I asked about the man called Deam

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I waited for a moment and observed Mark, who seemed to have different things going on in his head.
He finally understood that his actions had been against the duke’s house.
Well, he would have likely not done such a reckless thing if he knew.
Unless he hated the duke as well, but it did not seem to be the case.

While Liza was not from the duke’s family, I was a guest at the house, and Ms. Claire had been with us when it happened… So it would be seen as an attack on the duke.
Still, why didn’t the guards explain this to him on the way here?

“Now, while some of this may be hard to believe, do you understand what has happened?”
“…Ye-yes…”

Said Sebastian.
He shook and answered in a fading voice.
Unlike a moment before, he was no longer glaring at us.
Now that he knew who he was dealing with, he realized that resisting would just put him in a more dangerous situation.

“So, I hope you will be more cooperative now…”
“…I understand.”

And so Mark was questioned about this person called Deam.
While he had been hesitant at first, he seemed to feel that things would get worse for him if he kept his silence, and so he agreed to talk.
Sebastian and the guards also explained about Deam as well.

Apparently, he was exactly the kind of person who I had been thinking about.
He was a criminal boss who operated in different slums, including the one in Ractos.
However, due to Mr. Ekenhart’s governance, they had not gained much power here yet.
While Deam’s subordinates could be found in every town, they were still not that big in number.

They were not so big an organization that they would catch the eye of the country or nobles, and were just a gathering of criminals.
They did not draw much attention yet, as they were not known to kill people, but it did happen sometimes.
But the problem here was that they were teaching youngsters like Mark that beastkin were dangerous monsters.

Apparently, he had not felt like that when Liza was first rescued by her grandfather.
However, once her grandfather started to show a strong dislike for what Deam was doing, he was targeted as an enemy.
In order to unify the residents of the slums, create a common enemy… That was what Sebastian had predicted.
While he was still alive, Liza’s grandfather was able to protect her. As someone who had traveled the world he knew how to defend himself.

Apparently, this Deam person did not fight much himself, and mainly just gave out orders.
While Liza’s grandfather used magic tools to fight.
But as soon as he died of an illness, Deam had given them the order to target Liza.
By choosing a weak target, he meant to make his position within the slums very clear.

And then he had lied to Mark and the other children, and made them his subordinates.
Deam had taught them that Liza was a beastkin and monster.
Monsters had to be driven out of the slums.
And so hurting Liza was a good thing.
However, if they started killing, then the guards would take action, and it would attract too much attention.

It seemed strange for a criminal organization to hesitate over killing one girl…but thanks to that, Liza was safe.
Though, they would likely just choose a different target if Liza was not there.
So it wasn’t that Deam didn’t want Liza dead, but that it would hurt their position with the guards.
I suppose that was the result of Mr. Ekenhart properly governing his lands.
After listening to Mark and Sebastian, I had a general idea of the situation.

“So, Mark. You threw the rock because you were ordered to by Deam… Is that right?”
“…Ye-yes. I didn’t…know that she was related to the duke…”
“Well, that much is obvious. However, it is wrong to throw rocks at people, regardless of their connection to the duke.”
“But…Deam said that beastkin are monsters…”
“Beastkin are not monsters. They are not very different from us. Have you ever left Ractos?”
“…I have not. I was born and raised here.”
“In that case, you might not know that there is a beastkin country to the north. Do you think that monsters could build their own country?”
“…No.”
“Right? While we were at war with them a long time ago… That is in the past. And they are our neighbors now. And so I will say it again. Beastkin are not monsters. They are equal to humans and are our neighbors.”

Next Chapter

My Beloved Dog is the Strongest in Another World