In the end, their
self-introductions were
done along the way as they left the annihilated village
since
there
was
no guarantee that the comrades of those soldiers wouldn’t
come
rushing back if they had stayed
in
that place.
Even though the
beastwoma
n terribly regretted abandoning the village
as well as
the corpses of the villagers
whom
she had spent all her life together with, when
Karito
explained that the cohorts of the soldiers
whom
he had slaughtered might come looking for their group members who
haven’t
returned, she immediately agreed.
The girl,
who
was called Rina by the beastwoman, was being carried on her back. Even after she had recovered from the
abdominal
injury
with
the
help of the
revival medicine, she was
still
exhausted physically and mentally from witnessing the people who
were
close
to her
being massacred right in front of her eyes. In addition, she, herself, was almost killed too. This experience was simply too cruel for a girl this young.
“I haven’t
given
my name to the savior of my younger sister yet, have I? I’m
Reona
. Please treat me well.” The beastwoman named Reona skillfully switched the hand
which
was supporting Rina,
who
was sleeping at her back
to
her left hand, and held out her right hand to Karito,
who
was walking on her right side.
There were several saddled horses tied to the fences along the village that looked like they belong to the soldiers. However, Reona seemed to have no experience in horseriding,
needless
to mention Karito. Presently, they were walking
along
a highway, opposite from the direction
that
Karito had
come from
.
Karito removed his thick gloves in
a
hurry, and grasped Reona’s right hand tightly with
a
trembling hand. Reona’s hand was a little rough from all the outside activities, yet it was
still
slender enough as a woman’s hand… Above all, it was warm.
It wasn’t a dream or
a
hallucination; it was the feeling of a genuine
human’s
skin.
As I shook hands and talked with her like this, I’m certain that this was reality. When I had
realised that
, the
corners
of my eyes, and
my
nose turned hot immediately.
“Wait, why are you bursting into tears all of sudden?!” Reona exclaimed.
“So-Sorry, but it has been
a really
long time since
I’ve come
into contact with someone else like this… Urgh…” Karito sniffled.
“I never thought
that
you’d be
someone who was easily moved to
tears
like this…” The beastwoman snorted.
When looking at Karito’s
current
figure; first of all, while he has a large build, his muscles had tightened up his whole body. His body that looked lean at
a
glance was actually quite muscular,
and
the reinforced armor w
ith a
forest camouflage pattern covered his body like a space suit used for outer space work. Except
for
his right hand, for which he had just taken off his glove, the only exposed part of
his
body was only his neck and above.
His overall face was somewhat sharp, with short black hair.
His
hair and eyes
were
black,
typical
racial characteristics of
the
Japanese. Karito’s face was nicely arranged in its own way, although seven out of ten people would have the impression that he
looked
unsociable. At a glance, he had features that
made
it hard for others to approach him.
In reality, Karito’s face and stature back on earth was quite dull. However, inside the game, it was natural to change
one’s appearance
to one’s liking. Hence, this figure was the real Karito now, so he had no choice but to accept it.
At first he felt uncomfortable with the appearance of his avatar in the game that
became
his very own self, but, after spending a year with this body, he had
become
used to it despite his dislike.
Humans are quick to adapt after all.
“In the first place, it has been several years since
I’ve held
a girl’s hand after all…” Karito mumbled.
[ED: Creepy ._.]
“Ah, I would be grateful if you could release my hand soon? It is quite difficult to carry her with one hand.” Reona said.
“Uoh! So-Sorry! But, you shouldn’t strain yourself too much. After all, you are still injured by the blow before. It is okay to let me carry the child.” Karito offered.
Remembering the scene where she was blown to the ground
in a way
flashier than a Kung Fu movie, Karito called out to her, worried about Reona from the bottom of his heart.
“You
don’t
need to worry about it. I can’t make my benefactor do such a thing, and Rina
is
my younger sister after all.” Reona waved it off.
“Is that so… My name is
Watarai
Karito. Please treat me kindly too.” The man stated.
“Watarai Karito? What a strange name.” The beastwoman commented.
“Ah, more or less… Watarai is my surname, and Karito is my given name.” He explained.
“Ah, so
it’s
like that. But,
it’s
quite unusual around this area. Although, I’ve heard that humans with surnames live in the imperial capital, or in the surrounding regions nearby. Did Karito come from around there?” Reona asked.
“No, it wasn’t like that. In the first place, I
don’t even
know anything about this world at all.” Karito sighed.
“…It seems like there
are
a lot of
complicated circumstances
.” Reona replied.
