Chapter 3:

CHAPTER 2: LIFE AMONG THE BEASTMEN TRIBES

The Beastman Saint is H*rny, so I was Kidnapped to Another World Vol. 7


Like a bull charging blindly towards an uncertain future, we accepted the refugees.

“…”

And, as Konka made clear the purpose of my stay here, I decided to keep away from any decision that involved the entire community. I just focused my energies on the construction of the defensive fortifications for the settlement.

Well, though I objected to them, I’d say I may be wrong about these new people. I mean, Konka had made sure that the stronger men in that group were assigned to the building of the ramparts, and luckily, some of them knew how to translate my plans to reality.

What I mean is, I have no prior experience in building walls, so I can only design but not calculate how long and how wide a proper fortification should be to become practical.

So the work begun. The earth that was dug up in constructing the ditch was made into the rampart that protected the settlement. The palisade was built on the top, and I changed the initial plan so that a gangway was possible. Here, I intend for the Beastmen soldiers to rain projectiles or boiling oil on their enemy as they scale up the parapet.

“…”

Hmm…I guess with the plans and roles ironed out, this wall-building could be left to proceed in peace. Konka appointed Banu to oversee the work anyway, so I had more time in my hands.

Meanwhile, I have more pressing matters to attend to…

“What took you so long?” was Ursura’s greeting to me.

“I checked some things before leaving Banu in the wall construction,” I explained to her, “Anyway, are you ready?”

“You should be the one asking yourself that question,” the bear-woman smirked, “I won’t be holding back on you, you know?”

Hoh…coincidentally, I think the same,” I brought forward a makeshift wooden sword I had made and took my battle stance.

“Here we go!”

Ursura wasted no time in attacking me. Instead of taking her fists head-on, I dashed out of her way, preferring not to risk losing my weapon. And then, seeing that she had herself open, I came in for a swift counter-attack.

“!!!” But the bear-woman—a veteran of many battles in the past—proved her experience and parried my sword with just a hand.

And then we return to our original positions.

This was my routine nowadays. Every time I woke up, I’d do a proper training session since I lost my dominant hand; first with myself, then with Ursura. Well, I won’t take any chances; even though it’s peaceful in this settlement, there’s no telling of when I’d be forced to fight once again.

And so with my remaining left hand, I need to ‘recondition’ myself to battle.

“Your footwork is sloppy,” Ursura pointed out, “You should remember that whenever you’re in close-combat, a quick, yet precise movement is the key difference between surviving and dying.”

“You say that, but you still got yourself captured by your enemy,” my sardonic smile was all over my face.

The bear-woman had a surprised expression, but it didn’t last long. Soon, she was smiling as well, but I could tell she’s pissed with what I said. “Now, look here, human, I said close combat, not fighting that involves demon weapons.”

“!!!”

At that moment, Ursura changed her battle stance. Her movement was quick, but it wasn’t directed at me. The bear-woman kicked some pebbles on the ground instead and launched those nasty ballistics homing unto my spot. I was completely caught off-guard, and the projectiles easily penetrated my defense.

But she isn’t finished just yet…

“I got you again!” Amidst the rain of stones, Ursura followed in with her attack. She had an arm raised to pin me down, and her dominant hand was poised, ready to bring it down on my head with full force.

However, it isn’t just her who has a few tricks up on the sleeve…

“!!!”

The bear-woman stopped short of pummeling my face with her fist when she felt the edge of my wooden dagger touching the skin of her neck.

“How—”

“You failed to consider my right arm,” I showed her the dummy weapon I tied to the stump that was formerly my hand. I took great care to hide it under the long sleeves of my sweater before the training session, just in case the need for it arose. “Just because it’s gone doesn’t mean I lost the use of my dominant arm.”

“…” The bear-woman hung her head and was strangely silent.

“Ursura?”

“Fufufufufufu…”

Oh dear…I think I pissed her off.

Hahaha! Oh yes, that’s it!” Ursura’s eyes were sparkling, and she blushed like crazy, “This is what I always wanted all along! A good battle is a beastwoman’s ultimate dream!”

