Chapter 27: Beastmen, To What Extent You Go? (01)

  First off, there were different types of beastmen.

  The first stage sisted of beastmen with animal ears on a human-like form.

  The sed stage beastmen were half-human, half-animal; their bodies covered in fur, resembling humans somewhat, with features like long snouts or fangs depending on their species.

  "Permissible range? Of course, it's the first stage."

  As I stroked Molng ihe carriage, Dane showed a grimace.

  The third stage beastmen were like werewolves, simply bipedal animal forms.

  Beings like werewolves or lizardmen, straddling the liween monsters and different species, are treated as beastmen by the kingdom if they accept some degree of civilization, but are hunted down as monsters if they attack humans.

  "First stage? What kind of beastman is that? Might as well ask human women to wear animal ear accessories."

  "Yeah, that’s abht."

  "Shouldn't at least the sed stage be sidered true beastmen? I'm okay with the third stage too, but if we're talkimen, they should at least have that much distinctiveness..."

  At that, I seriously burst Dane's bubble.

  "Even the sed stage would mean women with more chest hair than me, right?"

  "Wait, wait... isn't it normal to have no hair on the chest?"

  "Where’s the norm? If it's the sed stage, they're just covered in fur all over."

  Hearing this, Dane made a disgusted face, and I delivered the final blow to his fantasies.

  "Plus, they'd have multiple breasts."

  "Isn’t that a good thing? There's a saying, the more, the merrier."

  "......"

  "Even two breasts are good, but wouldn’t more be eveer?"

  "Yeah, love it as much as you want. Meet a beastman with about 264 breasts."

  While delivering this curse or blessing, we arrived he northerory where the beastmen had decred their independence.

  "Knights, disembark. We've reached our destination."

  "Thank you."

  Dane and I collected ear pced atop the carriage and got off, preparing for any ued situations by pg Molng into a special fsk stolen from Professor Pandel's b.

  I had pre-loaded my semen ihe fsk before ing here, so Molng was tentedly rolling semen drops inside, and I stashed it deep in my bag.

  "Wow!"

  "Eh..."

  Dane and I had markedly differeions.

  Fortunately, most of the beastmen visible here were first stage, with a feearing to be sed stage.

  "I read in a book that most beastmen are supposed to have the forms of beasts!"

  "Right. Look over there, those are animal ears."

  "Then how are they different from humans in e!"

  "Isn't it also discriminatory to view beastmen as beast-like?"

  This was something I could haoo, and although Dane blurted out something foolish, he was the kind to gratefully bow down even if it was just the first stage.

  "Let’s head to the town hall first."

  This northern region had been fortified to guard against monsters emerging from the Deep Gountains, and as meraries and knights expahe territory, they were given noable nds, naturally dividing and pi the area.

  Now, with the analysis of the Deep Gountains almost plete and most of the beastmen who had been part of the kingdom's invasioling here after a peace agreement, the forward cities had lost their use, naturally allowing the beastmen to settle and live freely in these pi areas.

  Thanks to that, this area was not trolled by a single powerful lord but was a territory where tribes and vilges lived freely between cities founded in the pi nds.

  Although they still paid taxes to the kingdom, there arently no iion from the kingdom to send o divide the nd.

  "Wele. What brings you here?"

  "We're from the Mage Knights."

  "Ah, you're from the capital!"

  The local official, very pleased to see us, was hosting us warmly, but if they khat we were merely trainee knights and the capital wasn’t ied in this matter so they’d passed it to trainees...

  'Of course, I had Dane keep quiet about it.'

  We were to pretend to be from the Mage Knights to avoid being taken lightly.

  It wasn’t my own idea; a senior had advised that wheing outside the capital, there was o crify that we were trainees and could just say we were from the Mage Knights.

  Being known as trainee knights would generally invite disregard, so being seen as official knights was implicitly permitted to ensure we received proper treatment.

  'There is a regution that in missions, we are to be treated equally to official knights... That’s why trainees aren’t typically sent out on suplicated matters.'

  "We would like to hear about the beastmen’s decration of independence."

  "It’s unbearable. Those beastly things..."

  Such discriminatory remarks were quite shog from someone w in a city where beastmen stituted 80% of the popution.

  Although we were humans and not particurly offended, a female beastman assistant nearby dispyed her displeasure at his words—could this cause a problem?

  "Please be precise. They're worse thas. It’s offeo the listenis, you know?"

  "I apologize. That was a slip of the tongue."

  'Ah... maybe calling them beast-like isn’t really an insult to beastmen?'

  After all, saying "you human-like things" to people might feel stra isn’t necessarily an insult.

  Saying "you’re not even human" would probably be taken badly, though.

  "Anyway, those guys are located to the northeast of here."

  "How far is the location?"

  "Not far. The demands these guys are making are... infuriating."

  The official was trembling with rage, and the nodding from other beastmen staff nearby suggested that the independence-deg beastmen were quite the troublemakers.

  "Since personnel have been dispatched from the capital, they must have also sent an invitee beastman from their side."

