Let's Head to the New World!

The lizard beastman had promised to prepare the animal mascot costumes for us. On top of that, she even offered additional compensation.

Honestly, I hadn't given much thought to getting paid. My burning desire to crush that damn Academy President was so intense that compensation hadn't even crossed my mind. Still, since she was offering, I decided to accept it graciously.

We discussed a few more things with the lizard beastman—things like the number of participants, how to handle the situation once we secured the key figures, and so on. Finally, she handed me five small devices.

"What are these?"

"Body cameras. They also have audio recording functions, so please attach them to your bodies when the operation begins."

"It's fine if they get broken, right?"

"...They're from a premium brand, so they're a bit expensive. Please try not to break them if possible."

"I'll do my best."

With that, the lizard beastman turned to leave. I watched her retreating figure for a moment before checking the time. It was already quite late. The conversation had been lengthy, so time had flown by faster than expected.

Right on cue, the heroines, who had been sleeping in the corner, began to stir. Once they confirmed that my discussion with the lizard beastman was over, they started asking what had happened.

The details weren't exactly something I could share in their raw form, so I explained everything in the most sanitized, watered-down version possible. Of course...

Even that wasn't enough to completely hide the ugly truth of bestiality from them.

The heroines who heard my explanation couldn't say a word. They must have been pretty shocked. Still, we had a little time left before tomorrow. There was something I needed to check first.

"Before that, there's somewhere I need to go."

"Where are you going, Shin-woo?"

"With the way I'm feeling right now, I don't think I can enjoy the festival at all, husband."

"This lady feels the same. I think I'll only feel better after we've beaten every last one of those bastards."

"Do you have something else to do, nya?"

Instead of answering with words, I started moving. The heroines exchanged glances, then quietly followed me without asking any more questions.

After walking for quite a while, we arrived at...

"Everyone come out and give me a status report!"

The mountain behind the cafeteria. That's where we were meeting our animal friends right now. After all, there was a chance those bestiality freaks might try to ship them straight from the mountain. And sure enough, my prediction was mostly correct.

A black horse was trotting toward me, tears streaming down its face.

"What happened?"

Several other animals approached and began explaining on its behalf. It seemed the black horse was too traumatized to speak for itself. The story went like this:

The black horse and its mate had found a bottle of draft horse-brand dark beer with the cap already popped and were about to drink it. But it was a trap someone had set. What was inside wasn't horse-brand dark ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠beer at all—it was horse-brand shoe polish. The moment the two of them collapsed, unable to come to their senses, a group of men appeared and dragged only the mate away.

"I told you, didn't I? Always be careful with opened Welch's and beer bottles."

The animals were clearly regretting not listening to me properly before. But what was done was done. All we could do now was try to clean up the mess.

"Anyway, these fucking bastards are after someone else's wife again."

Suddenly, the black horse shook its head. Then came the shocking truth.

"...They only took the husband? And left you behind?"

The black horse nodded. The heroines reacted in their own ways.

"So these fucking men are trying to fuck male animals?"

"Even if I lose my mind a little, that's definitely not it!"

"Perhaps one of the bestiality freaks is a martial artist? There doesn't seem to be a single normal one among them."

"Looking at you all again, you guys actually seem like the sane ones, nya."

'Fuck. I'm sorry, dick-brain.'

A few other animals had apparently been taken as well. The list of abducted animals matched the bestiality catalog the chairman's son had sent earlier. Even the location where they were taken matched the exact spot where the bestiality freaks were supposed to hold their meeting. Cross-verification complete.

At that moment, the animals began to wail. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Their cries were filled with longing and resentment for their kidnapped families. I looked at them and declared firmly.

"I will definitely bring them back!"

The sobbing quieted down a little. But that wasn't enough. So I made an oath. To give them a small spark of hope.

"I swear on my mother's name!"

'Swearing on my grandfather's name is what detectives like Kim Jeon-il do.'

Still, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the effect was immediate. Hope began to bloom in the animals' eyes thanks to my declaration.

Anyway, I'd done everything I could here. All that was left was to wait until the decisive battle tomorrow.

"Then I'll see you all tomorrow."

With those words, we all dispersed and returned to our respective dorms. To conserve our stamina for tomorrow's big operation.

Of course...

"Didn't I say I'd wring you dry today?"

"...Please spare me."

"I'll spare your life."

I ended up expending quite a lot of stamina. A whole lot.

Around evening, the lizard beastman delivered the animal mascot costumes. I got the wild boar. Hye-ji got the cat. Ayeon got the bat. Elsia got the rabbit. And...

"Fuck! Why the hell is my costume like this, nya!!!"

Caersi got the wolf. Specifically, a blue wolf with white fur around the neck, a red head, and a red nose. The design looked suspiciously wealthy.

Caersi was stomping her feet in frustration, unable to bring herself to ask Hye-ji to switch. Even if she did ask, we had all unanimously decided to reject her request. It suited her image far too perfectly.

Anyway, we each went to our dorms and changed into the mascot costumes. Hye-ji's outfit was very loose, but it didn't seem to hinder her movement much. The problem was me.

"It's not going on properly."

