To Be a Power in the Shadows! - Chapter 205.5
Delta is in a good mood.
She hunted a bunch of bandits with Shadow today.
Strength is power.
Strength is justice.
Hunting is a means of gaining provisions for oneself as well as a place to display ones power.
“Boss!! How was Delta’s hunt today!?”
“Aah yeah, it went well”
Clad in a long jet-black coat, Shadow spoke as he collected the bandit’s purses.
“Yaaay!! The boss acknowledged me”
To Delta, Shadow’s hunting is the greatest performance.
Being acknowledged by someone in a position higher than you is an honour for a beastman as well as something necessary to improve your standing in the pack.
Those are the values of a beastman.
“Ah, what should we do with this corpse?”
Shadow points towards the body of a beastman.
“Who’s that?”
“Your older brother. Have you already forgotten?”
Delta tilts her head and thinks back.
Now that he mentions it, there was a weakling who was saying some unpleasant things.
“Should we do a burial? I don’t know the ways of a beastman though”
“No need!”
“Is that so, well that’s fine then”
Shadow goes back to rummaging for purses.
“Hmmmm”
Looking at the beastmans corpse causes her to remember something unpleasant.
A memory from long ago, when she was known as Sara.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing!!”
Even though she had just gotten into a good mood.
Delta jumps on Shadows back and begins to mark him.
“Wai- get off me!”
“Don’t wanna”
“Stop! I’ll smell of dog!”
“I don’t smell!”
Being covered in Shadow’s scent, the memories of the past slowly fade away. Or so Delta felt.
◇
Inside a small and dark shed.
“Sara….. are you awake?”
Hearing her mother call to her, Sara leaps up.
“Sara is here!”
At the back of the shed lies her sickly mother.
“Cough….. could you pour me some water”
Her mother speaks while coughing in pain.
“Got it! I’ll get some!”
Delta leaves the shed and rushes to the watering hole for her mother.
Outside, the morning sun shone brightly and the grasslands spread toward the horizon. When Delta had reached the watering hole, her feet was wet with morning dew.
The clear water was sparkling.
As Sara crouched town to take the water she realised.
“Damn! I forgot the bucket!”
She rushed to return and grab it.
At that moment, someone tripped her leg.
“Ouch!?”
Sara rolled on the ground.
“Hey dumbass Sara, what did you suddenly fall over for!?”
“Hahaha, did you forget the bucket again?”
Standing there were two boys slightly older than her.
“Ral-nii, Ren-nii…..”1
Sara’s ears droop.
“You really are useless. Can you not even do housework”
“You don’t even train to hunt, if you’re like this I don’t know why you’re kept alive”
“So-Someone needs to take care of mom…..! That’s why Sara doesn’t go to training”
“Don’t talk back to me!!”
Ral strikes Sara on the cheek with his fist.
He may be young, but it was the fist of a beastman. Sara gets sent rolling across the grasslands.
“Uuuu…..uuuuuu…..”
Blood seeps from the edges of Sara’s lips.
As she slowly gets up, the two brothers have a surprised look on their faces.
“Huh, I hit her seriously”
“Maybe you hit at a weird spot?”
The two speak as they walk towards Sara.
“Oi Sara listen up. It’s useless trying to take care of that woman. She can’t hunt anymore and she only birthed three children. She’s a disappointment”
“She’s a burden to the pack, that’s why father abandoned her too”
“Why….. Why are you saying such horrible things! She’s Ral-nii’s, Ren-nii’s, and Sara’s one and only mom!”
Shaking, Sara clenches her teeth as she speaks.
“…..You really are an idiot”
The words that came back were cold.
“The weak have no value. Isn’t that the law of the pack?”
“Because she’s weak….? The law of the pack…..?”
“You even forgot that did you. To think my sister is like this”
“But, she’s your mom…..”
“She’s our mom no longer”
“Eh…..?”
“Oh, did I not mention? Our strength was acknowledged and we’ve been adopted into the 3rd top family of the pack”
“That’s right, from today we’re Ral-sama from the Pit family and Ren-sama from the Pit family”
“But…. but mom is…..”
“I don’t know that weak woman”
“The next time we meet, if you refer to us casually as brothers we’ll kill you. Remember that”
The two sneered as they left.
Stunned, Sara cowered for a while.
