Ch. 140 Cat Ears and the Wizard

[Grandpa!!!]

[Why are you yelling from the beginning of the morning..]

[I want to be friends with a girl with beast ears!!]

[(sigh)......]

[Whats with that response?! Grandpa, dont you know?! Those fluffy, soft ears are attached to a girl!! Its like combining the strongest and strongest together and now its mega-strong!!]

[How naive.]

[...........?!]

[To think that a Beast Girls only positive attribute is the ears isNAIVE!]

[HHow..?!]

[A Beast Girls charm arethose muscles!]

[MMuscles?!]

[Thats right! Because they can build muscle than most humans, there are many skinny but extremely fit girls! And the muscles are elastic and amazing! It has the well-toned looks of trained muscles yet remain soft and that contrast is whats best about a Beast Girl..!

[........ththat.is that]

[Igni, you are still too young to understand. But there will be a time when you will understand. You will understand the amazing quality of the 6-pack on a womans stomach.]

[WHOOOOAAAA!!!]

Though not understanding, Igni screamed with excitement.

Though he could not comprehend his grandfathers words, his instincts still screamed that they were correct.

[But, why are there no Beastmen in the Kingdom?!]

[Thats because we are too far from the home country of all Beastmen. Ive heard that the Empire is closer so there are many who go there to earn money.]

[Thats not fair! That means as long as Im in the Kingdom, I wont be able to become friends with a Beast Girl?!]

[You idiot!!]

<SLAP!!!>

A shockingly powerful slap knocked him across the face, and Igni was more surprised and was unable to speak.

[WhWhat was that for?!?!]

[Dont blame the setting for your problems!! There are Beastmen in the Kingdom!!]

[What? Really? Ive never seen one though.]

[Of course you havent! You have been living in the Nobles society! There are no Beastmen among the Kingdoms Nobles!!]

[OOkay.?]

[If you get stronger, youll be able to meet one somewhere! For that purpose, become strong!!]

[OOkay]

<<<<>>>>

Igni: (Grandpa.!)

Igni: (Ivebecome stronger..!!)

It was a memory from long ago.

It was one of the countless past experiences that continued to increase his motivation.

Remembering his past conversation, Igni cried tears of joy inside his heart.

Igni: (Im so glad!)

Igni: (Im so glad to be alive!)

Yoori: IIm Yoori. Its nice to meet you!!

Yoori introduces himself to Elie who will be their city tour guide.

Sara: Im Sara!

And the always cheery Sara greeted Elie as she smiled.

Igni: Im Igni. Nice to meet you. And this man who tried to act cool while greeting Elie is our Igni.

Normally, he would be ignored, but today, he was exceptionally lucky. He was able to draw in a beast-ear girl with his Quest, and now, Elie looked at him with wide-eyes.

Elie: Oh so youre the rumored

Igni: ......rumor? Igni: (Huh? What?)

Igni: (Are people making rumors about me somewhere?!)

And though Igni wanted to know more, he held the urge back and calmly posed a question back.

Elie: Yeah. You won the [Tournament] in the Kingdom, and you also detained the Demon during the Principalitys [Saint Acquisition Competition], right?

Igni: YYes..but you know quite a bit about me.

Elie: You are famous after all.

Igni: (YES!!!)

Igni: (Its here! The time has finally come!! My days of super popularity!!!)

Ignis excitement exceeded all his previous records.

There is no man who would object to being called famous by a cute girl.

But there is no greater turn off than to start boasting about himself.

Igni held the urge back firmly.

Elie: Being able to take on a Quest from someone as famous as you is an honor. Leave the tour of the Imperial Capital to me. I dont think youll find a guide as well as me anywhere else.

Igni: II see. Then well leave it to you.

Elie: Okay. Then shall we get going? Well first start with the most famous places.

And Elie took the 3 out of the building.

But before she exited, she put her hood back on.

Igni: (Is it to keep the sun from her face?)

Elie: Are you all familiar with the Empires history? Igni: Actually, no. Not at all.

Igni answered for all 3 who were in his group.

Elie: I see. Then leave it to me. Ill be your teacher today.

Yoori: Thank you very much.

Yoori bowed his head politely to Elie who was in a good mood.

Elie: The Empire was built by the Sword Master Cain Esmeralda, who was one of the Heros Party Members when they defeated the [Demon King]. Thats why we call this the Esmeralda Empire.

Sara jerked slightly when the word [Demon King] was spoken.

Elie: Unlike the Kingdom who used their old traditions and laws to rebuild their country, the Empire was determined to establish policies ruled by strength alone. I guess you would have heard about that. Its pretty well known.

The three nodded to Elies words.

Igni: (I wonder if Sara is following everything Elie is saying?)

Igni was slightly worried.

Elie: Thats why the Empire took in every race that survived from the Great War. If you were strong, it didnt matter what race you were. And that also applied to the Imperial Family.

And Igni wasnt that dull to not know who she was referring to.

She was referring to the First Imperial Princess and Magician of [Undeath], Celia.

Elie: So thats why first, we came here! If youre talking about the Imperial Capital, you have to come and see this at least once!

And Elie pointed in front of her.

Before her was a gigantic castle. This is where the Imperial Family lives.

The castle had a spacious lawn in front of it, and in the middle was a bronze statue that stood at least 10 meteres (33 feet high).

Elie: Its the status of the First Emperor Cain Esmeralda! Isnt it amazing!!

Sara: .........so big.

As they looked up at the statue, Sara voiced her thoughts quietly.

Its true that there are statues of the Hero and his Party in the Kingdom, but its not this big.

He stuck a sword into the ground, and with both his hands placed on the hilt, the heroic appearance demanded awe and respect towards the Sword Master.

Elie: During the Emperors Birthday Festival, there will be a parade marching through here. Itll be amazing so I hope you stick around to see it.

Igni: Yeah, could we count on you to guide us then too?

Elie: Sorry. I already have another customer put in a Quest for that day.

And smiled as she replied.

Igni: (...........huh?)

Igni: (This way of smiling..Ive seen it before.)

Elie: Okay, this is the place where you can buy all sorts of Sword Master merch. What do you say mister, missus. Do you want to go buy anything?

And Elie pointed to all the stores and stands around them.

But Yoori tilted his head in confusion.

Yoori: Missus? Theres no missus here. Elie: What? No, no. Im talking about you.

Yoori: But Im a boy.

Elie: Huh..?

Elie fell to the floor in shock.

<<<<>>>>

And Elie dragged Igni and his friends around the Imperial Capital, and as the sun was beginning to set, she recommended a popular tavern. With that, her tour of the city was over.

As Igni relayed their gratitude, she ran into the alleyway as if to melt into the dark of the night, and once underground, she took the shortest route to her destination and arrived.

Elie: ........I wonder if I smell a little

Elie took off her hood as she snuck back into the castle through the hidden corridor.

The closet with the cleaning supplies was the entrance to the hidden corridor, and she picked up the clothes she hid inside. Being dressed appropriately, she walked inside the castle without hesitation.

And putting on a resolute expression and walking down the hallway, she saw her <beloved> younger sister coming her way with an attendant and smiled cheerfully.

...........Sister Elena.

Elie: Oh, <Allie>. You dont look so well.

That was Alicias nickname.

Only those very close to her call her by that name and

Alicia: No, I am okay. Thank you for your concerns.

Elie: You dont have to be so formal with me. We are siblings after all.

Elena Esmeralda.

She is the Esmeralda Empires <2nd Imperial Princess>.