, Lady Beloved.” They couldn’t believe that the dragonkin were letting her perform menial labor. Ruri simply ignored them.

As Ruri lightheartedly lifted sticks into a bundle, Kotaro and the other spirits started to lend a hand—except for Chi, who was enjoying his time chasing butterflies nearby.

“Ruri~ We’ve brought you some~” said one spirit.

“Whole big stack!” said another.

Thanks to the spirits’ overwhelming enthusiasm to help, Ruri collected what seemed to be a little too much wood. Nevertheless, she piled the branches up and started a flame. By the time the fire was lit, Joshua and the others had already finished setting up camp, and they called her for a midday meal.

Arman and Celestine sat atop a tapestry laid out over the grass, Arman with his legs crossed and Celestine with her legs cordially off to the side. In front of them both was a hearty assortment of dishes. Urged by Joshua, Ruri sat by Arman and Celestine’s side, forming a circle around the food. This, however, was the only area with dishes laid out. There wasn’t nearly enough for everyone. Joshua and the others weren’t sitting either; they instead stood diligently and watched from a distance.

“What about you, Joshua? And the others?” asked Ruri.

“We’ll eat later,” he replied.

Ruri had been sure that they’d all eat together, but it seemed it would only be the three of them dining for now. The others started to serve those seated or completed other tasks.

Ruri felt awkward sitting around eating while a massive group of people watched, but Arman and Celestine seemed unfazed by any of this.

“Do you not eat your meals with everyone?” she asked.

“In the Nation of the Beast King, outside of feasts, the king and his vassals don’t share in meals together. Those in higher positions like Celestine and myself eat first, and then everyone else eats afterward,” Arman explained.

The Nation of the Beast King apparently had a more distinct class division than the Nation of the Dragon King. That was the impression Ruri gained just by looking at how the people from the Nation of the Beast King interacted with Arman and Celestine. They were courteous and respectful—to an outrageous degree, in fact. Even discounting their speech, nothing about the way they interacted with Arman and Celestine drew even the slightest parallel to the friendliness Jade and the dragonkin shared in the Nation of the Dragon King.

“In the Nation of the Dragon King, I get the impression that things are a lot more lax. You have social statuses put in place, but everyone casually interacts with the King. That, however, is where our two nations clearly differ. There are boundaries we don’t cross, and we’re careful about how we interact. Even more so toward Beloveds. You helping out the soldiers earlier would be inconceivable in our nation. No one within eyeshot would allow it.”

“Hmm, that seems a little too constricting,” Ruri said, thinking that sort of treatment would be a tad too unbearable for herself. Her eyes trailed over to Celestine.

“I was essentially born in this sort of environment, so I don’t feel it’s constricting at all.”

“Oh, I see.” Since Celestine had been exposed to this treatment since childhood, she was probably accustomed to it. However, Ruri was unable to wrap her head around it, and it showed in her perplexed expression.

Arman saw this and let out a lighthearted laugh. “Doesn’t meet your standards, I take it. You’re the type to work right along with the soldiers. Taking that into consideration, it’s a good thing you’re affiliated with the Nation of the Dragon King, isn’t it? The dragonkin are pretty lax about all that. Probably their strong sense of camaraderie to blame. Honestly speaking, I think other nations are similar to the Nation of the Beast King. Royalty, Beloveds, nobles, commoners—they’re all very distinctly separated into social classes.”

“I see,” said Ruri. “I thought that the people of the Nation of the Dragon King would be overprotective just because I’m a Beloved, but I think they give me much more free rein than the people of the Nation of the Beast King would.” They at least allowed her to work outside the castle walls for a time, an act that probably wouldn’t be allowed in the Nation of the Beast King. It was something that she finally realized after seeing how the people of the Nation of the Beast King treated Celestine.

“Hey, hey. Let’s dig in already,” Chi said, shaking Ruri’s lap with his front legs. He was impatient for the meal to start.

“You’re eating too, Chi?” Ruri asked.

“Sure am! I’m in the mood to eat something.”

