Otome Game Mob Villain

Chapter 721

"Hey, Rid, Amon. I've been waiting for you."

We were going through procedures at the checkpoint at the border between the Monkey Tribe and Rabbit Tribe territories when a figure wearing a deep white hood spotted us and flashed us a sharp-looking double canine tooth.

From the voice, it sounded like a woman, but deep inside the hood, brown eyes were emitting a sharp gaze.

From her demeanor, she didn't seem to be an ordinary person.

But who is she?

We hadn't arranged to meet anyone at the checkpoint, I'm sure.

When I looked at her attire, at first glance it appeared to be a white-based one-piece dress.

However, looking more closely, from the waist down to the feet, there was exquisite embroidery and a long slit made with blue thread.

Her outfit was reminiscent of a cheongsam from my memories of my previous life.

As she approached us, Tink and Capella braced themselves and stepped forward as if to block her path.

"Pardon me, but may I ask who you are?"

"Could you please tell us your name?"

"Hey now, c'mon. Have you guys already forgotten my voice? It's me, me!"

She shrugged, took off her white hood, and two ears stood up straight as her revealed long black hair fluttered dashingly in the wind.

"Ah, could it be you are...!?"

As Tink and Capella widened their eyes in surprise and faltered, she narrowed her eyes and grinned, showing her pointed double canine tooth.

"Finally remember me? I'm Vene Noamos, chief of the Rabbit Tribe."

"Wh...!? Wh-why is Lady Vene here!?"

"rid is right. We had informed you in advance that we would be visiting the chief's residence."

As Amon and I hurriedly stepped forward, she shrugged her shoulders.

"Hey now, you two. I told you at the chiefs' meeting that it's fine to call me Vene. Drop the formal speech too. I'm not good with stiff language."

"U-understood. But Vene, why are you at the checkpoint?"

When I asked back as told, relaxing my speech, she spilled out a smile and went "Haha."

"Still a bit stiff. Well, whatever. So, the reason I'm here is..."

Vene's expression turned serious, and she suddenly vanished from before our eyes.

"Huh..."

Just as Amon and I were bewildered, before we knew it, Vene had her arms around our shoulders from behind.

I couldn't see her movements at all - what incredible speed.

Perhaps she intended to demonstrate an overwhelming power difference before the talks to pressure us and gain an advantage in the negotiations.

What does she plan to do in this situation?

Just as a cold sweat ran down my spine, Vene grinned.

"It's because I wanted to see you two as soon as possible."

"Eh, wh-what!?"

"For such a reason!?"

"What's with that, you two? No need to be so surprised. It's surprisingly tough to slip past the old man, you know."

Vene pouted her lips, but judging from her words and demeanor, what she's saying seems to be true.

It's good that I was overthinking it, but that's no longer the important point.

"Sl-slipped past? Did you come here without telling Lady Shia?"

Shia is the former chief of the Rabbit Tribe and Vene's biological father.

Currently, Vene is the Rabbit Tribe chief, but she is still young despite her capabilities.

It seems that Shia assists her in areas where she lacks practical experience.

In fact, from the chiefs' meeting to deciding the schedule for this meeting, Shia was more experienced and better at arranging things than Vene.

"Of course not. If I did that, the old man would throw a fit."

"Is that so? That's a relief then."

As I patted my chest in relief, Vene grinned.

"Yeah, I left a proper note behind, so it's all good."

"A note..."

That's not good.

That's probably not good at all.

I can picture Shia's face turning bright red in my mind.

As I let out a deep sigh, Amon interjected with, "By the way..."

"How did you know we would be passing through the checkpoint today, Lady Vene?"

"Ah, that's because I asked Jetty. Told her to let me know by fast horse once she knew your departure date. So I figured you'd pass around today and have been waiting since early morning."

"I-I see. So that's what happened."

Amon made a rare face of astonishment.

Come to think of it, from what I saw at the chiefs' meeting, Vene and Jetty seemed to be on good terms.

"Still, though."

Saying that, Vene turned her gaze to the charcoal car and the towed vehicle.

