CH 49

『《 Glory 》 Sanguis, was a magical nation founded by a man who once mastered magic. It is said that most of the people there used advanced magic as a matter of course, and as the name suggests, Sanguis must have reached its peak of glory.』

「 Heeeh 」

It’s like the Roman Empire, but in the past tense, and I’m sure it’s destroyed.

『 But it was destroyed in a single night. The cause of this was not known when the mistress was alive, and I’m sure it still remains a mystery even up to now. As far as the mistress knows, it is an eternal mystery that has been around for over three hundred years.』

Wow, that’s like Atlantis.

「 That country, does it still exist? 」

『 It does, even now, but you can’t enter it 』

A question mark pops up in my head, what does that mean?

Seeing me like this, Helvetia continued.

『 Remember the golem you fought the other day, that one was nothing but garbage, there are more golems far stronger  than that walking around in Sanguis as a matter of course, eliminating creatures coming from the outside. No one has ever made it to the city of Sanguis and returned safely. 』

「 Eh, that one was just trash? 」

It was incredibly hard, and I thought that it was pretty strong, because even if I attacked properly, I only got bounced around. I see, that was why it’s kind of clunky…….

『 Hmm, normally no matter how much their bodies received, they were not something that would normally stop moving after one strong attack, it was probably damaged already in some way. 』

「 Uweeeh 」

……and, that’s about all that I have heard regarding 『Sanguis 』 after having dinner with Luttie and returning. 

Sanguis itself is far enough away from Eresbell that I’m not likely to set foot in it for now, but it’s not a place I’d want to go near in the future if I could help it.

Aside from that, I saw Virgilio-san at the adventurer’s guild for the first time in a long time.

It’s been two years since the fighting tournament, I think?

I was wondering if he still remembered me, but I was so well known that he definitely remembered me.

「 Toto, It’s been a while.」

He greeted me.

Just like before, he was wearing a 《 Magic Sword 》 on his back, along with a travel bag, with the mouth strap of a bone-sack hooked on his left hand and hanging down his back.

I had to look up to see Virgilio’s face.

「 Nn, it’s been a while 」

「 I heard you became an adventurer. Have you gotten used to it?」

「 Un, I’m fine now. Still a little low rank, though.」

「 Hmmm, well there is no other C rank in your age group, so you should be proud. However, a rank of C with that kind of strength is a bit of a stretch, can it be that you haven’t received that many requests?」

「 Oh, um, my rank was limited by Vanil Mirth-san. 」

When I told him that I couldn’t get points for rank advancement by defeating monsters so that I could learn more, he nodded his head.

「 You’re right, the more things you can do, the better. Don’t be corrupted by strength, and be sure to work hard. 」

「 Nn 」

It felt like he’s an old relative of mine. I don’t like it because it’s a little too uptight.

I didn’t get a chance to ask him what he was doing in Eresbell, because I was walking at a snail’s pace and he was just moving faster.

Well, I guess he just came back after taking various requests.

I’d like to see how he uses a magic sword, so I’d like to form a party with him if possible, but I’m not sure if I’d want to be subjected to that uptight look during a request……

「 Toto-san, Toto-san 」

As I was watching Virgilio-san’s back, the lady at the reception desk beckoned me over, so I went to the counter to see what it was about, and she took out a request form and showed it to me.

「 Toto-san, are you able to handle ghosts? 」

「 Nope 」

I answered immediately, as I had tried it in the past.

The request form said 『 Investigation of a haunted house (B rank) 』.  Yes, I was able to read a little now while Helvetia was reading the rest to me.

「 Ah, too bad. I thought it was just in time because I finally got a B rank request, the type that Toto-san is looking for! 」

In this area, there is not a lot of steep terrain or dangerous places, so you won’t find many B-rank or higher collection or exploration requests.

In case of a subjugation request, I’m already considered B rank or close, after defeating multiple stray Warwolves, so I am usually recommended one if any are submitted.