“Exactly. It was extremely confusing, or I should say everything was lacking in information? I wasn’t even sure why I was here in the first place. I was simply in the dark.” Karito explained.
“
Well
, don’t worry about the details.
Besides
, it will not change the fact that Karito is Rina’s and my benefactor.” The beastwoman huffed.
“Well, I’m saved. To be frank, I
don’t
know how to begin explaining it… However, are you really okay?
You’ve
just experienced something like that, so don’t force yourself. If you like, you can depend on me.” The man stated.
“…Thank you. Unlike your face, you’re actually very kind.” Reona smiled.
Unbefitting of my face, huh. Karito revealed a bitter smile, remembering his own face
back on earth
.
“It’s not like that. I only wanted an opportunity to talk as much as possible. Because I
have
always been alone until now…
It’s
amazing to think that
it’s
fun to
just
talk like this for the first time.” He stopped talking, and stared at Rina’s
sleeping f
ace
leaning
against her elder sister’s back alternately. “Family… I can understand the feeling someone important being robbed as well.”
“Is
Karito’s
family also..?” The beastwoman asked hesitantly.
“It was an accident. They had a frontal collision with
a
car driven by
a
drunkard.
It’s
a common story. Furthermore, the other driver also died together with them, so I couldn’t even have my revenge.”
Ever since the bloodbath with the bullies, the sadness of losing his parents swelled up in his stomach. On top of losing the object of
his
revenge, the fury of losing his destination might have been the reason for Karito to spontaneously fight back
against
those people in the act of persecuting himself in the process,
or so Karito analysed
.
At that point, a slight discrepancy of understanding was born between Karito and Reona. What Reona had in mind as a car was a horse-drawn carriage, and that a frontal crash of two carriages seemed unreal. Reona puzzled over Karito’s words,
only
catching the outline of the matter through the nuance of the conversation so far.
In other words, this youth who was her benefactor had lost someone important to him in unreasonable ways too.
“You have your own
hardships
too, huh…” Reona sighed.
“It’s a story that happens all the time. In fact, this kind of story was all over the place… But, is your body really alright? You have been attacked by such force that it wouldn’t be strange to die if you
were
reckless…” I knew it was impolite, but I scanned Reona’s body from the top to the bottom.
There
were
scratches here and there, but it is such a wonder that there are no serious wounds like bruises or bone fractures in sight.
“Of course! No matter what, I am of the Garm tribe, a proud daughter of Fenrir! Before, I wasn’t able to move for a little bit when I completely received the strike, but our body isn’t weak like
a human’s
.”
Garm means hunting hound, and that Fenrir is from the Norse
mythology
? Karito searched out the relevant articles from the sea of material that he
had
gathered widely from the net.
Reona stuck out her chest proudly while carrying her little sister. Her
breasts,
which were
only wrapped with
a piece of
frayed,
ragged
cloth, shook a little.
Counting off the Karito who spends 70% of his life one-sidedly as a shut-in, and the fact that
a
few moments ago, he had just planned and executed the killing of a few people, Karito is
an
extremely healthy young man. He was unable to tear his eyes away from the voluptuous swelling
which
shakes
with
even the slightest movement once he set his eyes on it.
Looking from close proximity, it is clear that the ragged cloth couldn’t completely cover her breasts. It only covered the top half
of those
rocket shaped swellings, whereas the bottom half was left exposed to the outside air and Karito’s sight, revealing healthily tanned wheat-coloured skin.
Her lower body
was wrapped with
a
similar ragged cloth too. The gray colored cloth didn’t have enough width, and only covered till the joint of her thigh and the root of her golden tail. Whenever she took a step, the most important triangle zone almost peeped out frequently. Karito’s line of sight too, frequently
went
there. It
was
certainly a region of fascinating allure.
And because he was formerly a bullied child, for Karito who didn’t even experience a proper conversation with a
female
classmate, he didn’t have the skills to enjoy the body of
a
beautiful girl with his eyes without being noticed by the other party .
[ED: Creepy ._.]
(
This… If
I leaned back a little bit, I can absolutely
see
the
completely
exposed bum from the back… Rather,
the
underside of her
breasts are
unbelievable.
They don’t
hang down at all, and the tip points up proudly.
It’s
the first time
I’ve seen
something like this other than inside an eroge. What on earth is packed inside that?)
“Despite your curt face, you are unexpectedly easy to understand. Your eyes are becoming bloodshot.” Reona said, amused.
“Yes!” Karito yelled, embarrassed.
