48 – The Territory Dominated by the Furry Ones (4)
Upon hearing the banging, everyone inside the tavern fell silent.
Tense gazes were directed at the door, and the owner muttered curses.
“What the hell…”
“What’s going on? Are they cat-beastmen?”
“Only those bastards would be banging like that at this hour. How annoying…”
“Whether we open or not, it’s a problem.”
“But it’s better to open… It’s just a pain…”
The owner groaned and slowly got up, walking towards the door.
As soon as he pulled back the curtain, the door swung open, and the cat-beastmen entered the tavern.
They were individuals with sharp, cold eyes, characteristic of cats, and a lean and agile build.
“Why did you open the door so late? Don’t feel like doing business?”
When one of the cat-beastmen snapped at the owner, he could only grumble in response.
“Let’s eat here today.”
“Sounds good.”
The werewolf cats walked over and occupied two tables.
The people around them tried their best to ignore them, and in response, one of the werewolves opened his mouth defiantly.
“Just eat your meals. Don’t mind us.”
They put their feet on the table, then chuckled and took out some strange leaves from their pockets.
They held it up to their noses, sniffing and chewing it while engaging in small talk.
I’m not exactly sure what the leaves were, but judging by the cloudy and dazed look in the werewolves’ eyes after smelling and tasting it, it seemed to contain some special ingredient.
Another one of them extended his long claws and started scratching the table.
Deep, irreparable scratches appeared all over the table, and the owner’s expression crumpled in response.
“Uh, well…”
Letting out a sigh, the owner shook his head and went into the kitchen.
“Now it feels refreshing.”
The werewolf looked satisfied as he inspected his claws, which had been worn down from scratching the table.
Suddenly, one of them growled and vomited a fist-sized clump of fur.
The werewolf casually threw it behind him.
The clump of fur flew through the air and landed in the pot on the human table, causing the soup to splatter.
But the humans didn’t say anything and simply wiped the splattered soup off their faces.
The owner of the tavern brought out drinks and food from the kitchen and filled the werewolves’ table.
The werewolves happily and messily grabbed the food with their bare hands, enjoying themselves.
“Old man. Don’t calculate in advance.”
One of the water imps bounced, and a single coin from a fairy tale fell to the ground.
The owner, with a humiliated face, bent down and picked it up, shoving it into his pocket.
I can sense the atmosphere vaguely.
No matter the reason, if I kill these water imps, I can receive the admiration of the people in the village.
For now, let’s just kill all the water imps.
But even if I kill a few, it will be quite a hassle to search for the rest, so let’s leave them alone for now.
As I observed them closely, one of them came out and met my gaze, grinning.
“Is it your first time seeing water imps?”
“Yes, it is my first time seeing cat water imps.”
“How do they look to you?”
“I’ve seen many water imps, but the cat water imps are the most outstanding.”
Upon hearing that, the other water imps who were licking the backs of their hands burst into laughter.
“Is this little one also a furry one?”
“Hey, mister. We are all males. Don’t have any foolish thoughts.”
“I didn’t have such thoughts. I’m just enjoying the feeling of admiring a beautiful sculpture.”
The water imps laughed loudly and beckoned me to come closer.
“Come here. Let’s have a meal together. Those who appreciate the beauty of water imps should be treated well.”
Of course, the food that was torn apart and hastily cooked by the innkeeper was made with the coin from the fairy tale.
But I wanted to learn more about these guys, so I didn’t hesitate and joined them at the table.
The werewolves ate their meal, sniffing the scent of grass, scratching the table with their claws, spilling food, knocking over and shattering bottles, creating a mess.
To put it nicely, they retained their wild instincts, but to put it harshly, they were like half-beasts who didn’t receive proper treatment as part of the main species.
The owner, with only their head poking out from the kitchen, cursed back.
“Where do you come from?”
“Nowhere in particular. Just a wandering traveler. Recently, I’ve been in the Kingdom of Verabche.”
“A good place to be. But why did you come to this chaotic kingdom when you could have just stayed there?”
“Well, that’s what travelers do, right? They can’t stick to one place and have to keep moving around to satisfy their spirit.”
“That’s true. But we despise that. We prefer living within our designated territory. In that sense, Lord Gillan is perfect for us.”
They must think it’s their paradise, with Lord Gillan as their ruler.
“Then, how many cat werewolves are living in Lord Gillan’s territory?”
“Why are you so curious?”
