kscans

Chapter 128 - After the Battle and the Street's Chairman

When I opened my eyes, I was in a dimly lit room. I seemed to have been lying down. I pushed myself up. The fire in the hearth was on the verge of dying out, and it was the only source of light. Famu was sleeping next to me. The other members of Levante, except for Mizuki, were in a large bed, while Shizuka was asleep on the sofa. Shizuka was an interesting person, but it seemed Famu and the others had come to dislike her. Still, I needed to have a talk with Famu and the others about their lack of caution, sleeping together with an old man in Mizuki's body. I caressed Famu's ear while my other hand explored my own body. The swell of my chest was gone. In its place, my manhood had returned to my groin. My mind was back in my own body. I was filled with a strange mix of half-happiness and half-disappointment.

"Mizu... Master."

Famu sat up. She scooted closer to me.

"You knew I was back in my original body? How can you tell..."

Her sharp intuition was astounding.

"I can sort of tell from your gestures and expressions. You're the only one who strokes me like this, Master."

She narrowed her eyes, looking slightly ticklish. If I could, I would spend the rest of my life caressing her ears.

"Did you hear any commotion?"

"No. Nothing in particular."

So in the end, Marmi's cry for help hadn't been in time. Mizuki must be injured, so I wanted to wake up Myra or Aira and go to Marmi's room, but they were fast asleep. For now, I gently shook Myra, who was sleeping next to me.

"...Mizuki, what is it?"

Myra rubbed her eyes.

"I'm sorry, but Mizuki is hurt. I need you to come to Marmi's room with me."

"...You're trying to trick me again, aren't you, Mizuki?"

"No, it's me, it's me! It's Mash!"

"Of course it is."

Despite saying that, Myra got up. It seemed she thought Mizuki was the one inside Mash's body.

"You seem to be half-asleep. The hero will wake you up."

I held her cheeks and gave her a kiss.

"Mmph— Mmph!"

She struggled to escape my kiss. Then she pushed me away.

It seemed the commotion from last night hadn't reached outside Marmi's room. Wake and the others, who had been guarding the door, only learned of the incident inside when I arrived with Famu and Myra. I wasn't allowed to enter, so I asked Myra to stay in Marmi's room to check on Mizuki's condition. I wanted Famu to stay as well, just in case, but when she found out I couldn't go in, she came back with me. It was at that moment that Myra seemed to realize that Mizuki and I were no longer swapped and had returned to our original bodies. And now, we were having breakfast around a long table. Marmi was in the same seat of honor as yesterday. The long table was covered with a white linen cloth, upon which sat golden plates piled with bread and fruit. Each person was also served soup and wine. As was becoming the norm, Patricia, Wake, and several knights were also seated at the table.

"Last night, I tried to get some medicinal herbs from my storage, and a cow's head popped out. It scared me half to death!"

Mizuki, sitting next to me, exclaimed. Seeing the golden plate must have reminded her.

"It dropped after we beat the Area Guardian. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's way too scary, don't you think? That face..."

She had been scooping up soup with her bread, but her hand stopped, and she shivered. The cow's face must have come back to her.

"Think of it as an apology for all the terrible things I've put you through."

"If that thing was made of solid gold, it would be worth a fortune..."

She reached for her glass. For the record, she and Famu were drinking fruit juice. Both of their gazes were fixed on my wine.

"Master..."

"I get it, but don't forget it's morning."

I handed her my glass, and Famu received it with reverent hands. She took a small sip.

"The aroma and mellowness are indeed different. But it's a step below the wine you had in Heilon, Master."

I felt a pang of concern for Famu's future. Then Mizuki snatched the glass Famu was returning.

"What? Are you saying I can't have any?"

"N-No..."

The memory of last night's battle flashed through my mind. Was she really feeling stressed about it? Maybe I was pushing her too hard. As I watched Mizuki's profile, she returned the wine to me without drinking.

"On second thought, I already drank as Mash-kun last night, so I'm good."

"Not a single drop went into Mizuki-chan, though."

As we were having this conversation, Marmi turned her gaze toward me.

"...We're departing for Miglutt tomorrow morning."

It seemed she would be leaving with the knights who had arrived ahead of us to escort her. I'd only seen about ten of them, but I assumed there were other attendants as well.

"Did you speak with the lord of Heilon?"

"...I have an audience today. There's a banquet in the evening. If you want to talk to him, Mash, I can introduce you. The King of Heilon wants to meet you."

I shook my head.

"...And so, before I leave, I have a request for you, Mash."

"You're full of requests!"

"...Yesterday, the one I asked was Mizuki-chan. Today, it's Mash."

It's all me, I thought, but she had just had her birthday. If she had a request, I wanted to grant it.

"...I have two, is that okay?"

"Yeah, if it's something I can do."

"...First, when you arrive in Miglutt, Mash, you must come and visit me. I'll make my second request then."

"I have a bad feeling about this. You're not trying to set me up, are you, Mo?"

"...I'm not the one who does the screwing. That's your job, Mash."

Before I knew it, Patricia was standing behind Marmi. She bonked her on the head with her fist. Then she started walking toward me. I thought it was unreasonable for me to get hit for this conversation too, but it didn't look like I could resist, so I braced myself.

"Alright. I'll come see you with Famu."

I glanced at Famu, and she nodded as well.

"...I want Cecily to come, too. I'll recommend you to the magic school. The Star Union family will pay your tuition."

"Really?"

Marmi nodded at Cecily's question.