( ゜∀゜)o彡°Breasts！( ゜∀゜)o彡°Breasts！Her breasts, buttocks and thighs! Karito was desperately
trying to keep
himself from cheering from the bottom of his heart, but it
seemed
that it was pretty obvious from the
point of view of
the side
who
was
being
stared at.
With
regards to the frozen Karito, Reona, who
had
made the opposite gender embarrassed from their own passionate stare, did not attempt to slap him, nor
did she shake
from agitation. Instead,
she
smiled and prodded him with her elbow jokingly.
“Rest assured
that
I have always been stared at like that, and it’s my nature
for it to not
feel bad
at
being stared
this
way. Because from the perspective of the males around me, it would mean that I am an excellent woman. In fact, it feels like
something I can be proud of
.”
“Isn’t this a premeditated crime! Is there no better decent
clothing
out there!? To be honest,
with
common sense, that style of appearance is too much of a temptation to the eyes!” Karito yelled.
“Eh, I like it this way since
it’s
easy to move
in
. Plus, it’s a tradition of the Garm tribe to celebrate the [Moonlight Night ceremony] where
men
and women dress alike. By the way, what do you mean by [common sense]?” Reona asked.
[TLC:the author is trying to say that Reona is asking Karito the meaning of common sense. It seems such words didn’t exist in Garm tribe]
With the level of this civilization, it can’t be helped… No, it isn’t something that can’t be helped, but let’s just say that I could understand it.
“By the way, what is this [Moonlight Night Ceremony]?” Karito questioned.
“In the Gram tribe, when we reach 12 years old, on the first night of the full moon, our on other set of ears and tail that
are
the characteristic of the tribe, as well as our bodies, will grow quickly. We name such a day as the [Moonlight Night Ceremony]. If the tail and ears have grown safely, then that person will be treated the same as an adult from that day on.” The beastwoman explained.
“Hm? Is the reason why the animal ears and tails hasn’t grown on
Rina
because she
isn’t
12 years old yet?” Karito asked.
“That is right. She is 11 years old this year.” Reona nodded.
[TL: wait, did you mean by another year our loli will become a busty onee-chan? *cheers]
“I see, so if she
reaches
12 years old, she will
have
a nice body
and
animal ears huh…” He looked at Reona’s figure once again.
He was looking forward to it. He was unusually looking forward to the future!
[ED: Creep ._. Ultra creepy.]
“I will say it first. Even though you are our benefactor, I will not let you make a move
on
Rina!” Reona glared at him.
“Sorry, I will restrain myself.” Karito apologised immediately.
“You really are a strange fellow.” She stared at me strangely.
Taking
into
account my behaviour, just as what Reona
had
said… Being rather bipolar, no, am I really kind of emotionally unstable?
“Sorry, I was too happy to have someone to talk
to
that I
got too excited.
..” Karito sighed.
I calmed myself down. I took a deep breath while looking at the items list, choosing a plastic bottle of mineral water (Effect : small stamina recovery), and thought to cool my head with it.
On other hand, Reona opened her eyes wide
as
she looked at the bottle-like container that appeared out of nowhere suddenly.
[TL: From here on it was Reona POV]
(He has an iron stick that
I’ve
never seen before… This human is truly weird.)
[TL: down boy down, don’t think about perv stuff]
However, he doesn’t
look
like a bad human. Even though he was weird, at least he was much better than those humans
who
came to attack, and annihilated the people from the village where I was born
in
.
(
Those fellows
were probably from
the
Alwina Kingdom. But. why were they here..?)
The village
that
I was born and raised
in
belonged to
the
allied nations of Belcania. Belcania’s neighbouring nation was once a large country that took pride
in
their glory,
the
Alwina Kingdom.
Their history
began
from long ago… They ruled over the continent until 1000 years ago, but it was a story from the old days. Majority of their territory was divided into several countries,
while
the mere leftover pieces of land and political powers slowly dwindled from the siege of surrounding countries. At the very end, when a century passed, their long history was marked to an end. It
had
transformed into the descriptions of ruined countries that
existed
only in history books.
It was probably around 3 years ago when the situation completely changed. A new leader reigned over the royal family of the Alwina Kingdom that was on the verge of their downfall.
Reona also didn’t know about the
details
. Since she was young, aside from the village that she was born to and raised in, and the faraway Belcania Allied
Nations
where her father, who was a soldier, took her to, she didn’t know
of
any other world outside of her village. Listening to the small talk of her father
who
only returns to the village once every several months with a merchant
who
comes to trade was her only way to learn about the outside world. For Reona, talk about the situation of another country was like
something from a
different world.
