It's been a few days since Cecilia recovered from being sick.
Today I came to the guild to work, but...
"He~ey, guess wha~at, lately the little woman has been in a su~uper good mood~"
"I didn't know that..."
How did I get roped into listening to Clayman gush about his wife?
His eyes that were always like a dead fish’s are sparkling today.
This usually taciturn guy has completely turned into a giggling schoolgirl. Honestly, it's a pain in the ass..
All the other employees and adventurers I see are avoiding looking at us.
Seems he's been like this all day.
The employees are sighing deeply, and the adventurers are keeping their eyes glued to the table.
Looks like I’m not the only victim here.
...Come to think of it, this guy is married? Congrats man. Just what kind of lady would fall for this sorry sod?
I can't imagine it working out if she wasn't completely complacent.
"I never realized what a great place this was to work. Everyone has been su~uper nice today."
"Uh-huh."
She must be a great wife to make him that happy. If I got married to Cecilia and everyday was full of bliss… Ah, stop stop!
I think I'd end up with the same girly smile in his position.
So I had to listen to him gush about his wife for a long while.
From the reactions I could see of those still in the Guild hall, they'd all heard the same story.
Just when I'd had about enough of this nonsense, there was a commotion at the guild entrance.
I could hear cheers of joy from the previously sullen employees and adventurers who had been face-planted on the tables.
"What's up? It's pretty noisy."
Clayman leaned out over the reception desk to check out what was going on at the guild entrance.
I'm getting a sense of déjà vu here.
Could it be… Cecilia?!
With my hopes high, I turn around and see...
“......”
...Raven standing there.
He avoids people with hand and body gestures and heads in my direction.
Coming towards me, he jerked his thumb towards the guild entrance.
It looks like he has something to tell me, but he doesn't want to talk with other people around.
I totally get it.
"Clayman, I want to take a quest with Raven, are there any good ones available?"
He probably wanted to go questing with me.
We finally became friends, but never got to hang out together since he spent his time training.
Raven tugged on my sleeve.
You wanna get out of here that quickly, huh?
I guess the guild is making a lot of noise.
Most of it is jeering towards me though.
It's mainly coming from the women, and even the guild employees.
"Oooh, how 'bout this one? There's a quest to defeat a rampaging rock dragon at the foot of Haggers Mountain. If you take a carriage together, you can probably make it back before the day's over."
It's a B-rank mission, and it would just be Raven from the Hero Party and me who just recently become B-rank, but with me having my Cheat we should be fine. ...We could probably even take a higher ranking mission and still be fine.
Accepting the quest, Raven and I head to Haggers Mountain.
"Eh...you didn't want to do a quest?"
It would take 2 hours by carriage to get to Haggers Mountain from Minerva, so we were looking for a carriage headed in that direction.
There were a lot of people around, so we were conversing quietly.
"...I wanted to go out shopping with you. Maybe grab a bite to eat..."
Apparently Raven just wanted to hang out around town.
I mistook it as him wanting to hunt out of town.
Speaking of which, our equipment might be a bit too light for this quest.
"Sorry for the misunderstanding."
I lower my head in a sincere apology. Raven worked as a knight in the castle, so this was probably a rare day off.
"....No, it's okay. It's just the first outing I've ever had with a friend."
Looks like all is forgiven.
I'm glad Raven has such a big heart.
"I got it, let's finish up the quest real quick, then hang out afterwards. If we give it our all, we should make it back by sundown."
"....I see. Let's do that."
Still, there are things we gotta do before then.
Today, Raven was out in casual clothes, not disguising himself at all.
How reckless can you be?
I don't want to go through another huge fiasco, so I should warn him.
"But before we hang out, there is something I absolutely must tell you, okay?"
Not understanding, Raven tilted his head.
"As a member of the Hero party, if you just walk casually around in the city, you're gonna cause a commotion. Didn’t you hear about when the whole Hero Party, aside from you, were caught in the Accessory Shop and it turned into a huge mess just recently?"
I never want to go through that again.
