AFTER THE MAN LEFT
How should I explain it, I wonder? Thinking so, I’m pondering about it while softly mumbling.
When I encountered Leila-chan, Rishe-chan was also there, from what she heard from the adventurers at Miniera, she always thought Leila-chan as a C rank adventurer up until now.
When I noticed Leila-chan was Red Night, there was only me and Leila-chan, the next morning I was together with Finia-chan and Lulu-chan, but Rishe-chan was in another room, it’s just as if we deliberately let her unaware, huh.
As for this case, perhaps Lulu-chan had somewhat noticed it by instinct, but perhaps she still didn’t know the fact… as for Finia-chan, it looked like she had known it, though.
“Umm, you see… actually Leila-chan isn’t human.”
For now, let’s just explain it to her. If by any chance she couldn’t accept it, well, let’s just think about it when the time comes. Leila-chan doesn’t seem hostile to human, and she also has been together with us for quite a while, so let’s just hope Rishe-can would understand it. It’s doesn’t look like there’s a need to convince her, after all.
“That means… she’s a demon?”
“Yeah, or rather, she’s “Red Night” you know? The very one who ate my left eye.”
“Wha…?! “Red Night” you say?!”
Firstly I tell her who Leila-chan is. Then, I see Rishe-chan surprised with her eyes wide open. She turns her wide open eyes to Leila-chan; who is standing next to me; and then return back to me.
She shows me a very confused expression. Her hang opened mouth, suddenly gets closed again, as if waiting for my next explanation. She must be very confused, however she still calmly waiting for my explanation.
Seeing Rishe-chan who’s trying to calmly understand the situation, I think she’s very admirable. I think this is the ability that fake hero needs the most, though.
“Seems like my taste suits her palate, you see… that’s why she keeps on following me. Well, right now she’s greatly different from the “Red Night” everyone knows of, though.”
“Different…?”
“Yeah. Just a while ago, when night came, she’d turn into a monster that’d indiscriminately eat any living being to satisfy her desire, you know… but it seems that some strange change happened on her, well to put it simply, she’d evolved from A rank demon to S rank demon.”
Now that I think about it again, Leila-chan sure is a monster, alright. To think such troublesome girl would set me as her target.
Well, after she got attacked by apostle-chan, she’d turned somewhat meek, was she terrified that much, I wonder? Well, I also did think that I might die when I face her attack back then, after all, so it can’t be helped, yup, really.
“Wha…?! Doesn’t that mean she’s equal with demon lord?!”
Hearing that fact, Rishe-chan is surprised further. Well, suddenly being told that she’s together with someone who’s equal with demon lord, world destruction class (S rank) demon, such reaction is a given, huh. If Leila-chan feels like it, we might die in an instant, after all.
“What a disaster, isn’t it? … Moreover, by using her miasma, it’s possible for her to mass produce “Red Night”, you see… ahaha, very ridiculous, isn’t it?”
“… haa… what is this, it’s just way too shocking that even makes me calm instead.”
“Well, something like that, she’s S rank demon “Red Night”… but well, for now she’s our comrade Leila-chan, just take it that way. For
us, the most important isn’t who they are, but why they’re with us, after all.”
Currently she’s our comrade, perhaps someday she might attack and try to eat me again, but that case is for when it really happens, I think I just need to think of it when she really turn into my enemy again.
Moreover, for me who have obtained “Miasma Manipulation”, currently Leila-chan is like my role model. Well, character-wise she’s a bit that, but if I ignore this part of her, she’d turn into someone useful to me. Well, the lick and kiss are things that I’d promised to her, so I’d just endure it.
“…well, if that’s the case then it’s fine, though… when I decided to follow you, I’d pretty much prepared myself, after all.”
“Eh, what? Rishe-chan, just what do you take me for?”
“Well, you see… my father once said that you’d definitely keep on rising to a higher and higher place, so I just thought it wouldn’t be strange even if someone with power equal to an A rank to suddenly appear, or something. Even if that isn’t the case, my goal is to surpass my father’s back… so to have someone such powerful around, there’s no way I won’t be happy.”
“What’s wrong with that uncle, just how much did he overestimate me, I wonder?”
Seemingly has overcome her emotion, Rishe-chan say so while grasping tightly both of her hands in front on her chest, as for me, recalling the uncle who’s seemingly had said such strange things, I could only float a bitter smile.
High place, huh, I do have experienced being beat down by people from that so called high place, if that’s really what he meant, I’ll cry, you know? Who’s the next one, demon-lord maybe? Or perhaps the monsters from apostle-chan’s party? Either way I humble refuse all of it, and I really want to go home.
