Ch.146Beast-kin (1)

The place Leona and I headed to was, as everyone expected, a soundproof restaurant. Originally, I had planned to have coffee, but since our conversation would likely be lengthy, I chose a restaurant instead.

“W-wow…”

When we arrived at the restaurant I frequently visit, she looked around the interior with an expression mixing confusion and interest. It seemed this was her first time in such a place.

Meanwhile, I asked a server I was familiar with for a room.

“Please give us a room for two. Here’s 2 gold. The 50 silver is your tip.”

“Thank you. I’ll serve you with the utmost care.”

The server’s face noticeably brightened when I gave the 50 silver tip. With a tip this size, they would also serve tea when we finished our meal—a win-win for everyone.

Before heading to the room, I looked at Leona. She was still busy looking around.

‘Well, she probably hasn’t been to a place like this before.’

Leona usually goes around alone. As a beastkin, she has to hide her identity to make daily life easier.

She can’t easily make friends, and naturally, even dining together in places like this would be difficult. I know she fills her stomach with school meals every day except weekends.

I felt sorry for her, but only briefly. Right now, I needed to get her into the room. If I left her like this, her ears might pop out without her realizing it.

“Leona.”

“…”

“Leona.”

“Huh? What? Me?”

Leona only looked at me after I called her twice. Pointing at herself with her finger made her look foolish.

“Who else would it be? I’ve got a room, so let’s go.”

“Oh, um… okay…”

She still seemed uneasy, looking around even as she walked toward me, and continued doing so as we followed the server to the room.

Even when entering the room, she hesitated, reluctant to go in. Finally, she entered only after I waved my hand to indicate it was fine.

“Wow…”

Leona finally exclaimed in admiration once we were alone in the room for two. I sat down while she looked around the room with curious eyes.

She didn’t look like the cynical and fierce beastkin I knew, but rather like a country girl who had just arrived in the city for the first time. Seeing her pure and curious expression, I almost doubted if this was the Leona I knew.

But I couldn’t leave her like this. I picked up the menu and said to her:

“Don’t just stand there, sit down. I’ll order first.”

“Huh? Oh. Alright. I sit here, right?”

Unlike her polite speech earlier, she had returned to her naturally cynical tone.

I nodded in response. Leona sat across from me and began staring intently at the white tablecloth spread on the table.

Perhaps even the tablecloth was fascinating to her. I couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at the absurdity.

“Is this your first time in a place like this?”

“Of course it is. How could I come to a place like this when I’m barely making ends meet?”

Leona answered clearly while examining the tablecloth. Come to think of it, I heard she worked part-time during vacation instead of returning home.

I wasn’t sure if she didn’t receive support from home or if there was some other circumstance, but she lived a life far removed from nobility.

“…Hey. Isn’t this place really expensive?”

*Pong-*

Looking at the obviously expensive appearance of the room for two, Leona slowly raised her head and asked. Simultaneously, a pair of ears popped up on her head with a distinctive sound.

I stared blankly at Leona’s twitching animal ears. It had been a while since I’d seen them, making it difficult to look away.

“Um… it’s not that expensive. Don’t worry about it. I’ll pay for everything.”

“B-but… are you really sure?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…”

Leona looked suspicious at my short answer. Feeling somewhat offended, I spoke casually.

“I’m a noble, you know. I receive about 30 gold for living expenses.”

“30 gold…! I worked all vacation and only made 20 gold in the end…!”

Leona exclaimed with her mouth wide open. I smirked at her reaction, but hearing that she earned 20 gold made me curious.

What kind of part-time job did she do, and how much was the hourly wage to earn the equivalent of 2 million won? That was more surprising to me.

“I’m more amazed that you earned 20 gold. What kind of work did you do?”

“Café clerk. The owner saw me and specially increased my hourly wage. The first week was easy, but after that, customers increased tremendously.”

“Hmm…”

Typically, cafés tend to hire people with decent appearances. Even in my previous life, there were many stories about businesses hiring attractive part-timers, especially beautiful women, and seeing sales increase.

And Leona’s beauty is quite remarkable. Her brown hair and brown eyes might seem ordinary in terms of features, but her aura makes up for it.

When she closes her mouth, she becomes a calm and intellectual beauty, and when she reveals her true self like now, she’s a strong and reliable older sister. She exudes different charms.

It was fascinating how her impression changed with just a facial expression, but in terms of appearance alone, I could definitely say Leona was a very attractive woman.

“I think I understand why. Anyway, enough small talk—what would you like to eat? Take a look at the menu and choose.”

“Hmm…”

*Tick- Tick-*

Though she covered her face with the menu, she couldn’t hide her perked-up ears. Moreover, those ears were twitching, making it impossible not to notice them.