“Isn’t it natural to be curious when you see werewolves as rare as you?”
“Maybe around fifty? Isn’t that right?”
The other werewolves nodded, saying it would be around that number.
If it’s around fifty, it shouldn’t be a big problem. It might be difficult to gather them in one place, though.
After finishing their words, the werewolf once again brought the strange grass to their nose and shivered.
“But what is that thing exactly?”
When I pointed to the grass leaf stuck in their nose, the werewolves laughed and handed me a small piece.
When I smelled it, it felt like my nose was being pierced by anger.
But it didn’t seem to have the enchanting effect of making my eyes roll back like that.
“Is it mint…”
“It’s called a Cat Knife, human. It’s a symbol of our werewolf clan.”
I’m not sure in what sense it’s a symbol, but seeing them go crazy, sniffing and pawing at it, there must be something to it.
“Now give it to me. It’s hard to come by.”
“Is it expensive?”
“It’s not that it’s expensive, but there’s hardly any demand for it, so it’s not circulated. There is a place where it grows, but it’s so dangerous that you have to be able to go there.”
“Where is it?”
The werewolf who received the Cat Knife from me perked up his ears.
“Why do you want to know? Are you planning to get it for me?”
“I’m a traveler. If it’s a dangerous place, I tend to go and find it.”
“Hmm… is that so? If that’s the case, it wouldn’t hurt to tell you.”
The werewolf told me where the Cat Knife mostly grows.
Somewhere in the Muray Mountain Range… um… okay…
I’ve got a rough idea, so I should start getting up soon.
“It was a pleasure meeting you beautiful werewolves. Have a good time.”
As I got up from my seat and placed a silver coin on the table, the werewolves opened their mouths in surprise.
“Oh, so you’re someone who knows a thing or two. If you’re going to stay here, let’s hang out sometimes.”
“It’s no problem.”
It might be our last meeting next time, but anyway.
I also gave the innkeeper my share of money and left the tavern.
The soldier guarding Yeongjuseong looked at me with a bewildered expression and repeated my words.
“So… you want to discuss the cheap distribution of catnip with Lord Yeongju?”
“Yes.”
“Please wait a moment…”
It was an absurd request, but catnip was a symbol of the cat-human hybrid.
It would be quite difficult to simply ignore or drive away something related to the cat holding Lord Yeongju captive.
After a while, I was allowed to enter Yeongjuseong, they said.
The soldier guiding me suddenly spoke up.
“Please watch your head.”
“Yes? What’s up… Oh no.”
I narrowly avoided a glass bottle falling onto my head.
The soldier sighed as the glass bottle shattered on the floor.
“What is this…?”
I looked up, but there was nothing special. I could only see a wide terrace jutting outwards.
Did the glass bottle fall from there? What on earth is it?
“Please come in quickly. We never know what might fall next time.”
The soldier pulled me into the main building.
As soon as I entered the main building, I was greeted by a thin tuft of fur floating in the air.
When the soldier grabbed it with his hand, he let out another exasperated sigh as the ground caved in again.
“It’s dirty, so throw it away.”
Now that I looked around, there were wallpaper, decorations, and fur stuck everywhere.
“No matter how much I clean, it never ends. How much fur is shedding…”
It seemed to be the fur of a wolf…
As the soldier removed the fur, he continued to go further inside.
“What is that?”
As I passed through the wide hall, I noticed a strange structure.
It was a shape where several boxes and planks were attached to upright logs, and the boxes had round holes in them, resembling a bird’s nest.
The planks were tightly tied with sturdy ropes, as if to prevent slipping, and I could see the round ball swinging like a swing.
Upon closer inspection, there was fur stuck all over it as well.
“Ugh…”
The soldier sighed and didn’t answer.
To get a sense of the soldier, I subtly asked.
“I heard that the young lord is here. Is this his playground?”
“Please don’t say such things. The young lord is too old to play with things like that. He will be an adult next year. And to think that such a splendid and well-mannered person would have such a vulgar plaything.”
I obtained three pieces of information.
That is the wolf’s toy. The young lord is not a boy, but a mature young man. The humans working in the lordship also like the young lord.
Even if we kill the lord, as long as the young lord is here, we cannot take over this territory.
And the same goes if we kill the young lord.
I have roughly obtained the necessary information…
“This is the Lord’s office. Since you said you wanted to meet me in person, please open the door and come in.”
The soldier, looking disgusted, stepped back, so I opened the door and went in alone.