CH 118

Dinosso, Retze and Noth gathered together the evening after we returned from our excursion to talk about the upcoming journey.

「That’s the declaration. So, am I weak? What are the world’s standards, huh? 」

「Take that lover’s talk somewhere else. 」

Retze stared at the cards on his hand with all seriousness.

「Just what’s the basis in this world, huh? 」

「Ojou-sama spent most of her life as a knight, so… 」

Dinosso and Butler were looking at their cards with glazed eyes.

「I can probably flatten this entire city with my current strength, I guess. 」says I.

「What a nasty bomb you dropped just now! 」That’s Retze.

「Noth? 」Dinosso.

「— He is beyond my purview. 」

Dinosso, Retze and Noth are sitting around the table while playing a card game similar to poker.

Should I make a game room on the second floor? I think card games are played around a round table instead of a square one, right?

「Rather than weak, you seem like you don’t fight a lot, or should I say you don’t look like someone who can take a life. 」

Retze scowled for a moment when he changed his card.

「You look like someone who fits the scene of chopping chickens in the kitchen or beside a well to a tee. 」Dinosso said.

「I do imagine you as someone who maintains cleanliness in his home. 」 That’s Butler.

Urk, can’t refute that.

「Yeah, I don’t do things that aren’t necessary, but I also mass kill birds to make blankets like normal folks do, you know. Bet. 」

I pulled a card and tossed another coin.

「What a lovely, fluffy reason for killing… Oopsie, check. 」

Retze didn’t add any coins.

「Raise. Well, just consult us first before you snap and turn this place into a wasteland, hear me? 」

Dinosso doubled the bet.

「The sense of impending danger from his declaration of mass destruction seems to be lacking…I wonder if it’s because of his natural virtue. Call. 」

Butler also placed the same amount in the middle of the table.

Well, I’m a Japanese — folks famous for being a harmless bunch.

「Four-of-a-kind. 」

「Whoa Retze. Is that timid check a bluff? 」

「You did quite well. 」

Butler also got a full house and better cards than Dinosso.

Me? Two pair.

「Sorry for bringing this up suddenly, but can we move the date of departure to the day after tomorrow? I already talked about this to Dean and Chris. 」

Loser Dinosso reshuffles the cards.

「It is possible, but did something happen, perhaps? 」

「A person named Nina came from the Roza gang that Jean mentioned before. 」

「Roza gang, then… 」

Retze mumbled.

「That’s quite early. 」Butler commented.

「The fastest one among the bunch received magic from a gale spirit, apparently. Roza’s gang should be here in a couple of days. 」

「Ahh, So that’s why we’re leaving. 」

I agreed.

「Did you hear about the rumors that the heroes have been summoned? 」

「Four heroes have been summoned, but apparently, one of them is a changeling. 」

Dinosso continued on after the other two nodded.

「Changeling? Is that a kid that had been swapped? 」

A baby and a fae, for example.

「Usually, spirits swap divine beasts that have incomplete bodies with human children. Once the divine beast is grown enough that it can defend itself, it will disappear somewhere else. But that’s not the case with the heroes’ changeling. 」

Dinosso laid the cards face down and reached for a glass of brandy.

「So, is it a replica of a beloved person that had been left behind in their previous world? However, based on how fleeting human memory is, it will be impossible to continuously rely on that memory to draw its appearance. That thing is still incomplete and it has been devouring spirits in order to achieve stability — is what I heard, but is it? 」

「There had been folks who actually saw it devour spirits, apparently. Based on Nina’s story, they had been dealt with immediately so nobody knows whether it’s a changeling for sure. 」

So that’s how it is, huh. I’ve been wondering why four. It’s easy to know who’s fake by process of elimination, though.

「Won’t rumors spread that the heroes are the ones dealing with them? I heard that they have been using magic recklessly and are being a bunch of nuisance. 」

The nice aroma of coffee wafted in the room.

「That won’t happen, I wager. Heroes are beneficial to the kingdom, and they’re probably thinking that the spirits who morphed into monsters were living far away from the humans. They’re even considered a source of food here in the frontiers. 」

「Heroes are said to nurture deities, and the mighty Wind Spirit Deity’s influence in this world is actually pretty strong even now. The countries and even the citizens will not easily let go of them for a trifling matter. 」

Butler added.

「Nina seriously wants to do something about that changeling, but if you combine this info with the rumors floating outside, Roza and her gang would probably barge into the royal city to drag the royal family down under the guise of extermination. 」

Dean looked unamused while shaking the brandy, as if being involved is too troublesome.

「It’s better to deal with that changeling as soon as possible, but the kingdom is also reaping what it sowed. I want to avoid En being entangled with this as much as possible. 」

Dinosso declared that his family is his priority. They are probably far more important than the people, the country and everything else to him.

It’s a far cry from me, who only thinks that they just have to deal with the entire bunch of heroes if they aren’t sure about the changeling.

「It’s supposedly somebody they love, so won’t they know after observing and flirting? 」

Retze looked at Dinosso while resting his chin on his clasped hands.

「 We can’t tell whether the relationship is exactly as it was in the heroes’ previous world, or whether it has been altered to suit their whims. This is just based on an outsider’s point of view. So, there are two sets of couples, and two sets of siblings, an older brother with a younger sister, and an older sister with a younger brother. 」

Dinosso looked annoyed.

「Ah, the younger brother is fake. 」