The Hero Becomes the Duke's Eldest Son

Translator: Marctempest

Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 178

“Someone managed to break through the barrier that Lord Pamsibet created!”

“Inform the chief immediately!”

The warriors of the Red Cat Tribe were in a state of panic, mistaking the golden-furred, giant wolf Choco for a monster.

“Everyone, load your bows...!”

At the moment a female warrior of the Red Cat Tribe, who had a scar on her right cheek, was about to give the order to shoot, she was interrupted.

“Wait! Everyone, stop!”

As Alchemist Cassie descended from Choco’s back, she shouted.

Only then did the Red Cat Tribe members notice the people riding on Choco's back.

“Karakal, long time no see?”

The female warrior Karakal's eyes widened when she saw Cassie.

“Y-you... Could it be, Cassie?”

“That's right. It’s been a while.”

“You're alive?”

“As you can see. You look healthy too?”

“...It really is you.”

“Yes, it’s really me.”

Karakal suddenly threw down her spear and grabbed Cassie in a tight hug.

“Cassiiiiiiiie! It really is you, my adorable little sister!”

She began to fuss over Cassie, inspecting her from head to toe.

“I knew you were alive! Is your illness all gone? Have you been eating well? Are you not in pain anymore? Huh? If you were better, why didn’t you come back home sooner, you silly girl!”

“Um, I... I can’t breathe...”

Even as Cassie gasped for air, the woman named Karakal only hugged her tighter and bounced around.

“Cassie...?”

“Is that really the Cassie who left home?”

“She didn’t die?”

“Shh, be careful what you say, unless you want to get killed by Lady Karakal.”

Some of the Red Cat Tribe members, recognizing Cassie, whispered among themselves.

Aden turned to Cassie.

“Who is this?”

“She’s one of my sisters, Karakal.”

“I thought the Red Cat Tribe was individualistic?”

“Karakal is a bit different.”

“Wait, you brought people with you? Are they your friends from outside?”

“Well, something like that.”

“Oh my goodness! Cassie brought men back to the village!”

The female warrior let out a shriek of excitement.

Her eyes sparkled with curiosity as she looked at the group.

“Which one is your man? Or are they all...?”

“Uh, that cute knight over there.”

“Uh, ugh...!”

“Kyaa! So that's how it is!”

Karakal, holding Cassie’s hand, shook it wildly as she jumped around, while Lowe coughed in surprise at Cassie’s sudden declaration.

As the reunion atmosphere set in, everyone began to relax.

“This is amusing.”

Suddenly, a woman's voice was heard.

One of the Red Cat Tribe members shouted out.

“Chief!”

“I came out right away because I heard a monster had broken through the barrier.”

A woman had quietly appeared at some point.

Her hair and eyes were as red as the burning sun.

She was a tall, slender beauty, appearing to be in her late thirties, with healthy bronze skin.

Around her neck and arms, she wore complex ornaments that symbolized her role as a shaman.

‘Is this woman the chief of the Red Cat Tribe?’

She seemed to be playing the role of both shaman and warrior, judging by her well-defined muscles.

“But it turns out, it wasn’t a monster. Instead, it’s the little kitten who ran away from home.”

The woman, with a smile reminiscent of a growling lioness, spoke to Cassie.

“Welcome back, daughter.”

“Yeah, Mom.”

...What?

* * *

Aden pressed his fingers against the wrinkles forming on his forehead. He looked at Cassie with an incredulous expression.

“So, you mean...”

“Yes.”

“You’re the biological daughter of the Red Cat Tribe’s chief?”

“That's right.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Well, you didn’t ask.”

“Oh, for crying out loud...”

He couldn’t help but laugh.

The idea that this poor alchemist, who had been living in a slum on the outskirts while conducting research, was actually the daughter of a tribal chief was beyond unexpected.

Cassie shrugged her shoulders.

“I have plenty of siblings, so being the chief’s daughter isn’t really that special.”

Elise's eyes sparkled as she exclaimed in admiration.

“Wow, Big Sis Cat, you’re amazing!”

“Not as amazing as you, little Saintess.”

