Chapter 20: Dragon Cradle, and then to the Beastmen Village 22
Karma’s family home… the house of the Tiger Beastmen chieftain was, as expected, a rather large wooden building. According to what I heard, it’s common for two or three generations to live together, and strong Beastmen men often take multiple wives, so the houses naturally end up being large.
There was no fence around the house; we walked through a garden that served as a vegetable patch to reach the entrance.
Karma slid open the door, calling out, “Dad, I’m home!”
Immediately, the pattering of multiple footsteps echoed from deeper inside the house, and four children, boys and girls around 10 to 12 years old, came running.
“Karma-neechan, welcome back!”
“Karma-nee, welcome back!”
“Karma-neesan, welcome home.”
From the sound of it, they must be Karma’s younger siblings.
“Ohh, you’ve all gotten so big!”
As Karma said this, patting the four children on the head, two more figures, a man and a woman, emerged from the back.
Both were Tiger Beastmen. One was a bearded, imposing man nearly two meters tall, and the other was a lady who looked like a more demure version of Karma. I knew at a glance they were Karma’s parents.
“Oi, Karma, you look like you’ve gotten a lot stronger. Sending you out was the right call, kuhaha!” the man boomed.
“Welcome home, Karma,” the woman said. “When you left home, you were practically indistinguishable from a boy, but now you’ve become unrecognizably beautiful. Could this be why?”
The lady gave Karma a thumbs-up. Gestures like that can have different meanings depending on the country, but given the flow of the conversation, I could pretty much understand it.
Karma scratched her head and glanced over at us.
“Ah, well, I’ll tell you about that later. More importantly, these are the members of ‘Guidance of Sol,’ the party I’m currently in. Lani’s here too, but the leader is this man, Soushi-san. By the way, he’s an Imperial Marquis and also an Earl in the Kingdom, so he’s kind of a big deal. Try not to be rude, okay?”
Since I’d been introduced, I stepped forward and bowed.
I noticed Karma’s esteemed father’s eyes glint sharply, and her mother’s gaze grew keen.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Soushi, the leader of ‘Guidance of Sol.’ Karma-san has been a great help to us. Please excuse our sudden visit today, but as we are responsible for your precious daughter, I wished to come and pay my respects.”
Even though I was introduced as a Marquis and such, the members told me to act normally, so I gave my standard salaryman greeting.
At that, Karma’s parents’ sharp gazes instantly changed to expressions like pigeons startled by a peashooter.
“O-Ohh…? Ah, pleased to meet ya, huh. Name’s Zendar. I’m this one’s father, and I happen to be the chieftain of the Tiger Beastmen. Sorry, but even for a Marquis-sama, I can’t really change the way I talk, so I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“Ah, um, I am Marza, Karma’s mother. Thank you for coming all this way to greet us. It’s rather hot and stuffy, but please, come in. Your companions too, and Lani-chan, please come inside. The Wolf chieftain will be here soon, too.”
It seemed I had managed to seize the initiative, though perhaps in an unexpected way.
While Karma gave me a wry smile, I took off my shoes and followed Marza-fujin’s guidance into the house. Incidentally, whenever Geshura enters a place where shoes are forbidden, he has to wipe down his snake body as he comes in.
We were led into a room that looked to be about twenty tatami mats in size. There was a large table on the wooden floor, surrounded by cushions that looked like they were woven from straw. It seemed the Beastmen style was to sit directly on the floor. The strong scent of wood filled the room, which I found somehow calming.
Marza-san and Karma’s younger siblings brought tea and fruit, arranging them on the table. The tea tasted similar to barley tea. It was the first time I’d drunk it in this world.
The eleven members of ‘Guidance of Sol,’ Zendar-shi, Marza-fujin, and Karma’s younger siblings took their seats. Incidentally, this time, Karma and Lani were sitting on either side of me.
When I first introduced all the members of ‘Guidance of Sol,’ Zendar-shi and Marza-fujin widened their eyes and tilted their heads, looking quite surprised… or rather, they seemed to find it slightly unbelievable. Still, that couldn’t be helped. If someone told me, “This one is the Imperial Emperor’s younger sister, this one is a Marquis’s daughter, this one is the Princess of Ozz, this one is a Saint Candidate…” even I would take it with a grain of salt.
