Otome Game Mob Villain

Chapter 766

"Ugh, my head hurts..."

"If you drank that much sake last night, it's only natural."

As Azteca groaned, holding his head and cracking his neck, I smiled wryly with a look of exasperation.

We were currently at the training ground within the Horse Tribe chief's mansion grounds.

Behind me stood Gedding, a Horse Tribe member and squad leader of the Second Knight Order, at attention in his uniform.

He's a rather taciturn boy with light brown skin, long dark hair tinged with chestnut, sharp eyes with strong black irises. He's the type who doesn't say much but speaks up when necessary, and among the squad leaders, he's known for his calm and composed demeanor.

However, when it comes to a certain Horse Tribe girl named Maris, his eyes and mannerisms can get a bit scary, so I need to be careful about that one point.

Outside the training ground, Capella and Tink were standing by, but Amon and Chris were nowhere to be seen.

They were currently touring the Horse Tribe territory with the clan leaders.

The reason only we were at the training ground was that Azteca had agreed to conduct 'beastification training' for Gedding.

By the way, Azteca was now in his usual clothes, his hair even messier than usual, and his stubble thicker.

At last night's reception, he had declared it a 'free-for-all' and opened every single one of the thirty bottles of sake we had presented during the talks, drinking them one after another with the clan leaders.

Naturally, Azteca drank the most.

"That strong liquor will affect your body if you drink it like that."

"Don't worry about it. I'm not the type to get drunk on this much."

Azteca had boasted and ignored the advice, continuing to drink until he eventually passed out in the reception hall, using an empty sake bottle as a pillow, snoring loudly while sprawled out.

Watching him being carried away by servants and clan leaders left me stunned.

Especially since Azteca at the reception stood out so badly in his Imperial-style formal wear, the memory was even more vivid.

It was fine for me, given my special background as someone with 'past life memories' and being tolerant, but depending on the Imperial noble, this could have been seen as 'shaking the Empire's prestige' and become a diplomatic issue.

Someone like Duke Greis Razaville, a conservative hawk and pureblood advocate, might have said something like, "As expected, beastmen are base creatures. Their true nature is revealed, you rude fellow!" and even slapped Azteca.

The father of the villainess Valeri, Duke Barnes Erasenize—the head of the conservative dove faction—would probably narrow his eyes, let it pass, but might impose sanctions like banning him from entering.

The protagonist of Toki Rena, Marone's adoptive father, Marquis Berruti Gianpaolo, head of the reformist faction, might feign composure while secretly gloating about having gained leverage.

My father... would probably sigh, help him up with a shoulder, and whisper, "This is a debt you owe me," turning it into a friendly connection.

In my imagination, Father seemed a bit kinder, but perhaps that's because Baldia shares a border with Zubera and can't afford to make a big deal out of things.

It's not that Father is 'lenient' compared to others... probably.

In any case, Azteca had seemed like such a shrewd and detached operator during the talks, so I was surprised but made a mental note: "As in my past life, I'll be careful not to drink too much in this life too."

Well, it'll still be a while before I can drink anyway.

"This is my first hangover ever."

"That headache and nausea will last as long as alcohol remains in your system. Once that happens, all you can do is drink plenty of fluids to dilute the remaining alcohol. I recommend alternating between tea with diuretic properties and water."

As I shared this remedy with the grimacing, headache-ridden Azteca, his eyebrow twitched and he nodded with a "Hoh...?"

"What's this, Ridd? You speak like you've experienced it yourself. Don't tell me you've drunk alcohol before?"

"Ah, ahaha. Don't be silly, as if that could happen. It's just knowledge I've gained from books and teachers. Besides, you see, during the process of creating sake, there were many people who suffered from hangovers just like you. So I just happen to know the remedies."

He's as sharp and observant as ever, isn't he?

My heart skipped a beat, but I answered as convincingly as I could.

The truth is, it's mostly based on memories from my 'past life' of countless business dinners and company parties.

Also, right after the sake was completed, during the tasting, all the adults serving Baldia who boasted about their tolerance were laid low, saying "This sake is too delicious!" The next day, most of the servants were down with hangovers, causing a bit of a disruption in the management of Baldia Manor. So it's not entirely a lie.

"I see. Well, I'll accept that explanation for now."

Azteca shrugged and then said, "So..."

"You want me to teach this kid Horse Tribe beastification, right?"

"...Gedding, squad leader of the Baldia Second Knight Order. I look forward to working with you."

Despite Azteca's intimidating glare, Gedding remained composed, bowed politely, and spoke calmly.

"Haha, not fazed by my glare, huh? You've got a good look about you."

As Azteca grinned, I changed the subject. "Um, by the way..."

"Beastification progresses in stages according to the user's ability, right?"

"That's right. What about it?"

"Well, actually, recently I saw what seemed to be a Horse Tribe beastman transform into the form of a horse. Is that also a type of beastification?"

The 'seemed to be a Horse Tribe beastman' referred to Seroi Padgry, a member of the 'Ten-Winged Guardians' serving the Padgry family.

When observing through binoculars as they confronted a horde of monsters said to have overflowed from the dungeon, only Seroi had transformed into a horse-like form, unlike the others.

I was very curious whether this was a type of beastification unique to the Horse Tribe or a new form of beastification.

"That's someone who can use beastification form transformation."

"Form transformation, you say?"

Feigning composure, I leaned forward with keen interest.

Despite touring Zubera and gathering various information beforehand, I had never heard of 'beastification form transformation.'

"That's right. You know that beastification manifests physical changes according to the user's ability—physique, fur color and texture, number of tails, right?"

"Yes. For physique, the Bear Tribe and Ox Tribe are good examples. Fur color and texture vary by tribe. Number of tails is easiest to see in the Fox Tribe."

"You sure know a lot about beastmen. What you just mentioned, Ridd, we call 'beastification state changes.'"

"Beastification state changes. I see, that's educational."

As I nodded, Azteca looked puzzled and then grinned.

"It's rare for a non-beastman like you to be so interested in our beastification. You find this stuff interesting?"

"Yes, very interesting. I... ah, I mean, I love magic."

Getting carried away, my tone slipped, and I caught myself, scratching my cheek to cover it up.

"Haha, is that so? Well, as thanks for the delicious sake, I'll teach you. There's another type of beastification change. It's called 'form transformation,' where one transforms into a form matching their tribe."

"Form transformation. So, a Horse Tribe member would take a horse-like form, and a Fox Tribe member would take a fox-like form?"

My eyes sparkling as I asked, Azteca nodded.

"Something like that. But it seems not everyone can do form transformation. Relatively many Horse Tribe members can manage it, but in other tribes, those who can are extremely rare. That's probably why you've never heard of it, Ridd."

"I see. But why can't everyone do it?"

"Beats me, I don't really understand it either. It probably requires a certain mastery of beastification to activate, but beyond that..."

Azteca shrugged and then grinned.

"A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say. I'll give you a special demonstration of my form transformation."

"Really!?"

"I told you, it's thanks for the sake."

Saying that, Azteca looked at Gedding.

"And you there. If you want to master form transformation, watch closely and burn it into your eyes."

"Yes, sir."

As Gedding bowed, Azteca snorted and said, "Alright, here goes," taking a deep breath.

Then, almost immediately, a magical wave erupted around him, and his form began to rapidly transform.

Gedding and I gasped and stepped back in amazement, our eyes wide as we watched the transformation unfold before us.