A voice. A human voice. A human voice. An attitude that would never recognize us as "human.
We were enjoying our daily life in the beastman's village. Life in the forest was fun for me. But... But those days suddenly ended. It was ended by humans.
The humans attacked our village.
Our friends who defied them died. Killed.
I was still a child nearing adulthood among the cat beastmen, and I had never seen anyone killed in front of my eyes. That's why it was such a shock.
And the rest of us were captured.
We were reduced to the status of slaves. They put a collar on me so that I could not disobey them, and now I am forced to do manual labor. My mother, sisters, and other female animals were taken to another place.
I wonder where and what they are doing to me.
It seems that no one around me expects me to escape from this environment. They murmured that they were going to spend the rest of their lives as slaves.
It was not only us cat beastmen who were being held as slaves. There were other beastmen and not a few elves and others. We were divided into small groups so that we would not act together and try to do something wrong.
I haven't seen that many cat beastmen from the same village since I came here. I sometimes meet the enslaved beastmen, all of whom look at me as if they have no hope for the future. You can see that they have given up. When I see such resigned people, much older than me, I guess it is natural to think that everyone else is stuck in this situation.
But ......, I don't want this to end.
I don't want it to end like this.
The possibility of getting out of this environment may be small, but if I give up, I think the possibility will be closed there.
...... Speaking of which, he also said that the humans let him go, so some of the inhabitants of the village probably did not fall into slavery. Maybe some of the faces who escaped might try to come to our rescue. But I hope they don't.
I am sure that they want to escape, and I would like them to help us if they can, but they will only end up being caught if they try to take us out with a small group of beasts. Running away would be a waste of time, so if we are really not in an environment where we can help them, I would like them to run away and live, not as slaves.
I had never met a human being when I was in the village, so I didn't really understand what people around me were talking about when I heard about them. But it is true that humans do not see us as human beings, as the adults around me said, and that they are fine with us being their slaves.
But I don't think all people are like that. Because I have seen human slaves. I honestly don't understand the nerve of enslaving the same species, but there seemed to be a lot of distinctions among humans. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that humans are said to be more numerous and have larger settlements than other species. If there are more people, there will be more conflicts.
Still, what should we do to escape from this place? Think of ways to get out of this environment.
The right way would be to be favored by someone who is a great person among humans --- a nobleman who has a lot of money or something like that. However, someone who has been a slave for a long time said that the country that enslaved us is infested with the idea that non-human species deserve to be enslaved. Even if you are freed from slavery, you will become a slave again if you are found, and there is nothing you can do about it. But if I could earn money and keep being liked by the nobles, I might be able to help everyone else. Or something will happen to free me from slavery and I can escape. The latter is impossible unless something really bad happens.
But to be honest, it's hard to say if I'll ever be good enough to be liked by that great human being. But I won't give up. My mother and sister tell me that my only merit is that I don't give up, so I won't give up.
In order to get out of this environment, I'm just going to be obedient for now. When I find an opportunity, I will keep my eyes open so that I don't miss it. Then, at some point, we will escape from this slavery! I don't know how much I'll be able to help my friends by then, but I don't want to give up.
I make such a resolution alone in the slave's living place. There is no one around me who can share this feeling. But I will not give up, even if I am alone.
----The cat will not give up.
(The cat beastman, who is being held captive, decides to get out of his position as a slave. No matter how many people around him tell him it is impossible, the cat will not give up.)