Chapter 152: The Man - 9
Chapter 152: The Man - 9
A breath grazed his ear.
The sweet sensation faded.
Daylight had come.
"......."
Jiha, lying in bed, frowned as he took in the situation.
He had fallen into a deep sleep.
"Uh......."
He was alone.
As Jiha blinked, the door opened and Mayan entered.
A dog beastman in a crisp maid uniform, Enril's closest aide. Mayan snapped at Jiha.
"Do you intend to keep sleeping? I don't mind, but will you be skipping your meal?"
"Where's Enril?"
"Lady Enril left for work some time ago. She's a busy person, unlike certain lazy layabouts."
"......."
Jiha frowned.
They'd slept together, but when he woke, the woman wasn't beside him.
He understood the reason.
It was past morning and well into the afternoon. Jiha had been sleeping so soundly she must not have wanted to wake him and had left first.
Enril's judgment was beyond reproach, but—
A little disappointing, though.
Waking up together after a night like that was a happiness beyond compare.
Jiha, feeling the loss, gathered himself.
Enril was now definitively his woman.
When they had leisure, they could greet the morning together anytime.
Now, the bigger picture mattered.
"Alright."
What Jiha intended was to flip the board on this goddamned Warsland. To do that, he needed to build an organization, win the hearts of its officers, and keep things moving.
With Enril coming over to his side, the Uniques were no longer an issue.
Asira was a relative gap, but.......
As Jiha calculated next steps, Mayan demanded with an angry tone.
"Why do you look so untroubled? How long do you plan to loiter in my lady's bedroom?"
"You want me to leave?"
"I want to clean. Get out, quickly."
Jiha got out of bed as requested.
He was naked.
"Kyaaaaaaaa!!!!!!"
Mayan screamed fit to shake the room and spun around.
"Wha-what are you doing! Why are you naked!"
"I was naked from the start. You're the one who came in."
Of course, Jiha knew he was naked and did this on purpose.
"Get dressed! Get dressed! Now!"
"You said you wanted to clean."
"You have to get dressed before I can clean! No—don't walk around Lady Enril's bedroom in that scandalous state!"
Jiha smiled and demanded.
"Then give me clothes."
"......W-wait."
Mayan rummaged through the basket she'd brought and pulled out men's going-out attire.
It fit Jiha's measurements perfectly.
"Prepared in advance."
"Of course. I am a maid."
While Jiha and Enril spent the night together, Mayan had made meticulous preparations for the morning.
Well, when he'd asked for pajamas, she'd brought them straightaway.
Once Jiha was dressed, Mayan cleared her throat and spoke with solemn gravity.
"I will now explain the conduct expected of you henceforth as the young lady's fated companion."
"What?"
"Personally, I find this hard to accept, but I cannot object to the young lady's choice. However, take greater care with your words and deeds so as not to dishonor the young lady's name."
Mayan raised an index finger and spoke seriously.
"Always remember that your every action influences the way people look upon the young lady!"
"......."
At the absurd remark, Jiha laughed and snorted.
"Did Enril put you up to this? No?"
"Yes, this is my own judgment. The young lady is, contrary to appearances, deeply affectionate. She does not give her heart carelessly, but once she does, she trusts that person utterly. Particularly since you are the first man she has ever met, I fear she may grow soft, so I......."
"I'm hungry."
"......."
Jiha smirked.
"Aren't you going to feed me?"
"......I'll prepare something."
Mayan now had no choice but to treat Jiha politely, since she regarded him as Enril's lover.
As she turned around with a sigh, Jiha calmly raised a hand and smacked it down.
On Mayan's rear.
Smack!
"Kyaaaaaa?!"
With a cute shriek, her tail standing straight up, Mayan jumped in place, then turned to Jiha and bared her teeth.
She held a dagger she'd reflexively drawn.
"Wha-what is this?! What did you just do!"
"Hey, that hurt. Your butt flew into my hand. Why are you picking a fight?"
"......That cannot be! You struck me!"
"Yeah, to wake you up."
Jiha spoke curtly.
"I'm not just Enril's man. Enril is my woman. Get it straight."
"......."
"Confuse that, and you're screwed."
For Jiha, this was a fairly gentle form of warning.
Teasing Mayan was fun because she was a cute dog.
But that didn't mean he'd indulge everything.
Moreover, since he'd become so deeply entangled with Enril, he'd be seeing Mayan frequently. If she kept snapping at him, a moment would surely come when he'd have to impose limits.
Even as tears filled Mayan's eyes, she glared at Jiha's version of consideration.
"You're vulgar! Vulgar! How could a man like this be with the young lady......."
"I said I'm hungry."
"......I'll prepare something."
