We arrived in front of the Branusiava Adventurer Guild, which had been converted from a cottage.
“My, so this is my husband’s hometown,” Anju said.
“♪ Long tiiime no seeee!” Ric’s voice was heard.
“My birthplace is actually different, but… Anju-chan?!”
She had followed me without me noticing, but dressed in a ridiculously uncool bear shirt and spats, and a garish pink combination at that!
“Honestly though, that’s embarrassing. Did you bring a robe?”
If not, we’d have to go back for a bit.
“I have it! I left the Item Bag by your pillow,” she replied.
“Then, under that tree over there.”
“Can I wear a ribbon too?” Ric asked. “Sure, but it’ll be hidden by the hood, won’t it?”
So, I quickly had Anju, who looked like she’d escaped from some facility, change into Illusionist Mode. Well, it was just attaching a ribbon and covering herself with a robe and hood. Yes, I didn’t need to bring out her staff or sickle yet, though I doubted there would be an opportunity to.
(She’s wearing the necklace I gave her too. She really likes it.)
I knew I couldn’t hide this many people this time. As I thought this and stepped out, Illion, my brother-in-law, was doing something with his private soldiers on the beach.
“Illion, Brother-in-law!”
“Deles! You’re still here.”
“No, for now… well, more importantly, let me introduce you.”
First, I took the hood off Anju and showed her.
“Anju-chan, my intended third wife and an Illusionist.”
“Are you my older brother?” Anju asked.
“Um, Deles, this girl is…”
“Ah, don’t worry, we’re the same age!”
She’s almost the same height as me.
“…Is she your sister, Camilla, or something?” Illion asked.
“Noooo!”
“Ah, maybe because she’s tanned? No, she’s not. Her origin is completely different too.”
That’s right, isn’t it? Yes, it must be. I had explained about acquiring Anju, but I hadn’t explained about Camilla, so she mistakenly thought they were related by their skin tone.
“I’m Illion Avacarne, the next head of the Count Avac Family.”
“Um, the Duke, then the Marquis, and then the Count, right?”
“Oh, Anju-chan, you’re so smart, so smart,” I praised.
“Hehehe,” she giggled.
Yes, she must have learned that at school. When I petted her, her smile was adorable, and then she floated up.
“…You can really fly, can’t you.”
“Floooating, floooating.”
“Let’s keep it to that for now, okay?”
The passersby were shocked. In a completely unfamiliar land, perhaps I should tell her to stop surprising people.
“Next, my intended fourth wife, Helen, a Summoner.”
“Brother-in-law, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Helen, please to make your acquaintance.”
“Uh, yes, I am Illion Avacarne, the next head of the Count Avac Family. I will become a Marquis upon marriage, but…”
“Oh, my.”
Illion whispered in my ear.
“…Deles, is she…”
“I know what you want to say. She’s definitely not an ‘evil female executive’.”
“However, all the wicked women who appear in high society have that kind of atmosphere…”
“It’s okay, I promise.”
Indeed, when I first met her, she felt like an enemy, or rather, she attacked me. I had told him about that in our previous discussion, so Illion must have been worried. But I wanted to shout in my heart that the ‘forbidden play with an evil female executive’ on the bed was exciting!!
(Especially that high-pitched laugh.)
Though she sometimes chokes on it.
“Oh, what were you talking about?” Helen asked, tilting her head at a 45-degree angle, a slight question mark appearing above it.
“I-I, well, Succubi shouldn’t be summoned here, that’s what we were talking about, right, Brother-in-law?”
“Th-that’s right, Deles. If you release many strong monsters on the beach, even with summoning…”
“Oh, but once you get used to it, it would be ideal for rescuing anyone who is drowning, wouldn’t it?”
Indeed, Succubi would arrive instantly if someone was in trouble.
“I can rescue too!” Anju chirped.
“Ah, Anju-chan, you too, right?”
And they can teleport too.
“Speaking of which, Deles, you brought them already? So soon after yesterday.”
“Ah, yes, that’s part of it, but… what are you doing here, Brother-in-law?”
“I’m surveying the course for the ‘Pot Rolling Race’ that Deles proposed yesterday.”
He’s so fast! Well, maybe it’s because he was bedridden for so long due to his illness, or perhaps he was happy that I returned and made a proposal. I hope it’s the latter.
“We need to firm up the sand a bit, after all.”
“How long should the distance be? And how many lanes?”
“For now, two should be fine. The distance is a straight line…”
So, after deciding on the general location and course, we decided to try rolling a pot.
“Then, about the pot?”
“I asked my private soldiers to fetch two empty ones. They’re at the Adventurer Guild.”
“I don’t know any private soldiers. When I was here, there were only Old Man Thomas and his son Gress,” I recalled.
If that’s not enough, we’d put in a request to the Adventurer Guild.
“It’s thanks to Deles. We received gifts from the Dwarf Country, so we had a temporary surplus. Many are still unopened, so we hired them to guard them.”
“So, how many are there now?”
“About eight. Thomas is free from his duties now.”
Yes, it was sad that he couldn’t take a long vacation. Also, if he’s going to be a Marquis, he needs to organize his private soldiers properly as territorial soldiers.
“Huh? The Adventurer Guild is noisy…”
Inside, a scowling man with a diagonal scar on his face was brandishing an axe and acting arrogantly!
“Hey, hey! I’m the new big shot of Branusiava, Itsura! Greet me properly, and bring all profitable business to me!!”
Ugh, what a nuisance… The other adventurers were backing away.
“Illion, Brother-in-law, what about this?”
“Ah, since our territory suddenly started paying well, strange people have been coming from the neighboring Jutapi territory.”
By the way, Jutapi territory is the opposite of our relaxed coastal town. It’s a prosperous but quite lawless mountainous region with seven dungeons.
(I was taught from a young age that it’s a rough town.)
Even Ric and the others avoid it. When my father-in-law went there on business, the father and son private soldiers I mentioned earlier always accompanied him. During that time, I had asked the Adventurer Guild to provide security for our estate. Nothing happened, though.
“So, that adventurer…”
“He’s probably a subordinate of the group that controls Jutapi, or someone who was kicked out.”
“Eek, scary.”
“Anju-chan, the scariest thing is humans, you know.”
“Absolutely!”
The subordinates looked like they had their own issues too.
“I heard rumors that at the Adventurer Guild in Jutapi, weak female adventurers who go there without a guardian are taken away.”
“Ah, I told Deles that!”
“It was you, Brother-in-law?”
Ric also recoiled when she heard that.
(There aren’t any dungeons that require that level of danger, though.)
When a territory becomes prosperous, strange people start showing up. It would be best to do something about it before they start demanding ‘face fees’ or something.
“Illion, Brother-in-law, shall we drive him out?”
“…He’s only been here a few days, and we’ve already received several reports of damages. Please.”
“Alright, Anju-chan, Helen, let’s go with ‘that thing’.”
I’m going to scare them to a level far beyond simply making their knees buckle.