After a while, Leona, who had been examining the menu, slightly raised her head and faced me. Unlike before, she asked me in a voice that had lost its confidence:

“…It’s too expensive?”

*Tick-*

Leona’s ears twitched as soon as she said that. Though only her eyes were visible because of the menu, I could guess what expression she was making.

Even the cheapest meal at this restaurant costs 80 silver, or 80,000 won. It’s understandably burdensome for an ordinary student like Leona.

But as I mentioned earlier, I receive ample living expenses. Moreover, whenever I dine with acquaintances like Marie, they usually pay instead of me.

This amount is nothing to me.

“You can order the most expensive item if you want, so feel free. Just don’t rush.”

“Really? No take-backs?”

“Just choose from the menu. But don’t pick more than one item.”

“I have that much sense. Then…”

Leona seemed to have already spotted a menu item she wanted, as she slightly lowered the menu. While I was looking at the menu, she pointed to a dish with her finger.

“C-can I get this?”

“Steak, huh? How would you like it? Well-done?”

“What’s well-done?”

“There are different types. Well-done is cooked until there’s almost no red in the cross-section, rare is just slightly cooked on the surface with the inside remaining mostly red. Medium is right in between.”

“I’ll take medium.”

“Got it. I’ll order now, so hide your ears first.”

*Swish-*

As I rang the bell to call the server, Leona immediately hid her ears. The sight of her ears, which had been clearly visible just moments ago, naturally disappearing was always fascinating to see.

After placing our order, I decided to have a question time until the food arrived. Since this was the original purpose, I didn’t forget to bring a notebook and pen.

Leona revealed her hidden ears again when I took out my writing tools. I opened my notebook and began to ask the questions I had prepared in advance.

“Before I start asking questions, you don’t have to answer honestly. Just keep in mind that I might write my thesis strangely as a result.”

“You better not write it strangely.”

“Good. First question. There are various races of beastkin. Or should I say ethnicities in this case? Anyway, tiger, lion, cat, dog, wolf, and so on. There are many types of beastkin. Besides these, there are deer, cow, rabbit, sheep, monkey, and more. There are an enormous number of ethnicities compared to humans.”

“That’s right.”

“Then, if a tiger beastkin and a deer beastkin have a child, what happens?”

Beastkin are perceived as savage and aggressive, but that only applies to carnivorous animals. Beastkin like deer, cows, and rabbits generally lead quiet and peaceful lives.

Because of this, carnivorous beastkin used to reject and plunder them, but after the founding of Animus, they united as one. This means they live together regardless of whether they’re carnivorous or herbivorous.

Naturally, there were cases of marriage between different ethnicities, and I was curious about how children would be born in such cases.

Would they inherit all the characteristics of one parent like elves and humans, or would they be a mix of both?

This is also mentioned in the Biography of Xenon, and I became particularly curious after the appearance of half-elves.

“That’s quite an interesting question from the start. The result is simple. Either a tiger or a deer is born. There’s no case of them being combined. Even if a rabbit and a sheep mate, if there’s a tiger or lion among their ancestors, it might appear with a low probability.”

“Is that really true?”

“Yes. That’s why no one thinks it’s strange. We just accept it as it is. However, we can confirm if the child is truly ours through ‘sorcery’.”

Atavism is much more severe than in humans. Unlike elves, this is a race that would make Mendel burn with research enthusiasm if he heard about it.

“That’s fascinating. Second question. Despite this diversity, I’ve noticed some beastkin look like they have animal faces, while others like you are closer to humans. What’s the case here?”

“That’s a result of human and beastkin interbreeding. The animal faces you mentioned are closer to purebloods, while I’m mixed. Actually, this is similar to what I mentioned earlier. Some can be born closer to humans like me, or the opposite. Long ago… beastkin used to raid humans. Elves were too powerful, and dwarves were more suitable as technical slaves rather than sex slaves. Demons didn’t even exist back then. Because of this, mixed-bloods were treated as slaves back then, but now they’re recognized as proper members of society.”

“What? Really? That’s the first I’ve heard of this!”

“It was a practice that existed before being recorded in books. It might remain in wall paintings rather than written text.”

Amazing. This was valuable information I couldn’t afford to miss.

I found myself staring at Leona with sparkling eyes before hurriedly taking notes.

Why hadn’t scholars noticed this? Was it because they took it for granted? Or because relations between beastkin and humans weren’t good?

“The reason it’s not well-known is because of the racial war 300 years ago. Many of our kind were massacred, and naturally, such historical records disappeared. Humans wanted to erase their own disgrace.”

“…”

“Fortunately, some wall paintings remain in Animus, but… even these are few. History should be continuously passed down, but it was cut off during the racial war.”

