“Nina-san!”
“Deles, you waited for me?”
“Congratulations on your victory!”
She leaped and petted the back of my head. Ange-chan dried my hair, which was still wet from my shower, with wind magic. It was warm, too.
“Indeed, Deles…”
“Yes, Nina-san.”
“Princess Butterfly won, but may I hug you?”
I willingly nestled into Nina-san’s embrace!
“That was amazing, Nina-san!”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
The defeated heroes came to offer their congratulations, but Nina-san shooed them away, apparently not wanting to be disturbed.
“But why did you enter the tournament in the end? Wasn’t it just an extension of you challenging dojos?”
“We’ll discuss the details later. Let’s just get our prize and head back.”
The organizer handed me an Item Bag. Did it really contain a thousand boxes of that high-class item? What exactly was it, though? Oh well, Nastasia carried it on her back.
(Carrying luggage is a slave’s job, after all!)
“Alright, Ange, I’ll leave it to you.”
“Roger, roger! Is there anything we’re forgetting—”
“This time, I haven’t forgotten anything, not even the slaves.”
Yes, I’d checked everything and looked around. It seemed fine.
(That perverted illusionist was taken towards Nina Castle.)
“Alright, here we GOOOOO!”
In an instant, we were in the living room of Nina Castle. Three members of the Angel Race were already waiting in a corner.
“Um, we’d like to give our companions their bento boxes.”
“Hurry up and deliver them, or we’ll eat them all.”
“Thank you for the bonus food, too.”
They wanted to go back that quickly.
“Wait, wait. This is also a souvenir for you, too, in a way.”
Saying that, I took out the parting gift from the Item Bag I had just received. The box was labeled “High-class Monaka.” They were quite large sweets, twelve to a box.
“Right, for the six people who participated today and yesterday, that’s twenty boxes each, so a hundred and twenty boxes.”
“Thank you.” “We appreciate it.” “But carrying that much at once is…”
“Alright, then I’ll give you a smaller Item Bag, Seira.” “Yes, coming right up.”
While Big Mam bustled off to retrieve them, I started taking out box after box from the Item Bag, counting them as I went. Ange-chan was poking at one of the boxes. I wondered what was inside.
“Are you curious? Let’s eat them with the regular members first.”
Ange-chan opened one of the six boxes I had set aside. What was this? It had a crispy outer layer. Could I eat this? And when I broke it open, there was red bean paste inside! The smell alone made it look delicious.
“I wanna eat it!”
I don’t know why she added “yu,” but Ange-chan ate the piece she had broken off. And her impression was—!
“SO SWEET!!”
She finished it in no time, but it seemed to have gotten a little stuck in her throat. Shikada-chan, who had changed into a maid outfit, rushed over with some water.
“Hmm… Maybe hot black tea would be better than water.”
Saying that, Ange-chan reached for a second box. Seeing that, Clarice-san and Helen-san also unhesitatingly took boxes. I passed one to Nastasia, bowed my head, and opened the box.
“Well then, I’ll have one too… Yep, delicious! I don’t know what ‘saichu’ is, but I can’t stop eating this.”
This must be it. It’s called High-class Monaka probably because someone is always eating it. And hot black tea would really go well with this.
“Nina-san, with something this delicious, I understand why you participated in the tournament.”
“No, it’s not that we were aiming for these. Aren’t the Angel Race eating yet?”
“Well, if we start now…” “We definitely won’t be able to stop.” “We’ll eat all the rest for our companions, too.”
I understand, I really do. What’s with my speech pattern, though? Oh, it’s just in my head!
“So, Nina-san, what’s the real reason we received a thousand boxes of these sweets?”
“That is because, I heard from a lady at the East S Adventurer Guild…”
“Ah, the archer who surpassed even the elves?”
That old woman who was always vibrating on her vibrating chair! What was her name again? Oh well.
“It seems that Area S is very particular about neighborly relations. If you don’t bring proper folding sweets, you’ll be ostracized from the community.”
