The Male in Sheep's Clothing (2)
Following the magic stone's instructions, I descended into what looked like a storeroom in the basement and gathered the items Bastet had mentioned. If I had to name one impression from the whole process, it was this: These clothes are no joke.
The golden fleece robe was far more comfortable than I'd imagined. Back on the island, the whole concept of clothing barely existed.
After my reincarnation, living among the human tribe on that island, I'd existed in a state even more primitive than African natives. It wasn't that clothing as an idea was completely foreign. But we lacked both the resources and the technology to produce anything proper. We could cover the important bits with leaves if we tried hard enough, yet keeping the entire body warm was nearly impossible.
That made this robe's exceptional insulation all the more impressive, but what really stood out was something else. It's so light. And tough.
I felt no weight at all. It even seemed sturdy enough that it wouldn't tear or fray no matter how much it scraped against nails or rough surfaces. Is this what magic can do?
It clearly wasn't ordinary wool. The fleece had to have come from some immensely powerful magical creature before being woven into this robe. Giving me an artifact like this isn't just about disguise. She's telling me to protect myself with it, too.
The biggest difference between humans and beastmen was defense. A blade would kill either of us in a single strike, but if you took a direct hit from a tiger or bear's claws, your body wouldn't just get cut. It would be ripped apart.
It's dangerous work, no question. But there has to be a way to win.
All I had to do was follow Bastet's orders. She wouldn't have called me her joker against the Twelve Kings if I didn't stand a chance.
And after I won? After I actually subdued all Twelve Kings?
Beast-girl harem, let's gooooo!!
Yeah, that idiot definitely would've said something like that. Even though they were beastmen, he'd have rambled about building a harem of bunny-eared beauties and horned beauties, then indulging in every earthly pleasure imaginable.
Would that really be so bad?
Once I secured every King's Symbol and became the ruler of all males, I might be able to keep any female I wanted. And if the standard was women on the level of Bastet...
My standards really have dropped a long way.
Maybe it was the twenty-plus years of suffering on that island. My pre-reincarnation self would've never believed any of this.
Still, touching human women... Well, perhaps it would be possible with humans who hadn't been born on the same island as me.
Furry or human, that is the question.
If someone asked which I preferred, I couldn't erase the feeling that beastmen were the better choice. Not after seeing Bastet. If they were actual high-concentration furries walking around like upright cats, maybe I'd feel differently, but they were practically indistinguishable from human women in cosplay.
"Mmm..."
I should probably have a serious conversation about it later. I didn't know whether Bastet's plan to "make me a strong male" included that meaning, but if it did, there might be a way. Honestly, if nothing else, my reincarnated body was exceptionally healthy and capable in that department.
I'll just ask her.
Brooding alone like some pathetic loser wasn't my style. Better to face it head-on.
"Lady Bastet. I've brought the items you mentioned... Huh?"
I returned to the ground floor, but Bastet was nowhere to be seen.
"......"
The shop owner had left her post. Had someone noticed her treason and kidnapped her? Yet there were no signs of struggle inside the shop. Maybe she'd stepped out for an urgent matter, or perhaps it simply wasn't a good time to talk.
She'll be back soon.
She might have gone to buy food. No real need to worry. Probably.
What I should have been worried about was—
Knock, knock.
"...Tsk."
Me. I'd wondered what I'd do if a customer showed up, and now it was actually happening.
What now? Pretend no one was home?
Creak.
But I didn't even get the chance to decide. The door opened by itself.
In that case—
"Welcome, customer. Today we... Huh?"
I tried to play the part of a polite receptionist, but the door had simply swung open with no one standing outside.
"What the..."
"Hey."
"!"
A woman's voice came from below. I immediately lowered my gaze toward the bottom of the slightly open door.
"Can't you see the customer from up there?"
A hamster. Not normal hamster-sized, but one roughly the size of a chihuahua, standing on two legs and staring up at me.
"Who are you? The clerk?"
"I am the servant of the master who operates this magic workshop, honored customer."
"...Hmm?"
It might have seemed strange to speak so politely to a hamster, but my instincts screamed at me.
Can I win?
I couldn't gauge exactly how strong this hamster was, but my long experience as a warrior gave me the answer immediately.
She's strong.
I couldn't beat her. The moment I tried to grab her, she'd leap from below and strike my vitals.
So size doesn't matter in fights against beastmen. That explains why Bastet wants to use me as her joker against the Twelve Kings.
Just as a human could defeat a tiger, a hamster could defeat a human. This really was that kind of world.
"Customer, I apologize, but my master is currently away."
