Minotaur Royal Capital "Zultan Walla"

Downwater Month, March 21st, interlude.

In the north-central region of the Minotaur Nation stood an enormous capital, sprawled across the earth like a colossal beast.

"Zultan Walla."

Among minotaurs, the three syllables "Zultan" carried the meaning of a weapon drawn from its sheath never being returned to it. It could be understood as a state of war.

The three syllables "Walla," meanwhile, meant a sharpened blade.

Together, they roughly meant that the nation always possessed the ability to face foreign enemies and the will never to yield.

"Walla" was also the surname of the Minotaur Royal Family.

Rumble—

Rumble~

A dull droning sound echoed along the main street as enormous wheels rolled over the ground, producing a buzzing vibration.

It was a pale-white carriage over six meters long and four meters tall. Pulling it were Rockhorn Rhinoceroses, magical beasts covered in rock-patterned skin with spiraling horns over a meter long.

The crowds on the road hurriedly moved aside at the sight of the carriage.

Inside the spacious carriage.

Sat a minotaur noble dressed in extravagant attire. He stood a head taller than the average two-meter-tall minotaur, with a medium, lean build, light brown fur, and short, thick horns.

That fur color and horn shape proved that this minotaur noble belonged to the Desert Variant.

"Go faster."

The minotaur noble reclined within the carriage and spoke in a calm, deep voice. "We cannot keep His Majesty waiting."

The moment he spoke.

The carriage accelerated, and cries of alarm occasionally rang out from the streets outside.

"—Troublesome slaves. Their numbers seem to have increased again. At this rate..."

The minotaur noble glanced at the crowds beyond the window. Minotaurs accounted for only around half of them, making him frown. "One day, they'll fill the entire Royal Capital to bursting."

The Royal Capital,