Chapter 2: Humans, Beastmen, and Elves

 

“Next person, please—.”

The three people I called next had blue, yellow, and red hair respectively, which reminded me of the traffic lights I used to see in my previous life.

Compared to the world I once lived in, this world truly had a wide variety of hair and eye colors.

Even among the staff working at this guild alone, there were reddish-brown hair, blonde, bright purple, bluish-black, orange—an incredible range.

As for me, my hair was pinkish blonde.

It reached about my shoulder blades at the tips.

It was soft and fluffy, and depending on the lighting, the pink tint appeared darker or lighter.

My eyes were brown.

Neither my hair nor eyes were particularly unusual for a human.

My build was somewhat slender, likely due to malnutrition during early childhood.

“Here is your reward. …Oh. Your armor cracked wide open.”

My eyes landed on it as I handed over the payment.

It seemed to have broken during battle, and apparently they were going to buy a new one.

As for my attire, I wore the guild uniform.

I always wore it while working.

The women’s uniform consisted of a vest and blouse, paired with either short half-length pants or a skirt.

Since I moved around a lot and needed to respond quickly if something happened, I preferred pants.

The men’s uniform was similar.

A vest, shirt, and trousers.

The design also took into account the wearer’s physical traits.

If someone was a beastman or fairy with a tail or wings, the uniform was made so those parts could properly pass through.

The country I lived in was called the Forester Kingdom, famous as a multi-racial nation.

From neighboring countries, it was described positively as an easy place to live, or negatively as a chaotic mix of peoples.

Many different races lived here.

Even among the guild staff alone, there were beastmen, elves, fairies, dwarves, and even mixed-blood individuals such as scale-folk and humans.

Demons also regularly came to accept or submit requests.

We even had an alliance with the country ruled by the Demon King, maintaining such good relations that merchants traveled back and forth.

In the Demon King’s country, besides demons, there was also a race called the dragonfolk.

I had seen their beautiful forms flying in the sky, though I had never met one directly.

For the record, I was purely human.

No matter how many generations I traced back, there was likely no blood other than human in my lineage.

I came from a single-race country.

“Excuse me…”

“Yes. What is it?”

A faint voice reached my ears.

He appeared to be a human man, holding a bow.

“I’m timid. Weak-willed. And I can only use a bow, so I’d like to form a party with someone good at close combat…”

You don’t have to call yourself timid and weak-willed.

You look quite capable to me.

“Understood. Currently recruiting parties are…”

“Ah! And… I’d prefer one without elves…”

He spoke firmly at first, but his voice gradually grew smaller.

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

I had no intention of asking a first-time visitor “Why is that?” so I simply searched for a party matching his request.

“I… only just left my country recently… and elves are a bit…”

I didn’t know what he meant by “a bit”…

Well, his country wasn’t particularly fond of elves, if I recalled correctly.

In any case, there were plenty of parties without elves, so I would think of one suitable for him.

Just as I was about to introduce one.

“Ah! I found a good-looking guy!”

“Kyaa~ You’re right!”

It was two elven women who had just finished their business at the neighboring counter.

They were regulars at the guild.

“Hey, hey. Are you joining a party by any chance?”

“Join ours~!”

Perhaps they had spotted the recruitment paperwork at a glance, because they suddenly began trying to recruit him.

“That does not match this gentleman’s request, so please step back.”

I informed the two assertive elves.

“No way! Hey, you use a bow, right?”

“We were just short on a bow user~!”

If I recalled correctly, their party consisted mostly of magic attackers.

Were they planning to become a fully long-range specialized party?

But that wasn’t the issue here.

“I am listening to his request, not yours.”

Look at him.

He’s frozen stiff.

“Don’t say that! Just give us a little chance to talk!”

“Please~!”

Ah.

Taking advantage of his frozen state, they sandwiched him from both sides.

“Just a little! Just a bit!”

“Let us talk to you~!”

It happened at incredible speed.

As if carried away by the wind, he was taken to an empty table.

I thought I might step in if he looked truly troubled, but he began talking normally, so I left it be.

There were still people waiting in line, after all.

After some time passed, he returned with an expression as though a weight had been lifted from him.

The two elves stood at his sides.

“U-Um. I’ll be joining their party!”

“Are you sure? You’re not being threatened?”

I thought he looked fine, but his sudden change was so drastic that I asked anyway.

“Yes. I’m fine. I was mistaken… I had heard that elves were more closed-off and insufferable. I was told that over and over when I left my country. But these two aren’t like that at all…”

I see.

