Chapter 210 - Maira and a Fleeting Everyday Life
In the end, last night's incident was brushed aside, and I was released. Whether it was Eliza's intention or not, I understood that I’d deeply wounded Mariantte's pride. She had been sulking the entire time. I wanted to apologize to her again, but she was still in the meeting and hadn't come out of the room. Even though this whole thing was self-inflicted, the city felt like it was dragging us in with chains on our hands and feet.
"You're late!"
A voice called from the chairs lined up in the nave of the church. Maira was puffing out her cheeks.
"Sorry. I got called in for the Four Noble Families Council. Where are the others?"
I had a feeling she might have noticed about Eliza, but I decided to keep quiet.
"Fam was feeling better after healing, but she got a little too excited, so Marmie took her home."
I worried if it was okay to leave her alone with the two of them. I was also concerned about Clovis's retaliation, and the possibility of her starting to track down the Crimson Hand on her own.
"Don't worry. Captain Talsa of the One-land Family Guard is escorting them."
She must have read my expression, because she answered as if anticipating my thoughts. Maybe I should go back home as well. As I thought this, I left the church with Maira.
"By the way, what about Misaki..."
"I heard she was going to consult with an upperclassman..."
An indescribable impatience slowly spread through my chest.
"Yuuki might be an elf companion from last night."
"I thought so too."
I couldn't sense any emotional fluctuations in her tone, perhaps because she was trying to consider my feelings.
"I wonder how she plans to meet them..."
"I think she headed to the Adventurer's Guild. Even if she can't meet them, she can leave a message."
Should I go to the Guild before returning home? But if I botched things again, Misaki would get angry, saying she wasn't trusted. I was concerned, but I felt it was better to leave it up to her judgment.
"What about Takanohara and the others?"
"You're always talking about other people! First, worry about me the most!"
"Sorry. So, what about Takanohara?"
"Muuu, he said he'll pretend to be someone else for now. He said he'll act in a way that won't expose him as an otherworlder."
After saying that, Maira looked away. She was completely pouting. I glanced casually around. There were people going about their business, but there wasn't anyone armed like adventurers or knights. It didn't seem like we were being targeted by anyone. Petra said the Three Noble Families were guarding us from the Three Houses, but I couldn't sense any presence right now. I gently took Maira's hand. She was still looking away, but she gripped back firmly. We walked around the Crystal Garden, heading toward the Starunion Family's territory where our house was located.
"Let's stop by the market and buy ingredients for dinner. Speaking of which, do you really like drinking barley wine and eating grilled river fish?"
"Well, I was looking forward to it, but I wouldn't say I particularly love it..."
"I see. What do you like then?"
"I... Hmm, it's hard to say. I don't know much about cooking, but hearing you talk about it makes me want to try it."
She looked up at the sky, lost in thought. I followed her gaze. The sun was directly overhead, just past noon. The prolonged sunlight made sweat bead up, but it wasn't unbearable heat. She was still thinking hard. I was starting to think that giving her barley wine would be enough, but since she was in a better mood, I said nothing.
"Hmm, how about rye bread with cheese? But the best meal for me is with Marmie. Oh, and the Eastayre family's area is said to be cheaper at the market."
Had she not had delicious food at the church in Richelle? I gazed at her profile. Come to think of it, Cecily and Aila never said much about the meals. I had the image of them silently eating what was served. On the other hand, Fam and Misaki were the loudmouths.
"Let's buy rye bread and cheese and go home today. And I'll make anything else you want!"
"Is that so...? Hmm, then I want meat. I need to get stronger. And I want something sweet too."
Led by her, who was starting to recover, we headed to the market.
When we returned with the ingredients, I noticed a party standing in front of the gate. Inside, I spotted a girl with a ponytail. It had only been a month and a half since I last saw her, but I felt an unbearable wave of nostalgia and rushed toward her without thinking.
"Momoka!"
"Marsh!"
I tried to hug her, but she held her arms out and blocked me. Her palm grazed my chin, and I crumbled to the ground.
"Whoa! What do you think you're doing all of a sudden?!"
Even though I was the one who got hurt, Momoka was the one who was angry.
"Momoka... were we not lovers...?"
"W-well, when you put it that way..."
I was kneeling, unable to move properly due to the recoil of my shaken brain, and she offered me a hand to help me up. She supported me as I stood. The arms felt too good to be true.
"Let's start over."
Saying that, she timidly squeezed her eyes shut and spread out her hands wide. Her face was bright red. This seemed familiar.
"Momoka. I missed you so much. I love you!"
I shouted before her. I figured I'd add words I hadn't said before too.
"Idiot! Don't shout such embarrassing things in such a loud voice in a place like this! ...But, I missed you too."
She mumbled the last part. As I hugged her, she placed her hands on my chest. She tried to bury her face in my chest, so I kissed her.
"Kyaa! Pervert, what are you doing?!"
I was pushed away and landed on my butt. She frantically wiped her lips with the back of her hand.
"Momoka, why...? We've been dating for a month and a half..."
"N-no, not again! W-well, it's not that. It's just, you surprised me by doing it all of a sudden. That kind of stuff is only for when we're alone. And we haven't been together much. I've been left hanging by you!"
