CH 177

"Nostalgic Memories"

Translated by Dawn

“Nostalgic Memories”

“So, this is the Dark Guild’s hideout?”

“……”

The female assassin nodded silently in response to my question. We hadn’t known each other for long, but it seemed she wasn’t the talkative type. Well, it was probably for the best that an assassin wasn’t chatty, but I couldn’t help but wish we had a bit more conversation.

After extracting the information she knew, I had come to the Dark Guild’s hideout with her guidance. By the way, I didn’t bring Machad along because it was quite dangerous.

The purpose of visiting the Dark Guild was twofold: to administer punishment for encroaching on my territory and to identify the client who had hired Machad for the assassination.

If I had been standing on the surface as the representative of Commercio Trading Company, it would naturally mean that I, myself, was the target of the assassination. So, I thought it would be appropriate for that client to face some sort of penalty as well.

—Growl—

While I was contemplating such things, an out-of-place sound echoed in the surroundings. The source of that sound was none other than the growling stomach of the female assassin I brought with me.

“……”

“Are you hungry?”

Without answering my question, she just lowered her face. It seemed that she was the source of the sounds in her belly, as her ears were slightly reddened.

“Do you want some?”

“……”

Without waiting for her response, I took out a sweet potato from my storage and offered it to her. I had an abundance of sweet potatoes since they were overproduced.

Originally, raw materials such as sweet potato and sugar were in short supply, but I used my cheat ability, alchemy, to increase the necessary amount.

Since I could produce as many sweet potatoes as I want by following the recipe, I produced them in large quantities as long as time allowed.

“……”

“Eat it, or it’ll fly away.”

Initially hesitant to take it, she finally accepted the sweet potato from my hand when she saw me eat another one as a poison check.

At first, she nibbled on it, but as she confirmed that it wasn’t poisoned, she gradually started eating. The sight of her nibbling on it with her small mouth reminded me of a small animal having a meal.

(Somehow, this scene feels nostalgic. Where have I seen it before…? Ah, I remember. It was Mochimaru.)

In my previous life, I remained single throughout, but there was a time when I had pets to distract myself from loneliness. One of them was a hamster named Mochimaru. The adorable sight of it holding sunflower seeds in its mouth brought me solace countless times.

The name Mochimaru originated from its pure white fur and its round shape, which somewhat resembled mochi (Japanese rice cake). I thought it was a good name.

Seeing her eating the sweet potato reminded me of Mochimaru from that time, evoking a sense of nostalgia.

Therefore, it was only natural for me to behave as I did during that time, giving her the same treatment I used to give Mochimaru.

“!?”

At that moment, I recalled that whenever I had free time, I would often stroke Mochimaru. And now, with someone reminiscent of Mochimaru in front of me, it was not difficult to imagine what I would do.

To stroke her head as I would with a small animal was a natural action for me, as someone who had kept Mochimaru as a pet in my previous life. It was a common response for humans who encountered cute and lovable pets.

“Good girl, good girl.”

However, I realized something after stroking her for a while. There was an undeniable and desperate difference between stroking a pet like a hamster and stroking a fellow human being.

As soon as she understood that I was stroking her, she blushed bright red like an apple and obediently allowed me to continue.

“Oops, sorry. I used to have a small animal like you, so I felt nostalgic and couldn’t help but stroke you. Did you… dislike it?”

“I didn’t… dislike it.”

She replied meekly, shaking her head vigorously. It seemed she wasn’t offended, which put me slightly at ease.

(Oh no, I got carried away and stroked her out of nostalgia. But now that I think about it, this might be a flag.)

As someone who had set the goal of exploring the world, I believed that romantic relationships weren’t necessary until a certain age. Therefore, I had no intention of building such a relationship with a girl at this point in time.

Anyway, to dispel the slightly awkward atmosphere, I started a serious conversation with her about the events that had occurred since she joined the Dark Guild.

“For now, do as you always do and make contact with the guild’s supervisor. If you do that, I’ll take care of capturing those guys.”

“Understood, sir.”

Despite the small incident, let’s go and capture the members of the dark guild.