#045. The Little Male is Too Kind (2)

#045. The Little Male is Too Kind (2)

Maria, the moment she returned to the village, jumped up and down, horrified, like a male black frog beastman.

“Fiend! Heretic! Blasphemous being! To dare wrap your tongue, your tongue, your *tongue* around Ian’s body. What kind of lewd act is this!”

“Haa? He said it was alright, so why are you, a human female, butting in?”

“A, a female!”

Maria, feeling dizzy from the vulgar language she could never have imagined in the Order, belatedly realized what the black frog female beastman was wearing.

The deeply cut V-neck silk top flaunted her ample chest, and her shoulders and back were practically bare.

She wore a belt with wooden ornaments around her waist, and the lower garment was a skirt of what seemed like mere scraps of fabric that barely covered her legs.

As much as one could say they were the clothes worn by dancing pretty boys from the far southern desert region, there was no trace of womanly modesty to be found!

Even if women were more open-minded than men, this was truly crossing the line.

“How can you brazenly sit in the Adventurer’s Guild in such whorish attire! Your impious clothing is a violation of public order and morals!”

Ian sighed.

Maria’s reaction was predictable.

That was because countless adventurers within the guild had already jumped up and down in a similar uproar.

When they only wore robes and wrapped their tongues around party members they liked, it could be passed off as similar to a cat beastman casually wrapping their tail around an arm or leg.

But now that the robes were gone, the fact that they had been hiding such licentious outfits filled some female adventurers with genuine dread.

-We don’t even have any males in our party, so why are you coming dressed so nakedly? Don’t tell me… you’re into women…?

-Hmm? Is the human female interested in breeding with a black frog beastman?

-I’m only saying that because you’re wearing outfits practically screaming for attention! I’m *not* interested, okay?!

-Even if you say that, we’ve always dressed like this. You just need to not look at us with such strange eyes.

-Damn it. To think the black frog beastkin, who defaults to ordering for two, had lesbian tendencies. What to do? At this rate, we’ll be mistaken as lesbians too!

Before Maria’s party returned, the female party leaders, who made up the vast majority of the adventurer’s guild, were endlessly exposed to the suspicious gazes of party members and outsiders alike.

-Whoa, look over there. There’s a party with no men and a seriously exhibitionist woman.

-She claims to be a beastkin, but I don’t believe it.

-Right? She looks perfectly normal. Why is she making up stories about being a beastkin? Look at her, trying to pass off her partner as a beastkin because she doesn’t want to be mistaken for a lesbian.

-Good heavens. She’s trash.

-Hey, you cowardly wench! If you’re a lesbian, be open about it. Aren’t you ashamed of your partner!

The female party leader was at her wit’s end from the jeers of adventurers and citizens.

-Hey! Because you’re keeping your mouth shut, I’m becoming trash. Hurry up and show people your tongue!

-I don’t want to. The black frog beastkin’s tongue must conserve moisture and be kept moist within the mouth for hunting and eating. It shouldn’t be taken out unnecessarily.

-You pull it out just fine when you’re joking around!

-I joke around too much, and it’s dried out. I won’t be taking it out until the hunt.

-Heh heh. Give up, Party Leader. We don’t care if people think you’re a lesbian. It’s not like *we’re* getting called lesbians.

-Pfft. Imagine the Party Leader being a lesbian.

Thanks to the playful black frog beastkin’s tricks, some party leaders were indeed mistakenly thought of as lesbians by the public.

What kind of controversy was this fearsome race, known for turning those they entangled into lesbians, going to create next with their playful tongues? An air of anticipation hung thick in the air.

“Iann. That human female is bothering me. Punish her.”

“Oh, how dare you cling to him?! Get your filthy, lustful hands off Iann’s head!”

“Daphne, please refrain from actions that could be misconstrued.”

I wasn’t so naive as to not recognize the emotions flickering in the two women’s eyes.

Human affection.

Since possessing this wicked brainwasher’s body, it was not such a foreign feeling anymore.

Which only made it sadder.

Daphne, the leader of the black frog beastkin, intentionally provoking others to monopolize me.

“Maria. There’s a valid reason why Daphne dresses this way.”

“Whatever reason she needs to dress in such a whore-ish fashion is bound to be insignificant!”

Daphne had lived her whole life as a black frog beastkin, enduring such discrimination and insults.

Her distrust of humans, her provocation to create reasons to hate and fight, all stemmed from the original sin of being born a black frog beastkin.

Knowing the reason why a person’s character was inevitably warped, I couldn’t call Daphne cowardly.

At the same time, that feeling also extended to Maria.

Becoming a member of the order, fawning over authority, receiving warmth, teachings, and skills she had never experienced in society, the Inquisitor couldn’t help but affirm the order’s values.

Beastkin hatred.

Discrimination against other races.

Vigilance towards heretics.

Hostile presumptions against any life that deviated from the standard.

