Brandon Kruger.

It's the name of the Lion King's son, the name of the man recognized as "worthy of the king" by the female lioness Lex Asuka, and the name of the beastman standing a little behind me, staring at me intently.

He doesn't wear the kind of clothing you'd imagine for a prince; instead, he wears plain cotton clothes similar to Lex's subordinates whom I met on the way. His appearance is like work pants with an open-front jacket.

Rather than a belt, he has something like a string tied around his waist, and upon closer inspection, even the jacket is fastened with strings rather than buttons. Come to think of it, Lex's attire also lacked buttons, so perhaps buttons aren't used in their culture.

Or maybe they simply don't have them.

"Is that individual the one we've been expecting?"

To Brandon's inquiry, Lex gave a somewhat evasive reply, "Apologies for the delayed report, Lord Brandon," and then glanced briefly in my direction. Perhaps it was a signal for me to introduce myself.

From the phrase "that individual," Brandon probably knows some degree of the situation. To what extent exactly, Lex went to meet the individual who controls the village on the outskirts. That's about it.

I abandoned the unappetizing meal, stood up from my chair, faced Brandon directly, and put on a confident smile.

"I am Euphemia Grimwood. I've come to hear Lex Asuka's intentions and determine whether I should cooperate. Brandon, isn't it? I've come to see what kind of person you are and what sort of guy Lion King Randall is."

"...I see... Euphemia Grimwood, huh? You don't seem particularly strong, but if you were to become a collaborator, would you be of any use?"

Brandon said, more out of simple curiosity than mockery or disdain. There was no sarcasm in his words, so I couldn't help but smile genuinely.

"Well, who knows? You're strong, indeed. And I'm weak. That's also true. Among the humans, I'm probably the weakest. I wouldn't stand a chance against the cat beastmen, the bull beastmen, or the dog beastmen. That's the gist of it."

"...?"

"For me, those beastmen over there and the Lion King's son pose about the same level of danger. They're both unbeatable. So, there's no point in being afraid all the time."

Saying so, I gave him a smug look.

As expected, Brandon nodded with understanding and lifted the corner of his mouth.

"You have some courage. I see, I see... Well then, let me ask one more thing. Who is that fox beastman over there?"

Brandon, assuming that she should be in charge of the orc village, asked.

"It's not for me to say who she is. What I can say is that the fox beastman, Serena, is a neighbor and a friend."

"Serena the fox... whether you remember her or not."

Serena didn't stand up, but instead, shifted her posture towards Brandon while remaining seated. Arms crossed, legs crossed, chin raised... was she intentionally provoking him?

"A while ago, there were fox people who quarreled with the raccoon beastmen and were ordered by your father to dissolve their settlement. I was one of them."

A self-deprecating, punitive tone.

I understood the meaning. Serena also wanted to assess Brandon.

She did it in this manner.

Now, how would he respond?

"I see. Seems like my old man gave you a hard time."

Casually. Truly casual... Brandon replied without any hint of emotion.

There was no seriousness, but there was also no lightness. For some reason, I didn't sense any disdain towards Serena. Probably, not just me, but Serena herself must have perceived it that way.

Not heavy.

But firm— or maybe rigid.

I see, so this is Brandon Kruger. I didn't intend to explicitly mention "worthy of the king" or anything like that, especially in a place like this that resembled a dormitory cafeteria, but nonetheless, I did think to myself:

Perhaps he's capable after all.

Afterwards, prompted by Lex, I was led to what she called her "workshop," which she personally uses.

As mentioned earlier, the Lion King's castle or palace, if you will, has a different atmosphere from the human tribe's "castle." Essentially, elements of the castle are scattered throughout the estate. The human's castle packs all its elements into the structure of the "castle." The difference lies in the fact that Lex Asuka's "workshop" is, so to speak, like a strategy conference room.

The Lion King's right-hand man. It seems that Lex has been serving as the king's advisor for over ten years—since she was in her teens. In the workshop, there was a "book." It was a collection of handwritten documents by Lex, bound together with parchment.

"Do beastmen also use writing?"

Without reservation, I took a document from the shelf and flipped through it. The contents seemed to be calculations and notes, with no explanations for others. It was assumed that Lex would review and understand them.

