Chapter 46: Great of Rounds ③
Day 2
In the morning, a major incident had occurred.
My bedmate was Chive, but Chive wasn’t wearing anything.
Chive’s usual sleepwear is that yellow tracksuit-type outfit with a zipper. Somehow, this tracksuit-like thing is legendary.
It’s a treasure Chive once discovered deep in a dungeon.
Even if it’s familiar to me from my previous life’s memories, here it counts as legendary.
Huh? It adjusts body temperature according to the outside temperature… that’s a Liv-san kind of thing.
Anyway, when I woke up, the tracksuit was off—Chive was completely naked.
Honestly, I’ve seen that naked body in the bath countless times—well, no, that’s not true.
Even if it’s a fragile, flat-chested, skinny body with visible ribs but soft buttocks, it’s still a girl’s naked body.
And she should have been wearing underwear—so why was she completely naked under the tracksuit?
At first, I thought it was some bad prank from Chive, but it wasn’t.
When she woke up and saw herself, she let out a very cute scream.
Then Shiro woke up from the scream. Munieka, who had already been in the kitchen, came over.
Even the witch, who had been enjoying her morning bath, appeared as she was—thus, the major incident unfolded.
The meeting, however, ended without any major confusion or turbulence.
I was surprised that the main topic was the “assessment of guild masters from the various branches of the Explorers’ Guild.”
By the way, the guild master of the Hydrangea Branch of the Explorers’ Guild is Aranz.
He had collapsed from overwork and is currently resting. Thank you for your hard work.
The one who shone in this assessment was Alweld.
The witch, Kaede, and Piani, captain of the Explorers’ Knights, all voiced their opinions.
But frustratingly, Alweld’s words seemed entirely correct.
And so the meeting concluded.
It’s a normal meeting, so it makes sense, but still… it felt plain, lacking flair. Meetings are supposed to be like that, but… hmm.
On a separate note, Hydrangea is bustling like a geyser.
I haven’t lived here long, but the enthusiasm is unprecedented.
The main street is packed with stalls.
The crowd is so chaotic that the constables are shouting and trying to control them.
There are so few hands that the constables have resorted to hiring explorers to help patrol.
Apparently, Bid-san is still patrolling with a rookie I haven’t met yet.
Additionally, there’s an hourly hero parade along the main street.
Hero statues are placed on special floats and marched—like festival floats, maybe neputa-style.
Speaking of which, there are hero statues scattered all over the city. I wonder, what are these heroes exactly?
I never really paid attention before, but now I’m curious.
The stalls don’t give off a festival vibe at all.
The subordinate Knight Attendant holds an honorary position and is relatively free.
Once the exhibition match is over, it might be nice to walk around and check things out.
And today’s exhibition match is Axe vs. Ens.
I wonder what Axe will do. He said he might throw a punch, but can he actually do it?
That family is just too complicated.
But more importantly, it’s time to eat. But… hmm.
I hesitated while heading toward the restaurant district.
“Woof.”
I turned around when I was called—it was Mineha.
“Mineha-san.”
“It feels strange to say ‘long time no see.’”
“Yes, it does.”
Mineha had turned into a faerial. She circled my head and perched on my right shoulder. Also, long time no see.
“Mineha.”
I called her name, and the faerial flew over. Wait, her… she noticed me too.
“Oh my, it’s you… from that time.”
Ah, I see. She’s the faerial girl who got lost before.
During the meeting, she was in the back, small and obscured—I couldn’t see her face.
I nodded politely. Mineha subtly asked:
“Mother… do you know each other?”
“Yes. When I was lost, he kindly guided me—the boy from that time… why is Mineha sitting on his shoulder?”
“This is my seat.”
Not really a seat, but I greeted them anyway.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Wof.”
“You are… I see. Nice to meet you. I’m Ruriha, Mineha’s mother.”
She smiled gently and settled on my left shoulder.
What… what is this situation? Mineha looked surprised too.
With faerials on both shoulders—Haiyaan and Dagaa are perched as well—it’s not heavy.
I’ve gotten used to it somehow. I hope Dagaa is doing fine.
She’s currently being looked after by Torquetum.
Well, that one is competent and knows Torquetum, so it should be fine.
“Mother…?”
“Hehe, this is comfortable. Wof-san, where are you headed?”
“Food. But ‘Cidre-inn Second’ is crowded, so I was thinking of going somewhere else.”
“Indeed, it would be impossible to get in now.”
“Yes. So, I was wondering what to do.”
The restaurant district has every type of cuisine.
I haven’t been to all the places, and unfamiliar spots take courage.
“What were you two planning for food?”
“We’ll eat in our room.”
“In your room?”
“Yes, we have a personal chef.”
As expected of the ‘Fairy Empress.’ I’ve never heard of a personal chef before.
“Then would you like to join us, Woof?”
“Me too?”
“Yes, authentic faerial cuisine. You haven’t tried it, right?”
“Oh, that sounds great.”
Authentic faerial cuisine… I’m interested.
“Well then, I’ll take you up on that. Thank you.”
“Hehe, you don’t have to be so formal. Your shoulders are easy to sit on.”
“Really?”
“…Reminds me of my husband.”