I guess she snapped? Better put a stop to this—BUOH!

“I love this! I love you Kuro!” she shouted as she thrashed around wildly, making a mess of everything that she hit. “Hahahaha! Come on!”

Shit. Looks like I’m in dire straits now.

----------

It took me a while before I could calm Ursura down. Well, I intend to do some training this time, though a lot of it went in trying to stop a rampaging bear-woman. I guess the knowledge could come in handy in the future?

“Haa…”

“That’s a good way to let out some steam!” Ursura slapped me in the back, “Heh, compared to your looks, your battle techniques ain’t shoddy. You really forced me to a corner there.”

“You speak as if I’m some newbie,” I shot back at her, “Mind you, I survived zombie attacks back in Chersea, you know?”

“Zom…bee?

“It’s my term for the ‘undead’. Like the ghouls of the Demons, but of inferior quality, get what I mean?”

“Oh…” Ursura let herself fell down on the ground, “Well, you won’t be called the legendary ‘Commoner General’ if you’re just some shitty nobody.

Haha…well, it’s all thanks to my friend and teacher…” The memory of the Marquise of Monfort, Dusis Luisa, flashed through my mind. Without her, I wouldn’t be alive now…

“Indeed. Though don’t you ever wonder, Kuro? You told Konka your accomplishments before and even proved it in leading us to battle. Not only that, you even saved this village from that human sickness with your ‘personal hygiene’.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Well, I just find it strange that Konka wouldn’t listen to you.”

“I’m a human.”

“She did listen to you before…” the bear-woman pointed out, “I wonder what’s with the change of heart?”

I just remained silent when I heard that. I mean, even if Ursura didn’t mention it, I’m aware of the sudden change in the way Konka treated me. Aside from turning down my proposals in improving the camps, I noticed her keeping a distance between us. No, I didn’t mean the ‘physical’ one; it’s more like Konka didn’t want to have anything to do with me and my ideas.

“I don’t know if I’m correct, but I’d say this started after we returned from that battle with the monster hordes.”

Well, I won’t contest Ursura on that one; we had the same observations about Konka. However, I preferred not to mind it. I’m not well-versed in human-beastfolk relations, and I didn’t want to start trouble as long as Konka would keep her end of the deal with me. I’d just stay on the sidelines.

----------

In times I finished training, I’d return to my hut for the next ‘task’ I had on my list: entertaining children.

“…”

Well, it’s not exactly ‘entertaining’ per se, it’s actually a combination of ‘entertainment’ and ‘education’, though I always leave out the second word to avoid any misunderstanding on the parents’ part. The Beastmen were pretty sensitive in teaching their children, and they shun ‘academic’ education in favor of ‘practical’ ones.

So yes, I do this not only to kill time but also to help with the Beastmen. See, they would only start teaching their children the ways of hunting and fighting when they reached the ‘shoulders of their parents’; around the age of adolescence, if I were to compare it to Earth terms. For them, it meant that their kids were ready to be adults.

On a side note, I wonder what happens when a Beastman child has basketball players or midgets for parents?

Ah, in any case, from the time a Beastman child was born, up to the moment he/she reached ‘adulthood’, there was a ‘learning gap’ that I think we could fill. Going around and observing their customs, these times were spent by the children playing or just idling around with other kids. While I found nothing wrong with such an arrangement, I also believe that they could put their energies to better use. I took it upon myself to ‘play’ with them.

“Sir Kuro, is this how you draw a tree?” one student showed me his little masterpiece, drawn on parchment.

Hmm…you could try adding some more leaves on this part and here.”

The Beastman boy nodded, “Thank you!”

I smiled and patted his head. The child bowed and happily returned to his fellow artist classmates.

At least their parents are more than glad for me to take these guys off their hands so that they can focus on their work.

“Sir! Sir!”

“Yes, uh…what’s your name again?”

“Moots!”

Uh…Moots, can I help you?”

“Goots just hurt her hand with the knife!”

“Alright; I told you to be careful with cooking utensils, right?”

