Chapter 71 – Vampires (7)
Prejudice is scary because of this. Most people can’t easily escape from prejudice, and Roden couldn’t escape from that category either.
One of the reasons why the heterogeneous species in front of Roden’s eyes was given the name Lizardman is because, at a glance, they all look like males. It’s natural because they are fundamentally reptiles.
Of course, Lizardmen’s physique and physical abilities are similar to humans, and most males are better than females. Can.
But in the world, there are always exceptions.
The chieftain of the Blackscale tribe and a lizardman with a great body, Sharnar Kartrick is an exception to this.
Sharnar, who was told by Roden that he was an excellent male, raised his voice while gently sweeping the floor with his long tail.
“Hmm, can I interpret what you said to mean that I look as strong as a male…?”
“Um… Um… Yes. The whole body is full of muscles, and the thick and long tail looks much stronger than any other males.”
To be exact, it’s to the extent that even the spears that can easily hit 3 vs. 500 are put aside.
Roden, who was deeply concerned about how to rectify the absurd remarks that he had spit out due to his prejudice, grabbed hold of the rope provided by the other party.
Jahahaha!
Then Charnar laughed out loud and patted Roden on the back. Fortunately, what he caught was not a rotten rope. Particularly, complimenting the tail worked well.
“Thank you so much. Regardless of race or gender, strength is good. I was born strong, and after going through steady training, I came to a position where I can lead my tribe.”
Although Charnard was born female, he has a good physique, strong enough to look down on all males of his age, and has excellent senses, courage, and an attitude to always try to win.
Once every three years, after competing with the warriors within the Blackscale tribe, she won her victory through her ritual of challenging her chieftain.
After she became the unprecedented female chieftain, it has been exactly 10 years since she kept that position this year.
“Furthermore, I’ve been able to enjoy the luxury of having males of my taste with big, beautiful tails to my heart’s content. Kuhehe…”
For Lizardmen, the next point to appeal to the opposite sex after fighting power is the tail. Most of them, regardless of males and females, prefer the opposite sex with a thicker and longer tail.
Let’s make an easy analogy from a human point of view.
It’s roughly the same feeling that most men prefer large breasts over small women, and most women prefer large breasts over small men.
“Oops, I didn’t come to you to brag about myself. I was embarrassed to show this.”
The chief, who continued to introduce himself in a bold way, came to his senses belatedly and moved on to the main topic.
“When I first met you, I told you that the warriors of our tribe, including myself, were roaming around and clearing the nests of bloodsucking insects, right?”
“Thanks to you, I said I was very busy.”
“Actually, I finished the removal work yesterday, and just before returning to the village, I found a cleverly hidden cave.”
According to the explanation that follows… As a result of investigating the cave for a while, it is said that it is quite deep, but the giant mosquitoes and monsters roaming inside give off an atmosphere that is trying to prevent an invasion.
I thought it would be hasty to make a guess based on just that amount of clues, but the tactile feeling as a chieftain leading the group whispered intensely.
“With that in mind, I plan to lead the elite to explore the cave to the end soon, but do you have any intention of moving with me?
“In order to answer the chieftain’s proposal, I need to confirm one thing… Why are you making such a proposal to us?”
Rather than exploring the swamps as it is, the probability of reaching the source is much higher if you investigate the cave with Charnar, but the adventurer party that has recently been active in the Lizardman’s settlement is not the only party in Roden.
Due to the nature of Roden, in the presence of other adventurers, it is only possible to at least confirm that they have picked them up for some reason.
Taking it as a valid question, the chieftain pointed at Merim and Roxia in turn with his scaly hand.
“Looking at the outfits of the two females, they seem to be able to use witchcraft… Out of all the adventurers around here, you are the only group with two witch doctors. ，This time, I thought that the power of a shaman was absolutely necessary for a reliable hunt.”
… It’s a reason I can understand. Charnard, who didn’t finish explaining that the second reason was still left, turned his hand away from pointing at the two women.
