Torrential rains and heavy raindrops.

"Hey, get a grip!

　A woman lay before young Arnold Rathhausen's eyes.
　Her head was covered with brown cat ears, and she was leaning against a tree, slumped against her tree.

''The beastman...''

　Arnold took her in his arms and rode his horse through the rain.

　It was like a shack that could not be called a home.
　Arnold sat her down in a chair by the fireplace and draped a blanket over her.

'This place....'
Huh, you'll figure it out. You just passed out. In the rain.

　She accepted the steaming cup from Arnold.
　He smiled thinly.

'I'm sorry, but I only have coffee.'
No, thank you.

　She took a sip of her coffee.

"Delicious.
That's a good one. What's your name?
My name is Anna.

　Anna was a beast tribe.
　And not just any beast tribe.
　She was the second princess of the Beast Nation of Neitzschert-Kataluria - that country.
　Arnold didn't learn of this until long after he met her.
　At that time, Anna told Arnold to ask a favor.
　She asked him to hide her from the Beast Nation's pursuers.

　Anna said that she couldn't stand the Beast Nation's ideology and system, so she fled the country.
　During this time, a certain philosophy took root in the Beast Nation.
　It was the idea that the beastmen were the highest-ranking race.
　Because of this belief, the Beast Kingdom forbade them to associate with other races, but Anna was different.
　Anna believed that it was wonderful to be able to relate to other races.
　Above all, she was interested in the outside world.

　Anna was adopted.
　Arnold's father, also a generous man, had accepted his son's request to adopt him.
　His name was Richard Lasthausen, the former king of Lasthausen.

'You are like my grandson,'

　Richard said that before he died, and he adored Anna.

　After a while, Anna falls in love with one man.
　That man is Oliver Joe.



Hey, Oliver, if you make Anna cry, I will not let you!
'Ha!　Leave it to me, and I'll be sure to protect you, Anna-sama!
'Father, please don't torture Oliver!

　Arnold had mixed feelings.
　Anna would have a man one day.
　He knew that.

　Someday she would have to come to terms with it.
　He would change from being a protector to being a sender.

　Oliver was an upright man.
　He has always hated fighting and was hesitant to kill people, or even monsters.
　But Oliver pushed those feelings aside and trained himself to protect Anna.
　He even found himself appointed to the position of captain in the Ash Clan.
　But things aren't going to turn out that way.

　In this era, there was a discrimination against the beast tribe just as there was a belief in the beast kingdom that everyone except the beast tribe was inferior.

"Hey captain, I hear you've been bromancing with a beastie girl lately?

　Those around them scoffed at Oliver and Anna's association with each other.

'Frazier, be careful what you say.
I'm sorry, I just didn't expect our captain to fall in love with such a filthy tribe.

　Oliver grabbed Frazier's chest.

'Well say it again. I'm going to burn your throat out so you can't say anything boring ever again.
You're the one who should be in the ashes. We are a band of ashes. That's right captain, I'll go out and kill that beastly woman and send her to the front line as a supply. This is the reason why some of the beastmen were born, right!

　It's not hard to imagine Oliver's actions in the immediate aftermath.
　He had burned Frazier to death.
　The flames did not burn him to death, and he took his time to burn to death.
　All that was left was ashes.

　Oliver killed him in front of the other members of the group.

''I will not tolerate discrimination against the beast race. Consider this what happens to anyone who utters a single word.

　It soon reached the ears of King Richard.
　The king disapproved of him, and his criticism of favored Oliver intensified.
　No one spoke of discrimination against the beasts, as everyone had been told.
　But the criticism of Oliver was different.
　He was called a "beast tamer" by his men behind his back.

*

It's your favorite hornbill meat today.
That'll be fun!

　Oliver and Anna have built a small house in a forest far from the capital and live there.
　They couldn't leave King's Landing as captain of the Ash Clan, but they were worried about the damage to Anna.
　King Charles allowed them to stay in the forest.
　No one knew where they were.

Father!

　When she spotted Arnold in the forest, Anna immediately ran to him and hugged him.
　But Arnold's appearance, that meant a muster-up.

'A muster?'

　Oliver asked.

'Yeah, the front line is expanding in scope and the damage is intensifying.

　Anna is sadly depressed.
　She was glad to see Arnold, but she also thought about the fact that Oliver would be gone.
　Her feelings were mixed.

'I'll be back soon, just wait with Master Arnold. I'll be back in one piece.
'Yeah...'

　Just wait and see.
　Anna hated it when people said that.



　The Battle of the Uranos Grasslands -- the battle of the Uranos Grasslands -- was fought by one man who would go down in history.

　One man will make history of this battle.
　That man was Oliver Joe.
　He was considered the strongest of all the Ash Clan's previous captains.

"Hey, that wasn't supposed to be...

　Those who saw that small number of elite troops, clad in flames, muttered fear in their mouths.

''There's no doubt........it's the Ash Clan!

　At that moment, an alarm bell rang in the enemy camp.

'Oliver Joe's out!

　For a time, he was known as "Ashes".
　Those who saw him were instantly reduced to ashes, and not even ashes were left in his wake.
　Not even ashes left behind, so it is impossible to know if a man is dead or not.
　He was the most feared man on the battlefield at the time.



　Anna was with Arnold, waiting for Oliver to return.

'Lady Anna, there you are,'

　A group of people appeared.
　Their heads had the ears of beasts like Anna's.
　But they came in all shapes and sizes.

"Who are you people?
Father....

　Anna stopped Arnold from killing her.
　She had given up.

''We are from the Beast Nation of Neitzart-Katalia, the messenger of the Beast King Seryon-sama.

　It meant Anna's return to the Beast Country.

