6 Kaiden Meets Max

(Somewhere…)

"My King," the lizard-man clad in a shady outfit greets as he kneeled. "I've come with bad news regarding the situation in Mt. Pillars."

The King with an expressionless face nodded.

Taking a sigh before answering, the lizard-man revealed a cloth-like material tainted with a red stain from his pocket. It was surely blood, and everyone in the room gasped in surprise, except for the King himself. "The Oracle is gone…"

Murmurs and gasps filled the air.

"Oh, my Moon Goddess…"

"The Oracle? Oh, dear…"

"Who would give us prophecies and advice from now on…"

"SILENCE!" The voice of the King thundered throughout the room, making everyone froze instantly.

He is known to be like this; emotionless but could snap at any moment of irritation. No one dared to get to his nerves or else they would face a miserable punishment. Everyone respected him, feared him, and worshipped him like a true leader of Hearth should be treated. But unlike the past leaders who unified every creature, he loathes humans as much as the humans feared him and his savage ruling.

The lizard-man scratches his head awkwardly when the King asked him to continue his report. "W-Well, I found the Oracle's body with a hole on his chest."

The King raises an eyebrow. He doesn't quite understand if the Oracle was killed or there's another reason for his death. "What do you mean that he has a hole on his chest? Was he murdered?"

Gasps filled the air once again.

"I don't actually understand his death, my King. His body suddenly faded into my hold when I tried to inspect his wound. It was some sort of mysterious magic."

'What on Hearth is the meaning of this…?' The King was baffled. He doesn't seem to see the lizard-man lying, but it's truly an unbelievable phenomenon. He and the Oracle weren't on good terms ever since he became the leader. Truthfully, he still respects the Oracle even though he's a human – yes, the great prophet who had been guiding the leaders for many years is a human.

If his body faded mystically, then it's a great mystery for everyone to solve, especially the King. He must prove to his people that he didn't kill the Oracle; they'd surely suspect him for this. Everyone knew their feuds and different ideals and beliefs. They were like cats and dogs but everyone supports them both. But when a side has fallen, surely the people would point fingers to the other side as the culprit.

'… But at least he's gone.' The King dubiously smirks in his mind. On the outside, he was frowning like he had lost a good old friend. 'My plans would run smoothly without him. But of course, I mustn't let it show…'

His plans for total world domination can commence easily. The rebel races would soon lose their will and bow down to his feet.

"… Tell the soldiers to prepare a funeral ceremony in the kingdom. We'll be grieving for the loss of the Oracle…" The King even managed to let some tears fall from his eyes.