"Shin-woo, should I wring you out a few more times? It'll be quick."

"No! I love how tight and clingy it is!"

"Tsk."

I forced my body in and somehow managed to get the costume on. It was stretched to the limit, but thankfully it didn't tear.

"Then Hye-ji, you go on ahead."

"Where are you going?"

"Somewhere important."

Before heading to the meeting spot, I stopped by the snack shop and bought some refreshments. Since the costume didn't have much room, I could only grab a few packets of snacks that would fit in my pockets and two cans of beer.

When I arrived at the meeting place, the rest of the group was already waiting for me, all wearing their mascot costumes. I was feeling a bit peckish, so I shoved some snacks into my mouth and started chewing when...

"Nom!"

"...Did you bring food inside your mascot costume, nya?"

"That's right! Would you like some?"

Elsia was eating snacks too. No wonder her belly was so massively swollen that her chest was completely hidden. It was all snacks. And after finishing the packet she was eating, she immediately pulled out another one.

"We're supposed to be working! Why do you keep eating, nya!"

"But if I don't eat, I lose all my strength!"

"This is driving me crazy, nya. Shin-woo, say something to her, nya!"

Caersi, who had been scolding Elsia, suddenly turned her frustration on me. I paused mid-chew and calmly spoke to Elsia.

"Elsia, didn't I tell you to pack snacks in moderation?"

"Then what the fuck are you shoving in your mouth right now, nya!!!"

Caersi, with her sharp eyes, had noticed my mouth moving slightly and blew up at me. Piece was the same, of course.

'Ah, I need to eat to keep my strength up.'

"Husband! These aren't snacks, they're meals! I absolutely have to eat them!"

"It's not mealtime right now, so everything counts as snacks. That includes drinks. Only water and tea are allowed."

Elsia, who had been drinking something, tilted her head at me.

"But I saw you pack beer earlier, husband!"

"That's not beer, it's barley tea. It just happened to get carbonated by accident. Can't waste it, so I have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to drink it."

"...Just die together nicely, both of you, nya."

Anyway, preparations were complete. We put on our full mascot heads and headed toward our target location.

As soon as we entered the bar, we moved toward the room where the meeting was supposed to be held, but...

"Hold on. Wait. Who are you people?"

A man who had been waiting at the entrance while looking at his phone blocked our approach. I stepped forward and spoke to him. Since the others were all women, their voices might raise suspicion.

"We're members of the Animal☆Lovers Gentlemen's Club. The vice president personally invited us to the VIP room."

"Ah, so you're the talent the vice president called a supernova. Nice to meet you."

It seemed my reputation had already spread in such a short time. It was a bit annoying, but getting inside was the priority.

"So can we go in?"

"No, before that, there's a test that every member of the Gentlemen's Club must take."

This was news to me. A major hurdle right from the start. While everyone looked at me worriedly from behind their mascot heads, the man showed me his phone screen.

On the screen was a photo of a scantily clad female beastman. I wondered what the hell he was doing. Then, the man fixed the phone to my mascot head and asked in a serious voice.

"What do you feel when you see this? Does your heart race at all?"

I roughly understood what the test was about. They were probably judging whether someone was a real member based on their reaction to the photo. In this situation, I had to show them the model behavior of a proper bestiality enthusiast.

It felt disgusting, but there was no choice if I wanted to avoid suspicion. I steeled myself.

"This bastard fucks beastmen? Then he'll probably fuck humans too? Get lost to the Super Coward Club, you piece of shit."

"A true member of the Gentlemen's Club. Come on in."

The man immediately offered me a handshake. But accepting a handshake here would be amateurish. Since I'd decided to act like a bestiality freak, I would show him what a true one looked like.

Instead of taking his hand, I spat coldly.

"Get your hand away. The only organic beings I make contact with are animals."

"Perfect! As expected of the supernova the vice president mentioned! Test passed!"

"Where's the VIP room?"

"Just go straight ahead to the end of the inner corridor."

The man smiled brightly and began clapping. His eyes were filled with intense welcome and goodwill.

We'd fortunately passed the test. However...

"Let's go, everyone."

"Wait a moment. They haven't taken the test."

It seemed he only intended to let me through. He was about to make the heroines behind me take the test as well.

"They're special guests I brought. Can't we just let them through?"

"I'm sorry, but this test is mandatory."

The man shook his head firmly. This was a real problem. If any one of them made a sound, we'd be exposed. At that moment—

SLAP!!!

"W-what the—?"

Caersi, wearing the blue wolf mascot costume, smacked the man in the face with a thick wad of cash. Then she stuffed the money into his stunned pocket.

"A-are you trying to insult me with money?!"

Another wad of cash was shoved into his other pocket. When his pupils started shaking wildly, yet another stack was placed on top of his head.

"Irrrrrshaimase!!!!!!"

The man quickly threw the door wide open. He even bowed so deeply his head nearly touched the ground. It must have been too much money to refuse. As expected of a suspiciously wealthy furry.

Anyway, all that was left was to go inside. What lay beyond the wide-open door was a completely different world from where we were standing.

'So this is the Sabaody Archipelago.'

That's right. This was the New World.