''What in the world does a warrior from the Beast Country want, this is Razhuisen's territory.
Don't you understand?　We've come to bring back the Princess who is there, Your Highness.
"...Anna found me down, and I have raised her to this day. She is my daughter and a citizen of Rashausen.

　The messenger smiled at his argument.

''Does that mean it's correct to take it that way, that Razhuisen kidnapped the princess of the Beast Country?

　At the time, the Beast Nation was the strongest in the continent, and there was no country that was second to none in terms of military strength.
　In the Beast Nation, knights were called warriors.
　The warriors possessed a strong body and a unique martial art called the beast art.
　In comparison, Rasthausen is a weak nation.
　If they fought with a beast nation, the outcome was obvious.

　Arnold was at a loss for words.
　Anna, who couldn't bear to see this, told him herself.

''Just one day. Could you give me just one day's time?　I will leave here with you all tomorrow.
Anna? .....

　I can't do anything about it.
　Anna couldn't weigh the lives of her people against her own.

'I understand. So, Princess, I'll be back tomorrow.

　The messenger's ability to hear the messenger was annoying to Arnold.
　They looked down on him completely.
　They knew that Arnold would not be able to escape.
　If he escaped, the war would start.
　That's why this man can't act foolishly.
　Arnold could see right through it.

'Father, I don't want Oliver to die. If Oliver's presence is known, the Beast King will not leave him alone.

　The idea that beastmen are the most superior creatures.
　Therefore, they are not allowed to marry anyone other than beastmen.
　Impregnating a human child is out of the question.
　If this was known, the man would be killed and the woman would be severely punished, known as "Zange" (penance).

Fortunately, I have not yet conceived her child. If you don't tell anyone, they won't find out. Oliver will not have to be killed.
What do you want me to do?
Pretend I'm dead.

　That was Anna's answer.

'Tell them that I was attacked and killed by wildlings. Oliver is still young. There are plenty of other women who would be willing to be united with that man.
Anna...
Please.

　Tears spilled from Anna's eyes.

'Tomorrow, after I leave, you will burn this house to the ground.
'Nonsense, why do you have to go to such lengths!
'Once I know the truth, Oliver will surely come after me. He will come to the Beast Country. Therefore, I need to convince him that I am dead.

　The next day.
　A messenger appeared and Anna was taken to the beast country.
　Arnold set fire to the house and burned it, as he had promised Anna.

　It was only a few days later that Oliver returned from the battlefield.
　In front of the burned down house, Oliver let his voice trail off.

''Anna... where is Anna...?''
A wildling attacked them...
Where is Anna...

　Oliver's eyes, looking up at the house, did not seem to have the right perspective.
　They just seemed to be looking at him openly.

''Well you'd better not be looking.''

　Oliver collapsed to his knees on the spot.
　Arnold couldn't say a word to him as he began to laugh strangely.

　Shivering, Oliver quit the Ash Clan.

　He would create a world for Anna where she could live the way she wanted to live without being oppressed, no matter what species she was.
　In Oliver's words, Arnold then put him to work training knights.

　But two years ago now, tragedy struck.
　Oliver murdered all those who had once served under him and his students.



　A bell tower was ringing in the royal capital.
　It was a signal that something strange had happened to the capital.
　There were unquenchable flames spreading all around the royal castle and its surroundings.

''Oliver, stop it!''

　Arnold tried.

'Master Arnold, I think I was wrong. I should have realized that day. Humans are the evil ones.

　Oliver's eyes were filled with hatred.

'After I lost Anna, all I could see was a dark, deep, unknown bottom. That's all I could see. Do you know what my men said to me when I was like that?
Oliver...
The beastmaster has given away the beast!

　Oliver held out his hands and laughed high and proud.

'He scoffed at me, at Anna!

　The flames around them flickered on their faces.

'Months have passed since then. How is it now, is it better than it was then? No, it's not. No, it's just that conversation is less frequent now. Deep down, people still have a sense of discrimination against other races, they just don't show it. Humans are a bunch of hypocrisy. They don't talk a lot, they all want to keep it inside and hide it. They believe that they are the great ones, and that they are the higher species. They just don't want to talk about it. I'm tired of this kind of familiarity. There is no place for Anna here.
'No!　It's going to get better, and you know that, don't you?　This is not going to help Anna!

　Arnold suddenly realized.
　A chill ran down his spine.
　One of Oliver's eyes was glowing red.

'You don't talk about Anna,'

　Oliver's magic is tremendous.

The Water Stream Storm, Aqua di Mistral!

　Arnold did his best to just prevent it.
　Oliver gathered the flames around him with one hand, forming a pillar of fire in front of him.
　All the flames seem to be under his control.

'O king of hypocrisy!　This country you built is the very fabric of humanity!　You left Anna to die. Because you're a beastman? ........You didn't try to help Anna because she's a beast!
What are you saying...
I can't stand to see it, I can't stand to see you guys get along.

　Oliver looked down at the bodies lying at his feet.

'The last thing these guys said was loyalty to their country. But don't you think it's strange that, in that moment of death, they stifled themselves and never spoke the truth? No, he was stifled. By the ideology of this country created by the king of hypocrisy.
What do you mean by "ideas"?
'Peace!　That's the idea behind this country!　You've forced peace on these people! So no one in this country discriminates and belittles a race. But that's not true. You think you've brought peace to the country by proclaiming peace, but that's just an act of putting dirt on the corpse, you can't hide the stench.

　Oliver gathered the surrounding flames to one point.

'Peace is broken because we claim peace, then what can we do about it?　Destruction?　Wrong. It's to return to ashes, erase all memories and traces of it.
Listen to me, Anna is still alive.
You do not speak that name.

　Those were the last words of Oliver that Arnold had heard.
　He rained fire like a time rain all over King's Landing and disappeared openly.