61-Chapter 3-16 Unexpected Events

'Master Merlin, Gunjo City is in sight!

One of the knights who had preceded them returned to report. The area was still dim and it would be another hour or so before it would be light.

Normally, they wouldn't drive a carriage at such an hour, but since they had come to Gunjo City...less than a day before they could see Temma, Merlin had selfishly proceeded to do so.

However, the knights, who knew how Merlin felt, drove the carriage up here, taking turns to take a break without a word of complaint.

''Mm, I'm sorry for asking you to do that. But now we can finally see Temma........Chris, I'm sorry, but go to the gate first and get permission to pass.

Merlin said that to Chris and handed him the royal coat of arms that he had kept from Alex.

With this coat of arms, you can bypass most places, but in order not to confuse the gatekeepers, I dared to make Chris head towards it as a harbinger.

''Ha! Yes, sir!

He straightened up on his horse and saluted, and Chris rode off with one of the knights.

Perhaps thanks to having sent Chris out as a harbinger, they were able to enter Gunjo City without any confusion... However, since most of them had never seen the actual royal coat of arms before, the knight captain who was there confirmed it, so some of them suspected it was a fake Merlin would later find out that it wasn't.

'Mark, how long will it take you to get to this Manpower Pavilion?

It shouldn't take long for us to get there from here... oh, there it is, there it is!

Mark exclaimed, pointing to a single inn, but

There's a line of people but is it really over there?

What Merlin saw was a large number of people who had been queuing up since early morning, not unlike the inn.

As it was, he parked his carriage near the line and tried to talk to the three girls who were lined up near the entrance.

'Grandpa, we have to get in line behind you!

The duke is going to be very upset with you if you cross the street!

The end of the line is right around that corner.

I was warned by the three cat beast girls.

'Oh, sorry about that. But we have something to do with our guests here at the inn.......what's this line about, by the way?

The three of them realized that they had misunderstood what he said and apologized and told me what this line was all about.

'This is a line to buy sweets!

It's so popular these days that you have to stand in line early in the morning or they'll be sold out in no time!

'We lined up an hour ago, too, but it didn't take long before there were so many people in line.

That's what they said. Merlin thanked the three of them and headed to the doorway of the inn he had been taught.

'Hey! Dazzle, you're here! It's me, Mark!

There was a sound that sounded like a response to his voice, and one large man came from the back of the inn.

'Oh, Mark, it's been a while! How in the world has it been years!

The man approached with an air of ease to speak, unlike his appearance.

'Don't come here out of the blue I would have prepared to welcome you if you had let me know in advance...'

'Sorry, sorry, well, let's just leave me out of it, he's the one who wants to be here.

Mark shifted his body and introduced Merlin, who was behind him.

'Well well it's nice to meet you, I'm an old friend of Mark's and my name is Dzur. I have heard of Master Merlin the Wise for some time now.

Oh, don't be so formal. As a matter of fact, I've heard that my grandson is in your care.

Is this your grandson?

Yes, his name is Tenma, and he's a 15-year-old boy.　

And when Merlin mentioned Temma's name, Dzur put his hand to his forehead.

Temma is not already here...

I told Merlin. Merlin was stunned, but quickly regained his composure.

You don't know where he is!

And then Dzur stuffed him, but Dzur

''I'm sorry I haven't heard any details, all I know is that he said he'd try to get to a dungeon city before he left.

By the way, were there any white wolves and slimes in that temma?

I asked Dzur to confirm that.

'Yes. That Temma did indeed have a white wolf named Shiroumaru and a slime named Slurin, who were his relatives.

I assured him. Merlin heard those words.

"Oh ... that's my grandson Temma indeed... thank God he's alive... ...

He muttered with tears in his eyes.

Everyone watched without speaking to Merlin until he calmed down, and then, as he settled down, Dzur

'There are several people in Temma who were close to me in this city. If you would be so inclined, you might want to talk to them.

And he gave me a few names, and Merlin told me the names of a few people.

...not a lot of women's names...

I muttered. That's when Dzur said

Three of them are in the store right now. I'll bring them in.

As soon as I said that, I brought in the girls who had just lined up in front of the store.

'Huh? Is it your grandfather from earlier who wanted to ask us about Temma?

The girls were holding a paper bag containing sweets in their hands, and on the paper bag was written 'Temma's Sweets'.