Indeed, being the daughter of a tribal chief couldn’t compare to being a saint of one of the three great churches.

Still, it was quite surprising.

‘Well, there were some oddities.’

The artifact, the Ring of Swiftness, which doubled the wearer’s speed, was a particularly rare item since it touched upon the domain of 'time.' Artifacts were valuable on their own, but those affecting time were especially precious.

And yet, a supposedly poor alchemist from a beastman tribe had such a thing.

Moreover, it even had the function of indicating the location of her tribe.

The village of the Red Cat Tribe, which had emerged through the fog, was a fairly large settlement, home to thousands of tribe members.

“I-I don’t know where to look...”

- The Demon Sword Seere tells you not to look at such things!

The southern forest tribe members, with their near-naked attire that could be generously described as wild or, more honestly, highly revealing, were of remarkable beauty, regardless of age or gender. Unknown's face turned as red as a ripe tomato.

- Kayaaa!

“Ah, geez! You scared me! What the heck is that! A bird? A lion?”

Unknown recoiled in shock as he saw the creature housed in a building that resembled a stable but was not filled with horses.

Cassie replied lazily.

“That’s a griffon. We raise them in our village.”

“My goodness, I’ve heard that the southern tribes ride griffons, but I never thought it was true...”

Priest Bali shook his head in disbelief.

The griffon, a creature with the body of a lion and the head, wings, and legs of an eagle, was a fierce top predator and a monster within the great forest’s food chain.

‘For the forest tribes, however, it’s just a useful means of flying, thanks to their beast tamers.’

Aside from needing to be fed meat instead of hay, it was a very useful animal.

Aden and his party were invited into the residence of the great chief, located at the center of the Red Cat Tribe's village.

Elise looked around with curiosity.

“The house is made of living trees!”

“It’s just like our Ent Tribe’s houses!”

“This house was made by my mom.”

The great chief’s house was formed from numerous intertwined vines, growing into a structure without any signs of cutting or breaking, creating a home entirely from connected vines.

‘It must have been made using shamanistic powers.’

Shamans were beings who communicated with nature, borrowing the power of spirits to control trees or transform into animals and plants.

It was likely that the tree fortress was grown using such shamanistic powers.

“My name is Pamsibet. I’m the chief of the Red Cat Tribe and the mother of this child. Welcome to our forest.”

The mistress of the tree fortress, the female chief of the Red Cat Tribe, and Cassie’s mother, Pamsibet, spoke in a relaxed tone, lying on a pile of animal skins.

She resembled a cat sprawled out on a carpet—or perhaps, more fittingly, a lioness.

‘Looking at her like this, they definitely are mother and daughter.’

Her appearance and aura were strikingly similar to Cassie’s.

The only difference was that Pamsibet had a sharper, more mature presence.

Aden greeted her.

“Thank you for the warm welcome. I am Aden Remes of the Remes Dukedom.”

“I heard a bit from Cassie on the way. It seems my daughter owes you a lot.”

“I am Lowe a knight serving Lord Aden...”

“Hmm, so you’re the man who will be my son-in-law?”

“...”

“Fufu. He blushes so easily, daughter, isn’t he cute?”

“Right?”

The two women laughed mischievously, enjoying themselves at Lowe’s expense. It was clear that mother and daughter were cut from the same cloth.

Pamsibet shifted her gaze to the rest of Aden’s group and spoke.

“First, let me apologize for the poor hospitality earlier. We had our reasons.”

“I understand.”

With the chaos caused by monsters, it was no wonder they were alarmed when a giant wolf broke through the barrier. It was perfectly understandable.

Next, the little saintess Elise gave a deep bow as she introduced herself.

“Hello! My name is Elise.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Pamsibet smiled warmly at Elise’s adorable greeting.

Afterward, the inquisitor Priest Bali, the Ent boy Ets, and the rogue Unknown took turns introducing themselves.

Once the introductions were complete, she asked.

“So, my wandering daughter didn’t return because she missed her family. What brought you to our village?”

“Hmph, obviously, Mom.”

“It saddens me that you don’t miss your mother, daughter.”

