My Eldritch Horror Wife Followed Me To Another World
Chapter 54: Meeting Still Ongoing

Chapter 54: Meeting Still Ongoing

Sosora’s question made everyone in the room reflect. Was Nick, who was just existing, the dangerous one? Or was it them, who sacrificed their own out of mistrust, greed, and curiosity?

"They all knew what they were getting themselves into," Basla said through gritted teeth after a while.

"So did ours, but we used members who broke our laws," Monkey added, just to make Basla feel worse.

"We weren’t fools," Layas, the Seg representative, said.

"We didn’t have any fools willing to volunteer," Ugrid, the Husr representative, said.

"We listened to our elders," Poia, the Orovir representative, said.

"We trusted our instincts," Muhso said.

With Ugrid and Poia speaking up, the Lowat tribe’s group was clearly outnumbered. The Bawin tribe was still neutral since Kobo and Atarak couldn’t agree. But they didn’t need to choose a side. Their choice wouldn’t affect the current situation anyway.

Basla thought it was unfair that he was being judged when he knew it wasn’t just the Lowat tribe. Monkey had even admitted to doing almost the same. Why was everyone just ignoring that?

It was because Monkey had the authority to make such decisions regarding the lives of his tribe members. It was because Monkey knew what it meant to send people overnight into the center of the forest.

It was also because he was the strongest in the room. No one wanted to pick a fight with him when there was a much easier target around.

Basla felt pressured. But he wouldn’t be the future heir of the Lowat tribe if just that was enough to make him buckle. He was only the heir in the first place because he was the current chief’s son, and because his big sister, the original heir, had died, though.

"I will admit giving permission to such attempts was hasty. Maybe even a bit greedy. But it does not detract from the point I was trying to make. If anything, it supports it since the Outsider continues to stay in the center of the forest as if it’s no one’s business right now. He must be dangerous to do that without the monster kings bothering him!"

That was something few in the room could argue with.

None of them were confident in staying in the center of the forest.

Monkey had considered it. He was pretty strong, after all. But he wasn’t invincible, and he had a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders. The only one he was confident he could fight was the Midnight Panther, and only during the day. Even then, he wasn’t confident he could win. But he wouldn’t lose.

"Are you suggesting that the Outsider is so dangerous that even the monster kings are wary?" Sosora asked. It wasn’t what Basla had been suggesting. He hadn’t been suggesting anything specific at all. If he had been, it would be more along the lines of the Outsider being crafty and deceptive. Maybe it had to do with his house?

But now that Sosora had asked that question, another silence suffocated the room.

It didn’t matter if that was what Basla had been suggesting. It was the only thing that the representatives could think of.

What if, however unlikely, the Outsider was so strong that all of the monster kings decided they did not want to touch him. What if he were stronger than all of the monster kings combined?

That question added a lot of weight to Sosora’s argument that Basla was the one jeopardizing the forest’s safety by antagonizing the Outsider.

What if the Outsider, who was strong enough to scare all the monster kings, was offended by Basla’s slanderous claims?

He hadn’t done anything yet, but what if he decided to make a move? What if he decided to prove Basla right?

Basla felt his grip on the other representatives slipping. He wasn’t sure what to do. Sosora had played him. Or he had played straight into her hands.

"I would like to say something," A gruff voice grabbed everyone’s attention. Muhso pulled something out of a pocket on the inside of his vest. It was a big leaf rolled up into a cylindrical shape with the edges folded in neatly. He put it on the table in front of him.

"I think the idea of the Outsider being a danger subconsciously comes from his human appearance. We have all suffered under the violent, treacherous hands of his kind. The kingdoms around have all brought suffering and bloodshed to this forest.

"But before the age of invasion and strife, there was another age. It is something most of us have forgotten. It is understandable, but regrettable nonetheless.

"Before the age of strife, we lived in an age of discovery. Before conquerors, invaders, and slavers, there were adventurers, explorers, and merchants. There were those who saw us, not as products or tools but as equals.

"They did not bring down blades upon our trees and fires on our homes.

"They taught us how to craft tools and build houses. They taught us how to care for the land, grow crops, and craft clothes. They granted us civilization."

"Only to try and tear it from our scarred hands in the next generation," Poia said with a grim expression. She did not like Muhso’s glorification of the past.

"I know." Muhso nodded. He could tell that he was done with that part. Everyone knew what he wanted to say. But the memories and remnants of the age of war and strife was closer to the present. It was what people knew of humans. It would be difficult to convince them of anything else.

"But did two humans not enter this forest just a week ago? And did they not leave with their lives intact? It is proof that we know how to think of the present. We should never forget the past, but we should not get hung up on it, either."

Muhso put his hand on the object.

"I am not sure about those two humans, but I know one thing for certain. The Outsider is not from the age of strife." He opened the package.