Royal Capital Barga (12)
I stepped out through the main gate and pondered where to go. I'd spent a few days here and had gotten somewhat familiar with the nearby geography, but I still didn't know much.
"Where should we go first?"
The young master didn't answer. When I turned to look at his face, he was sulking.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing."
That's what he said, but his expression said otherwise entirely. Could he really be reacting like that just because I'd said this wasn't a date?
But was this even a date? He'd asked if I wanted to go out, but he never called it a date. Still, when a man and a woman went out alone together, didn't that count as one?
Ugh, really — if only my sister hadn't said that…!
Still, for someone older to be sulking like this was a bit much… though the longer I looked, the more it seemed kind of cute…?
"So you're not going?"
When I showed a slight hint of dissatisfaction, the young master slumped his shoulders and followed after me.
Sigh, he's not a child… but what can I do? I should boost his male ego a little.
"Really now…. Aren't we going on a d-date?"
Having to say it myself was incredibly embarrassing. I actually hated doing this just to prop up a man's pride. But I genuinely wanted to properly tour the capital, so I didn't want to waste any more time.
"W-we should go."
The look in the young master's eyes changed. He's not a child… so why does that kind of behavior look cute?
If this had been before, I would have found a man's behavior like that disgusting. But why? Could it be that becoming a woman had affected me?
Ugh… there were far too many things pointing in that direction.
We descended from the Upper District toward the Lower District, heading for the commercial quarter.
"It's lively."
The commercial district was bustling with energy. Crowds thronged the streets, and merchants energetically hawked their wares, drawing customers in. Lured by their calls, I went over to look at some goods.
The capital was truly the capital. As a place where countless goods gathered, there were many items whose appearances were completely unfamiliar to me.
It was a fruit I'd never seen before, its exterior gleaming enticingly.
"Welcome! This is a famous fruit from the south."
Fruit from the south makes it all the way here? As I looked at it with curiosity, the young master explained the fruit to me. He seemed to have tried it before, given how detailed his explanation was.
The fruit was bright red and round like an apple, but the flesh inside was soft, apparently? The color was completely different, but maybe it was similar to a peach from my previous life? Even though I'd eaten a hearty breakfast, it caught my interest.
"You know a lot about this, don't you?"
At the merchant's words, the young master smiled gently. Tempted by the description of a sweet-and-sour fruit, I decided to buy two.
"I'll pay."
"It's fine."
I'd brought my wallet too….
"Please let me pay for it."
"Well, if your boyfriend is buying, you should just sit pretty and accept it."
The fruit merchant's words left me slightly irritated. Unfortunately, that was how women were treated in this world — the patriarchal, male-centered aspect of things.
Remote places like our village had less of that, and the Meyer Territory wasn't bad either.
But the capital was definitely different, I thought.
I ate the fruit the young master had purchased, peel and all. The peel had a slightly bitter taste, but the flesh….
"S-sour…."
It wasn't sweet-and-sour — it was just sour.
"Haha, maybe it's a bit underripe?"
This isn't a lemon — why is it so sour! I'd expected a sweet-and-sour flavor, but I felt completely betrayed.
"Ugh…."
The young master laughed and held out the fruit he was holding to me.
"This one seems fine."
I stared blankly at the fruit he offered. There was a bite mark on it.
"Is it really okay?"
We only bought two — is it alright to take his like this?
"Yes."
I took the fruit from his hand, closed my eyes, and took a bite. As I chewed, the soft flesh melted and spread throughout my mouth. It was completely different from what I'd eaten before. Instead of pure sourness, a tartness spread across my tongue first, followed by sweetness. Finally, a refreshing quality lingered, leaving a clean taste in my mouth.
"Oh…."
"It's good, right?"
It was exactly the flavor the young master had described. Sweet and sour with a clean sweetness.
"Yes, it's really delicious."
Should I buy some more when we head back to the mansion? I wanted to let my sister try it too. The young master took the sour fruit from my hand and bit into it.
"Ugh, this one's overripe."
"Why are you eating that? Just throw it away."
"I can't just throw it on the ground, can I?"
Well, that was true, I supposed. The young master shoved the rest of the fruit into his mouth and made a bizarre face. I looked at the fruit remaining in my hand. About a third was left.
Seeing his weird, funny expression, I couldn't help but snicker.
"Gack."
Why would he eat something that sour?
"Here, cleanse your palate with this."
Rising onto my tiptoes, I stretched out my arm and stuffed the remaining fruit into the young master's open mouth. Whether his mouth was large or the fruit was small, it slipped right in — and my hand went in a little too.
But the timing was bad.
"Mmph?!"
The young master closed his mouth, and my hand was left inside. His eyes went wide. I felt warmth from his fingers and the soft sensation of his lips.
"What are you doing?"
Feeling bad about yanking my hand out by force, I decided to point it out first.
The young master opened his mouth and scrambled backward.
"It's fine."
