Chapter 51: Extra Part 3: Rita’s Wish and the Summoning Slave (Part 1)

Chapter 51: Extra Part 3: Rita’s Wish and the Summoning Slave (Part 1)

“I’m off, Master.”

“Yes. Then take care of Aine, Rita. You are her bodyguard.”

Master Nagi held out his hand, and I bowed lightly, as usual.

Sawasawa, Pikopiko

Gentle fingers touched my golden beast ears.

When Nagi stroked her ears, I felt lucky to have been born as a beastman.

I’m embarrassed to say that I naturally wag my tail, but I can’t stop myself. It’s an instinct.

The collar that Nagi gave me has somehow become a part of me, and I can’t remember a time when it wasn’t there.

Nagi’s face is close to mine. I can feel her breathing.

I want to kunk you, rub you, and stroke you.

I want …him to come closer and …closer to me.

“I don’t think the Order of Divine know who we are, but be careful. Rita, Aine.”

“Hmm. What are you talking about, Nagi?

I, however, am a shy mess.

So, I put aside my feelings that were about to overflow, and puff my chest out to the fullest.

“I’m the strongest in the party in close combat, you know. I hope you don’t underestimate me. The Order of Divine is no match for me.”

“I’m telling you not to be reckless.”

I want to jump on Nagi, who is smiling, and rub his cheeks, but instead I want to do the ritual of his world, “hai-sakuchi” – splat!

Rita and her fellow slave, Aine, then went out to gather information (plus some shopping).

“Aine, Aine, Aine, Aine, Aine, Aine. What should I do? What should I do?”

“Yes, yes. What’s the matter, Rita?”

As soon as the house was out of sight, I cried out to Aine, who was walking next to me.

Aine, the “big sister” of the party, squints her sleepy eyes and gently strokes my hair.

“Oh, you know, Aine. Didn’t Nagi get another slave?

“You mean Miss Rafilia?”

“Yes. An elven girl, very beautiful.”

“I’ve talked to her a bit, and she seems like a nice girl.”

“Uh-huh. But, but, but.”

“Don’t worry about it. Even if there are more slaves, Na-kun will take good care of Rita-san too, right?”

“I know that…”

I know. It’s about Nagi.

I heard that Rafilia was suffering from a mysterious lock skill. I know because I also once had a similar thing installed on me. I know the pain caused by the cursed skill, and the happiness when Nagi saved me from it.

I feel sorry for Rafilia, and I know that Nagi was the only one who could help her.

Besides, Rafilia respects me. The ‘Dark Hero’ was the Master and the golden beast was me! I honestly don’t know what that mean though.

I know it in my head. But, but, but…

“Listen, Aine. I failed to engage in a soul engagement with Nagi…”

“Is that so?”

“After I had Nagi do a bunch of stuff for me due to the [Quick Reconstruction], I almost got a soul contract by accident. But the ritual was incomplete and …it didn’t work. I was so close.”

“I see. You did your best, Rita-san.”

Aine smiled at that.

Her eyes are always calm and unfazed by most things. That’s why I inadvertently ask her for advice on many things. Aine seems to be happy about it. She said that she was everyone’s big sister.

I am sometimes amazed by her unbelievable receptiveness.

Maybe Aine wouldn’t be upset if she suddenly had a child, let alone a party member.

“Rita-san, do you want to have a chance of ‘Engagement’ with Na-kun again?”

Aine asks me and like a matter of course I answer without even thinking.”

“…I want to do it.”

I said it.

…I said it.

…I said it. Ohhhh.

“Aaahhhhhh!”

“Don’t worry. It’s a very natural feeling.”

Aine gives a thumbs up to me, who have turned red and started squirming.

“And Aine also needs Rita and Cecil to be good friends with her later.”

“Aine too?”

“No, it’s nothing. And then Aine will ask Na-kun for help at that time…”

“Huh?”

I tilted my head.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Aine turn red.

“I’m sorry. Aine also wants to have ‘Engagement’ with Na-kun.”

“But that can wait. Right now, we are talking about Rita-san and Na-kun’s ‘Engagement’.”

“Yeah… I guess.”

“Aine has a great idea.”

“Really?”

“You should practice a lot so that you can properly say to Na-kun, “I want to have an ‘Engagement’.”

“Practice…”

Yeah, I think Aine might be right.

I am 100% red right now.

I don’t usually express my feelings honestly, except when Nagi is reconstructing my skills and my mind and body is all fluffy.

The ‘Enganement’ is very important. I don’t want to make a mistake this time.

So I need to be able to ask Nagi to do it properly.

“All right, Aine. I’ll practice!”

“Then say what Aine says. “Nagi, I love you.””