“It’s understandable if you don’t believe it, but it’s all true,” Karma explained. “I’ve been traveling with them for a long time, so I’ve actually met the King of Vermillion and the Imperial Emperor in person. I’ve even received various medals and stuff, you know.”
Karma said this, placing her medals on the table for them to see. Her parents stared intently at them and let out a deep sigh. Karma’s younger siblings picked up the medals and predictably started squabbling over them.
Zendar-shi wore a difficult expression for a while, but then he gulped down his tea and placed the cup firmly on the table with a thump.
“I ain’t gonna doubt my own daughter’s story, but it’s just too damn outlandish. Besides, about that ‘Twilight Kin’ business, we only heard they were attacking. The news that you drove ’em back hasn’t reached us here yet. But well, it seems certain Karma really did reach Rank A, so I’ll just take your word for it that those things happened.”
“It might be a bit hard for you to grasp, Dad,” Karma said. “But I think once you see Soushi-san’s power, you’ll have no choice but to believe it, whether you like it or not.”
“Yeah, well, just lookin’ at your companions’ faces, I can tell they’re strong, alright,” Zendar-shi conceded. “But what about you yourself, Soushi-san? What kind of person are ya?”
“We’d also like to hear how you met Karma,” Marza-fujin added.
Her parents’ eyes turned towards me.
“I was originally just a humble merchant,” I began. “However, when I had my ‘Awakening,’ I seem to have acquired some advantageous Skills, which led to my current situation. As for Karma-san, we once fought together when we were in separate parties. Later, when her party disbanded, I scouted her for ‘Guidance of Sol.'”
“Hoh. From your perspective, Soushi-san, is Karma strong?” Zendar-shi asked.
“Yes. I have seen many Adventurers who wield greatswords, but I believe she is undoubtedly one of the strongest among them. She’s powerful enough to sever a Dragon’s head in a single blow, and within ‘Guidance of Sol,’ we rely on her heavily as an attacker.”
“That’s right!” Karma interjected. “On top of being Rank A, I’m also a ‘Dragon Slayer’ and a ‘Twilight Slayer,’ you know. I’m crazy strong!”
Karma puffed out her chest as she said this, and her younger siblings watched her with sparkling eyes.
Seeing this, Zendar-shi placed a hand on his chin and started pondering something.
“What is it, Dad?” Karma asked. “You’re not doubting me, are you?”
“Nah, that ain’t it. I was just thinkin’, if you’ve gotten that strong, maybe you could be the next chieftain after me.”
“Huh? My older brother’s around, and I have no intention of becoming chieftain. Besides, from now on, I plan to follow this man, Soushi-san, wherever he goes.”
“What…?!” Zendar exclaimed.
“Oh my!” Marza-fujin gasped.
At Karma’s bombshell statement (?), Zendar-shi’s gaze sharpened instantly, while Marza-fujin, in contrast, placed her hands on her cheeks, looking delighted.
“What exactly do you mean by that?” Zendar demanded.
“It means exactly what I said,” Karma replied firmly. “We, ‘Guidance of Sol,’ plan to keep traveling around, fighting various dangerous folks and whatnot. And I’m going with them.”
“But you won’t be fighting forever, will ya?”
“Maybe we’ll settle down somewhere eventually. Though that depends on Soushi-san here.”
Karma gave me a meaningful look.
Seeing that, Marza-fujin narrowed her eyes and smiled.
“So, Karma, you intend to be with Soushi-san even then, correct?”
“Well, that’s about the gist of it. Though I don’t know when or where that might be.”
“I see. Soushi-san, may we assume you feel the same way?” Marza-fujin asked, turning to me.
“W-Ah, yes, I also—”
“If you’re gonna go that far, then it can’t be helped!”
Just as I was about to answer Marza-fujin’s question, Zendar-shi suddenly slammed his fist on the table. BANG!
Everyone simultaneously turned towards Zendar-shi.
Seeing Karma, Marza-fujin, and Lani all wearing expressions that seemed to say, “I knew it,” I somehow guessed what Zendar-shi was going to say next.
And indeed, Zendar-shi crossed his arms and declared loudly.
“Soushi-san! If you want Karma, then you’ll have to face me in a match! That’s the way of the Tiger Beastmen!”