“That’s right….. the bucket…..”
Wiping her tears, she wobbled back to the shed.
◇
Sara opens the door with a smile.
“Mom! I forgot the bucket!”
“Good grief, you really are a handful…..”
Her mother greets her with a kind smile.
“Tehehe…..!”
“Okay it’s over there”
“Yup!”
Sara grabs the bucket from the back of the room.
“Sara….. what happened to your face?”
“Eh?”
Her cheek which was hit was swelling red.
“…..did Ral and Ren do this?”
“n….No!”
“Is that so. Those two…..”
“No! You’re wrong…..!”
“You’re a kind girl aren’t you. Come here Sara”
Her tail drooping Sara makes her way to her mothers bedside where she smiles and pats her head.
“Uuu….. Mom is smart. She saw through Sara’s lie”
“That’s because Sara’s lies are obvious”
“Sara is dumb. They make fun of me and call me dumbass Sara. How can I become smart like you mom?”
“Hmmm, that’s difficult. Sara is like her father you see…..”
“Sara want’s to be like mom”
“You shouldn’t say stuff like that. Especially outside”
Her tone is strict.
“…..yes”
“Good girl”
She pats Sara’s head kindly.
“I know. Maybe Sara should speak more politely”
“Politely?”
“That’s right. If you speak politely you’ll appear smarter…..maybe”
“Sara will become smarter!?”
“You will look smarter…..maybe”
“I got it! How should I speak!?”
“Like I said, politely….. like adding [desu] to the end of your sentence”2
“Like this (desu)?”
“U-Uh that’s not quite right…..”
“Like this (nanodesu)?”
“Y-Yeah….. That’s fine”
“With this I’ll sound smarter?”3
“Yeah…..more than before…..I think”
“From now on Sara will speak politely just like mom!!”
“Come over here, Sara”
Sara’s mother hugs her head.
“You’re a cute girl. My cute cute girl”
“Mom…..?”
“I don’t want you to suffer because of me”
“Sara isn’t suffering!”
Her mother shakes her head and touches Sasa’s swollen cheek with her withered fingers.
“Sara….. calm down and listen. Won’t you get adopted?”
“A-Adopted…..”
I already spoke to the Dober family. Sara is a girl so you can’t go to the Pit family like Ral and Ren but the Dober family is a reasonably big family itself.
“Eh….. Mom also arranged for Ral-nii and Ren-niii…..?”
“Keep it a secret. If the two found out I spoke for them, it would surely hurt them”
“Why…..”
“The Pit family and Dober family owe me you see. In the past mom was amazing you know”
She smiles proudly.
“No! Why…..even though we’re family! Even though we’re all together!!”
“Sara…..”
“Ral-nii and Ren-nii are both awful!! They said horrible things about mom!! You’re sick and in pain but they never come home!!”
Sara wails.
“Sara, listen. This couldn’t be helped”
“Can’t be helped!!”
“It’s the law of the pack. I can’t hunt anymore. Besides Ral, Ren, and Sara are still children. Even if I went to hunt I’d only be a nuisance”
“Dad…..?”
“He’s the head of the pack after all. He’s got many other families to take care of. Maybe he would help us if I could still have children. However, I no longer can….. that’s why there is no one to feed this family. For now we are being blessed by other families but that cannot last forever”
“Sara is…..Sara is your child”
“You will forever be my child. But…..think it over”
“Don’t wanna…..”
“Sara…..”
Sara clings to her mother.
“Sara is mom’s kid. Ral-nii and Ren-nii are both awful”
“Thank you Sara. However, don’t speak bad of Ral and Ren”
“Why…..”
“They’re my cute children too after all”
“Are they cuter than Sara?”
“No, Sara is the cutest”
She laughs quietly.
“Yaay!”
“Ral and Ren are still young, they have no place in the pack. Having a weakling like me as their parent must be embarrassing”
“That’s why they speak badly of mom…..?”
“Those two are desperate. Besides the two of them are stronger than me now…..”
“So I just need to become stronger?”
“That’s the law of the pack”
“Is that so…..”
“So Sara, please don’t speak bad of Ral and Ren. Seeing the three of you lively getting along would be the greatest happiness to me”
“Getting along…..Got it”
“Good girl”
She wipes Sara’s tears away with her thin fingers.
“Mom….. what should I do”
“What should you do?”
