Chapter 30 - Beast god

"I- I had no idea it was you Your majesty, please forgive me ...!" Galio went to his knees, his head bowed, he dared not raise it.

"It's alright, I hid my face on purpose, and it was supposed to remain hidden." Artoria glared at Ha Joon.

"Chill, hiding your face behind a mask is a big no for me, and what's so wrong about letting your subject see your face?" Ha Joon spoke back.

"..."

"One thing about being a good leader is having close relationships with the ones that follow you, in this case, letting them acknowledge your presence." Ha Joon moved closer to Artoria, "You promised you'd listen to me no?".

Artoria hesitated for a while, "I did".

"Good, then I forbid you from wearing that mask throughout this tour. Galio, my good man. Bring the dress over so her highness can try it on".

"R.. right away sir!" Galio jerked up, turning around in a flash to get what he asked for while tripping over.

"Awesome, you've broken my favorite merchant. You always manage to cause trouble don't you?" Merlin sighed.

"Oh please, he's a man, he'll be alright. Okay then, Next!!!".

As soon as Artoria had gotten to try every clothes Galio had brought for her, they all set out to travel around the kingdom.

People of Camelot, nobles and peasants alike, were all in astonishment at the sight of their King actually walking around the kingdom

Her beauty made all who adore her drool at her sight, Merlin had fans, but compared to Artoria, it was nothing.

Artoria took Ha Joon to different parts of the kingdom. The royal academy, the training ground for soldiers, even the famous house of Fali, a place where weapons were made by Dwarfs for knights.

But of the places Artoria showed Ha joon, one place managed to stand out even more.

The red district.

This place was known for being controlled by Beast people. Just like witches, Beast people weren't fully acknowledged in society.

They were viewed as lesser beings, slaves to serve humans and do as they please. Although it was never always like that, Beast people were actually powerful beings.

But ever since their god, Pegula, the god of beast perished by Artoria's blade, they were reduced to nothing due to the loss of the war.

Being the kind of ruler she was, Artoria gave them a small portion in Camelot for them to call home, she took them as their own, one would say they were grateful for it.

Ha Joon, stood in the middle of the village, watching as little Beast people ran around the place, playing with one another.

Some had wolf ears, others were of different animals, each one having something that made them unique from the other.

People on the side were trading goods, some pushing barrels- it was simply a thriving peaceful village.

'So this is the red district, looks just like any village, but with …animal people.'

Ha Joon looked to the side, there he could see Artoria, speaking to one of the elders, who seemed very excited to see her presence.

[This area has been added to the saved locations.]

'Yeah, system, is it possible to count the population of Beast people in this village?'.

[Using the Magic map, it is possible.]

'Good, do it.'

[Command received.]

[There are a total of 245 Beast people present in this village currently.]

'How many are adults?'.

[209 Beast people.]

'Thought so, if they have 209 active adults with no jobs other than the little they can provide, it's no wonder they still have such an under developed environment.'

Ha Joon placed his hand under his jaw-

'Merlin did mention the number of Beast men who own a business are few, in which case, seeing as things are, I'm sure if they are given business opportunities they will take it, good, add it to the note.'

[Confirm.]

[You now have a total of 54 instructions added to your note.]

'Ahh, kill me! I'm going to be so tired when I start doing them… maybe I should just run, start a new life.' Ha Joon sighed.

Suddenly -

"Chief! Head Chief! We have a problem, Chief!!!".

Yelled a female beast as she sprinted towards the tiger man standing in front of Artoria. Other beasts looked at her, wondering why one of their own was panicking and running.

The female had cat features so it was easy to tell she was a cat beast.

"Anna, calm down, what happened?" The tiger man asked, trying to calm her down as he turned to her.

Ha Joon was standing far away but he could still hear what they were discussing.

"The beast gods Chief! They broke out of the confinement!" Confessed the female cat.

"Broke out? What do you mean broke out?" Asked the tiger man, who was now panicking.

Artoria also seemed to have a disturbed look on her face.

'Uhn? Beast god?' Ha Joon moved closer so he could hear what they were talking about.

"Yes chief, Eiden and I were going to clean up the pit when he noticed they were missing, we don't know where they are."

"This is not good, quick, inform the guards, everyone is to remain in their houses, no one is to step out until the order has been given." the chief issued.

"Y-Yes sir." The girl wasted no time, she took to her heels, shouting out the information she was given at the top of her voice for all to hear.

"I'm so sorry your highness, I'm afraid the beast you kept under our custody has…"

"Gone missing, I heard, this is no time to ponder around on mistakes. Send your people to search the perimeter. The demi gods likes crowds, if it did escape, then it's coming back".

The chief sprinted off, gathering people as he moved.

"What's happening? Why is everything suddenly getting serious?" Ha Joon stood in front of Artoria.

"A dangerous entity has escaped from its imprisonment, it's dangerous to stay here, you need to head back to the castle at once, Merlin will accompany you." Said Artoria.

"Head back? Bruh, there's no way I'm not doing that. If there's a threat somewhere then isn't it normal to get as much help as possible!" .

"You don't understand, this is a demi-"

"He's right Artoria, we need as much help as possible. This problem shouldn't spread towards the main capital, the more eyes the better." Merlin chimed in, snapping her fingers for her broom to appear.

"You're taking his side?" Artoria turned to Merlin.

"You're being worried for nothing, he'll help scout, that is all." Merlin chuckled a bit.

Artoria sighed, "Fine, but do not engage it in combat, the moment you spot it, I want you to call for me, do you understand me?".

"Yeah, obviously sure." Ha Joon smiled at her with a thumbs up.