“Nagi, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.”

“Let me be something that will always be close to your soul.”

“Let me… always be… something that is closer to your soul.”

“Please let me be Naa-kun’s older sister even if I’m reborn.”

“Please let me be Naa-kun’s older… Is that Aine’s?”

“Yes. We’ll be together forever. Everything in Aine is for you. So, it’s okay. Aine is for Cecil and Rita too, please.”

“Aine, Aine! I’m not Nagi! Open your eyes and stop coming at me!”

“What?”

When we were close enough to catch each other’s breath, Aine finally opened her eyes.

“I’m… sorry. I’ve been practicing too much.”

“What kind of practice do you usually do, Aine?”

In front of me who raised voice unintentionally, Aine was clearing her throat like a professional.

“In other words, it’s important to practice so much that it comes out naturally like this.”

“…I see.”

I sighed involuntarily.

As expected of Aine, she is very persuasive. As a former apprentice guildMaster of the ‘Commoner’s Guild’, she’s everyone’s “big sister”. I can’t believe she’s thinking so seriously about me.

I clenched my fists.

“Yes, I’ll do my best. This time, I’m going to make a ‘Engagement’ with Nagi in a natural way.”

Even Aine has been so supportive.

But… why is it that Aine, who is walking next to me, is mumbling, “When Na-kun makes the ‘Engagement’ with Rita, I can cut off his path of retreat by saying that it is my turn now.”

While we were talking about this, we eeached to the main street of the town.

The purpose of today’s visit was to look around the morning market and gather information.

It was up to me and Aine to analyze the information and make decisions.

Nagi said that he wanted us to listen to rumors about the town, discuss them together, and decide if the information was necessary or not. That’s our Master. He trusts us. I love him.

That’s why I start walking diagonally behind Aine, perking up my animal ears.

The streets are full of people. But I can’t see the Order of Divine.

It’s a morning market full of shoppers. If you wear a mask, you will stand out.

But that also means that if you don’t wear a mask, you won’t know who the members are. If you were to wander around with a bare face, you would not know if he or she was a member of the Order of Divine.

The clue was my sense of smell. I remember the scent I had smelt when I had slid into them. If I made contact with them again, I would know.

“…But there are too many people. I feel dizzy.”

“Don’t get separated, Rita.”

I wondered if it was because the festival was coming up but even though it was early in the morning, there were many food stalls lining in the main street.

Seafood, fruits, crafts, clothes, and more.

Here in Irgafa, the land and sea roads intersect in a trading area. A lot of goods come in from the sea, and wagons leave one after another for the inland areas.

Even now, on the outskirts of the main street, caravans of merchants are preparing their wagons. They’re probably transporting goods to King’s Landing or Metekal.

“Oh, by the way, Leticia is going back to Metekal soon.”

I suddenly remembered.

While we were messing around with Elder Slime, Leticia had made arrangements with a merchant who was related to the Viscount family to accompany the caravan. She should have woken up early this morning and had a meeting at the merchant’s place.

When I talked to her this morning, she said, “We have more slaves now. I don’t like to be left out, so if things continue like this, I’ll accidentally go with the flow… no, no, it’s nothing.”

I’ll have to repay Lady Letica someday.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll meet again soon.”

Aine nodded vigorously as she walked down the main street.

Then, in a familiar manner, she talked to the people at the stall. While bargaining for the fruit, she cleverly changed the subject to the Order of Divine. I was impressed by her skill in this area.

“Is that so? Did the Masked Knights only come out recently?”

“Well, you know. I heard that he joined the Adventurer’s guild under unbeatable conditions because he was recommended by a nobleman. It’s not someone a commoner like us could ask to work with, though.”

The lady at the store said as she offered me the red fruit.

Aine casually holds up two fingers and asks for a little more discount. As she took the additional fruit from the smiling woman, she asked more questions.

“If you joined a guild with unbeatable conditions, does that mean you’re good? If so, then I can understand why the rewards are so high.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Anyway, they say he works fast. But they say he’s rough.”

“It’s not good to be rough. I get complaints about that kind of thing.”

“It’s a nobleman’s reccomendation. No one can complain. I’m sure they’ll get the job done. But there’s a rumor that he’s so powerful that he can cause unnecessary damage. He hides his face behind a mask, so we don’t know who he is or where he is. Ladies, you’d better not say anything rash.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

After listening to the story and, incidentally, cutting the price of the juicy fruit by 30%, Aine left the stall.

“As expected of Aine…Huuh”

This kind of bargaining power is as expected of a party girl. I honestly respect her.

But Aine made a face like it was nothing, and said, “Thanks for waiting.” She bowed and started walking next to me.