Perhaps it was her core nature, but even while angry, she still bowed to his request.
Trembling, Mayan stomped out with angry steps.
"Now then......."
Yesterday had melted away in passion, but today was different.
Jiha calmly considered the work ahead.
"Time to move."
Afternoon.
After eating the meal Mayan had set, Jiha returned directly to the barracks library.
As he sat reading a book, Uben entered and sat across from him.
He'd gathered information overnight.
"What's the situation with the Dirga, Lungtao?"
"The Elf Seven Council is scheduled to meet with Lungtao's side the night after tomorrow."
"The Seven Council?"
"Leticia Yormun's fiancé candidates. They call themselves the Seven Council, apparently."
"Seven comedians."
A seed Jiha had scattered was about to sprout.
"Among them, one named Guason is a bit unusual. He's trying to meet Pamin Rosen."
"Is this a group move?"
"Appears to be solo. When I cross-referenced the intel, his standing within the Seven Council seems weakest."
Jiha filed the name away and moved on.
"Lungtao?"
"His close subordinates are discreetly moving around Waris, gathering information. They're particularly digging into anything about you, Commander. They're sparing no expense."
"He'll figure out I know this......."
Waris was Jiha's home ground.
Lungtao would reach that conclusion quickly once he gathered information.
He'd also catch on that Jiha was the de facto ruler of this city.
We're sitting across from each other playing a board game.
Each side had a clear view of what the other was doing.
As Jiha mulled this over, Uben added.
"And Lijin Gandrol says Asira Hellrunner wishes to see you, Commander."
"Tell her I'll see her soon. Let me tidy this matter first."
Asira would have gathered herself and settled her mind by now.
Making her definitively Jiha's woman before the showdown with Lungtao would be beneficial in many ways.
After thinking, Jiha asked for confirmation.
"Did Lungtao make contact with Iroha?"
"You mean the pleasure district? No. A few of Lungtao's subordinates bought women, but there's no report of them approaching that information network."
"I see......."
Iroha's intelligence-gathering was peerless, but it meant Lungtao didn't know she existed.
She had been hidden away in Waris for a very long time, so it was natural he wouldn't know.
Then I'll feed him disinformation.
Both sides were poking around and gathering intel?
Then he'd pass along false information to mislead him.
"Oh, and...... this is somewhat dubious, but Narsha Russellarms's escort guards are said to be secretly seeking stimulants."
"Stimulants?"
"Specifically, aphrodisiacs. Drugs that induce sexual arousal."
Uben looked uncomfortable, but Jiha considered it seriously.
"I don't know the reason, but it's not nothing. Don't approach them first. Monitor their movements from the periphery and report."
It might be a clue he could leverage to his advantage.
Having given the order, Jiha got to the main point.
"Information on Lungtao himself?"
"He's a tiger beastman."
Jiha stared at Uben with disbelief.
Was there anyone who didn't know that guy was a tiger?
But that wasn't Uben's point.
"Do you know there are multiple kinds of beastmen in Warsland?"
"Yeah, they're diverse."
Mayan right here was a dog beastman, and Garaon came from another world but was a lion beastman.
Uben before his eyes had a wolf head too.......
Cheonho, a Legend, is probably a fox beastman too.
Jiha was indifferent, but Uben explained his intent.
"Tiger beastmen are special among beastmen. This is a legend passed down only among beastmen, but......."
Uben abruptly lowered his voice.
"Beastmen now act separately by species. But there was a time, it's said, when they were united under the name of the Beastman King."
"Beastman King?"
"The king who ruled over all beastmen, the absolute one to whom all beastmen bowed their heads."
"......."
Uben's tone was oddly animated.
"That Beastman King is a tiger beastman?"
"No, he isn't. But if a Beastman King were to arise among beastmen, they say it would be a tiger beastman. And...... Lungtao is the most famed man among the tiger beastmen, who are on the brink of extinction."
"Extinction?"
"Tiger beastmen are too few in number. You don't know about beastman lineage, do you?"
Uben explained in detail.
"When a male beastman mates with a female of another species, the offspring are always born as that female's species. Conversely, if a female beastman mates with a male of another species, there is about a fifty-percent chance a beastman is born. The other half take after the male's species."
"Risky, huh?"
Given what Uben said, beastman numbers could only decline.
Males contributed nothing to propagation, and even when females bore children, the chance of a beastman was one in two. If that child was a boy, he couldn't help boost the species' headcount.
To maintain the population, you'd have to hit a one-in-four chance.
"Beastman females do bear many children, but it's a declining trend."
"Then what about a beastman male and beastman female mating? That'd be a beastman regardless of gender, wouldn't it? Shouldn't marriage between beastmen be encouraged for species preservation?"
"That's......."