Because if he's not going to act this out, the people would turn their backs on him. And the world will be without him; the rightful ruler, the King of all races.

~~~~~~~~~~

(On the outskirts of Moon Valley…)

I gasped in awe as we finally reached Moon Valley. Since we started our journey the night after Arjo saved me from the Slavemaster, we arrived at his hometown when the sun showed up brightly at the sky. It had been a long ride on the magical carriage – I said it was magical because it was run by magic and not a horse! I mean, how cool is that?

Anyway, I had learned so much of Hearth from Arjo's stories, especially his hometown. This world is filled with magic, but some people prefer to live normally and rarely rely on magical tools. It seems to be in an age long before my own world's age; there were no cellphones, cars, and all those modern things that the current Earth has.

Moon Valley, Arjo's hometown, was a town comprised mostly of canid species of beastmen such as wolves, dogs, jackals, and foxes. But ever since the King had taken place as the leader of Hearth, other species such as felids and leporids began inhabiting within here as well. Arjo says nothing much really changed to their traditions, except the slavery thing.

'I wonder who could this King be…' I could feel something off by just hearing his name. Arjo said that he's the one who implemented the slave system, especially enslaving almost all of humankind. He's kind of a racist leader to me, and I can't believe that he hates humans than any villain that I ever watched on movies.

"-xie… Maxie!"

I blushed at Arjo's snapping me to reality. "S-Sorry, I was just thinking…"

The wolf-man crossed his arms and sighed. "Are you sure you slept enough last night? I can't make you meet my brother if you're too tired to get on your feet."

I pouted. "I'm fine, alright?" 'Geez, he's really excited for me to meet his brother.' I mean, I'm excited too but isn't he supposed to be a little less excited than I am?

"Good, good. I'm sure Kaiden's gonna love you. He's been bugging me to bring home a slave to help him with household chores."

…

Okay, that's not good. I shot Arjo a glare. "Your brother's going to treat me as a slave?!" 'I mean, I can do household chores. But who knows how his brother would treat me?!' I won't just let anyone step on me like trash!

Arjo laughs horribly loud again; I just hate him when he does that. "It's okay. I'm going to explain to him that you're not a regular slave."

"And what are you going to tell him? That I'm a special slave who has freedom of speech?!" I fumed.

And the arrogant wolf-man just laughed while scratching his dummy head. Oh, how I want to smack him so hard if it wasn't just for his stupid slave contract. 'But I do hope his brother is nice…' I don't want to deal with another stupid wolf-man like Arjo.

The streets were full of different kinds of beastmen. But I can hardly see any humans around, and I know better than to wonder or ask about it to Arjo. The moment I stuck my head out of the window, some beastmen would either give me a disgusted look or frown at me. I still can't believe that humans are really treated as slaves here.

Some minutes passed, Arjo stopped the carriage at a small house. Unlike the middle and upper-class houses that I've seen recently, this one is quite simple but a bit old. If this is the wolf-man and his brother's house, I probably won't say anything.

"Little Bro, I'm home!" Arjo exclaims as he helps me get off the carriage.

'Little Bro, huh? How sweet…' Who would've thought that this idiot turns out to be a softy for his sibling?

The wooden door opens and revealed a wolf-man like Arjo. But this wolf-man seems less bulky than his airheaded brother, he's wearing a hoodie jacket that fits his slim size, and his fur is a bit thicker and lighter in color. If he's the brother, he's the younger and more decent looking version of Arjo – but I don't really mind Arjo being shirtless all the time.

"I've prepared lunch early for-!" The younger wolf-man's blue eyes narrowed when he saw me. "Wait, is this the slave that you brought?" His voice seemed disappointed or something.

I fiddled with my fingers as I look down on the ground. I can feel Arjo doing that idiotic scratching-his-head-awkwardly stuff again, and I just want to kick his butt for this situation.

Because if you just take a good look at Arjo's brother, he's scary like he's going to eat you alive at any moment now. I never met someone

"Uhm… He's a slave, and he's also not."

'Way to go, dumbbell head.' I face-palmed internally.

"But he's going to keep you company here while I'm at work, Kaiden! He's a great-!"

"You know that humans can't even understand us, brother." I hear Kaiden – I assume that's his name – snapped. And I somewhat thought that his tone of voice sounded like Thor's badass brother, Loki. "Why do you say that he's also not a slave? Does he don't know how to do household chores like all slaves are trained to?"

And it was my turn to snap, my eyes glared while I spoke. "FYI, I can understand every bit of what you're saying." I smiled in triumph when I saw his shocked expression. Then I added, "And by the way, I can do household chores. I'm just not the slave that you think I am."

Y'all can just guess what happened afterwards. I'm so not letting anyone just step on me like that. And if you're thinking that we rumbled right then and there, then think again…

~~~~~~~~~~

…

I looked down suspiciously at the nicely plated meat rolls that Kaiden prepared for us. I mean, it looks delicious since I haven't really eaten for a while now. 'But why do the insides look blue? Aren't meats supposed to look brown or reddish or something?' I can tell that he's very expectant that I'll like it, but I'm seriously worried about this weird color.

Okay, so here's what happened before I joined the brothers in their lunch.

Somehow, Kaiden ended up being nice to me after he learned that I can understand his beastman language. Or should I say "awfully" nice? Arjo's brother is a weird one who instantly turned jolly to me. He even hugged me afterwards, gave me a heartwarming smile, and even pinched my cheek. But who am I to argue? I should be thankful that we didn't have to rumble and jumble.

'But I'm still weirded out by him…' I thought confusingly. He's too hard to read.

"Why are you looking like you're disgusted?" Kaiden snaps, making me flinch. "It's safe to eat, human. And it's my brother's favorite." Though he's smiling, his voice sounded displeased and irritated. He's really weird, and I'm starting to get scared.

"Kaiden," Arjo warns with a nervous chuckle. "Please go easy on him. He's not really fond of our world yet." He's just sitting beside his brother, so he even gave him a pat on the back.

The younger wolf crossed his arms. "What do you mean? Did he come from another dimension or something?"

"Erm…" I scratched my head awkwardly. But should I say the truth? That a cursed guitar brought me here? That I'm from a world called Earth and this world that they've been living in is what I thought as a product of my mere imagination? That I'm destined to end a war that will happen here in the future?

As soon as I was about to answer, Arjo suddenly spoke, "I found him in a cave near Spring Ridge. I thought he was a slave but I didn't expect that he can understand and talk our language." His tone of voice sounded serious.