However, the new leader was a wielder of great power, an existence loved by the spirits. She remembered her father telling her that he had annihilated multiple
nations’
forces that had gathered near the border, completely
erasing
the country called Alwina alone.
It was said that even the attack of magicians
which
were protected by the spirits more than a thousand times would not reach him, and no magic had ever had any effect on him. Even with tens of thousands of soldiers as his opponent, they couldn’t even taint his snow white clothes with a speck of dirt.
(Now that you mention it, that magician, too, is… But, it was probably
someone else
. Such a terrible monster wouldn’t be killed so easily like that.)
Reona’s father taught her how to fight with bare hands, concentrating the spirits from the surrounding
areas
to her fist to strike. However, the weak point of this fighting style
was
that when countered by a stronger magical attack, it will be neutralized. But, that point applies to all spirit magic as well.
The one attack that she
had put
all her strength into was blocked because the magician that visualized a glowing white figure was manipulating a concentrated and enormous magic power. But, it wasn’t
on
the level from the story I was told. …I think.
After all, such
an
existence didn’t have any reason to bring
only a mere
10 underlings to attack a remote village like this.
(Father may know something.)
It would be far to reach the city where the troops that father commands were stationed, but with the physical strength and legs of this queer benefactor, and mine, we could arrive there earlier than expected.
I need to report on the matters that have happened to father. It was the duty of those who survived. At the very least, it was one way of performing the funerals for those villagers who
were
murdered,
or
so Reona thought.
[ED: By the tropes, your pappy’s probably dead or MIA yo]
But, Reona didn’t know.
Alwina kingdom
had
declared war against each of the
neighboring
kingdoms
,
and
it
had
started with the invasion
of
the Belcania allied nations.
Her father and his subordinates had left the city where they had been stationed at for scouting.
Alwina Kingdom’s new leader were twin brothers, and that they have joined the invasion army.
There
was
no way for Reona and Rina, as well as Karito, to know this.
Just yet.
“Impossible, it is impossible! Impossible, impossible..!!”
It
was evening,
and
most of the
houses
in the village
have
turned
in
t
o
ashes, and the wreckage turned black. A man with
a
splendid beard past his middle age, who looked like a commanding officer, repeated the words in a daze.
The man’s armor
which
has been polished until it was shining, and the mantle that was richly embroidered with golden threads trembled a little bit. His whole body shook, as if a local earthquake was happening right beneath his
feet.
The expression plastered on his face wasn’t one of anger due to the murder of his subordinates. It was one of utter fear for the looming future connoted by the dead body of the white robed magician lying amongst the corpses of the villagers and soldiers.
It was all fine, until they had dispatched the imperial knights to call back Rezado, the white robed magician and his subordinates, who sneaked out of the encampment without permission.
The
Dragon Riders rushed back in
a
hurry to report,
and so
, he brought some soldiers under his command to
rush
there to take a look the scene from the report with his own eyes. The scene that flashed right in front of him was nothing but a nightmare.
Even with the saying that the beastmen were blessed with physical ability higher than human beings, and a unique spirit magic, it was still unthinkable for Rezado to be killed in this remote village which
looked
like it only
had a
population
of around a hundred people
.
After all, Rezado was the current leader of
the
Alwina Kingdom. He was the younger brother who was personally called by the name [Spirit God].
With
regards to the current invasion, Rezado was granted a
post
directly from the most prominent leader of the Kingdom, his very own brother, as the supreme commander of the invasion troops. But in reality, the officers assigned under him
were
the
one
s carrying out the role as commanders, as he drags around several soldiers
to do
whatever he pleases. It was common for him to massacre the people of the region he invaded. There was even a time where he annihilated a whole settlement with magic.
The actual role for Rezado was
to act as
artillery on the battlefield. Although he is still incomparable to his elder twin, the scale of his usable magic power is still worth
that of
a
hundred
common magicians. With such enormous magic power, he could easily blow away a strong fort or two while humming away. He, himself, is a tactical weapon with spirit magic.
With a background matching his ability, there
was
no one
who
could stop his
terrible
conduct aside from his older brother. In places of entertainment, on the way here, he had already destroyed
three
villages,
and
who knows how many people and residents have been killed by his hands.
…However, describing him as [was] is more accurate.
Except for a few limited exceptions, there
were
no dead people
who
can use magic.