Wait, Ruriha is leaning against my cheek…
Warm and soft. Her face touches my cheek.
“Mother…!?”
“You should let her do the same to you.”
Ruriha smiled mischievously. An adult…
“Oh, Mother, really!”
Mineha blushed deeply, swinging her legs.
What is happening… I’m carrying both of them on my shoulders as we head to the room.
On the way, we encounter a hooded man and a faerial perched on his shoulder.
I instinctively stop.
“Air…”
Mineha murmured.
The faerial called Air has fluffy pink side tails and bright eyes.
She wears a blue dress—a truly cute girl.
“Mineha…?”
“Long time no see.”
“Y-yes…”
“Air, do you know her?”
“The childhood friend I mentioned before… I think…”
“She’s obviously a charming young lady.”
“Hehe, I thought so too.”
“Ruriha-sama! L-long time no see.”
“Air, you look well. And Zeeks too.”
“Ruriha. Long time.”
Zeeks?
If I remember correctly… he’s a Rank I Explorer, known as Six-Elementalist, who wields six attribute relics.
When he noticed me, he waved.
“Uh, h-hello.”
Air-san also looked at me.
“Mineha and Ruriha-sama sitting on your shoulder… and you are?”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Wof.”
“You… you’re that witch’s apprentice and the nighttime ‘Invincible King’!”
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
“No, I’m the witch’s disciple, but I’m not the nighttime ‘Invincible King’!”
King? Night? What the heck does that even mean?!
“Oh? Really? Not true?”
“Ruriha-san… it’s not true.”
“You sure get a lot of things said about you, huh.”
“Exactly…”
Mineha rested her cheek on her hand, exasperated. Clearly, he’s been told all kinds of things.
“Hahaha, that’s amusing.”
“I’m sorry. So, um… are you acquaintances? You two?”
“Well, Air… it seems they’re living together.”
“Wha—living together… Mineha, you’re… living together?”
“Yes, we live together.”
“…I see… I see.”
Air-san looked utterly dumbfounded.
“Oh, you two are partners too, right?”
“Yes, but—”
“At the dungeon campsite, we take turns on watch, and in the inn, we stay in separate rooms.”
“I’ve never paired up with Zeeks before.”
“Exactly. Um, well, Mineha—”
“Yes?”
“…You’ve grown up.”
Air-san said this to Mineha with a deeply reflective, complex expression.
“Huh? I haven’t grown up!”
“But… isn’t that… kind of what it is?”
“What do you mean?”
Mineha tilted her head, puzzled. I did the same. Zeeks said nothing.
Then Ruriha laughed.
“Air, I understand what you mean. Innocence can be a sin, you know.”
“You’re not naive, though?”
“You’re just precocious.”
Air-san blushed faintly at that sharp remark.
“This much you should already know.”
“What are you talking about, Air? Mother?”
“Nothing at all.”
“It’s fine. Mineha, just stay as you are.”
“…Understood.”
“By the way, Mineha, you’re facing Ruriha-sama in tomorrow’s exhibition match, right? Are you going all out?”
“Of course, I am.”
“But what about that OOP artifact?”
“It’s fine, Air. Don’t worry about that.”
“Ruriha-sama? I-I see. Well, then that’s fine.”
“Thanks for worrying about Mineha.”
“I-I’m not worried at all.”
“Did you worry?”
“No, of course not.”
“Not very honest, are you?”
“Shut up. Now then, I’ll take my leave. Mineha, I’ll be watching the match tomorrow.”
“Air… yeah. Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.”
“Not very honest, huh.”
“Let’s go, Zeeks. Come on, walk.”
“Yes, yes. Ruriha. Then, I’ll take my leave.”
“Yes, Zeeks. Please take care of Air.”
“Of course.”
Air-san and Ziex walked away gracefully.
I turned to Mineha.
“Nice friends, huh?”
“Yes. Though their lack of honesty is a flaw.”
…Maybe. I looked at Mineha. I wonder.
After that, we went to Ruriha-san and Mineha’s room.
Their personal chef was also a faerial—named Chefle.
The authentic faerial dishes were surprisingly impressive.
It was curry. A spiced curry. Ah, Ogikubo.
I had wanted to eat curry too, so I tried to make something myself.
But the crucial spices were missing—cumin, turmeric, coriander, etc.
I gathered some unfamiliar spices and managed to make a curry-like dish.
It’s also actually on the Cidre-inn menu, and it’s quite popular.
But for me, it’s not really curry, so I never ordered it.
Mineha had ordered it a few times—I wonder what she truly thought of it.
What made me happiest was that one version included spinach.
Spinach spiced curry was my favorite.
“…Is it good?”
“Yes! Very!”
“Then when we get home, I’ll make it for you.”
“Really?! Please!”
“Calm down… you liked it that much?”
“Yes! I’ve wanted it for so long, and now I finally get to eat it—it’s really delicious!”
“…Chefle.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Yes, let’s do our best.”
“Hehe, isn’t that nice, Wof-san.”
“Yes.”
“There’s still plenty, so don’t hold back.”
“Y-yes.”
Ah… but I’m already full. I can’t eat like a faerial.
But when Ruriha-san says that, I have no choice but to try my best.
And I did. I really tried.
And then… I collapsed.