It Is a Tool of Humanity

I like humans.  

Rather than participating in the grand feasts of my kind or other races, I would rather scavenge through the garbage bins of human cities.  

How dare such inferior species try to imitate humans?  

It is something that should never happen.  

I am grateful for all the food I receive here.  

Though, I sometimes wish they would just give me food scraps.  

Bread and soup.  

I think of the children in the slums who cannot even eat such simple meals.  

So, I feel sorry.  

Because someone like me is consuming food.  

How much food has been taken from humans by other races on this planet?  

If they did not exist, humanity would have advanced even more beautifully.  

If I were human, I would have been at the forefront, eliminating them.  

It’s a shame.  

Truly.  

What crime did I commit to be born in this body?  

I still do not understand.  

Creak.  

The iron-barred door opens.  

It is that noble.  

“…Haah.”  

He enters with a sigh.  

It has not been long since my horns were cut off, so why is he here?  

He hesitates over something.  

“If this gets out… I… Ah, whatever.”  

He looks troubled.  

His demeanor is strikingly different from usual.  

“Ah, I’m sorry for everything. I had no choice. I’ll help you escape.”  

Escape?  

I do not understand what he is saying.  

Do I need to escape?  

I like it here.  

I cannot hide my confusion.  

“That human… No matter how much it’s for his daughter, this is still wrong. I didn’t want to do this either.”  

He approaches and unlocks the shackles on my wrists.  

I do not know what he is thinking.  

“Here, put these on.”  

Sandals.  

They fit my feet well.  

“And this.”  

Is it a cloak?  

It covers my head, hiding my horns.  

“Follow me.”  

For now, I do as he says.  

He must have a reason.  

It has been a long time since I have gone outside.  

But I do not understand.  

I do not see why I should leave.  

We walk for a long time.  

This place is larger than I expected.  

Hallway after hallway.  

Why is the basement so vast?  

The nobleman looks anxious, as if he is doing something forbidden.  

Even watching him makes me nervous.  

Eventually, we reach the end.  

A small wooden door appears.  

The noble opens it.  

“Now, go out through here… See that? Run straight down that alley. It’s evening now, so it’ll be hard to see you. You should be able to get out of the city. Take the waterway route. Got it?”  

I nod.  

“There’s a canal. Follow it, climb over the outer wall, and keep running. Don’t get caught.”  

“Yes.”  

I think I understand what the nobleman wants.  

It is a bit confusing, but perhaps this is a game of tag or hide-and-seek?  

“Yeah, run, far away. You’ll… meet your family.”  

Ah, he remembered what I said.  

I must bring my family.  

Yes.  

If I see them, I must bring them here.  

“…Okay!”  

Then, I shall escape.  

This kind of amusement does not seem so bad.  

A hunt for demi-humans.  

Chasing runaway slaves must indeed be fun.  

I used to enjoy letting my pet dog loose and catching it again.  

Is it the same concept?  

Otherwise, I do not understand why I should flee.  

“Go!”  

I lower my head in a bow and dash out the door.  

As soon as I leave, I hear the door shut behind me.  

The outside air.  

Tap, tap, tap…  

I run along the path he showed me.  

Through the narrow alleyways.  

It is dark.  

The moon is bright.  

It is the time when people are asleep.  

The cold night air brushes against my cheeks.  

It is cold enough to see my breath.  

As I keep running, I hear the sound of flowing water.  

The canal.  

He said I could use it to leave the city.  

It seems there is no other way to climb over that thick wall.  

I am glad I found it.  

By now, have they begun chasing me?  

Since I am their prey, they may bring weapons.  

Even being hunted is an honor for an inferior being like me.  

I am happy.  

Providing entertainment for humanity is truly fulfilling.  

“Hey!”  

Someone calls out.  

At me.  

I briefly turn my head toward the voice.  

“Yeah, you. I’m talking to you.”  

A suspicious figure, hooded.  

A woman’s voice.  

What does she want?  

“You’re trying to escape, right? Toward the canal.”  

“……”  

That’s right.  

But what exactly is this person?  

“You can’t go that way. The escape route is blocked. Someone tried to flee there last time and got caught.”  

She lifts her hood.  

Black hair.  

And from underneath, pressed-down cat ears pop out.  

Is this damned cat beastkin pretending to be human to talk to me?  

