42 – The Snob
Cheongcheongyeongwol was currently suffering from a serious manpower shortage.
The men who had become adults left the city and were kidnapped by slave hunters, and as the situation repeated, the number of young warriors decreased.
But when I looked into it, I found out that it was only limited to carnivorous beastmen.
These guys didn’t even give the herbivorous beastmen a chance to become warriors, saying that they lacked warriors.
They tied up more than half of the city’s population with the name of tradition and complained about the lack of combat power.
I wrapped my head with a throbbing headache and sighed.
“Haah… Is it because the herbivorous beastmen are weak or something?”
I asked, thinking that I might have misunderstood.
If the herbivorous beastmen had characteristics that were not suitable for combat, I could have accepted this ridiculous tradition of Cheongcheongyeongwol.
The one who answered my question was a herbivorous beastman, a rabbitman (兎人族) named Ebi.
“Excuse me? No, that’s not the case. The cowmen (牛人族) do most of the hard work in the city. We herbivorous beastmen are not weak at all.”
“What? Then why can’t the herbivorous beastmen fight with monsters?”
“Well, that’s obviously because it goes against the tradition….”
“…….”
The reason for the tradition was not because of the weakness of the herbivorous beastmen.
When I glared at him with a twisted expression, Ebi lowered his head and drooped his rabbit ears.
Then why did such an inefficient tradition come about?
I sighed deeply and asked Kaa.
“Then what is the reason for the tradition?”
Kaa, who was eating a piece of meat, nodded and put down his spoon.
He then wiped his mouth neatly and began to explain the tradition.
“The reason for the tradition is simple. It’s because of the hunting urge that the carnivorous beastmen have.”
“Hunting urge?”
“That’s right. We beastmen have a strong animal instinct because of the blessing of the wild. The wild instinct has many aspects, but the hunting urge of the carnivorous beastmen is especially difficult to control. The only way to relieve it is through periodic battles.”
“So that’s why you gave the monster hunting to the carnivorous beastmen?”
“That’s right. If they are in charge of the city’s defense, they will naturally relieve their urge.”
I didn’t know that the beastmen had such troubles.
I was intrigued by the ecology of the beastmen that I heard for the first time.
I needed more information to overhaul the Blue Moon.
I brightened my eyes and continued to ask.
“What happens if you don’t relieve the hunting urge?”
“In severe cases, you can lose your reason and go berserk. It’s lucky if you go berserk in battle, but if you go berserk in the city, it can cause a serious situation.”
“That serious situation is not…?”
“You end up hurting others without knowing it. In the past, when there was no tradition, there were many damages caused by dissatisfaction. That’s why this tradition was created because of such precedents.”
As I listened to Kaa’s explanation, I could understand the reason why the tradition was created.
A tradition that satisfies the hunting desire of the carnivorous beastmen, while ensuring the safety of the herbivorous beastmen.
The tradition of Cheongcheongyeongwol was not a discrimination by authority, but a compromise for the coexistence of carnivores and herbivores.
But just because I understood it, it didn’t mean I accepted the current situation.
If the city was going to fall because of the lack of warriors, shouldn’t we change the tradition and gather everyone’s strength?
I lamented the ignorance of the beastmen and joined the brainstorming to find a solution.
“Then, how about raising the herbivorous beastmen as warriors now?”
“……Your words mean to break the tradition?”
“Yes. What’s the use of tradition when the city’s survival is at stake? You can ignore that tradition. No, you have to ignore it.”
“Ha, but it’s a long tradition! You can’t just break it so easily―”
“―Shut up, you ignorant woman. Just tell me if it’s possible or not. Can you raise the herbivorous beastmen as warriors or not?”
“……”
When I snapped at her, Kaa closed her mouth and lowered her head.
The fluffy wolf ears drooped down, looking like a puppy that got scolded for doing something wrong.
She looked so cute that I felt my heart soften.
As I looked at Kaa’s ears with an awkward smile, Kaa, who had been lost in thought for a moment, spoke in a doubtful tone.
“Maybe it’s impossible….”
These damn beastmen can’t do anything right.
I frowned again and glared at Kaa.
Kaa flinched and hugged his tail as he spoke.