“Are you going to keep saying things you don’t mean?”

“Oh dear, you know me too well for my own good, daughter.”

Their relationship was a peculiar one, seemingly both close and distant at the same time—a truly strange mother-daughter dynamic.

Pamsibet's question was answered by Aden.

“Chief Pamsibet, we came to the great forest because of the disturbances in the forest.”

Aden explained the situation regarding the rampaging monsters, the oracle received by Saintess Elise, and their quest to find the first sacred temple.

Then, he asked her.

“Do you have any knowledge of this?”

“...”

After hearing everything, Chief Pamsibet remained silent for a while, seemingly deep in thought. Then, with a slightly surprised expression, she looked at Elise.

“You say this child is the shaman of the Fire Spirit...?”

“Huh? Shaman? But I’m a priestess...”

“For the tribes, it’s all the same.”

As Elise appeared confused, Aden gave a brief explanation.

A shaman, broadly defined, is someone who communicates with sacred beings, whether they be spirits, ghosts, or gods.

In that sense, Elise, as the representative of the Lord of the Sacred Fire, was indeed a shaman in their eyes.

“...Please wait a moment.”

Suddenly, Pamsibet stood up and walked into a room behind a curtain.

About a minute later, she returned, carrying a basket with a wooden lid.

Her expression was unusually serious.

“What’s in the basket?”

“You said you came because of the disturbances with the monsters in the great forest, right? The one who has the answer is inside here.”

“The one who has the answer, not just an answer?”

...Inside the basket?

Everyone, including Aden, wore puzzled expressions.

Instead of answering Aden's question, Pamsibet simply lifted the lid of the basket she was holding.

What was revealed was...

“A cat!”

“So cute! A little kitten!”

“Grrr, woof woof!”

Elise’s face lit up with pure delight as she saw the creature inside the basket, while Choco instinctively growled in caution.

Inside the basket, lying on a soft fur lining, was a small, red-furred kitten, curled up and fast asleep.

Sir Lowe blinked as he looked at the kitten.

“It’s injured.”

“Indeed.”

Aden nodded.

Just as Lowe had pointed out, the kitten was in a bad condition, its small body wrapped in bandages, letting out faint whimpers.

“It looks so painful...”

Elise looked like she was about to cry at the sight.

Unknown, who had been observing the kitten closely, furrowed his brow.

“Huh? Wait a minute, there’s something strange about this one... Ah! The tail is on fire! And there are two tails!”

He gasped in shock.

Unknown was right.

The little white kitten had two tails, and at the end of each tail, a golden flame flickered like a candle. However, the flames were so weak they looked like they might extinguish at any moment.

Cassie, who had been in her usual lazy and carefree mood, suddenly turned deadly serious as she stared at the kitten, her face hardening.

“Wait, Mom. This... this kitten... Could it be?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s Lord Miao.”

“No way!”

“...Cassie?”

“Big Sis Cat?”

Cassie cried out in shock, causing everyone to turn and look at her. She was so stunned that she dropped the pipe she always kept in her mouth.

Her gaze was fixed solely on the kitten in the basket, completely oblivious to the stares of her companions.

“Why is it like this? Why is its body so small?”

“That’s exactly the problem, daughter.”

Pamsibet let out a deep sigh.

Aden asked Cassie.

“Cassie, what’s so surprising about this kitten?”

It was the first time he had seen Cassie, usually calm and nonchalant, raise her voice and look so flustered.

With a mixture of emotions in her eyes, Cassie couldn’t take her gaze off the kitten as she replied.

“...This isn’t just any kitten, Lord Aden. This being’s name is ‘Lord Miao.’”

“Miao?”

At Aden's question, she continued, her face still filled with confusion.

“Lord Miao is the guardian divine beast of our Red Cat Tribe and one of the kings who reigns over the eastern forest of this great, mysterious land.”

“A king of the forest? A guardian divine beast?”

Aden was startled by her words and looked back into the basket.

Then his face twisted in disbelief.

“...This?”

No matter how he looked at it, it was just a wounded kitten.

A cute little baby cat, at that.