The girls' names were Lily, Nellie and Millie, and they were triplets.

When Merlin said that he was Temma's grandfather and that he wanted to know where Temma was going, the three of them started talking at once.

They talked about how they had known each other since Tenma had saved them from a dangerous situation, that they were the closest friends in the city, that they had worked together on Tenma's first request and killed a bandit, and that when they asked Tenma to take them there, she refused, and that the only place they had decided to go was the dungeon city They were not there, he said.

After thanking the three of them, Merlin went to the guild to meet the next person he was introduced to.

There they met the guild leader and deputy guild leader, whose names were Max and Flute, and Temma was good friends with Flute.

'I heard that he was Temma's grandfather and I'm very grateful to Temma for all his help.

And a woman who introduced herself as Flute bowed to me.

Even there, she was surprised to hear Merlin's name, but when she began to speak, she told me a lot of things.

That Temma was active above his own rank, that the number of poor quality adventurers had been greatly reduced thanks to Temma, and that the guild's reputation had increased due to Temma's success.

However, this flute also heard that Tenma's destination was only a dungeon city.

Next, Merlin headed to the city council, where he met with a man who called himself Marcus, and when he told him his requirements, he went out of his way to call his niece here, saying that his niece would know more than him then.

'How do you do, my name is Serna. Your grandson, Temma, saved my life.　

And he told me why.

The story was that when their village was attacked by bandits and several women in the village were being enslaved and treated badly, Temma, who had been tricked into coming to their village with a false request, noticed something was wrong with the village and helped them out.

Serna, as before, didn't seem to know where they were going in detail.

As we were about to head to the next location, Serna told us as we were leaving.

When you see Mr. Temma, please tell him that I am forever grateful to him.

He was asked to say a word to me. Merlin agreed, thanked him, and headed to his next destination, the Knights' headquarters.

It is said that the one who was close to Temma is the captain of the fourth unit and the third daughter of the Duke of Sanga.

''You really know a lot of women........''

Merlin wondered if Temma was a womanizer, but from their reactions so far, it didn't look like they had become a man and a woman.

''Is she a slacker... or is she just being dull...?''

I have no idea which one it is, but I decided that at least when I meet Temma, I don't seem to have to worry about my great-grandchildren, so I decided that it's better.

When I blurted that out to Mark.

Would you rather be there or not?

He asked me if I was going to be there. So I replied that I should be there in the future, but it might be better if I wasn't there now.

The knights, including Edgar and Chris, seemed to be holding back their laughter at that answer.

When I entered the knight's headquarters, it seemed that the conversation had already gone through, and I was sent straight to the captain's room.

''Ha, nice to meet you! My name is Primera von Sangha, Captain of the Fourth Squadron of the Knights of Gunjo!

When I was ushered into the room, I was greeted with a salute by a woman who was standing upright in the room.

I'm sorry for the short notice, but I am Temma's grandfather, Merlin. If I may say so, make yourself at ease.

At those words, the Primera who came to her senses was offered a seat, and as soon as she sat down, the Primera made herself a cup of tea.

Apparently, this Primera seems to be nervous about the presence of not only Merlin, but also the king's personal guard such as Edgar and Chris.

''So what do you mean you want to talk to me...''

Well, don't be so nervous. We are looking for Tenma, but we don't know where she is going, so we've been asking her friends.　

At those words, Primera made a little pretense of remembering.

''Come to think of it, Temma-san seemed to have narrowed it down to three of the dungeon cities.......''

And then he answers the name of the place.

'I talked to my father afterwards, and he said that the most likely place to go would be around Seigen.

'I can't be sure, sir,' he said, also giving the details of his conversation with the duke.

'Seigen, then ... you were just passing through...'

He lamented that, but there was no way to speculate on what had passed, so he gave up and decided to listen to Tenma's story.

The content of the story was that Temma was angry with him, that Temma had beaten the knights to a pulp, and that he had teamed up with the duke to punish the nobles. It's a very good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're going to do with it, but it's also a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with it.

At the moment, respect is stronger than respect, but maybe it might develop into a love affair.......the only person besides Merlin who thought that was the same woman, Chris.

By the way, Mark and the other knights were out of the question, but surprisingly, Edgar also seemed to be unfamiliar with the love affair.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you want to do with it.

I've been able to find a room at the Manchittei for today's lodging thanks to Dzur's kindness, and I was treated to a sumptuous meal as well.