It wiped me out and caused a lot of trouble for the shop.
"....I heard about it. I was wondering what Yuuga and the others were up to. I never would’ve thought a riot would start with Mikana and Cecilia there..."
Raven has no room to talk.
He wanted to go out on the town without a thought about his fame.
He should know the fangirls of the Hero Party would immediately intercept our little outing.
"I'll lend you the disguise I have. Once you're all set, we can hang out. Well, I say disguise, but it's just hiding your face..."
I should get something to commemorate my first date with Cecilia.
I wasn't able to buy the accessory for her that day, and hadn't had a chance to buy it afterwards.
Exiting the carriage, we head for Haggers Mountain.
If we hurry there, we can cover the distance in a dozen or so minutes.
We travel to the mountain in silence to save our stamina.
The path to Haggers Mountain was steep, and we were attacked by monsters, a Lizardman and a Roc, on the way.
The Lizardman, as the name might imply, was a reptilian humanoid that used a sword and shield.
The Roc was a huge, hawk-like monster.
With Raven's sword and my magic, the enemies weren't a big deal at all.
Even so, we didn't know when and where enemies would come from. We both stayed on our guard and continued in silence, however...
"....Youki, after we're done with this quest, I need your advice on something."
Raven suddenly opened his mouth.
...Don't drop lines that'll trigger your death flag!
But, if it's Raven I'm sure he'll be fine.
"Sure thing. Let's hurry and kill this thing then."
Just then, something stomped in our direction with a huge thudding sound.
....Wait, is this really the death flag at work?
"Here it comes, get ready!"
Raven drew his sword from its sheath and took up a stance.
As a magic user I didn't have a weapon, so I just stood at the ready.
As we did, our target, the Rock Dragon, appeared.
"Here we go. 《Storm Blow》!"
Storm Blow is an Intermediate level magic that, while small in scale, has the power of a tornado.
Hitting the Rock Dragon with this skill, it shaves off some of the hard rock armor.
And thus, it exposes the skin underneath.
“Yes!”
Raven slashed at the exposed skin.
After being cut, the dragon flew into a rage but Raven carefully dodged, and continued to wound the monster with his sword.
The Rock Dragon was unintelligent, so as long as we remained vigilant we wouldn’t get hit.
Even though it's called a dragon, it wasn't much of an opponent.
We kept at it, and safely slew the dragon. ...Thank goodness, the death flag wasn’t triggered after all.
"Good work. I'm glad we got it over with quickly."
I released my magic, and as Raven sheathed his sword and said,
"...Oh right. Let's leave the Rock Dragon's corpse to the guild staff and just take some proof with us."
The Rock Dragon is huge, there's no way we can deal with the corpse by ourselves, so we just bring back a trophy from it.
“Then let’s hang out when we get back.”
After that, we descended Haggers mountain, boarded the carriage and headed back to Minerva.
After getting back to the guild and reporting on our quest, we head for my room at the Inn.
On the way there was a small fuss, but thanks to my previous experience we were able to escape.
“Here are some glasses and a hat. ...It’s quite late already, so we can't do much except get a bite to eat.”
I handed Raven the disguise I had gotten from Cecilia.
“....Aah, this’ll help a lot.”
He donned the hat, and put on the glasses.
....It kinda suits him.
I guess it's true pretty boys look good, no matter what they wear.
The world is so unfair.
Still, at least he shouldn't be found out.
Having a sword might expose him, so we left it in my room.
We walked for about 10 minutes to the eatery.
“...Come to think of it, didn't you have something you wanted to talk about?”
I asked while eating my dinner.
If I remember right, just before we got ambushed by the Rock Dragon he wanted advice on something.
“...Aah, you’ll hear me out?”
I wonder what it’s about, something to do with his voice?
Did someone say something to him?
“The truth is, I’ve fallen in love with someone.”
Unexpectedly, he wanted some love advice.
Author’s Note: The next chapter will follow Raven-kun.
"You have someone you...like?"
I couldn't believe my buddy Raven wanted to ask for love advice while we were having dinner together.
