Chapter 69: Naji Republic

After passing through the territory of Dartan Rock, the landscape gradually changed to the jungle. We often saw fern plants. Colorful flowers and fruits can also be spotted sporadically. The temperature has risen and the humidity is so high that it feels uncomfortable.

“So hot～ Are we not there yet?”

“I think it will take another hour to reach Naji. Didn’t the traveller said so?”

We are riding the unicorn along the road. According to a story I heard from a traveller dwarf that we met a while ago, there seems to be a village of beastmen ahead. For the time being, I’m thinking of going to that village for a break.

“Why is it this hot?”

Erna takes out the water bottle and drinks some water. Apparently, elves are vulnerable to heat. Well, thanks to my well-trained body, I barely feel the heat.

“You don’t have enough training. You should nourish more muscles like I do.”

“…Shinichi, you know you are stupid sometimes.”

Erna looks exasperated as she shakes her head. I feel like asking her to explain what made her say I’m stupid during this one hour time.

Soon after, I can see something that looks like a village at the end of the road. I can’t see anyone resembling a soldier at the entrance of the village so it is unlikely that we will be inspected. When we arrived at the entrance, we get off the unicorn and enter the village.

“Heh-, there are a lot of food stalls here huh. They look delicious.”

Many food stalls lined up in the village. Vegetables and fruits are placed on the table and some shops sell simple light meals. And those clerk are all beastmen. There are men with cat ears and women with dog ears. In addition, there are monkey, mouse and rabbit beastmen buying and selling things as customers and clerks.

“Hmm, beastman race is quite interesting. Are their abilities also similar to animals?”

“Yeah. Dog beastmen are sensitive to odors, and cat beastmen are fine with high places. However, it seems that beastmen are not good at magic. I’ve heard that there aren’t many magicians amongst them.”

As Erna has said, when I look around the village, I didn’t see someone that looks like a mage. Most of them are wearing short sleeves and light shorts. However, when I look closely, there are quite a lot of attractive women here.

The open-chest shirt on a healthy tanned skin are especially eye-catching to me. Besides that, the appearance of those generously exposed long and beautiful legs is truly wonderful. Apparently, I’ve come to a paradise.

“My parūja is delicious! Human brother over there, come and try it!”

A woman with rabbit ears called out to me. It seems to be a food stall, but I’m intrigued by the dish called parūja.

“Then give me two parūja.”

“Thanks for your patronage!”

The woman drips a thick white liquid on an iron plate and stretches it thinly in a circle. When the skin was baked, she sandwiched the vegetables and meat, sprinkled it with sauce, and handed it to me. It’s a crepe-like dish.

I took a bite at once.

“Mmm, this is delicious.”

“True! This is really delicious.”

As we were satisfied with the food, we also bought skewers and soup at the stalls and our stomach became full in an instant. After that, we decided to have tea at a cafe as a meal break.

“I heard that beastmen hate humans but as far as I can see in this village, it doesn’t feel like that.”

I mutter as I took a sip on my tea.

The beastmen on the road don’t seem to care so much even when they see us. And sometimes I also happen to see dwarves. It was very different from the Naji Republic that I heard of.

“That’s because this area is in the countryside, nya! If you go to the City, people who hate humans are crowded there, nya.”

When I turned around after hearing that voice, a beautiful cat-eared woman was looking at me. She has brown short hair and brown cat ears. Her face is very neat and her big cat-like eyes are cute. Unfortunately, her chest is not so big but the curve from her waist to the legs is really beautiful.

From her adventurer-like appearance, I could see that she knows how to fight.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Lena. A great adventurer, nya.”

“…I don’t think a great adventurer would call herself a great adventurer though.”

“Nobody calls me that so I’m just saying it myself, nya! But it’s a fact that I’m amazing, nya!”

Lena sits in a chair without asking for permission and then she casually ordered tea. It looks like she has some matter to talk about to us.

“I’m looking for something at the request of a certain person, nya. I’d love to hear from you guys, nya.”

“That’s fine, but what is it about?”

“I can’t tell you the details but it’s something very important to Naji, nya.”

Hmmm, is it because we are foreigners who suddenly appear here so she want to hear our story? However, when I heard that part, something came to my mind.