Even though I simply want to return to my former world, why must I always get bullied by everyone here? This world is surely unkind to me at all, isn’t it? Was I cursed or something, I wonder?
“Well, leaving that aside… with this we’re clear about Leila-chan’s case, let’s go to the next town before night comes.”
“Yeah, sorry for suddenly stopping.”
“Not at all, it’s my fault for not telling you sooner. Ah, wait, now that I think about it, it’s really your fault for not noticing it!”
“What must you always ruin the mood like that?”
“Kitsune-kun-like, though… ufufufu.”
For me to be the only who’s at fault, as if I’d just accept that.
It’s my fault for not telling you sooner, it’s your fault for not noticing it, or rather it’s Leila-chan’s fault for not telling you herself. Isn’t it good this way, with this everyone is equally at fault, after all.
As long as we can stay together like this, it’s fine. I, Leila-chan, and Rishe-chan, and then Finia-chan and Lulu-chan who are currently not with us, my party is definitely unbalanced, it isn’t a party with good balance in any way, but that’s exactly why, it’s perfect for us.
After walking for half a day, we’ve finally arrived at the next town from Grandile Kingdom. This isn’t a country, just a town. There’d be an enormous gate for every country, but here, in this town there’s only inspection station with soldiers in it instead. Perhaps, they’re soldiers from Grandile Kingdom. Perhaps, this town is under Grandile Kingdom’s protection.
When we show them our guild card, they immediately let us pass. For every country; that has adventurer guild within; and the towns under them, the guild card should work, shouldn’t it?
Either way, after entering the town, we immediately start to make the preparation to go to Rookshade Kingdom as well as reserving lodging.
“Then, Rishe-chan, could you reserve some some room at some inn around? We can reserve one room for the three of us, reserving two room is also fine, I’ll leave that to your judgement. If possible, one room would be better, though”
“Got it… but, why would one room be better?”
“It’s obviously because sharing a room together with two girls is way better, don’t you agree?”
“I’ll try my best to reserve us two rooms.”
Tch, Rishe-chan is just too earnest. Don’t you want to get along well with everyone by sharing a same room? Well, either way is fine, though. If Rishe-chan and Leila-chan are together in the same room, it may as well deepen their friendship, after all.
Well, if everyone is in the same room then it’d be way better, though.
“I and Leila-chan will gather the preparation for our next journey, when you’ve found the lodging, let’s see… please wait for us in front of that weapon shop. After we’ve obtained all the necessary things, we’ll immediately go there as well.”
“Got it, then, let’s move right away.
“Yeah.”
After dividing our tasks, I and Leila-chan separate from Rishe-chan.
I’m kinda curious about Leila-chan who has been very quiet for quite a while but, well perhaps it’s just a kind of new type of her in heat state, isn’t it? If I let her lick my finger, perhaps she’ll return to her usual self.
“Leila-chan?”
“Wha, what is it?”
“Want to lick my finger?”
“Eh… no, not now!”
Are you frigging kidding me? Just what’s happening, Leila-chan? Her face is flushing red, and her breathing is heavy, no matter how you think about it, she’s in her heated state. She’s kind of holding her chest, doesn’t that mean her heart is beating very fast? And yet she refuses to lick my finger?!
Just what’s happening to you? What should I do? It’s supposed to be a good thing for me but somehow I’m very scared, very very scared! Leila-chan’s changes is just too terrifying. Just what’s happening, if it isn’t because of she’s in heat then, that blushing face, that fidget while entwining her hands, and that suspicious way of stare, aren’t those the symptoms of a girl in love?!
“Umm, Leila-chan… if you’re troubled by anything, I’m willing to hear it out, there’s no need to be so reserved, okay?”
“Eh? Um, yes, got it.”
For the time being, let’s treat Leila-chan a bit kindly. Perhaps she’s worried about something. Normally she was blunt and self-centered, but this kind of Leila-chan is honestly speaking kinda eerie, I can only feel bad premonition from it.
Come to think of it, when I told her she could kiss me twice, in the end she didn’t do it even once, I also haven’t see her in heat ever since the battle with apostle-chan, or rather, I think I even haven’t touched her at all since.
That means she’d changed around that time, huh, I didn’t notice it at all.
“Well then… we have to start the preparation. Let’s go, Leila-chan.”
She… a S rank demon like her, what she is worrying about, I can’t even imagine what it may be, but I’m sure that must be something important.
