270 - - The Contents of the Basket

Homura transmission.

Yuni-chan, we're at the gate, three fox-masked men.

Yuni transmits.

Yes, I see you. I'm on my way.

The text messages that he sends to me, knowing that I am a man, are also polite. Because he is not playing the role of a woman for a price, but for himself in the game world. --For a gay man, everyday conversation is a fight to the death, kill or be killed! When I saw him trying out skincare in real life with a blank expression on his face, I wondered what I was going to do.

Yuni is surrounded by four knights wearing white cloaks with crests, silver armor of different shapes but the same, and the same crests on their breast plates and shields. Yuni, who is two heads shorter than the others, looks even more slender. Her robe, with the same emblem as the knights, is tightened at the waist and down to her ankles, and is open only at the front, leaving her in a white mini-skirt and knee-highs.

I really want to go home.

"A saint?"

"Four knights of the zodiac!"

"Not from the Adventurers' Guild, but someone who got an identity card from the temple?"

"It's cool to see a clan with unified equipment after all!"

There's a buzz all around. I admit it's cool, but I don't want to get involved. And Mr. Cloak, you don't have to spread your wings so softly against us. The cloak is now fluttering in two in the middle, the same color as the coat. The cloak changes its shape dexterously according to the equipment. I wonder if it would be a long haori or a camp haori when dressed in kimono in Fuso. .......

"Thank you for coming."

Yuni smiles at us.

"It's been a while."

"Ah, it's been a long time."

One of the four, a Sagittarius knight, greets me. The twelve members of the clan, who have a strong voice in the clan, are assigned a star sign and have one of the twelve signs of the zodiac painted on their cuirasses or gloves, while the members who did not make the twelve have only a crest. This also seems to follow what was done in the previous game.

Even if you do not do quests with Yuni, you will naturally get to know some of them after playing the same game several times. The Knight of Sagittarius is one of the few people who knows that Yuni and I are real friends.

I also know that he was the one who was kind to me in my first netgame after all the trouble I went through. Well, I'm not lying since I was the one who taught Yuni-chan, who specialized in shooting and strategic simulations, to play R!G.

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Hey Mr. Cal, don't do weird investigations in this situation!　And Galahad, I can't see your face, but I'm sure you're grinning!

"I'm sorry, I think ...... might not like the circumstances surrounding this one."

Yuni whispered my name, probably remembering that we had gone out of our way to cover it up. I guess she was trying to be considerate, even though she was a little far from the gate, a distance that the players in the distance could not hear her unless she shouted loudly.

"But I don't think you'll get caught in the middle of this, since no one around you will know who you are."

As she says this, Yuni-chan looks at one of the knights who are waiting for her and a picnic basket is offered to me.

"What?"

Before I could reach for it, Galahad took it from beside me.

"Take a look inside."

Yunika-chan smiled at me and lifted the lid of the basket. When I looked inside, I saw a cat on a soft mattress. It was a white cat with blue-gray ears, tail, and paws, which glanced at me with dim eyes and immediately buried its face in its feet and meditated as if it was not interested. Meow!

Four knights suddenly jerked up and sat down while looking at the cat, and Yuni-chan stepped back just a little.

"Don't be so geeky, old man!"

"I'd appreciate it if you'd stop making trouble for the Lord."

The fox face that is smiling and releasing a killing intent at an angle a little behind me and the fox face that is stopping it with a don't-know-what. I don't think I've ever seen such a reaction even at the lobster ....... Is it because I denied Yunika too strongly earlier?　Usually I am the one who is intimidated by Yuni's cronies, but this time it was the other way around.

"What's this all of a sudden?"

"My Lord, that cat is the Prime Minister of Sadiras. I don't know why it looks like that, but ....... But it would not be fair not to tell you.

Yeah, he was sick with the same disease as the emperor. ....... I'm afraid that I'm caught in the middle of the Isle vs. Empire war, but what do you think, it's during the event?　If you don't actively participate, it will be over before you can take part. I am sure that Kal and Galahad, as residents, cannot take into account the duration of the event or the deadline, so they must be worried about getting involved in the mess of the empire in earnest.

"......!　How did you know?　This cat is indeed the Vizier of Sadiras, Master Alone, who had difficulty in breaking the curse of dying, so he stayed his life by replacing it with another curse."

Galahad looks into the basket and frowns at Yuni's words. I remember you knew him directly, do you recognize him?　Oy!　Another object I can't mindlessly fluff!