It was due to none other than human cruelty and wickedness. Although Leona spoke calmly as if it were nothing, I couldn’t help feeling apologetic.

Beastkin, like the Jews in World War II, were mercilessly massacred by humans. No matter how strong beastkin were, they couldn’t overcome humans united as one alliance.

The founding of Animus also occurred near the end of the racial war. If the legendary hero and founding father “Hick” hadn’t appeared then, beastkin would likely have lived as human slaves.

“Why aren’t you writing this down? You said you’re writing a thesis, right? It would be good to include such things.”

“…Are you absolutely sure there’s not a single lie?”

“I don’t have so little conscience as to lie after being treated to such an expensive meal.”

Her words were strangely convincing. It was a story I couldn’t find even in books, which made it more credible. Above all, the truth is always held by the victims.

However, the book I’m writing is the Biography of Xenon. If I include facts that differ from history, it could cause great confusion in the world, especially regarding beastkin who are in opposition to humans.

‘I should look for more books in the sanctuary.’

I’m glad I asked Cyris to find books related to beastkin. With an uneasy feeling, I moved on to the next question.

“Next question. In Animus, carnivorous and herbivorous beastkin live together. Doesn’t this cause conflicts?”

“That’s also nonsense created by humans. The distinction between carnivorous and herbivorous beastkin is essentially meaningless. Both ethnicities eat meat and vegetables according to their preferences. Conflicts… there are various kinds. Those who believe in interacting with humans versus those who can’t trust humans who have a history of massacring their kind. It’s essentially similar to humans.”

“I see. But there’s no difference between carnivores and herbivores? Isn’t there usually a difference?”

“No. Unless you’re talking about tiger, lion, or bear clans with ridiculously strong physical abilities, there’s almost no difference. You can’t even let your guard down. I once got kicked by a deer beastkin and had all my ribs crushed. I had to recuperate for a whole week.”

“Ah… Wait, what? A week?”

“Yes, a week. Why?”

For a human, that would be at least a serious injury, yet she recovered after just a week of recuperation. What kind of incredible recovery ability is this?

Leona seemed to notice belatedly and said, “Ah,” before changing her words.

“Oh right. You’re human. We beastkin have exceptionally good recovery abilities along with our physical capabilities. Even injuries that would be considered serious for humans are minor for us.”

“Then what’s considered a serious injury for you?”

“Limbs being blown off or holes in vital spots? That’s when it gets a bit dangerous if not treated.”

A human would die from shock with such injuries. Despite the differences in civilization, it’s questionable how humans managed to massacre such monsters.

“That’s a little… no, very surprising. Beastkin are incredibly strong.”

“If we weren’t, we would have gone extinct 300 years ago, right? You don’t know how terrifying you humans are. If you have a single goal, you’ll use any means necessary.”

Conversely, Leona seems to perceive us humans as a formidable race. It feels strange to exchange different thoughts from different perspectives.

*Knock knock knock-*

Someone knocked from outside the room. It seemed the server had brought our meal.

As soon as she heard the knock, Leona hid her ears without delay, and I stood up after she did so. Since the room is soundproofed, I had to open the door myself.

“Please enjoy your meal.”

“Thank you.”

“Wow…”

Soon, our ordered meals were placed on the table. Leona marveled at the steak, which was properly cooked and coated with a sauce that enhanced its flavor.

She was so impressed that her mouth was wide open, revealing sharp canine teeth that weren’t visible before.

Perhaps because she was a lion beastkin, her canines looked very sharp. If bitten by those, one would immediately get a hole punched through them.

“Before eating, put the napkin around your neck.”

“Napkin?”

“The handkerchief-like thing in front of you. Hang it around your neck and use it to wipe sauce or meat juices that drip. Do you know how to use a knife?”

“No, I don’t.”

In the end, I had to teach her everything before Leona could start eating. At first, she observed with sparkling eyes, then gripped the fork and knife in each hand as I had shown her…

“Chomp!”

“…”

She completely ignored the knife, stabbed the steak with her fork, and took a big bite. I wanted to point out her barbaric eating style, but seeing her happy face made me hesitate to scold her.

Meanwhile, Leona chewed the steak that filled her mouth and said with a voice full of happiness:

“Mm. Mmm. This is delicious!”

“…Good. I’m glad you like it.”

I also started eating with a smile. As I cut my steak with a knife, Leona, who was chewing her steak, asked with round eyes:

“Huh? Is that how you use it?”

“How did you think it was used?”

“I thought you cut bones into small pieces to eat them. There are bones here too.”

“…Do you eat bones when you have school meals?”

“Yes.”

“…”

It’s a miracle she hasn’t been discovered yet.