Also, the trigger why she turns this way… perhaps it’s apostle-chan.
That time, Leila-chan was terrified by her god-slaying weapon, and she couldn’t even move. Perhaps she’s concerned about that. But well, if that’s the really case, I can’t link it as to why she’s never touched me since then, though.
Either way, I’m sure she’ll tell it sooner or later. Either it to me, or perhaps to Rishe-chan.
Just now she acted like that, so perhaps reserving two rooms would be better here. I alone, and Leila-chan with Rishe-chan. Either it for Leila-chan or for Rishe-chan, seems like this is the best option.
“Well then… what should we get first, I wonder?”
For the time being, I take along the meek Leila-chan, and walk through the bustling townscape.
The town where Kitsune arrived at was, named “Anex”. One of the town under Grandile Kingdom’s protection.
The scenery there wasn’t that different from that of Grandile Kingdom, there were many shops that sold goods with similar quality with those in Grandile Kingdom. There was no castle, but there was a high-end residential area for those who were wealthy and the so called nobles.
Nonetheless, it was clearly way inferior than the castle in the country. Because most of the wealthiest people were residing in Grandile Kingdom, after all. For a town under a country’s protection like this, there were only low to medium level nobles residing there.
Thus, instead of a king who ruled it, there was obviously someone who was dispatched by the country to the protected town to manage it. In the Kitsune’s former world, they would be someone such as prefectural government or metropolitan government. They were people who worked managing the town by fixing any arisen problems and increase the denizen’s livelihood, and turned the town into a better one. Also, the tax rate was different for each country, but collecting taxes for the country was also part of their duties.
“Haa… haa… haa… haa…!”
For anyone who couldn’t pay the tax, a proper action would be taken according to each town rules. For example, confiscating all of their belonging to repay the tax, working to repay the tax, or perhaps being sold as a slave, and there was also the case of death-penalty.
For the first time violation, if they possessed kids then those kids would be sold as slaves, for the second times violation, it went without saying, and for the third times violation, extreme action would be taken.
Either way, as long as the leader wasn’t some good person, it’d be next to impossible to receive a good treatment.
“Wait! Are you trying to run away!”
“Haa… haa… haa… haa…!”
Therefore, it wasn’t unusual for one to ran away when unable to pay the tax. No one, wanted to be a slave ever. They also didn’t want to let their family to become slaves. Moreover, no one would ever be willing to die.
Even this town where Kitsune arrived at, when one couldn’t pay the tax, the consequence was “turning into slave”.
There, there were a person who was running away from the knights; who were dispatched there as the guard; who were pursuing both of them. The one who was flusteredly running away from the angry voices; that came from their back; was a middle-aged man with long unshaved beard. And then, there was a little child clinging on his back.
Running at the dim back alley, he kept on running without minding the dirty scraps on his way. Several knights were pursuing right behind him.
“Haa… haa… at this rate… they’ll catch up to us…! At least… at the very least…!!”
He kept on running even while gritting his teeth. But the voices from the knights were approaching them.
“At least… please, even if it’s only the child…!”
And then, running through the back alley, he could see numerous bright and lively shops.
Loosing his footing, he fell down. Before he crashed to the ground, he hugged and protected the the child who was on his back.
Rolling on the ground, he reached the main street with dirty scraps covering his body. He could hear light clatters from his surroundings. And then, knights’ voices were quite a distant away. It appeared that they were looking for them in the back alley.
“…oops… how dangerous, don’t I almost step on you?”
There, such words were resounding overhead.
The man immediately looked at the one who said those words. He was a young man with different eye color, and wore a clothes he had never seen before. Floating a faint smile, the young man looked down on the man. Honestly speaking, he could feel neither powerful aura nor reliability from the young man, however currently the man had no time to think over such a thing.
It was just, while hoping that the young man before him wasn’t someone evil, the man bowed his head with serious expression.
“I don’t know who you are…! But, please… this child… it’s fine even it’s only the child! Please protect this child!!”
The child that was hugged by the man was slightly dirty, perhaps it was because they just ran though back alley. The child was still very young and seemingly hadn’t come to awareness, yet.
The man forcefully entrusted the child to the young man, and with serious face that was saying ‘please’, even while shedding tears, he bowed his head again. And then, he immediately ran away. He ran away, from the knights.
The left behind young man was, looking at the sleeping face of the child who was suddenly entrusted to him, and laughed ‘ahaha’ while floating a faint smile.
“Ahaha, what a not cute at all child.”
The young man’s name was, Kitsune. It appeared like, he was dragged into some strange events yet again.