"I want you to recommend me, too. I want to go to magic school with Cecily."

Aira, who was sitting next to Cecily, chimed in.

"...Alright. You're a priestess, Aira, is that okay? There is a theology department, but if you want to perform miracle magic, you'd be better off studying at the temple."

Aira shook her head at Marmi's words.

"The church is too stuffy, I don't like it. School is fine."

"...I see. If you're fine with that, I'll do the same for you as I did for Cecily."

Aira nodded. I listened to the three of them talk, dumbfounded. It was true that Cecily had wanted to go to magic school from the beginning. After hearing Marmi's story last night, I understood that it was necessary for her. But the idea of her leaving the party just didn't feel real. And now Aira was leaving too. I tried to say something, desperately searching for the right words.

"You both said you'd only be with us until Miglutt, but..."

Mizuki shot me a look, trying to get me to say something. For Mizuki, they'd been her party since the days of 'Wind Blade.' I had to say something. But the words wouldn't come.

We headed with Shizuka to the boss's place on Longhorn Street. I thought it would be a bit much to show up with a large group, so I was planning to go with just the two of us, but Famu insisted on coming along. Once we left the main street, we found ourselves in an area lined with brothels where women sold their bodies for cheap. Among them was a corner lot surrounded by a high stone wall.

"I don't think I could ever like this district, or this building,"

Famu murmured. There was a large iron-barred gate, and beyond it, a mansion was visible. Near the gate was a guardhouse, where two thuggish-looking men stood watch. The heavy security was enough to make me want to turn back. I had a feeling that if we just snatched one sick girl from this city, no one would notice or complain. I took Shizuka's hand to turn back, but she slipped from my grasp and approached the gate.

"Ciao! Ciao! It's Shizuka! Is the boss in? I wanna see him."

Her greeting was casual, as if she were used to this. The guards didn't seem to mind her behavior and approached. But the look they gave me was harsh.

"Who's the man?"

"My new boyfriend. He says he wants to buy me out!"

The guard's gaze shifted from harsh to one of looking at something strange. Even if Famu couldn't tell, I could. I was being treated like some kind of weirdo.

"...Name?"

"I'm an adventurer. Mash."

The guard disappeared inside.

The interior of the building was luxurious, but not in the same way as the noble mansions I'd seen. It was gaudy, with a lot of gold-leaf decorations. We were led into what looked like an office. A man was sitting behind a fancy-looking wood-grain desk, flanked by two large men who radiated an intimidating aura. The man at the desk was about my age, I guessed. He had a beard and a sharp gaze.

"Ciao! How've you been, Chairman-chan?"

Shizuka familiarly approached the seated man. They shared a light hug and kissed each other on the cheek. It was like a scene from a foreign movie.

"You skipped out yesterday, didn't you?"

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I went to the castle for the first time. Anyway, I've decided to go to Miglutt with this guy."

"Huh?"

The man called Chairman glared up at me.

"Everyone calls him the Chairman. And this is my fiancé, Mash."

Shizuka gave a sloppy introduction.

"That's not true! Master is not your fiancé!"

Famu interjected. I wished she would stay quiet so she wouldn't complicate things. I sent her a look, and though I don't know if she understood, she glared back at me with clear dissatisfaction.

"Shizuka is one of my girls. I can't have you just leaving whenever you feel like it. So, what's the deal?"

The Chairman glared at me again. Did this man really know the names of all the women working on Longhorn Street and manage them all? But Shizuka and the Chairman seemed to be on familiar enough terms to talk casually.

"I'm not in a romantic relationship with Shizuka. I'm looking for her boyfriend, a guy named Ko-kun, but he doesn't seem to be in this city. I want her to accompany me to Miglutt."

"No way! If you won't have sex with me, I'm not going!"

Shizuka puffed out her cheeks.

"...Alright. I guess I have no choice. I'll leave you behind."

"Wha—, I'm just kidding! I'll go even if we don't have sex! I'd be in trouble if you left, Mash..."

Shizuka pouted like a sulking child. It seemed she would keep her mouth shut about the transmigrator situation as well.

"Why are you looking for him? Money?"

I was at a loss for an answer. I had no intention of telling him about the transmigrators.

"No... their lives are in danger. I want to tell him."

"Their lives are in danger... huh. And you're going to protect them?"

I hadn't thought that far ahead. I planned to meet up with Hyakka and Kalpana. Get information on Isaac. Investigate the Ark of the Covenant. That was about all I had planned. As I struggled for an answer, he raised an empty wine glass. The bodyguard standing next to him poured wine from a bottle. The Chairman downed the wine in one go.

"Show me your character sheet."

I did as I was told and displayed my character sheet. The Chairman studied it silently.

"No good. I can't trust an F-rank adventurer. Come back when you're C-rank. I'll have a job for you then. Then I'll hand over Shizuka."

"...Sorry, but we're leaving this city in ten days."

"Then leave Shizuka here. I'll even trade her for that dog-eared girl."

I considered summoning Laciel to threaten him, but I held back. I glanced at Famu and Shizuka, about to leave.

"Shizuka, you stay here. It's been a while, I'll take you tonight. And get back to work until this guy comes to get you. Work hard to make up for skipping yesterday."

"Okay. I'll do that."

Shizuka gave a slight nod at the Chairman's words.

"Wait. Shizuka just got treated for an illness at the church yesterday. They said there won't be a next time, so it would be a problem if she got sick again."

"Then you buy her."

"Kuh..."

It didn't sit right with me, but I placed a single gold coin on the desk.