“The Order of Divine is like a party of adventurers with a visious side.”

Aine whispered in a low voice so that no one else could hear her.

“He wears mask, so no one knows who he is. They don’t even know how many of them there are.”

“Maybe we can identify him by listening to his voice.”

I nodded back at Aine.

“I heard them yelling a lot. I’ll never forget that voice.”

“You met them, didn’t you, Rita? Were they nasty?”

“They were really weird. They were picking on Rafilia.”

“That’s not good.”

“Nagi said ‘Pressure Interview’, but just thinking about it makes me sick.”

“But Na-kun easily broke it down.”

“Of course. Nagi is invincible.”

“He is so strong and cool.”

“He even came to me when I was being attacked by the Leviathan.”

“Aine is jealous. Aine hardly ever gets to see him fight.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No. It’s okay. We’re going to be together for a long time. We’ll get our chance.”

“That’s right. Also, Aine will be in charge of waking up Nagi tomorrow!”

“Are you sure? Aine is an older sister.

“Don’t be shy. You have an important role to play. Oh, by the way, yesterday…”

“What? What happened?”

“…………”

“…………”

“…………”

“…………”

” Before I knew it, I was talking about Nagi!?”

Huh? Huh?

I held my forehead.

Our job is to shop and gather information. And analyzing that information.

And yet the topic of conversation has shifted to Nagi. Rita and Aine’s work flowed so smoothly that it was strange. Or perhaps it’s the brilliant coordination.

We couldn’t help but keep looking at each other and nodding for a while.

I can’t do this. I can’t do my job like this. I have to be strong.

We started walking again.

The street is filled with the voices of vendors and customers haggling for goods.

There are many stalls, but every stall always has a picture or doll of the sea dragon Kerukatoru on display. The prosperity of Irgafa is due to the blessings of the sea dragon. I could hear them talking about it, and there was a lot of talk about the festival.

No one would think that Nagi has an appointment with that festival priestess for the afternoon. My Master is amazing, ahem… I couldn’t help but puff out my chest.

After walking around the morning market for a while, the shopping was over and we began to ask around for the second time.

The place was a fish shop. One of the things I learned as I walked around was that fishermen know a lot about gossip.

Aine starts shopping at a stall that looks good, using my sense of smell to determine if the fish is fresh or not.

After bargaining moderately, she casually moves on to gather information.

“Oh, so the rituals of the Sea Dragon Festival are held at the end of the peninsula?”

“Oh, I heard there’s a dungeon there. It’s also a great way to get to know the people in this area.”

“Locals are worried about a lot of things, aren’t they?”

“That’s right. My fellow fishermen said that they saw a demon around the peninsula. I heard that the regular soldiers of the lord’s family were gathered nearby, so they must be right. But it’s hard for a lot of people to move around there.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure the ‘Shrine Maiden’ will take care of it.”

“Well, I guess so. Let’s have fun together on the day of the festival, ladies. I heard that even slaves get the day off for festivals.”

“Yes. But I’m happier when I’m with my Master.”

After a quick blush, Aine put the fish she had bought in her basket and left the stall.

I checked the freshness of the fishes with my beastly sense of smell.

Yeah. It’s okay. It’s probably just been caught. I’m sure Nagi will enjoy eating them.

“…So Aine, what did you think of what he just said?

“If a demon appears at the site of a festival ritual, it might have something to do with, Iris.

“It’s hard on Iris, isn’t it? She’s just a little girl.”

“I don’t think the Irgafa lords have a shortage of men.”

“But he said that it was a difficult place to deploy regular soldiers.”

“The Adventurers’ Guild may have a request about it.”

“But Nagi hasn’t signed up for the guild yet, has he?”

“It’s difficult when the Order of Divine is blocking the way.”

“We were given this information by the fishermen.”

“We have no choice but to put this fish to good use then.”

“I think Nagi likes fish. I met him in a village where fish dishes were a specialty.”

“He told me he lived on an island with a lot of fish.”

“Nagi’s hometown. I’d like to see it at least once. I want to breathe the same air as Nagi.”

“That’s what Aine thinks, too. It seems that Na-kun doesn’t like his hometown, but Aine wants to thank the place that created him.”

“That’s right. It’s where Nagi was raised.”

“And Aine and her friends are going to make a new home, okay?”

“Yeah. You’re right. We have to make Nagi happy.”

“Rita…”

“Aine…”

We faced each other and clasped our hands.

“I’ll do my best.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“For my (Aine’s) Master!

“…………”

“…………”

“…………”

“…………”

“Why do we talk about Nagi again before we know it?

Aine held her head.

Something’s wrong. Something is wrong.

