"Just what are you guys?" The amazed bear man asked.
"Just a god of destruction and his 'Dragon' minions." I answered.
"Yeah right… If you don't want to tell, it's fine, no need to make up lies." The bear man sat at our table, in my seat and addressed the cat girls once more. "Humans can't be trusted, he might seem nice now, but, in due time, he will betray you two. Despair is the only thing that awaits you if you follow a human."
"Why are you so sure?" Elizabeth asked. "Sir Adam might be mean and bully us on the surface, but deep down - very, very, very deep down he cares about us, I'm sure of it."
The bear man sighed. "I was sure once as well, I trusted a human, helped him, cared for him, but in return I was betrayed… That was a lesson that I would never forget."
"What happened?" Lilia enquired.
The bear man sighed again, took a drink from my ale cup and began his story. "I used to be a hunter in a small village near the border. I lived there with my wife, my older son and little daughter. My son was my pride and joy, he was strong and kind, he had fierce eyes and was ready to help and protect the weak. My daughter was my heart - so gentle and small. Even though she was still small, she insisted on helping whenever she could and always kept smiling."
"The village was near a forest teeming with monsters and beasts. While it was a dangerous job, hunting was the best way to keep my family and the whole village fed. One day, one rainy day I found a group of men, a group of humans in the depths of the forest. All of them were bloodied, most dead, but one was still breathing. They were clearly attacked by monsters."
"His injuries - severe, barely breathing, unconscious. I dropped my bow, took this young man in my arms and rushed home as fast as I could. At home the whole family was worried, we cleaned and bandaged his wounds, laid him in bed and waited, praying to the goddess for the man to survive."
"A day or so later, the man awoke. At first he was startled by the new environment and the sight of us - beast men around him. He reached for a sword that wasn't there. After some time, he calmed down, he was weak, but alive and we were grateful for it."
"We thought that befriended the human, the kids were ecstatic to have a new friend and helped him to get back on his feet. The man sat at our table, ate with us and lived with us. He quickly warmed up to the town's folk and became just like any other villager. He spent months with us, becoming part of the family, he looked genuinely happy spending time with us."
"One day, when his injuries healed completely, my family and the whole village saw him off on his journey back home. The man reassured us all that he'd return."
The bear man started trembling. "He did return. With an army. They pillaged, killed, enslaved, treating our lives as something that they could take, they did it so naturally, with practised ease. We fought back, but they were armed better, had a plan prepared and used the children and the elderly as hostages."
"We were forced to submit, we had no choice, when I was taken to him and asked him a simple question - 'Why?' He gave me a confused look as if I had just asked him why the grass is green and the sky is blue. 'Isn't it natural that we - humans enslave lesser species.' Was his answer. This infuriated me, all the effort, all the care that we gave him… Is this what we get for helping him?"
"I roared with rage, shattered my chains and was about to get up when the human drove his sword through my chest. I coughed blood, strength left my body, my vision - blurry, but I still saw the indifferent expression on his face when he retrieved his sword and cleaned it with my shirt."
"I woke up a day or so later, it seemed that my wound wasn't fatal, it looked bad and I don't know how I survived, but I did. I was left as a corpse by them in my burned village next to the other corpses. They didn't even take the time to bury us." The bear man clenched his fists.
"What about your family?" Elizabeth asked. "Did you ever find them?"
"I did." He lowered his gaze. "I searched all over the Chelyian kingdom for years and then decades and finally found what was left of them less than a year ago. The thought still haunts me, what if I had never taken the human back to my village, what if I never had helped him, would my family, would my village still be safe? Could I see my children grow up and create their own families? Could I grow old with my wife just enjoying life to the fullest?"
The bear man regained his composure and looked at Elizabeth. "Please reconsider, If you go with him, no matter how nice he acts now, he still considers you beneath him, he will betray you, he will use and discard you when you're no longer needed. Come with me, I can protect you and keep you fed. I promise to take care of you, I swear on my life…"
The room was filled with silence, I broke it by dropping a huge and heavy bag on the table, startling everyone.
"What is this?" Elizabeth asked.
"Gold… for the two of you." I answered.
"Do you think that you can just buy them with gold!" The bear man roared. "See?" He addressed the cat girls. "See? This is what humans are like! He thinks that…"
"This gold is yours if you go with mister bear." I interrupted.
"What? Why? Sir Adam, are you abandoning us."
"The bear is right, I do view you as beneath me." I sighed, "I view everyone in this world as beneath me, so just go with him. I'll be fine alone and you'll be better off with him." I turned towards the door. "Goodbye, Elizabeth, Lilia." I was stopped, the cat girls hugged me tight and weren't going to let go.
"With tears in her eyes Elizabeth pleaded. "Please, don't abandon us! You said that you wanted us to travel with you, you promised, you promised that you'd take us to see your world, what changed? Are you really going to abandon us just because of how some humans treated some beast men? You are not like them! You helped us, you saved us from slavery, you fed us and took care of us, so please… Please just let us go with you…"
"Please, big brother, please don't abandon us…" Lilia added.
Big brother? Now that's a new one. I looked at the sniffling cat girls still holding me tight, smiled and patted their heads. "Are you sure, that bag has a fuck ton of gold in it. It would be enough to live like kings for the rest of your lives."
"We don't want it!" Elizabeth shouted. "Just let us come with you."
"Very well, the choice was yours from the very beginning." I turned to the bear man. "You have a problem with this?"
"He sighed. "Very well, if the girls want to come with you, so be it, but…" He approached me and put his massive hand on my shoulder. He squeezed it tight and added. "If I ever hear that you hurt them in any way, I'll find you, no matter where you go, no matter where you hide, I'll find you and tear you limb from limb. Do you understand?"
"I won't hurt these two, that's a promise."
"Oh? So you intend to hurt others?" The bear man asked.
"That depends on them." I smiled. "Your name, what should I call you, old man?"
"I'm Marcus. Remember it and remember the promises made here today…"
"You may call me Adam. Let's fight again if we ever get the chance. I had fun today, old man."
The bear man smiled. "So did I, kid."
I felt a slight tuck on my coat, it was Lilia. "Can I… Can I call you big brother from now on?"
My mask hid my smile. "Whatever you want, kid."
We left the inn without causing any more structural damage, got into the wagon and started heading down south - towards the kingdom of Greenwood. I was happy, happy that I'd get to spend some more time with Elizabeth, happy that our journey together would last a bit longer and I was worried for her safety at the same time. I knew that she would be safer with Marcus, that I was taking her to a literal war zone.
I knew that having her on the front lines would be dangerous, but I had Pain and Alpha standing guard. I had to move forward, I couldn't stop and I needed to return to my world.
A silent whisper cut my thoughts. "Why does Sir Adam view everyone as beneath him, mis Pain?"
"Not everyone, you are an…"
"Enough!" I shouted. "Not another word from you."
Join me on patreon at patreon.com/BonsaiCat for early access to new chapters or buy my book 'How to rule a fantasy world' on Amazon. It's the same stuff that you read here, but I fucked up with the naming and the book is already out, so fuck it, let's go with this name for the book. I appreciate all of your support and your forgiveness for my utter incompetence. Best regards, BonsaiCat.