I'm sure you'll be surprised to learn that some of the dishes and desserts were created by Tenma.

Next time we'll see Tenma again!

So it was Merlin who regained his spirits.

When Tenma, who had been sleeping, felt uncomfortable and slowly opened her eyes, she saw the face of a girl in front of her.

Temma, who was a little sleep-deprived

(Beautiful hair........if you look closely, Jeanne is a beautiful girl.......)

And so on, but a few seconds later, when I woke up in consciousness.

Not good!

I try to escape, but Jeanne is grabbing my clothes, so I can't escape from the bed. Furthermore, Jeanne twists her legs together and buries her face in my chest... something smells so good coming from Jeanne... not!

I try to take off my clothes so as not to wake Jeanne up, but every time I move slightly, she puts more effort into it.

I can't let this happen, and just as I was thinking that, something moved behind Jeanne........it's Shiroumaru!

It's useless in Shiroumaru! You could tell he thought that, and Shiroumaru put his paws on the edge of the bed and....

Whoa.

...It's over... so I thought, and I covered my ears with my free hands to withstand the expected sonic weaponry... but...

Mmmm.

And with a distracted voice, Jeanne fell asleep again... thank God... she tried to slip out when Jeanne's hands left her clothes... ...

Cueeeeeeeeee.

This time it was Solomon who spoke up. And this time Jeanne's eyes were fully opened...

Good morning, eh?

Time seemed to stand still around me for a while. Jeanne greeted me in her sleep, but before she could say it, she woke up and froze in my face.

I couldn't move about and ended up staring at Jeanne at close range for a while.

The only thing that broke that kind of silence was.

"You two are hot! Are you already in the same bed?

It was Aura's voice as if it was a tease. Time began to flow with that voice...

Kyah, kyah, ugh, ugh, ugh.

No shouting in the morning, Jeanne.

It was a fine play by Aura to stop the sonic weapon. She blocked Jeanne's mouth with her hand and

"Jeanne, look closely. This is Master Temma's bed.

That's what Aura tells Jeanne, while I slip out of bed and keep my distance.

''Jeanne, you must have gotten out of bed anyway and slipped into Tenma-sama's bed on the other side.

When Aura said that, Jeanne started to growl in a low voice, as if she had an idea.

'Well, it's possible that Temma-sama pulled a sleepy Jeanne into her own futon!

The line that would ruin all the persuasion so far is released from Aura's mouth, and Jeanne blushes and stares at me with her eyes moistening.......give me a break, and then she looks at Aura like.....

Well, whether by accident or on purpose, I'm sure Tenma-sama will have to take responsibility for sharing the bed with the beautiful young maiden!

He would say something unreasonable, but there was an atmosphere emanating from Aura that would not let him argue....

So that's what Aura is....

But I'm not convinced that this is how my future is determined!

'Tell Aura from Jeanne, too! ........Hey, Jeanne....

I thought Jeanne would disagree, so I called out to her to draw her in, but she didn't answer. But she didn't answer. I looked at her and wondered why.

"Sleeping ... and responsibility ... for your ... marriage ...

He muttered some disturbing words and buggered up, his face red.

'Then let's take a majority vote. Slarin, Shilomar, Solomon, and you all have the right to vote as well.

Aura, who said that and tried to force a majority vote.

Hey, what are you...

People Against...

I raised my hand reflexively at those words.

''You've decided to join us, Temma-sama! Any other objections....

Shit! I look at Shiroumaru and the others, but

No compulsion, Master Tenma!

Saying that, Aura interrupted the gaze I directed at Shiroumaru and the others.

Deep down, I thought there was no way Shiroumaru and the others would agree with me, but the result was....

The case passed by a vote of 3 in favor, 1 opposed, and 2 abstentions!

And there was a victorious Aura there, chanting Hail Mary........

Invalid...

You don't say it's invalid after the fact, do you? Lady Temma.

No, it's not...

''Master Tenma, who has gained fame in this dungeon city, wouldn't be so cunning as to use his master's position to ruin this result just because he lost a majority vote, would he?

No, this one's a drag.

'Ma~sah~ka, you don't say shamelessly that it's invalid or even cowardly after you've lost the game, do you?

Oh no I'm not going to win this by myself Jeanne.....

''It's embarrassing to ask for help from a girl you've shared a bed with..........................Lord Tae-n-ma!

