Ch.74NPCs of a Feather Flock Together. (4)

“Why is it always me… What did I ever do… *sob*.”

Ragni, sniffling about how her body was defiled by another woman, is curled up behind my back like a koala clinging tightly.

Good grief. She seems to only get attacked by women, from that demon merchant before to this woman now. Does Ragni spray some kind of pheromone that attracts women?

Her masochistic tendencies are already too much to handle, but is there something else going on?

“Y-you! How dare you forcibly take that person away from me!! Infidelity!! You’re not even human!!”

“Are you insane? Didn’t you hear her begging me to save her?”

“Ha! You trained her to say that, didn’t you?!”

How could anyone see it that way?

Ragni was genuinely sobbing for help.

When that woman’s tail invaded under her skirt, she screamed and cried for help like she was about to be genuinely raped.

Seeing that, I felt that this wasn’t just about enjoying the view—Ragni’s chastity was in real danger. So I rushed in at full speed and separated them, that’s all.

“Y-you! That Ragni person is the one who defeated the demon, right?! I heard everything! You’re using that intelligent princess to defeat demons and playing hero, aren’t you?!”

“…What exactly did you hear?”

This woman apparently overheard that Ragni is a princess and something about demons, and now she seems convinced that Ragni was the one who defeated the demon and that I’m the villain exploiting her.

Wait, didn’t she hear anything I said? What kind of delusion is this?

“Sigh. Whatever, just stop bothering my kid and let’s go our separate ways. Forget what you heard. Seems like you heard quite a bit, but their family feud is pretty intense.”

“N-no! I’ve already heard everything, how can I just ignore it?!”

Is this protagonist syndrome? Is that it?

Is it some kind of disease where she has to get involved because she thinks she’s the player character?

The white tiger woman stares at me threateningly with her tail stiffly raised. She still looks like nothing more than a stray cat to me, but it’s giving me a headache nonetheless.

Maybe we need a cultural or physical resolution here?

“Eek?!”

Is it because she’s a beastkin, or because her race is closer to animals? The stray cat immediately noticed my change in mood and backed away cautiously, lowering her previously stiff tail.

She seems quite perceptive about these things. Let’s exchange a few more words.

“What Ragni said earlier was half-joking. I haven’t trained or taken her from anyone, and she’s still a virgin.”

“…What?”

“Same goes for the others. One is my little sister, and one is my adventuring companion. The golem is a monster I keep with me because I’m a tamer. Right, Ragni?”

“*Sniff* Yes.”

When I mention the truth, she looks at me with suspicion. Come on, isn’t it evidence enough that someone stronger like me is continuing this conversation so politely?

“…That may be true. But, earlier, all that talk about being a masochist, a pervert, and making her say ‘meow’…”

“I did that because it was necessary. It was just an act I had to put on in front of those guys.”

“…I-it’s hard to believe.”

I find it harder to believe that you’re a lesbian, you idiot. I swallow the words that rose to the tip of my tongue as the white tiger woman continues.

“T-that ‘meow’ sound Ragni made earlier isn’t something that comes from doing it once or twice. I-I’m sure she does it often…”

“……”

Ragni, let’s ban the “meow” from now on.

Her acting was convincing enough to fool even a beastkin? Wait, now that I think about it, those perverts mixed in with the assassins also got excited every time she answered with “meow.”

I really need to issue a “meow” ban, don’t I?

“Anyway. Neither Ragni nor we defeated the demon, and it’s not a story you should be interested in. Ragni was just trying to keep you from getting involved in our business, understand?”

“……”

After seeing the white tiger woman reluctantly nod in agreement, though she clearly found my words hard to believe, especially with Ragni confirming them…

I pat the sniffling Ragni’s shoulder and head toward the carriage procession.

There’s no need to get unnecessarily entangled any further. After carrying Ragni on my back and starting to walk, the white tiger woman follows about three steps behind us.

But then.

“J-Jack.”

“Hmm?”

“C-can’t you carry me in front of you instead?”

“What? Why suddenly?”

“…T-the stare from behind…”

When Ragni, who was holding my neck with one arm and covering her backside with her other hand, whispered as if genuinely frightened, I glanced back slightly to see that white tiger woman staring intensely at Ragni.

Damn it.

“Eek?!”

“Huh? Y-you! I knew you were rough with women…!!”

