novelraw Chapter 125
Chapter 125
Chapter 125
Even before the Great Cataclysm, the kingdom and the beastmen had a fairly decent relationship.
But that was only in areas such as trade or exchange—never to the extent of launching joint military actions.
Not once, even in the face of their shared enemy, the Empire, had the beastmen and the kingdom united to wage war together.
That remained the same even after the Great Cataclysm.
Humans lived their way, beastmen lived theirs, and both survived by fighting monsters.
So when suddenly, one human lord said they should join forces to drive out the Imperial bastards—it was no wonder everyone was taken aback.
“It’s not something to take lightly. If they cooperate with humans, they might have to let human troops into their territory. Having human soldiers stationed in their villages is a heavy burden.”
“Right. It’s not a choice one can make without a great deal of trust.”
When the beastman chieftains gathered to share information about the Empire’s movements, it was said that Rudelrof made a proposal—
That they should join forces with Johnson Territory to fight against the Imperial bastards.
Apparently, the atmosphere wasn’t bad.
Some tribes even agreed right away.
And since the rest didn’t oppose but merely reserved judgment, there was plenty of room for cooperation.
“Well, it’s because it’s you. If it were some other human, they wouldn’t have even been able to speak up.”
“Because I’m the Guide of the Rabbit Tribe?”
“Because you’re both the Guide of the Rabbit Tribe and the lord of Johnson Territory.”
“True enough.”
Johnson Territory was the only example of genuine cooperation between humans and beastmen.
The battle where Johnson Territory, together with the Lion Tribe and the Bear Tribe, drove out the Boar Tribe—was the sole exception in the history of human-beastman relations.
And since I was both human and the Guide of the Rabbit Tribe, it was hard to see me as a complete outsider.
Besides, the goal was to drive out the Imperial bastards. That was something they could take seriously too.
“Were there any tribes that said they wouldn’t fight against the Empire?”
“There’s no such beastman. It was chaos, if anything, because some of them wanted to grab their weapons and rush out immediately. Thankfully, thanks to the more level-headed chieftains, we managed to calm them down. Still, there are quite a few hot-headed ones.”
“You’ve had a hard time.”
“Well, what can you do? If not for the Imperial bastards, the chieftains wouldn’t have gathered in the first place.”
Still, they seemed better than humans.
At least they didn’t seem to object to the idea of driving out the Empire.
There were debates over when to strike—whether to drive them out immediately, unite forces first, or ally with humans—but once they agreed to watch and see for now, no tribe acted rashly.
For beastmen, who had always lived independently, suddenly joining together in unison was amusing in itself. So this was already a satisfying result.
“So, which tribes are the most critical?”
“The Cow Tribe and the Horse Tribe. Those two are the most important.”
“Cows and horses, huh.”
“They’re incredibly powerful. They said they want to meet the Guide in person. If you can talk to them directly, you might convince them.”
“Convince them face-to-face, you say.”
“Don’t worry too much. I didn’t sense any hostility. They just want to see what kind of human you are. There might be a small test or two, but for you, that shouldn’t be much of an issue.”
“Then I’ll meet them first and see.”
The Cow Tribe and the Horse Tribe—
They were said to be the strongest among the beastman tribes in the northern part of the Ribella Peninsula.
So winning their cooperation was the key issue.
‘They said they’ll decide after meeting me in person. No reason not to go, then.’
—They’re beastmen after all. I doubt it’ll be a problem. Master, you’ve always had an uncanny knack for getting along with beastmen.
‘Well, I wouldn’t say that much……’
I didn’t particularly dislike meeting beastmen.
I was curious to see what kind of beastmen they were too.
Once we met, things would work out somehow.
If not, I could always use that rabbit rascal or Bestia as leverage.
I asked Rudelrof to arrange a meeting first.
After all, showing up unannounced at another tribe’s domain would be considered quite rude.
The southern plains of Rotsy were now bustling with people building a ranch for horned rabbits.
Builders dispatched to the western fields were stacking up the city walls, while Lion Tribe workers to the north were constructing a slaughterhouse.
All across the plains, fences were being erected—everyone was busy.
“Make sure the fences are solid. That’s the last line of defense.”
Rudelrof was the overall supervisor of this construction project.
Not only him, but all the Lion Tribe warriors were gathered here as well.
They were all enthusiastically helping with the work.
It reminded me of Johnson Territory in the early days.
When we built the horned rabbit ranch, everyone worked like mad too.
“Not bad. This’ll be done soon.”
I was out here myself.
As someone with experience building a horned rabbit ranch, I was here to offer advice if I saw anything lacking.
But there wasn’t much to point out.
At this rate, they’d complete the ranch without any major issues.
“So this is the Lion Tribe’s city, Rotsy?”
“Rotsy, huh. It’s my first time visiting a beastman city.”
“There must be so many fascinating things to see here.”
As full-fledged exchanges with the Lion Tribe began, the curious adventurers from Johnson Territory started pouring into Rotsy.
The Fox Tribe merchants had visited before for trade, but the other residents hadn’t.
Maybe because entertainment was scarce in this world, they were all quite eager about the trip.
At the forefront were the self-proclaimed Doctor of Otherworld Studies, Dr. Nickel, and Peter, the master of the Alchemy Workshop.
‘Dr. Nickel being here is no surprise, but why Peter?’
It made sense for Dr. Nickel, who was deeply interested in discovering new flora and fauna, to visit.
The land of beastmen was unexplored territory even for him, and with his boundless curiosity and initiative, it was only natural he’d make the trip.
But Peter’s presence was a bit unexpected.