“Perhaps…, is it something you wear on your head?”

“Nya?  Yes, you are right. You are well informed, nya. It’s a beautiful thing that glitters, nya.”

“Is it very expensive and is it something the queen wears?”

“Right, it’s very expensive and it’s a precious thing that I want to wear someday, nya.”

No doubt about it. Lena is looking for the tiara. I found that thing in the dungeon. This is an opportunity then.

Given the precedents of Sanargia and the Rock Kingdom, it is unlikely that I could meet the Royal family of the Beastmen easily. With that in mind, given the situation, we should efficiently make use of the tiara we have obtained.

However, surprisingly, Lena is someone who has a loose tongue. It seems that we will know who the client is if we continue to converse like this.

“Isn’t it a tiara?”

When I said so, Lena spit the tea she had in her mouth.

“Nyanya!? H-How did you!?”

“If you say it like that, anybody will realize it you know. And more importantly, I have that tiara.”

“Nya, Nya- You say!?”

Lena immediately reached behind her back and pulls out the dagger on her waist.

“You guys were thieves, nya! Now, return the Queen’s tiara, nya!”

Her reaction is as expected. I knew in advance that the Tiara had been stolen. In that case, there are two possible responses. Either she’ll thank us or suspect that we are thieves.

It’s better to be patient and calm her down first.

“I happened to find it. It’s rude to accuse us as thieves.”

“Then how did you found out that it was the tiara I was looking for nya! Maybe it’s a tiara of a queen from a different country nya!”

“If you think about it normally, the probability is low, right? I have appraisal skills in the first place. Even if I don’t want to, I can know what it is just by looking at the actual product you see.”

“Oh, that’s suspicious nya… but I don’t think I can pursue this any further nya.”

Lena immediately put the dagger in her scabbard. I don’t know if she’s straightforward or stupid. However, I understood that she is not a bad guy.

“Well, sit down first. I didn’t say that I wouldn’t return the tiara, right?”

“Nya nya! Will you return it!? Then please return it now nya!”

“I can’t do it right now. If you can promise me an audience with the King, I’ll give it back.”

“That is the exchange conditions nya?”

“Yes. We came all the way from Rogas Kingdom to meet the king of this kingdom. We can’t just return the tiara for free you see.”

Upon hearing my words, Lena furrows her brow and begins to growl. As expected, it will not be easy to give out such promise.

“Okay, nya! I’ll let you meet the Beast King nya! However, it is possible that he will not meet you nya!”

“It doesn’t matter. For us, entering the royal castle is the first prerequisite. If we cleared that, I can return it.”

“Then that’s a promise nya! If you break it, I’ll behead you as punishment nya!”

“O-Okay…”

To cut off someone’s head, it is quite scary. Erna also had a blue face, perhaps because she felt scared. Once the matter is settled, we decided to head to the place where the unicorns are. However, there was a crowd around the tree where the unicorns were bound.

I call out to a man in the immediate vicinity who is watching the situation.

“What is this gathering about?”

“Oh, there were some guys trying to slaughter the black unicorn but on the contrary, it seems that they were kicked and were the ones who died instead.”

I was startled, I pushed through people and heads for the place. There were two unicorns breathing wildly and six men with weapons lying on the ground. At last, what I was afraid of happened.

“Stupid guys, nya. This is all because they are trying to kill someone else’s horse nya.”

Lena has this kind of attitude where it doesn’t matter to her if a person dies. Right, I should remember that the value of life is low in this world. Being cold-hearted or ruthless is fine, especially for criminals.

You are asking why are there so many people gathering to see our black unicorns?

“A black unicorn may be stronger than a normal unicorn.”

“I understand their thoughts for wanting to kill and rob. However, it’s not a magical beast that can be killed by those around here.”

“Yes, those unicorns are really smart. After blinding their eyes with light magic, they were killed one by one. I’m sure their owner is a wonderful person too.”

Their words made me feel proud. It feels good to be praised for my unicorn. Especially for the woman who spoke last, I want to let her know that I am its wonderful owner.

“Disperse, disperse! Our unicorns are not a spectacle!”

Erna wields a cane to drive people away. Meanwhile, I released the unicorns that were tied up from the tree.