"So this is the charcoal car and towed vehicle that are the talk of the town. They're as mysterious as ever."

"Y-yes, that's right. But, what kind of rumors have you heard?"

When I asked, her eyes sparkled.

"Things like a type of monster that runs tirelessly without rest, a mythical creature from Mistina scriptures trapped in a box, or an iron box actually moved by slaves. All sorts of rumors are going around. Well, I saw it once during the chiefs' meeting, so I don't believe that stuff though."

"Haha, seems like some interesting rumors are circulating."

If people who don't know how the charcoal car works hear that 'an iron box moves by itself,' I suppose people in this world would think it's powered by monsters or mythical creatures stuffed inside the box.

Well, in my previous life, when telephones became widespread, there were apparently people who actually thought 'if you hang things on the wires, they'll reach far away,' so maybe every world is similar in that regard.

As I spilled a smile, Vene cleared her throat and straightened up.

"Hey, Lid. Could you let me ride in the charcoal car too? I've wanted to ride this thing ever since the chiefs' meeting."

"Of course, no problem. How about we even take it for a test drive?"

"Really!?"

Vene leaned forward with a full-faced smile, bringing her face so close it was right in front of my eyes.

At a quick glance, her intimidating aura made me miss it, but seen up close, Vene's face was well-featured and she was an incredible beauty.

I gulped and caught my breath, then faltered and stepped back to put some distance between us.

Because the image of Fara narrowing her eyes and saying 'Lord Lid?' flashed through my mind.

"O-of course. However, we have future travel to consider, so we can't drive recklessly. Also, we'd need a wide, flat area for a test drive."

"Ah, that's fine. We can use the areas around the residence or the training ground in the courtyard."

Saying that, she smiled, looking genuinely happy.

"Wow, it's true what they say. Like the old man says, 'Asking may cause a moment's shame, but not asking causes a lifetime's shame.'"

"Um, Vene, why were you so interested in the charcoal car?"

When I voiced a question that suddenly occurred to me, she instantly turned serious.

"Because it's an unprecedented technology. The old man and the influential families say, 'The charcoal car is wonderful technology, but it's slow. For transport, it'd be faster to rely on the Horse Tribe or Bird Tribe.' Sure, their words might have a point, but I think that's an underestimation."

"...Why is that?"

When I asked back, she shrugged and laughed.

"If the charcoal car and I raced from here to the chief's residence, I'd definitely win. But when it comes to outside the territory or other countries, the story changes, right? Above all, the charcoal car doesn't discriminate who rides it. If you learn the technology, anyone can handle it, right? Plus, the manufacturing technology for charcoal cars should develop more and more from now on. Am I wrong?"

"Yes, you're absolutely right."

As I nodded in agreement, I was inwardly astonished by Vene's foresight.

That the manufacturing technology for charcoal cars would develop is an undeniable fact, but she realized the essential parts herself - that 'even if it can be beaten short-distance, the story changes when it comes to outside the territory or other countries,' and that 'the charcoal car doesn't discriminate who rides it.'

At the chiefs' meeting, I proposed the logistics enhancement plan involving charcoal cars, but I had tried to avoid touching on the essential parts as much as possible.

"My intuition is often right, you know. And that intuition is telling me... that the connection between the Baldia family and the new Grand Duke family will have a major impact on the future development of the Rabbit Tribe."

The sharp look in Vene's eyes gave the impression that she could see through the future.

"It's a great honor that you would evaluate Baldia and our family so highly."

"I agree. I never imagined that you would evaluate not just the Baldia family but the current Grand Duke family so highly as well."

As Amon and I straightened our posture and bowed, she looked taken aback and scratched her cheek awkwardly.

"Haha, I ended up spouting something unlike me. More importantly, can you let me ride it soon?"

"Understood. Then, please ride in the same vehicle as us."

When I guided Vene inside the towed vehicle, her eyes sparkled and she exclaimed excitedly, "Whoa, the interior is properly done too."

And so, we proceeded with her into the Rabbit Tribe territory in the vehicle.