"……Really a beastkin."
"From the reaction, it seems you didn't know."
"Because I wasn't particularly interested."
At Osian's response, Alensia felt a complicated mix of emotions.
She felt both disbelief at Osian's words that he didn't know she was a beastkin and had no particular interest, and gratitude that he showed no special reaction upon seeing her reveal her identity.
Usually, when people found out someone was a beastkin, their reactions were mostly guarded or disgusted.
Osian did not discriminate against someone just because they were a beastkin. However, he was quite surprised that Alensia was a beastkin, though it didn't show outwardly.
Not just anyone, but someone who had become an executor was actually a beastkin.
'Is this why she used kicks instead of weapons as a martial artist?'
Osian nodded internally and was impressed. Beastkin were evaluated as barbaric like the northern barbarians.They were natural warriors, but in a developed era like now, such outdated warriors were unnecessary.
Moreover, beastkin possessed a 'beast transformation' ability, which dramatically increased physical abilities when used, but also increased wildness, making them become violent.
Average beastkin often failed to control this beast transformation and caused many accidents.
That's why they were the second-worst evaluated race after orcs.
'How talented must a beastkin be to rise to an executor position in Tirna?'
Talent was talent, but without effort, they wouldn't have reached this position.
Furthermore, in an atmosphere of widespread beastkin discrimination, Alensia still managed to earn genuine respect from her subordinate soldiers.
'In any case, she's not an easy-going character.'
Osian thought this and lightly sipped his iced coffee.
Alensia looked at him and cautiously asked:
"Is it tasty?"
"It's coffee, what different taste could it have?"
"……You added ice?"
"It's nice because it's cool."
Originally, Osian was the type to buy takeout iced coffee even during midwinter snowstorms.
So he was quite shocked that Tirna didn't have such coffee.
But if it doesn't exist, you can make it. Anyway, it was just a matter of adding ice to existing coffee, so it wasn't difficult.
"……."
Alensia stared at Osian, then slightly pushed her glass in front of her and said:
"Then I'd like to have one of those too."
-Clank.
As soon as those words ended, a sound came from the kitchen.
Alensia's rabbit ears perked up automatically.
When Osian looked at this with curiosity, Alensia, seemingly embarrassed, put her hat back on her head.
"Ahem. Anyway, can I try one?"
Alensia asked, clearing her awkwardness with a cough.
Osian was about to call Ena in the kitchen.
But Ena, who had already prepared something, brought an iced coffee on a tray and placed it in front of Alensia.
"Enjoy, your, meal."
Ena used an awkward, stiff smile and broken speech before disappearing back into the kitchen.
Alensia looked at Ena's back before taking a sip of the iced coffee through the straw.
"Oh. It's okay."
Alensia's eyes widened. The taste was better than she expected.
Of course, compared to the deep taste of regular coffee, it was somewhat bland, but it wasn't a bad feeling at all.
Especially now, after the rainy season had ended and the weather was hot and humid, she thought it would be fine to drink this often.
"Is that so? As expected, you know something."
Osian nodded proudly, looking at Alensia who recognized the true value of iced coffee.
How were the looks of those who stared at him like he was a heretic when he said he wanted to drink iced coffee?
'Hoo. These guys who don't even know the first letter of coffee, what would they know? I'll just let it slide.'
Osian passed over those thoughts, but deep down, he harbored a desire to find someone with similar tastes.
Just then, someone with the same coffee preference appeared before him.
Osian thought this was a calling of fate, and asked in a softened tone:
"So, why did you come looking for me? I can listen to your story to some extent."
Alensia felt slightly bewildered by Osian's strangely friendly demeanor towards her.
'What's this? Is it because I showed my ears? Could it be…….?'
An uneasy thought crossed Alensia's mind.
While beastkin were generally discriminated against, there were people in the world who peculiarly liked beastkin.
They were individuals with a unique preference, especially for beastkin who had undergone beast transformation.
And surprisingly, they often held high social positions and possessed suspiciously vast wealth.
'No. No way.'
Although she thought so in her head, the sudden anxiety was not easy to wash away.
Alensia, maintaining a slight wariness, brought up her reason for coming.
"This time's rainy season brought a lot of rain. You probably know this too. This year, there was more rain than before, and the flood damage is not insignificant."
"Well, that's true."
The long-lasting weather would have been quite fatal to the entire city.
Moreover, such a rainy season is not something that can be simply ignored just because it has ended.
The various problems that arose during the rainy season were still scattered throughout the city.
"Among those, the most serious would be the underground waterways."
"Underground waterways?"
"Normally, water flows out to rivers through sewage treatment plants, but this time so much rain fell that the rivers actually swelled. As a result, nearby residents' dwellings were flooded, and some functions of the sewage treatment plant were lost due to water being discharged beyond the standard limit."
What Alensia was trying to say was that she was gathering people for 'flood recovery'.
"I understand. Due to flood damage, the damage is severe, so you'll need a lot of manpower to restore it to its original state. But is it really necessary to call me?"
Usually, such flood recovery work is done by city officials and contracted laborers.
Osian was neither of those. He was simply a knight who wielded a sword and a fixer.
While fixers are said to take on all sorts of miscellaneous tasks, that's typically for hard-up fixers who need money or work.
