CH 22

{Sword}

Seein’ how my plan went awry, I’ve decided to teach her the basics of adventurin’ myself. For me it’d be no biggie to stay in a high-rankin’ inn, but since it’d be bad for her education, I gritted my teeth and chose a cheap inn.

It’s an inn where folks ’round D-Rank would stay, so it’s kinda iffy whether it’s the right place for a G-Rank, but I don’t wanna stay at a really cheap place.

Anyway, apparently full of curiosity, she entered the inn cheerfully, and then opened the door while bein’ fidgety.

…So she does have some cute parts, doesn’t she? That behavior of hers perfectly fits her age…

And then she suddenly slammed the door shut, and slowly looked up to me.

Tremblin’ like a newborn lamb.

“…No. Definitely, no! I can’t stay in such a small and dirty place! Small and dirty is impossible for me.”

Come on! There’s gotta be a limit to cleanliness, right!? If you had partied with those girls, you’d be stayin’ at places much shabbier than this!

Just when I was about to scold her, tears welled up in her eyes all of a sudden.

Eh?

…She’s cryin’ while quiverin’ all over!!

“…I want to go back to the forest.”

“G-Gotcha! Let’s change inns. It’s okay, I’m an S-Rank, so we can stay at a higher-rankin’ inn. It should be okay over there!”

Pullin’ her hand in panic, I rushed out of the inn after yellin’, “Sorry, we’re cancelin’,” in passin’.

She’s loudly sobbing.

…Whoa, just a sec, you didn’t cry when bein’ abused, runnin’ across ferocious monsters, or gettin’ into a fight with a violent guy, but just because the room’s dirty, you start bawlin’?

I felt flabbergasted, but to be honest, her finally actin’ appropriate for her age as a girl was cute.

＊

Taking a cryin’ girl ‘long with me earned me some harsh looks by the people ’round us. After walkin’ for a bit, we arrived at the high-class inn.

The folks at the reception scrutinized me, as might be expected, but I made them shut up by showin’ my card.

“Give us your best room.”

“As you wish.”

And then, after gettin’ there, I slowly opened the room.

“I-Is this place goin’ to be alright?”

“…”

She finally lifted her face and scanned the room. Timidly approachin’…she suddenly let off some kind of magic art.

“Hey!”

Even while I tried to stop her, she cast one spell after the other.

“Disinfection, Cleaning, and Washing finished. …With these, it somehow passes.”

…When she was done, the room was so clean that it looked like new and would likely startle even a noble.

＊＊＊

“…Let’s camp outside from now on, after all. It’s a waste to pay money for this room. If we use magic and tools, camping out will be much more pleasant than this. Let’s do that, okay?”

“Gotcha. I don’t care anymore, so do as you like.” Sword gave me that irresponsible answer when I was sitting next to him, clinging to his arm while desperately persuading him.

…I feel sorry for making him pay money because we didn’t stay at the previous inn, but that one was a no. It was small, had no window, stunk, was dirty, and I’m absolutely sure it was full of bugs.

Isn’t it weird to take money for something like that? You’ve still got space on your plot of land, so make the rooms bigger. Also, clean the damn place.

…When I thought that, Sword grinned broadly.

“What’s the matter?”

“I just thought that you finally act like a noble lady your age. To cry over somethin’ like a room bein’ dirty…”

Being reminded of it, I got scared and cried again.

“Wai—-! I’m sorry! I won’t tease you anymore!” Sword was in panic.

“Dirty and small is scary.”

“Gotcha. I understand, so don’t cry anymore.”

He frantically stroked me.

(Note: Going by standards of the other world, Indra is quite obsessed with cleanliness. Even during her time at the mansion, she used her cleaning magic for the rooms and toilet. She’s pretty good at tidying up with magic. But, there are limits when it comes to dirty rooms. If they aren’t clean to some extent, she won’t even feel motivated to tidy them up herself.)