“…And that’s why they gave me this memo.”
In a room at the Lord’s Mansion of Asrik,
Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong,
For some reason, I was made to sit in seiza on the floor and hand a piece of paper to Nina.
“It’s the room number for that inn, the one that looks like a castle.”
The memo was passed to the two slaves as well.
Helen seemed a little angry,
And Nastasia had an expression that said, “Ah, I see.”
“Did you not take the bait, or do you want my permission for something?”
“No, well, if it were a brothel, I suppose, but going to that kind of adventurer’s room… I really can’t.”
“That was a wise decision. The problem is, what is Natsu-nee’s objective?”
Since Clarice, the party’s brains, wasn’t here for now,
Let’s try to figure this out with just the four of us.
“What objective? I think she just wants Derus.”
“Well, that’s true. We’re a party with three Heroes. And what’s more, the strongest one isn’t the Leader.”
“No, well, it’s not just about combat ability, but also… you know, as a man.”
What?! Someone who’s a prominent figure at the Adventurer Guild?!
But that doesn’t matter, does it? Still, she’s a Rabbit-beastman, so… that really doesn’t matter either, I guess.
“Nastasia, what do you think about Natsu-nee?”
“Honestly, I wasn’t interested in Adventurer Guilds outside the Empire, but…
If she’s inviting Master Derus to a room in that kind of inn, then I’ll have to settle it eventually.”
“No, please don’t fight over me like that!”
Let’s try to organize the information a bit.
“Um, Natsu-nee-san already has their own party, right?”
The party name sounded like an old man shouting something.
“That’s right. In short, there’s a distinct possibility she’s trying to poach you with seduction.”
“But she’s a beastman, isn’t she? Am I really that attractive to beastmen?”
“I can’t say for sure, but in Derus’s case, his gaze was fixed on her tail.”
Is that why?!
No, he was just curious about it!!
“…Now that I think about it, why was he so mesmerized back then?”
“Perhaps Derus is starting to develop a taste for beastmen?”
“Then if I had gone along with the invitation, I would have become what’s commonly called a ‘kemono-zoku’ for those who like beastmen…!!”
That was close. If I had gone to the inn’s room without reporting to Nina, I might have been well on my way to becoming a kemono-zoku.
(I narrowly escaped becoming a kemono-zoku!)
“I won’t let them add any more perversions to Derus!”
“B-but maybe she just wanted to give me some useful, important information!”
“Oh? Like what, for example?”
Hmm.
“Like telling me how to obtain Houkra-san’s Gas Magic Stone?”
“We can already acquire them in large quantities, and you’re saying she’d do that?”
“Um, and then… then, something that I wouldn’t think of, something I wouldn’t notice.”
It’s n-not like I have any lingering feelings about Natsu-nee-san’s invitation…!!
“If you say so, then we’ll investigate.”
“H-how?”
“Try going to that room tonight and see what she says. Listen to her story.”
…A story, maybe?
“I-I understand! I’ll report everything perfectly!”
“No, you don’t need to report. We’ll be going with you.”
“…Huh?!”
Helen and Nastasia both nodded!
No, if six of us go, won’t that be problematic?
(For a moment, I imagined showing up with eight more Succubi and three Kelpies.)
No, that would get us yelled at by the inn.
“If there’s a reason why she wanted to see you alone, something she wanted to tell you or ask you, something special… we’ll allow it depending on the content. There might be things only Derus can consult about.”
Surely that means… something romantic, doesn’t it?!
“However, if she’s just trying to trick Derus…”
“Th-then what?!”
Gulp.
“Well, we won’t show any mercy, no matter how prominent an adventurer she is!”
“W-what are you going to do…?”
At this point, Helen raised her hand.
“What is it? You have permission to speak.”
“Um, there’s also the possibility that she simply wants to join Nina Starlights.”
That’s possible!!
“…Indeed, after observing our battles, she might have come to that conclusion.”
“And then, rather than applying to Nina-sama directly, she thought it would be more certain to ask Derus-sama to put in a good word for her, perhaps?”
But even then, the possibility that she was trying to trick me for that purpose…
“Derus, what do you think?”
“Y-yes, as a combatant, she’s more than sufficient. We don’t have any Assassins.”
“As harem material…”
Uuuuuuhhhhhh…
“I don’t know!”
“Alright, then tonight, go meet her.”
I wonder what will happen.
“More importantly, Anju-chan will be here soon.”
Yes, that’s right.
“Indeed. It would be good if she remembers to bring her.”
Twenty minutes later, Anju arrived at the castle.
“I’m here! I brought her!”
He was accompanied by Hyō, the Lizard-half… and…!!
“Whoa, what a magnificent castle!”
“Well, a second castle, we are honored… honored…!!”
(The guardian couple also came!!!)
It was Revan, the Guild Master of the underground, and his wife, Cheer, the Hero Exclusive Receptionist!!
Even Nina looked a bit embarrassed.
“I’m sorry, I wanted to borrow Hyō, but I guess you were worried.”
“Ah, and this way, we wanted to see some of the local information too.”
“I just paid my respects to the Lord!”
Are they still here?
“Lord Revan, we’ve actually found a lead to acquiring a large amount of Gas Magic Stones.”
“What?! How?”
“This is something even Shucco could use…”
Is it okay to tell them so easily…?
(Well, it’s fine. They probably won’t be able to imitate it easily.)
By the time they finished talking, Clarice had returned.
“Alright, then let’s head to Lizard Village!”
