Hearing Ao saying that while dividing his Gateau Au Chocolat into small pieces, Kisei tilted his head.
“In the army, there are only women right.”
“Well, yeah.”
The difference in physical strength between men and women for Vuld is very apparent. Kisei is also physically weak for a Terran but he is probably not all that different from Ao in terms of physical strength. On top of that, the women-to-men ratio is extremely biased toward the former. It is natural that there are no male soldiers in the army.
“Is it not scary?”
“Ahh, I see.”
Kisei crossed his arms and groaned.
“Actually, it’s not something I should say but…….”
Ao looks around and whispers to Kisei in a small voice. There are many soldiers around them who are acting as their guards. Even if they don’t want to pry, they would overhear their conversation since they are the only ones in the cafe. Knowing that, Ao blushed and continued to whisper to Kisei.
“Even today, I’m pretty scared, you know. Being stared at and surrounded by women like earlier……..”
“Well, I can understand where you are coming from.”
Kisei nodded as the corners of his mouth turned downward. He still remembers how he was assaulted by a group of thugs when he first arrived in Calencia. Even back then, he tried with all his might to escape their grasp but he couldn’t resist and was caught in the blink of an eye. He still wonders what would have happened if Schleer wasn’t there for him.
“Right, our physique and strength are just too different from them. If a girl seriously tries to hold me down I’m sure that I can’t do anything to resist. Being so helpless and having no choice but to count on others’ goodwill is just too horrible.”
While tapping on the antique wooden table with his finger, Kisei said his mind. Some of the guards who overheard that have a complicated and apologetic expression on their faces. Seeing that, Kisei lightly smiled and waved at them.
“But you see, for some reason, I’m still here. I’ve experienced being in such danger many times but there was always someone who came to help me.”
‘Well, it is indeed a pathetic story to share though.’ Kisei followed with that and smiled at Ao.
“What I want to say is that people won’t just abandon you so easily. That’s why it’d be better if you stop doubting people’s intentions and get scared for nothing.”
“If I do that…….will I be able to stop being scared?”
“Well, I guess so. Still, in your case, that kind of stance may worry the people around you instead. There’s both the good and the bad I guess.”
The guards around them nodded in sync at his words. If Schleer or Saki are around, they might say [You should be more careful] instead. Thinking so, Kisei felt a little sorry for them.
“In the first place, I’m a Terran and you are a Vuld. The difference between our races is so big. Our culture is different, our ecology is different. Since you are the one who grew up in Vuld’s world, rather than me, the one who has the correct reaction to such a thing should be Ao right?”
“Come to think of it, I think that I’ve read something about Terran in a book before. They say that Terran women are weaker than men right.”
“Yeah, mostly.”
Kisei answered in a dissatisfied voice. Unfortunately, Kisei here is one of the exceptions to that common sense.
“A Terran’s muscle density is very inferior to Vuld. That’s why a strong Terran inevitably always looks like this.”
Saying so, Kisei operated his mobile terminal and showed a photo to Ao. Seeing that, Ao’s mouth opened in surprise.
“I know about this. This is the thing called Gorilla right.”
“That’s rude, this is my brother-in-law you know.”
The photo displayed on the terminal was of a young muscular man in a white tank top. He has short black hair and white teeth. He’s a good young man who’s both passionate and earnest. If you show his image to another Teran then 8-9 out of 10 would say that he’s a man. Kisei naturally is within the 8-9 out of 10 but in reality, his physique is strangely unacceptable to Vuld people.
“I’m, I’m sorry. But I see, a Terran man looks like this huh……honestly, I thought that they’d all look like Nii-san.”
“It’s easier for a Vuld to imagine men being short and delicate after all.
Ao is both smaller and thinner than Kisei but in truth, Ao’s figure is average among Vuld men. By Vuld standards, it can be said that Kisei is rather tall since he’s over 160 cm tall.
“Women don’t look all that different from us too. Don’t you think it’s mysterious how we can be so different? Well, Vuld women’s physical strength is definitely way up there though.”
“That’s true.”
Ao agrees while sipping his cocoa. After all, there are only Vulds around him. Perhaps it just comes down to the fact that he never has any interracial exchanges before. There are other humanoid races other than Terran and Vuld but Vuld’s fertility is by far the strongest so Vuld is arguably the most numerous race in the known space.
“It’s fun, talking like this. There are so many people in the world but I only know a small part of them. When it becomes peaceful again, it would be nice if I can study abroad.”
“That doesn’t sound bad.”
While nodding to Ao, Kisei let out a small sigh.
“I guess I will have to do my best to make that a reality as soon as possible huh.”