Chapter 69 Words of the Heart (Patreon)

It has already been a week. Today will be the start of the great migration of the beastmen. The area before the royal castle was filled up with beastmen that were gathered from all over the country, and everyone was waiting for a representative to stand on the podium. They have all been told that their country will be rebuilt in a new land, and they all want to know who will be leading it, as they don’t have any clue about who is.

「Umm, who do you think will come? 」

「Hmm……well, it might a son or a daughter of a tribal chief. Though I would have peace of mind to follow if it’s someone with the lineage of the white baron Sophia-sama…」

And many more expectations like that were going around. Among those that were mentioned, Forna’s name didn’t come out, since everyone thought that she is still too young to do something like this, compared to her older sister, the second princess, everyone thought she would not be good enough.

And that’s why everyone only mentioned about other tribal chief’s sons or daughters, or the names of other powerful individuals that have the capabilities to lead them.

And then, what was happening behind the scenes……

「……Anou, Forna. Do you want me to speak to them in your stead? You can also just stand next to me, you know? 」

「nononnoono, I, I, I can, I can do, thi, this, this you know」

「Sorry, as expected, even I won’t know what to say to everyone……」

The person in question was stuttering and shaking from too much nervousness. Her teeth began to chatter and cold sweat could literally be seen dripping from her. Is it really normal for a beastmen to sweat that much……?

For the time being, everyone from 『Fairies Banquet』 gave her a hug to calm her down and let her relax, and with that her tail that was outside their group hug was going wild. Even if she tries hiding her emotions like a cat…… it was all meaningless, due to the fact that her tail was waving around as if it was going to detach.

「Nn~ want to hold hands and come out together? 」

「Iyaiya master. Evem if you suggest that, I don’t think it would really do――」

「「Let’s raise the tension!! 」」

「「No, calm down!! 」」

Forna’s shivering had finally calmed down when Arena grabbed her hand, though Arena played around for a bit holding her hand and letting go. Eh, was it fun.

「Why are you all still playing around…… Everyone is eagerly waiting, you know? 」

「Naa, we will be out as soon as possible」

The king along with Magenta-san came to call for us. That’s right. We can’t have everyone keep on waiting for too long. When I looked at Forna, she made a gulp for a bit. Yosh, it seems like her resolution is now firm.

It was finally the moment that all the beastmen present were waiting for. The figures of 4 people were coming up front… but none of them were of the people they were expecting to appear.

There was the figure of a little girl in between them and she was holding hands with two of the three others.

「Forna-sama……」

「It’s Forna-sama……」

At that moment, everyone felt anxiety as they were discouraged by that. Many of them were also showing dissatisfied expressions. Forna could feel the disapproval already and cold sweat again began dripping on her back, 

　Go on

「Ahh……」

Feeling the gentle grip on her hand, she looked at the friends who were watching her with gentle smiles. She had to believe that it will be alright. Those in front of her were not her enemies, that’s why she needs to believe that it will be alright……… And so, the speech of a 8 year old little girl began.

「A lot…… a lot of blood has been spilled. That war…… the war between Heroes and the Demon King, and was the reason of our country, Ladaria’s fall. And then, every one of us was branded as remnants of 『Demons』………… and was made to be slave as a sign of that stigma. That is the reality of what we are suffering right now. The country became nothing but barren land, and along with our prosperity, our history, and my father, mother and sister, everything was lost. I know that everyone lost something, their friends, lovers and family」

Every one of the beastmen listened to her in silence. They remembered the little Forna who would always hide behind her Father. Those words came from that Forna, a little cowardly girl that they have known, and they couldn’t even imagine how much loneliness she has suffered.

Some of them recalled the names of people they have lost and covered their faces. Other’s reminisced in the nostalgia of their comrades that were now gone.

「But if you ask me who I would blame, then I would blame no one. My Father transformed into a demon lord, my sister and other high chiefs were transformed into demons, and we just couldn’t let them be like that. They killed a lot of people all over the world, and even we would have been killed any exception. And we all knew that they were strong, strong enough to be considered unstoppable, and we had no choice but to rely on Heroes to stop their rampage. That is the reality of the situation… all we could do was to accept the facts, accept the things that happened, but today everyone has to decide… We need to make a choice about moving forward」

Her presence was building up. And from her hands, she could feel encouragement coming to her from the three besides her. With a smile, Forna then changed the topic of discussion.

「Who I am? I’m sure that everyone knows, right? 『The Crybaby Forna』『The Stuck on her Father’s Waist Forna』『The Cowardly Forna』 and there were many more similar nicknames that got stuck to me, but all of those are just a good memory of the past now. If it was the Forna from before, then when I looked at everybody’s eyes, I would actually be frightened and would be on the verge of crying」

After talking about her past memories, most of the beastmen reminisced. Some were even turning away and some were showing awkward faces. Seeing everyone’s reaction and finding it funny, Forna unconsciously giggled.

