With Ye Lan’s disappearance, the crowd quickly dispersed, leaving only Mu Xuetong and her group behind.

  Suo Gang approached her, gently patting her shoulder in an attempt to console her.

  "Ye Lan pushed you away to stop the others from thinking you were on her side. She was protecting you from their rejection. Don’t overthink it..."

  "Of course I know that!" Mu Xuetong interrupted, shaking her head and clenching her fists. "Even though I understand... I just can’t accept it! Ye Lan saved everyone!"

  Ye Lan had risked everything to defeat Ziar, yet none of those present thanked her. Instead, they responded with hostility and aggression. Is this how a hero is supposed to be rewarded?

  Suo Gang sighed, a hint of resignation in his voice. Being a hero was never a role that came with rewards. Ye Lan probably never expected gratitude in the first pce.

  "Ye Lan is a beastkin. That’s the issue" Suo Gang continued. "Not everyone is like you, able to accept them so easily. For most people, beastkin without strength, who are also adorable, can be seen as ‘kemonomimi’1The direct transtion gave me 'girls with beast ears.' If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.. But... a beastkin with real power? That’s something else entirely" His tone deepened as he looked toward the horizon.

  Mu Xuetong scoffed, lowering her head. She knew Suo Gang was right, but it didn’t make it any easier to accept.

  "But..."

  "The one who can change humanity’s prejudices isn’t Ye Lan, it’s humans themselves" Du Heng said, breaking the silence. "In a way, you could say Ye Lan is entrusting that hope to us."

  Hope...

  Mu Xuetong took a deep breath, lifted her head with newfound determination, and decred, "I’ll make them accept beastkin girls! I won’t accept anything else! The beastkin girls are such a sacred group, how could anyone not accept them? If they don’t, I’ll make them accept them, even if I have to use force!"

  "..........."

  Later that night, in a forest.

  Ye Lan trudged through the dense trees, her hand pressed against her stomach, which growled audibly in regur intervals.

  "Where am I? [Teleportation] is only supposed to take me to pces I’ve been before! But I don’t recognize this pce at all!" she grumbled weakly, her voice ced with exhaustion.

  As a beastkin, her physical constitution far exceeded that of other species. However, this came with an enormous energy requirement. Initially, her metabolism required double the calories of a normal human. Now, after the battle, it was closer to five times as much.

  "I can’t... I need to find something to eat. Anything..." she murmured, drool beginning to trail from the corner of her mouth.

  Just then, a plump, fluffy white rabbit hopped out of the bushes. The creature paused to scan its surroundings, its nose twitching, before locking eyes with Ye Lan.

  For a few seconds, they stared at each other. Ye Lan’s expression began to shift slowly, a mischievous grin creeping across her face.

  "You’re mine, big rabbit! Tonight, we’ll feast on roasted rabbit leg!" She decred, forcing her battered body to rise as she staggered toward the rabbit like a zombie.

  The rabbit, noticing her approach, began trembling in fear before quickly leaping away in the opposite direction. But how could Ye Lan let such an easy meal escape? Her pupils turned white as she raised her fist and smmed it into the ground with all her strength.

  "Don’t run... you’re my dinner~!"

  BOOM!

  The ground quaked violently, splitting open a deep crack that extended toward the rabbit. However... that was the end of it. The rabbit vanished in an instant, falling into the crevice and disappearing without a trace.

  Ye Lan froze, staring bnkly at the spot where the rabbit had been. Holding her grumbling stomach, she colpsed onto the ground. "If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve saved at least one use of [Teleportation]... I can only use it three times a day, and now I have to wait until tomorrow. But I don’t think I can st that long..."

  Her mouth hung slightly open, as though her faint, ethereal soul were drifting out of her body. Unable to endure any longer, Ye Lan closed her eyes and fainted from hunger.

  When she opened them again, she found herself lying on a soft, comfortable bed. From a nearby table wafted the tantalizing aroma of something delicious. Without stopping to think about where she was, Ye Lan reached out, grabbed a bowl of vegetable soup resting on the table, and eagerly drank it down.

  "Ah~! Delicious! I've never eaten anything this good in my life" Ye Lan excimed with genuine admiration.

  "Thank you. Hearing that from someone like you, a culinary expert of the beastkin race, truly makes me happy~" replied an elegant voice beside her.

  Startled, Ye Lan quickly turned toward the source of the voice and found a beautiful young woman with emerald-green hair sitting next to her.

  A human? No... she didn’t seem like one...

  Her eyes slowly trailed to the woman’s ears, pointed and elongated, clearly not human.

  Could she be...?

  "You... don’t tell me you’re... an elf?" Ye Lan asked hesitantly.

  The green-haired woman nodded without hesitation.

  "That’s right, I’m an elf. My name is Rin. And you’re from the beastkin race, right? What were you doing in the forest within human territory? As far as I know, the beastkin nds are quite far from here~" Rin commented, leaning closer with curiosity.

  As Rin tilted her head toward her, Ye Lan’s face flushed bright red. She quickly averted her gaze, turning her head to the side. Nervously, she raised a finger, rubbing her cheek awkwardly.

  How should she respond? Were retions between elves and beastkin good? She had no idea! Why didn’t she have something like humans 'public information' system to look this up? So unfair!

  "Uh... well... actually, I lost my memory. Other than my name, I’ve forgotten everything else. Sorry ?_?" Ye Lan replied, hastily improvising an excuse to avoid further questions.

  To her surprise, Rin didn’t seem suspicious at all. In fact, she looked even more excited upon hearing about Ye Lan's 'amnesia'.

  "You lost your memory? You only remember your name? That’s fascinating! Did you know this is human territory? The bloodline of an inferior race that disappeared 100,000 years ago has resurfaced, and the elves were the first to arrive here. But somehow, you got here before us! I’m incredibly curious!" Rin excimed, her thoughts spilling out in rapid succession.

  Feeling overwhelmed, Ye Lan couldn’t help but let a faint twitch appear at the corner of her mouth. How was she supposed to respond to such a barrage of questions?

  Still, something useful came from the conversation. She managed to pick up bits of relevant information about her surroundings.

  Just as she was preparing to ask Rin for more details, a dignified-looking woman with green hair, simir to Rin's, entered the room.

  "Rin, behave yourself. She is the priestess of the beastkin race, a figure whose status in their society is second only to the king" the woman stated solemnly.

  Rin, startled, immediately took a step back and bowed deeply, a perfect ninety-degree angle, to Ye Lan.

  Meanwhile, Ye Lan stood frozen, pointing at herself with a bewildered expression.

  "I’m a priestess? Second only to the king? Am I really that important? Why didn’t I even know...?"

  Suvn