Kays Translations

Chapter 92: Cat Beastman

"Here's your pale ale. Anyone else for pale ale?"

Once again, the waitress's speech ended smoothly. It seems the earlier incident wasn't a misunderstanding after all.

The other members still didn't seem particularly concerned. Could it be that the automatic translation function, a transfer bonus, was translating for them?

As Isamu pondered this, it seemed the waitress had finished taking orders and disappeared into the back.

"Annemarie-san, did you notice anything about the beastman waitress earlier?"

Concerned about everyone's apparent obliviousness, Isamu asked Annemarie.

"Huh? The waitress? Hmm, she was cute, but nothing in particular..."

"Is that so... By the way, is it common for beastmen to marry within their own species?"

"Huh?! Marriage?! Ohhh, I see... So Isamu-san prefers that type of person..."

Annemarie sank into a grand misunderstanding.

Isamu couldn't understand why Annemarie suddenly sank, but as he reconsidered his words, he felt his blood run cold.

"No, no, that's not it at all!! The waitress's ears and tail were just like Orihime's, right? And yet, no one seemed to notice at all, so I found it strange..."

"Huh? Is that so!? I thought Isamu-san wanted to marry her..."

"Ahaha, sorry about that misunderstanding!"

Realizing her mistake, Annemarie apologized with a bright red face.

"No, no, I should've phrased it better. I'm sorry."

"But how does that relate to marriage?"

"Well, if they only marry within the same species, perhaps tracing her roots could lead to finding Orihime's companions in this world."

"If by 'species' you mean whether they marry humans, gnomes, elves, etc., then it's not uncommon, though not necessarily common."

"Well, yes, but among beastmen, there are also different species or types, right? Like, do dog-type beastmen ever marry bear-type beastmen and have children?"

"?? Dog type and bear type?"

Annemarie tilted her head. Isamu couldn't understand why she did that. The conversation wasn't syncing up.

And then he reached a conclusion.

"Ah!!! Could it be... Are beastmen just one species!?"

"Yes, that's right? What else... Ohhh! I see, so that's why you asked..."

Finally, Annemarie also realized the misunderstanding in the conversation.

"Yes. Beastmen are indeed one species. Their ears and tails are like hair colors for humans. Just like humans, those with ears similar to wolves are more likely to have children with wolf-like ears, but it's not absolute. Sometimes traits from several generations ago suddenly appear. One significant difference is that they mostly possess physical characteristics corresponding to their features."

"Physical characteristics?"

"Yes. Humans don't have things like 'if you have blonde hair, you're strong' or 'if you have red hair, you have a lot of magic power,' right? But for beastmen, if you resemble a bear, you're strong, or if you resemble a wolf, you have good ears, etc. It's almost always in line with their appearance. In fact, there's a theory that they 'take on appearances corresponding to their physical features.'"

"I see, that's interesting..."

It was quite shocking to Isamu.

For example, he had always thought that wolf-type beastmen were naturally from the 'wolf beastman tribe,' but it turned out to be quite the gacha...

However, according to Annemarie, since it's said that traits similar to recent ancestors are more likely to appear, it's not that strange if genetic traits are expressed along with appearance.

"So normally, they don't pay much attention to species or types. It might be different among beastmen themselves... Also, the waitress from earlier had black ears and tail, so she didn't really resemble Orihime-chan, right?"

Then Isamu realized once again.

Since cats don't exist here, he didn't know the common characteristics of cats. There was no basis for judging whether someone looked cat-like or not.

If judging whether someone resembled Orihime, it made more sense to start from their more noticeable fur color and facial features.

"Except for some exceptions, cat ears are usually triangular like hers. Their tails are similar too, usually slender and flexible. If people from my country saw her, almost everyone would say she's a cat beastman, she's that distinctive."

"I see, I didn't know that..."

"Yeah. So, I'd like to show Orihime to her and see her reaction. It's not because she's my type, so don't worry."

"N-no, it's not that I don't want to talk to her or anything, I just..."

"Haha, I was just kidding."

"Wh-what?! Jeez!! Isamu-san is starting to resemble my mother lately!"

Seeing Annemarie puffing up her cheeks while blushing, Isamu couldn't help but think she was adorable.

After a while, the waitress, unaware of the previous exchange, brought the first order of drinks.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! Let's start with wine."

After placing the wine, she quickly retreated and came back. Carrying drinks for twelve people was quite a lot, so she had to make three trips.

"The last one is pale ale."

With everyone's drinks served, they made a toast.

"To our safe arrival in Innotia, and to the success of tomorrow's business negotiations and exploration. Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

With that, they ordered their meals and plunged into a lively feast.

After eating and drinking for a while and once the orders had settled down, Isamu called out to the waitress.

"Onee-san!"

"Yes, sir?"

"One pale ale and one roasted beans, please."

As the cat-eared waitress approached, Isamu placed his order.

"Sure thing. Anything else?"

"Oh, and... Can you just boil some chicken meat? I want to feed it to this little one."

"Hmm?"

Picking up Orihime, who was sitting on his lap, Isamu showed her to the waitress.

"Oh, a familiar. Nyah!”

“Huh…”

“Wait, a Caith-sith!? No, it looks similar but different... What is it?"

The waitress was surprised by Orihime, and her words surprised Isamu as well.

At that moment, a name of a famous figure (famous cat) from Earth that he had heard before popped up.

He couldn't remember which country's folklore it was, but the Caith-sith was a cat fairy that spoke human language and walked on two legs.

It's also a popular character that appears frequently in various games and anime.

To hear that name here...

"This little one is my familiar, and her name is Orihime. But what exactly is this Caith-sith? Actually, I found her in the forest when she was still small, raised her, and made her my familiar. But I've never seen any similar creatures or animals..."

Of course, it was a big lie, but Isamu decided to go along with the cover story for now and see how things played out.

"I see... Caith-sith-sama is our ancestors' close friend and partner. I've never met them myself, but I've heard about them from my dad, and there are paintings passed down in our family that depict Caith-sith sama. Orihime's colors are different, and she doesn't stand on two legs, but her face and atmosphere are quite similar."

"Ancestors?"

"Yes, ancestors. My ancestor was the wandering beastman, Wami Nashara."

The waitress said with a slightly proud chest.

"Huh? When you say 'wandering beastman,' you mean the one who founded the trading company in this city?"

"Yeah. I'm Sori Nashara. Descendant of Wami Nashara."

Isamu was surprised to encounter such an unexpected figure.

He tried asking about various things, including Caith-sith, but it seemed that because it had been about ten generations since the original Wami Nashara, and because they weren't directly descended, they only knew bits and pieces from oral tradition.

What he understood was that Wami Nashara, like Sori, was a cat-type beastman with black ears and tail.

In their original world, they coexisted with a cat-like entity called Caith-sith.

Upon coming here, they used the skills they acquired to help the Inocenti family, who were then counts, and later established the Nashara Trading Company.

Unfortunately, it wasn't clear what skills they had acquired.

Furthermore, there were quite a few descendants like Sori and, as she said, there were over a hundred Nashara family members in this city alone.

However, most of them, like Sori, only passed down their family name and a few oral traditions.

If they wanted more details, they were told that visiting the Nashara Trading Company would be the best option.

Afterward, they received the location of the Nashara Trading Company from Sori, gave her an extra tip as thanks, and the group headed back to their lodgings.

Encountering a wandering person other than himself for the first time, Isamu couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity, but for now, he prioritized summarizing the delivery and commission manufacturing discussions, planning to visit the estate of Lord Innocenti, the border count, the next day.

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