「Somehow, it still feels like things haven’t changed. I was still scared of everyone’s gaze, scared of expectations being directed at me. Because I am nothing more but a useless princess, I have no power or abilities that could be called great other than my bloodline. Maybe that won’t even change even from this point on, everyone has always told me that I no talent after all……」

It was a girl who did nothing but ridicule herself. Yet, the smile on her face didn’t fade away.

「The reason why I can stand like this here today is because I found irreplaceable friends. Another is that these hands are filling me up with the courage to stand in front of everyone」

The four of them raised their hands. The faces of every one of them were brightly smiling. Everyone watching was charmed by that sight, and then the atmosphere became much lighter than before.

「I can’t do anything on my own, I’m just a helpless child who couldn’t do anything on my own. But still, I will stand up and move on, as long as there’s a friend who would give me the courage. And……」

「「「Ah」」」

Forna let go of their hands and moved forward. But as soon as she took a few steps, her body started shivering, but before she fell on her knees, she impatiently stood hugging herself to calm down. All beastmen were watching the events happening before their eyes. Then they remembered, Forna is nothing but a shy child who couldn’t even look straight at people.

「……This, this new land, we are going to live in. The new home that we will build…… I will need everyone’s help in order to build it. That’s why… this is not a compulsory request. I don’t want to force anybody to follow. What I can do on my own…… is only to wish, that everyone would create a new future along with me……」

Although she couldn’t stop her hands and body from shaking, Forna did her best to deliver her message. She tried her best to suppress every fear, and held onto the courage that was given to her.

「Please, along with me……Lend me your hands… For us to create a new future……and, and one more thing… Let us all be friends…」

She was now on the verge of collapse. She can’t even finish her last words. Just a little more and tears would have spilled from her eyes. Despite that, she endured, she did her best not to cry.

（Please… Just a little bit more, move… MOVE……）

「Let’s do our best!! Hime-sama!!! 」

「……Eh? 」

「We will be waiting for you to lead us! 」

「We all understand that Forna-sama is a good Princess, I know you can do it!! 」

「We will always support you!! 」

「You are just a young child, it’s better to depend on us more. You don’t have to be ashamed of it!! 」

A flood of voices came towards Forna. Cheers, comforting words, trust, all of them giving warm feelings, and every one of those words flowed into her body. Forna then watched everyone's faces once more. Everyone was now smiling and they were livelier than before.

「Forna」

Hearing the voice of her trusted friends, she turned her sight behind her. There, the three of them were pointing at their mouths and said a single word.

「Smile」

Her body stopped shaking. And then she showed everyone a blooming smile from the bottom of her heart,

「Please take my hand and follow!! We will start our pilgrimage to the new land tomorrow!! !! !! !! 」

「Uwoah～I can’t hear anything anymore」

「Iya～ That was unexpected」

What all of the beastmen did in response to Forna’s last words was to cheer loudly and everyone raised their hands to show their approval. Forna who was now kneeling on the floor crying tears of joy was hugged by Arena, but soon after that Arena flung her up into the air and she more or less enjoyed it. The soldiers that were supposed to be guarding her were puzzled about what to do.

「Well, is it really fine? Everything did work out as planned」

「Well, it should be fine. Master’s purpose was to go on a journey, right?  Didn’t we expect it take a year or two? 」

「It’s fine, it’s fine. Though the problem right now is what to do with those heroes」

That’s right, as long as the Heroes are here, I can’t guarantee that our travels will be safe. If that is the case, then I wouldn’t mind if I put a bit of effort in saving the world from them for a bit. No matter what trouble they cause or what they do, I won’t think about it unless they get involved with me.

「Well, don’t you think this is the best part that life has to offer? I mean, witnessing a country taking form in front of you」

「Is this really something a 3 year old should think about……」

「Ahahahaha…」

With all arrangements finished, everyone was now at the capital’s gate. The beastmen children, mothers, and elderly will be riding carriages and the rest will be walking on foot. Because a large amount of monsters will be attracted, it was decided to have the heroes work as guards since they are quite tough and useful, they will be able to make sure that demons lay low.

It was a big migration of more than a thousand people. That’s why I decided to use water dolls and other useful spells to serve as night guards and watchers to alert me in case of emergencies.

And as for us, we were seated in a big luxurious carriage taking the lead in front of the gate. It should have been a wonderful start.

「……Ne ne, La Veil ya」

「What is it master」

「What do you think is wrong with that white carriage that’s approaching the gate and the massive amount of demons following it?  」

「I also wonder what that is…」

　……What the heck is that, seriously!!?  

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After the Speech

「I guess everyone will be happy if they got under the influence of fairies……」

「King!? 」