Monster Girl World Ch. 04

Chapter 4-Cultural Exchange

Nippon, 1853

The small but powerful nation of Nippon had lived in isolation from the rest of the world for almost a century. There were many reasons for this cultural isolation, but for the most part, it was because of attempts by the Order to spread their religion throughout the mostly animism-central country, as well as starting conflicts with the native monsters. It wasn't until a high ranking priest had attacked a lord and his Keijoro wife that the emperor had decided to exile all foreigners and cut off all contact with the outside world.

This had lasted for a century, and would've gone on longer had Nippon not repelled an invasion from the nation of Temujai. Though Nippon barely won the war and beat back the invasion, it became worryingly clear that the rest of the world had advanced beyond them, and if they wanted to maintain their independence as a nation, they'd need to advance as well. And to do that, they needed allies.

As luck would have it, not long after they opened their borders to the outside world, they were contacted by an envoy from the Britannia Empire. Having just been through a rather tumulus period of conflict and a subsequent renaissance age, the Empire had proposed an alliance with Nippon and offered to send an envoy to explain the details of the proposal. There were many in the Imperial Court who were wary of the sudden request, but the Emperor decided that the least they could do was hear the foreigners out.

And so Doji Yamada, a minor nobleman who was the Imperial Court's designated diplomat and representative, was sent to the coastal region of Maruko with a regiment of soldiers to meet the ship that would be carrying the diplomat and their crew.

"Stop fidgeting. You'll mess up your Obi."

"I can't help it. It's the middle of summer and it's hot."

Bushi Kaeko, a blue skinned Oni who acted as the Court's first monster advisor and a representative of the Emperor himself, shook her head and slapped his hands away from the long white overcoat he wore over his needlessly extravagant kimono. Her own fancy kimono was specially made for her kind, hugging her toned, luscious curves while not straining against her body's natural bulk. A far cry from the tight fitting samurai armor that Kaeko's sister, Rei, wore.

Yamada was a young man for his position, only reaching a little above his mid-twenties in May, with a rugged appearance that he inherited from his father. Short black hair tied back into a messy ponytail (he refused to have it in a bun) and a light shave he regularly cut short, he would often be seen by monsters and some human women as ruggedly handsome, though romance was the last thing on his mind. Yamada just wanted to get his lie on track before pursuing a wife.

It was just another thing in a long list of supposed "insults" his father thought he brought to the family. Being a scholar instead of a warrior, not choosing a bridge, not learning how to fight, all that stuff that only soured the relationship between father and son. Honestly, Yamada was happy that his dad was kidnapped by a Dai-tengu. That man was getting on his nerves with his constant bitching.

"Hey," A tall red-skinned Oni clad in tight-fitting samurai armor peeked into the window of their carriage. "You kids doing okay in there?"

"We are fine, Rei, thank you." Kaeko sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Ah, don't be like that, sis. I imagine it's really boring in there." Rei grinned at Yamada. "Yamada, you going to fuck her or not? She needs a good dicking to loosen her up a bit."

"Rei, could you not?! We're on an important diplomatic mission!" Kaeko's blush on her blue cheeks made her look adorable to Yamada, though he wouldn't dare say it to her face.

To his credit, Yamada didn't blush, only rolling his eyes. "If you're a good girl, Rei, maybe the foreigners might have some suitable men for you."

"Ha! I wish." Rei said and looked up ahead. "Ready up, you two. We're almost at the town."

The imperial convoy made their way down the main road leading to Maruko's main port town, Isshun, which acted as both a fishing village and a port for ships all along the coast. Before Nippon closed its borders, ships from other lands would also come here for trade and such. Now for the first time in over a century, they were greeting visitors again.

Yamada, Kaeko, and their samurai regiment stood at the docks where the ship would be arriving at. Already they could see its large mast in the horizon slowly getting closer to the town. Yamada's eyes widened a show different the ship looked compared to Nippon's own navy, it looked sturdier, capable of withstanding an attack at sea while moving with incredible speed thanks to its large mast. The flag of Britannia hung high in the air, flapping in the wind.

'I must say, they do make some impressive ships.' Yamada thought, his mind only partially on who they would be sending for negotiations. 'Whoever this man is, he must be really important to be sent on a ship such as this.'