These two ladies might be a bit forceful, but they certainly weren’t insufferable.

If it was your own decision, then I had no objections.

“He said he was told he’d be bullied~.”

“That’s awful, right?!”

The two handsome-face-loving elf women laughed brightly.

I didn’t quite follow, but if things were settled, that was good.

I saw elves often at this guild, but none of them seemed particularly haughty.

If anything, these two were… loud—no, cheerful and carefree.

“If you do get mistreated, please come back. We also handle consultations for leaving parties.”

“No way~!”

The three of them left laughing.

They didn’t seem to lack balance in strength, but they had definitely become a fully long-range specialized party.

If flying monsters attacked, they would surely shine.

Now then, next—.

“I’ll take this request.”

The one who placed the request form before me was a tiger beastman who had recently come to this country.

There were many kinds of beastmen.

Some were closer to humans, with animal ears and tails.

Others were closer to beasts, covered in fur overall.

This gentleman had the upper body of a tiger.

His face as well.

He had left his homeland, where discrimination against beastmen still remained, and was currently working solo without forming a party.

As usual, I processed his request.

“This country’s nice. If you submit a request form, they just let you take it.”

What did he mean?

I thought that was completely normal.

“Back home… in my homeland, even if you submitted it, they’d first ask if any humans wanted to take it instead.”

“If no one wanted it, that’s why it was posted on the board, right?”

So asking around seemed pointless.

“They’d deliberately snatch it away just for fun when a beastman tried to take it.”

“How childish.”

I kept the words “That country would definitely do that” to myself.

“There was no reason for me to stay there anymore, so I came here… When I saw the receptionist was human again, I was a little worried. But that turned out to be unnecessary. Sorry, did I offend you?”

“Not at all. Here, it’s first come, first served. As long as you don’t cut in line or resort to violence, that’s all that matters. Besides, I don’t have time to deal with such troublesome things.”

After all, the number of daily requests we handled was enormous.

“Yeah. I’m glad I can work in this country.”

I was glad too.

Having someone as strong as you in this country—especially in this town—brought peace of mind.

I’d be counting on you if monsters attacked.

The country he had left was probably in trouble by now.

After all, an important fighting force had moved here.

Well, that wasn’t my concern.

When he first arrived, he had seemed just as lacking in confidence as that earlier human man.

Recently, though, he had grown much brighter, and his departing back looked dignified.

This town, this country… they really are nice, aren’t they?

I like them too.

Though applying for immigration here had been difficult.

To live in this town, there had been an exam regarding the different races.

Since many races lived here, there were numerous things to learn—racial customs, matters of dignity, how to handle problems if they arose, and more.

Apparently, before races clashed, they needed to understand one another.

It was, of course, necessary for working at this guild.

Come to think of it, the guild master of this branch had been quite anxious about whether I would pass back then.

“Hey! Do you even know what you’ve done, you little human girl?!”

What now?

It had been such a pleasant atmosphere.

Discriminatory remarks or condescending speech were not good.

Oh.

It was that dog-type beastman man I had pushed out with the barrier earlier.

…Ah.

Had he come from another country as well?

Such behavior only made those around him uncomfortable.

The human man from the elf-disliking country and the tiger beastman from the still heavily discriminatory country had both finished their business pleasantly, yet this one was troublesome.

In his case… perhaps it was simply his personality.

There were occasionally people who misunderstood what a multi-racial nation meant.

Occasionally.

They assumed that if beastmen and demons lived here, then humans must be looked down upon.

Beastmen were physically stronger than humans, and demons excelled in magic—and some in physical strength as well.

Some twisted thinkers assumed humans must live in discomfort here.

But in this country, no race was superior.

The idea that humans were inherently inferior was a myth.

Still, what a stark contrast to the tiger beastman earlier.

Just as I was thinking that—.

“So it’s you! The one picking fights with our receptionist since earlier!”

Perhaps he had been bored.

Our guild master stomped down from the second floor and grabbed the noisy beastman by the scruff of his neck.

The guild master, with reddish-brown hair—abbreviated as Guildmaster—was a bear beastman even larger than the man from earlier.

His ears and tail bore beastly traits.

“You’re going to explain this in detail!”

He dragged him away effortlessly.

It seemed he would question him outside, since he was being so loud.

The sub-master, who had come down following the Guildmaster, was shaking with suppressed laughter.

As for him… I would introduce him later.