"Sorry, Youki. You’re the only one I could ask..."
Since he didn’t speak much due to his voice, Raven came across as a cool and taciturn character.
If the people around him heard that he had done something so out of character like falling in love, he'd be a laughing stock.
“Yeah…”
And now he’s seeking love advice from someone who's struck out on every single love confession over the course of two lives, much less actually gone out with someone.
...Man, I've got a bad feeling about this.
He's asking the wrong person for advice, you know? But I'm still the only one he can ask.
"Tell me, what kind of girl is she?"
I didn't want to give him the cold shoulder since we'd just become friends, so I'll take a shot at giving him advice just this once.
"...She didn't make fun of my voice. She actually thought it sounded nice, and said she was jealous. And then..."
TL Note: Doesn’t laugh at voice = BFF or Love Interest….sounds legit
I see. Raven has such a big complex about his voice, I'm sure it made him really happy. Usually people laugh or are surprised at the gap between his appearance and his voice.
“I see, so that’s why you fell for her.”
It's a more normal love discussion than I thought it would be.
Raven's embarrassment was written all over his red face and cheeks.
“...What do you think I should do?”
From his red face and nervousness, it seems like he's fallen pretty hard.
He's like a middle schooler going through puberty. But because of his voice, forget girls, he couldn't even make a single guy friend. He's just lived by the sword all this time.
He's never had anyone to talk to about things like this before.
"If you like her, have you tried confessing?"
He was a member of the Hero Party that saved the world.
He's good looking, and he'd already cleared the hurdle of his odd voice, so I can only imagine he'd get a positive response.
"...I don't think I can. Since I was born I've only ever lived for the sword. Girls are..."
I figured it was something like that.
Geez, you're a good-looking guy, have more confidence!
It can't be helped; I might die a little inside, but it's for a friend.
For the first time in a while, I switch up my game.
"Heh, Raven, you haven't realized it yourself yet, have you?"
I make a grand gesture, pointing at Raven.
Raven is confused by my sudden change of character.
But I don't stop there.
"A handsome visagé, tall in stature, saving the world as the knight of the Hero Party. So what if your voice is a little strange? You should be capable of ignoring anyone who might laugh at you!"
Raven was listening, but looked like he'd been blindsided.
However, I'm not done yet!
"Why, just look at me! A boring face, an average build, working for a guild. Even so, I've confessed countless times! Gotten rejected countless more! But look at me now! Do I look miserable to you? Not in the slightest! ...Raven, you'll do great. Believe in yourself!"
Of course I finish it off with my signature pose.
...Aaah, that was refreshing.
I turn off my Chuuni-mode, and wait for Raven's response.
"...Heeh. I see. So it was something like that."
Raven calmed down, and was laughing a bit.
"...I guess I was overthinking it. Thanks, I'm glad I asked for your advice, Youki."
Oooh!
Seems like my plan worked.
Thank goodness.
I didn't know what I would do if he gave up.
"Hahaha... If you say it like that, I'm the one who's glad I gave you advice."
"...Actually, I'm taking tomorrow off as well. I'll try to confess to her. If it's okay with you, I'd really like you to come with me."
I see, he was worried about that.
He had been in a very negative frame of mind.
He had gathered up all his courage and opened the very depths of his heart to his friend.
I was so moved, how could I not support him?
"You'll be fine. ...Give it your best shot tomorrow."
With those parting words, we went our separate ways.
The next day, I waited for Raven at the reception desk in the Guildhall.
The Guildhall was noisy and bustling with activity, more so than usual.
The excitement of Raven being there yesterday still lingered. When he comes today, he should be properly disguised so there won't be another riot.
"...Hey, ain'tcha gonna take a quest today?"
Clayman asked me. His happy-mode from yesterday had been replaced by his usual lackadaisical-mode.
"I'm waiting for a friend today. No quests."
Normally, all the other adventurers would ask the pretty ladies at the other reception desks for quests. I was pretty much the only one who came to the apathetic receptionist's, Clayman's, desk.
