"And that is precisely, why we need to coexist with the mamono, your honor. In short, we are a country that could flourish under their influence, their knowledge of the new biosphere that is growing in different parts of our nation and their unmatched skills in dozens of fields. Difference of attitudes and desires should not separate us from them!"
My roaring, confident voice echoes in the halls of the council, hoping that my conviction would break through their stubborn heads.
I'm Zeno Oto, a scholar and the only representative of the interests of monsters. Our young and evolving country of Zipangu is at a turning point and we might get to make history if we make the right decision now.
The west is waging a pointless war against the succubi and losing more and more people through their senseless offensive.
Our part of the country was one of the last that was still resistant to the integration of monsters into society. Of course my plea was met with scrutiny and scoffing. Slanderous whispers go through the onlooking crowd as I am judged and out in the open as the only defendant.
The council made up of 5 men in ceremonial robes, all with beards that would rival the length of some women's hair, kneel on their seat pillows and glare at me for how apparently preposterous my case is.
"Young Oto, you speak in defense of monsters telling us only of the benefits. But we all have seen what they are capable of from their war in the western kingdoms. They don't stop until they gather full control of an area and corrupt everything within it! Are you really trying to tell us that that part of their goals is not transferred to the kind that roams our country?"
"Your honor, it's all a big misunderstanding. I know it sounds ridiculous and maybe even a bit ludicrous. But I tell you, the monsters in this country are planning nothing of the sort. Even the mamono in the west only reacted to the aggression that came from the human side. They were defending themselves."
"By turning entire states into their own twisted demon realms?"
"Even that isn't as bad as it is believed to be. All it is, is a transformation that benefits everybody."
"And what exactly are those benefits, mister Oto?"
All eyes are on me, I can only answer quietly. They wouldn't understand. "It... causes people to... be more open about their sexuality. That's the basis of it."
The jury knew what effect the corruption had. They're just making me say it so the people are immediately turned against me. I give up and say it. "It turns men into sex-hungry incubi and women into succubi or various other monsters."
A gasp goes through the crowd. I expected that reaction.
"I think that'll be all, Zeno." The council members stand up and turn away, scoffing. I run up to one of them and grab his shoulder to look at me.
I rebuke him immediately. "But not all monsters are like that, especially not in our country! They can live among us peacefully! Most of Zipangu has already welcomed them! We are just dividing the country!"
He turns around with a grim glare and yells at me. "Exactly. They accepted it, but we won't be so easily fooled. We're not going to wait around until the first reports of corrupted cities and crumbled governments reach us. Good day, sir!" He tears his shoulder away from me, leaving me defeated as the audience rises up from their seats and leaves the hall, giving me the cold shoulder.
I'm on my own here. My case is lost.
There's nothing left for me except packing my material and heading home. Scrolls upon scrolls that I've been preparing for days and they just brush it off like I'm a madman talking to them.
But what does it matter now. I kind of expected this. It was hard to explain mamono culture to the uninitiated, let alone getting them warmed up to it.
My huge backpack is already weighing down on me like crazy even though I know full well that the walk back home will be even more strenuous.
The backpack is stuffed to the brim with maps, scrolls, writing tools and navigation equipment. Maps that contained small and large descriptions of Zipangu. I came from the southern hemisphere of the country, along with my assistant who had been helping me gather knowledge about all kinds of mamono.
This state, or rather this city state of Tekoma was one of the last and most stubborn states I'm visiting on my... you could call it crusade. I'm trying to unify the country... at least in this one aspect of tolerance. Sometimes it works out easy, other times... I get rocks thrown at me. This time actually isn't that much of a hostile resistance yet a very unrelenting one. It took months to get through to the council. Shame it ended like this but what can you do? There's always a next time.
I walk up the stairway of rocks that led out of the green valley Tekoma was located in. I take one last look at the peaceful little city. It's surrounded by snowy mountaintops and rocky slopes. It had the look of a serene paradise that appeared to be in a permanent spring season. This place could become a refuge for monsters and humans alike. But just not yet.
I trudge up the steep ascend, heading for a plateau further up the mountainside. My destination was just at the edge to the cold, snowy peaks. A hidden cave with a roof of hard snow and an entrance barely big enough for a person to go through. It almost had the shape of half an igloo with the other half being solid, iced-over rock.
I easily fit in through the entrance but it was purposely built a bit larger for my... slightly taller assistant.
The inside of the cave barely resembled what you would imagine a cold hole in a mountain to look like. That's because we made a long-term outpost here. Several shelves of scrolls and books were lining the backside walls with exquisite oil lamps illuminating the room. I smile as I smell the aromatic scent of the homely cave. It's still a bit rustic, but I liked the warm and comforting atmosphere.