"Is that so? When's she coming back?"
"Regrettably, my master did not inform me of her destination or return time. I am the guardian watching over this magic workshop."
"Hmm, really? Then I guess it can't be helped."
The hamster vanished with a soft pop, and suddenly a considerable weight settled on top of my head.
"Move around a bit. I want to see the newly updated items."
Climbing onto my head was her way of declaring superiority.
"Are you sure that's wise? My head might shake and you could fall."
"You're worried about me? You?"
"I am merely suggesting a more comfortable position to allow for more stable inspection of the items."
"...A more comfortable position?"
"Yes."
I extended both arms forward, creating a supportive platform.
"Please come into my arms."
"Wh-what...?"
"I will attend to you with the utmost comfort."
"H-hmm..."
The hamster, brimming with suspicion, showed no sign of descending. Yet even as she warned me—
"If you try anything funny, I won't let it slide."
—her curiosity about what I intended seemed to win out. She obediently settled into my arms, and I carefully adjusted my posture so she could lie in the most comfortable, luxurious position possible.
And then.
"!!"
"Ah."
Without thinking, I instinctively began stroking her from head to back. I'd thought twenty years since reincarnation had erased the habit, but it seemed the instinct remained buried in my mind. The same instinct I'd developed from long years of caring for animals—
"I apologize. If that was unpleasant—"
"No."
The hamster spoke firmly, pointing forward with her short front paw.
"Continue."
I hadn't told the human yet, but Bastet harbored a grand design. The True Bremen Revolution.
It was an utterly repulsive declaration. Repulsive, yet the power held by the King's Symbols was something ordinary beastmen could never hope to overcome.
That was why Bastet had gathered allies. Comrades for the revolution. Some were persecuted even among the twelve races simply for having differently colored fur. Others, like Bastet herself, had never been counted among the twelve at all. There were even those disillusioned by the endless kin-slaying over the King's Symbols who had chosen to cooperate with her.
Thanks to their support, she wasn't starting from zero. She already had the foundation needed to prepare a true revolution.
Yet that revolution remained hidden beneath the surface.
"Bastet, are you cooking today?"
"Yes. Prices have risen so much lately. I'm getting tired of ordering delivery every single time."
In this city, Bastet was merely a reasonably sociable and refined beastman—a cat mage on friendly terms with the local grocers.
"Aigoo, even the witch has to tighten her belt these days. And with all the talk about dogs trying to build an empire..."
"Indeed. An empire is hardly a good thing."
"Exactly. Sigh, why would anyone want the scraps humans left behind?"
"With the Dragon remaining silent for so long, perhaps they want to create an even stronger symbol than the King's Symbols themselves?"
"Could be. Sigh, even if someone becomes emperor, it'll just be the same old faces taking the best seats. Aigoo, listen to me rambling. You'd better head inside. Looks like you might have customers."
"Thank you, shopkeeper."
Bastet bowed politely, took the paper bag stuffed with groceries, and headed straight for the magic workshop.
Despite it being the middle of the afternoon, the streets were strangely empty. The whole city seemed to be holding its breath beneath a tense, oppressive atmosphere.
"...Hehe."
Bastet pulled an apple from the bag and took a crisp bite.
"Emperor, is it?"
The Empire. The nation that had oppressed beastmen most brutally. Or to put it another way, the regime that had kept collars around beastmen's necks for hundreds of years. Without the Dragon's intervention, humans would still fill these streets while beastmen lived in chains.
A symbol capable of collaring every race.
"......Truly."
Bastet placed the apple back in the bag and gently touched her own neck.
I cannot accept it.
Whether it was the King of Beasts or an Emperor ruling over all races, anyone who sought such a position needed proper qualifications. And those qualifications could not be mere brute force. A world where the strong simply crushed the weak by violence and forced them into slavery was something she could never tolerate.
Even if the alternative was still hazy, a world where anyone who spoke the truth could have their neck snapped by an emperor was fundamentally wrong.
"It's fine. Yes, it's fine."
She could do this. After all, among those who wished to join the True Bremen Revolution were many who could no longer stomach the behavior of those other kings.
With their help—
Step.
Lost in thought, she arrived at the magic workshop.
I wonder how the test went.
She had stepped out to buy ingredients so the human could undergo his test in private.
But...
"...Huh?"
Just before opening the door, Bastet caught sight of something through the narrow gap.
"What... what is that?"
A man sitting on the sofa. And a single hamster nestled comfortably in his arms.
That hamster—no, she—had her eyes rolled back, completely passed out. Still being held in the man's embrace, continuously stroked from head to tail.