  "An invite... so we enter peacefully."

  Although repared for possible violent flieither Dane nor I felt fident about fag an unknown number of beastmen alone.

  Beastmen were said to possess nearly twice the physical ability ur soldiers, making them quite a formidable oppo.

  Moreover, if violeed, peaegotiations would be effectively over, soal was to avoid using force as much as possible.

  'If they inteo suppress by force, they would have dragged along a whole squad of trainees or sent formal knights from the Mage Knights.'

  "Looks like we've arrived. Just a moment... could it be?"

  The official tensed up as he saw a beastmaer the room.

  'Could it be, they’re pnning to attack us physically and take hostages to demand independence when personnel from the capital arrive?'

  Since we were just trainees, our value as hostages robably less than that of the beastman female staff present here.

  Military personnel are generally a lower priority than civilians...

  "Excuse me. I came because I heard the delegation from the capital has arrived!"

  Fortunately, the figure who entered was not a group of fierce beastman warriors but a feline female beastman with a chestnut-colored bob and perky cat ears.

  "Phew..."

  The employees here, who had been tense, all sighed in relief and rexed their shoulders, while Dane and I, not uanding the situation, failed to prehend.

  'Ban, what’s happening here?'

  'I don’t kher.'

  To maintain some dignity, I casually crossed my arms while Daightly shut his mouth.

  "Are the people here part of the delegation?"

  Before we could respond, the official interrupted.

  "Yes, they are. We'll host them and, ohe matter is cluded, eheir safe return. You know what happens if anything rude occurs?"

  "Yes, we are aware."

  The versation was surprisingly casual for oween an independence group and a gover official attempting to stop them, and except for a few, people were busy with their work as if nothing special was happening.

  "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Naomi, sent to escort the delegates from the beastman independence group."

  "Mage Knights, Ban."

  "I'm Dane."

  At first gnaomi wasn’t strikingly beautiful but was quite cute with her feline face (probably because she was a cat beastman), and her vibrant smile was impressive.

  The only differences from a humahe cat ears on her head and a swaying cat tail between her hips.

  When she smiled, her fangs were visible, but that's fairly on in humans too, so let's leave that aside for now.

  "Would you like to rest a bit before we go in, or would you prefer to head straight to the independence area?"

  As I wondered what to do and looked back at Dane, he seemed eager to go see the beastmen, his body heating up with excitement.

  Indeed, from the sweat smell a rising beside me, the warm indoor enviro must have felt like a sauna to Dane, who was heavy armor.

  "Let's ght away. It's better for both of us to deal with urgent matters."

  "Yes, I'll guide you immediately. The distance is not far, so we walk."

  'So, the independence group is just outside the city?'

  Many questions arose, but I followed Naomi while she led the way.

  "So, you are knights from the Mage Knights, right?"

  "Hmm."

  'Although we're actually trainee knights.'

  "There's no knight order nearby, so it's my first time seeing knights!"

  Naomi's curiosity, I thought that people here might be happier not having knights around, as their presence usually meant trouble.

  If knights were deployed here, it likely meant a bloody flict was immi or expected... Most people would probably prefer not to enter knights.

  "The path here will take yht up."

  The trail in the forest was even marked as the path to the beastmen independence group.

  'Seriously... bringing knights to the independence group without any tension.'

  Holy, I had even pnned for potential use of force if things went wrong in the beastmen vilge.

  That's why I had brought along a mana saber and Dane was in heavy armor, carrying a signifit amount of tension... but the friendly approach here was somewhat defting.

  Of course, as a knight dispatched by the Mage Knights, I repared to mercilessly cut down even a friendly beastman if iations failed and violeed.

  "Hey, Ban."

  "Try to keep quiet. I've agreed to speak on our behalf, so even if opinions differ, we'll discuss it privately ter, and here..."

  "No, it's not that... do you see that?"

  Dane poio a few youmen who were wrestling each other or pying with balls made from rolled up tree branches.

  At first g seemed no different from children pying in a human vilge, but the key difference was...

  'Why... aren't they wearing clothes?'

  The beastmen children were not wearing any clothes at all, their tails and ears flig as they rolled around or pyed with the ball.

  "Stop! This is the beastmen's independeerritory. Humans are not allowed to enter!"

  "Please wait a moment. These people have been dispatched from the capital..."

  The figures that appeared to block us, like guards, were also pletely naked, only wearis to carry ons and ready to attack us at any moment.

  Dane and I couldn't help but be surprised that these two men and women were walking around naked so nontly.

  "So these people are..."

  "There are no exceptions. This is a strict rule set by the Great Mother's strong will."

  Naomi approached us apologetically as Dane and I, shocked, couldn't take our eyes off the female beastman's body.

  "Knights, I'm sorry, but... from now on, you're asked to remove your clothes to enter."

  'That's going to be problematic.'

  If I took off my clothes now, my promily raised dick might be exposed, which would be risky.

  Ultimate-Harem-fan