255 - - 夜の帐亭谈合 その一

After a light dinner, Thor gets up to get ready.

Before leaving the room, he turns around and looks at the sleeping child on the bed.

Two cats, one black and the other striped, were curled up against Moe's flanks, who was stretching out his arms and legs.

The child turns over unexpectedly, as if he is having trouble sleeping.

The cats, who had lost their support, sat up and moved silently on top of Moe's body.

The child, pressed down on her stomach by the weight of the two cats, mumbles a cute sleepy-sleepy noise.

Thor was tempted to switch places with Moo right away, but he barely managed to resist the urge.

There were still things to do tonight.

Thor slips out the front door and turns his feet to the east.

He continues to walk soundlessly along the back streets where there are few magic stone lamps.

After walking for a while, he arrived at the busy South Street.

It was just past the beginning of the evening, but many people were still coming and going.

Thor crossed the street and continued eastward, with the crowd at his side.

However, the area across the street was just as crowded as the one across the street.

The south side of the outer city is not a very popular area due to the lack of sunlight caused by the large wall that surrounds the city.

But the southeast side of the city is also a place where flowers that can only bloom in such shade gather.

When night falls, the streets are especially bright and colorful.

This is the Yoihana Street.

The light of the magic stone lamps that illuminate the street is dazzlingly strong, as if they are made of high-quality magic stone.

The women in their glamorous costumes stand out in the glow.

In front of decorated stores, each of them attracting customers with their lovely voices.

As I tear my gaze away from them and turn it to the front, a prominent building in the shape of a large triangular pyramid leaps into view.

The Temple of Liberation.

It is a structure dedicated to the worship of the flame god Rafalit and to propagate his doctrine of the liberation of desire.

Inside the temple, there are many ways to satisfy one's desires, such as an arena, a gambling hall, a banquet hall where one can taste delicacies from all over the world, and a sleeping room where one can enjoy a lot of activities in a cell.

Around the Liberation Temple and on the grand staircase, countless lanterns were lined up with burning lanterns.

People flocked to the tower of desire illuminated by the dedicated flames like insects attracted by the light.

Thor quickly wraps the cloth he has brought with him around his face as he watches the scene from afar.

He had used it in the wilderness of the Ruptured Wind.

The Liberation Temple is based in the eastern province of Zuma, a country nearly buried in sand.

Because of this, there is a custom of covering the face with a cloth, which is used for different purposes in this faraway land.

Not only adventurers and craftsmen living in the outer city, but also residents of the inner city, vendors, and other miscellaneous people gather at this place.

Some of them had wives and children, and not wanting their identities to be known, it became commonplace for them to walk around wearing a cloth that hid their faces.

Those who did not have any guilty conscience walked around with their faces uncovered.

Thor has no intention of doing anything that would cause embarrassment, but his face is well known and his friends are famous for their beauty.

He wanted to avoid as much as possible the spread of careless rumors.

With his mouth tightly covered and his rainbow-colored adventurer's card tucked into his lapel, Thor blends into the crowd with a casual look on his face.

He walks along the stream for a while.

Eventually, Thor finds the alley he has written in his note, slows his steps, and slides into it.

The s*xy smell of lipstick and perfume oil fades away and is replaced by a stomach-tickling smell.

The area was lined with small restaurants.

However, they are places where you can enjoy not only food, but also some amorous activities.

When we reached the end of the street, a strange building covered with a black tent was waiting for us.

This was Thor's destination for the day, Yoru no Choten-tei.

As he lifted the curtain and proceeded to the dimly-lit entrance, he was greeted not by a group of pretty women, but by a pair of men with their muscles exposed in a strong pectoral formation.

They stood there with their arms folded as if to stop Thor.

"We don't accept first-time visitors.

"Please turn around."

One has no hair on his head and the other has a prominent old scar on his face.

Their tone was polite, but their words were filled with a swearing tone.

"I'm sure he has someone with him, no?"

"Do you have any proof of this?"

Thor scratches his chin in annoyance and quietly pulls down the cloth wrapped around his mouth to protect him from the sand.

The two bouncers' eyes widened when they saw his true face.

"Come in, please."

"Oh, please come through."

"Thank you. And I'd appreciate it if you'd try not to spread the word.

