kscans

Chapter 210 - Myra and a Moment of Daily Life

In the end, last night's incident was dismissed, and I was released. Whatever Elisha's intentions were, I knew for certain that I had deeply wounded Maryanne's pride. She looked downcast throughout the entire meeting. I wanted to apologize to her again, but they seemed to be continuing their conference, and she didn't leave the room. This whole affair was my own fault, but it felt like this city was shackling me hand and foot, dragging me deeper into its affairs.

"You're late!"

a voice called out from one of the chairs lining the nave of the church. Myra was puffing out her cheeks.

"Sorry. I was summoned to a meeting of the Four Regent Families. Where are the others?"

I had a feeling she knew about what happened with Elisha, but I decided to keep quiet.

"Famu recovered after her treatment, which is good, but she started getting agitated, so Marmi took her home."

I felt a pang of anxiety, wondering if it was okay to leave those two alone. I was worried about retaliation from Clovis and his group, but I was even more concerned that she might start tracking Sameim on her own.

"It's alright. Trusar, the captain of the One-Land family's Royal Guard, is with them as an escort."

She answered my unspoken thoughts, as if reading my expression. I should probably head home for a bit too. Thinking that, I left the church with Myra.

"So, Mizuki is…"

"She went to talk to her senpai…"

An indescribable sense of unease spread slowly through my chest.

"Yuki might be one of the elves from last night."

"I thought so too."

She seemed to be trying to be considerate, as I couldn't detect any emotional fluctuation in her tone.

"I wonder how she plans to meet him…"

"I think she headed to the Adventurers' Guild. Even if she can't meet him, she can leave a message."

Should I head to the guild before going home? But if this was all just my needless worrying, Mizuki would get angry and think I didn't trust her. I was worried, but I felt it was better to respect her decision.

"What about Takamura and the others?"

"You've been asking about everyone else this whole time. You should be worried about me first!"

"Sorry. So, Takamura and the others?"

"Hmph. They said they're going to pretend to be strangers for now. They're going to act in a way that doesn't reveal they're transferees,"

she said, then turned her face away. She was completely sulking. I casually glanced around. There were people coming and going in the street, but no one was armed like an adventurer or a knight. It didn't seem like we were being targeted. Petra had said that three of the Regent Families were guarding us, but I couldn't sense their presence now. I gently took Myra's hand. She kept her face turned away, but she squeezed my hand back firmly. We took a detour around the Crystal Garden and headed towards the Star Union family's district, where our house was.

"Let's stop by the market and buy some groceries for dinner. By the way, Myra, do you really like eating grilled river fish with a mug of ale?"

"No, I was looking forward to it, but it's not like it's a particular favorite of mine…"

"Oh really? What is your favorite food?"

"Me…? That's a difficult question. I don't know much about cooking, and when I hear about food, it makes me want to eat it, but…"

She looked up at the sky, lost in thought. I followed her gaze. It was just past noon, and the sun was directly overhead. Sweat started to form under the direct sunlight, but it wasn't unbearably hot. She was still pondering. I started to think that all I needed to do was give her some ale and she'd be fine, but her mood was improving, so I kept quiet.

"Let's see. I suppose I like eating rye bread with cheese. But the food I eat with you, Mash, is the most delicious. Also, I heard the market in the Air-Ally family's district is cheaper."

Maybe she hadn't eaten well at the church in Richel. I looked at her profile. Come to think of it, neither Cecily nor Aira had strong opinions about food. They just ate whatever was served to them without comment. The noisy ones were Famu and Mizuki.

"Let's buy some rye bread and cheese today. And if there's anything else you want to eat, I'll make it."

"Really…? Hmm, I think I'd like meat after all. I need to build up my strength. And I want something sweet, too."

With her mood improving, she led the way to the market.

When we got back to the house with our groceries, I noticed a party of people standing in front of the gate. I spotted a girl with a ponytail among them. It had only been a month and a half since I'd last seen her, but I was overcome with a powerful sense of nostalgia and ran towards her without thinking.

"Momoka!"

"Mash!"

I tried to hug Momoka, but she stuck out her arm and rejected me. Her palm caught my chin, and I collapsed to the ground.

"Hey! What was that for?!"

I was the one who got hurt, but Momoka was the one who was angry.

"Momoka… weren't we lovers…?"

"Oh, right… we were…"

My brain was rattled, and I couldn't move properly. Still crumpled on the ground, she offered me her hand and helped me up.

"Let's do that over."

She said, then, as if embarrassed, squeezed her eyes shut and opened her arms wide. Her face was bright red. I'd seen this somewhere before.

"Momoka, I missed you! I love you!"

I shouted in front of her. I threw in the words I hadn't said before for good measure.

"You idiot! Don't say embarrassing stuff like that so loud out here! …But, I missed you too,"

she mumbled the last part in a small voice. I pulled her into a hug, and she placed her hands on my chest. She tried to bury her face in my chest, so I kissed her instead.

"Gah! Pervert! What do you think you're doing?!"

She shoved me away, and I fell on my butt. She frantically wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

"Momoka, why…? We've been going out for a month and a half…"

"D-did it again. N-no, that's not it. Right, you just did it so suddenly, it surprised me. That kind of thing is only for when we're alone. Besides, we've barely been together! You forgot 'cause you just left me here!"

She was being completely unreasonable. We had taken different routes, so there was no way we could have been together.

"…I thought you hated me."

"I don't hate you. In fact, I've been thinkin' about you a lot. I li… ah! This kind of talk is also only for when we're alone!"

Momoka scratched her head and started writhing in frustration.

"Have you been well? I was worried since you were late."

I caressed her cheek.

"…Yeah. I couldn't find Izaak, but I got tangled up with a thief named Osu."

