Ball of Nothing

Chapter 564 - Queen Leah\'s Tantrum

Travelling with donkey Sharo was both annoying and entertaining. Zero and Truen were busy making plans to help Monoman get the mole beast folk family out of Lycantopia. According to Bob, while the family was very poor, nobody starved yet. King Gaon might be stubborn and old-fashioned in his thinking, but he wasn’t a bad king. At the very least, he wanted to be responsible for protecting his people even if he wasn’t managing his talents effectively.

"Stop it!" Zero chided and smacked donkey Sharo on his rear, causing the powerless king to bray noisily again. It was lunch, and the potion effects had worn out, so Zero was preparing their meals while slipping in new doses of transformation potion for Donkey Sharo’s portion.

Truen had a map and was plotting something on it. Zero stirred the stew and looked over at the crosses on the map. "Is that where the battles are taking place?"

The archer nodded. "Monoman said that Jermin and her family are gravediggers, so they live closer in-land where the battles do not concern them. However, Queen Leah’s attacks are starting to affect those in the centre of the land. The oceans have inched their way into the seaside towns. Everything is buried underneath the waves."

The marked out parts on the map indicated land that the sea has claimed. King Gaon doesn’t seem to be doing very well. According to Monoman and Jermine’s information, the lion werebeast insisted on fighting ’fair’. The ’weak’ were not allowed to participate in the battle and instead, were forced to work as support.

"He does realise that those who can fly have an advantage, right?"

Truen sighed. Bob said the same thing, but the circ.u.mstances in Lycantopia was a little more complicated. They are ruled by a monarchy and a strict caste system.

"Carnivores are deemed the strongest and those with the honoured title of the carnivore caste usually get the best benefits as well as duty to fight and protect the country. Omnivores are the middle caste class, and they are usually left to offer support to the carnivore class. Many omnivores are entrusted with things like administration and trading. The herbivores are deemed the weakest of werebeasts and can only do basic work like farming and mining. Jermine’s family are omnivores, but because of their disability, they are in the same category as herbivores. It’s their tradition for centuries to be gravediggers."

Lunch was ready, and Zero scooped out a portion for donkey Sharo, slipping in the transformation potion at the very end and mixing it well. Truen was still busy piecing information together that Bob gathered. Lycantopia wasn’t a very united country, but thankfully, they aren’t divided like the U.N.U. even if they are doing worse than Smargdas and Altear.

"I don’t suppose there are any countries without their own set of problems anywhere on Earth," Zero mused and dug in, studying the marked out parts of Truen’s map.

Truen paused his work and sat down to join Zero, indulging in the meal that Zero prepared. Although Zoe’s cooking was great, Truen liked the meals Zero prepared. It was different from the meals prepared by professionals. Zero often added medical herbs that boosted immunity and balanced the energy in the body when he cooked. It was something Truen found interesting at first. Zero’s meals were very similar to some dishes in his past life as a young master, so there was a sense of nostalgia whenever Truen ate Zero’s cooking.

Donkey Sharo wasn’t complaining. The stew smelled nice. At least he didn’t have to lower his head to eat grass. Zero had that shred of kindness left in him to treat him like a proper elf instead of a lowly beast. King Sharo was still unable to understand why he was suddenly transformed into a flying donkey and forced to accompany the Smargdas envoy on his mission. He didn’t like Truen before, and now, he hated the arrogant archer who took p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e in humiliating him. Not even Arvin smacked his bottom when he was a child! How dare this insolent wood elf touch his royal behind?! When he transformed back into his original appearance, he would give Truen a taste of his own medicine, except worse.

"What are you going to do?" the archer asked. "This is a fight between two royalty. You don’t want to offend either as of now."

Zero nodded. This wasn’t something as simple as King Brice’s request to get a non-aggression pact agreement from Altear. It also wasn’t anything as simple as making a trip to U.N.U. to negotiate the abolishment of slavery. There wasn’t anything to discuss between King Gaon and Queen Leah. One was crazy and heartbroken, throwing a massive tantrum in another person’s territory without care, and the other was simply defending his homeland.

"If I were forced to take sides, I would take King Gaon’s side. It is a lot easier to convince a straightforward person than a crazy one. Do you think he would be willing to abolish old practises?"

Truen looked at Zero and blinked. "Maybe if you weren’t looking like this. Do you want to role play again like what you did at Magnus Hilda?"

The doctor grinned and swapped his charming female vessel for his young doctor vessel. He felt more comfortable with his hair tied up and a lab coat over his shoulders. "Do I look professional enough?"

Truen smirked. "That’s not important. All you need to do is appear mysterious and wise. Actually, assuming the identity of Half Moon Village’s leader is better than the envoy from Smargdas. I hear that King Gaon has beef with Smargdas because many werebeasts are fleeing there for refuge."

Zero noted it down and downed the last of his stew. "Come on, let’s pack up and hurry. We can formulate the rest of the plan on our way. It’s still quite a distance to Lycantopia. I didn’t think the Altear Forest would be this huge."

Donkey Sharo laughed at Zero, and Truen jabbed him mercilessly with the end of his spoon, causing the donkey to bray loudly. Taking pity on the elven king, Zero stopped Truen and told him to give King Sharo a break. After all, they were here to widen King Sharo’s view of the world and not torment him.