Chapter 56: Plan B
Ayra stared at him. "You want me to say yes, right? Too bad, that’s not the case. I couldn’t care less about whatever they’re up to. But what matters now is that I can’t bear seeing them taking advantage of people..."
She hesitated. "I might have been foolish in the past and caused you harm. But I’ve woken up now.. and I’m sorry for whatever I did to you all with them. I see how foolish and vicious I was back then. And that’s why I want to make it up to you. I want to help liberate you from them."
Ayra spoke genuinely even though she wasn’t the one who hurt them. But she genuinely took pity on these wild beastmen enough to apologize on behalf of the host. And as she did, they stared at her, speechless.
They couldn’t believe that the female was actually apologizing. Especially Zark. This vicious female was never one to apologize or even accept her fault. But here she was, apologizing while also suggesting a way to help.
Zark wavered, wondering if he was to believe her or not.
[Ding]
[Mate affection level improved!]
[Fox: + 5 = 45%]
[Silver snake: + 5 = 25%]
[Wolf: + 5 = 45%]
[Dragon: + 2 = 2%]
Ayra blinked as she stared at the dragon. His affection level actually did improve?!
Lord Vale sighed, both hands behind him as he said, "I actually agree with the female..."
Ash nodded. "Yes. I think it’s high time we broke free from them and stopped serving them. It’s time we find our way to survive. I’ve always hated the idea of being under those bastards.."
"If we continue dancing to their tunes, they’ll eventually find worse ways to torment and treat us worse. And even end up killing us off. So it’s better we save ourselves," he insisted.
Ash and Commander Lynn nodded in agreement. But Zark was skeptical.
"It’s easier said than done. They have the core thing that keeps us sane. Only they can adequately provide it... without that.. we will die eventually. So how do we even start?"
"The soothing medication?" Ayra asked. "If that’s the worry, then you don’t have to worry.. I’ll find a way."
They stared at her, surprised. She was actually offering to help?
Ayra smiled. "With my skills, I’m confident that I can soothe this tribe. And I’ll find a way to help balance everyone in this tribe to sanity without them going berserk. You can trust me with that. All you have to do is trust me and listen to what I’m saying.. and I’ll make sure I help you all solve the central issue being faced here."
Zark was still skeptical as he stared at her. "You? You’re the only female here. Can you even pull it all off? And why would you help us? What do you gain from it?"
Ayra smiled. "Don’t worry, if I can handle three S-rank beastmen, I’m sure I can handle everyone in the tribe."
"..."
Ash blinked. "Does that mean you have to do it with everyone...?"
"..."
"..."
Ayra stared at them in shock. "I don’t mean it like that though..." She cleared her throat. "I have my ways.."
"And how trustworthy are those ways?" He inquired. "How trustworthy are you even?"
"Very," Ayra smiled as she decided to flow with her plan B. "And if you’re skeptical about trusting me, at least you should learn from the fact that your tribe is already in danger as we speak."
As she said that, they all stared at her, confused. "And what do you mean by that?" Vale asked.
Ayra stared at them as she explained what she had learned from the system. "While I was healing the teen outside a while back, I learned something. Something that was a bit hard to believe. But it’s something that’s already happening. And that is that your water bodies might have been poisoned by the upper tribe." She explained.
Everyone was silent. Surprise and confusion filling their expressions as they stared at themselves and then at Ayra.
Ayra added. "The teen was suffering from that poisoning and it was getting to him. If it was delayed further, he might actually have died. And this is to say that the poison has been around for a couple of days now, and it must have already spread to a decent number. Decent enough to begin showing itself in people in a short time."
It was hard for them to believe but it was also hard for them to question her given that she had already proved herself medically.
"And how can you assure these words you say?" Zark questioned. "What if you’re just lying to us?"
Ayra smiled. "I wouldn’t possibly gain anything from lying. But I wouldn’t force you to believe it either. I mean, you always sit back and watch it strike hard before choosing to take action," she stared at him, confident in her words.
"Poisoning the water bodies...?" Ash asked. "Wouldn’t that mean everyone will automatically get affected if all water bodies were affected? That’d be terrible..."
Vale sighed. "I wouldn’t be surprised if it was true. Those bastards sure can do anything to hold us firmly in their grip. And given that we’ve delayed in giving them the food stuff... they might actually resort to such despicable means."
Ayra nodded. "So instead of running to hand them food, you should at least protect your safety. Because at the moment, it’s clear that they’re already out to harm you. So just keep the food to yourself for now and work towards protecting your people," she said staring at Zark.
Zark was quiet, staring at her. He battled with his mind on what decision to take and believe at the moment while also wondering when this female got so eloquent and outspoken. But that didn’t matter, he knew he had to make a decision fast.
"So what will it be?" Ayra asked, staring at him.
Zark hesitated as he slowly got up to his feet. He looked away from Ayra and stared down at Commander Lynn. "Go and begin confirmation. Have them check all the water bodies for any sign of poison."
Commander Lynn nodded. "Yes," he said with a bow as he turned and left.
Immediately, Ayra smiled in triumph.
[Ding]
[Congratulations Host, task completed]
[Rewards Granted: Smoothing and Glowing Cream added to beauty storage]