Uben hesitated, then sighed.
"Under no circumstances can beastmen have children with each other."
"What? That doesn't make sense."
Uben nodded.
"If you think about it, male and female beastmen look completely different, don't they? Male beastmen have animal heads and are covered in fur, while female beastmen have human forms with just ears and tails. They might actually be different species."
"......."
There was an odd inflection. Jiha sensed an incongruity but let it go, filing it away.
The critical information was something else.
"So beastmen are declining in absolute numbers, and tiger beastmen are vanishing even faster because there aren't enough females?"
"......To be precise, there are none. Not anymore."
If all female tiger beastmen were dead, then tiger beastmen were already an extinct species in all but name.
"There are fewer than ten tiger beastmen left in all Warsland, and among them, Lungtao is peerless. Some Rare Grade beastmen can use Mana, but Lungtao compensates with a Dirga weapon. In practice, he's beaten Rare Grades many times."
"Lungtao's Normal Grade?"
"Yes, it's known that he compensates for the lack of Mana with armaments received from the Dirga."
Jiha nodded.
True, in raw physical stats, tiger beastmen were genuinely powerful.
Even Jiha would need to use Mana.
If Lungtao supplemented his offense and defense with Dirga arms, he'd be a truly formidable opponent.
"And he's not the type to drop his guard......."
He wasn't the sort to underestimate an enemy and let his guard down.
His experience and judgment were excellent too.
Kamain had been strong but arrogant, looking down on Jiha and letting emotion cloud his judgment.
Lungtao's overall combat power could be rated on par with or even above Kamain's.
"A strong opponent."
Jiha acknowledged it cleanly.
His personal martial prowess was outstanding, and he had the charisma to command his subordinates.
"Yes, a great many beastmen expect Lungtao to be the one closest to the Beastman King, to become the Beastman King who will unite all beastmen and give them orders. He is, in effect, the beastmen's last hope."
"Last hope?"
"It varies by species, but beastmen don't have a great position in Warsland. As you pointed out, Commander, their numbers keep declining, and on top of that, there is internal discord and strife. So they yearn for a Beastman King who can smash this whole situation and unite all beastmen."
"What about you?"
At Jiha's words, Uben stared at him a moment, then grinned.
"Commander, what are you saying? I'm a Common from another world, aren't I? I have nothing to do with this neighborhood."
"No, I'm asking if you think Lungtao has what it takes."
"......."
Uben thought for a long while, then shook his head.
"As I see it, he falls short. No, it's not that his qualities are lacking. The name 'Beastman King' alone is insufficient to change Warsland. If all beastmen's power were gathered, it would be immense, but that alone cannot shatter this world."
"......."
Uben looked straight at him and spoke.
"I believe in you, Commander. I follow you because I believe you are the one who will overturn this cursed world."
"Don't flatter me between men."
That was his reply, but Jiha also knew it wasn't flattery.
Uben gave a wry smile.
"In any case, I've already obtained the location where Lungtao and the Seven Council are to meet. What will you do?"
The conversation they'd have was obvious.
The Seven Council would surely ask him to lend his strength to eliminate Jiha.
"I'm a step behind......."
No matter what Lungtao did, there was a delay before Jiha received the information.
This wasn't Earth, where smartphones were everyday items. In Warsland, a secret meeting like that took time for Jiha to hear about it.
It was to be expected, but this opponent was a strong one.
If possible, I want to get intel on Lungtao in real time.......
While Jiha pondered deeply, someone entered through the library.
It was Okram.
He bowed his head deeply toward Jiha and spoke rapidly.
"Commander, someone has come asking to make a secret report."
"Who is it?"
"They refused to give a name. They said they have something to say about yesterday's matter."
"Tell Bran if he's going to act stupid like that, he should go back."
"Pardon? The name is Bran?"
Jiha gave a brief instruction.
"And tell him that's why he's unpopular. Relay exactly what I just said, word for word."
"......Yes, understood."
Okram gave a loyal bow and left the library.
Uben asked with surprise.
"Do you really intend to send him away? It might not be Bran."
"He'll come running. And Lungtao's probably still gathering intel on me. So it's Bran."
Jiha narrowed his eyes.
"Okram will pass on my words exactly, while also reading between the lines and adding his own touch. Bran will have no choice but to come running."
"Couldn't it be that Bran sent someone else instead of coming directly?"
"He came in person."
Jiha was certain.
"That guy's unpopular. And he's sharp enough to realize it himself. So he'd have to come in person rather than entrust meeting me to someone else."
"......Haa."
Uben looked convinced but still seemed to find it hard to believe.
"Wait. He'll come on his own two feet."
Jiha smiled.
Ten minutes later.
Jiha's prediction came true, perfectly.