The men looked at each other and shook their heads so hard they could have heard a buzzing sound.

They quickly split off to the left and right, and Thor stepped behind the hanging cloth.

The interior of the restaurant was calm and dimly lit, and hanging cloths were displayed everywhere.

It seemed to serve as a partition, and several voices could be heard talking beyond the partition.

The light sources are the magic stone lamps hanging from the ceiling, but one of them is particularly large and strangely semi-circular.

When Thor sees the small glints scattered around the lamps, he realizes that they resemble the night sky with a half-moon floating in it.

It is a fitting performance for the name of the restaurant, "Night Book".　

Thor looks around to see if he can see his acquaintance, but before he knows it, he notices a woman standing right in front of him.

Her golden hair spread out like a lion's mane and her brown skin.　

She must have been beautiful in her youth, with a well-developed face and an elegant red dress that suits her well.

The woman bowed gracefully and greeted me with a whisper in a voice that lingered in my ear.　

My name is Aniella, and I will be your hostess.

"I'm sorry to bother you. I'm here to see an acquaintance of mine, ......."

I know who you are. Please, come this way.

The woman smiled softly and walked behind the banner.

Her steps were beautiful and silent, as was the one that greeted me earlier.

As Thor gazed at her footsteps, which would have been impossible without a great deal of training, she easily arrived at her destination.

A bald-headed man with a familiar face occupied a large seat at the far end of the room.

On either side sat young women in racy costumes, their red tails wagging flamboyantly as they leaned against each other.

Dadaan, who had been slack-jawed, put on a panicky, mended expression the moment he saw the approaching woman and Thor behind her.

"What, Thor? I see you've come to play in this kind of store too."

"No, I came by to talk to my master. ......"

"You seem to have something to say."

No, nothing.

"Hmph!　I'm finally free from the nagging Sacco. A little extra flair won't go amiss."

I didn't say anything.

Then, as if watching for an opportune moment, the two men sitting on either side of Dadan interrupted him.

"Well, are you an acquaintance of Uncle Dadan's?"

"May I introduce you in detail?"

"You guys, don't bother. Come on, come here."

They raised their voices in a flirtatious manner, but were easily intercepted by the woman who showed them around Thor.

She is an acquaintance of the director who controls this city.

She must have wanted to connect with him. The two of them shouted lovely protests as if in unison.

"Uh, can't we have a little more?　Hey, Uncle Dadan."

"Oh, maybe your name is Thor-sama!"

"Not twice. Come on."

There is no change in tone.

But the old woman's voice was filled with a tone that could not be resisted.

The two young men, who had lost their color in an instant, stood up like springs.

Their tails curled up in a perfect circle.

"Excuse me, sir."

"Please, please, take your time."

I apologize for my lack of discipline.

No, thank you for the tour.

Thor, having seen the women off, settled himself down a short distance away from Dadan.

He then turned his body toward the old man, who did not hide his disappointment.

"I came by Choyuya a few times, but I see you've changed your favorite restaurant.

"I don't blame you. I can't eat so much hot stew.

As they say, it's already early summer.

The last time I stopped by, the owner said they were about to start serving chilled noodles.

"Oh, I'll have to go have some then."

It's excellent.

"Yeah, I don't feel like summer has come until I eat that."

There is a slight break in the conversation.

Thor looked around the restaurant again and let out a small sigh at the expensive-looking interior.

Black silk-covered sofas and ebony low tables.

An unusual glass glass filled to the brim with bright red fire wine.

"Are you sure you want to go to such an expensive place every night?"

The old man needs a distraction once in a while, when all he does when he gets home is complain about his son's wife.

Come to think of it, it has been nearly twenty-five years since I got to know Dadan, who was working as a gate guard due to a shortage of manpower, but I have never met his wife.

Rumor has it that she was a great thunderbolt wielder.

Their sons are not adventurers, but assist their father.

They will eventually succeed their father as town chief.

"So, what can I do for you today?"

Taking a lick of the pink salt from his plate, Dadaan tilted his glass and asked what he wanted.

Thor, who had refused the offered drink, told him his business without any preamble.

"Yes, I wanted to ask you about Mu's Thunder Ring of Majesty.