Rezado, having a body that could manipulate spirit magic on a large scale, had formed an armour that continuously
evolves
itself using the powers of the spirits. It was the very essence
which
created the illusion of a white aura surrounding him all the time.
Every existence in this world, be they big or small,
is
granted a divine protection by the spirits. There
are
no human
beings
who can
have exist in this world without the divine protection. The armor spirit that Rezado and his twin older brother
have
were armours that unconsciously
use
a large number of spirits, which as a result, takes the form of a white aura that
can
be seen even with the naked eye. It is an armour that repels away all harm meant
for
its wearer, including the interferences of those with divine protection.
It is truly an invincible defense,
rather
, it should have been so.
But this was
just
past tense now.
“This will not do! At this rate, I will be accused and get executed!” The man panicked.
By all means, it was natural to tremble
in
fear
towards
an existence that could pierce through Rezado’s spirit armour, which was said to be able to block off every possible attack. He truly
was
a person to be cautious
of
.
Nonetheless, this commander was
just
a small fry. The first thing that
came
to his mind was the problem of responsibility over the brutal killing of the leader’s brother, and the way
of
securing his own position from it.
“Track down that bastard who killed Rezado-sama! Mobilize the sky cavalry too! They can’t have gone too far yet!” The man ordered.
The sky cavalry
comprises
of mythical beasts – including Dragons, Griffons, and Hippogryphs – and of soldiers
who ride
on the beasts. Their duties are to execute reconnaissance from the sky, transport a number of soldiers, goods, and supplies, relaying messages, surprise attacks, and many others. The Imperial Knights
were
included in this too.
Aside from a number of dragons
that have
magical
breaths, the rest of the mythical beasts have no
way
to execute a long distance attack. That results in those riding the mythical beasts to be magicians who could use spirit magic, or soldiers equipped with bombs and explosive bottles most of the time.
“General, there are
two
sets
of footprints that
continue
to the west. They
are
probably survivors of the village.” A soldier reported.
“
It
must be those guys! Chase them immediately!” The commander demanded.
If he could
at least
bring back the head of the perpetrator, he could restore the situation. After all, the current
king
of
the
Alwina Kingdom
is
very strict towards useless subordinates and demi-humans.
“Furthermore, mobilize
one
battalion to hunt the target!
Everyone else
is to wait at the encampment until we come back!” The commander decreed.
One battalion
from the
Alwina Kingdom
consists
of 600 people. The soldiers
whom
he
had
brought here
numbered
150. The
total number of
soldiers
who were chasing down the target is
750.
Among the mobilized soldiers, almost all of them was infantries equipped with swords and spears, and cavalry soldiers. There were also few bowmen and magicians assigned to the troops to cope with long distance
attacks
as well.
“Chase them with full speed! We must take
the
head of
the
criminal
who
has murdered Rezado-sama, or the King himself will cut our necks instead!” The commander shouted.
“What
do
we do with the
bodies
here?” A soldier asked.
“Leave the corpses, except
for
the body of Rezado-sama! Time is precious!” The commander declared.
“The people of Alwina
have
left the village. It seems like they have moved to chase something.”
Shadows hid behind the forest, watching over the soldiers.
All of them were robust beastmen. They had steel shoulder pads engraved with markings of the groups the belong to.
The beastmen,
besides their
basic physical strength, have five senses, in particular, their sense of smell, hearing, and eyesight, that
were
much sharper than human beings. That is why they have high aptitude as scouts. They were the soldiers of the Belcania Allied Nations that were sent to scout the Alwina invasion army.
Of course, human beings were mixed
in
this group as well. Riding horses, they had waited away from the site.
“What should we do, Captain?” A subordinate called to the wolfman
who
stood out even among these beastmen with robust
bodies
.
With hair like silver itself twisting against each other, the man had animal ears and
a tail
of the same color
as
his hair, attracting
the eyes
of
people
.
His gaze that was as sharp as a blade
were
nailed onto the numerous corpses that
were
tossed behind. His canines that
could
be compared
to
the sharpness of a famous sword, peeped out from the corner of his mouth as he gritted his teeth, blood dripping from his fist as he curled it tightly. His fist
was
clenched
so
hard that the nails
tore
into his skin.
“…We will split into two groups. Half of the group will stand watch to the movements of their camp.
The other
half will go with me to stalk the chasing corps. If possible, we will go and protect their target. It is possible that we might come across survivors of the village.”
“Understood. …Captain. Your daughters will surely live. They are your children after all.” One soldier stated.
“…Sorry.” Another soldier said.
The men
disappeared
into
the darkness, performing their respective
duties
individually.