The Empire "manages" monsters.
Thanks to this "management," the people of the Empire today view monsters as little more than creatures slightly tougher than ordinary predators.
First come wild beasts, then the slightly more dangerous predatory beasts, and finally an even tougher tier: monsters—entities also known as magical beasts.
Because they have been kept down to a level only marginally more formidable than predators, threats within the Empire have been minimized, making life somewhat more peaceful than in the tributary states or barbarian-controlled territories.
As a byproduct of this management, monsters are sometimes utilized for the imperial family's first battles.
The Empire is a warrior nation, where martial prowess is expected even of royalty.
By having royals subjugate managed, captive monsters for their first battles, the imperial family demonstrates to the public that they remain warriors through and through.
Beyond that, however, there is no practical use for them.
Outside of these imperial first battles, monsters are quarantined and simply kept alive in confinement.
"......Hmm."
"What's on your mind, boss?"
"Now that I think about it, I really don't know the first thing about monsters."
"Well, that's natural enough. When it comes to commoners, ninety percent of 'em live and die without ever layin' eyes on a monster once."
"True..."
It was just as Jerry said.
Because the Empire has kept monsters under lock and key for generations, ordinary citizens rarely encounter them.
In fact, even Noah had never seen one until his own first battle.
"Oh yeah, we actually got one locked up right now. Wanna take a look?"
"Oh? You captured one?"
"Showed up a little while back, so we nabbed it. But with the war against those dung beetles goin' on, I ain't had the time to transport it, so I just left it sit."
"I see....Very well, let me see it."
"You got it! Right this way."
With that, Jerry turned and headed for the door.
I followed behind him.
Out in the corridor, a few of Jerry's subordinates passed by here and there.
Knowing some of them might recognize my face, I dialed up my presence redirection, ensuring their attention remained firmly anchored to Jerry.
This was far easier than simply erasing my presence entirely.
Jerry was the master of this facility. It was only natural that their eyes would naturally drift toward him.
Many people saw Jerry and me walking down the hall together, but all of them would be left with the vague impression: The General was walking with someone... Wait, who was that again?
Keeping the effect active, I trailed behind Jerry as we stepped outside, took a long loop around the perimeter of the grounds, and came to an area resembling a backyard.
Suddenly, a violent metallic racket rang out—CLANG, CLANG!—as if heavy iron bars were being rattled and struck with immense force.
"Is that it?"
"Sure is," Jerry answered, eyes fixed straight ahead.
Incidentally, I had kept the awareness redirection active.
As I had explained to Henry and the others, this technique merely misdirects attention.
I was physically present, visible, and capable of being heard.
If I spoke or called out to someone, my voice would reach them without issue.
We could hold a conversation just like normal.
Walking a bit farther, we reached an overgrown, desolate patch of ground that could hardly even be called a yard.
There stood a massive iron cage. Inside it was a monster about the size of a large dog, shaped like a rabbit.
At a glance, its silhouette resembled a hare, but its eyes burned a vivid crimson, and its mouth was lined entirely with fangs sharper than any predator's canine teeth.
That wasn't all.
Perhaps reacting to the arrival of humans—Jerry and me—the monster bristled in its cage, baring its fangs in an aggressive display.
Its raised fur stood on end like a porcupine's quills, every single strand gleaming with the dull, lethal sheen of a bed of spikes.
"A monster, indeed."
"Yep. It was wild, so baggin' it was a real pain in the neck. Honestly, I thought about just lettin' it starve to death, but rules are rules—captured monsters gotta be shipped to the ranches, so I've been keepin' it fed. Just ain't got the luxury to haul it out right now."
"I see."
I took a step forward.
"Milord! That thing's danger—"
"It is fine."
I raised a hand, stopping Jerry in his tracks.
It certainly had the terrifying presence befitting a magical beast that eclipsed mere predators, and its aura was imposing. Yet I felt neither intimidated nor the least bit afraid.
Fierce as it looked, it was downright adorable compared to Leviathan or Bahamut.
When you spend your days dealing with entities like them, a beast like this ceases to be frightening in the slightest.
I closed the distance.
"Leviathan, can you translate?"
『Of course.』
Leviathan's voice echoed directly into my mind.
An instant later, the thrashing rabbit's feral snarls resolved into intelligible words inside my head.
『MEAT! MEAT MEAT MEAT MEAT MEAAATTTTT!!』
"I see."
"Did you figure somethin' out?"
"No, it's just screaming 'meat.' Does it want flesh? At this rate, while I can understand its words, holding any meaningful communication looks impossible."
"Whoa... That's amazin', Milord."
"Hm?"
I glanced back to see Jerry looking on in sheer awe.
"Before we took it down, that thing slaughtered and ate about half a village. Killed a few of the men I sent to catch it, too."
"I see. And by 'slaughtered and ate,' you mean literally...?"
"Yep, gorgin' on their flesh. Though compared to other monsters, that's almost wholesome in a weird way."
"Haha."
A soft chuckle escaped me.
Jerry describing it as "wholesome" was amusing.
Still, I saw his point.
Rather than rampaging and butchering people purely for the sake of slaughter, attacking to eat and actually filling its stomach was, in the strictest biological sense, perfectly natural behavior for a living creature.
Of course, letting ourselves be eaten was out of the question, so we would still put an end to it.
"Still... it's just like you said, Milord. If 'meat' is all it's got on its mind, even I can see where this is goin'."
Jerry cast a cold, detached look at the rabbit as it snarled, continuously hurling its body against the iron bars with heavy metallic crashes.
"Ain't no talkin' sense into that."
"Indeed. Still... what a waste."
"Huh? How so?"
"If we could communicate with monsters, they would be an absolute treasure trove."
"A treasure trove?"
"People are treasures... and I have always sought out talent. You are one such treasure, just as I found worth among the women society cast aside."
"That's mighty impressive. I've always heard you'd give anyone an important post as long as they had talent, even women."
"Yet monsters are left even more 'unutilized' than they were."
"Ah... Lookin' at it like that, I reckon it really is a shame from where you sit, Milord."
Jerry nodded, seeing the logic in my words.
"Well, they are called magical beasts, after all."
"Beasts... An existence revered by all beasts."
"Eh? What's that now?"
"When I was studying historical records, I came across a mention of such an entity."
"Huh..."
It leaned closer to myth than recorded history, but such a being was said to have existed.
If only I could uncover what that "existence revered by all beasts" truly was... I thought with a touch of regret.
Well, nothing can be done. I suppose I should give up for now—
The instant that thought crossed my mind, the world before my eyes warped completely.
The desolate backyard vanished in a flash, replaced by an expanse overflowing with brilliant light.
"What is this place...?"
As I stood bewildered, something came thundering toward me from beyond the endless horizon.
"...That's—!"
My shock deepened.
Charging straight for me was the golden bull I had seen all those years ago.