Ep.4 - The Plan
Ep.4 - The Plan
Deep in the dark forest,
a small campfire cast the only bright light...
Gathered around that fire, kindled by Chichi's magic, a witch, a wolf, and a man put their heads together and devised a plan.
To defeat powerful foes like Neva and Philmark, a brilliant stratagem was required.
"What about setting a trap with meat! There is no creature alive that cannot be seduced by meat — surely those villains would fall for it as well."
"Hoo..."
"Come now, hear out my explanation. First, we place Delin here in the center, and around him, Chichi-dangGod roasts fine cuts of meat to delicious perfection. If we do this, the criminals' eyes will surely be drawn to the meat! At that moment, if I quickly dash in and subdue them, the matter is settled! How about it? Does this please you?"
Of course, putting heads together did not always produce brilliant ideas.
"There is no fool who lets herself be distracted by meat, Kaede. We cannot stop Neva and Philmark in that manner."
No fool...?
Strange. I distinctly remembered falling for exactly that before...
'Goodness. That woman Chichi is truly so fussy and rigid — surely she would not be popular with men. Delin-gun would certainly prefer a polite and magnanimous person such as myself over a prickly woman like her! This contest is already as good as won, is it not?'
Abandoning her previous strategy of remaining silent, Kaede now racked her brain to score at least a few points with Delin.
She had noticed the affection for Delin in Chichi's wistful gaze, and so she had classified her as a 'rival' and was watching her closely.
"Enough... the plan is, just... hoo. I'll keep it simple. Kaede-dangGod, you said you excel at close combat, so please hold the line while obstructing those two women as much as possible. From behind you, I will provide support with my magic."
'She may be a woman who uses her head, but even so, I am ahead of her in other areas — there is no need to be anxious!'
Even while discussing the shape of their coming battle, Kaede kneaded her own chest and aimed pointed glances at Chichi's.
With something so small, how could she hope to feed rabbit-like... no, wolf-like brats?
Surely by the time she had nursed two or three, her milk would run dry and she would be utterly spent.
'I thought her a rival... but looking now... it is simply pitiful.'
Had not the older sisters back home emphasized so strongly that the surest way to seduce a man was with a voluptuous bosom?
A woman's worth is her breasts! Large breasts that can feed the children until they are full!
And wide, sturdy hips and buttocks for bearing children smoothly, one after another!
With just those three things, all else would fall into place — and if one also possessed strong abilities, good looks, and fine manners, they said a man would be utterly smitten.
Well. Regrettably, the older sisters from Kaede's village were all clueless innocents who had never even held a man's hand, so they had not passed down proper knowledge...
But the fact that a woman's figure provides significant visual stimulation and attraction for men was nonetheless an indisputable truth.
A figure to match any figure, courtesy to match any courtesy, strength to match any strength!
Kaede knew she lacked in no area whatsoever, and so she was brimming with confidence.
Even though she possessed all those splendid qualities, she had suffered a genuine dearth of men and had gone about merely resolving incidents here and there, unable to form a proper connection.
But now, at last, she had obtained a magnificent opportunity that would not come twice — and she would seize her beloved by any means necessary!
"Excuse me... could you please stop kneading those?"
Ah.
Her prospective groom rested his forehead in his hand and shook his head from side to side.
She must have been kneading them far too long without realizing it.
"M-My apologies. I was briefly lost in other thoughts. So, I shall provide support from the rear, and Chichi-yang shall be in the front..."
"The opposite. The opposite. Kaede-ssi will face Neva and Philmark at the front, and in that opening, Chichi-ssi will use her magic from behind."
"Understood! Delin-gun is truly astute."
Kaede looked at Delin with satisfaction, her tail swishing back and forth.
'As expected, Delin-gun has not a single flaw and suits my taste perfectly. A gentle and composed man of a kind hard to find in this day and age.'
Was it not said that the rarer and more precious the prize, the rougher the road to reach it?
It was only natural that other wenches would pounce, trying to somehow even hold his hand.
That man, like a single rose in bloom, possessed a mysterious charm that drew women in — and because of that, he must suffer all manner of tribulations.
'If I conclude this matter well, I shall return with him to my homeland, build a spacious house, exchange vows of betrothal...'
Already, all sorts of delusions had begun to bloom in Kaede's head, driven by the satisfaction that she had snatched up the top-grade husband material.
