“…That actually wasn’t so bad.”
Daux nodded in agreement with Marie’s observation, and I sighed in relief. My guess had been correct. The two of them had been biased against foods they held pre-conceived ideas about based on smell and texture.
“Right?! The cooks at the imperial palace put a lot of effort into all the dishes they prepare, so of course they’ll be delicious!” I chirped.
In my country, most dishes tended to be lightly seasoned, but in the Linus Empire, they tended to favor bold seasonings. Perhaps for this reason, their bread and salad courses were simpler, perfect for eating between main courses to cleanse the palate.
For the rest of the meal, all three of us sampled all the dishes prepared for us, sharing our impressions of which were delicious and which weren’t to our taste.
I ate so much that it felt like my stomach was bulging by the end of the meal.
After a short break to digest it all while sipping a cup of steaming tea, I decided it would be a shame to miss out on any chance to play, so I challenged Seigo and Rikusei to a game of tag. Perhaps due to the vast difference in our physical abilities, however, I couldn’t catch either of them.
It could just be because they outnumber me two to one… I’ll have Daux and Marie join my team!
“Daux, over there!”
“Neema, I can’t!”
“Woof!”
We would have to really use our brains to outsmart the kobolds if we wanted to catch them.
I had Daux chase after Seigo and Marie keep an eye on Rikusei’s movements. We deliberately separated the two so they couldn’t work together, then waited for them to slow down to turn before pouncing.
“I got you, Seigo!”
“Woof!”
Seigo didn’t seem the least bit disappointed about being caught because his tail was wagging happily, and he rubbed his cheek affectionately against mine.
“You’re really incredible!” Daux said, praising Seigo.
Although I had never seen their full abilities in action, I knew that as high kobolds, this wasn’t the extent of what they were capable of. I strongly suspected they’d adjusted their speed and skill to match ours because they knew this was just a game.
While I was enthusiastically praising Seigo and calling him a “Good boy!” Rikusei rushed over as if saying, “Me too! I’m a good boy too!”
I passed Seigo over to Daux so I could give Rikusei a big hug.
“I got you too, Rikusei!”
I was rubbing my cheeks against Rikusei when one of the adults called out that it was about time to get going.
Once our attendants had used magic to instantly remove all traces of our exuberant play from our clothes, we piled back into the carriage. I’d wiped myself out running around playing, so the instant the carriage began moving, sleepiness stole over me. At my side, Daux was already fast asleep.
Daux’s face is so cute when he’s sleeping that I want to stay awake and look at it, but I’m so tired…
“…ma. Lady Neema, please wake up.”
“…I don’t wanna…”
“We’ve arrived at army headquarters. If you don’t wake up, you’ll be left behind to nap in the carriage.”
You don’t joke about leaving a man behind!
I shot violently awake, shocking Marie in the process.
“Paul, I think your name was? You certainly are talented when it comes to dealing with Neema!”
“Thank you kindly for your praise.”
Huuuuh? Is that something you thank someone for saying?
Perhaps because I was still half-asleep, I was having a hard time following the exchange between the two of them.
“Come on, let’s get going already!”
At Marie’s urging, I climbed out of the carriage and found myself inside a massive fortress. It seemed to be around the same size as the imperial palace. While I was marveling at the tremendous presence of the fortress, at my side, Daux mumbled something unconsciously out of sheer wonder.
“This is Fort Eileed…”
“Fort Eileed? It’s not the army’s headquarters?” I asked, confused that his statement seemed to contradict what I’d previously been told.
“This fortress, which currently houses the army’s headquarters, was built long ago when our country was still at war. It was named after the emperor who was reigning at the time of its construction.”
I see. So it’s an important historical site as well, huh? Perhaps the fact that it was used in actual wars has something to do with its imposing atmosphere.
“We’ve been eagerly awaiting your arrival, Prince Dauxrouge. Lady Nefertima and Lady Marie, as well. It’s my honor to welcome you all to the Linus Imperial Army’s Headquarters.”
The person who executed a beautiful bow as he greeted us was none other than the commander-in-chief I’d previously met at our welcome banquet. Today, he wasn’t dressed in formal wear; he was wearing a simple military uniform that prominently displayed his ears and tail. The fur was light brown, bordering on cream, but depending on the light, it also gave hints of white and gold—a very unusual but enchanting color. The shape of his ears and tail were distinctly feline but not distinct enough to point to a specific animal. I’d heard that both the grand tiger tribe and the small tiger tribe contained so much mixed blood that it was likely that many people could no longer pinpoint a single dominant animal ancestor.
“We’re very much looking forward to the tour!”
“Perry told me all about how you’ve somehow charmed all the soldiers stationed at the imperial palace.”
The soldiers’ innate good natures had played a big part in that; they hadn’t been able to hold a grudge against an innocent child based on their dislike of the nobility. I tried explaining that to the commander-in-chief, but he responded that my personality must’ve had something to do with it as well.
Please tell Barg all about what a stellar personality you think I have, sir!
The commander-in-chief announced that he would give us a tour around the army headquarters, an offer we were happy to accept. The unit leader was grumbling about something to himself again, but all it took was one word from the commander-in-chief to shut him right up.
We followed after the commander-in-chief in a slow-moving, ambling pack, observing the many soldiers bustling here and there, busy at work. Of course, most of them were beastpeople. I got the impression that the majority had cat ears, but there were also plenty of dog ears and rabbit ears as well.
To my surprise, there were also some people that, despite looking almost indistinguishable from humans, were apparently beastpeople.
“What kind of beastperson is that man?” I asked.
“He’s a member of the snake tribe. Most soldiers from the snake tribe are ‘shadows.’”
I asked what he meant by “shadows,” and the answer was “spies.”
If I remembered correctly, back in the Kingdom of Gaché, I’d heard the king’s private soldiers referred to as “shadows” a time or two, but in the Linus Empire, “shadows” seemed to be more like our country’s Intelligence Department.
The traits the snake tribe inherited from their animal ancestor were impressive.
“Members of the snake tribe possess different senses than other beastpeople. It’s hard to put into words, but from what I understand, they can taste scents on their tongue and pick up on the heat given off by living creatures.”
Those are due to the extra organs, particularly the Jacobson organ and pit organ, right? If I remember correctly, other animals besides snakes also possess them, but either way, they’re undoubtedly two of the highest-performance sensors that exist in the animal world.