Kays Translations

Chapter 81: Nighttime Incident

　The beastmen who brought Mr. Jusel Leesley back home returned to their home country, and a formal group of beastmen came to the Kingdom of Wernos This marked the beginning of exchanges between the two countries.

　One of the beastmen is now eating the daily katsudon (pork cutlet served on top of a bowl of rice) at the “Hideaway”.

　The person who brought him here was Mr. Harrison. Mr. Harrison was the one who offered his sister be Mr. Henry’s fiancée. He’s also the person who played an active role in the bill to prohibit discrimination against beastmen.

　Illustration (By Mitemin)

　When Mr. Harrison came into the restaurant, I looked at his companion’s clothes and thought, (This is the first time I’ve seen that uniform,) and before he sat down, he told me, “I have brought along someone from the Kingdom of Arcetheus.”

　This alone shows that Mr. Harrison is a considerate person.

　The civil official of the Kingdom of Arcetheus is a tall, stout, red-haired man. He is over two meters tall. His body is also incredibly thick. It makes bowl of pork cutlet on rice look small.

“This is delicious. The meat is pork. This is the first time I have had this kind of pork dish, and I like it. It has a delicious taste that makes it seem like something the common people would eat. We grow rice in our country, so I would like to spread this dish in my home country.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

　The red-haired man introduced himself. 

“I’m Charlie, a bear type beastman. I’ll be coming here more often from now on.”

“I look forward to serving you. I see you’re a bear-type beastman.”

“Yes. In the Kingdom of Arceteuthus, it is customary to first introduce yourself by what type of beastman you are. Well, when it comes to fellow beastmen, we can usually tell without having to say it.”

　Charlie-san is glowing purple. (Purple is the color of bear-type beastmen.) I thought as I listened to what he had to say. After exchanging greetings, I retreated to the kitchen, where I found Sophia-chan, who for some reason had transformed into a dog, shrunk to a small size in the corner.

　Illustration (By Mitemin)

“What happened Sophia?”

“Fee-chan, I’m scared.”

“Okay, okay. It’s okay. There’s nothing to be scared of.”

　I wondered why she was transforming, but I guess it’s because Charlie looks exceptionally strong. Maybe it’s because she was left in someone else’s care and had to stay in the kitchen, so instinctively (there was no escape!) She became frightened and transformed? If so, I feel sorry for her.

　I held the heavy Sophia in my arms and comforted her, saying, “It’s okay. There’s nothing to be scared of. Let’s turn back into a human now.” Sophia returned to her human form in my arms, quickly put on her clothes, and hugged me again. When a child clings to you, you become very protective. I kissed her nice smelling cheeks.

　After Mr. Harrison and Charlie left, Karin-san came to pick her up. As soon as Sophia saw her, she loudly reported, “Big guy! A bear!” and she was a little flustered because she was not sure if she was saying that she recognized him as a bear-type beastman or someone who looked like a bear.

　Sandor, who was grilling sausages in the kitchen, grimaced and said, “Which did you mean by that?”

　After the twelve o’clock bell, customers started coming in one after another. While I cooked lunch, Sandor made hamburger buns and hot dog sausage buns for the takeaway.

　When the takeaway lunches were ready, Albert would go out to deliver them. If I can spare the time, Sandor also makes deliveries. The backpacks they carry are box-shaped, like the ones food delivery people carry in the other world. On the side is a sign that reads, “Lunch delivery in progress!　The Hideaway” on the side. Albert was impressed, saying, “This is a good advertisement.”

　At two o’clock in the afternoon, Mr. Henry arrived.

　Recently, Henry has become like an older brother to the young people. They are fond of him, thinking “Mai’s boyfriend is like an older brother to us,” and Mr. Henry is not too happy about it, and yet he adores them.*¹

“When they open a store, I would like to help them find a good property.”

“That’s it?”

“They’re like little brothers to me, and they’re so adorable. I’m an only child, so this feeling is new and fun for me.”

　Over dinner, Henry goes over our plans for the future. He talks about how I will be adopted by some noble family, and how I will maintain this restaurant after our marriage.

　It is inevitable that I will be adopted by a nobleman. He said The reason was that “if we allow marriage between a noble and a commoner, the class system would collapse.” I neither criticize nor praise the system of this country. I accept it as a fact.

　It was night and I closed the shop and came to “Romi’s Bar”. Mr. Henry is having dinner with the Prime Minister tonight. He had dined with the Prime Minister before. Maybe the position of the head civil servant requires a close relationship with the prime minister.

　I noticed that Mr. Harrison and Charlie, the bear-type beastman, were in the back of the bar. Next to Harrison was a woman glowing red, and I recognized her.

（That woman, where  had I seen that woman before?)

　Lately I have been leaving my sensing magic on. Mr. Glidden says it is a waste of magic power, but my magic power never runs out at this rate. Even when I used all my strength to cast a message spell to grandma and almost used up all my magical power, it was completely restored after a night’s sleep.