Ugh, disgusting.  

Beastkin are meant to be captured and used as slaves or servants.

That is their rightful place.  

“You’re a beastkin too, right? I have good night vision, so I can see well… Even with the cloak, your head sticks out a little.”  

A beastkin too?  

Think about the insult I must endure.  

It is utterly revolting.  

Being born an inferior species is a crime in itself, so there is nothing I can do.  

Should I just ignore her?  

The noble told me to go to the canal, so that is where I will go.  

If I get caught, then my role will be fulfilled.  

What matters is that I, the fugitive, am being hunted.  

Whether the path is blocked or not is none of my concern.  

“Huh? Hey, hey! I told you not to go that way! Didn’t you hear me?”  

She follows after me, sounding urgent.  

I do not understand.  

“If you really want to escape, follow me. I know the real way out. You need to take a different canal.”  

So she says.  

A beastkin knowing something?

How surprising.  

I have never asked for help from an inferior species.  

“I’m serious. I’m trying to help, so you can trust me.”  

Still, should I follow her just this once?  

Ah, how unpleasant.  

I will definitely report this later.  

The very fact that such a demi-human creature is walking freely in a human city is an insult.  

“Yeah, this way.”  

The fact that she even knows an escape route is a problem.  

Just how many inferior species has she smuggled out of the city this way?  

That aside, the city at night is somewhat beautiful.  

Even just passing through the alleyways has a certain charm.  

“Here, this way.”  

She says, grabbing my wrist.  

Ugh.  

Disgusting.  

I shake off her hand with all my strength.  

“…How dare you.”  

An inferior species, touching me.  

Even if I am not human, I cannot help but be repulsed.  

“Oh, uh, sorry. You don’t like being touched, huh?”  

She laughs awkwardly.  

She does not try to grab me again after that.  

So, where exactly is this escape route?  

It might just be my imagination, but it feels like we are getting further from the city’s outskirts.  

We are moving closer to the city’s center.  

I do not understand why.  

I cannot hear the sound of water at all.  

My hearing is naturally sharp, and I had been hearing it all this time.  

Are we heading toward a completely different canal?  

The beastkin stops in front of a building.  

A building with its lights on, even at night.  

I have no idea why we are here.  

Knock, knock.  

She knocks on the door.  

A moment later, it opens, and a large human steps out.  

Did she bring me to a human?  

Why?  

“…A tip-off?”  

Judging by his leather armor, he appears to be a soldier.  

He is someone who protects the city.  

A good man.  

“Yeah. Looks like a runaway slave. What’s the bounty?”  

More than that, what is this conversation?  

A tip-off? Runaway slave? Bounty?  

I try to step away, but the soldier grabs my arm before I can.  

Rip.  

The cloak is forcibly removed.  

My white hair and horns are exposed.  

“Hm. A horned one, huh? That’s rare. Ran away from a noble’s house?”  

“Seems like it. She was trying to go to the canal, so I brought her here. She fell for it immediately when I told her there was another way out.”  

So she tricked me.  

I understand the situation now.  

She sold me out.  

“Sorry, but this pays well. Don’t hold a grudge.”  

That damn cat betrayed me.  

Well, in a way, she is working for humanity too.  

Catching runaways and turning them in.  

That is, in its own way, a valuable job.  

So I will let it slide.  

As long as beastkin keep trying to escape, even an inferior creature like her will be useful to human society.  

“You brought one in just yesterday, and now another? You sure catch a lot. Where do you think this one came from?”  

She is very diligent in her work.  

“The House of Count Rhinefield, probably. She came from that direction.”  

“I see.”  

“The money?”  

“Here.”  

He hands her a few coins.  

I was sold for that much.  

As expected, there is no loyalty among demi-humans.  

Inferior species pretending to be human are all the same.  

But I was caught faster than I expected.  

The city’s security system is harder to breach than I thought.  

The soldier pulls me inside the building.  

Is this a guard station?  

Inside, there are two other soldiers who look relatively small in stature.  

A drunkard is passed out, having drunk too much.  

“Hey, send a message to the House of Count Rhinefield. Ask if they lost a runaway slave.”  

And it did not take long for someone from the Count’s estate to come for me.  

I just found out.  

The place where I was held was called the House of Count Rhinefield.