We’re just talking normally, but before we know it, we start talking about Nagi.

I wasn’t conscious of it. I was unconscious.

My face involuntarily turned red. Why?

“…Why do I always have to think about Nagi?…”

At the clothing stall, I think, “What kind of clothes would look good on Nagi?”.When I look at the ornaments stall, “I wonder how it’d feel if we wore matching rings.” When I look at the meat stall,” I wonder if Nagi likes Dengaradon wild boar meat.” When I look at the skill stall, I wonder if I could install a new skill and get close to Nagi under the pretext of “reconstruction”…

My Master is too amazing. He doesn’t even use the compulsion of the ring to bind his slave completely. It’s not fair. But I don’t mind it. It’s even more unfair because I don’t mind it.

“Could it be… that Nagi has some hidden skills?”

“That’s it!”

Aine suddenly clapped her hands next to me.

“Na-kun told me this morning that he got a new skill,[Slave Summoning LV 1].”

“…That’s it!”

Nagi had told us all about it at breakfast.

“When Rafilia, my new friend (slave), and I used the [Skill Reconstruction], the skill that was created was “Slave Summoning LV1″. It’s a skill that summons slaves under a ‘Master-Slave Contract’ without question.When I uses this skill, the slave will know where I am. The slave will then have to rush to my place at once.But don’t worry, I won’t use it unless it’s an emergency. I promise,” he said.

“The reason we think about Nagi so much…”

“It must be because he is using [Slave Summoning LV 1] to call us.”

“Aine!”

“Rita!”

We can’t stay like this.

I took the shopping basket from Aine and put it in my mouth. I then carried Aine on my back. It was heavier than Cecil’s, but not so heavy as to interfere with my movements. Nagi is calling me. That must be it. Because both Aine and I can’t help but be curious about Nagi.

What is he doing now, what kind of food does he want to eat today, and how does he feel about the two of us?

In other words, Nagi must be using his [Slave Summoning LV1] skill.

“Come on, Aine. Hold on tight!”

“Don’t be shy. Go, Rita!”

With Aine on my back, I started running at full speed.

Weaving through the crowds, through the main streets…

“Nagi…!”

Pushing open the door of the house, I braked at the front door. The momentum was too much that I had to spin three times.

Holding Aine, who was about to be blown away, I looked around.

Just inside the front door, at the bottom of the stairs　Cecil and Rafilia were sitting there.

“Oh, welcome back, Rita, Aine-san.”

“Welcome back.”

They were both looking up at the second floor and turned around at the same time.

Cecil clung to the railing of the stairs, while Rafilia rested her cheek on the step.

“…What are you two doing?”

Handing the shopping basket to Aine, I couldn’t help but ask.

They both stare at the second floor where Nagi is, as if they were puppies waiting for their Master to return.

“Listen to me, Rita.”

Cecil, with a curiously serious look on his face said.

“I was cleaning up with Rafilia until a while ago.”

“But we can’t concentrate, you know?”

Cecil and Rafilia looked at each other, and then, as if in unison, gasped.

“I just can’t stop thinking about Nagi (Master) upstairs!”

She declared such a thing to Rita.

“…Heh.”

A cold sweat trickled down Rita’s forehead.

I wonder what it is. It seems like the same thing happened somewhere else.

“No, no, Rita-san! We’re serious!”

Cecil swelled her cheeks and approached me.

“I wonder if he is tired because he worked late at night yesterday. I want to brew tea, but I wonder if it will bother he. Is there anything I can do?”

“…Cecil.”

“Nagi always makes me happy, but I can only do a little bit. I’m always looking for something I can do, but I don’t know. It’s strange. Just living in the same house makes me so worried about Nagi. ”

Cecil pressed her chest painfully.

I was at a loss for words.

I know the feeling. I understand it very well. I understand, but wait a minute, Cecile!

But Cecil, as if she had made up her mind, grabbed Rafilia’s hand next to her…

“And that’s what I was discussing with Rafilia.”

“We’ve come to the conclusion that it’s because of the Master’s skills.”

Cecil and Rafilia raise their joined hands, “Mmm.

“That’s right! I think the reason why we think so much about Nagi is because Nagi is calling us with [Slave Summoning LV 1], what do you think, Rita?”

“I also want to hear the opinions of the senior Rita!”

At the overly serious reactions of Cecil and Rafilia, two fellow slaves, I was at a los of words.

“…………Well…”

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and took a deep breath.

“Well… Let’s see.”

Calm down. I looked back at myself until a while ago and it started turning bright red.

“… I think it would be better for all of us to calm down a bit.”

Holding her wagging tail with her back hand, Rita answered.