Chapter 27: Beastmen, To What Extent Can You Go? (01)
First off, there were different types of beastmen.
The first stage consisted of beastmen with animal ears on a human-like form.
The second 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 Mollang inside the carriage, Dane showed a grimace.
The third stage beastmen were like werewolves, simply bipedal animal forms.
Beings like werewolves or lizardmen, straddling the line between 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 about right."
"Shouldn't at least the second stage be considered true beastmen? I'm okay with the third stage too, but if we're talking beastmen, they should at least have that much distinctiveness..."
At that, I seriously burst Dane's bubble.
"Even the second 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 second 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 even better?"
"Yeah, love it as much as you want. Meet a beastman with about 264 breasts."
While delivering this curse or blessing, we arrived near the northern territory where the beastmen had declared their independence.
"Knights, disembark. We've reached our destination."
"Thank you."
Dane and I collected our gear placed atop the carriage and got off, preparing for any unexpected situations by placing Mollang into a special flask stolen from Professor Pandel's lab.
I had pre-loaded my semen inside the flask before coming here, so Mollang was contentedly rolling semen drops inside, and I stashed it deep in my bag.
"Wow!"
"Eh..."
Dane and I had markedly different reactions.
Fortunately, most of the beastmen visible here were first stage, with a few appearing to be second 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 costume!"
"Isn't it also discriminatory to view beastmen as beast-like?"
This was something I could handle too, 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 Glaciora mountains, and as mercenaries and knights expanded the territory, they were given non-heritable lands, naturally dividing and pioneering the area.
Now, with the analysis of the Deep Glaciora mountains almost complete and most of the beastmen who had been part of the kingdom's invasions settling here after a peace agreement, the forward cities had lost their use, naturally allowing the beastmen to settle and live freely in these pioneering areas.
Thanks to that, this area was not controlled by a single powerful lord but was a territory where tribes and villages lived freely between cities founded in the pioneering lands.
Although they still paid taxes to the kingdom, there was apparently no intention from the kingdom to send nobles to divide the land.
"Welcome. 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 knew that we were merely trainee knights and the capital wasn't interested 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 when operating outside the capital, there was no need to clarify 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 regulation that in missions, we are to be treated equally to official knights... That's why trainees aren't typically sent out on such complicated matters.'
"We would like to hear about the beastmen's declaration of independence."
"It's unbearable. Those beastly things..."
Such discriminatory remarks were quite shocking from someone working in a city where beastmen constituted 80% of the population.
Although we were humans and not particularly offended, a female beastman assistant nearby displayed her displeasure at his words—could this cause a problem?
"Please be precise. They're worse than beasts. It's offensive to the listening beasts, 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 strange but 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-declaring 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 can enter peacefully."
Although we had prepared for possible violent conflict, neither Dane nor I felt confident about facing an unknown number of beastmen alone.
Beastmen were said to possess nearly twice the physical ability of regular soldiers, making them quite a formidable opponent.
Moreover, if violence erupted, peace negotiations would be effectively over, so our goal was to avoid using force as much as possible.
'If they intended to 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 beastman enter the room.
'Could it be, they're planning 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 was probably 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 relaxed their shoulders, while Dane and I, not understanding the situation, failed to comprehend.
'Ban, what's happening here?'
'I don't know either.'
To maintain some dignity, I casually crossed my arms while Dane tightly 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, once the matter is concluded, ensure their safe return. You know what happens if anything rude occurs?"
"Yes, we are aware."
The conversation was surprisingly casual for one between an independence group and a government 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 glance, Naomi 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 human were the cat ears on her head and a swaying cat tail between her hips.
When she smiled, her fangs were visible, but that's fairly common 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 and heat rising beside me, the warm indoor environment must have felt like a sauna to Dane, who was clad in heavy armor.
"Let's go right 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 can 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!"
Observing 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 conflict was imminent or expected... Most people would probably prefer not to encounter knights.
"The path here will take you right 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.'
Honestly, I had even planned for potential use of force if things went wrong in the beastmen village.
That's why I had brought along a mana saber and Dane was in heavy armor, carrying a significant amount of tension... but the friendly approach here was somewhat deflating.
Of course, as a knight dispatched by the Mage Knights, I was prepared to mercilessly cut down even a friendly beastman if negotiations failed and violence erupted.
"Hey, Ban."
"Try to keep quiet. I've agreed to speak on our behalf, so even if opinions differ, we'll discuss it privately later, and here..."
"No, it's not that... do you see that?"
Dane pointed to a few young beastmen who were wrestling each other or playing with balls made from rolled up tree branches.
At first glance, it seemed no different from children playing in a human village, 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 flicking as they rolled around or played with the ball.
"Stop! This is the beastmen's independence territory. 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 completely naked, only wearing belts to carry weapons 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 nonchalantly.
"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 prominently raised dick might be exposed, which would be risky.
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