Chapter 3: Unequal Status

  "There it is, right there." Bast shouted with excitement as he leaped down from the tree.

  After successfully crossing the Broken Sword Pass, the three entered Dinah's territory and were walking along the road to a nearby town, planning to rest there for a while before making further plans.

  At this time, you can already see the tops of large buildings from behind the forest in front.

  "Wow, what a beautiful city! I can hardly believe that people actually live in such a lovely place." Bast exclaimed excitedly, having never left the northern wilderness before.

  "That town is called Prada, an important trading town in the province of Cavi. If we go to the heart of Dinerral, we will see even more magnificent cities," Ruz explained.

  "But I think it's already quite remarkable," said Bastet. "No wonder Your Majesty is eager to occupy the human nations, for there is such a fertile land beyond the northern wilderness."

  As she spoke, her eyes sparkled as she pulled Raymond: "Young master, once we arrive in the city, we must find the best inn. I've long wanted to try human food."

  "Hey, can you do something more impressive besides eating?"

  Just then, a sudden sound of horseshoes came from behind. A team of cavalry led the way, escorting a luxurious four-horse carriage towards this side, and with the rotation of the wheels, the bells on the carriage rang out in a pleasant jingling sound.

  When they first arrived at the noble's place, the three of them naturally wouldn't dare to cause any trouble and hastily moved aside. Before long, the procession whizzed past them, and just as the horse carriage was passing by their side, the window curtain was lifted, and a beautiful young girl poked her head out.

  She was dressed in magnificent clothes, with ornaments on her body that shone brightly and were extremely valuable. At a glance, it could be seen that she was the daughter of an aristocratic family.

  When she saw the ugly Luz, the girl's eyes flashed with curiosity and surprise. Then, when she saw the cute catgirl, her eyes lit up again, as if she had seen something extremely delightful. On the other hand, Raymond, who looked no different from a human being, didn't seem to have much of an impression on her.

  Facing this peculiar combination, the carriage guards were not as relaxed as the girl. The knights stared at the three of them with vigilant eyes, their hands holding weapons in a position ready to attack at any moment, not daring to relax in the slightest, showing that the girl they were guarding was by no means ordinary.

  Seeing the girl staring at him, Raymond raised an eyebrow and simply waved his hand to greet her: "Hey, hello."

  But little did they know, a simple sentence would stir up a hornet's nest. As if she couldn't believe this person was so bold, the young woman on the carriage paused for a moment, then revealed an unpleasant expression.

  The knights beside her also shouted: "How dare you! Do you know who you are talking to?"

  Two knights even made a gesture of drawing their weapons and rode towards the three men.

  "Meow, what do you want to do?" Bastet said, unwilling to show weakness, one hand already reaching back to touch the hilt of her knife at her waist.

  Just as it seemed like a confrontation was about to erupt, Raymond stepped forward and held out a hand in front of Beatrix, signaling her to step back.

  Lutz said in a low voice: "Sorry, we just finished the guild's mission and plan to go to Plaza for some rest. If there was any offense just now, please forgive us."

  "An adventurer? It's rare to see a beastman." The two knights' expressions immediately relaxed.

  A knight beside the carriage whispered to the girl, "Lady, it seems there's been a misunderstanding. The other party is three adventurers. Lord Pralza's lord is still waiting to greet you, would you like..."

  The girl hummed and dropped the curtain: "Forget it, don't bother with them, let's go."

  Then, at the command of the leading knight, the two men returned to their troops, escorting the carriage away without even a word of apology.

  "Cut, isn't that enough?" Bastard was dissatisfied with the knights' backs and waved his fist: "Young master, why stop me? Luz and I can easily take care of them."

  "Hey, aren't the Cat People's messengers supposed to remain calm in any situation? Why did I have to run into you, a hothead like you?" Raymon said irritably.

  "It's clear that those guys struck first and spoke so rudely." Bastert wanted to argue back.

  "Give me more use here." Raymond knocked on Bastar's forehead: "Normally, I'm telling you, when encountering such provocation, we must remain calm and make judgments based on the situation at that time."

  "Have you thought about the consequences of just starting a fight? It's not something that can be settled by just defeating the opponent, don't forget we're no longer in the Northern Wilderness."

  "This... I..."

  "Good grief, why do I have to bring a follower and teach them common sense? Hurry up and mature already!"

  "Huh? Wait a minute, could it be that when Kaito's clan leader handed you over to me, he had this kind of plan in mind?"

  "The young master is right." At this time, Rudes interrupted: "That girl should be a certain nobleman. If we rashly conflict with them, it will be very disadvantageous to us."

  "Yeah yeah, you just know Master's right." Bastard mimicked Lutz's voice in a strange tone and made a face at him.

  Then just before Raymond's hand was raised, she suddenly jumped up: "But they are too bullying, the young master only greeted her and why did they want to move their hands on us?"

  "This is the world of humans." Rudeus calmly said, as if he hadn't seen Basuto's actions: "In this place, there is a huge difference in status between commoners and nobles. Even greeting someone carelessly can sometimes be a serious crime. I've seen many things like that during my time as an adventurer."

  "Meow, how can this be..." The cat girl's mouth was wide open in surprise.

  "This is what they mean by disparity in social classes? It's really gotten to a pathological degree, hasn't it?" Raymond couldn't help but stroke his chin: "A place that looks so prosperous and yet has such an unsavory side to it."

  Ruzi nodded slightly: "This land has a richness and beauty far beyond the northern wilderness, but there are some things that cannot be seen in the beastmen either."

  "Hmm... quite an eye-opener indeed." Raymond muttered to himself, nodding his head.

  Although beastmen also have a distinction between high and low, this strict class hierarchy where ordinary people can't even talk to nobles freely is unimaginable for them. On some level, the things that humans who claim to be civilized do will leave beastmen speechless.

  "Where shall we go next, young master?" asked Bastet at this time.

  "Where else can we go? Of course it's the town ahead."

  "Huh, but what just happened, if we do it again..." Bast said hesitantly.

  "What's wrong? Did your courage shrink as soon as you left the Northern Wilderness?" Raymond teased.

  "Of course not." Bast said hastily: "But you are also our prince, and now being bullied by those people at will, I really think it's not worth it."

  Raymond burst out laughing and said nonchalantly, "That so-called 'prince' who is all name but no substance would only make me feel uninterested. If I had to be one, at least it should be in a more prosperous place."

  "Alright, alright." Bast said immediately with a jump: "Then let's take this as our goal, I will do my best to help the young master."

  Following that, she clasped her hands together, a look of expectation on her face as she drooled: "Like this, I can eat all the delicious food across the entire Mojina continent for free. Meow, it feels so blissful."

  "Wow, that's quite a goal indeed." But before he could finish speaking, Raymond smiled and stretched out two fingers, gently pinching the cat-eared girl's ear and pulling it upwards: "Then before that, I'll just have a taste of this cat ear first."

  "Meow meow meow meow, it hurts it hurts it hurts! Young master, this doesn't taste good at all, absolutely not good!"

  In the midst of Bast's mournful cries, three people walked towards the town in front.