“It’s Boots’ fault! She keeps on disturbing us!”

Seriously, what’s going on in the heads of these kids’ parents when they gave those names?

Anyway, I headed over to the ‘cooking class’ and checked on my injured pupil. Since I’m the only teacher in this place, I appointed several older students to act as overseers to my multiple classes. However, there were times that one couldn’t help control his/her fellow kids, so I had to intervene occasionally.

“It’ll be fine,” the wound was just a minor one, maybe caused by her hand slipping and accidentally slicing through the finger.

“Yes, Sir Kuro,” Goots had tears in her eyes, but her smile appeared when I came over to see her.

I held her hand as I began healing the injury. Soon enough, the wound was gone and the dog-girl was all jumpy and excited once again.

However, I am not finished with them just yet.

“Where’s Boots?” I looked around for the one who caused all this racket.

“She’s hiding behind that tree over there, Sir!” Moots ratted-out on her little sister’s position. Some of their classmates helped me by surrounding her spot, keeping her from escaping. I could see the mischievous little rascal peeking at me.

“Boots, come over here! I wanted to talk to you!” my voice was gentle, yet firm; though hopefully, these kids didn’t pick up the slight trembling in my tone. I mean, who wouldn’t? Honestly, I couldn’t help but find Boots’ antics to be ‘cute’. But yeah, I’m the teacher; I had to be strict with my rules.

The little dog-girl slowly stepped out of her hiding spot, ears and tail drooping. Her classmates initially teased and taunted her; good thing Moots was quick to keep them down.

“S-Sir?”

“Boots, what happened to your sister?”

“I wanted to play with her, but Moots said they’re cooking…”

“And what did I tell about when someone’s doing something?”

“Behave?”

“Did you behave?”

Boots sadly shook her head. Her eyes were teary; it’s as if she’s about to cry. Man, I hate it when this happens. Boots is close to me, and I don’t want to get angry at her. But well, I need to strict.

“What will you say to your sister?”

The young dog-girl slowly turned to Goots, and sheepishly muttered, “I’m sorry…”

Of course, Goots was fine with it, and she quickly forgave Boots, as well as hugged her. Nevertheless, the little sister wasn’t finished yet…

“Sir Kuro, I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine, so long as you won’t do it again,” I patted her head, “It’s a promise?”

Boots nodded and wrapped her little arms around my leg, all the while wagging her little tail. Gawd…these kids are so cute!

“…”

Ahem. Anyway, I took Boots’ hand and led her away from the cooking class. She’s in the ‘Physical Education’ class anyway, where her high, dog-level energy could be put to full use. Haa…watching these children reminded me of my students back on Earth. I wonder how they are doing right now?

----------

***The outskirts of the refugee camps, several miles away…***

Ever since the closure of the border crossing between Chersea and Cherwind, merchant caravans were forced to wander away from the traditional trade routes and find new customers to sell their wares. Every rumor of a potential place to earn money was welcome news to each trader.

And one of them heard of a new Beastman settlement flourishing on the other side of the normally inaccessible ‘Grand Marshes’. Spurned by his curiosity and the need for new buyers, the merchant sent a group of scouts to confirm the existence in such a location.

“…”

“Do you think it’s the one that is the subject of the rumors, captain?”

The scout leader folded his telescope and returned it in its case. Then, he brought out his map and marked a spot on it, “That must be the new Beastman town; it’s not stated in the map, see?”

His companion took a glance and confirmed what the captain had just said. “We should go back to our master and report our findings. That town is big, they are now building a wall around it!”

The scouts took one last look at the refugee camps before heading back to their master.

----------

**Kuro**

“Hey, Sir Kuro…”

I removed the cover I had on my face and opened my eyes. It’s been a while since I dismissed my classes, so it’s impossible that there’s a student left to tease me while I slept. Moreover, I knew this familiar voice, “Stop that, Ursura. It’s awkward for me to hear you call me that way.”

Haha! I couldn’t understand your intentions, really.”

“About taking care of those Beastmen kids? I love teaching, you know?”