“What? What an annoying custom. Isn’t it a gathering of S-rank adventurers?”
“Most of the residents here are retired individuals. You must greet them properly, or it’s said to be bad.”
Ugh, how incredibly troublesome!
“So that’s why you’re distributing sweets?”
“Yes, Deles, you’ll be accompanying me.”
“Ah, yes, I understand.”
Like visiting new neighbors after a couple moves in. This is certainly going to be one of our lifelong bases, so it’s best to be on good terms with the people already living here.
(Mohito-san seems like the type to be strict about these things.)
Ah, that old man, an S-rank adventurer and a prominent figure in East Area A.
“The reason for winning the tournament was to gain acceptance from those elders.”
“You mean…?” “Ange, don’t take a third box yet.” “Ah~~~ yes…”
I suppose I have no choice. I’ll give her two of mine. Not two boxes, but two individual pieces! I should refrain from eating sweets before dinner. Nina-san continued her story.
“Nowadays, the fighting tournaments often don’t attract many strong participants, but apparently, it used to be a fierce battleground where top-tier adventurers clashed.”
“Ah, so why did it decline?”
“It’s more profitable to delve into dungeons. Besides, it’s simply become a spectacle for entertainment.”
Even so, there were quite a few people who seemed angry about the Angel Race’s performance.
“But having the title ‘Champion of the Fighting Tournament, Heroic Department’ will let us boast during our greetings.”
“More precisely, it’s more like, ‘If you have that much skill, we’ll permit you to live here,’ sort of thing.”
“Um, this place, you mean this castle, we received it, right, after defeating the Seven Great Demon Lords, Beast Shooter?”
I think that’s considerably more impressive than the fighting tournament.
“To put it extremely, common sense doesn’t apply to retired former S-rank adventurers.”
“Is that so?”
“There are apparently some retired old men who only acknowledge strength in combat against people, not monsters.”
Ah, troublesome.
“That old woman told you all these things so carefully?”
“She wasn’t the only source of information, but that’s the gist of it.”
The Dark Guild Master, perhaps? Oh well, I understand more or less now. It was to obtain parting gifts and conversation topics for difficult neighbors in East S Area.
“Alright, Seira, pack them up.” “Yes, Nina-sama.”
Shikada-chan is also helping.
“Is anyone else wanting to go home? Amari, what about you?”
“Hmm, I want to stay overnight with Shikada-chan and Pero-chan again tonight!”
“Is that alright with Shikada and Pero, too?” “Yes!” “Meow!”
They’ve become quite close.
“Jumaji?”
“I’m supposed to be guarding the mansion. Let’s go.”
“What about you two?”
The male slave hero duo. They’re going back to the mansion in the Empire, right?
“Um, I want to explore this dungeon a bit more…”
“We can also get ingredients that can only be found here, so I’d like to stay a little longer, too.”
Then only the Angel Race and the old man will be returning. Jumaji-san won’t be lonely if he’s with the six angels.
“Ange, give Jumaji some sweets for guarding the house, too.” “Roger.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
I gave him three boxes separately.
“Well then, once Ange returns, we’ll have dinner…”
“Ah, wait. There’s one thing I’d like to confirm.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about Helen-san’s slave release. Um, you haven’t paid off your debts yet, have you?”
Clarice-san and Helen-san both nodded.
“That’s right…” “The angels want to go home quickly—” “I see, Ange, go ahead.” “Ahhh~~~ that~~~~~”
Ange-chan and the Angel Race teleported away with a mysterious phrase. In the meantime, let’s continue the conversation.
“First, it’s true that the debts haven’t been fully repaid, but she has been working diligently in return.”
“We defeated Beast Shooter, after all.”
“It’s not just that. It’s not so much about Helen, but rather about her.”
Saying that, I looked at…!!
“Me?”
“Eh, Sister Sil—?!”
Well, it was the Silver Succubus.
(Um, could it be… sister’s fee?!)
