They returned to the village as the sun leaned lower, its light slipping between the tall trees that surrounded the clearing. At the center of the village, the beastmen had gathered on the bare ground, sitting in a wide circle. They left an open space in the middle clearly meant for Sumi and Tokarou.
She sat there casually on a large cut log, one leg slightly raised as she leaned forward, holding a strange looking fruit in her hand. The fruit was oval and uneven, its skin thick and rough, patterned with dull purple lines over a faded green surface. When she bit into it, the flesh inside was pale yellow and fibrous, releasing a sharp, bitter scent that spread faintly through the air.
Sumi chewed slowly, her face stiffening just a little.
"Darling…" she said in a low voice, leaning slightly toward Tokarou.
"this tastes awful."
Tokarou stood beside her, arms relaxed at his sides, but his eyes were fixed on the fruit with a sharp, serious gaze. He didn't respond right away.
Sumi noticed.
She tilted her head and raised the fruit slightly toward him.
"You want a bite?"
Tokarou didn't answer. Instead, he lifted his eyes toward the elder beastman sitting across the circle.
"Elder," he said calmly.
The old beastman looked up, startled for a moment, then nodded slowly.
"Yes," he replied. "But you may call me Dekor."
Tokarou gave a small nod in return.
"Do you eat this every day?"
Dekor hesitated, then answered honestly.
"Yes. This fruit, and others like it. We gather them regularly."
"From where?" Tokarou asked.
Dekor folded his hands together and began to explain.
"There is a land not too far from here," he said.
"It belongs to the Monster King. His territory has water and fertile ground. We are allowed to gather food and drink water there."
A murmur of agreement spread through the circle.
"We don't need to give anything in return," Dekor continued.
"He never demanded payment. Without that land, we would not have survived."
Tokarou listened quietly, his expression unchanged.
Then he spoke.
"What a truly stupid race you people are."
The words fell flat and heavy.
Every beastman froze.
Eyes widened. Ears twitched sharply. Even Dekor stiffened, his breath catching for a brief moment.
Sumi continued chewing, taking another small bite of the fruit, as if nothing had happened.
Tokarou didn't look away from Dekor as he continued.
"This fruit," he said calmly, "has poison."
Sumi stopped chewing.
She slowly turned her head toward Tokarou, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Tokarou went on, his voice steady.
"The Monster King you spoke of… he's been playing with you. Letting you live just enough. Feeding you just enough."
He glanced around the circle, meeting several pairs of eyes.
"He's killing you slowly. Weakening you over time so that when the moment comes… he can eat you all without resistance."
The circle erupted into hushed gasps and sharp breaths.
"That's impossible…" "He wouldn't…" "He saved us…"
Tokarou ignored the reactions and focused inward for a moment.
As he observed the beastmen, he sensed faint flows of energy around them, mana they were releasing, hidden but to Tokarou it was clearly visible. Mixed within it were traces of something else.
Green. Thin and uneven.
'So that's it…' he thought.
'I thought it was their natural mana… but it's poison.'
His eyes shifted briefly toward Sumi.
He still couldn't see Sumi's mana neither sumi could see his.
Before he could say anything more, a sudden movement broke the tension.
A female beastman stood up sharply from the circle. She had gray hair, matching gray cat ears, and sharp eyes filled with anger. Her tail lashed behind her as she stepped forward.
"How dare you!" she shouted, her voice trembling with rage.
"How can you say that?!"
She pointed toward Tokarou.
"The Monster King is kind! If it wasn't for him, we would've died long ago! We had no water, no land, nothing!"
Her voice cracked as she continued.
"He gave us food! He gave us water! You show up out of nowhere and insult him and us?!"
"Who do you think you are!"
Before anyone could react, the fruit Sumi had been eating suddenly shot forward.
It flew straight toward the gray haired beastwoman and smashed into her face with a dull sound. The soft flesh burst apart on impact, juice and pulp splattering as she cried out and fell backward onto the ground.
Gasps rang out immediately.
"Sarei!"
"Are you okay?!"
A few beastmen rushed toward her in panic, helping her sit up as she coughed and wiped her face still stunned by what had happened.
Sumi stood up from the log.
Her eyes were cold, fixed on the fallen girl without a hint of emotion.
The smashed fruit began to tremble. Slowly, pieces of it lifted from the ground, wrapped in a faint blue light. Bit by bit, it floated backward through the air, passing between the stunned villagers.
It stopped in front of Tokarou.
He reached out and caught it.
"If you doubted him," Tokarou said calmly, looking at the villagers.
"the same way you're doubting us… then you people might've been worthy of being called smart."
Before anyone could respond, he tossed the fruit upward.
The moment it left his hand, he vanished.
A sharp rush of wind followed.
In the next instant, he reappeared, standing in the same place but now holding a trembling blue slime in his other hand. The slime quivered violently, its body rippling in confusion, clearly having no idea how it had been taken from wherever it was.
The fruit fell neatly back into Tokarou's palm.
"Look at this," he said.
He slowly pressed the fruit into the slime's body.
At first, nothing happened.
Then the slime's surface began to bubble.
Its body started to dissolve from the inside, turning murky and unstable. Fine green dust leaked out, mixing with the slime's own blue substance. The slime writhed, its movements frantic and uncoordinated, until its form collapsed completely.
In seconds, it melted away into nothing.
Only a small blue core remained in Tokarou's hand.
He held it up.
"Did you see?" he asked quietly.
"This is what will happen to you one day."
Silence swallowed the village.
Then—
"That proves nothing!"
The gray haired beastwoman pushed herself up again, her face red with anger.
"You could've done that yourselves!" she screamed.
"You could've poisoned it and blamed the fruit!"
The crowd stirred, shock and confusion spreading again.
Before the tension could break further, Dekor suddenly stood up, slamming his stick into the ground.
"Sarei, stop it!"
The sharp command cut through the noise.
Sarei froze mid breath, her eyes widening. Her strength left her, and she fell back to her knees.
Dekor turned toward Tokarou and Sumi and bowed his head deeply.
"Please forgive her," he said heavily.
"She… she is the one who goes to the Monster King's territory to gather fruit."
He hesitated, then added,
"She often speaks with the Monster King."
Sumi's gaze shifted to Sarei.
Her voice was low and cold.
"Oh?" she said.
"Do you love the Monster King?"
Sarei's eyes widened.
"I… I…" Her mouth opened, but no words came out. Her hands trembled, fingers curling into the dirt.
Tokarou looked away from her and back at Dekor.
"Tell me one thing," he said.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Do you believe us… or are all of you just pretending?"