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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation and other products set in the same universe are all owned by Rifujin na Magonote, Shirotaka, Shosetsuka ni Naro, Media Factory, and Studio Bind.
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Chapter 17: Puppy, Brother, and a Trap
What I knew of Beast Men tribes is particularly limited due to how little information came out of those small communities of people.
There were reasons why tribes even existed despite how 'relaxed' some laws had gotten around this kind of people in the last century: 1) A tradition to isolate from others out of distrust which was driven deep in their culture due to various repression campaigns against their kind; 2) Most beastmen were particularly feral, with just a handful of tribes really keeping up a resemblance of 'humane modesty'. In layman's terms, only a handful kept up with societal expectations such as wearing proper clothing and not reveal too much skin all at once.
Luckily for us, the Dedoldia Tribe was fairly 'progressive' in that sort of affairs, with nudity being somewhat limited to children of young age and then limited by the time they reach teenhood. It was going to be an awkward detail to be wary about, but I saw no other reasons in that regard. Ghislaine got quite chatty once we were off the ship and making the last few miles by foot, her reasoning being that she didn't want us to fall on traps which may have been set up by her former tribesman.
Since the people there were quite hostile to outsiders, there was no doubt that we may have to keep an eye for ambushes. Our path was devoid of issues while we came close to the Adorudia Tribe. We did see a few beastmen already looking at us pass by, but none tried anything funny. I saw all sorts of animal ears there and I really, really felt tempted to approach those furred ears for some patting. Ah yes, the source of my darkest desire- and I was directly walking towards a tribe made of people with those special features.
I am just trying to lapse into some obsession now, am I?
Definitely should have thought of this before actually setting myself up for this situation. Oh well, hopefully that is not going to cause any issue. At least, that wasn't the case until something rather curious approached us. Wagging its tail happily, breathing heavily and staring at me with giddy eyes, I just couldn't hold back from crouching down and ruffle all that pristine white fur it had. A big pup, roughly the size of my auntie's dog. At first glance, I would say the doggo was roughly one or two years old, quite young and ready to grow bigger, fluffier and more playful.
"Who's a good boy? Yes, you are. Yes, you are~."
I have nothing to explain. It's a puppy, it's adorable, I want to headpat and enjoy some fluff, and I will not take no as an answer- and as far as I could see, the puppy had no issue enjoying the care and affection. Lying down on his belly, the doggo allowed me to scratch his round belly as he barked happily.
"Bork, bork~!"
"Aww, Ghis, you didn't tell me your tribe had a doggie~," I hummed, turning my head to greet the beastwoman and... seeing her stare at the scene with a wide eye and a full-face blush. I was confused by this as the rest of the party seemed to be sharing my same reaction at this pleasant discovery.
Zenith in particular looked tempted to reach out and join the petting, with Roxy being more restrained but clearly adoring the notion of scratching those cute ears herself. Eli was smiling and giggling at the display of affection, while Geese looked quite amused by the overall situation. Still, the rest of the group noticed my confused look and then noticed Ghislaine's own response to this scene.
It was also then that I realized we were no longer alone. A few men and women, all sporting tribal attires, were staring at us- no, at me in particular as I was playing with the adorbs pup currently panting in delight at the belly-rubbing. All looking surprised, shocked, scandalized and somewhat... too interested for my tastes.
After that odd debacle which concluded as I stopped the playful teasing by bringing up the dog in my arms and carrying him around, we were finally greeted by those scouts (and passing by civilians which were stunned by this development) that were watching over the tribal borders. Who I was holding tenderly and allowing to nuzzle against me and lick my neck was none other than the 'Sacred Beast', the legendary being which was meant to be taken by a hero and help him defeat the Devil/Demon King. Yes, this was the equivalent of Mew from Pokemon, except it was just a puppy with a big destiny to its name. By the way, puppers' name is Leo.
