novelraw Chapter 77
Chapter 77
Chapter 77
On the way back after stopping by a few merchant groups and buying everything I needed.
I spotted a few Beastmen having a conversation in an alley.
“Beastmen, right?”
“They look like Dog Tribe.”
The shape of the tail was definitely canine.
It seemed they were indeed Dog Tribe.
“Somehow, that feels familiar.”
Yeah, when it came to Beastmen, dogs were the first that came to mind.
Weren’t dogs the animals most familiar to humans, after all?
–Hmm, wasn’t it rabbits that were most familiar with their masters? The videos Master liked to watch the most were the ones with females wearing fake rabbit ears.
‘That’s different.’
Completely different.
The reason I loved those so-called “rabbit” videos wasn’t because of the rabbit ears, but because the actresses matched my taste.
‘Wait, why am I even explaining myself?’
Because of the rabbit bastard’s weird interruption, the conversation ended up going in a strange direction.
Seriously, damn rabbit.
‘By the way, what’s the Dog Tribe’s racial blessing?’
–Ah, you mean their blessing. The Dog Tribe probably received the ‘Power of the Pack.’
‘Power of the Pack, huh.’
–It’s a blessing specialized for group battles. Each individual is weaker than the Lions, but when gathered, even the Lions can’t deal with them easily.
‘The Pack, that makes sense.’
The Dog Tribe’s blessing from Bestia was the ‘Power of the Pack.’
It was said to be specialized for group battles.
Not only were they skilled in coordinated fighting, but their discipline was so strict that even the Lion Tribe couldn’t take them lightly in a many-versus-many fight.
The knights of our Territory or the warriors of the Lion Tribe—most of the people around me were all too free-spirited.
Maybe that’s why the word “strict discipline” sounded very attractive to me.
“If they’re Dog Tribe, they must’ve come from Vines?”
“Maybe they came along as escorts for a merchant group?”
“I heard the Dog Tribe all moved south. It’s been about a dozen years since they settled there.”
“That’s right. I also heard there are a lot of Dog Tribe in Vines.”
The Dog Tribe had migrated south as a whole tribe and settled in Vines.
They were said to be living decently in cooperation with the humans there, with most of them serving as Soldiers or Knights.
As expected of Beastmen.
The Dog Tribe were just as battle-oriented.
“Huh?”
“…What is it?”
“The Dog Tribe are running away.”
In that moment, I locked eyes with the Dog Tribe who had been talking in the alley.
And as soon as they noticed us, their eyes widened, and they bolted away.
Running off the instant our eyes met.
It was baffling to be treated like that at a first encounter.
“Hmm, Leisha. Just asking, but… you don’t have any problems with the Dog Tribe, do you?”
“Not really. Leisha doesn’t hit puppies.”
“Really? Then you’ve at least met some Dog Tribe before?”
“When I was very little. But most Beastmen probably know Leisha.”
“What, like you’re some kind of national celebrity, and all Beastmen know you?”
“With Master, that’s not impossible. Stormbringer, Undertaker, Apophis. Even Lord Iron knew those names, right?”
“Named ones, huh. Well, Leisha certainly could be…”
Leisha was famous enough to be a Named even among Beastmen.
Even I roughly knew what Named Masters like Stormbringer, Petroc looked like, so I’d be surprised if I met them on the street too.
Of course, being surprised and bolting like that were two very different things.
But I couldn’t exactly go after the Dog Tribe who had already disappeared and ask them why they ran, so I just let it go.
Still, I couldn’t shake off a faintly uneasy feeling.
The storage office of the Good-Dog Merchant Group, based in Rubina.
A woman with perked-up beast ears was being briefed about what had just happened.
“So you’re saying you saw the Mad Lion of Rotsy here in Rubina?”
“Yes, I’m certain.”
“Tell me in more detail.”
“Well, that is…”
A Dog Tribe member reported that they had just encountered the Mad Lion of Rotsy, the Great Warrior of the Black Lion—known as the most ill-tempered among the ferocious Lion Tribe—and his companions.
