She Is Not a Witch

“Why were they so adamant? Staying on the other side of the mountain wouldn’t have been worse than this,” the young girl questioned, puzzled by the rabbit-eared tribe’s choice.

“Perhaps they saw hope,” the old rabbit reminisced about the great nation his forefathers had described, feeling a sense of how times had changed.

“You may not know, my lady, but the Western Wind Kingdom was once a dream land for many demi-humans years ago.”

“The founding monarch was very open-minded, abolishing slavery and allowing beast-folk and other races to become citizens. For small tribes that had wandered for thousands of years, this truly seemed like a dream.”

“Unfortunately, I never witnessed this golden age myself. By my grandfather’s generation, the Western Wind Kingdom had already begun to change.”

“A small portion of beast-folk who had integrated early into the nation became nobility. Everyone thought a new era had arrived, but it turned out to be history repeating itself. These early fox-eared and leopard-eared tribes, who considered themselves noble races, were not friendly to other beast-folk races and acted even more unrestrained.”

“Humans still had to be mindful of the kingdom’s laws against discriminating against beast-folk. But for these beast-folk nobles, there was no concept of discrimination or oppression against their own kind, so they acted without restraint.”

“Many other beast-folk races couldn’t return to life in the Gufia Grasslands in the north. As for us rabbit-eared folk, being weaker, we could only struggle to survive in this forest.”

Loranhil sat on a rock outside the village, watching the rabbits busily cleaning up the aftermath. Some were helping the injured, others were clearing collapsed buildings, and some were silently digging graves for their fallen comrades.

The old rabbit village chief stood nearby, answering the girl’s occasional questions.

“Chief.”

A young rabbit ran over in small steps, slowing down as he approached the girl, afraid of disturbing the esteemed lady.

“Chief, representatives from nearby villages wish to meet the noble lady who slew the giant snake,” he said cautiously, not deliberately avoiding Loranhil to show he had nothing to hide.

“Lady Loranhil, what do you think…?” The old chief bowed his head, asking for the girl’s opinion.

“Let them come,” the girl’s ethereal voice came from atop the tall rock.

“Very well, please wait a moment. I’ll bring them over right away.”

A while later, the chief led six or seven similarly dressed rabbits over. Seeing that night had fallen, they set up fire basins around the boulder to illuminate the surroundings.

The representatives from other villages first respectfully thanked the girl for her rescue, then carefully inquired if she had any needs they could fulfill to the best of their abilities.

“I was just passing by and didn’t want to see such a tragic scene.”

The girl jumped down from the rock, her silver long hair swaying gently in the evening breeze. Her face, slightly dusty, became somewhat radiant in the firelight.

“That’s all there is to it. There’s no need to see me as some great hero. I’m not that amazing.”

“No, perhaps in your eyes this was just a small matter, but for us weak ones, it truly changed the fate of our race,” said one rabbit wearing a linen robe, bowing his head.

“Today it was this village, tomorrow it could be ours. Snakes are never satisfied. They eat today and will be hungry again tomorrow. Attacking other rabbit-eared villages is only a matter of time.”

“Alright, if you say so,” the girl shook her head helplessly, her long hair swaying slightly.

“Esteemed lady, please tell us if you need anything. If you truly don’t want anything, it would make us more uneasy,” a rabbit in coarse black clothing spoke up, with others chiming in agreement.

Loranhil looked at these earnest rabbits, gradually understanding their situation and thoughts.

Indeed, with such a vast difference in strength, even the slightest displeasure from a powerful figure would make them anxious. Having them do tasks and offer compensation would actually put them at ease. It would convey a message that they were still useful to the powerful, that they still had some value, rather than being disposable existences that could be abandoned at any time.

This was also why countless tribes still yearned for that era even though the Wild Fang Empire didn’t treat some beast-folk races particularly well. At least in that era, they had the dignity of being citizens of a great nation and the value of contributing to that country.

But now, scattered across the land, they were nothing. Dignity had long become a luxury, and survival was the daily challenge they faced.

“Very well. Actually, I live in seclusion not too far from here. Occasionally, I need some daily necessities, like salt, iron, and such.”

“No problem. Just tell us what you need, and we’ll prepare it for you as quickly as possible.”

The rabbits present were overjoyed to hear this information. It couldn’t have been better.

Initially, they thought this young lady was just passing through and would leave soon, given how far this place was from human settlements.

But with her living nearby, whatever the girl asked for would be fine. As long as they could maintain contact with her, with her occasional visits to the village, they could gain long-term protection. Nothing could be better than this.

The village representatives even felt the girl’s request was too modest, leaving them still somewhat uneasy.

After exchanging glances, as if reaching some unspoken agreement, these rabbits collectively prostrated themselves before the girl.

“We, the rabbit-eared tribe, are willing to follow you and serve you with all our might. We beseech you to take us in, great one!”

Although the beast-folk race had lived in humiliation for years, there had never been a case of a group pledging allegiance to a human individual. At most, they had only expressed loyalty to a country.

But these rabbits truly had nowhere else to turn. Moreover, the girl’s actions of treating them as equals and risking herself to save their village had deeply moved them. Just like a drowning person seeing the only floating plank, they could only cling tightly to this sole hope, even if it meant giving up everything.

“Eh? This…” Loranhil looked at the group of bowing rabbits with surprise.