I Became a Barbarian's Bride - Chapter 156
It seemed he didn’t have much interest in whether the crops grew well or not.
Well, it made sense. Xieman’s domestic crop yield was limited, and they relied mostly on imports through trade, so it was natural for Kagan not to care much about a small harvest.
“Honestly, I still don’t agree with the princess using her abilities on things like this.”
Kagan started on a topic he’d brought up endlessly.
When Nisha narrowed her eyes, giving him a look that clearly said, “Here we go again,” Kagan shrugged.
“But think about it, Princess.”
“Think about what…”
“You’re not some saint, and honestly, it makes no sense for you to want to save foreign lands.”
“Maybe I do want to save them.”
“Well, I suppose that’s possible, but… either way, you’re bound to collapse again, so I’m still against it.”
They’d come all this way, so it was a little late for him to voice his objections now.
Still, getting him to agree to come had taken quite a long time and a lot of convincing on Nisha’s part.
In the end, Kagan had relented, partly because he’d once told her she should only use her powers when she truly wanted to.
But as far as Nisha was concerned, she didn’t feel the need to hold back.
If she alone could save an entire nation by sacrificing herself, there was no reason not to use her power.
“Still… once this is over, I’ll have to be away for a while.”
“…Ah, you’re going… to the subjugation, right?”
Seeing Nisha just barely manage to adjust her words, Kagan laughed, gently ruffling her hair.
Kagan nodded, smiling.
“One of the soldiers you saved told me that the demonic beasts have been making strange movements lately.”
“Strange movements?”
“Yeah. Normally, they’re usually solitary creatures, but… it seemed like they were moving systematically, as if under orders, so I’m going to check it out and subjugate them.”
He added that, while it’s manageable now, once several months pass and the barren, harsh winter arrives, the beasts will gradually descend into Xieman’s villages in search of food.
“That would be troublesome.”
“Exactly. And if we conduct the subjugation around this time, we can also stock up on food for the winter.”
“…Hmm?”
Why was he suddenly talking about food in the context of a beast subjugation?
Nisha blinked, tilting her head slightly. Kagan scratched the corner of his mouth, looking slightly puzzled.
“Didn’t I mention it?”
“Mention what… what exactly?”
“We subjugate the beasts, then we use them as food throughout the winter.”
“…Oh.”
Could these beasts actually be edible?
Nisha furrowed her brow.
The demonic beasts she knew were creatures that exuded a dark, poisonous aura, were violent, and had thick hides, making them hard to kill.
These beasts had a poison deadly to humans, so clergy were always required to eradicate them.
Of course, Roshan rarely had any encounters with such beasts.
Beasts generally lived in barren environments or deep within forests, and Roshan was a land of abundance with almost no forests to speak of.
According to old historical records, it’s said that these creatures were gradually driven out by humans from fertile lands and eventually isolated in barren areas… but who knows what’s true now.
In any case, Nisha knew that the standard method of handling beast corpses was to have clergy purify and dispose of them, as leaving them would cause rot and contaminate the land.
Even Nisha, who wasn’t always up-to-date on rumors, knew this, so it was common knowledge, likely known even by children in Roshan.
At the very least, everyone knew how to handle beast remains.
But to handle them by eating them?
She’d never thought of such a thing.
“…Aren’t they poisonous?”
“Xieman people are strong, so it’s fine.”
No, strength alone wouldn’t solve that issue.
It was well-known that areas where beast corpses were left untouched became barren for hundreds of meters around, where no crops would grow for decades.
“No, isn’t this beyond just a matter of being strong…?”
“Hmm? I grew up eating that kind of thing since I was young, so I wouldn’t know. Could it be toxic to you?”
Kagan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Not that it mattered, since Nisha had never tried eating anything like that in her life, so she couldn’t know.
One would have to actually eat a beast’s remains to say anything for certain.
“I’ve never eaten it, so I wouldn’t know.”
“Ah…”
Kagan tilted his head slightly, then shrugged, looking indifferent as if it was nothing of consequence.
