Harem King's Collection: Turning Beastkins Into Desperate Wives!
Chapter 52: The Boy Should Know

Chapter 52: The Boy Should Know

Prince Tyfin let his emotion slip through his steeled facade for a moment in his shock at the statement. The legendary beasts were returning?

"Are you certain? This is no light claim you make." The prince was hoping for a better answer than the one the orc gave him after he took a short, silent pause.

"Our hunters have been encountering hoards of feral beasts migrating from the area around your kingdom... Ferals that are running from something... Ferals that grow anxious and attack anything that approaches, even many which were normally docile and harmonious with others now lash out.

"Mother birds are abandoning their nests, leaving the changing winds to carry the souls of their unhatched away. Fiends are becoming more and more common, increasing in number and gathering in masses, attacking and picking off smaller villages as they grow in number... All of this within a week... The lands are falling out of balance and descending into chaos..."

The orc paused again, his demeanor shifted as he braced for a harsh refusal, and he looked the prince straight in the eye to make sure he could read his reaction before he continued.

"A chaos that began many years ago when your father chose to carve out an entire part of our world, Prince Tyfin. When he killed the humans along with the last line of defense that was keeping this threat at bay, the human king Calium Aureus... and yet his shield is carried on by that boy, a boy now in your service. I can not find it within myself to consider all of this as mere chance.

"I believe the heir to that shield was guided to be where we need him, to stand before the darkness that looms ahead, just as his father had once planned to do... Before, he was framed for the murder of your own mother, Queen Talia of Alora, and stricken down by your father."

Prince Tyfin was understandably alarmed at so many revelations, but he kept his feelings mostly in check. He was skilled at reading people and knew some friction was forming under the orc’s skin.

"My father did what he believed was justice, something I have both adamantly and openly opposed for over fifteen years now. I believe his treatment of the humans was harsh, selfish, and surely a dark mark upon my family name that will be forever carried forth, recorded as one of the lowest parts of our history.

"Do not assume I believed his choice to be the right one... You say the last human king was framed for my mother’s demise. Can you back up this claim? And if I may, how exactly did King Calium plan to combat this threat?"

The orc shook his head before he answered, satisfied with what the prince had said.

"I can not prove anything, and I can only speak based upon what information the previous chief had passed down. I do not know the full story, but I can share what I was told if you wish to exchange such information, that is."

The prince persisted. Whatever the orc had to say, he would hear it. Crag lowered his head a bit and closed his eyes before he began telling the lion what he knew.

"Queen Talia, your mother, was slain in a battle against a demon through the use of blood magic... The only magic that originated from humans. The culprit was revealed to be among the allied forces of the human kings, which had been sent to assist in the battle. When the perpetrator was questioned before his life was taken, he told your father everything... Or at least, everything he had wanted the beast king to believe...

"It worked, and your father’s rage and anguish over his loss was redirected at the humans he believed responsible... After the first two human kingdoms were reduced to nothing more than piles of rubble, the beast king set his sights on the lands of the last human king standing, the unmistakable father of that boy you travel with, the previous bearer of that shield."

Tyfin only listened closely. So far, their intel on the situation was mostly the same. However, it would seem what had bothered the young prince the most about the story was also a sentiment shared by the orc.

The entire crusade was based on the information provided by the very murderer who supposedly ended his mother’s life.

Information that was far from reliable to anyone with enough sense to see it. Had his father not been so rash, things may not have gone as far as they had.

Crag continued where he left off.

"The chief before me did not know the extent of the last human king’s plan to deal with the return of the beasts, nor the beastmen that came bearing down upon his lands... However, he was still sent a request for aid... One that he passed on answering, not wanting to be involved in your war, resulting in the elimination of the kingdom...

"That is the shame we orcs shall carry... The human king Calium was a true ally to us and even helped establish trade, better education and agriculture, and an overall higher standard of living for our tribe that you see the fruits of today... A tribe that once ruled on brute force alone.

"A tribe that had been at war with other races since the beginning of time, and yet, he extended a hand of peace when we were nearly destroyed by both our own foolish ways, and our lawless rule... We turned our backs to our allies in the hour of their own greatest need, and we have suffered great loss for our passive choice..."

The orc took a deep breath in, pausing to gather himself.

"The human king was clearly not the kind that sought war between the races, as such, I do not believe the true culprit was brought to justice, and the blame was successfully shifted elsewhere by whoever had orchestrated the assassination, for whatever real reason they had to do so. Tell me, Prince of Beasts, do you believe this to be out of the realm of possibility?"

Prince Tyfin solemnly confessed his answer.

"It’s a very plausible conclusion... One I have thought on many times myself. Although, I will admit I wasn’t aware the orcs had made peace with the human kingdoms... I respectfully had no idea how far your kind had advanced, and I apologize for such an oversight on my behalf. I never considered your people to share my own ambitions for uniting our world."

Crag continued, satisfied with the answer the young prince had given him.

"I possess the final letter the human king sent to the chief before me, the details do not reveal much, but it may give us some clues as to unraveling this mystery, as well as how we may hope to stand against the threat that approaches...

"But should you wish to hear it, you must include the boy in this conversation. Allowing him to read the note may be one of the only ways my tribe may repent for the foolish betrayal of our allies and his father. THE BOY SHOULD KNOW."

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