“All of that for nothing?” the bear-woman smirked, “You could’ve asked for any kind of reward for doing that hard work. As in any, including the right to mate with any beastgirl you like!”

“Is mating all that you have in mind?”

“I-Isn’t that what you human males always think?”

“You looking for a fight, teddy bear?

“A ted—what?”

“Nothing,” I chuckled, “So why did you come to wake me from my siesta?”

Ah right…” Ursura sat beside me, “Well, you see, we got a little, tiny, teensy-weensy, bit of a problem. Actually, Konka is. And she just wanted you to come and see.”

Oh great. She dismisses and recalls me as she pleases, huh?” I couldn’t help but get sarcastic, “What seems to be the problem this time?”

“Well, there’s some missing sacks of food in the storehouses. Konka’s suspecting a thief at work.”

“Don’t ask me. I’m not the one in charge of the security of that place.”

“No,” Ursura chuckled, “I think she wanted your recommendations on how to make the granaries secure.”

“Alright,” I dusted myself and stood up, “Lead me to her then.”

----------

By the time we reached the storehouses, there was a commotion already. Apparently, a word about the theft had gone around the higher circles of the community, and the tribe elders showed up. Just as we were experiencing food shortages, learning about what happened was not welcome news to them, thus, they were understandably upset.

Konka was amidst that group, visibly annoyed as well. When she saw us, she greeted us with a wry smile, and immediately explained, “Someone broke into the granaries and took several sacks of food.” She then pointed to a small hole in the base of the building, “They bored this hole and covered it with vegetation so that we won’t notice.”

“So you wanted my suggestions?”

The insect-woman nodded, “Got any?”

“Well, we can build a stone wall around this place,” I took a twig and began drawing on the ground, “Then put some guards to patrol the area.”

Hmm…the walls can be done, but we cannot spare any men to guard the storehouses. We’re stretched to the limit, see? The camp is getting bigger; the need for keeping the peace also increases. If we reallocate people to guard duties, I’m afraid the food supply would be affected.”

Well, I guess Konka’s got a point. We need more hunters and foragers to augment our food production since the farming area of this settlement was not enough for the increasing population. However, it was also necessary to add more guards to patrol the streets of the camp to protect the peace and order.

Haa…you know this wouldn’t happen if you didn’t keep on accepting refugees,” I commented.

“A Beastfolk should always have a helping hand for his or her people,” Konka reiterated.

“Alright, then how about this?” I did a new drawing on the ground, just below the first one, “We change our wall and make some accommodations for keeping food. That way, we get to keep an eye over those, yet the number of guards remains the same.”

“Isn’t that dangerous? I mean, we’ll be keeping our food supply on the part where it is most vulnerable to attack?”

“I get what you are thinking. But you see, on the contrary, the walls and ramparts are the safest part of the camp to store the food supply. One, we have guards stationed nearby, deterring potential thieves. And second, in case of a siege, the back of the walls is the most protected spot from the enemy catapults and trebuchets.”

Konka was silent for a few moments as she pondered on my points and her choices. Then, with a deep sigh, she nodded and gave her thumbs up on my proposal.

----------

Moving the storehouses onto the walls began as soon as we could build a room for that. In order not to alarm the villagers in case they thought their food supply ‘disappeared’, we took the time to announce to everyone the move.

The new granaries were ‘cut’ through the back of the earthen ramparts, and its walls were reinforced with boulders, which also served as an ‘armor’ to deter thieves. The plan that I had in mind was that for the interior to be lined with wooden planks, and with built-in shelves to maximize the space.

In the meantime, to secure the food supplies and for the ease of transport, Konka had the food sacks moved to the huts near the construction site.

“…”

Well, I also recommended doing it, though I have another goal in mind.

Looking further into the break-in, I noticed some important facts that could help us trace the thief who stole the food sacks. First, the hole that was made to enter the storehouse was small, almost around the size of a Beastman child. It could mean that the thief was a child, or someone small enough to fit into that hole.