It was my fault for acting without saying anything. But there was some saliva or something on my hand…. Without thinking, I brought my hand near my face, intending to check it and smell it.
Looking thoroughly flustered, the young master quickly approached, pulled out a handkerchief, and started scrubbing my hand vigorously.
"I-I'm sorry."
"I was the one who did it."
Why is he so apologetic….
He scrubbed with all his might until my hand was clean. I stared blankly at my hand, then brought it near my nose intending to smell it.
The young master grabbed my wrist and stopped me.
"What's wrong?"
It was just… just an unconscious action. Only then did I realize what I'd been about to do. Embarrassment seemed to spread through my entire body. To hide that feeling, I acted brazenly.
"Wh-what?"
The young master said nothing.
Damn it, if he acts like that, I'll become self-conscious too.
In a slightly awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere, we looked around the commercial district.
I saw craftworks I'd never seen before… and there were so many people. Even though it wasn't a festival, there were this many people — the capital really was incredible.
But I couldn't look around with peace of mind.
Was the earlier incident still bothering me that much?
I kept glancing at the young master's condition. Hmm… he just wasn't looking this way and kept glancing around at the surroundings?
"Is something wrong?"
"Ah, no."
Since he wasn't panicking, it seemed like there really wasn't a problem?
"But what are you thinking about so hard?"
"Oh dear, I wasn't concentrating properly."
The young master suddenly put on a smile that looked rather smug and drew closer. Then he leaned down and spoke in a low voice.
"I sensed something suspicious."
Hmm? Something suspicious? Could there be someone following us?
"Are we being followed?"
I whispered quietly as well. The young master shook his head.
"Probably a pickpocket."
Ah… with this many people, there would be a proportional number of criminals. And if you got pickpocketed in a place this crowded, it would be hard to find your belongings.
"W-we should be careful."
There was a reason he'd been distracted and looking around.
"But are they targeting us?"
"I'm not sure."
Well, then there's no need to worry about it, right?
"Then let's just enjoy ourselves."
"Yes, let's do that."
We wandered around the commercial district, looking at various stalls. Then I saw something fascinating.
"Oh… a beastman?"
It was a human with animal ears on their head and a tail at their rear.
"A beastman, yes."
So there are beastmen in this world! I'd lived here for over fifteen years, but this was my first time seeing one.
"To see a beastman who normally only lives in the west is quite remarkable."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. In the past, beastmen were targets of persecution, so they're rarely seen in human nations."
Apparently persecution of beastmen is illegal now or something? And the beastmen of the continent who'd suffered under persecution had banded together in one place to assert their rights and even founded a nation….
"Huh…."
The Beastman Kingdom grew its power that way, and once their influence became strong enough that they could no longer be ignored, they requested that the various nations of the continent stop persecuting beastmen — and if ignored or if persecution continued, they would not hesitate to go to war.
"That was over five hundred years ago, though."
That was an incredibly long time ago…. After that, the persecution of beastmen disappeared, and beastmen were classified as a human race as well.
"But why are beastmen still so rare to see?"
"Because the persecution hasn't completely disappeared."
We headed toward a café with an open terrace at the edge of the commercial district.
"Let's order something first."
After walking around for so long, I was thirsty. Looking at the menu, I roughly chose black tea and a cake.
"I'll have this."
The young master also chose black tea, but a different one from mine. Maybe the tea leaves were different?
"So why aren't there many beastmen?"
I couldn't hold back my curiosity.
"Well, beastmen come in various forms."
Combining knowledge from my previous life with what I'd learned in this one about beastmen, it seemed their races were quite diverse?
"Like the difference between dogs and cats?"
I brought up easy animal names, but the young master shook his head.
"No."
Then what kind of difference is it?
"Even among beastmen, their appearances vary greatly. There are beastmen like the one we just saw, with only ears and a tail, but there are also those with fur growing on their arms and legs, or those in animal form."
Oh….
"If that were as far as it went, it wouldn't have been a major problem."
So there's more?
"There are also beastmen whose faces are close to animal form, and even those who are indistinguishable from animals."
There were beastmen with bodies almost identical to animals who spoke human language and walked on two legs, he said.
"To people in the past, they weren't 'beastmen' — they were just animals."
That difference brought about discrimination. From the perspective of other beastmen, those people and themselves were the same race and people, yet they were being persecuted and discriminated against.
"There's another problem as well: when a child is born between beastmen, there's no knowing what form they'll take."
"So even among beastmen who look human, animal-like beastmen can be born?"
"Yes. That's why beastmen rarely live in other countries."
Even so, if people saw a beastman who looked like an animal, the surrounding people would look at them strangely. And a child raised among such people wouldn't be able to grow up normally.
"Still, young beastmen sometimes leave the kingdom to see the world, I'm told."
It would be a different story for beastmen who had started families….
"I see…."
Confirming the existence of beastmen made me curious about other demi-human races. But I put that conversation aside for now. The black tea and cake we'd ordered had arrived, so we decided to eat those first.