That's why no one would complain if I loitered around Clayman's desk.
Rather, I was their savior yesterday.
"Well that's just great, no work for me. Why don't you just stay there all day doing nothing?"
"Why do you sound so bummed about spending all day not having to lift a finger? I'm just waiting for a friend."
Clayman and I yak about nothing in particular, when suddenly I'm grabbed by the shoulder and turned around.
There stood Raven wearing the disguise I gave him yesterday.
Maybe it's because he's nervous, but his expression is awfully stiff.
Hey now, we haven't even gotten to the girl's home yet, is he really gonna be okay...?
"You okay? Did you sleep at all last night?"
Raven nodded his head, but even that gesture was stiff.
If we stayed in the guild like this he'd be found out, so I hurry us outside.
Raven is frozen solid, so in order to loosen him up, I take a deep breath and say,
"Listen up, Raven. You're a member of the hero party and a leader of knights. That already makes you a really amazing guy. You can do this, Raven!"
On our way to his sweetheart, I give him some encouragement.
If he can just get a little more confidence, he should be able to confess naturally.
“...Should I really be doing this?”
He's still debilitatingly shy.
I gave him encouragement all the way to the girl's home.
And then, after Raven finally became resolved, our destination turned out to be...
"Eh....?!"
No way, we're at the Aquarain mansion?
Does he like Cecilia?!
She's so nice, there's definitely a chance.
I can think of a million things that might have happened between them on their mission to defeat the Demon Lord.
Did the death flag he raised yesterday mean I was gonna kill him for taking my girl?!
"...You have my gratitude, Youki. It’s thanks to you that I have the courage to confess. ...I'll go by myself from here. Please wait for me, Youki."
Raven entered the Aquarain manor alone.
...This is bad!
Would Cecilia accept his confession...what would she do?
I have no idea what kind of relationship they have, so I have no idea how she'll respond.
I panic for a few minutes while I wait outside the Aquarain mansion. But when Raven returned, he had a pretty grave look on his face.
"...She turned me down. She said it was 'impossible'. ...Youki, I'm so sorry, even after you went out of your way give me all that advice. ...As I thought, it wasn’t meant to be with her..."
This isn't good, his eyes are as dead as Clayman's.
His first broken heart dealt quite the emotional damage.
I totally understand, I've had more than my fair share of broken hearts.
But he's my friend, I can't just leave him like this.
"Don't let it bother you too much, man. Anyway, why don't we go somewhere? You're still on holiday, and we didn't get to pal around town much yesterday..."
He heard me, but just shook his head, and said sadly,
"...Let's just call it a day. See ya...later..."
Shoulders drooped despondently, Raven headed back to town.
I couldn't help but watch him as he got smaller in the distance.
...What do I do?
I should be celebrating, but the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth.
I should be happy to have one less rival, but those feelings never surfaced.
Friendship or love...I couldn't bring myself to give up either.
I was both relieved that Cecilia wasn't stolen away from me, and sad for my friend whose love couldn't come to fruition.
“...I gotta talk to Cecilia.”
I have to know why my friend was rejected.
I might be meddling, but I enter the mansion to find out the reason my friend was turned down.
“He...didn’t even talk to you?”
I went to see Cecilia to ask why she turned Raven down.
I thought she might be reluctant if I asked her flat out, so I beat around the bush a little, however...
"That's right. Raven-san never came to see me. ...Did something happen?"
What's going on here?
I couldn't figure it out by myself, so I let Cecilia in on the situation.
"...I see, could it be he confessed to someone who works here instead?"
If he confessed to one of the maids, we knew just who to ask.
"Let's ask Sophia-san. She's the head maid, she may just know something."
“I’ll go with you.”
Perhaps because they were once comrades, she was now also worried about Raven.
As expected of the kind Cecilia-san.
We both head to the servant's quarters to find Sophia-san.
"Indeed, Raven-sama was here just a short while ago."
When we arrived at the servant's quarters and asked Sophia-san, it was as Cecilia expected.
He had confessed to one of the employees.