“You know, you can also enhance your body through mana breathing, right?”
“What?”
“When you melt mana into your body, you sometimes feel an excessive excitement. Herbivorous beastmen can be endangered by the carnivorous beastmen who are excited. It’s almost impossible to cooperate and fight together.”
“Ah.”
He wanted to deny it, but Kaa’s words were undeniable.
When he fought while breathing mana, he also became excited and went crazy.
The fear disappeared, and a thrilling pleasure surged up.
In that rough excitement, he could hardly see his allies or anything else.
It wouldn’t matter if they were allies who had been breathing together for a long time, but if they were unfamiliar allies, they could collide with each other.
Mixing carnivores and herbivores in the operation, now that he thought about it, it seemed rather difficult.
“And there’s no time to spare. Right now, the Blue Moon is in a situation where it can’t even handle the monsters that are coming. There’s no way we have the resources to train someone.”
“That’s true.”
As he talked with Kaa, he had a rough idea of what to do next.
He had to create a unit composed only of herbivorous beastmen, and he had to take charge of the training himself.
He had a feeling that he would be busy from tomorrow.
If he had known this, he would have somehow brought Sizu with him.
As he was having such thoughts and a small regret, Kaa, who had been shivering, hugged his tail and said.
“More than anything, there will be a strong backlash from breaking the tradition. The elders of the city won’t allow it.”
The city was in a crisis, but they still cared about tradition.
I shoved a piece of meat into Kaia’s mouth, meaning to tell him to stop talking nonsense.
“What the hell is that tradition? Why are you so stubborn?”
“Hwup!”
Kaia, who had taken the meat unexpectedly, widened his eyes in surprise.
Then he covered his mouth and chewed the meat, then stuttered and shouted.
“Th-that tradition is important! You can’t ignore the tradition just because you’re a druid!”
“Traditions that don’t help are just bad habits.”
“Hwup! B-but why do you keep feeding me meat!”
“Just shut your mouth now.”
Kaia, who was hungry, gladly accepted the meat I offered.
Of course, after his face turned red, he snatched the bowl from me and started eating by himself.
I watched him with a smile and organized my plan.
I would abolish the inappropriate tradition and make sure that Cheongcheongyeongwol could survive the winter.
I had a lot of lives behind me that I had to do.
I felt a heavy weight on my shoulders.
Kaia, the warrior chief, must have carried this burden alone for a long time.
I lay down on the floor and looked up at the night sky and opened my mouth.
“I’ll try my best.”
The surroundings became a little quiet at my declaration.
The moans of the patients who had been groaning subsided, and the doctors who had been running around stopped.
It seemed like he was listening to my words.
“I may look like this, but I’m a druid candidate.”
The night sky was full of stars, out of the shadow of the world tree.
I spoke as I looked at the clear and blue moon shining among the stars.
“Please guide me to the elders as soon as the day breaks. I’ll try to persuade them somehow.”
The tradition that herbivore beastmen cannot participate in battle. The tradition that men who have become adults leave the village and wander. And the abnormal structure that only passes the work to the warlord.
I wanted to tear apart all the frustrations of Qingqing Moonlight.
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To do that, I had to meet the elders, the high-ranking people of the village.
If Eldenore was a city that revolved around the power of the chief, Qingqing Moonlight was a city that ran under the guidance of the elders.
“It won’t be easy even if you are a druid….”
Kaa gently shook his tail and spoke quietly.
I relieved some of his burden, and he seemed a little more comfortable.
I felt happy to see his tail swaying instead of drooping.
I enjoyed the fan of his tempting tail and looked at the night sky leisurely.
[Yat!]
Then, the tail that was shaking in front of me was grabbed by Pii’s hand and came down.
Pii started to roll over on my chest with his tail in his hand, and I finally got to hug his white and fluffy tail.
“Huh!”
“Ga, Gaul sir! You can’t do that!”
His fur was so soft. And it had a good scent that was addictive.
Kaa’s tail gave me a softness that I had never experienced before.
This feeling alone seemed to be able to save a few cities.
I buried my face in Kaa’s tail with Pii.
“No, let, let me go!”
Kaa’s scream echoed clearly.