From the moment Maria set foot in the order, regardless of her personality, she was bound to become someone who easily disregarded and insulted beastkin.

Her seeking out the order was an unavoidable consequence of being born in the slums.

Poverty was a fate one couldn’t choose, and so, another original sin to be paid for simply by being born.

‘No one is truly evil by nature, but by the original sin of being born into unfavorable circumstances, these two are destined to fight each other.’

A sorrowful tragedy.

Beneath this soil, I shudder to think how many times such tragedy has repeated.

If this is the will of Heaven, then Heaven is a cruel master.

A master who revels in inciting the righteous to fight.

But not today.

At least, not in this place.

Heaven will not satisfy its wicked desires.

My heaven does not exist in a world with gods.

It exists on Earth, in the 21st century, with its laws and morals in place.

And I am ready to stain my hands, to any extent necessary, to enforce what I believe is right.

That is why I will do it.

I am a brainwasher.

A deceiver who twists and manipulates the hearts of men.

Using this evil power, I shall…

[Brainwash Activated]

[Target Subject – Maria]

[Command – If you cannot trust anyone, then trust in my faith that he is worthy.]

I stopped Maria’s discriminatory outburst.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm her agitation, she prepared herself to hear my explanation.

Seeing her ready to listen, I calmly explained why Mr. D’afri was dressed as he was.

“Frog-kin breathe through their skin, as a rule. That’s why they can live outside of water.”

“…Huh?”

Maria may not know it, but it is an undeniable truth.

Even frogs, the originals for the frog-kin, primarily breathe through their skin.

However, they have difficulty absorbing oxygen from the air if their skin isn’t sufficiently moist.

“For a race whose pulmonary respiration is inherently lacking, and must be supplemented by skin-breathing, wearing thick clothing that covers their entire body is no different than covering their nose and mouth and suffocating them.”

“I had no idea. Not even the slightest clue. I never imagined there could be a legitimate reason… And I, without knowing…”

“An apology. Is in order, wouldn’t you agree?”

Maria placed her hands stiffly at her sides and bowed her torso to ninety degrees.

“For failing to understand the physical needs of the kin and recklessly insulting them, I sincerely apologize. As an inquisitor of the Order, as a member of society, and as a woman, my behavior was unacceptable.”

“Tch. Human females apologize too easily. If she were Kin, she’d put up a fight, wreck one side until they’re a rag, before backing down.”

D’afri, with a generosity as ample as her bosom, forgave Maria.

“I’m only letting it go because of Ian’s face.”

The two, who by nature were destined to be mortal enemies, had been freed from their fated animosity by the wicked brainwasher.

Of course, there may have been a chance, however small, that they could have overcome their original sin and opened their hearts through genuine interaction.

But by forging an artificial relationship, that pure future had vanished.

‘I have to take responsibility.’

To prevent their relationship from deteriorating, I must periodically renew the ‘brainwashing.’

Otherwise, if the brainwashing wears off…

The relationship, barely held together, will fall apart once more.

Worse still, the backlash might transform their vague antipathy into distinct hostility.

I must see to this through to the end.

At least, for as long as I draw breath, I shall harbor the resolve to never witness these two in conflict.

* * *

Ian, with words so saintly they belied his years, brought the discord to a close.

“As a token of reconciliation, Maria should offer her wrist to Dapri.”

“Offer her wrist… what does that signify?”

A mischievous glint danced in Dapri’s eyes.

I acknowledge Ian’s good nature.

But I am, in truth, still stung by the harsh words.

“Hmph. You see, frog-kin, when experiencing unease in unfamiliar settings, possess the habit of wrapping their tongues around the wrist of someone they trust. Just as they do with Ian.”

Thus, I teased.

Performing such an act, I’d learned, leads human females—unlike their frog-kin counterparts—to be misunderstood as liking the same gender. A lesbian.

Clearly, she’ll be mortified.

She’ll plead impossibility, beg for forgiveness.

If she clasps her hands together in supplication, I suppose I can’t be *too* unyielding.

“Kuh…”

Maria’s face flushed crimson with shame.

Her gaze darted back and forth between Ian and her own tongue, a look of resolute determination hardening in her eyes.

Eh?

This isn’t how it was supposed to go.

By the time I realized my miscalculation, it was too late.

“If it is to atone for my impertinence, then I shall gladly offer you my wrist.”

Self-consciously, fidgeting, avoiding my gaze, Maria hesitantly rolled up her sleeve and extended her arm, resembling nothing so much as a bashful lad.

“What is this? Utterly alluring.”

“?!”

“Fine. If it’s you, I’d wrap my tongue around you as much as you like. My little boy surely has a special mate!”

Dapri was magnanimous.

A remarkable female commands respect, even from others of her gender.

Why not simply keep them both?

The astonishing possibility embraced by a distant ancestor, one who decided that frogs were possible.

Dapri’s audacious, even shocking, decision, revealing a courage that, perhaps, wasn’t entirely necessary.