Chapter 31

One hour after the operation was planned.

We regrouped in a secluded alley in the northern corner of Hawrun Territory.

The hideout where the rabbit tribe children were being held wasn’t far from here.

In this alley, there was an underground warehouse to the north, some residential houses to the south, and a large warehouse to the west.

Those were the places where the rabbit children were trapped.

This street itself was lined with Level Merchant Group warehouses, and there were quite a few guards stationed to protect them.

“Here you are, Bear.”

“Yeah, those guys…”

“They’re the Black Lions.”

“Ah, I see.”

Ten female warriors of the Lion Tribe, including Leisha.

All of them were Black Lions.

It seemed this Black Lion mercenary group was entirely composed of Black Lions.

Oh, these are some pretty formidable females.

‘Indeed. They’re all at least advanced class. Two of them are top class. Quite a force.’

No, I’m surprised because they’re all beautiful, natural-looking females.

‘Well… that might be true.’

It wasn’t wrong.

In this world, women generally tend to be beautiful the more accustomed they are to mana, and beastman female warriors are highly adept with mana, so naturally, they were beautiful.

The female knights in our territory were generally neat and presentable as well.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on such trivial matters.

Of course, I was a little surprised in other ways too.

-Is this your type, Master?

‘No, not that. I was just surprised that they were all female warriors. Most of the lions I met before were also female warriors.’

Normally, the Lion Tribe has more females born than males.

The Black Lions who underwent bodily experiments were even more skewed that way.

Females are braver than males, but they also have other purposes…

‘Right. The Empire would’ve done exactly that.’

So they intentionally made more females?

The Empire, really, humans are humans…

Admiring once again the strange nature of the Empire, I exchanged glances with the other lion warriors.

“That human is the Bear?”

“I heard he hired us for 100 kg of horned rabbit meat?”

“100 kg per person.”

“Where did he get so much of that rare horned rabbit?”

“Maybe he’s trying to challenge us?”

“If he did, Leisha would really tear him apart. Not like Leon would fall for it either.”

“If it’s true, he’s really rich.”

“A male who can toss 100 kg of horned rabbit meat… that’s kind of impressive.”

Their quiet whispering carried, and it was a little embarrassing.

Even among other lions, 100 kg of horned rabbit meat seemed like a significant offer.

In the Lion Tribe, females usually support males, so it makes sense they’d be surprised that a male threw such a huge amount of meat.

‘Does it really work like that?’

That’s an interesting social structure.

“Alright. Focus now. We have to hit all three places at once and rescue the hostages.”

“Yes, Great Warrior!”

Amid the scattered chatter, Leisha gathered the team.

A momentary tension swept over us.

“How should we split into teams?”

“Great Warrior, are you with the Bear?”

“Bear and Lion… That could be interesting?”

“I’m against it. If you’re a Great Warrior, you should get at least 10,000 kg of horned rabbit meat!”

But that was brief.

The moment Leisha told them to focus, the female lions relaxed again.

A sight I was quite familiar with.

The muscle-bound males of Johnson Territory are exactly like this, aren’t they?

‘Right. Feels like I’m watching my own people.’

“Roar!”

“Eek.”

“Alright, Great Warrior. Calm down.”

“We’ll focus.”

And the female lions’ chatter continued until Leisha bellowed.

It was fortunate that they regained their senses before Leisha got genuinely angry.

If these lions were similar to the knights of our territory, they’d follow orders without complaint, so it wasn’t unpleasant.

“Alright, any warrior unhappy with their team assignment?”

“No.”

“Nope~”

After a brief commotion, the teams were set.

All 11 of us were split into three groups: 3/4/4.

I was in the three-person team with Leisha, and the warehouse we were assigned to in the west was the central building of this warehouse street.

Even mid-level knights were stationed there.

Yuria, our information source, had emphasized this location’s importance, so skilled knights were necessary.

That’s why Leisha and I were chosen.

Considering a junior female warrior joined us for support, it was clear that Leisha and I would handle most of the main work.

“If you’re a Great Warrior…”

“Focus more on the enemy.”

Among the female lions, Leisha had high credibility.

They seemed accustomed to having a leader at the forefront, so no objections arose.

‘If a top-tier claiming to be a Master teams up with an actual Master-class warrior, it would be odd if any problems arose.’

Originally, this escape operation wasn’t particularly difficult.

The moment the Black Lions joined, it became that way.

Things had gone slightly awry, forcing us to act quickly, and a few variables appeared, but rescuing the rabbit tribe children was still feasible.

Even considering the Level Merchant Group’s guards, their level was predictable, and with the Black Lion mercenaries—smaller but elite—the mission was manageable.

The castle’s regular forces seemed to leave this street’s defense to the merchants.

There were still risks like safely getting the children out of the territory, but since I was moving along to handle that, it shouldn’t be a problem.

‘The main issue is leaving quietly. If we make noise, the territory’s forces might intervene.’

