Volume 12 - CH 3

Chapter 3: Mercenary State Zem 

Gimbal clapped his hands twice. When he did, a person clad in armor walked over from among the soldiers and dropped to one knee before us. I couldn’t see her face, but the shape of the armor indicated it was a woman. She took off her helmet, and held it under her arm. She was a little older than me, with well-balanced features, and cat ears perched on top of her dirty blonde hair. 

“Ah! I knew it...!” Owen, who was a little ways back from the rest of us, exclaimed. 

Then is this cat-type beastman Mio? Was she Georg’s daughter, Mio Carmine? Sexual dimorphism was a trait of many of the beastmen races, but this woman was far prettier than anything I would have imagined from the stern lion face her father had. 

Gimbal put a hand on her shoulder and said, “You can spend your time as you like until the finals tomorrow. If you wish to look around the castle town, she will be your guide, so please ask. She is a participant in the tournament, but I hear she is from the Kingdom, so I asked her to help out.” 

Yes, she certainly is from the Kingdom... 

“It is an honor to meet you. I am Mio.” 

The girl raised her head and stared straight into my eyes. 

“There’s no doubt about it. That was Duke Carmine’s daughter, Madam Mio,” Owen said with a pained look.