“What should I do to go back to living like we did before?”
“That’s…..”
“How can I stop being made fun of? How can I stop you from suffering?”
“Sara….. sorry”
“Why are you apologising”
“Mom doesn’t know how to either. Perhaps if Ral, Ren, and Sara grow bigger and become able to catch prey with their own hands”
“I need to become able to catch prey?”
“That’s right. And then become stronger”
“I need to become stronger. Then Ral-nii and Ren-nii will come back?”
“That’s…..It would be nice if they did…..”
Her voice was quiet.
“Mom’s disease will also be cured?”
“That’s right….. It might get healed”
She smiled sadly.
“I got it! Sara will become stronger and catch prey herself!!”
“You can’t rush Sara. When you’re bigger…..cough…..cough”
“Mom!?”
“I-I’m okay”
Sara desperately rubbed her mothers back.
Feeling her ribs, Sara grew impatient.
“If I don’t hurry…..”
“…..Sara?”
“No-Nothing! Are you okay now?”
“Yeah, I’m fine now. Thank you”
“That’s good! Then Sara will get going now”
Sara turns to run off.
“Hold on Sara!”
Her mom calls out to her.
“W-What is it?”
“…..Where are you going?”
Sara’s ears droop.
“…..T-To get water”
“You forgot the bucket”
“My……my mistake!”
Sara grabs the bucket in a panic.
“Then I’m off to get water”
“Have a safe trip, Sara”
Her mother watched worriedly as she Sara leaves.
◇
――Night.
Waiting for her mother to sleep, Sara secretly sneaks out of the shed.
The grasslands that should stretch to the horizon are covered in darkness.
Even then, Sara’s eyes see far ahead.
“It’s over there”
She sniffs her nose.
“There too”
She twitches her ears.
“There too. There’s a lot”
Eyes, nose, ears.
Sara’s are sharper than anyone in her family.
“I just need to become able to hunt prey”
However Sara was still young and had yet to be taken hunting. Women in particular were usually taken to hunt later than men.
But that wouldn’t be fast enough.
Sara runs across the dark field.
Her legs are trembling.
It’s much scarier than being hit by her brothers.
Her brothers might have had training already but Sara still hasn’t.
She doesn’t have any knowledge of hunting.
“Become stronger…..”
Sara’s trembling legs continue over the grasslands.
After a while she stops and uses her eyes, nose, and ears to scout her surroundings.
Then she continues forward again before scouting once more.
Repeating this process, Sara goes far beyond the pack’s settlement.
Even when a herd of monsters are near, Sara holds her breath and passes by them.
“Hide and seek is my specialty”
None of the children in the pack can find her and even for the adults it’s difficult.
This technique worked on the monsters as well.
Her legs stop shaking.
No one in the grasslands can detect her. Her confidence in that calms her.
“It’s not good if there’s a lot of them”
She selects her prey using her eyes, nose, and ears.
If she strained her eyes she could see into the distance. If she sniffed, the wind carried the faintest scent. If she perked her ears, footsteps and breaths could be heard.
She understood it all.
For some reason, she understood.
“Over there”
There is a large panther lying in the grass.
One of the strongest of the grasslands, the risk is high and usually you wouldn’t aim for it.
However Sara knew.
That panther is weak.
She slowly approaches it from downwind.
The closer she gets the stronger the smell of death wafts from it. There’s no doubt about it.
It has the same smell as her mother.
At that moment her concentration broke.
She realised what she was thinking and it shocked her.
“N…..No!”
Nothing was wrong.
The death of her mother and death of the panther combined together, making her look down on it as weak.
“No!!”
Losing herself, she screamed.
“Grrrrrrrrr”
When she came to, the panther was right before her.
“Ahhh…..”
It pointed fangs and large open mouth rushed towards her.
“Ahhhhhh……”
Sara thought to herself.
――How weak.
◇
Sara stands in the grasslands before dawn.
The morning sun is beginning to dye the sky.
At her feet the body of the panther lays lifeless.
“Ahhh…..”
Sara cries.
Her body covered in blood, she cries quietly.
There is not a single wound on her.
The blood is all from the panther.
“Uwaaaaaa…..”
She understood.
She was made to understand.
Just how much of a sin it is to be weak in these grasslands.
[Continued in part two!?]
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