Volume 2 - CH 55

Volume 2

Chapter 55-Nene time and modest cats

(TL:By Rafael)

It has been two weeks since my return.

The "Glad Shi-Im" case was finally settled.

It took some effort to make a record log of that particular labyrinth, but since it was a record of a labyrinth that no longer existed, it was not required to be very precise.

However, there was one item in the log that the Marquis de Bedivere, a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences, was interested in.

That was the space of "colorless darkness" where Lunn and I wandered.

That place was given the name "Invisible Darkness" to distinguish it from the labyrinth under Finis, and I was registered as the discoverer in the official documents.

I was asked about the place in great detail, but unfortunately, there is not much I can answer.

I could only share my experiences and guesses.

There is another matter that has moved significantly in the past two weeks.

One of the high ranking nobles in Welmeria has been deposed.

Yes, the Countess of Crowder.

All I did was file a detailed report on Rain's case.

This is more like a complaint, so to speak.

I told Manuela that I would not be happy if they used the power of the nobility to forcefully pull out party members, but the Marquis de Bedivere, who was left to clean up the mess, heard about it. Perhaps it was only natural.

What was unexpected was that it was delivered to the King's ear quite quickly.

Surprisingly, it seems that I and "Clover" are the favorite assets of King Vincent V of Wellmeria.

I guess there must have been some previous convictions or suspicions, because the Counts of Crowder (......) were quickly investigated for this matter, and within three days of my petition, one of the venerable count families was erased from the annals of history.

The charges were treason and violation of the Noble Laws.

In addition to trying to sell the kingdom's assets to a foreign country without permission, it seems that Prince Mastoma ......, or Salmutaria, has sent a formal letter of responsibility for this case, so the charges have become much more serious.

Crowder, who was working directly on the case, may be tied up.

...... Well, it's none of my business.

As for Lun- the "Golden Priestess" Nibelung, the direction is still not clear.

Marina and the others insist that we should take her in as a member of Clover, while the Marquis of Bedivere says he is ready to receive her as a guest from another world.

Either way, Lun has the right to make that decision, and I will respect it.

Regardless of what she does, I have a promise to the last king of Glad Shi-Im.

I want her to be free in this world, and I want to help her to be so.

"Mr. Yuki?"(??)

Someone pulls me back from my thoughts.

I found myself frozen with a mug of wine in my hand.

"No, no, no, You were thinking again, weren't you?"(??)

"I'm sorry,  Too many things have happened and I can't seem to get out of the habit of thinking."(Yuki)

The girl sitting across from me, a Felshi cat person, smiles at me.

"You're too much of a workaholic. You said we were going to forget about everything today and just have fun."(Nene)

"That's right."(Yuki)

I smile back at her and swallow a glass of chilled grape wine.

The sun was still in the mid-sky. I must enjoy the fact that I can be drinking at this hour of the day.

The most important thing is that I am in the middle of a date with the lovely cat person in front of me, Nene.

(TL: The above is Nene)

"I'm sorry, Nene.'(Yuki)

"It's okay. But today is a full day of Nene time, so you're going to have to listen to a lot of selfishness from me!"(Yuki)

"Be easy on me."

Laughing at Nene's high energy, he pours the wine into the empty mug.

"It's great to drink in the daytime, isn't it?"(Nene)

"I've never had anything like this before, so it's refreshing."(Yuki)

I haven't had much of a taste for alcohol since my days on Thunder Pike.

"But, was it okay? I monopolized Yuki-san."(Nene)

"I didn't have any plans today, so it was perfect timing."(Yuki)

"That's not what I meant."(Nene)

Then what did she mean by that?

We had only a few days left to stay in the exotic Duna, and as the leader of the team, I should accept Nene's request, as she had not been able to work as much as she should have.

Silk told me that Nene, who was worried about me, had been searching for me through various means, although she herself had not shown any interest in  admitting that she was doing so.

I wanted to do something for her today.

"Well, what shall we do?"(Yuki)

"I want to do a lot of things, but first I want to go to the bazaar, the one not on the Adventurers' Road."(Nene)

"I haven't been to the bazaar."(Yuki)

In the trading city of Duna, there is a bazaar with goods from various countries, including Salmutaria.

However, the clientele there is different from adventurers, and the products on the shelves are not related to adventures.

"Okay, then, let's go shopping and have some fun."(Nene)

"Yes!"(Yuki)

I got up from my seat and Nene hugged my right arm and wrapped her arms around me.

The soft touch made my body stiffen for a moment, but I walked down the street with my body still in the same state.

As we walked to the bazaar, Nene looked up at me with a somewhat mischievous expression on her face.

"All right, then, let's do some shopping and flirt as you are used to."(Nene)

"No, I'm not used to it."(Yuki)

I smiled back at her with a light chuckle, and she burst out laughing.

"You can do anything, but you're not very good with girls, are you?"(Nene)

"I can't do everything. To begin with I don't know how to date a pretty girl."(Yuki)

"Hmm so you are dense by nature......."(Nene)

"What?"(Yuki)

"No, it's nothing,"(Nene)

Nene laughed a little, and somewhat in a good mood, led me around the bazaar.

A short tunic of translucent light silk, earrings decorated with coral, which is rare in this area, and what looks like cosmetics ...... Nene's eyes sparkle with interest in many things.

For Nene, who comes from an impoverished neighborhood, seeing such unusual things is very enjoyable.

I bought a few things that I thought Nene would like as souvenirs.

"Sorry, I can't take these, I'll take what I want out of my own wallet."(Nene)

"You say so, but you haven't bought anything."(Yuki)

"Mm-mm. ......"(Nene)

I knew it.

"This is my way of saying thank you. I know I've caused you a lot of worry this time around."(Yuki)

I pushed the bag of goods to Nene and convinced her with a pretentious reason.

I think Nene is a girl who, perhaps because of her upbringing, doesn't think much of herself.

I always thought that she should live more freely, because she is already standing firmly on her own feet in her own place called "Clover".

"Is it okay?"(Nene)

"No problem. It's 'nene time' today, right?　You can be more selfish."(Yuki)

"Yes, but ...... I don't know how much more selfish I can be."(Nene)

Nene's ears were downcast.

She is not sure how to be selfish, but it's just like her.

" You should learn to be more selfish."(Yuki)

"You said it, right ? I'm not going to stop then."(Nene)

Then Nene, with a big smile on her face like a blooming flower, selfishly pulled my hand away.

TL Note- Today is Nene day...period.