"Not many can understand them, but we want to increase literacy. Especially among individuals like Leaf Liza, we're proactively teaching them."

"It's necessary for doing business."

"Originally, it's essential for taxation as well. The sense of paying taxes is quite different between beastmen and humans."

"Hmm? ...What do you mean by that?"

"Offering tribute to the leader suits the sense of beastmen. However, as society grows, mere senses won't suffice."

"Seems like my old man can't understand that."

Brandon, who had taken a seat at the table in the strategy conference room, interjected into Lex's and my conversation.

"That's probably true. Reasoning won't work on that man."

Agreeing with Brandon was Serena, who had seated herself on the opposite side. Next to her were Pookie and Tenard. What was a bit surprising was that Nova, the lynx(?) beastwoman, didn't sit near Brandon. Or rather, she was just standing there, but her position was closer to Lex than to Brandon.

"What's in Randall isn't reasoning but his own discipline."

Lex murmured in a tone like, "Yesterday was a bit cooler, huh?" It was a conclusion drawn from countless discussions and decisions among Lex, Brandon, and the others, and it didn't seem like a topic worthy of emotional investment.

"That discipline has reached its limit, though, hasn't it?"

"Well, yes. I said it on the way here, but if things continue as they are, the humans will overrun us. Still, the area around Randall will remain. Because the Lion King is strong. Humans won't bother to intervene within the reach of that strength."

"But our reach isn't infinite. We need to extend it... if we don't want to be squeezed out, that is."

Brandon took charge of concluding the discussion.

Certainly—it makes sense.

And perhaps Randall has his own reasoning.

If you don't want to be squeezed out, fend for yourself... Is that what he's thinking, or is the definition of "our group" or "our country" different?

I don't think about which is right.

I don't care about what's right in the first place.

—That's fine now.

"Which one's more fun, I wonder...?"

Such thoughts slipped out of my mouth unintentionally, but apparently, the volume was low enough that nobody reacted.

After a brief silence, Brandon twitched his ears on top of his head.

"It's about time. Euphemia Grimwood, let me introduce our comrades. Or rather... I feel like you might be necessary for us."

"Oh?"

"I have intuition, reasoning, and speculation. The biggest reason is that Lex thinks you're useful. So, I think you probably are, and I also feel that your existence shouldn't be ignored."

Speaking thoughtfully, Brandon's gaze was intriguing to me.

It wasn't doubt or calculation, but rather... what should I call it? It was a kind of consideration, like seeing through the deep, dark night ahead. Regardless, even if the future is obscured, what's certain is moving forward, and his attitude conveyed that.

I see—so this is "worthy of the king."

Glancing briefly at Serena, who was looking at Brandon with a mixture of doubt and belief, at this point, Brandon's charisma was already evident. He's not someone who's easily understood or blindly worshipped... but somehow, he gives off a feeling that makes you want to entrust various things to him.

And then.

The door of the conference room opened, and several beastmen appeared.

A bird, an elephant, a wolf, a rabbit...? I couldn't tell exactly. But each and every one of them exuded a strange intensity, and even the rabbit-eared woman, who was a beautiful woman with a good figure, was emitting an unusual killing intent. The elephant beastman was a little shorter than an orc, but probably would beat them handily in a fight.

"You're back, Lord Lex."

The one who spoke was a werewolf beastman. He had a strong beastly presence, and although he wore pants, he was hardly different from the members of the "Anti-Lion Alliance" who had turned into werewolves.

"I'm back. And this is Euphemia Grimwood. She's a human, but she's the one who manages the beastmen's settlements at the edge of the beastmen's territory."

Nodding, Lex recited the introduction she had prepared in advance.

The gazes of the beastmen were focused on me, Euphemia Grimwood, but somehow, I felt like I had gotten used to this. No matter where I go, someone is always looking at me like this. Well, as a cute young lady, being looked at might make me more 'beautiful'. Or it might not. It doesn't really matter.

So, as usual, I stood up and lounged back, flashing a Euphemia smile at the beastmen, and said,

"I'm Euphemia Grimwood. Whether we get along or not, let's decide that from now on. Anyway, hello."