'You lied…?' I kept my face straight but my mind is somehow confused. Why did Arjo even do that? Kaiden's his brother; isn't he trustworthy of this matter? I couldn't understand this idiot sometimes.

Kaiden was silent in a few seconds. I thought maybe he could tell that his brother was lying, and I started to panic. Why did this idiot even lie anyway?! Aren't they brothers?!

"… I see." He finally spoke, his lips curled into a smile. What does that mean? Did he believe-!

"YEOWCH!"

I was stunned to see the younger wolf-man suddenly pulling his brother's ear. I could only imagine what Kaiden had thought before he did that, and it seems that I was right.

"You are a horrible liar, brother. We are born opposites, after all." Kaiden sighs, then turned to look at me with his deathly gaze like the one when we first met. "I don't know who and what you are, but I can tell that you're not a normal human. It's better to tell the truth right now, or I will so lock you up with my idiotic brother in the basement."

"Y-You can't do that!" Arjo seethes, rubbing his hurt ear. And who would've thought it was the very same ear that I messed with earlier? "Max is just a-!"

"It's fine, Arjo. He deserves to learn the truth if I'm staying here with you guys." I gave Arjo a sympathetic smile, but the inner me was also angry at him. 'Why would you even lie to your own brother, you fool. He doesn't even seem bad to me...' "I was teleported here by some cursed acoustic guitar. I don't really know why I ended up here, but I'm sure that this world and you guys called "furry beastmen" are just from my vast imagination. I didn't expect you all to be real, but what I so didn't expect is that human slavery is a common thing here."

Silence filled the room once again. They both look at me like they've seen a ghost, but I was more scared of how Kaiden would react, so I grabbed a piece of meat roll and munched on it. And I can't believe what I just tasted.

"Mmm! This is really good!" I exclaimed without thinking. It didn't taste like ordinary meat, but I'm sure it has become my favorite now. Oh, how the unimaginable burst of meaty flavours and spices filled my mouth happily like a rainbow…

…

Right. I was lost in my own food satisfaction that I forgot the situation that I'm in. Arjo just sighed while Kaiden rubbed his chin like he was in deep thinking.

"You never really told me your story, so I'm quite surprised too." The older wolf-man frowns.

"Actually, I'm not surprised," says Kaiden, which me and Arjo were surprised about. And then he grinned, which totally ascended his weirdness to a higher level. "In fact, I'm really happy that you found someone who can play a guitar, Arjo! I've been looking for someone that would teach me how to play one for Tabi's music band." Then he sticks his hand out for a handshake. "It's an honor to meet you, Max!"

…

…

EHH?! That was it?!

"Um… Well, it's nice to meet you too, Kaiden." I awkwardly took his hand, and he even shook it with pure excitement. 'He's really weird, isn't he…?'

"And I'm glad that you like the meat rolls. I can teach you how to make them if you teach me how to play guitar." Kaiden winks.

Seriously, every single day that I'm in this world gets weirder and weirder. But I think things are getting better than I expected that it would be. I'm not really going to be a slave, after all!

"Oh, and Kaiden," Arjo spoke, making me snap from my thoughts. "Max is still bound to my slave contract. If he ever hurts both of us, he'll be punished automatically."

And the mood wrecker goes at it again. 'Why did you even have to tell him that?' I thought depressingly.

"Oh, okay. I'll take note of that, but I don't think he will try to hurt me, right Max?" Kaiden says with his big puppy eyes. He didn't have to do that, but he looks weirdly cute.

And no, I don't think I'm crushing on him right now. He's not my type, sorry. My type would be his buff brother whose head is only filled with little intelligence and air. I know I'm exaggerating him, but I just love to refer him like that.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm not really a violent person." I've never been angry to hurt anyone that I first met before, except maybe for a certain wolf-man that I just met yesterday. And I had to stifle a laugh when Arjo shot me an annoyed glare.

So… For now, I'll be living with Arjo and Kaiden; two wolf-men brothers with different personalities. But even though they're quite different, I think they seem to care for each other very much, especially Arjo to Kaiden. The older brother seems very protective of him by just looking at their interactions. And I know what you're thinking; that Kaiden acts scarier and more authoritative than Arjo. But the older brother seems to be just looking out for his younger brother silently, like, his senses are always alert of the dangers that might come to them.

To be honest, I didn't expect to admire anybody like this so easily. But since Arjo is not purely human – and he's my favorite type of furry – I think I would fall in love for him sooner than later.

I smiled at the two bickering brothers before I munched again on a piece of amazingly delicious meat roll. And this time, I dipped it to the strange-looking sauce that Kaiden said to be safe to try too, and it was a divine moment for my palate.