"Osu? …A man in a black robe?"

"He was wearin' a black robe, yeah. But most thieves dress like that,"

Momoka replied. I told her that before I met her, I had encountered transferees named Ema and Ito, and that their companion was a man in a black robe named Osu who led a band of thieves.

"Come to think of it, an adventurer from the Black Panther race helped me out."

"The Black Panther race? Riley?!"

"You know her? She was a real handful at first, kept pickin' fights!"

She looked at me with wide eyes. It seemed Riley was doing well. Hearing that, a weight was lifted from my chest. Our conversation seemed like it would go on for a while, so I led them inside. An elven guard opened the gate for us.

"I was surprised to see you living in a house with a gatekeeper. And an elf at that…"

"W-well, why is there an elf…"

I was surprised too. It was a young female elf. But then I remembered Marmi saying she was the first child born to the elven race in two hundred years. That meant this guard had to be at least over two hundred years old, though she didn't look it at all. Come to think of it, Marmi's mother, Marina, also looked remarkably young.

"I am serving as the gatekeeper on Lady Marina's orders."

"Where did the church guards go?"

"After some discussion, it was decided that we would rotate shifts. The gate will be guarded by knights from the church, the Star Union family, and the One-Land family."

"I-I see. But if you're switching out that often, we might not notice if a villain takes over as gatekeeper."

"You can leave that to us."

I let out a dry laugh, and they, thinking it was just a joke, laughed along with me. It was easy to forget when looking at them, but they had lived four, no, five times longer than I had. And people like that were guarding my gate and speaking to me with such polite language. It felt a little unsettling. Momoka, who had been listening to our exchange beside me, seemed to feel the same way, as her expression was indescribable.

"So, Kalpana… aren't the nomads with you?"

"Ah, they're camped outside the city."

"'Ah'? You didn't forget about them, did you?"

I gave her a suspicious look, and Momoka frantically shook her head.

"N-no, I just forgot to mention it. They invited us for dinner."

"Curry, maybe? I'd love to have some again."

We'd just bought groceries for dinner, but it wouldn't be a problem to have them tomorrow. The only issue was that if we didn't grill the corn, Famu might actually get angry this time.

"I'm sick of it… I want to eat something made with flour."

It would be hard to get octopus for takoyaki, but I felt like we could manage okonomiyaki. When we entered the dining room, I was relieved to see Famu, Marmi, and Patricia. And, exuding an intimidating presence, was Trusar.

"Famu, I'm glad you're safe."

"Yes. Master, I am deeply sorry."

Her tone was stiff, unlike her usual self.

"About Sameim…"

I wanted to hear what Maryanne had to say, so I wanted to put the matter on hold for now, but I wasn't sure if she would agree. I also wanted to avoid conflict with the Leafkraut family.

"Yes. I was wrong. I will never speak of Sameim again."

She bit her lip and looked down. The gesture squeezed my heart. Her reaction was so different from usual that I glanced at Marmi, and then at Trusar.

"I did nothing. I simply told her that Lady Maryanne was handling the matter of Sameim. And that she ruined it."

Trusar's words were sharp and laced with anger.

"Famu, you weren't wrong. It was just me being arrogant, thinking I could grant your every wish. I ended up hurting Sameim, putting you in danger, and making unnecessary enemies…"

On top of that, although Elisha had kind of smoothed things over, I had been grilled at the meeting of the Four Regent Families. The fact that I had summoned a goddess wouldn't just disappear as some tavern gossip; it would spread as a rumor. And when that happened, there was a possibility of a fight with other transferees who heard the rumor.

"You did nothing wrong, Master. When I saw Sameim's face, I thought something bad had happened to her. I should have told you that first. My duty is to protect you, Master, yet I was not by your side."

"It doesn't matter what happens to me. I just want you to be your usual self."

"I… cannot do that."

Not only was her denial firm, but the fact that she wouldn't look me in the eye shocked me.

"Famu…"

I was at a loss for words.

"Let's go to Clovis Leafkraut's house with a gift box of sweets and apologize. And then we'll ask him to give us Sameim."

"Master, what's a gift box of sweets?"

"You don't know? It's a box of sweets used as a gift. As for what's inside… well, yokan or monaka might be difficult, so cookies should be fine. Mizuki knows how to make them, and Momoka probably does too. Besides, we have the one hundred platinum coins for buying this house. We should be able to use that in negotiations."

Come to think of it, was the thick paper needed to make boxes a luxury item in this world? In that case, we might need to make a wooden box.

"That money is for this house!"

Famu interjected. I was relieved that she had finally shown a passionate reaction. I walked over to her, cupped her cheeks in my hands, and turned her face towards me. She tried to turn away, but I held her still and kissed her.

"Mmph, mmph."

At first she resisted, but then Famu relaxed and accepted it. After savoring the feel of her lips, I pressed my forehead against hers.

"Listen, Famu. You'll hesitate and mess up, and I'll hesitate and mess up. But that's okay. When you mess up, I'll help you. When I mess up, you'll help me."

"Master…"

She looked at me with eyes that seemed on the verge of tears.

"I'm always watching you, Famu. I want you to not look away from me either. We'll always be one. We'll save Sameim together."

"Master! Please, save Sameim!"

She threw her arms around me. She might look like a child, but her warmth and weight were real. I never wanted to let her go. I had to grant her wish, no matter what. Just then, someone tapped me lightly on the back.

"Could you two not get carried away by yourselves? I'm here too!"

Myra said.

"Of course, Myra's with us too!"

I shouted, hugging her and pulling her into our embrace with Famu.

"Hyaah!"

She let out a strange cry, but she wrapped her arms around us too.

"When you make the wrong choice, Myra, that'll be the end of us, so we're counting on you!"

"That's too much responsibility for just me!"