22 Work, Work, Work (1/2)
Alkbestia, the country governed by beastmen, was on the east side of the Central Continent. As the only country in the world to be under the beastmen's rule, Alkbestia was mainly populated by the beastmen and welcomed all recognized intelligent species, including demons.
The beastmen were renowned for their powerful bodies and low mana capacities. While the beastmen were strong warriors, others were gourmet chefs. Every beastmen were born with a higher sense of taste and smell than any other race and thus were natural food connoisseurs. Furthermore, all beastmen, regardless of age or type, required a considerable amount of food- almost five times an average grown man. As a result, the beastmen valued food and spices over riches and were particular in regards to their diet.
After entering the beastman's country, Alkbestia, Jae and the others stopped by the town of Kalfrar, a relatively large town known for its numerous ranges of farms and plantations. In fact, beans, potatoes, and radishes were the local specialty of Kalfrar. Since the towns in the area were agricultural ones, they united and formed a farmer's union where they traded fresh produce throughout the Central Continent.
”No! I don't wanna leave Pepper!”
”Scarlett! You know he's not yours! Folred has to take him back! Don't be spoiled, you're older than me!” Clara Nixon scolded the childlike girl.
”But, I'll never see him again! He'll die before I can visit him!”
”Unbelievable! Who in the world told you that?”
Scarlett Fenn pointed at a certain grinning girl, ”Iris said that dogs die early from diseases and disformities because they were created by selective breeding and don't naturally exist in the world! Plus, when it dies, the elves will eat it!”
”Nonsense, it's not even a dog! Moreover, the elves are vegan!”
Jae turned to that certain grinning girl with platinum-blonde hair, ”You could be really cruel sometimes.”
”Hehe.”
The elven guide, Folred, had completed his mission of transporting the children to Alkbestia and thus, had to return home with Pepper.
At the moment, the other children were waiting to obtain their identification cards in Kalfrar, which happened to be the closest town to the border. These cards would also act as a visa or passport, so without one, they could not travel in Alkbestia freely. Although they could register with the Adventurer's Guild, they were uneasy about what race would show up when their statuses were identified.
Jae peeled the lizard girl off Pepper.
”Time to let it go, Scarlett.”
”But, Jae-!”
”We can get our own pet later.”
Scarlett pouted as she gradually nodded in compliance.
”Then, I want a ginormous one that can fly.”
”Yes. Yes. Yes.”
He dragged the girl away as Folred said his farewells and departed.
”Remember not to move more than fifteen meters away from me, otherwise, my illusion will wear off,” Melody reminded the group. Only Jae, Iris, Clara, Natalie, and Scarlett did not need an illusion to disguise their forms. Not many of the younger generation knew the appearance of a dryad while the other three girls were races acknowledged as a part of ”humanity”.
While Wendy was a cervitaur, apparently she was not a beastman, but rather, classified as a monster along with centaurs and related species. Since there were plenty of humans living in Alkbestia, it was not wise to reveal Wendy or Jade despite beastmen not minding the trait differences. After all, humans were the predominant race with the most prejudice toward half-bloods and demons.
Although her illusion could distort the sense of sight, Melody wasn't skilled nor mature enough to fool the other senses such as touch. Furthermore, she could not use the same large-scale, low-duration illusions as she did in the elven village because this time, she required a longer period of activation. If compared to a foot race, the way she used magic in the village was comparable to sprinting and now, she had to run long distance.
Under Melody's magic, the children were disguised as humans with long robes or beastmen. However, since Melody could not fool the sense of touch, Nora was the only one to be stored into a bag. Otherwise, supposing someone bumped into Nora, they would only feel a blob on their foot rather than the humanoid figure they were tricked to view her as.
”Where are my nekomimi gals? Why are beastmen all furries? I prefer cat ears and tails on a human over a bipedal human-sized cat.” Nora lamented within a bag straddled over Wendy.
”Aw~. I love the furries in those animated movies~.”
”I guess it does remind you of those 3D animations of bipedal animals, but that's not what I wanted! Where's the romance? Where's the cuteness?”
Beastmen were mammals such as alpacas or lions with the body shape and sizes of humans. Fur and hairs of many different lengths would cover their entire bodies as they walked on two legs. As Nora stated, they were indeed furries instead of animal-eared humans.
Actually, Jae wasn't sure what the animals, plants, or whatever were formally named. But, he moved on the policy where if it looked like a duck, tasted like a duck, sounded like a duck, then he would call it a duck regardless of its accurate name. He could care less if someone corrected him.
”Instead of worrying about whether they're furries or not, we should be concerned about where to stay or eat by the end of the day,” Jade logically reasoned.
Jae sighed. After living in the wilderness or on the road for so long, he really craved for a nice meal, a soft bed, and a warm bath. Was that too much to ask for?
”I'm still a member of the adventurer's guild and it looks like this town has a branch office. I could take a small request,” he suggested.
”Oh! I'll come with you!” Scarlett raised her hand as if she were in class.
”How about we unleash the 'Scarlett'?” Iris whispered into Jae's ear.
”Are you kidding me? Of course, not! If we did, she would doom this peaceful town.”
”Why?” Melody cut into their conversation.
”Because, uh, you see...remember the Fenn family? They-”
”What are you guys mumbling about over here?” Scarlett joined the chat.
”Nothing. Scarlett, Clara, and I will go take a request. The rest of you go get some odd jobs or something around the town. I'm sure that Iris, Wendy, and Natalie could find a job related to cooking in such a country, which values food so much.”
”Okay, then let's split.”
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After separating, Jae, Scarlett, and Clara visited the Adventurer's Guild. Plenty of adventurers were seated around the office, filling out paper documents on wooden boards. To the children, the scene was analogous to the DMV.
”Let's see…” Scarlett supported Jae with her shoulders as he peeked over the heads of the taller adventurers. In the meantime, Clara sensibly asked the receptionist for a catalog without exerting herself like the foolish duo.
”I see an herb gathering request, a meat gathering request, a spice gathering request, an ingredient gathering request….this is all about food isn't it?”
”Let's go with the one with the highest rewards!”
Jae glanced at Scarlett and pondered for a moment.
”...which one looks the most interesting to you?”
”That one!” She pointed at a blue slip of paper. It was so small that a majority of people would neglect it. However, Jae knew that Scarlett was a bit special when it came to money.
”Alright.”
A nice-looking elephant beastman offered, ”Would you kids like me to get that for you?”
”Oh, thank you, sir.”
”I'm a woman.”
”Uh, thank you, ma'am.” Jae really couldn't tell.
The elephant beastwoman didn't mind Jae's mistake and still generously handed the slip over.
”Ohoho. Don't worry about it, my kids are around your age and they can't tell humans apart, which is similar to how humans can't tell us, beastmen, apart.”
Accepting the slip with a slight blush, Jae skimmed over the mission.
”Cooking Mintduck Rolls!
Requirements: Requesting adventurers of any color level!
Details: Capture mintduk and flycots from the Square Grasslands. If mintduk leeks are near, collect them for extra rewards!
Reward: 10 chimes per mintduk, 8 per flycot and 5 per leek.”
”One chime is around a dollar, but I'm not sure what the heck is a mintduk or flycot,” Jae spoke.
”Isn't it a duck and an apricot?” Scarlett asked.
”Possibly. Or, maybe not. Actually, this world's language is harder to understand than English. Who knows what a mintduk is.”
”Have you two finished choosing?” Clara glanced up from her catalog. It seemed that she wasn't interested in any of the written requests.
”Yeah, let's process it and go hunt in the grasslands. Finally, no more forests.”