They had rushed here right after seeing him.
The woman frowned, sinking into thought.
Because she couldn’t understand why the Lion Tribe would come this far down.
“Did the Lion Tribe come south?”
“No, that wasn’t it. They were with humans. At the center of their group was a man built like a bear.”
“A man like a bear?”
“And the Red Devil of Haken was also with them…”
“Sir Irene? What kind of combination is that?”
The woman was momentarily taken aback, but then began analyzing the situation by piecing together the information she knew.
“I heard the Red Devil of Haken went north. To Johnson Territory. Right?”
“Yes, I heard that as well.”
“Johnson… that’s the border count who drove out the Boar Tribe and took over their land, right? They even cooperated with the Lion Tribe once. Maybe the Lion Tribe have joined hands with Johnson Territory again.”
The woman knew a great deal about northern history.
That was only natural—before the Dog Tribe migrated south, they had lived in the north, and the fall of the Boar Tribe was widely known among Beastmen.
“Come to think of it, I heard Haken Territory recently opened trade with Johnson Territory.”
“The trade item was meat, right?”
“Yes. They’re said to be dealing in a monster called Horned Rabbit.”
“That’s quite a luxury meat.”
“I saw it myself. Today, several wagons from Haken’s merchant group came in. When I asked, they just vaguely said it was meat…”
“Several wagons’ worth? That’s a considerable amount. If only the Horned Ostrich could be produced in such numbers.”
“Anyway, it’s true that high-quality meat is coming from the north.”
And with the news of today’s transaction added, a fairly convincing conclusion was reached.
That Johnson Territory had begun supplying large quantities of high-quality meat, and had started trading in earnest with Haken.
“We should get involved in this.”
“Shall we make contact?”
“Yes. If even the Lion Tribe extended their hand to Johnson Territory because of this, the amount must be significant.”
“True, if it’s the Lion Tribe…”
“They’re enormous, after all.”
“When it comes to meat, the more the better. Let’s extend our hand too.”
If the Lion Tribe were with a human Lord, there was no need to think of any other possibility.
Meat, and more meat.
That tribe thought of nothing else.
Though they were treated well enough as mercenaries in Vines Territory, the Dog Tribe still longed for high-quality meat.
So much so that their tribe’s own Priestess had to personally lead a merchant group to gather mana crystals.
The Horned Ostrich of Vines Territory was excellent meat that suited the Dog Tribe’s palate perfectly, but it grew slowly, the quantity was never enough, and the price was steep.
If they could obtain a substitute at a good price, there was no reason not to.
And since that side also seemed to be trading in Rubina, there wouldn’t be a problem if they asked to join in and secure their share.
“The tribe will be pleased.”
For the happiness of ten thousand Dog Tribe, she had to secure as much meat as possible.
The Dog Tribe suddenly came to visit.
After running away like that earlier, they now came to us of their own accord.
I wondered what this was about, but since they came for trade, there was no reason not to meet.
And since we already planned to trade here, having one more partner was only a gain for us.
“Greetings, Lord Johnson…”
“It’s Iron.”
“Yes, Lord Iron. I am Eline, head of the Good-Dog Merchant Group.”
“I see. Head Eline.”
Eline, who introduced herself as the head of the Good-Dog Merchant Group, was a Dog Tribe Beastman woman with adorable puppy ears that stood out.
She gave off a subtle charm that was hard to look away from the longer one looked—humble at first glance, but captivating in its quiet way.
Even as a Beastman, her aura felt very different from Leisha’s.
If Leisha was like a fierce wild cat, then this woman was like a well-kept pet dog.
Her wholesome presence even reminded me a bit of Irene.
Of course, Irene wasn’t always wholesome.
‘This place really does have a lot of beauties.’
Perhaps thanks to mana, my eyes had plenty to enjoy here.
Indeed, in that respect, this world wasn’t so bad.
–Hmm, that female… she feels very familiar.
‘Really?’
As I was appreciating Eline’s unique charm, the rabbit bastard spoke up with something meaningful.
He said she felt very familiar.