As the ship pulled into the harbor, the anchor was dropping and the bridge was placed onto the docks for the passengers to disembark. As Yamada and Kaeko walked over to greet the diplomat, they were surprised to see that he was in fact...a she.

The first person to get off the ship was a centaur, a monster commonly found in western Europa. She was a beautiful woman, with dark blonde hair that reached to her shoulders and was finely combed, with a fair amount of light make up to enhance her facial features. She wore a dark red coat with a sword at her hip that hugged her ample chest enticingly. Yamada's gaze turned to her lower body, which was that of a horse with a black skirt over her equine body. Her brown coat was finely groomed and even her tail looked like it was washed to the point of glinting in the sunlight.

She walked down the plank with dignity and grace common in most centaurs. Behind her were a small group of human soldiers, knights Yamada recalled their titles, and a dozen centaur women who also wore the same colors as her. They all assembled in front of the royal procession and the centaur woman bowed her head.

"Greetings, I am Cathy Ingram, representative of His Majesty's court." She said. "It's an honor to be granted entry into your country."

"The honor's mine." Yamada said, smiling lightly. "I am Doji Yamada and this is my assistant Bushi Kaeko. Welcome to Nippon, Ms. Ingram."

XXXXXX

The trek back to the manor where the envoys will be staying was a pleasant one. There were the usual villagers who were very curious about seeing the first foreigners to step foot on their land in centuries. Seeking to know more about Cathy, Yamada chose to ride on horseback alongside her instead of riding in the carriage with Kaede. Along the way they talked about various things, not necessarily about the negotiations itself.

"So all of the women in your family are knights?" Yamada asked. Cathy nodded.

"Even before the Crown began allowing women into the Royal Army, the centaurs of our nation have always been warriors at heart. My mother met my father as a knight, for he was a talented blacksmith. If you want, I could tell you the entire story. It's quite eventful really." Cathy said, smiling.

"I think I'd like that." Yamada smiled back. "It will be a while before we reach the estate, so you'll have plenty of time to acclimate yourself to our lands."

"Thank you, Mr. Doji." Cathy said. "I've heard many pleasant stories about Nippon that I've wanted to see for myself. Is it true that your emperor is descended from the goddess-"

Before Cathy could voice her question, a bellowing shout from Rei made her and Yamada jump. "Incoming!"

Two fireballs burst from the forest on both sides of the road, exploding in front of the envoy. Rei had the soldiers form up around the carriages, but as more fireballs hit the road, their formation started to break apart. Men clothed in black emerged from the trees, drawing katanas and knives before charging at the samurai.

"Death to the foreigners!" One man cried out.

"This is our land!"

'Nationalists,' Yamada thought, trying to keep his horse steady. 'Fucking perfect.'

It wasn't completed unexpected to still have people who would rather have Nippon locked away from the rest of the world, untainted by the influences of the west after the Order's attempted conquest of their wonderful land. Yamada was just surprised that some would blatantly attack a convoy of the emperor's own warriors just to make a statement.

"Get back!" Cathy surprisingly ran forward, pushing Yamada behind her as she rallied her people to her and drew her sword. "Knights, to me! Push them back and form a path for the carriages!"

Yamada watched perplexed as the centaurs formed up and charged forward, ramming into the bandits like a battering ram. Those swords were clearly weren't for show as the knights began fighting the bandits with the grace and ferocity of true warriors. Rei was also batting aside the bandits with her typical Oni strength, while Kaede aided her sister in handling the mages assaulting them with fire magic.

Yamada, for his part, was no warrior and thus stayed out of the line of fire as two samurai near him protected him from any stray attacks. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't long before the bandits and mercenaries were defeated, but just before anyone could completely declare the enemies routed, Yamada saw a swordsman leaping at Cathy, who had her back turned.

"Cathy!"

Cathy spun around, just in time to see Yamada jump in front of the sword's path and take the blade to his chest. Blood burst from the diagonal slash the katana left in his flesh as it cut him from shoulder to hip in a single swing. To her surprise, the still but barely conscious Yamada was still coherent enough to grab the attacker's arm and pulled him in front of her.

