When leaving the store after negotiating the price, we resumed our stroll around the royal capital.
âNow then, where shall we go next?â
ââN, you see~ snacks~!ââ
âOh my? Are you hungry?â
ââN~? Hungry~?ââ
âI see, then shall we eat something light?â
ââYea!ââ
Although I said that, there are no stores that sell something to appease your stomach like sweets shop or coffee shop in this world.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âWhat to do......â
ââDorayaki~ââ
âEh, you are fine with dorayaki?â
ââYea!ââ
I see, dorayaki, huh? If itâs dorayaki then I have pre-made ones, letâs find some quiet place to eat~ While thinking suchââ
At that moment, I heard something akin to a loverâs quarrel coming from ahead of us.
âIsnât it fine, Carna.â
âNo, it isnât! Release me!â
It seems that a male, grey dog-man or maybe a wolf-man is obstinately trying to court a blonde, cute-looking girl. Well, she quite clearly rejected him, though.
The Beastmen of Aetherdia are a race with human appearances and animal ears and tails, so they look close to a race of cosplayers to me.
There are apparently Beastmen with animal head and limbs too, but that the result of Beastmen specific skill called âBeastificationâ. This Beastification skill has stages, and at the first stage, they turn into human-looking, bipedaling beasts. They apparently turn completely into beasts at the second stage. The sense of hearing and smell during Beastification become sharper and their physical strength increases, so the skill is commonly used during a battle.
Therefore, most of the beastman are in their human forms within the towns.
I would like to witness the moment of transformation from nearby once, but thatâs an impossible task without any beastmen friends.
âKya!â
âOopsy.â
âI, Iâm sorry.â
âNo, are you all right? You are not injured, are you?â
âI, I am fine.â
The girl the beastman was approaching stumbled towards me, so I promptly caught her.
Eh, oh my? Those ears...... arenât they little longer and pointer?
I was a bit curious, so when I used Appraisal, the girlâs race came up as Half-elf.
Elves, the indispensable race in fantasy. The characteristic fair-skin and long ears, a race that excels in magic, was it? This girl seems to be a mix of human and that very elven race.
âOy, you! Donât go touching Carna as you please!â
â!......â
The beastman tried to seize the half-elfâs, Carnaâs, arm while shouting. That moment, a frightened expression floated on the girlâs face.
Seeing that, I avoided the beastmanâs hand and hid the girl behind my back.
âWha! What are you doing! Donât get in our way!â
âNo, the girl seems not to like it.â
âThatâs unrelated to you, isnât it!â
The anger in the beastmanâs voice increased even further.
âHey. Erm...... Carna-san? Is he your friend, a lover or...... someone close to you? Have I done something unnecessary?â
âN, no! That person is just an acquaintance at maximum! Heâs a bother who makes advances on me whenever we meet! I always try to clearly reject him, but he quite doesnât give up...... Today, heâs more pushy than usual. I canât win when it comes to strength after all. But, itâs not like I can use magic inside the town......â
Yeah, heâs already close to being a stalker.
Nevertheless, Carna-san seems like a docile child, but she might be surprisingly a strong-willed one. She intended to intercept using magic depending on the surroundings too.
Now then, now then, what should I do about this? I thought of avoiding troublesome things, but itâs not like I can leave this matter aside now that I got involved in it.
âShe said that you are bothering her, donât you think that you should give up?â
âWhat is an outsider who butted into our matter saying!â
âN~ Isnât the reason an outsider, me, butted in because your actions are intolerable?â
âWhatâd you say! So noisy!!â
First, I tried persuading the beastman so the things wouldnât become more serious, but he has completely lost his cool and turned deaf ear to me. Far from that, Iâm certain that he will result to violence at this rate.
âOy, Carna! It was me who took care of you just when you became an adventurer!â
Oh my? The two are apparently of the same occupation.
Looking at this beastman, I recall the person who got knocked out in the Shirinâs guild~ What was his name again? Umm... ahh, thatâs right! Dominic! Woah~ how nostalgic~ I wonder what happened to that person in the end?
âYou have just put on a patronizing air on your own! Donât say that you are expecting gratitude in return!â
âHaah~!? Stop joking around, Carna!!â
âIâm not joking around. I mean, I wasnât taught a single thing by you.â
ââAh, this is not the time to be recalling the past.
I just left them alone for a little bit and the twoâs dispute heated up even more.
âHey, hey, you two calm down a little.â
âBut~â
Carna-san stopped when I called out, but she had a dissatisfied expression.
ââDefeat~?ââ
âNow, now, Allen, Elena, you mustnât.â
ââUniyu~ââ
âThere, calm down.â
Allen and Elena were quiet, but they entered battle mode after recognizing the beastman as an enemy, so I had to soothe them in a hurry.
âEhh!? H, huh? Are these children your company?â
âYeah, thatâs right. They are my younger siblings.â
Carna-san didnât seem to notice Allen and Elena who clung to my legs up until now, so she suddenly leaked out a surprised voice.
âThereâs quite a large age difference, isnât there? ââWhat am I saying, thatâs not it! These children said something about defeating, didnât they!â
âAhh...... thatâs right. But, I would be happy if you pretended you didnât hear that.â
âEh, but......â
Although Carna-san was startled by the existence of the two, she apparently heard their remark very clearly.
But, is it an essential quality of adventurer not to miss any information? I should follow her example!
âOy! Donât be ignoring me now!â
Ah, I completely forgot about him.
âSorry, sorry. So, have you decided to give up?â
âI told you! Why do you have to be concerned about that! This is Carnaâs and my problem, ainât it!!â
âAh~......â
Yeah, somehow...... we have returned back to the beginning~
âIn the first place, because you have butted in, things got complicated even though it went so smoothly!!â
âEven if you say that......â
What âcomplicatedâ is he talking about? I donât think that things would go smoothly for him and Carna-san if I wasnât in this place either......
âDuel me!â
âNo, I donât think itâs a good idea to propose a duel to a woman......â
âNot Carna, you, Iâm talking to you!â
âHaah? With me!? Why!?â
No, no, no, how did it turn out like this!?
âItâs all your fault! Take responsibility and have a match with me!â
Ehã¼ã¼ã¼ã¼ã¼!?