CH 123

The departure for the city of Loloa, three days away from Ilstadt, is tomorrow morning.

It seems that the job also includes escorting the client to that point.

The main road connecting Ilstadt and the royal city of Doldberg was relatively safe due to the amount of travelers coming and going, but there was no reason not to be vigilant.

That evening, Souya, Mia, and Merylou were dining at an adventurer’s tavern.

Meals during vacations vary, but it is not unusual for the three of them to be together. It was now completely recognized as a party, and it seemed that it was no longer needed to invite Mia and Merylou to eat as before.

“What are you sulking about? Mia, it can’t be helped, Souya is very popular.”

“I’m not sulking …… Souya-san’s business is none of my business.”

After the incident at the Adventurers’ Guild, Mia seemed a little sulky or confused, and neither of them was able to have a good conversation.

Souya, for his part, felt that any words he said would be too blunt, so he ate his meal in silence without broaching the subject. We had talked about Charlotte before, but perhaps there was a change of heart in her compared to that time.

The topic in front of her was something that might have seduced several women, including Mia, but she did not condemn it.

In the past, he would have been concerned about the surrounding guests who were listening in, but perhaps due to his harsh experience at Lingen, Souya is not as concerned about his own reputation as he used to be.

He does not intend to be open-minded, but compared to that catastrophic event, his concern for his physical appearance seems trivial. Souya vaguely recalled the only girl he had been able to find during the rescue operation.

All this was probably due to the smoldering presence of the red-horned demon.

The scene of the ashen dust that had appeared in his dreams, and the sight of the Red Horn preying on his fellow Silver Demon.

If only I could kill that thing, something might change in me again. Souya broke off his thoughts and began to think about tomorrow’s request.

Then Merylou, who had finished her meal, got up from her seat, approached Souya, put her face close to his ear, and began to whisper to him.

“Hey, Souya …… Don’t be quiet and comfort Mia. She’s jealous of you.”

“I don’t know how to address her right now. I’m not in the mood for bland talk.”

“Why don’t you invite her to your room and do the same thing you did with Charlotte? You’re the Demon Slayer Hero. Don’t worry about two …… or even three people …… How about me?”

A jittery-eyed Merylou grabbed Souya’s arm as if to show him off to everyone around him.

It was a daring move, but in her case, people around her were likely to dismiss it as a case of drunkenness.

Merylou also has had more of a change of heart since the Lingen incident. In the room where she is staying with Mia, she seems to be spoiling her even more than before.

Such behavior is probably due to the fact that she is fighting against the instinct of belonging caused by the Geass of Yggdrasil, the curse of the tree of life, and is seeking for an alternative source of support.

Since this curse is a very serious problem that lies over the entire wood elves, Souya did not want to be wicked. He adjusted the topic based on the assumption that it is not a curse, but only Merylou’s behavior on the basis of her drunkenness.

“Merylou-kun, are you drunk again?”

“I am not drunk. I’ve only had one glass of red wine to prepare for tomorrow’s work.”

“I wonder if you miss human skin that much. Mia-kun said she is having a hard time with you asking her to pamper you in her room.”

“You say that …… I heard that even Souya had slept in the same bed with Mia when they first met.”

Souya, who had been calmly passing on Merylou’s whispers, changed his expression at the sudden topic.

“…… Did Mia-kun tell you about this?”

“That’s right. Souya, how can you do nothing in that situation?”

Seeing Souya frowning, Merylou smiled wryly.

I feel like I was taken one.

“Well, I didn’t feel bad …… Good grief, I hope you give me a break. At that time, we had only one room to ourselves at the time, and we were both terribly tired.”

I looked at Mia, who is right in front of me. I could see that she had been glancing at me and was listening to the whispered conversation.

What Merylou said earlier had taken place more than a month ago, shortly after my transfer to another world, but it seemed like a very long time ago. Perhaps it was because my thoughts were so occupied with this world that I could hardly remember the days when I was a salaryman.

“I’ll leave it at that. I’m sorry for behaving like that …… Speaking of which, what happened to that Shamil guy? …… I heard he’s staying at Louise’s place to take care of the Lingen girl.”

Merylou, who had returned to her original seat, asked Souya about the Cait Sith, who was nowhere to be seen.

“He is in the middle of an adventure. He has just finished registering as an adventurer and joined Siren-kun and Phyllis-kun’s party as a helper. He’s a blank-class, but he’s being paid on equal terms. On top of that, I even get an introduction fee.”

“As a rookie, that’s a deal-breaker …… What about Shamil? Can he keep up with those two?”

“I’ve had him fight a few times and he’s shown some good moves. His level of magic and spiritual arts is at a very high level, and he is very agile when he fights with weapons in his hands. He is good at high-speed combat using daggers …… As expected, he was frightened of the Red Horn, though.”

I told Merylou of Shamil’s assessment, going back to my memories of Lingen.

In terms of ability alone, it would be possible to keep up with them. The problem was compatibility.

“Shamil wants to have a home in Ilstadt. I’m the master of the house, and he said it wouldn’t look good if I was rootless. Apparently, he wants me to live there.”

“What about Souya? What about the option of living permanently in Ilstadt? Are you thinking about what to do in the future?”

“I like the fact that it’s a nice city. Maybe it’s because it’s similar to the environment I used to live in …… What about you, Merylou-kun? It seems like Charlotte-kun has invited you to join the guild.”

“I think it’s not a bad town …… It is true that I was moved by the invitation. But I’m not sure about the idea of a stray wood elf living in the city …… It feels like a betrayal of my hometown.”

(T/N: I think what he meant by rootless is that he doesn’t own a house or base.)

The very thought of feeling betrayal seemed to be the curse of Yggdrasil, the tree of life. The sense of belonging is imprinted in her instincts. Souya made a suggestion that would break it.

“That’s fine. It would be nice to be bound not to Yggdrasil, the tree of life, but to the bonds of the city.”

“I’ll think about it. Whatever I do, I’ll have to get to Gold-class first.”

Merylou sighed after a few moments of contemplation, folded her hands behind her head, and leaned back.