Combat Maid Harem

"This is just a small part of the tribe. We are divided into small villages throughout the Yttervia Forest," The Tribal Chief explained to Lawrend.

"Why isn't everyone wearing the same clothes as you do?" Lawrend asked in curiosity.

Lawrend couldn't help but notice the attire the catgirls were wearing. They were practically naked as they wore a beast skin wrapped around their breasts and at their groins.

"It's a form of social status in our tribe," The Tribal Chief responded.

"Hm?"

Lawrend raised an eyebrow hearing his response. It was his first time hearing of such an absurd thing.

Meanwhile, they walked through the village and the demihuman cats stared at them in curiosity. Some bared their fangs in hatred, while the others just looked on.

Before long, they arrived in front of a mud building in the center of the village. It was the Tribal Chief's House.

"Follow me inside," The Tribal Chief said to them before he opened the door.

Lawrend and Nuon looked at each other. It would be a lie to say that they weren't nervous. After all, there's no going back once they enter inside.

"Let's go," Lawrend said to Nuon before he followed the Tribal Chief inside.

Nuon nodded his head in response and followed him.

"You—!" A male voice exclaimed just as they entered inside.

It was a familiar one as it was the same catman that Lawrend encountered before.

"What are you doing here? Tribal Chief is with you too…" The catman stared at them in surprise.

"Kein, right?" Lawrend asked him a little unsure.

He only heard his name from the other catman before.

"H-How did you know my name?" Kein stared at Lawrend in disbelief.

He doesn't remember ever telling it to him.

"Kein, stop being rude to our guests," The Tribal Chief said to Kein calmly.

"G-Guests!?" Kein's tail straightened in shock.

"Yes. From now on, treat them as our guests," The Tribal Chief said to him with a nod of his head.

"Why? Aren't they planning to hurt the Sacred Spirit Tree?" Kein asked, still in disbelief.

"They are also here for another matter. Since they didn't do it yet, I forgave them," The Tribal Chief explained to Kein.

"What!? You can't just do that, Tribal Chief!" Kein argued with the Tribal Chief angrily.

"Enough!" The Tribal Chief shouted in anger.

Kein's ears drooped down, and he lowered his head in fear.

"You will know later. For now, call Amene Lana," The Tribal Chief said to him.

"Yes, Tribal Chief."

Kein left the house of the Tribal Chief in a downcast mood.

"Human, do you like wine?" The Tribal Chief asked Lawrend with a smile.

"Yes," Lawrend nodded his head and said, "Also, please call me Lawrend."

"Okay, Lawrend," The Tribal Chief nodded his head before he turned to face Nuon.

"What about you? What is your name?" The Tribal Chief asked.

"Nuon, sir," Nuon replied respectfully.

He was very fearful of this demihuman in front of him as he had seen his power just from that single arrow that easily stopped Lawrend's shock arc.

"The two of you can sit on the chair over there. I will go get the wine," The Tribal Chief said to them before he left and entered a room.

The duo was left in the living room.

Lawrend looked around the room. It was pretty simple and cozy inside. This was his first time inside a mud house.

There was a low table with wooden chairs all around it on one side while there was a bookshelf on the other side.

"Lawrend, what do we do now? We have already failed the special mission," Nuon asked Lawrend worriedly.

He was glad that he was alive but knowing that they failed the special mission that they painstakingly traveled here for is heartbreaking.

"... I don't know. We will see later. For now, let's just focus on completing it. Maybe there's still a chance," Lawrend replied to him, unsure.

"Right. That is also possible," Nuon nodded his head.

Though, the worry didn't leave his heart. Rather, it grew. He was more worried than before. It would be hard to explain why they were able to return alive when Logan died without even leaving a piece of his corpse behind.

They waited for another minute before the Tribal Chief returned. He was holding a small barrel within his arms.

"This wine barrel contains a decade-old fruit wine. I would like the two of you to try it," The Tribal Chief introduced the small barrel to them as he placed it down on the table.

"What kind of fruit?" Lawrend asked curiously.

"It's a secret mixture of fruit. I only serve it to guests as it is very precious, and supply is very limited," The Tribal Chief replied.

"You have other guests?" Lawrend asked in surprise.

It didn't even occur to him that the Yttervia Demihuman Cat Tribe would have other guests besides him.

"Yes, we do. Compared to the humans of the south, the humans of the north are very kind to us," The Tribal Chief nodded his head like it was natural.

"Wow. What kind of people are they?" Lawrend asked him in interest.

"The King of the Cerulean Kingdom is a very benevolent man. He believes that demihumans should be treated equally as humans. Which is also why we didn't kill all of you immediately," The Tribal Chief explained to him.

"That's odd. This is the first time I'm hearing of that," Nuon replied in confusion.

"It isn't. After all, his Queen is a demihuman. Moreover, she's from our tribe," The Tribal Chief replied to him with a proud smile on his face.

"Really?!"

Nuon and Logan widened their eyes in shock.

"Unfortunately, the King of the Cerulean Kingdom can't exercise his influence to the Undrasil Kingdom. Otherwise, the slavery of our race would stop," The Tribal Chief said to them with a sigh.

Knock Knock Knock

Suddenly, the door to the house was knocked just as they were discussing.

"Tribal Chief, did you call for me?" A soft and mature female voice sounded from outside.