Cecilia inquired with Sophia-san further.
“Then, did he need to speak with someone about something?"
"As I recall...he had something to discuss with one of the maids."
As we thought, it was one of the maids.
Just what kind of girl did he confess to?
"Sophia-san, which girl did he ask for?"
As his friend, I wanted to ask the girl what she found wrong with Raven.
Cecilia was also worried, and we both fidgeted while we awaited Sophia-san's answer.
"The new maid, Hapyneth."
“...”
“...”
We both froze on the spot.
My first friend after reincarnating fell in love with one of my former demon underlings.
Cecilia froze without saying a word.
"...Right! Pardon me, Sophia-san, where would Hapyneth happen to be at the moment?"
I had about a million things to ask Hapyneth. Seeing how impatient I looked, Sophia-san recoiled but quickly composed herself.
"...Right now Hapyneth is scheduled to clean the mansion. The mansion is quite large, I do not know exactly where she will be."
The Aquarain mansion was certainly large, but if I ran around the mansion for a few minutes I should find her.
"Thank you so much Sophia-san. I'll leave Cecilia in your capable hands."
Cecilia was still frozen stiff, so I left her in Sophia-san's care and exited the servant's quarters.
After that I ran around the mansion.
I got a few warnings from the other maids about running, but I just gave them a quick apology and continued on.
I ran about the residence three times and finally found Hapyneth.
She was wearing the maid uniform, and sweeping one of the guest rooms.
I had run by here before, but we must have just missed each other.
"...Been a while."
She gave me a small nod, then went back to her cleaning.
"Wait just a minute."
We hadn't even talked about anything yet, so I grip her shoulder, restraining her.
I finally found her, I'm not letting her off with just a greeting.
"...What?"
"Don't you 'what' me! I'm your former captain. Where'd this attitude come from?"
Aren't you the one that desperately searched for me for a month and a half?
Of course, she had never shown me an ounce of respect, even back when we were in the Demon Lord's castle together.
But that didn't matter right now, I would hold back fro the moment, but we would certainly have a good long talk about that later.
"...Problem?"
"Yeah, that's right. Just a little bit ago a good looking guy with a sword at his waist came to you. What did you say to him?"
"...Love confessed, 'Impossible' replied."
She declared with her usual indifferent tone of voice.
Did she turn Raven down the same way?
If she did, that poor guy...
But if I remember right, Raven said she envied his voice at some point.
So that means they met somewhere before.
"You met that swordsman somewhere. Could you tell me when and where you met?"
Hapyneth looked shocked that I would ask such a thing.
But she quickly whirled around, turning her back to me.
"...Impossible."
Refusing to answer, Hapyneth ran away, broom in hand.
I went to chase after her, but there was probably a reason she couldn't say.
It wouldn't solve anything if I caught her and forced her to tell me.
"...I'll figure something out after I go back."
I relay to Cecilia that I'm headed out, then go back to the guild.
"...and that's what happened."
It was already noon when I made it back to the guild, and the bar was crowded with adventurers getting food.
I make my way to my own personal private seat at Clayman's desk, only to find an armored knight sitting there.
Looks like Duke and Clayman are having a pleasant heart-to-heart.
Seems like they’re having fun.
"Ooh~, looks like you have your own set of troubles. If it were me, I'd just f' it all, too much of a hassle."
"What're you guys talking about?"
It made me curious, so I wedged myself in on the conversation.
Clayman and Duke finally took notice of me and gave me a quick greeting.
I couldn't see Duke's expression since he was wearing a helmet, but I got the feeling he was laughing.
"Just a fun story about you, Captain."
Of course he would have omitted any demonizing details.
But that wasn't the problem.
"Don't just gossip about someone's past like that!"
There are a mountain of memories I wish I could erase from my dark past.
I can't help but be super worried, wondering which story Duke told him.
Right now, I want to interrogate him, then reprimand him, but this isn't the time for that.
"Good thing I ran into you, Duke. There's something I wanted to ask you, so come with me real quick."