She would use the money she had saved from her adventuring to build a great mansion where children could run and play,
hold hands a little and kiss a little, then conceive precious little ones and give birth to them one after another.
When she returned home in glory, the people of her homeland would welcome her,
and if she walked about, clinging tightly to her beautiful groom's hand, not only the village sisters but even the elders would all say "Aigo, so pretty~" and look on with envious eyes.
That was exactly what a successful life looked like!
She had tumbled about all over the place for so long — she was entitled to enjoy this precious success.
A joyful life of squeezing her new groom's bottom and chewing on that delightfully firm flesh to her heart's content every single day!
Just thinking about it made her mouth water. Whether it was because of the meat or the happy married life, she was not quite sure.
"...Excuse me. Kaede-ssi. Are you listening?"
"Ah, a-ah! I am listening to everything, so please do not worry one bit. I have understood it perfectly!"
"I'm not sure what it is you've understood, but regardless, thank you for helping. Without Kaede-ssi, I would have been in trouble."
Delin bowed his head and expressed his gratitude to Kaede. Even if she seemed like a somewhat lacking woman, she was certain to be a considerable force in battle — so of course he had to offer words of thanks.
However, even that small expression of gratitude sounded quite affectionate to Kaede, who had already birthed five children in her imagination.
'He has clearly already begun to fall for my charms! I have firmly left a good first impression, so now, if I simply defeat those two criminals in splendid fashion, he will be utterly won over!'
Her tail now shook so fiercely that it audibly smacked against Delin's back.
The tail, overflowing with spirit to a degree even Kaede herself did not realize, was desperately striving to rub her scent onto Delin, entirely subconsciously.
"...Ahem, ahem."
Delin pretended not to notice and subtly shifted his position to the side. He simply could not stand there watching tufts of tail fur cling to him bit by bit.
But as a result, the tail that had lost its target spun wildly around and smacked the ground with ferocious vigor...
"Your t-tail is really remarkable. It seems like it is overflowing with energy."
To stop that tail, Delin casually addressed Kaede. It was a remark carefully rephrased for the woman who was trying to help him — he could not afford to hurt the feelings of someone offering aid, so he had spoken around the point.
But to a beastman, praise directed at one's tail was extremely particular, and Kaede failed to discern the hidden meaning in Delin's words ('Please keep your tail under control'), merely blushing and startling in surprise.
"A-ah! How could you say such a... ahem! Well. If Delin-gun is so fond of it, it is no bad thing for me, but still..."
Kaede's tail writhed even more violently. That tail, shaking more desperately than a puppy greeting its master who had been away for a long time, drowned out even the cries of the night insects.
It was Chichi who cleared up the misunderstanding.
"...Delin. Have you perhaps never met a beastman before? Mentioning a beastman's tail or ears is rude."
The reason it was rude — praising the ears or tail that symbolized a beastman's identity was akin to praising a woman's breasts or hips, the symbols of womanhood.
"Ah, really? I'm sorry. I genuinely did not know."
Delin blinked his eyes, then bowed his head and offered his apology. It occurred to him — what on earth was he supposed to say about a tail that fussed about like that?
"N-No! There is no need to apologize. In fact, I too, with Delin-gun offering such praise... well... honestly, I was pleased..."
At that moment, Chichi's and Kaede's gazes locked.
Now Chichi too was glaring at Kaede, keeping her blatant attitude in check, and Kaede gave a derisive snort at Chichi's vixen-like obstruction.
A strange tension flowed among the three of them.
——————————————————
Meanwhile,
Neva and Philmark...
"Fuck. Why isn't there a single one of these witch bitches around? They're all skulking about like goddamn rats!"
Having judged that they had shaken off pursuit, they were now searching for a witch once more.
They still believed that Delin was being held captive in Raftel,
so they intended to quickly seize a witch, steal her broom, and fly up to Raftel. That was their plan.
"...!"
Perhaps the heavens had helped them.
"Hey. You stay right here."
Philmark, who had sensed something peculiar from a woman stumbling about, thoroughly drunk,
followed her with her eyes for a moment and then trailed after her.
"Ahuu~ ehehe..."
Perhaps because she was so drunk she was barely conscious, the woman did not even check her surroundings properly and immediately pulled out a broom.
"Lucky us."