“Right, well, let’s get to it, then,” Arman said, initiating the meal. The Nation of the Beast King’s men acted as servers and promptly handed out plates.

With plates in hand, Ruri started to divvy up what Chi wanted to eat as Arman and Celestine began their meals.

“I want that, and that, and, ooh, some of that.”

“Okay, okay. How about you, Kotaro, Rin?” Ruri asked, turning to Kotaro lying comfortably on the tapestry and Rin lying atop his head. However, both of them shook their heads.

Ruri placed Chi’s plate down in front of him and he happily started to chow down. Watching Chi eat in delight, Ruri started eating herself.

Even though it was the middle of the day, Arman was sipping from a cup filled with what appeared to be alcohol. His eyes fell upon Joshua, who was standing off from the tapestry.

“Joshua, you can come join us to eat, if you’d like.”

“I’ll pass. I’m technically here to guard Ruri.”

Ruri overheard their conversation and stopped what she was doing. “Wait, why is Joshua fine to join us?” Ruri questioned. Arman had just said that he didn’t share meals with vassals.

“Oh, what? She doesn’t know?” Arman asked, his question directed more toward Joshua—as if actually asking, “Didn’t you tell her?”

“Now that you mention it, I don’t think she does,” Joshua said.

Ruri glanced between Joshua and Arman. “Huh? What? What?”

“Joshua’s dad and I are half brothers on our mom’s side, meaning Joshua is my nephew and I’m his uncle,” Arman explained.

Ruri’s eyes shot wide open. “Wait, huh? What do you mean?”

“Just like you heard, Dad and the Beast King are brothers. Dad is the previous Beast King’s son.”

“By ‘Dad’ you mean Claus-san, right?” Ruri asked for clarity.

“Yep, yep.”

“Huh? But you and Claus-san are dragonkin.”

“Interracial children take after the stronger race’s blood. Basically, between a lion and a dragon side, the dragon side had stronger genes.”

Ewan was a good example of this since he was born from a human and dragonkin. His mother was human, but Ewan wasn’t; he was a dragonkin.

“Dad and I carry the blood of the previous Beast King, but since we’re dragonkin, we can’t inherit the Nation of the Beast King’s throne. We’re just simple dragonkin, born and raised in the Nation of the Dragon King.”

“Huh, I didn’t know.”

Chelsie gave birth to Claus, meaning that Chelsie’s former mate was—the previous Beast King. Ruri was shocked that Chelsie, the old lady living a quiet life in the woods, had a mate so grandiose. However, that was when a question came to mind.

“But, wait, Beast Kings usually have multiple wives, don’t they? Meanwhile, dragonkin only stick to one. Are you saying Chelsie-san was okay with that?”

“Nah, she apparently was totally not okay with it. That’s why her and the previous Beast King were never wed. Yeah, Granny couldn’t marry a guy with a bunch of wives. But since she wanted children with the person she loved, she brute-forced her way in and basically said, ‘Fork over your genes, bud.’”

“Wow, so Chelsie-san...is the aggressive type,” Ruri commented, thinking it very in character for Chelsie, to put it lightly.

“And that’s how she ended up giving birth to three sons. Granny sure is one tough lady.”

“And that’s the last she heard from the former Beast King?” Ruri asked.

“The former king said something about going on an adventure one day,” Arman replied with a bitter expression. “He just left the throne and went off to who-knows-where. He didn’t even care how much hell I went through succeeding the throne after him.”

From the way Arman clenched his fist, Ruri could feel his embittered feelings.

“He used that as his chance to separate from his wives, but he apparently paid visits to Lady Chelsie’s place, though infrequently.”

“And we’re talking really infrequently,” Joshua tacked on.

His presence really was as limited as Joshua said, seeing as how Ruri never met him in the two whole years she lived at Chelsie’s house.

“Who even knows where he could be now?” Arman said, shrugging his shoulders.

He seemed like a pretty wild and impulsive person. “Sounds like he would get along with Grandpa,” Ruri said, a mental image of her own grandfather in her mind.