"Gah!" An enemy mage had shot a fire spell at them, and Yamada had used the last of his strength to grab the swordsman who cut him open and use him as a human shield. The poor bastard took the full force of the flaming bolt while Yamada was blasted off the road into a bush, hitting his head hard on the ground.

"Yamada!" Yamada heard Cathy's panicked cry, but he was already starting to black out from his wounds. Unable to keep his eyes open, he fell unconscious as the battle continued around him.

XXXXXX

'That's the last time I try to be a hero. It sucks.'

This was the first thing he thought upon waking up. He thought for sure he was dead after getting cut in half by a freaking katana, but apparently his time hadn't come yet. He found himself in a soft, western-style bed with bandages wrapped around his torso and right arm. Seeing the pink skin near his shoulder, he figured that some of the flames had burned his arm in the blast.

"Bet father would see this as battle scars." Yamada muttered. "Though the bastard would probably bitch about me being saved by a woman."

He slowly pushed himself up, wincing at the ache in his chest as he sat up a bit in the bed. Looking around, he saw that this was no ordinary room. It wasn't as ornate and decorated as a regular Nipponese room would be for a person of high status. Did someone drop him off here?

The door slid open and Yamada saw Cathy walking into the room, dressed in white underclothes that still hugged her large bosom. When she saw him, she gasped and ran over to his bedside.

"You're awake! Thank the goddess!" She exclaimed, rushing over to him in three long strides before engulfing him in a tight hug.

Yamada grunted as her powerful arms (slender yet toned, he could feel the muscles in them) wrapped around his neck and hugged his wounded body close to her bountiful chest, which he wouldn't mind if it weren't irritating his chest wound. Cathy, thankfully, heard his pained grunt, and quickly moved away.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Doji. I should have been keeping an eye on my surroundings during the battle. My folly allowed you, a dignitary, to get hurt on my behalf!" She said and bowed her head. "Please, forgive me!"

"It's okay, Ms. Ingram. I jumped in on my own accord. Wouldn't be very chivalrous of me to allow a lady to be attacked from behind." Yamada smirked. He looked down at his bandages and rubbed his chest. "How am I still alive? People rarely survive getting sliced across the chest by a katana."

"One of other centaurs, Katie, is a mage who specializes in healing magic. She healed your wounds enough for us to get you back to the manor to give your proper medical treatment." Cathy said. "I didn't think you were going to survive."

"If I could live through my old man's constant bitching, then I could survive a sword wound to the chest. Still, you have my eternal gratitude, Cathy." Yamada smiled.

"You're very welcome." Cathy smiled. "With all that's happened, I suppose that we will be staying here for the time being until the investigation is over."

"I think so. In that case, we should have our own talks here. Let's start by getting to know each other better." Yamada said and held out a hand. "You can call me Yamada."

Cathy's pale cheeks reddened and she took his hand. "And you can call me Cathy."

"See? We're off to a wonderful start already!"

XXXXXX

Following the attack, and the intensive investigation into the matter afterwards, the Emperor and his advisors graciously decided to have the negotiations at the manor Cathy was staying at. There were fears about what this attack would mean for their proposed alliance, but Cathy assured everyone that this had no effect on how she viewed Nippon. If anything, she was more impressed by Yamada's selfless actions that saved her life.

And so negotiations continued, and more insight was given into what Britannia wanted with Nippon. The Empire and Nippon both had things that were unique to each other, and thus a mutually beneficial agreement could be reached. Nippon was rich in resources unique to its part of the world, and Britannia was a powerful country that could help the island nation modernize to catch up with the rest of the world. Britannia will aid Nippon in this endeavor in return for limited access to their plentiful resources, such as the crystal deposits near Mount Kannon.

While this was going on, Cathy and Yamada spent their free time getting to know each other better. They were both strangers to each other's worlds and it was fun talking about all the new places they grew up in. it honestly shocked Yamada at how much the world had changed over the centuries.

"I've heard many stories about Nippon back in Britannia. About samurai, the strange magicians and the magic they employ, and the close relationship humans and monsters share here." Cathy said as they walked through the small garden in the back of the estate. "Britannia also shares a solid human/monster bond, but it's not as close as it should be. There are still conflicts here and there between monsters and members of the church, but the royal family makes sure that nothing escalates beyond words."