Weren’t you going to use that?

‘Ah, yes. That. This is exactly when it should be used. The lions were so confident, I thought at least a mask would be prepared.’

Another problem was that the Lion Tribe on this mission might suffer unnecessary casualties.

Our territory’s residents were used to female warriors, and so were the Lion Tribe female warriors, but even Leon, who seemed pretty clever, didn’t take the friction with the Level Merchant Group seriously.

Even now.

He hadn’t even brought a mask, despite joining an operation meant to thoroughly screw over the Level Merchant Group.

Whether it was some other calculation or the beastman’s characteristic indifference, one thing was clear: these guys were vastly underestimating human cunning.

It’s human nature to return a favor in kind when someone gets screwed over.

So it was better that the Lion Tribe’s participation in this operation remained unknown to the Level Merchant Group.

Even if it was a deal, it made me uncomfortable to think that the Lion Tribe, who helped us, might suffer any disadvantages.

“Alright, I want all the Black Lion female warriors to wear this.”

“…What is this, Bear?”

“Can’t you tell just by looking?”

I left two skilled knights behind and hurriedly had them make rabbit ears for the others.

This was an item originally planned for the Johnson Knights involved in the operation. It disguised the wearers’ ears with a hood, then exposed fake rabbit ears to give the illusion of being rabbit tribe members.

Up close, it was obvious it was fake, but in a sudden nighttime raid, it was convincing enough to fool someone.

‘This is even better than I expected.’

At first glance, these look like real rabbit tribe ears. Amazing craftsmanship.

Honestly, I didn’t expect something this elaborate.

I had purposely left two skilled workers behind, but I didn’t anticipate they were that good.

They quickly produced more than ten fake rabbit ears and personally brought them for the Lion Tribe.

For friends who hadn’t realized how nasty human malice could be.

“No, I get it. You’re telling our lions to wear these rabbit ears?”

Wearing these fake rabbit ears seemed quite uncomfortable for the Lion Tribe.

Especially since Leisha genuinely looked annoyed.

But it couldn’t be helped.

Better to be slightly annoyed than suspicious.

“If you wear these rabbit ears, today’s pay doubles.”

“Uh.”

“Then…”

“Maybe it’s worth trying being a rabbit tribe member once…”

“Could be… fun?”

When I mentioned doubling the pay, the female warriors’ moods shifted.

The female lions who had frowned were now quietly taking the rabbit ears.

Honestly, they were straightforward.

Seeing them glance at our knights reminded me of a sense of internal camaraderie.

“Alright, Great Warrior, you should wear one too.”

“No, this is…”

“C’mon, Great Warrior. If you wear this, that’s three horned rabbits for you.”

“Three… three rabbits?”

“Do you dig the ground to make horned rabbits pop out? Hurry.”

“F-Fine.”

Under the female warriors’ insistence, Leisha finally put on the rabbit ears.

Impressive. If the rabbit tribe had females that stylish, she’d be paired with the leader no matter what.

‘I agree she’s impressive, but her stride is too different from a rabbit tribe member’s.’

That’s the disappointing part.

Leisha’s face flushed as she reluctantly wore the rabbit ears, and even I found her quite cute.

Considering her past, when she never looked like a woman to me before, seeing her cute now meant these rabbit ears were a remarkably effective item.

‘Maybe I should try making a rabbit ear hat from horned rabbit fur? Could sell pretty well if done right.’

I idly thought that as I put on my own rabbit-ear hood.

I had to avoid getting caught by the Level Merchant Group just as much as anyone else.

Impressive. Master. There’s never been such a muscular rabbit before.

The black rabbit on top of Leisha’s head clapping like a seal was irritating, though.

Three unidentified rabbit tribe warriors (or not) approached the Level Merchant Group’s large warehouse through the darkness.

The fact that no one stopped us as we reached the warehouse showed just how lax the defenses were.

‘I kind of expected this.’

No bold thief would dare raid a Level Merchant Group warehouse in this castle, and nobody would imagine someone moving for the rabbit tribe. This was normal.

The Level Merchant Group had no way to know about the peculiar relationship between Johnson Territory, me, and the rabbit tribe, so how could they be on guard?

Moreover, in a few days, these rabbit tribe members were certainly moving to another territory, so their complacency made sense.

‘At least the barns and farms with lots of rabbit tribe members probably had some guards.’

But is that really okay over there?

‘It’s fine. Who else should they trust more than the rabbit tribe?’

I still can’t trust the rabbit tribe’s strength at all.

‘Still, you have to trust them.’

At least in this part, I did.

At the same time Iron wore the rabbit ears to rescue the rabbit tribe children.

Inside the barns and the rabbit tribe’s quarters, secret movements were underway.

Young rabbit tribe members who infiltrated the barns from the castle’s hideout tunnels, along with the workers, were preparing for a big operation.

Late at night, avoiding the eyes of the guards, the rabbit tribe workers carried glittering mana crystals in their hands.

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