The rest of the group was led into the main village, with people stopping during their tasks to stare at us and then notice how I was carrying their 'sacred beast' in my arms. Despite how important that all sounded, I just saw no reason to treat the cute puppy as some solemn figure. The puppy himself looked more than happy to keep this status quo up in fact.
Our little tour around the tribe ceased as soon as we reached the house of the chief, the man that had asked to meet us and... Ghislaine's younger brother, Gyes. The man looked pretty tough-looking, muscles all out as he was not wearing any shirt. He had the same form of ears his sister had, but he looked slightly less 'wide' in terms of proportionate sizes. Slimmer, but still muscular and tall. On his side, an older beastman, their father Gustav, and on his lap... a bundle of cloth that held a tiny babe in it. A newborn, a baby girl from the noises coming from that adorable package.
"You are an auntie, Ghis. Congrats."
To her credit, Ghislaine managed to keep quiet with her reaction, but her visible eye widened at the unexpected news, even as she stared at the clear proof of said news.
"That's indeed correct. This is Lineana, your niece."
"..."
"Alas, this is but just part of the reason why I sought your return, Ghislaine. As my father had many times tried to accomplish, I want you to return to the tribe and regain your previous role, your past shameful conduct is pardoned."
The beastwoman gave a long look at her brother, then at me as I gave her a supportive glance, finally at Zenith who smiled kindly, and lastly at her brother once more.
"I refuse this request, Gyes."
"Ghislaine, you have been on the run for a while now. It's time for you to return home," Gustav replied but his daughter offered a tiny smile.
"I already found home."
And those words seemed to shake the elder out of his hopefulness and into a stunned look.
"This is ridiculous. A party of adventurers can't be considered the same as a tribe," Gyes rebuked, looking at me. "And I have reason to believe you may have influenced this 'view' my sister has, John Bukharin."
"Depends on what you see as 'influence'."
...
"As the Leader of the Tribe, I demand to fight you to claim my sister back to the place where she belongs and-"
"Nope," I flatly replied.
"And I... wait," Gyes paused. "...No?"
"I think there's a misunderstanding here. You think that challenging me would somewhat make Ghislaine change her mind, but this party of mine is not a pack. I may hold it as tightly to my heart as if it was one, but they are all independent individuals that have the choice to either stay and go," I remarked flatly. "I respect your tradition as I am your guest, just like my party is, however the duty of a guest is matched by their rights, and one of them is personal respect of their individuality and their own beliefs. In particular, Ghislaine should be the one asked about this rather than me... but I can assume there's a reason why you are avoiding directly asking her that."
Surprise remained in his gaze for a while, but then he conceded with a nod. "So, what you are saying is that... Ghislaine is not being forced to remain in your group."
"That's indeed the case. However, don't mistake the lack of a forced obligation as the lack of willingness to stay in it. Ghislaine made a choice, one that she made aware she still stands for due to how she found herself at home and in peace with," I argued calmly, turning my attention to Ghis herself and-
"I will stay in this group," She proclaimed calmly. "But beyond that, I owe you an apology."
Gyes froze, eyes wide open. "Ghislaine offering... an apology? Is this a joke, sister?"
"I am not laughing, nor anyone should at this point. This goes beyond mere tribe's affairs, but I believe you deserve to be told how I am genuinely upset on the many times I may have gone overboard with my behavior."
"Only overboard?"
"You were no saintly brother, Gyes. While I admit I had gone too far at times when it came to show off my strength, you were no better with some of your 'friends'. We were both stupid kids, let's agree on that."
...
"I can tell you have changed a lot since I last seen you. You look... happier. Calmer. More tame... but by choice, holding back that ferocity of yours and use it as a weapon only when needed."
"And I can tell you behave less of a dumbass. You look a proper leader."
They both shared a smile before their moment was interrupted by more happy gurgles coming from a certain baby girl. Gyes blinked at his daughter's noises, and then gave a quizzical look to his sister.
"Want to hold your niece, sister?"
