Arisugawa asked Elana about Reinforcement Magic, and then arrived at their destination town.
I decided to follow Veronica under the pretense of scouting the town. And for some reason, Karubene also tagged along.
“Why are you coming?”
“Well, I figured you’d definitely get attacked if you went alone, Brother. You know, there might be scumbags lurking around at night.”
I figured she was planning to go to a bar anyway.
“Whatever, just don’t wander off somewhere on your own.”
After following Veronica for a while, we reached the entrance to the town. Two escorts were guarding the gate. Would we be suspected?
As I was thinking this, Veronica, who had been walking ahead, didn’t go through the gate but instead entered the forest beside it. Suddenly, the moonlight couldn’t reach us, and it became difficult to see my footing. Nearly falling, I finally managed to follow her, and she stopped near the wall surrounding the town.
There, old stone steps led down underground. I couldn’t imagine anything being down there, and if there was, it would probably just be a sewer or an unused passage beneath the town.
Veronica descended the stairs leading into the darkness and reached for a wooden door at the bottom.
Hesitantly entering, I found myself in a surprisingly calm bar, unlike my expectations. The light of orange candles flickered on a simple counter, and there didn’t seem to be many customers.
“Wait here a moment, I need to talk to someone.”
With that, Veronica walked towards the counter. Beside me, Karubene’s eyes sparkled like a dog presented with its favorite food.
“Now now, you can’t just come here to play around.”
“Eeeeh, just for a little bit, just a little bit. Just the tip.”
Just as I thought she was completely untrustworthy, her expression suddenly turned grim.
“What’s wrong? Is something happening? Wait, don’t just go off on your own.”
Karubene ignored me and approached a customer at a table. In her line of sight was a man who appeared to be of the same Satyr race. She walked up to the man and spoke in a low voice.
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
The man noticed her presence, stood up, and smiled.
“Heeey, isn’t that Karubene? What are you doing here? What a coincidence meeting like this. Perhaps you came to see me?”
He had long, beautiful horns, brown hair, sharp eyes, and a well-defined nose. He was a classic handsome guy, the kind you’d find in a romance game for women.
“Shut up and disappear. You have no place here.”
For some reason, Karubene seemed to dislike this handsome man. Her face was contorted in a way I’d never seen from her before.
Just then, Veronica returned, having finished her conversation with her acquaintance.
“I’ve booked lodging. It’s not a great place, but it’s better than nothing.”
Upon hearing this, Karubene silently tried to leave the bar. The handsome man grabbed her wrist.
“Hey, wait up. Can we talk for a bit? Just a little, I’ll even buy you a drink.”
Karubene yanked her wrist free and said she’d be fine if she was with me.