The fingertips are pointing at children playing and smearing mud on each other’s bodies.
Unlike adults, which have dark blue scales and strong warrior eyes, young lizardmen are quite cute even by human standards, as they have smooth skin with a bright rust color and bright eyes, just like those of tree frogs.
Scratch scratch.
Even while playing, the children are often scratching at the mosquito bites. Judging by the mobilization of both hands, it seems that they have not been bitten in just one or two places.
Adults endure it no matter how itchy to save face, but there are not many cases in which children can tolerate such stimulation.
The chief looked at the children suffering from itching with pity, then rummaged through the pockets hung on his waist and took out several empty bottles.
“I heard that you gave this to your children. The contents were empty a long time ago, but they said that it contained a magical medicine that relieved the itchy feeling. The children are very grateful. Don’t mark it.”
“Well… It’s nothing special.
While I was staying here, I was being provided with free accommodation by the Lizardmen, so I just handed out a few in lieu of lodging costs.
“Jahaha! You’re a male I like more and more. It’s rare for people to do good deeds without expecting anything in return. That’s why you and your party decided that they were trustworthy and made this suggestion. I’ve explained this enough, so I want to hear an answer. Gumon. Will you follow me?”
Sharnar held out his hand again, just as he had just talked to Roden and the others a moment ago,
“Thank you very much. Chief.”
Roden also held Charnar’s hand once more.
* * *
“…This way.”
About an hour had passed since Roden and his party set out from the village with the chieftain.
It was so narrow that only two people could fit side by side at a time, and when I looked inside, it was dark inside and deep inside. The sound of insects’ wings hums beyond the cave.
“You managed to find such a secret place.”
“My son’s search skills really shined.”
“…”
The chief, who thought that it was not the best idea to crowd around the cave, ordered the other warriors to carry out the cocoon removal operation.
Currently, there are only two Lizardmen accompanying Roden’s party. One is, of course, Charnargo, and the other is her eldest son Guerub. Armed with a bow and sword, he is very reticent.
A mixed party of lizardmen, humans, and demons climbed the steep slope of the narrow entrance and slowly stepped down.
The floors and walls, where the feces of bats and lizards and the corpses of small insects have been accumulated over a long period of time, are softer than expected and damp.
Soon after, only pitch-black darkness spread around the party.
Roaring!
As the people in the front and rear each lit torches filled with oil to illuminate the surroundings, the darkness that had spread in all directions fled far away.
Holding a torch naturally leaves one hand empty, so in normal cases it would be better to use light magic… ．
Chijijijik!
A torch is much more useful to get rid of small insects including mosquitoes that are attracted to light like now.
The entrance to the cave was cramped, but fortunately it gradually widens as you enter.
Everyone is silent, so only the sound of the dripping water and the sound of footsteps resonate quietly in the cave.
“…Mother. I can feel the presence of small monsters and blood-sucking insects approaching in large numbers.”
“I’m sure everyone heard right? Get ready.”
Starting with Sharnar, who roughly loosened his neck and grabbed the battle axe, the rest of the party also took out their own weapons.
Ayeeng! Ah-ah-ah!
As Guerub told us, dozens of death worms as thick as a human forearm, as well as the swarm of mosquitoes we had encountered so far, quickly approached, drawing traces of digging into walls and floors.
“Jah haha!!”
Whoo! Hung! Whoa-woong!!
Charnard, who boldly rushed in with the attitude of leaving the mosquitoes to the party, created a small gust of wind with an ax and tore the death worms protruding from the ground and walls into small pieces.
Roden, who jumped alongside the chief, also swung a quick and efficient sword strike, neatly cutting only the death worm’s neck.
… He’s the strongest among the lizardmen I’ve ever seen. He even wears an aura on his weapon.
Roden admired Sharnar’s combat power, wielding not only an axe but also his tail, using his whole body as a weapon, and felt a strong intuition that there was ‘something’ inside this cave.
