Most variants are long-lived species.
But God is fair.
Therefore, the long-lived variants each suffer from various degrees of flaws...
They might be mad, bloodthirsty, or photophobic...
If humans are lambs kept by the gods, then variants are hungry wolves peering at these lambs...
If there are too few wolves, the lambs will destroy the grassland; if there are too many wolves, the lambs will vanish.
“Thus, the gods need shepherds... and that is why we exist.”
—《The Divine Words of Dawn》 / On God and His Believers.
...
'If there were no variants or noble Knights, these villages might slowly merge...' Ogre surveyed the village environment, pondering the difference between villagers and townspeople.
Frontier lands were merely a consequence of overpopulation; rather than monsters invading humans, it was more accurate to say that humans had encroached upon the monsters' habitat.
'Perhaps the Church's existence prevents villages from merging...' Ogre mused about the relationship between the Church of Dawn and the villages.
He realized that without the protection of the Church of Dawn, perhaps the nearby villages and towns would have long since merged. Of course, they might also have been flattened by a beast tide or entirely converted during a variant plague.
After all, with more people, migration becomes troublesome, and resource management is equally difficult.
'I'm overthinking—no matter how the weak strive for survival, it's hard to influence the outcome. The stronger ones are ultimately the ones who decide the results...' Ogre believed that many intelligent people must have thought about these things, but were ultimately powerless to change anything due to their status.
However, even without these influences, it would still be difficult for villages to consolidate into larger settlements. Talented and capable individuals were all taken away, and very few ever returned...
Most people were selfish, which was understandable.
“Sorry, Big Sister, I didn't mean to... Hmm? Big Sister, I haven't seen you in the village before.”
At that moment, a little girl running around a corner accidentally bumped into Ogre. After rubbing her small head, she immediately apologized to Ogre.
Ogre said nothing, merely reaching out to rub the girl's forehead before preparing to leave.
“Big Sister, why aren't you speaking?” The girl seemed quite friendly, still asking questions.
Seeing this, Ogre could only stop, take out a notebook and graphite pen, and draw a small figure with a cross through its throat. Then, looking at the somewhat excited girl, Ogre drew a crossed-out musical note next to it before turning the notebook and placing it in front of her.
“Big Sister can't speak?”
The girl looked at the drawing, then at the silent Ogre, and immediately understood.
“Mm...” Ogre nodded.
“That must be really sad...”
The girl imagined herself unable to speak, then shook her head vigorously—she felt that would be too miserable; she wouldn't even be able to say what she wanted to eat.
“...”
Watching the girl's expression, Ogre nodded, then shook his head.
“Ah, what does that mean?” The girl asked, puzzled.
Ogre did not answer, instead putting away his notebook and graphite pen. He did not intend to get overly entangled with the girl, nor did he plan to stay and slowly explain.
Arguing with a child was the silliest thing. Many cruel realities were far more painful than losing one's voice, but explaining them had no meaning, as many harsh and unavoidable things would await her naturally when she grew up.
“Wait, Big Sister!” The girl tugged at the corner of Ogre's thick cloak, then pulled a candy from her pocket and held it up high. “I don't know what Big Sister has been through—but this is Nia's favorite thing. After eating it, you're not allowed to be sad anymore.”
Ogre stared at the candy for two seconds. Finally, he stopped, took out his notebook and graphite pen again, and knelt down. He flipped to a clean page, picked up the pen, and began to draw.
This child was worth a moment of his time.
“Big Sister, are you drawing?” Nia curiously peeked her head over. Before long, she recognized the person in the drawing. “Oh? Is this a drawing of Nia? You're amazing!”
Ogre didn't speak, but tore off the page, handed it to Nia, and then pointed at the candy in her hand.
“For Nia?”
“Mm...”
“Yay! Thank you, Big Sister, Nia loves it!” The girl happily accepted the drawing Ogre handed her, then offered the candy to Ogre.
Ogre took the candy he had long grown tired of and gently rubbed the girl's head.
“You won't grow tall if you do that.” Though Nia didn't particularly like having her head touched, she didn't show any resistance.
For some reason, she really liked this unfamiliar Big Sister.
“Nia!”
Just then, a slightly anxious voice called out. Ogre stood up and turned his head, seeing a relatively young woman approaching. “It's time for lunch, Nia! Why are you running around? Be careful a werewolf snatches you up!” The woman quickly pulled Nia closer, then adopted an apologetic expression and nodded to Ogre. “I'm so sorry, miss, Nia is a bit too playful.”
“Mommy, this Big Sister can't speak...” Nia poked her head out, then waved the drawing in her hand. “Look, Big Sister drew this!”
“Mm...” Ogre nodded. He then touched his left shoulder with his right hand and waved to the mother and daughter, indicating that he didn't mind.
“My apologies, miss, my child is ignorant and speaks innocently.” Nia's mother forced a somewhat practiced, apologetic smile.
Ogre shook his head. He wrote “It’s fine” in his notebook, then turned and left.
“Nia... don't play with strangers casually from now on. Luckily this was a...”
“I knowww...”
Even as he walked further away, Ogre could still hear the mother's admonitions to her child, thanks to his sharp hearing.
'Perhaps, the meaning of becoming stronger is never about gaining something... but about no longer losing anything.'
Ogre put away his notebook and pen, walking toward Mima's house.
Standing before Mima's door, Ogre raised his hand.
“Coming...” With the sound of footsteps, the door opened, and Aunt Mima's voice came through. “Little Gelin, you're back so soon.” Mima said, a bit surprised. “Come in and sit, I just brewed some ginger tea...”
Looking at Aunt Mima's usual smile, Ogre took off his scarf.
“Mm...”
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