I’d been wondering, "When is the beastman my father knows going to come?" — and then, that day came.
At last, the moment I’d been waiting for arrived.
"Fate, they’re here."
While I was practicing swings in the backyard, my father poked his head out from the workshop and said that.
Which meant…
"I’ll get ready right away!"
I went back inside the house and wiped my sweat with a towel.
After washing my face to feel refreshed, I changed into casual clothes.
With all that done, I hurried to the living room.
And then…
"My lady, thank goodness you’re safe…!"
"U-uh…?"
A beastman woman knelt before Aisha, overcome with emotion.
And Aisha, utterly bewildered by the woman’s behavior.
That sight greeted me as I walked in, and…
"…What’s going on?"
I couldn’t help but blurt that out.
――――――――――
"…I apologize for earlier."
After a moment, the woman calmed herself…
and for now, we all decided to sit down and talk.
First, we introduced ourselves…
and then it was the woman’s turn.
"My name is Claudia Barnetta. Pleased to meet you."
"Nice to meet you."
"Likewise."
Sofia and I greeted her, but…
"U-uh…"
Aisha hid behind me, her tail sticking straight up.
Probably because Claudia had suddenly knelt before her, she seemed very wary.
It was just a hunch, but…
I didn’t feel like Claudia was a bad person.
She looked to be about twenty?
But beastmen often live very long lives, so her actual age was hard to guess.
She was tall — even taller than Sofia.
Her limbs were long and slender, almost like a beautiful work of art.
She also had cat-like ears and a tail.
She was a beastman, but… perhaps a different race from Aisha?
Her fiery red hair was strikingly beautiful…
It wasn’t really the kind of thought you have about a woman, but — I thought she was cool.
"You may have heard from Age, but I’ve been a regular at this shop… I would come about once a month."
"Claudia isn’t looking for weapons or anything like that," my father added.
"She said she wanted things like kitchen knives or hoes."
Ah, I see.
My father was a top-class blacksmith — when it came to crafting such tools, no one could rival him.
That made me feel a little proud.
"I’ve actually had a certain goal for some time… and that was to find the princess."
"Uh… by princess, do you mean Aisha?"
"Yes, that is correct."
Her tone was very formal.
Was she… Aisha’s attendant or something?
But if that were true, like Claudia said… did that mean Aisha was actually of noble birth…?
"What do you mean by ‘princess’? We’ve been with Aisha for a long time, but we don’t really know much about her past…"
I explained how we had met Aisha, taken her in, and become like a family.
"I see! You two protected the princess… I cannot thank you enough. You have my deepest gratitude."
"No, it really wasn’t much. More importantly, we’d appreciate it if you could tell us about Aisha."
"Yes, of course."
According to Claudia…
Aisha had originally lived in a beastman village.
She wasn’t just an ordinary beastman — she was a special being known as a “miko” (priestess).
That was why she was called princess.
"I see."
We had heard before, back on Blue Island, that Aisha might be a priestess.
At the time it was just a possibility… but now, it was clear.
"We lived peacefully… until one day, humans attacked us."
"That means…"
"Could it be…?"
Sofia and I exchanged glances.
We were probably thinking the same thing.
Humans who attacked the beastman village…
That was probably… the Dawn Alliance, wasn’t it?
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