Going around the entire camp, Ursura and I had found no Beastman adult that matched that description. So my conclusion was that the thief was a kid.

Now, here’s the thing. Several sacks of food were missing in the storehouses, which meant that our little thief wasn’t working alone. My hunch was that someone older was masterminding the burglary. And it must’ve been done in a matter of several ‘long sleeps’, because of the number of lost goods. If one would say that multiple thieves were working together, I beg to differ. Such large groups of suspicious people in one place would surely attract the attention of the passing guards.

My guess is that there are at least two, up to four men robbing the granaries. Any more than that would be noticeable.

“…”

Anyway, moving on, it might be possible that we catch those rascals. While I’m not 100% sure, there’s this strong impression on me they intend to come back and grab more sacks, until they were found out.

Why?

Well, here’s the thing: the hole that was found out by Konka was actually hidden from plain sight. To see it, one would have to shove away carefully some thick vegetation, and lightly kick the part of the wooden wall that was cut. If I was a thief, and I had no intention to come back, I’d hastily cover my tracks to escape at the soonest possible time. But this one was different; they meticulously tried to conceal the hole, and the storehouse keeper only noticed the burglary when he saw a trail of grain that led to the hole’s discovery.

Hiding that entrance is proof that those thieves don’t want their modus discovered, a piece of clear evidence they plan to come back in the future.

“…”

And so, I’d like to greet them when they return.

----------

Milord?”

My sleep was interrupted when I felt someone shake me awake. Turning my eyes around, I saw Banu and a guard standing beside me. “What is it?”

“I think the thief has returned,” the bear-man whispered.

I immediately sat up and asked, “You sure?”

“Well, not really. But you said before that if we see some children wandering near the granaries being constructed, we should call you, right?”

Ah yeah, I did say that.” Fixing the creases on my clothes, I stood and motioned to them, “Come with me.”

Banu and his companion led me to the construction site, where we found several groups of children playing. I shot a glance at the bear-man, who was quick to defend himself.

“They were only one group earlier, milord!

No, I didn’t mean to blame him; there’s no one at fault here. Besides, Banu was right to call me. I patted the Beastman on his back, saying, “Don’t apologize. You made the right decision!”

“Eh?” the bear-man had a confused look on his face.

“You’ll see,” I smirked, “Call the others and put guards on every road that leads out of this place. Do it quietly; don’t let the villagers know what’s happening.”

Banu and his companion were quick to follow my orders, and soon enough, the other guards showed up. After making sure that all the streets were blocked, I took Banu and four other guards, then made our way towards the children.

“The one who’d run and try to escape is our target,” was my instruction to them, “Let’s go!”

Soon enough, the playing children noticed our presence and were quick to scatter. However, most of them—when they sensed they were about to be caught up—stopped and crouched on the ground, visibly scared. Of course, we went past them.

There was, however, one that tried to head towards the alleys.

“There’s our guy! Get him!” Banu cried out as he pointed towards a young dog-child scampering to save his own skin. My companions were quick to surround and overwhelm him, pushing the poor boy on the ground.

Heh, good thing these guys are fast. Otherwise, if I’m the one who’d run after the dog-boy, the thief will surely escape.

The dog-boy tried his best to struggle; however, Banu held him in a firm grip, which was causing his arms to be twisted unnaturally. I guess I had to intervene now, “Careful on his arms, Banu, or you might hurt him—”

“Get your hands off from Luka!”

“!!!”

The guards and Banu froze as another character entered the scene. It was a golden-haired girl, with brown wings on her back, swooping down the construction site towards my direction. Perhaps she surmised that I’m the leader of the group that captured her underling, and so she targeted me. She had a sword in her hand, ready to slice off my head.

However…

I don’t know if it’s just me, or her movements were kind of slow and dull. I could see well into her attack, and so, when her opportunity to strike me down presented itself, I just moved out of her way and hit her with a stick.

“!!!”

That put a stop to her tracks, and I guess, the bird-girl got disoriented by my counterattack. She slammed fair and square on the logs being used for construction.

I guess that training I had with Ursura is paying off.