Things sounded like were finally getting fixed for good as the serious meeting came to an end and the rest of the tribe broke from just staring and seemed more cordial-looking towards us. Their progress was not to the point of a quick resolution but at least set up the first few steps both siblings needed to repair what was broken by youthful mistakes and distance.
Everything was going great... and then what would soon become a constant source of chaos and annoyance came to our attention with the rise of someone's hand for a question. Gyes noticed it, and he groaned while also facepalming at the individual he was a bit too familiar with.
"Yes, Murasaki?"
"C-Can I be head patted too by John-san?" The cat-girl asked, standing out from the rest due to her dark-colored fur and hair, and suspicious yellow eyes.
She was looking at me. I frowned at the request, and then stared at Gyes. He shrugged, his father groaned and sighed while shaking his head and... Ghislaine was clueless about what was going on since she seemed unfamiliar with the figure. The rest of the spectators had also mixed reactions but...
I decided to give it a shot. I mean, who would have expected things to get awkward really fast. I slowly nodded, Murasaki grinning happily before bolting for my lap. Head resting on my lap, I saw no issue. At first. Then, as the petting started, two details came to my attention, both of which had me quite alarmed and distressed.
First, the 'kitty was purring a bit too much'. And definitely not just for standard delight.
"Hmm, John-sama~."
"...What did you say?" I asked dryly and she tensed up.
"N-Nothing."
Then, I also saw something rise from the deepest side of 'her'. And I knew at that point, it was not a her I was head patting and that this attempt to be wholesome and friendly had been tarnished by twisted desires.
With all these details combined, I came up with a simple solution. I pushed him off, and backed away to a safer position.
"O-Oi, what was that all about?" Murasaki demanded with an annoyed look.
"I don't know, what was all that stupid-talking about, boy?" I rebuked, narrowing my eyes at the now smug-looking cat-boy.
"Just trying to make it special for both, Bukharin-sama~," He replied mirthfully.
This shameless behavior just made me frown harder. "Stop it."
"Or what~?"
That bravado sure vanished as soon as I started pinching his cheeks and pull at his face.
"W-Wha! S-So rough~ and- O-Okay, too much, can't fake it and- I give, I GIVE!"
I pulled my hands away from him, leaving 'Mura' to nurse his swelling cheeks.
"M-Meanie."
"Pervert."
"Apologies for Murasaki. He is a... nomad that has settled just a few months ago."
"I may start moving quite soon since I may have found... someone worthy of following~."
God no.
"W-Well, I guess I'll just wait a better time to claim you as my mate, Bukharin-sama."
"Doubtful. You can't claim a mate that is already a claimed mate," Ghislaine muttered and that comment wasn't missed by anyone.
All eyes were aimed at Ghislaine, clearly shocked by the news.
"Y-You mean to tell us that your party leader is-"
"My mate, yes. I claim him now," She flatly confirmed before giving me a look. "Would it be fine, John?"
I glanced back at Zenith and... she raised a double thumbs-up.
"Obviously."
"You and him-" Gustav muttered, and then smile. "I can't help but feel like this is a good choice."
Gyes was less approving from the scowl he sported, while Murasaki... pouted, his eyes flashing a complex mix of cunning, annoyance, and intrigue. A dangerous emotional cocktail that I was going to keep an eye for during our stay here. Because yes, despite the job here being done, Gyes got a fast one on us and made it clear it would have been discourteous for us to leave without at least spending the night at the tribe's village.
So yeah, the day had yet to finish, but between divine beasts that needed to be head patted, potential protective family members of Ghislaine, and now a perverted effeminate cat-boy, I think this was going to be a very long day for me and the rest of the group.
If only I knew the fun was way worse than I had anticipated.
AN
Next time, a potential surprise, a potential betrayal, and a potential opening for a new party member. It's going to get quite intense.
By the way, Lineana is indeed Baby Linia. Her known name is actually the nickname she got from her full name. If only Ghis knew she is going to look up to her once she grows up... Same toughness, same airheadness at a young age.
P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c