"Well, Nippon's always had a good bond with our monsters here. It helps that they don't jump on you at first glance." Yamada said. "I think that's why monsters are persecuted here like in other places of the world. Spared us getting involved with that holy war nonsense."

"Then the monster called an...Ushi-Oni, was it? They are docile too?" She asked.

"Oh gods know, they're the last beasties you want to run into. They can practically smash through anything one they get a man's scent inhaled." Yamada laughed. "Lost my father to one just two years ago."

"Oh my," Cathy gasped. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. He wouldn't stop harping on me because I didn't want to buff up and train in kendo like he did to become a samurai. He would never stop telling me that being a diplomat was no job for a man worth his salt. An Ushi-Oni's the perfect partner for him to bark at, since she won't even understand half of what's he's saying." Cathy really thought it odd at how nonchalant Yamada was about this. Must have been some really bad blood between them. "He wouldn't get off my case about marrying either. You should see some of the noble ladies he'd throw at me, as if those delicate flowers could handle this little brain of mine."

Cathy giggled as he knocked his knuckles on his head once with a smirk. "Marriage isn't on your list of priorities?"

"Not yet, at least. I still have my life to live before I settle down." He said. "You?"

"Hmm, it's not my main focus, but if a suitable husband does come along, then I have found him." Cathy said coyly. "I and my fellow centaurs have come here partly to see if the samurai were suitable husbands for us. We all come from families that breed strong warriors, and after hearing stories of honorable samurai serving their lords, who better to choose for a mate?"

"So you're looking for a samurai husband."

"I never said that." She replied. "I'm just looking for someone deserving of a centaur wife. Unlike some of my other fellow knights, I'm more interested in finding someone who is right for me in ways not involving warrior lineage. I get enough of that in the Royal Army."

"Well, I hope you find that special person. I hear it's easier for monsters than humans, so maybe you might have a chance." Yamada said, looking up at the Sakura trees and missing the look Cathy gave him.

"Yamada, I hear there is a...fireworks festival coming up in a few days. With our deal with your emperor almost finalized, I might have some free time on my hands." Cathy looked away, brushing a golden strand of hair back behind her ear. "Would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the festival?"

Yamada blinked before giving her a big smile. "Sure, it's no problem! Always happy to show off our nation's wonders! You'll love the fireworks display for this year!"

"I'm sure I will." Cathy nodded. "However...what are fireworks, exactly?"

XXXXXX

After a lengthy period of negotiations between Cathy and the emperor, an agreement was reached and the treaty was finalized between Nippon and Britannia. This would mark a historic moment in Nippon's history and its first step into becoming a modern nation and world power. Though to Yamada and Cathy, this period would have a different significance for them.

The nearby town they were staying near was having its annual Hanabi (fireworks) festival. Yamada welcomed the foreign dignitaries to the festival to celebrate their new alliance by watching the fireworks and enjoying the new food and attractions they had to offer. It was quite the sight watching noble knights and politicians try on kimonos for the first time, though the centaurs took to it with more grace than expected.

Yamada personally escorted Cathy to the festival himself. Being employed to the Emperor did wonders for one's bank account, and he bought himself and Cathy summer kimonos tailored specifically for them. Yamada had a jinbei he got last year but hadn't worn yet, while Cathy wore a bright red kimono with gold trimmings and a lower frilled skirt over her lower body. She had her blonde hair done up in a simple bun with a few strands framing her face and a light touch of make up to enhance her features (for reasons Yamada couldn't understand, seeing as how he thought she wasn't all that eager to find a husband yet).

Cathy stood in the center of the village with Yamada, munching on a nice, cold treat called kakigori while watching the villagers, humans and monsters, enjoying the festivities. She smiled at the happy families that passed by them, with young monster girls running around with carefree smiles. Such a far cry from Europa and all its political and religious strife. It was refreshing.

"It's nice to see a place that isn't under siege or in the midst of some revolution." Cathy told him as they strolled down the street. "It's good to know that some places of the world know peace for its people. I've spent too many campaigns for the Empire watching people die or get caught in some meaningless conflict."