Chapter 183

"Sister Helen, how much longer until we reach the place you mentioned?"

A small deer-girl with deer ears tugged at Helen's dress, looking up and asking in a sweet, childish voice, "We've been traveling for four days, and I'm so hungry."

"Hazel, just hang on for one more day. We'll reach Sedona City, and there will be plenty of delicious food, especially buns—you'll love them," Helen said, squatting down to pat the deer-girl's head reassuringly. "Hazel is the best."

"Mmhm." Hazel blinked her large eyes and nodded obediently. "Alright."

"Haah..."

Helen exhaled lightly as she looked around at the more than thirty beastkin children, a hint of relief at the corner of her mouth. She was glad she arrived in time; otherwise, she could hardly imagine what it would be like if everyone had been taken away as slaves.

As for the elders who abandoned the tribe, Helen had completely lost interest. Those people had disappointed her greatly by abandoning the children. It was simply too much.

"Helen, do you really think a noble will take us in? We are beastkins, after all."

Mary, leading two young beastkins by the hand, asked with concern, "Don't let the humans deceive you. Just four days ago, they came to capture us to make us slaves."

"It's true. The lord is different from other humans," Helen reassured her. "The lord promised that as long as we work for him, we can support ourselves."

Over the past four days, the surviving adult beastkins had asked her many times about such things, and Helen always answered seriously. There were only two or three male and female adult beastkins left after the attack by slave traders.

"But there are so many children. No noble would support us for free. It's hard for just a few of us elders to bear this burden." Mary expressed her worry.

"Well..." Helen was momentarily at a loss. Yes, with so many beastkin children, would the lord really provide money to support them all? It would be very unfair to the lord. No, what am I thinking? Can't I support them myself?

"Grandma Mary, don't worry. I'll take care of everyone. I have a job that pays one silver coin a month." Helen said with a confident smile on her face.

"Oh. I hope it's true. I don't want to escape from one danger only to fall into another." Mary frowned deeply. A monthly salary of one silver coin—how could any noble be so generous?

Mary had reason to worry. After leaving the beastkin kingdom, she had seen too much fraud and hypocrisy. If Mary were not an old beastkin, she would have been captured as a slave long ago.

At sixty-five, Mary had a head of white hair, small goat horns protruding from her gray hair, and a hunched back. She had always cared for the beastkin orphans in the tribe.

"It won't happen. I've tested it. I even worked as a teacher there, teaching human children." Helen quickly assured her.

"Helen, you're a kind child, but..." Mary was at a loss for words. There was no use continuing; they had no other options. Staying in the tribe would mean starving to death or being captured again by slave traders, and it wasn't every time that the wolf tribe beastkins would come to their rescue.

Mary just hoped that the noble Helen mentioned wouldn't be too demanding. Being sold into slavery might at least prevent starvation.

She didn't understand why she was having these thoughts. Maybe it was the pressure of caring for thirty-three beastkin children that made her entertain the idea that being a slave might be better than starving.

"..." Helen didn't know what to say. Just a few days ago, she had been hurt by slave traders. Her mindset was the same as when she had escaped from them: she completely distrusted humans. If it weren't for that perverted Annie and the gentle Miss Nicole...

Maybe she still didn't trust humans. Perhaps back then, she was still thinking about escaping the castle and hadn't yet considered what came next.

"Helen, we'll be there in a day, right?" Mary asked, keeping an eye on the children to make sure no one fell behind.

"Yes. Just one more day." Helen confirmed with a nod.

Helen glanced around at the beastkin children. Because she had to take care of them, their progress was slow, especially with finding food for the kids, which further dragged down their speed.

But none of the beastkin children complained. Over the past four days, they had walked obediently without asking for rest, demonstrating how hardship can mature and accelerate growth. This might be one reason why beastkins are stronger than humans.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without Mina. If Mina hadn't been clearing the path and hunting for them, they might have starved long ago.

"Helen, I need to discuss something with you," Mary said quietly. "When we arrive, I'll take a few children into the city first to check the situation. If I don't return, you should take the children far away."

This was the only plan Mary had come up with over the past four days. She needed to scout the situation to determine if it was true. If the noble saw her, an old sheep beastkin, and chased her away, it would mean Helen had been deceived.

"..." Helen was stunned. What kind of plan was this? How could she agree? If the adults found out, they might think she didn't trust them.

Before Helen could respond...

Crack. Crack.. Crack...

Suddenly, the sound of broken twigs and dry grass came from all around, making Helen, Mary, and the other beastkins tense.

"Could it be the slave traders again?" Mary asked nervously, pushing Helen urgently. "Helen, hurry and leave, or those bastards will..."

"Hee hee hee..." Helen, however, laughed and called out, "Mina, you're back?"

The figures around them were indeed from the team led by Aiden with longbows, who had run into Mina, who had been scouting ahead.

"Yes. The young master sent people to pick us up," Mina said. Mina looked a bit tired, having been busy for the past four days, with no rest for her feet and staying up by the campfire at night to fend off wild animals and such.

"I'm really sorry, I haven't been much help." Helen said as she quickly pulled out a few wild fruits from her backpack, which were quite juicy.

"You don't need to eat these; Aiden has brought food." Mina said with a smile.

The feeling of being cared for—it's really nice. She had a few bags of fried fish jerky that Young Master had sent with Aiden in her backpack.

And there were those fizzy drinks—cola—Mina was really happy right now.

"Really? That's great."

Helen got excited and pulled Mary over, shouting, "The master has sent someone to pick us up and bring food."

"..." Mary tilted her head, confused. What was going on? Wasn't he a slave trader?

.

.

.

.

You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.

pat reon.com/GreenBlue17

250 Power Stones for 1 extra chapter.

5 New reviews for 1 extra chapter.

Goal refresh every week.