　I remembered the woman’s deep red color. It was Lou, the waitress who had served motsu dishes to me and Mr. Henry. Her and Harrison were talking away very friendly. I prayed in my heart, (all the best, you two).

　I saw Charlie’s purple color here and there at the Spring Festival, so there must be a lot of bear-type beastmen in this country. While I was thinking about this, Romi-san came up to me, smiling. Romi-san is glowing yellow. I wonder what type of beastman yellow is.

　When I first saw Romi-san glowing yellow, I made a great effort not to show it on my face. The bartender behind the counter was also yellow. I saw a lot of yellow on the night of the Spring Festival.

“Here’s a complimentary gift. Would you like to try it?　I’ve devised a sauce. What do you think?”

　A thick dressing is poured over leafy greens similar to romaine lettuce. It’s rare to see raw vegetables served here other than cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions. Perhaps it’s because of the fear of parasites.

“Raw vegetables? That’s unusual.”

“These are safe vegetables that I grow myself.”

“I’ll have some. Mmm!　The lettuce is fresh and delicious, and this sauce is really good. If I could just rub the cut side of a garlic clove into the bowl where the sauce is made, it might taste even better. Oh, sorry for being so cheeky.”

　Romi looks surprised.

“Yes. Now that you mention it, I can see it. Garlic, right? I’ll give it a try. Thank you, Mai-san. Are you in the food business by any chance?”

“Yes. I run a shop called “The Hideaway”. Please come by if you feel like it.”

“Wait a minute!　A “hideaway”?　The one everybody’s talking about?　Oh, come on, you should have told me sooner!”

　I asked her what the buzz was about, and she told me, “you accept young people for volunteer work. The food is cheap and delicious. Even civil servants from the castle and daughters of nobility come to eat here.” I laughed, because all of the rumors were true.

　After asking me about the price of our food, Romi said, “It’s cheap. I’ll bring my kids and the whole family next time,” and left. It was the first time I was learning that Romi had a family.

　As I was walking out of the bar, a little tipsy and drunk, the alley cats came up to me. I pet them and sniffed the ones that let me sniff them. Outdoor cats have quite a complex smell. I don’t dislike that either. In fact, I love it. As I was sniffing the cats one after another with a “teeheehee” grin on my face, someone called out to me from behind.

“You like cats, do you, young lady?”

　I hurriedly stood up and realized I didn’t know the person. There were four other men around him. It was dark and I couldn’t see their faces, but the way they stood and the atmosphere they had were all a bit too uptight. It was the type I often saw in Tokyo. I immediately created a dome-shaped barrier around my body. When I created the barrier, the cats all disappeared at once.

“What is it? I don’t like it when people suddenly call out to me from behind.”

“I’m sorry. I overheard you talking with the owner at the bar earlier.　You’re the owner of a popular shop, aren’t you? We’re in a bit of a financial bind, and I was wondering if you could lend us some money. We’ll  pay you back for sure.”

　Bullshit. You have no intention of paying me back.

　When I tried to back away without replying, the man’s four companions surrounded me with a practiced look on their faces. All of them had knives in their hands.

“I know you’re underestimating me because I’m just one woman, but you shouldn’t .”

“Hey, did you hear? That’s pretty bold. I thought I’d just take the money, but this woman seems interesting too.”

　Is it the same all over the world to make that crude “Hyah-hyah-hyah-hyah” laughing sound?

　I immediately chanted (transformation) in my mind, and everyone’s knives turned to powder and fell silently at the feet of their owners.

　The men looked at their hands in shock, saying “Huh?” and “What?” I then shattered their clothes, shoes, and belts to pieces. The men were in a panic, unable to comprehend the fact that they had suddenly been stripped naked.

“Isn’t it unnerving to be naked out here?”

“Oh, you did this!”

“Well? I don’t know.”

　The men backed away. Five of them had their knives drawn and were threatening me. Don’t think this will be the end of it. I immediately cast a message spell and made a giant snake, a wolf, and a crocodile appear behind the men. They were all extra large.

“You better run or you will be eaten.”

　The men look around and notice the animals in the darkness close by. They all let out muffled screams. As the serpents slithered forward, they ran off, screaming, “Geeaaaahhh!”

“I guess the walking corpses were scarier. Maybe I should have surrounded them with really rotting ones.”

　I send them off, then turn off the animals and walk away. Grandma, my life in the royal capital is going well.

Tl note:

*¹- Henry is being described here as ‘not as dissatisfied (or annoyed) as (s)he would have us believe.’

Motsunabe (もつ鍋) is a type of nabemono in Japanese cuisine, which is made from beef or pork tripe or other offal.[1] It is a popular stew made with guts portions of various types of meat, prepared in a conventional kitchen cooking pot or a special Japanese nabe pot (nabe).*(wikipedia)

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