Shut up, you crazy woman. This is your fault.

I lightly shook Ragni off my back, tossed her forward, and changed my position to carry her princess-style in my arms.

The woman starts saying something to me about this action, but I ignore her.

“…What! Are you ignoring me?!”

Of course I’m ignoring you. I thought you might be a player character so I was watching, but you turned out to be a foul-mouthed sexual predator beastkin—I can’t deal with this.

If I beat her up and later it turns out “Actually, she’s the protagonist! Your karma is screwed!!” I really couldn’t handle that.

As I return to the procession with Ragni, I see that all the rocks that had fallen on the road have been cleared, and the escort procession was about to depart.

“Hey, I’ll say it again, this is her family feud. Don’t go talking about it anywhere. And that stuff about the horned guys is a lie you made up. Don’t believe it.”

“…My name is Miho.”

I didn’t ask.

When I frown with all my might at the beastkin who threw out her name after I essentially told her not to get involved and to forget about today, she raises her eyebrows and speaks.

“If you really are someone who d-d-does that to women, I’ll never forget you! D-don’t you forget my name or what I said!!”

No. You’re supposed to forget about us, you stupid woman.

As I stare blankly at the beastkin who said what she wanted to say and ran away as if escaping, the sniffling Ragni opens her mouth.

“Trash, moron, pervert.”

Coming from you, the pervert, it sounded incredibly sincere.

*

White tiger beastkin Miho was gathering her thoughts behind the carriage procession that was returning after delivering supplies to the village.

‘Those people definitely seemed to have defeated a demon.’

I’m quite strong even among beastkin. A white tiger beastkin born once every 1000 years. That’s who I am.

‘My claws and fangs probably wouldn’t work against that man.’

I have skills nearly equal to the strongest lion beastkin who has lived for 200 years.

For someone like me to not only fail to find an opening but to feel such fear from just a slight leak of hostility—it was the first wall I’d ever encountered.

‘Surely. The talk about killing a demon earlier must be true.’

That woman called Ragni seemed very intelligent.

After all, she either figured out all my lies from just one statement, or she improvised on the spot to distance herself from me. That much was clear.

And the reason they don’t want to reveal that they killed the demon is probably because of that family feud they mentioned. That’s my guess.

‘…The elders were right. When a white tiger beastkin is born, a threat to the world begins. And the story about gathering companions to defeat demons—I never thought it would be true.’

I was practically forced out of the [Spirit Magic Nation] by the beastkin elders, the old folks who pushed me to travel. And during my journey, I headed to Aigram after hearing about the Seven Deadly Sins demon that had supposedly appeared. But who would have thought that humans who actually defeated a demon would be in Aigram? Moreover, the fact that they found my concealment was unbelievable.

Even in the beastkin village in the Spirit Magic Nation, when I decided to hide, the people who could find me could be counted on one hand, and even then it would take them hours. But his movements were as if he knew I was there from the beginning.

‘…If only he wasn’t a man who harasses women. If only he wasn’t a man at all, it would have been really nice.’

I liked Ragni. She was a beautiful woman with a soft, fragrant body and a charm that made my skin tingle.

I may have approached her too aggressively in a moment of lost control, making her a bit uncomfortable, but I could have taken it slow. Plus…

‘He said she’s still a virgin. Just like me. We would definitely get along well. And she had a similar scent to mine.’

I’m not sure in what sense the scent was similar, but Ragni somehow exuded a scent that was similar to my own kind.

That fact made Miho’s heart race.

After the escort mission was completely over, Miho moved with the intention of subtly following them, but…

‘…W-where did they go?!’

After the escort ended and he received his payment, he disappeared with Ragni on his back at an incredible speed.

While I have a good sense of smell, tracking someone by their human scent in a city full of people is extremely difficult.

Moreover, even that scent seemed to evaporate into the air, cutting off abruptly.

‘…At least I know their names. I’ll find them someday.’

Having failed to track Ragni and that man, Miho took her payment and trudged back to her inn. And…

“…Wow. That beastkin really was trying to follow us?”

“Right? See?! That pervert was really trying to follow us!”

The two people who had escaped to the rooftop immediately after receiving payment and leaving the building—because Ragni said they needed to flee—watched Miho’s retreating figure with disgust as they hid, holding their breath.