Someone like Osian was qualified to choose his commissions.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding. What I'm asking isn't simple work like clearing excess mud or removing collapsed debris."
"Seems there's something more."
"If the city's manpower is concentrated on one side like now, it will create a big hole in the system that has been well maintained so far. It'll be the time when the crime rate in Tirna peaks."
‘Ah, is that so?’
Osian nodded, understanding.
"The criminals will run rampant, so you hire people to supplement the forces in areas lacking manpower."
"That's right. Especially, there are reports that criminals who were hiding through the underground waterways will resume their activities."
Osian recalled the underground keeper he encountered in the underground waterways while escaping with Princess Orlea.
Tirna was a massive city standing tall above ground, but beneath this city's surface, another massive city lay sleeping.
"People live underground too, right? What's the reaction of the 'residents'?"
When Osian mentioned the residents, Alensia's eyes widened.
"Do you know about them?"
"I just happened to find out."
"'Just happened to find out.' How modest. They are those who live in another city existing beneath Tirna's underground. They belong to Tirna, but at the same time, they are not from Tirna."
"If it's related to the underground, won't they step forward?"
"It's not that simple. Compared to Tirna on the ground, the underground's size isn't that massive. Relative to the wide space, the area actually inhabited is limited."
"So even if a problem occurs, they'll only handle matters around their immediate vicinity. We'll have to take care of incidents in other spaces?"
"That's right."
Osian fell into thought.
It was natural that flood recovery work would require massive manpower.
Moreover, it seemed the city was currently experiencing a significant labor shortage.
The fact that someone like Alensia directly sought out Osian to commission him was evidence of this.
'Of course, she also intends to tell me to keep quiet about the previous incident. But the real purpose is probably needing military power.'
He thought what military power could be needed for flood recovery, but considering the city's scale and the criminals hiding within, he could understand.
'It's not a commission I absolutely must accept, but accepting it wouldn't be bad. After all, it's an official request from the city.'
An offer directly brought by Executor Alensia.
Just by accepting this, the city could provide various benefits.
Tirna was infinitely generous to those with abilities.
'The fact that she knows about the incident in District 29 and is requesting a commission, rather than trying to silence me, seems to mean she wants to maintain a good relationship.'
It felt a bit like an over interpretation, but the flow was likely similar to this.
He could refuse the commission, but without a plausible reason, the city wouldn't view it favorably.
'Moreover, it's about the underground waterways.'
Osian recalled the underground keeper he had encountered previously.
Having coolly finished his iced coffee, Osian put down the glass and asked:
"When should I start?"
***
"It won't take long. I'm already organizing the list. I'll send someone to inform you about the detailed location and schedule soon."
Alensia said this and stood up from her seat.
"Oh, and can you tell them I enjoyed the coffee? It wasn't bad. I'd like to drink it again next time."
"By all means. Ena herself would be pleased."
Rather than being pleased, she would have been furious that another person with a bizarre taste had emerged, but Alensia had no way of knowing that.
"She's gone?"
After Alensia left, Lorraine peeked her head out from the stairs leading to the second floor and asked.
Because of her injury recovery, she had been staying on the second floor recently, so she knew everything about Alensia's recent visit.
"Yes."
"Wow. Junior is really something to have the city of Tirna send an executor to request a commission."
"Weren’t you still pointing a gun at her?"
At Osian's words, Lorraine opened her eyes wide and then laughed, showing her teeth.
"What? Was I caught?"
Lorraine took out the pistol she had hidden in her bosom and waved it.
"Was it in preparation for Executor Alensia forcibly arresting me?"
"Isn't that right? Especially if you were mixed up in some dangerous work that shouldn't be known. I thought a rigid soldier would definitely do such a thing."
"If she did such a thing, we would become irredeemable criminals, wouldn't we?"
"That's right. But how could I just watch a colleague being dragged away? In the end, it all worked out safely."
She was joking, but Lorraine was serious.
If Alensia had used her authority to forcibly take Osian, she would have surely pulled the trigger.
"However, honestly, even if I pulled the trigger, I didn't think I could win. That woman knew I was aiming at her right before she left."
Though she thought she had hidden her presence as much as possible, Alensia was already aware of Lorraine's existence.
The moment of pulling the trigger, Lorraine herself might have been the one to die but she would have pulled it anyway, because that's who Lorraine Ponk is.
Osian chuckled and nodded.
"I see."
"What's with that reaction? At least be a bit more grateful."
"I'm grateful enough. That's why I prepared a gift for you."
"A gift?"
Osian took out a weapon from the subspace of his bracelet and placed it on the table.
Lorraine's eyes widened as the special material weapons imbued with the magic used by Alpheus appeared.
"The weapons used by the Petra Order's paladins. They’re special models, so feel free to choose what you want."
Lorraine first picked up a shotgun.
With trembling hands, she stroked the barrel and carefully examined the weapon's condition.
It was neat and perfect. She had only seen such a beautiful gun before, never touched one like this.
Lorraine was overjoyed. She felt that when an emotion rises to this level, expression becomes awkward.
So, within her capacity, she expressed her joy with the utmost sincerity.
"Marry me!"
"No."
Osian's voice was decisive.