And at the same time, she looked somewhat surprised as she stared at me.
After a moment of hesitation, as if making up her mind, Eline bowed her head again.
“I should reintroduce myself. I am Eline, Guide of the Dog Tribe.”
“…Ah.”
Guide of the Dog Tribe.
The woman in front of me was a Guide like me.
And as proof, a spirit beast suddenly appeared before me—a white puppy, wagging its tail with its tongue hanging out.
It looked like a Jindo pup—this must be the Dog Tribe’s spirit.
In that case, I should reveal myself too. That would be proper manners.
“Then I’ll reintroduce myself as well. I am Iron Johnson, Guide of the Rabbit Tribe.”
And pop—the rabbit bastard appeared in front of me.
–The! Great! Me! Appears!
As expected of him, refusing anything ordinary, the rabbit burst out dancing the moment he showed up.
“Haa…”
He was the one making a fool of himself, yet why did I feel embarrassed?
Couldn’t he appear as normally as that puppy spirit?
“Oh my.”
Thankfully, the rabbit’s sudden dance performance seemed to please her.
Eline, Guide of the Dog Tribe.
She turned out to be more broad-minded than expected.
In fact, the tolerance she radiated outwardly was quite impressive.
“Then let’s proceed that way.”
“Yes, Lord Iron.”
The reason Eline had sought me out was trade.
She wanted to purchase Horned Rabbit meat from our Territory.
Jerky or frozen—any form was fine, as long as the quantity was sufficient.
It was a deal we had no reason to refuse.
The only problem was that supplying as much Horned Rabbit as she wished was impossible.
Not because of the rabbits themselves, but because we lacked the butchering capacity.
Our own consumption was already considerable, and now we had begun trading with Haken Territory—adding the Dog Tribe on top of that was too much.
Unless our residents did nothing but slaughter all day, we had to set limits.
‘Besides, delivering shipments here is work in itself.’
If we increased wagons, we’d also need more escorts and Workers.
“Pepper and silk, huh. That’s good.”
As payment, we decided on spices like pepper, daily necessities, and silk.
Pepper, of course, was a specialty of Vines Territory.
Even Dr. Nickel had cited Vines pepper as an example when he first tried to persuade me.
We used herbs as best we could, but meat was always better with pepper.
As for silk, sericulture was apparently one of the Dog Tribe’s main industries.
‘Wow. Sericulture, of all things.’
–Quite different from the Lions.
There were several territories in the south that practiced sericulture, but they boasted theirs was the finest, so I simply agreed to accept it.
The more variety in cloth the better, and silk was a luxury that certainly tempted me.
“So the Dog Tribe’s migration south was…”
“Yes, I led it. The situation in the north wasn’t favorable at the time. To sustain the tribe, we needed somewhere more stable.”
After finishing the trade, we spoke about her tribe.
She told me the Dog Tribe, weakened from endless struggles against monsters, had no choice but to abandon the north in order to survive.
Given that even a Guide had been sent to them at that time, I could imagine how dire their situation must have been.
Probably similar to the Rabbit Tribe now.
‘And that was over ten years ago. Just how young was she when she started leading her tribe?’
Beneath her gentle appearance, she possessed incredible resolve.
That this woman had been the spiritual pillar of the Dog Tribe, guiding their entire migration south.
And from a very young age at that.
She looked like a docile puppy, but clearly, you couldn’t judge people by appearances.
“Then let’s continue to maintain a good relationship.”
“Yes, Lord Iron. I pray for the prosperity of the Rabbit Tribe.”
“Well, I’m not only the leader of the Rabbit Tribe, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
After finishing the trade, we parted ways coolly.
I returned to Haken, while she returned to Vines.
Both of us were busy with our paths, so we couldn’t chat long.
–What a shame. That female was quite the fertile type.
‘There you go again with that “fertile type” nonsense…’
If fate allowed, we would meet again someday.
Given that she directly managed her own merchant group, she must be running around just as busily as I was.
In any case, forging good ties with yet another Beastman tribe was certainly a favorable sign.