7-9 minutes
Leisure Story: Village of Beastmen (1)
“Uh, um, hello!”
“…Hello!”
The young girl with Animal Ears greeted Enne, who was acting as usual, with a slightly nervous look on her face.
“I am Annie Gallad, daughter of Beast King Waldroy Gallad! May I ask your name?”
“…Nn, I’m Zaien, everyone calls me Enne, so please call me that.”
“Enne, right? Pleased to meet you! You have a very distinctive and pretty outfit! Is that from your local region, Enne-chan?”
Enne shook her head at the words of Annie, the young beastman girl, who looked intrigued when she saw Enne wearing a kimono.
“…Nmmm…only for Enne. Master prepared it for me.”
“Is that so? Master? Not your Dad?”
“…He’s also my father. But Enne is also Master’s sword, so it’s a bit complicated.”
“Sword? It’s a complicated family? Well, Enne-san, could it be that spending your days with your family is very difficult for you…?”
“…? Not really. I play a lot, learn a lot, and have fun every day. Sometimes I fight with monsters or something.”
“You fight monsters!?”
“…Nn, it’s Enne’s job. I’ve done a lot of fighting in the past. It’s hard work, but it’s also very rewarding.”
“Enne, at your age, you have already participated in the battlefield… I heard from my dad that there are some great kids in the world…”
I smiled at their conversation, which seemed to be going on and on and on, but I couldn’t help but laugh at their misunderstanding.
“Enne, when you talk to girls from other places, you have to be a little more precise, or they’ll misunderstand you.”
“…Mmm. It’s hard. I plan to speak a lot.”
If it was one of our friends, she would be able to convey everything she wanted to say because she was used to it, but Enne was by nature a person of few words.
Compared to the old days when she would only say a word or two, she definitely had improved her vocabulary, but even so, it would be difficult to have a conversation with her if she was not used to it.
I guess I should just watch her grow up step by step from now on.
We were currently in a guest house of the Beastmen’s Village.
As soon as we arrived at Beastmen’s Village, we were taken here and met up with the Beast King and his family, where we were welcomed like this.
Annie, who looked about the same age as Enne, was the Beast King’s only daughter, and it seemed that the Beast King had wanted her to meet Enne ever since he knew about her.
By the way, my wives, who were not participating in this conversation, were having a lot of fun talking with the Beast King’s wives.
They were talking about their husbands and their husbands’ hobbies, and since Beast King and I were not allowed to approach them, we evacuated to the young girls’ side.
Beast King and I felt a mysterious sympathy with each other that this kind of thing was common even though we were from different species.
Although we did not put it into words, I was sure that Beast King and I were thinking the same thing at that time.
“Oh, uh, you must be Demon Lord Yuki! Papa – my father has told me about you! He said you helped him a lot. So, thank you for helping my father!”
I smiled and replied to the Beast King’s daughter, who bowed her head as best she could.
“Oh, no problem, you’re welcome. But your father and I are war buddies. Since we fought with our backs to each other, there is no helping, no lending, no borrowing.”
Then Beast King Waldroy, who was with me, had an indescribable look on his face.
“I’m happy that you see me as a comrade-in-arms, but the results of that battle were so different that I’m not sure if we’re on the same footing.”
“No, no, no need to be modest there. Annie, your father and his friends were not afraid to attack a big, scary monster. They were brave enough to face someone who could have easily killed them if they made a wrong move.”
“Yeah… Dad, when you are at home, you don’t look that great at all when you are with Mom…”
His daughter looked a little impressed.
These words gave me a glimpse into the family life of the Beast King.
Hearing his daughter’s response, Beast King immediately added, “I’d like to mention that I was the one who was cutting and dicing the monsters by himself… Well, it’s true that Dad is no match for Mom, but that’s because Mom is strong. Compared to Mom, I’m not afraid of any monster.”
Annie replied with an understanding look on her face, “I see… She’s strong… How about your dad, Enne?”
Yuki replied on behalf of Enne, “We’re pretty much the same. I’m not very strong against my wives either, and they often get mad at me for doing whatever I want. But, Annie, that’s just the way men are. Right, Beast King?”
“Right, I understand it well.” (Beast King)
“Oh, you can say whatever you want. I’m just telling you that as your wife, you have responsibilities. And who is scarier than a monster?”
“That’s right, Onii-san! In general, We are only angry with Onii-san because you deserve it.”
“Well, Annie-chan, men tend to do a lot of reckless things, so we women have to support them. That’s what being a wife is all about.”
The three wives who had been talking with each other earlier entered our conversation.
The name of Beast King’s wife was Fanora Gallad. Since she was from [Fox Race], she was a beautiful woman with fox ears and a fox tail.
Annie also had fox ears and tail, so she apparently inherited the characteristics of her mother’s side.
“Is that so? It’s true that beast boys are violent, a little bit naughty, and messed up…but are grown men like that too?” (Annie)
“Men are not so different between adult and child stage. I’m sure that when Annie-chan gets older, she’ll understand that.”
“Well, Annie-chan is so cute, I’m sure the boys are trying their best to look good in front of you. They also want to tease you to get your attention.”
“Mhmm… Boys approaching my daughter… I’ll have to have my men scrutinize them…” (Beast King)
“You. If you really use your men for such a thing, I will be very angry. Please don’t say embarrassing things in front of our guests.” (Fanora)
“What, no, but…” (Beast King)
The Beast King looked pitiful as Fanora-san made an exasperated face.
I know how you feel, Beast King.
My girls were also super beautiful, so I was sure they would attract strange things… I had to be careful, too, even though they were still safe now that they were not out in the open.
“…When Illuna-chan and the others grow up, Onii-san is likely to do the same thing…since Illuna-chan and the others are so cute, it’s likely that strange people will come by sooner or later, and you’re thinking right now that you have to be careful too.”
How did she know what I was thinking with such pinpoint accuracy?
“Oh, you just gave me a starry-eyed look for a moment. There is no fooling us, Master. I’ll tell you one thing, there’s a difference between taking good care of someone and being overprotective, okay?” (Lyuu)
“…Re, really…”
“Oh, Lyuu, you said a good thing. Beast King should also keep that in mind. If you, the King of the Beastmen, take action, there will always be an impact, big or small.”
“…Mm-hmm.”
At the words from the ladies, the Beast King and I looked at each other and simultaneously overflowed with bitter laughter.