"That was shortsighted. A high-ranking priest had run the tests and found only that it was a cat, so he thought he could keep it hidden. I thought it would be less dangerous if I didn't know."

Yunika bows her head. The four knights are also quiet, as you'd expect from a girl who's been brought here.

Yuni and the knights are keeping the group in check and making it a well-behaved group, but there are a few rare occasions when they make Yuni apologize ......!　The problem is that some of the cronies have an attitude of "I'm not a good person, I'm just a guy.

Cal's eye is the eye of violence. My [Eye of Verus] detects deception, concealment, and falsehood, but it doesn't work on things that aren't malicious or dangerous, though it is powerful for that.

"Well, the cat offsets it."

"You're too soft on animals ......"

Galahad gives me the eye.

"We're at war with the Empire, but Sadiras is a beautiful place. It has been destroyed here (...) especially the mosaics on the floor of the temple, made by the Gentiles with the blessing of God on the cobblestones."

"Cobblestone ......"

Blessed first of the genus God!　

"Is this gentile still in Sadiras?"

"He has not been here, but I believe he is still staying here."

In this case, this would be the event, not here on the isle. After the event, let's go to Sadiras and see the mosaic.

Well, we have your money.

"I don't want to ask you where the restaurant is. I'm not sure I'd be able to tell you if you asked me. ...... I'm not very good at reading maps."

Yuni-chan has been quick to put in the setting of a directionless, clumsy girl, but I can pinpoint that store.

"The general store is ironclad, and we admire that knight. As soon as the safe house is ready, we will contact you.

Sagittarius, that knight is right next to me.

And then I transition back to the grocery store.

"Thank you for your company."

He thanks Galahad and Kal as he removes his fox mask.

"Oh!　But still, I don't know if I'm the right person to say this, but are you sure?　You might get caught in the middle of a war."

"Lord, I'm sorry for the trouble ......"

"Well, I'm interested in Nue. I want to do something about Tamamo, and we're going to have to fight anyway."

During the event, the land can be cleared with Bahamut's breath, but what about under normal conditions?　There will be land and buildings that Galahad and his family will remember for a long time, and they will only be able to use this technique for a limited period of time.

"Lord."

Hmm?　You're awake."

I go to the door leading to the living room of the liquor store where Noel peeks out and pats him as he hugs me. His hair is moist and silky and his ears are soft.

You said you were coming home. Lapidus was waiting for you too. ......"

Noel looks at Lapidus, who is on the sofa, breathing heavily and falling asleep. Noel looks a little sleepy, too. Eagle's eyes meet Noel's and he shrugs his shoulders, a gesture that suggests he was awake when I suggested he go back to sleep.

"Thank you for waiting for me, I'll take Lapidus to his room and Noel can get some rest now.

He carries Lapis to bed and picks up Noel, who follows him, and puts her on the bed in the next room.

"Good night."

"Good night, Lord."

He pats Noel on the forehead as he gets under the covers, says good night, and leaves the room.

"So, I hear Homra likes dark hair, huh?"

When I returned, I heard Galahad talking to Camilla.

"Homra, welcome back!"

Camilla greets me with a happy smile.

"Oh, I'm home."

I sat down on the sofa and Cal offered me a cup of tea.

"Thanks, where's the cat?"

"There. The lid's open, but it's not moving.

Galahad points to the basket with his eyes and tells us.

"Maybe it's because I'm sick."

"Maybe it's still having an effect on him."

As he peeks into the basket, Camilla peeks out from next to him and tells him. It's close, it's close.

"I heard you are the Prime Minister Alone. I wouldn't believe it if it weren't Lancelot who said it. The results are no different from those of an ordinary cat.

Eagle says.

"I wonder if the thoughts are cats, too?"

"Well?"

I pick him up, thinking that if his thoughts are also a cat, I can fluff him up.

He gave me an annoyed look.

I picked him up in my lap and stroked him, not caring about his subtle reaction. You should know the power of my fingers that have been used to pamper this little white girl!

"Oh, my God, he's clearing his throat."

"The Lord seems to be happy, and I'm sure he's a cat, whether he's thinking or not."

Hey Cal, stop saying subtle and disturbing things," the cat purred, as if I was not the only one who thought so.

The vizier, Alone, is said to be a tall old man who is also a priest. He is said to be a member of the ancient royal family of Sadiras, with distinctive bluish-gray hair, which seems to be the color of the cat's ears and paws.

Thus, the cat came to the general store for a short while.