“I don’t mind if you want to watch the soldiers’ training session up close, but some of them might say rude things not fit for the ears of a young lady such as yourself. Depending on how severe it is, I may be able to punish them, but I want you to be prepared for just how terrible their impressions of the nobility are.”
“It’s fine. If anyone does anything to me, Shinki and Spica won’t stand for it. Since they’re soldiers, I assume none of them will cry if they get roughed up a bit, right?”
I knew Shinki was strong, so I doubted he would be easy to beat.
If any of the soldiers not only disrespected an aristocrat but then also lost in a fight with her servant, they’d lose face completely. I had no intention of causing a huge scandal, but I wanted confirmation that reasonable self-defense wouldn’t be held against me.
“I don’t think any of them are foolish enough to go as far as raising a hand against a child, but in the event they do prove so foolish, you needn’t go easy on them.”
He seems confident that his faith in his subordinates isn’t misplaced. Although, I doubt that any of the soldiers would actually strike a child.
“Now then, please come this way.”
The lieutenant led us into the training arena, which I realized on closer inspection was more like a plot of undeveloped land than a proper sports field. There was really nothing but flat, bare earth.
It looks to be around the size of three football fields, by my best guess?
The sports fields at the small, rural junior high school I’d attended in my previous life had contained a 400-meter track, a baseball field, a soccer field, and two tennis courts, but this arena was larger than that.
Here and there, soldiers were paired off sparring together.
Magnificent pillars of fire blasted into the air in places, while miniature tornadoes sprung up in others. In yet another area, I saw a person sent flying with such force that it was almost humorous to witness…
Oh, look at that!
“That beastperson is a member of the wing tribe. The wing tribe’s ability to fly makes them indispensable in our army’s forces.”
Oh, right, that was their name! I associated them with their animal ancestor and have been thinking of them as “feliance beastpeople,” but their tribe’s proper name is actually “the wing tribe.”
The wing tribe beastperson was facing off against another beastperson who, although I’d never met one of them before, I could identify immediately.
With that long face, shimmering scales, and thick, muscular tail… He’s got to be a member of the lizard tribe!
“Even the lizard tribe, renowned for possessing fighting ability rivaling that of the large tiger tribe and the bear tribe, can’t do much if their enemy takes to the air and flies away.”
Beastpeople are really amazing! Although their bodies are almost identical to humans, they also clearly display the characteristics of their animal ancestors. It’s undoubtedly due to God’s power, but this feels like one of the great mysteries of life!
I want to see them up close!
“I would like to speak with that lizard tribe beastperson!”
“…That’s fine with me, but I have to warn you that he can be quite gruff and a bit intimidating…”
The most intimidating creatures I’d met so far had been the ogres. Not including monsters, I think Grandpa Gouche was the next most imposing and stern-faced person I knew, and I wasn’t afraid of him.
“Is he scarier than an ogre?” I asked.
“No, ogres are hands-down the scarier of the two.” The lieutenant grinned wryly, clearly never imagining he’d be asked to compare beastpeople to ogres.
“In that case, it’ll be fine!”
Honestly, I was more scared of the emperor than the ogres at the time, anyway!
Convinced by my response, the lieutenant promised to call the lizard tribe beastperson over once their match was done.
From a safe distance away, we watched the two beastpeople battle it out.
The wing tribe beastperson repeatedly divebombed the lizard tribe beastperson, attacking unpredictably from the sky.
But the lizard tribe beastperson countered by leaping unbelievably high, using his powerful tail to knock the sword from his opponent’s hand, and while he was distracted, grabbing the wing tribe beastperson in a headlock, forcing him to land.
I could feel the impact accompanying the loud CRASH! as the wing tribe beastperson hit the ground from all the way over here.
“Looks like the winner has been determined,” the lieutenant muttered almost to himself before raising his voice to call the two of them over.
Why did he also call the wing tribe beastperson over?
“These are Dayu of the wing tribe and Barg of the lizard tribe.”
Up close, the wings of the wing tribe beastperson really did look just like an angel’s. They were incredibly beautiful. However, the bushy fur on Dayu’s tail was short, like that of a fox in summer. No matter how you looked at it, it was clear that he’d trimmed it short, perhaps for ease of movement.
It’s such a shame!
“This is an important guest from the Kingdom of Gaché; please treat her with respect,” the lieutenant said, introducing me in the barest terms possible.
“My name is Nefertima Osphe; nice to meet you.”
“…What business does some aristocrat’s kid have here?” The lizard tribe beastperson, Barg, pinned me with a cold glare.
His face, which was longer than a human’s, had no eyebrows, and his eyes were thin and slanted, making him seem every bit as intimidating as the lieutenant had warned. However, the dark gray scales peeking out on all the visible areas of his Shinki-like chiseled physique, such as his arms and neck, were enough to give him a fierce aura all on their own.
And what immediately drew my eye was his tail! It was thicker at the base and tapered out towards the end.
I really want to try touching that tail!
“Your tail, can I…”
Oh, crap! What am I doing?! I almost blurted out that I wanted to touch his tail! It would be wildly inappropriate to make such a request to someone I’ve only just met for the first time, right?!
“My tail?”
“Uh… No, it’s nothing. You’re just the first member of the lizard tribe I’ve had the opportunity to meet, so I was hoping to speak to you for just a moment, is all…”
I think I managed to evade the topic successfully just now, but he definitely picked up that I said the word “tail.” Please forget you ever heard that!
“I see, so you’ve come to laugh at me, have you?”
“Absolutely not! I wanted to view your amazing tail—no, I mean your amazing fighting ability!—up close!”
I have got to get ahold of myself! No matter how enticing his tail may be, I have to stop letting that word slip unbidden from my traitorous mouth!
“I don’t know who you heard about me from, but I’m well aware that they all love to gossip about how hideous I am behind my back.”
“That’s just a difference in sensibilities. I wouldn’t bother concerning myself with what such people think if I were you,” I said.
“Sensibilities?”
Barg didn’t have eyebrows, but I could tell he was furrowing his brow from how his eyes narrowed.
Observing him, it occurred to me that he didn’t have scales on his face or fingertips. It was probably an evolutionary trait to make complex movements easier. Rather than his entire body being covered in scales like a true lizard, it seemed likely that he only had them in strategic places where they would provide additional protection against attacks.
“Some people think wyverns are cool, while others think they’re scary. I think it’s probably the same with how people view you. People tend to fear that which is different. Some will put down those they fear in a foolish attempt at reassuring themselves. Personally, I think it’s the best policy to write such people off as a lost cause and ignore them entirely,” I said.
“I see… And what do you think of Barg, young lady?” the wing tribe beastperson Dayu asked, causing me to pause to consider how to respond.
If I answer completely honestly, he’ll probably be horrified and think I’m a shameless freak. But something tells me that even if I try to smooth out the edges, my real feelings will be seen straight through.