NOVEL NEXT Chapter 30.3
“We’ll have to thank him the next time we see him.”
“Yeah!”
They were grateful to him not only for having helped them at the border, but also for having organized something like this. Although he would surely be puzzled. Since, of course, he didn’t drop the magazine.
“Well, what does it say?”
“Uh, what does it say, what does it say…? Let’s see, the Beastmen’s takes on love and marriage that you won’t hear anywhere else… Coordination for a marriage-oriented relationship… Oh, this is great information! With this information, finding a Beastwoman as a wife will be like wringing a baby’s hand!”
“Really?!”
The two were excited to get their hands on a magazine they found before entering the city, which arguably contained the answer to all their problems. It was full of exactly the kind of information Bash wanted.
“Let’s see, first of all, what is the current trend of beastwomen?”
“Hmm…”
They read the information in more detail. Their expressions were serious, and if an uninformed person had seen them, they would have compared them to military strategists thinking of a way to reverse a desperate situation in the military council.
With the magazine in hand, Bash’s future was bright.
■■■
Lycant, the capital of the Beastmen Country. Although it was called the capital, it was a relatively new city. After the war, it took a year to dismantle the old fortress and rebuild it so that people could live in it. It took two years for people to move in and start new lives. Everything was new and everything was clean, but the city still felt somewhat empty.
Beastmen wanted to live in such a city. The royal species set up their residences, followed by the upper class, the aristocracy of the Beastmen race. The middle-ranking species, who worshipped them, and the lower-ranking species, who had lost their homes, followed. The Beastmen’s higher species who remained in the Blue Forest offered generous support to those who wanted to live on Lycant and helped them.
Why did they insist on staying here? It was because this was a sacred place to them. It was the cradle of the Lycant religion, which they believed in, and the place where the Sacred Tree stood. It was a special place for the Beastmen.
As those were their circumstances, they were relatively tolerant of outsiders. Although it was a sacred place, Beastmen burned with passion to restore their people. The wedding ceremony of the third princess, Inuella, was part of this. The capital, Lycant, had become a wonderful city in the three years after the war. It had become a place worthy of being called the Beastmen’s Holy Land. The ceremony would serve to unveil such a place. Royalty and nobility of each race were invited, and publicity was widely disseminated to the public in each country. On the occasion of the wedding of the third princess, those who were homeless were offered free lodging, those who were hungry were offered free food, and those who were unemployed were offered something to do. All there was to do was celebrate. It was a party.
So the guards guarding Lycant were sensitive to the commotion in the city, but tolerant of those who came. Humans, elves, dwarves, lizardmen, harpies, fairies and even succubi and demons were invited into the city unconditionally. Except for the orcs.
“H-Hey…” A soldier standing at the entrance to the city almost shouted when he saw a green-skinned man with long fangs in the crowd coming from the street. But he could not utter another word.
This was because the orc was dressed in impeccable attire.
First of all, it was an open kimono, a garment usually worn by the inhabitants of the Beastmen Country. It was not made of cloth, but of fur, probably of aoshima wolf, but it seemed strangely to match the orc’s green skin. In addition, the bark of a kuten tree wrapped around his waist like a sash, and the sword on his back was wrapped in the skin of a scaly rabbit. And on his feet were shoes woven from the vines of the great eater plant. That was not all. He also had a flowery scent, though only faintly. He did not have the smell of orcs. He was bathed in water and scented.
This was Beastmen’s formal attire. They usually dressed in materials such as hemp and cotton, but during important ceremonies, they dressed their entire bodies in animals as a sign of thanks to the Hunt God.
“H-Hey, you…”
The soldiers were speechless.
Don’t let the orcs through. In the name of our ancient corps of heavy dogs!
But had they ever seen orcs so perfectly dressed? Had orcs ever adapted so well to the Beastmen’s culture? No. On the contrary, not even humans or elves cared to wear the Beastmen’s formal dress. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but it was certainly a source of joy to Beastmen that the leading figures of each country adapted to the culture of their race.
Such was the attire of this orc. It was obvious at first glance that he had come all the way from orc country to participate in the Beastmen’s ceremony. He even wore perfume, in consideration of the excessively efficient Beastmen’s nose.
“May I come in?”
“Ah, y-yes!”
The orcs would not pass. This was a feeling shared by the soldiers, though it was not said publicly. Even the soldiers on guard at the gate were willing to defend the place at the cost of their lives if orcs came.
But when they were so perfectly dressed, when they showed such care… The soldier could do nothing, could say nothing, and had no choice but to salute the orc.