She was saying unreasonable things. The fact that I traveled a different route meant that we couldn't have been together.
"...I thought you hated me."
"I don't hate you. On the contrary, I've been thinking about it a lot. I like you t... Aaah, saying things like that is only for when we're alone!"
Momoka scratched her head and began to writhe.
"How have you been? I was worried because you were so late."
I stroked her cheek.
"...Yeah. I couldn't find Isaac, but I was harassed a little by a thief named Auss."
"Auss? ...The man in the black robes?"
"That's right. He was wearing black robes. But most thieves dress like that."
Momoka answered. I told her about encountering transfer students named Ema and Ito before I met her, and that one of her companions was a bandit leader named Auss wearing black robes.
"By the way, an adventurer of the Black Panther race helped me."
"Black Panther race? Riley?!"
"You know them? At first, she was really annoying!"
Her eyes widened in surprise. Riley seemed to be doing well as always. It was a relief to hear about her recent activities. Feeling that the conversation was going on for too long, I guided her into the house. The elven guard at the gate opened it for us.
"I was surprised you lived in a gatekeeper's house. Especially that you had elves..."
"B-but why are elves here?"
Even I was surprised. The guard was a young woman, an elf. Come to think of it, Marmie had said that she was the first child born to the elven race in two hundred years. Therefore, she was at least over two hundred years old, but she didn't look it at all. Speaking of which, Marmie's mother, Marina, was also remarkably young looking.
"I am here on orders from Marina-sama to act as a gatekeeper."
"Where are the church guards?"
"As a result of the discussion, they now take turns. The church and the Starunion and One-land Families' knights are taking turns standing guard."
"I see. But if they change so often, it might not even be noticeable if a bad guy was acting as the guard."
"You can leave that to us."
She gave a dry laugh, and when they thought it was just a joke, they laughed together. The elven woman's age made me forget that they had lived five times, no, more than five times the life I had. The thought that they were acting as doorkeepers to my house and speaking to me in such a polite manner was a little unsettling. Momoka, who had been listening to our exchange nearby, seemed to feel the same way, and had an indescribable expression.
"So, Kalpurna... aren't the Wanderers together?"
"Ah, they set up tents outside the city."
"'Ah,' you mean you forgot?"
I glared suspiciously, and Momoka frantically shook her head.
"N-no, I just forgot to mention it. I was going to ask them to come for dinner."
"Curry, maybe? I'd like to eat that again."
I had bought ingredients for dinner, but it would also be fine to have it tomorrow. The problem was that if I didn't make baked corn on the cob, Fam would surely get angry. However, I felt that I should leave it up to her decision.
"I'm tired of eating food... I want rice cakes."
It was difficult to procure octopus for takoyaki, but I felt I could manage okonomiyaki somehow. When I entered the dining room, I was relieved to see Fam, Marmie, and Patricia there. And, Talsa's presence was also imposing in the room.
"Fam, I'm glad you're safe."
"Yes, Master. I am sorry for my actions."
Unlike usual, her tone was rigid.
"It's about Sam's issue..."
I wanted to hear about Mariantte, so I wanted to put it on hold for now, but would she agree? I also wanted to avoid a dispute with the Leafclout Family.
"Yes. I was wrong. I will never mention Sam's name again."
She bit her lip and looked down. Her gesture squeezed my heart. Seeing her reaction, which was so different from usual, I looked at Marmie, and then at Talsa.
"She did nothing. I simply told her that Mariantte-sama was handling the matter of Sam, and that she had destroyed that."
Talsa's words were filled with anger and were prickly.
"Fam, you're not wrong. I said that I would grant all your wishes, but that was just me being arrogant. After hurting Sam, I put you in danger and made unnecessary enemies..."
In addition, Eliza remained vague, but she was grilled by the Four Noble Families Council. The rumor of summoning the goddess didn't disappear as the gossip of the pleasure district and would spread. If that happened, there was a possibility of fighting with other transfer students who heard the rumor.
"Master is not at fault. Seeing Sam's face, I thought that something was wrong with her. I should have told Master about it first. Protecting Master is my duty, but I couldn't be by your side."
"I don't care about me. Just treat me the same as before."
"That... is impossible."
The strong denial was shocking, but I was even more shocked that she wouldn't look at me.
"Fam..."
I faltered.
"The only thing I understood at that time was that Master believed Misaki's words."
"..."
Momoka gently tapped my back, as if embracing my stunned self.
"Well, Marsh is right. Yamase-san and Yuuki are just senior and junior. Let's just leave it at that."
Hearing her words, the doubt towards Misaki that had disappeared once reappeared in my heart. It was useless to dwell on her past. But, why did this feeling of jealousy come back so easily?
"More importantly, about Yuuki and Clovis... Marsh, you seem to be talking about negotiating with them, but we're not going to do that. We'll never let them escape next time, we'll finish them."
At that moment, the entrance door opened. Misaki's face appeared. Alongside her was Mariantte's figure.
"Why is everyone standing without sitting down? Oh, Hii-chan!"
Misaki was surprised to see Momoka.