A gigantic carpet in red and brown tones spread over the floor so we wouldn't have to walk on solid rock all the time and left and right to a small coffee table are a pair of matching, red leather recliners... one of which is occupied.
A cold, yet elegant woman sits in it, legs crossed and resting against the back while gently sipping from a cup of tea that she is holding with both hands.
In fact, I know who this woman is.
"Maika. I see you're back as well. How's the situation back home?"
Her gentle, yet sharp eyes turn over towards me as she puts the cup aside.
Maika is a blue Oni, one of the two types there are or at least that people know of. Her species was one of intelligent women. Subjective, planning, well-organized and sharp. Perfect prerequisites for being my assistant already, but Maika was on another level. On top of intelligence, I hate to bring it up even since it's so lewd to look at her like that, but she had a body to die for.
She was tall, sure, but her overall figure was still dainty and exquisite. Her skin was a light hinge of blue with straight, silvery turquoise hair barely touching her shoulders and two beige horns poking out from her forehead. She was still dressed like you'd expect from an ogre family mamono. So basically very... primitive. Her skirt was made of tiger fur with only one leg being somewhat covered by it while the other was completely exposed all the way up to her thighs. Her wide hips and thighs flowed perfectly into a slim stomach and then a voluptuous bust with another scrap of tiger fur serving as a coverage for her F cup breasts.
Despite that almost barbarian style, she tried to outweigh that with a pair of rectangular, authoritative glasses. And I had to admit, it made her whole aura a lot more professional.
Her well-formed, bare legs smoothly uncross themselves as she straightens her glasses and stands up to greet me. A reserved but genuine smile crosses her lips as she takes a small bow and offers to take off my weighty backpack. She's strong enough to handle it, otherwise I wouldn't let her do it.
"Welcome back, Zeno. Back home has been doing well since we departed. Even the chancellor now found a wife. And I thought all he could do was mope and grunt all day. I guess he's doing that now as well come to think of it, but in a way more pleasant way I suppose." She chuckles haughtily as she carefully stores my equipment in the proper shelves.
I stretch my back after the heavy weight is gone. "Ahhh... well... at least it's nice to hear that things worked out down there."
Her hands stop for a moment and she looks over her shoulder. "Oh... I assume the meeting didn't go well then?"
I finish rubbing my neck before I hesitantly answer. "Yes... it could've gone better. Seems like it'll take more than just one debate to win over the hearts of these people. If I could get them to listen at least, then I would feel like I'm making progress. I almost lost my temper when they scoffed at me."
She worriedly looks over at me. "You can't let it get to you. They're just waiting for any reason to dismiss you."
"I know...*sigh* I know. I just... I think I just want to finish this quest of ours as soon as possible. I want to see this country united. You feel the same, don't you?"
She props herself up and sighs. "Of course I do, Zeno. That's why I've been following you to begin with. But we still need to take it one step at a time. Don't let our conviction get in the way of calm and reasoning. Understood?" She says as she flashes me a small smile with closed eyes.
I put my hands behind my head and lazily look up at her looming figure. Even after travelling with her for several months... it still surprises me how she's over a head taller than me.
"Heh, gods I wish I had that kind of zen, Maika." Her slanted, sharp eyes look at me from behind her glasses. They were almost golden and shined with the kind of optimism and approachability that I've been used to ever since we set out together. "Either way, we'll change their mind at some point. Not forcefully of course. It's too troublesome to push this onto them and have a rebellion later. Do you happen to know anything about the local history? Maybe a case of mamono and humans working together before?" I ask with my mind still on the case as I walk over to a whistling kettle hung up above a crackling fire.
Maika puts her finger to her chin and closes her eyes in thought. "I can't recall anything recent at least. I will check the records if there may have been an incident like that right away."
"No rush, we have all the time in the world to prepare. Who knows when that next chance will come." I say relaxingly as I sigh and sip from a cup of freshly poured, steaming tea. "What did you use for the tea this time? It's really refreshing." An approving smile crosses my lips as a mixture of citrusy and herby flavor fills my mouth.
Maika stands on a ladder, trying to reach the higher shelfs, foraging for any useful scriptures. I hear her voice from across the cave as she still busies herself with looking around thoroughly. "It's a mix of ginger and lemons. I thought I'd try something a bit more fruity this time." She replies in a matter of fact way that I knew all too well from when she was busy.
"Ginger and lemons? Where did you get those? It's not really something that grows in this area."
"I collected a few of them on the way back from the South. Foujian had a lot of lemons among other fruits growing around this season; even some from the demon realm. And the ginger is from Cheydina. With how close it is to the water, it's growing like mad down there."
