"Oppose the breeding and domestication of monsters! They shouldn't be kept in cages; they belong in the wild!"
"People of Shandia Island, be ashamed of yourselves! You are defying the laws of nature!"
"Is that... could it be...?"
"Blue Ever? That radical environmental group from yesterday?"
Yugo and his friends frowned as they watched the group shouting and waving placards. They recognized them immediately—this was Blue Ever, the same organization that had appeared during the Sahagin incident the day before.
The protesters were swarming Horon and the other islanders, shouting their self-righteous demands over and over.
The people of Shandia lived in harmony with monsters, working alongside them as partners. To the members of Blue Ever, however, this coexistence looked like a perversion of the natural order.
"Monsters belong in the wild, living free! Humans have no right to interfere with their lives! And yet, here you are, keeping them like pets...!"
"You're wrong! They're our family!" Elena shouted back, unable to stay silent. "We don't 'keep' them. We live together and help each other!"
"Sophistry! You're just domesticating them!" one of the men snapped. "You're nothing but a tribe of savages stealing their freedom. Shut your mouth!"
"That’s enough! She was only stating her opinion. There’s no need to attack her!"
"At least listen to what the islanders have to say!"
As Elena shouted her rebuttal, the group immediately branded her a villain and began to close in on her. Marcos and Yugo stepped between Elena and the men to shield her. They tried to talk sense into them, but their words fell on deaf ears.
"Regardless! The people of this island must release these monsters and return them to the wild immediately! Profiting off materials stolen from suffering creatures is the height of barbarism!"
"Hurting them? That’s not true at all!" an islander protested. "We only use the fur they shed or the shells they leave behind after molting. We would never dream of hurting our family just to harvest materials!"
"Silence! No more excuses!"
They were completely stone-deaf to reason. Since the members of Blue Ever had already decided the people of Shandia were villains, they felt no need to listen to a single word the islanders said. Horon and the other residents did their best to explain, but their efforts were futile. The protesters had no intention of entertaining any perspective but their own.
Watching the environmentalists’ relentless shouting and the never-ending chaos, the tourists began to feel the weight of the suffocating atmosphere.
"Maybe we should just head back. This is getting a bit... well, you know?"
"I agree. It’s a beautiful island, but we can't enjoy it with all this fighting going on."
"Ah...!"
One by one, the visitors who had been petting the monsters or browsing local specialties began to pack their things. The mood had turned sour, and they wanted no part of it.
Elena looked like she was on the verge of tears as she watched the disappointed crowds stream out of the village. Meanwhile, Yugo and his companions were beginning to see Blue Ever’s true goal.
"The bastards... so that’s their game," Marcos muttered. "They’re going to badger Shandia until the tourists stop coming entirely."
Marcos was right. Blue Ever had chosen a tactic designed to inflict maximum damage on the islanders’ livelihood. If they held these protests and caused a scene every day, the tourists would dry up. Bit by bit, the island’s reputation would be dragged through the mud.
The protesters didn't seem to realize—or care—that their own reputation was suffering as well, a testament to their blinding self-righteousness.
Yugo recalled a saying: the most dangerous kind of evil is the kind that believes it is doing good. He felt a surge of frustration as he watched Elena’s dreams for her home being trampled. She had worked so hard to share the beauty of Shandia with the world, only for these people to ruin it.
Suddenly, Yugo's body stiffened.
"Yugo? What is it?" Marcos noticed the change immediately. Yugo’s expression had turned deadly serious, his sharp gaze cutting through the crowd.
Without answering, Yugo locked onto a man and woman who were trying to slip away from the commotion. He dashed through the crowd, intercepted them, and tapped the man on the shoulder. "Excuse me. Do you have a moment?"
"W-what?! Who do you think you are?!" the man barked.
"Hey! Get your hands off me!" the woman shrieked.
Yugo remained unfazed by their hostility. His eyes were fixed on the backpack the woman was carrying. "I’d like to see the contents of that bag, if you don't mind. I’ll apologize if it’s nothing."
The pair froze, visibly shaken by his request. Their earlier anxiety transformed into pure, defensive hysteria.
"Why on earth should we do that?! You have no right to stop us!"
"Exactly! This is harassment! Now step aside and let us through!"
"Sorry, but I can’t do that," Yugo replied firmly. "I heard a cry for help. I’m not letting you go until I know what’s in there."
Despite their screaming, Yugo didn't budge an inch. As the couple's panic turned into desperate rage, Yui’s voice rang out from behind him.
"Wait! Big brother! There's a living creature inside that bag!"