Chapter 1291

“Why have you come?” I asked rudely. “What made you think you’d have a place here?”

Miki glanced back at me. “Master...”

“We...” He cleared his throat as his wife gabbed his coat from behind. “We don’t have anywhere else to go. After you left, we realized that the catkin would likely send someone to wipe us out to keep their secrets. Our people are sick and dying. We were barely able to make this journey.”

I looked at Miki’s Mother, who was holding her Father’s shirt in a way that wasn’t much different than how Miki clung to me. However, just because they were her parents didn’t mean they were her family. My expression stiffened.

“How is it my problem?” I demanded, causing him to flinch.

“A-are the children alright?” Miki asked.

I didn’t mind her cutting in, but her voice that was still filled with concern only caused my heart to ache. These people weren’t deserving of any of her kindness or sympathy.

“T-they still live.” He responded after a moment when he was sure I was allowing her to speak. “The rest of us carried them... but many died on the way. We resurrected those we still could, but we’ve reached a point where the able-bodied were fewer than the immobile. If we turn back... I’m afraid no one will reach Dioshin alive.”

I crossed my arms. “Oh, I’m sure some of you will survive. You’ll just abandon the weak so those better off survive. It’s what you do.”

He bit his lip, and the others were either too tired or knew their place too well to muster any rebuttal. Every eye was looking down at the floor. They had lost what little part of their home they had left. Without knowing what they would find, they braved the wilderness and came to their enemy in the hopes of mercy. It was a bit like the time that Chalm was upset by ghosts and fled to Dioshin for shelter. Then again, when that happened, Dioshin had closed their doors on them, denying the animalkin a home. I saw no reason to offer one either.

“We... won’t abandon others anymore. We’ve lived our entire lives suppressed by Dioshin, treated as outcasts because of the fear of souls and spirits. We... won’t make the same mistake again.”

“Ahhh... god, what a bother!” Her eyes widened at my words, and the people who had just reached the forest slowed slightly. “I don’t want to have to deal with a bunch of stinking children. I guess I’ll just sell them into slavery. That’ll make some gold, I bet.”

My words were loud, and they were heard by the foxkin. The Father spun around, just a bit of heat in his eyes.

“Slavery... n-now see here! These are our children. We didn’t leave them to you to sell as slaves?”

“Eh?” I picked my ear. “Are you still here? Aren’t you the guys just telling me you wouldn’t leave your kind behind, all while leaving all of your children behind? That’s real rich coming from you guys.”

Several of the foxkin looked up with an offended expression.

“It’s not like that! It’s just, our lives don’t matter. We will gladly give them to save our children. Why can’t you see that?”

“All I see is you all taking the easy way out. Again.” I responded. “If I’m going to deal with these kids, I need to be properly compensated.”

“C-compensated?” He sputtered. “We don’t have anything left? All we have is ourselves!”

I raised an eyebrow. “A bunch of spirit foxkin, huh?”

He stiffened as the realization started to cross his face.

“I need some slaves to take care of these foxkin children, and for the rest, I’ll find a way to put you all to work.”

I didn’t have a church in Chalm. Franky, I found the church’s I had encountered to this date a bit too wonky to want them around. We had gained a few priests who had remained in town, but it wasn’t enough for a growing population. However, priests weren’t the only ones that could resurrect people. Spiritualists seemed to have the best resurrection, especially if they were a multi-tailed foxkin! This wasn’t a matter of altruism, this was just good business.