I'm dead but I didn't think I'd ever get married.

'No - I'm looking forward to my two children - it's been my dream. I'm going to take care of Jeanne's kids!

You're going to take it all the way to marriage at any cost... if that's what it takes!

''There's nothing I wouldn't consider....''　

Aura frowned at me, who managed to find a way out of the situation with vague words, but

'Well, let's forgive me for saying that we'll consider it for now... tch...'

Why do I have to go through this I didn't hurt you I didn't hurt you I'm innocent I'm innocent I'm innocent and Aura, my tongue is not working. Don't....

I was glaring at Shiroumaru and Solomon with the emotion of a traitor, but they didn't seem to understand why they were staring at me and started begging Aura for food.

By the way, the majority vote was.

Ayes = Aura, Shilomar and Solomon.

The opposite = me (Temma)

Abstentions = Jeanne, Slarin'

It was.

Aside from the abstention slarin', Temma didn't know why Shiroumaru and his friends had come around to agreeing with him, but the Shiroumaru thought process at the time was

Temma = your favorite husband, parent figure, someone who loves you and gives you food

Jeanne = coworker, someone who loves you and gives you food

Aura = coworker, someone who loves you and gives you food

and furthermore

Temma + Jeanne (with aura) = 3 people who love me x 3 people who give me food x 3 = happiness x 3

Temma + Jeanne + Aura - (Jeanne + Aura) = people who love you x 1, people who give you food x 1 = happiness x 1

The calculation went through Shiroumaru's mind. He didn't think Jeanne and the others would disappear, but he was sure that his happiness would be tripled if Temma and Jeanne were together, so he turned in favor of it... he could see that he put his own happiness first.

In Solomon's case.......he came to the same opinion as Shiroumaru, so he came around to agreeing with him.

In Slarin's case.

However, unlike our own demons, the fact that a human being is on duty is a big deal, so it's only right that we talk about it together, and it's not right for people around us to complain.

Moreover, since I am only a slime, it is not advisable for me to cause unnecessary confusion by my actions.

The most desirable thing to do is to have the two of them talk to each other until they are satisfied with the situation and come to a conclusion.

He decided to abstain, so he dared to abstain...............................Furthermore, Slarin

(I'll give those two a lecture later.)

He had made up his mind to do so.......but unfortunately, since he was a slime, everyone never noticed that Slarin was thinking that far.

And by the way, Jeanne was....

"Sleeping ... and responsibility ... for your ... marriage ...　

And because I was still buggy, I was forced to abstain.

''Eh~ Today's plan is to go get the demon core of a high ranked demon.

I announced that, trying to shake off the sinking feeling, trying to sound cheerful, but....

"The responsibility.....

Jeanne, come back to me, for God's sake!

Aura chopped Jeanne, who was still buggy, with a chop to the head at an angle of 45 degrees.

''Muguu.......................Huh? My head hurts....

Apparently, they succeeded in rebooting Jeanne.

'Are you awake? I can't wait to eat breakfast and get to the dungeon!

Aura offers her a quick breakfast.

Jeanne nods her head and picks up her breakfast sandwich, but as she finishes eating, she

'Aura I had a weird dream...'

But before Aura could hear the content, she started to say

'Oh, because it's probably not a dream. Jeanne has been selected as a potential wife for Lady Tenma!

Jeanne said without a care in the world as she cleaned up her plate.

Well then I'm going to marry Temma...

'Maybe,' is all I said. Don't worry about it now, just think of it as the Tenma-sama's responsibility to protect you.

Yes, I know, and he waved it to us.

'Oh, yeah, well...'

He nodded with a dry laugh. Jeanne was about to bugger up again when she saw that, but

'Yes! I'll get ready to go!

And I started getting Jeanne ready while pushing her back, so she managed to avoid the bug.

Once I was ready, I headed straight to the dungeon and flew up to the 38th level, my highest record.

''Listen, compared to the previous floors, the demons here are much stronger, so don't go too far forward or too far back!

"Yes!

'Siloumar, Solomon, Slarin and I are to be protected by putting the two of you before me!

Wah!

Cui!

Each one takes my word for placement. In order, it's me, Solomon, Jeanne, Slarin, Aura, Shilomar, and so on.

Seeing that each of us is ready to go.

'Yes! Let's go!

He started hunting for the demon core.