But I’m not a fan of ghosts, it’s different compared to the first time I saw Helvetia’s form, but I have a terrible fear of things that I can’t affect with physical attacks.

I often find myself alone in dense dark forests or empty grasslands at night, but I’m fine in those situations. I would still be fine if they only happen to pass by, but confronting them is a different matter. 

「 Thank you for recommending me. But I can’t do it.」

「 If you can’t, I don’t blame you. But it’s rare to see Toto-san having an incompatible request.」

「 Un, I’m bad with that, I can’t damage it 」

Maybe it’s not a hundred percent wrong, but basically, I just don’t want to do it. It seems that ghosts are basically dealt with by magic, and as far as I know, I didn’t really need to fight them.

「 I see, then I’ll see you next time. I’ll let you know when I find other, different ones next time. 」

「 Nn, Okay 」

「 So, what do you want to do today?」

「 I don’t know, I’ll go check things out. 」

「 Ok 」

I walked over to the board and looked at the request form, but there were not many requests today.

「 Hmm, maybe I’ll just skip today. 」

When I went from the board back to the counter to tell the clerk, she shrugged her shoulders but then smiled.

「 I see. Well, I look forward to seeing you next time. 」

「 Nn, till next time 」

I walked away from the counter and looked at the tables, but I couldn’t find any adventurers who are always exchanging information with each other.

「 Hmm, there’s no one here. It’s that kind of day is it? 」

『 Umu, this sure is rare state. 』

「 Luttie’s got work to do today too 」

『 Right, well it’s also alright to have a little vacation 』

What should I do? I suddenly have the whole day free.

Should I tell Helvetia how much I appreciate her, the electric flash of a light bulb floated over my head.

「 Betty, Is there anything you want to do?」

『 Hmmm, that’s quite out of the blue for you to ask 』

I asked, but Helvetia asked me back with a dubious look on her face while crossing her arms, I guess I was too abrupt.

『 Fumu, well, let me think about it 』

But then she seemed to think it over properly, and she placed her fist under her chin as she muttered quietly.

I walked out of the Adventurer’s Guild because I felt like I would look strange if I just stood there near a table.

Helvetia pondered for a while, but then she made a scary face with a grin that she hadn’t shown much lately, and she suddenly dropped a bombshell.

『 Well, then, yes, my mistress, I do desire your body. 』

「 Eh, my, my body……？」

My face flushed from the sudden statement, what is this Demon Lord talking about? Did she just pretend not to be interested in me at all, but in fact, she was one of those people who fall into the 《 friends that are more than just friends 》 category?

『 Wait, I think we just had a huge misunderstanding. No, I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about physically controlling it. 』

Helvetia hurriedly turns her right palm toward me and strikes a stop pose.

「 Ah, I, I see, I’m relieved 」

I breathed a sigh of relief, sweating profusely at the sight of it, because we were one and the same, and it would have been a disaster if it had meant something else.

『 Well, don’t get your hopes up. That’s probably what my mistress is interested in right now. 』

The moment I was about to say, “Yeah, I’m sorry about that”, her expression suddenly changed from that of mischief to that of the same ridiculous grin she had a long time ago, and well that just couldn’t be helped.

『 Besides, it’s almost time for that, tbut…… ah no, it’s nothing, don’t worry about it. Anyway, don’t worry about the mistress. 』

「 U, un, got it 」

I felt a chill run down my spine. I thought I knew Helvetia’s personality pretty well over the past two years, but when I saw that evil smile with her dull golden eyes, it made me wonder if what I knew about her was really just the surface.

I heard a few disturbing words that had slipped out unusually, and Helvetia disappeared as if she were running away.

At this point, I’m sure she won’t show up even if I call her, and if Helvetia is serious about taking over my body, there’s probably nothing I can do about it.

「 Tell me that I’m mistaken about that, okay, Betty……」

After lingering there for a while, I limped home, thinking that it might have been better if she had wanted my body as I initially thought.