“Alright, shall we go now?”

“Okay, I was able to take a break so let’s get started.”

After we get on the unicorn, we start to move slowly. Then a soft object hit my back.

“I’ll go with you nya!”

Before I knew it, Lena was riding behind me. Erna saw that and begins to get angry.

“Lena come here! Ride with me!”

“Eh?, It’s a hassle nya.”

“Not allowed! You can’t ride behind Shinichi! If you don’t listen to what I say, I’ll magically erase you!”

“Your eyes are serious nya. I’m scared nya.”

Lena reluctantly moved behind Erna. I feel a little disappointed. If possible, I want to relive the sensation of that breast.

After leaving the village, we decided to follow Lena’s instructions to reach the Beast Capital, Ganesha.

◇

According to Lena, the Naji Republic is a kingdom where multiple races are mixed. Various types of beastmen form villages and towns, each living according to their own rules. Among them, Ganesha, the beast Capital, is the central city built by a wide variety of beastmen from all over the kingdom.

It is said to be a city built for the Beast King. From that, I can see how the beastmen value the Beast King.

“The Beast King is the strongest person in this kingdom, nya. He is a brave person who loves power testing and is sure to challenge anyone he meets nya. To be recognized, it is best to leave good results in that power test nya.”

“Hmm, what if you defeat the Beast King?”

“That’s impossible nya. The Beast King is the strongest in the world nya. It’s impossible to defeat the prestigious Beast King, unless the humans do something cowardly nya.”

Lena seemed to show some indignation to what I said. We are already near the Beast Capital Ganesha and we are currently having lunch in a suitable field. I’m hearing from Lena again to organize the information before we arrived in the Capital. By the way, I have already heard from Lena why the beastmen hate humans.

Strength is important to them, and the stronger the beastman is, the more disgusted he is with humans. Weak humans are not equal to beastmen.

That is this kingdom’s way of thinking.

“But what if I defeat the Beast King? Will he listen to me?”

“Hmm, he’ll listen if it’s only one request, I think nya?”

“Hearing that is enough for me. I know what I should do.”

All I have to do is beat the Beast King. It’s really simple and easy to understand. Let’s see whether my muscles are superior or it’s the Beast King’s.

“Right nya! I forgot to say it nya! When will you return the tiara nya?! Without it, I can’t meet His Majesty nya!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll give it to you after we have safely entered the royal palace. I won’t lie to you.”

“Then I’m relieved nya. I’m also doing a living nya. I’m in trouble if my achievement is stolen nya.”

“I’m going to keep my promise. Reputation comes first in everything after all. I’ll give Lena the tiara, don’t worry.”

Lena is a little stupid but she’s a trustworthy adventurer. Those magical beast that come at us several times before we reached here were all defeated by Lena. As she had said, she has some great skill.

“Hey, Shinichi-, show me that tiara a little bit.”

Erna has been begging me to show her the tiara starting from earlier. It can’t be help so let’s show it to her for a little bit.

“It’s a national treasure, don’t break it.”

“Yup”

“Huwaaa-”, Erna made a foolish sound upon receiving the tiara. With a fix gaze on it, Lena also watched it intently with her eyes shining.

“It’s amazing…”

“I’m so impressed seeing it up close nya!”

The two are staring at the tiara like a child. At that time, a butterfly approached Erna’s nose.

“He……chu!”

Erna, who sneezed, broke the tiara. Lena screams when she sees it.

“What did you do nyaa!!”

“……Uh-”

Erna had a strained laugh, like saying “she’d done it” and Lena grips her head as she yells “nya-nya-nya”. I reached for the broken tiara and then I repaired it in the restoration space.

“With this, it is now the same as before. For the time being, I will keep this.”

“I can’t believe it nya! The tiara broken into two is back to normal nya!”

“Let’s not speak a word about the previous event, alright?”

Erna and Lena nod in assent.

No matter how much it has been fixed, it is not good to hear that the queen’s tiara was destroyed. So it should be said that there was no such event. Besides, Lena must have understood that it is safer for me to keep it. Even if it breaks, I can fix it.

After packing up our luggage, we decided to leave for the Beast Capital, Ganesha.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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