His workshop was busier than ever these days.
‘Did Dr. Nickel drag him along? That guy’s pretty persuasive when he wants to be.’
That was the only explanation.
Otherwise, Peter—who usually hated to leave his workshop—would never have come this far.
‘And those women next to Peter are……’
—Female Black Lions. Two of them, no less.
Indeed, two female Black Lion warriors were escorting Peter.
I couldn’t make sense of that combination, so I asked—and apparently, they had volunteered to guide him around the city.
Since Rotsy was their hometown, they said they knew it best.
“Ah, these ladies? They sometimes help out at the workshop. They’re really kind.”
“Is that so?”
And apparently, this wasn’t their first time—they’d occasionally assisted him with alchemy work.
Female Black Lion warriors helping at an alchemy workshop?
Alchemy and the Black Lions—such an ill-fitting combination that it practically reeked of suspicion.
‘And that positioning over there…’
—Two lion females flanking a human male. They’re in a formation that allows no approach from any direction.
‘Doesn’t that look kind of familiar?’
—Ah, right. The young lionesses surrounding that smart kid looked just like that.
‘Oh yeah, that’s right. Don’t tell me it’s actually the same situation?’
They said that the Lion Tribe’s females only valued a male’s ability—which, in their terms, meant strength.
I had personally witnessed a similar case before.
That smart kid, Leon, had no less than four little lionesses sticking by his side to protect him.
Thinking back, maybe it was really just a move to block any other girls from getting close to him.
‘Then Peter too…?’
Truth be told, Peter was an impressive man.
He was one of the key figures of the territory.
In other words, a strong male the Lion Tribe’s female warriors might have their eyes on.
If this were the past, I might’ve just brushed it off, but after hearing so many strange stories lately, I couldn’t help but watch carefully.
Why else would those two women follow him all the way here?
Maybe they were trying to guard their claim from any potential rivals.
‘Well, it’s fine. Both of them are stunning anyway.’
Honestly, it was none of my business.
The female knights in this world were already beautiful by default, and the beastman female warriors were no exception.
Perhaps it was due to the positive effects of mana and aura.
Especially the Black Lions—they’d undergone physical enhancement, which made them even more striking in appearance.
Having two such beauties attached to him was something to be congratulated for, really.
—Just quietly prepare some Vitality Grass.
‘Ah, right. Guess I should.’
Still, better safe than sorry. I figured I should prepare at least a bit of Vitality Grass.
You never knew when the territory’s precious alchemist might get ambushed in the middle of the night, after all.
“Hey, look at this!”
“We found something really good!”
“Huh? What is it?”
Roughly half a day earlier, I had wished Peter happiness as I watched him enter Rotsy surrounded by those two Black Lion female warriors.
Now, Peter and Dr. Nickel were bouncing toward me, full of excitement, like kids who’d found a treasure.
Judging from how thrilled they looked, they must have discovered something truly fascinating.
‘Well, that man Dr. Nickel always manages to find weird stuff, doesn’t he.’
—That male is truly a mystery. He’s definitely insane, but in such a refined way that it’s even more absurd.
From horned rabbits to three-horned mountain goats—and even the suppository potion—all of them were creations that passed through his hands.
There’s no logic behind his process, but his results were always exceptional.
Thanks to that, the people of the territory trusted him immensely, though I couldn’t say I believed in him myself. But if that’s a talent, then so be it.
“Take a look at these.”
“What are they?”
“We found them in Rotsy’s storage room.”
“This is…”
What they brought me was a sack full of what looked like plant roots—various kinds all tangled together.
The shapes were so diverse that it was clear these were from different species.
“Ah, those. They’re stored up in case of a food shortage.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. They’re edible roots gathered from around here—whatever’s barely safe to eat, they keep them stored like that.”
When I looked to Rudelrof for confirmation, he explained that the Lion Tribe had stockpiled them as emergency food supplies.
They’d dug up all the edible roots they could find—but just barely edible, he said. Definitely not something he’d recommend.
‘Still, that means they can be eaten, right?’
At first, I wasn’t very interested, but thinking about it more, it wasn’t something to dismiss so lightly.
The Lion Tribe might not be satisfied with anything other than meat, but humans were a little different.
There could be something useful among those roots, so I began carefully examining the sack Dr. Nickel had brought.
“What’s this one?”
“Honestly, I don’t know all the names. We just gathered everything you could eat. The one you’re holding now is terribly bitter—almost inedible.”
“Bitter, huh?”
It looked like bellflower root, so I asked, and sure enough, he said it was so bitter it was hard to eat.
I tried a little bite—and yeah, it was really bitter.
Like a stronger version of Vitality Grass MK-2.
No matter how hungry I was, I didn’t think I could eat something like that.
“There are tons of similar ones here.”
“Well, roots do all tend to look alike.”
“True enough.”
Starting with the bellflower-like one, there were all sorts of roots—most looked similar, hard to tell apart, and almost all were too bitter to eat.
As I was rummaging through the sack, I found something that looked a bit different.
“…Huh?”
It was a shape I knew all too well.
Something that made me instinctively think, ‘What are you doing here?’
I rubbed my eyes several times in disbelief—but there was no mistake. It was exactly that.
“Ah, that one’s at least somewhat edible.”
“Yeah?”
“Still, it’s not something you’d want to eat. You eat it only when you have no other choice. If you eat the sprouted ones wrong, you’ll get stomachache.”
“If you eat the sprouted ones, you get an upset stomach, right.”
“You know this plant?”
“Well, yeah.”
Any Earthling would.
It was, unmistakably, a potato.