I take him out of the guild and explain the situation.
Duke has known Hapyneth for about as long as I have, give or take a little.
He was quite adept at charming allies.
"Yeah… First, we better get Cecilia-san to help by getting Hapyneth's side of the story. If we don't, Cecilia-san may not be able to help us even if she could."
He's probably right.
But I can't just leave Raven in that state either.
"...Can't be helped, I'll have to go back to Cecilia's place to explain. Let's go, Duke."
"Roger!"
With Duke in tow, I head back to the Aquarain mansion.
We tell Cecilia about Hapyneth's past in her room.
"Well, here's the thing. First, you know Harpy demons are regularly hunted by humans, right?"
Cecilia nodded in acknowledgment.
Harpies are attractive demons, and are often caught and made into slaves, and are endlessly hunted for their feathers.
By the way, I forgot to mention it before, but I didn't sell off the feathers I plucked from Hapyneth; I still had them in my possession.
"Of course Hapyneth was no exception. She was being chased by hunters to a place I just happened to be patrolling. I saved her, and she became one of the Captain's underlings."
Cecilia had a complicated expression on her face.
She was a human just like those hunters.
It wasn't a very pleasant story.
"At first she didn't speak at all. Even now she's still not very talkative."
At first she could only communicate by nodding or shaking her head.
The trauma was considerable.
"That's why I think even if a human said he loved her...she wouldn't have any good feelings about it..."
It makes sense, I feel the same way having known her for so long.
But still, Hapyneth shouldn’t think so badly of Raven.
"Then, why did she say she was jealous of Raven-san's voice?"
"Harpy's are originally a race that like to sing, so it could be she was charmed by his voice, but..."
But we still don't know how the two of them met.
Anything more than that, we could only guess at.
We were in a total deadlock.
"...As for how they met, it may be more prudent to ask Raven instead of Hapyneth."
Hapyneth refused to answer earlier.
And she can be quite stubborn when she wants to.
Knowing her personality, Duke agrees.
Cecilia also nodded her approval at my idea.
"Then we're done here for today. I'll stop by Raven's place on the way home."
Deciding on the next course of action we adjourn our little impromptu meeting, and I head for the Knight's Dormitory where Raven lives.
Arriving at the Knight's Dormitory I wonder just how many people live here.
It could probably house a few hundred knights; it's a gigantic dormitory. When I entered I saw a reception desk, and someone who looked like ae Dorm Manager there.
Upon seeing me, she asked what business I had here.
"Excuse me, I actually came here to meet with my knight friend who lives here..."
The Dorm Manager was a normal lady who looked good in glasses.
"Just to confirm, what is the name of the knight whom you are looking for? And if you could give me your name as well?"
I gave her my name, and then, when I mentioned Raven's name, she pushed up her glasses and gave me a very doubtful look.
Well, Raven is famous after all, and he's not really known to have many friends, so I understand her suspicion.
But even so, she still went to go confirm and left for the dorm interior. After a few minutes I could hear briskly walking footsteps as the Dorm Manager returned with a beautiful stride.
"I have confirmation. Please allow me to guide you to Raven-sama's room."
I follow after the Dorm Manager until we make it to Raven's room.
The Dorm Manager left with a 'please take your time', and returned to the reception desk.
"Raven, I'm coming in."
I knocked and opened the door.
His room was dark, dank, and dreary.
Raven was in the center of the room lying lifeless on his bed.
...He was severely depressed, that much was obvious.
It was his first love after all.
Raven finally noticed I was there and got up from the bed.
"...Youki? Sorry about before. And after you invited me out too."
"No, it's fine. ...Actually I have something I want to ask you."
He may not want to talk about it, but I wanted to support my friend in love.
I'll use any means to elicit an answer out of him.
"I want you to tell me exactly how you met the girl you fell for."
"...What would it change even if you knew?"
He murmured, coming off as though it was all too bothersome.
Shit, he's turning into Clayman, I gotta do something!
"It's too early to give up now! There might be something we can do if we work together. Please, just tell me."
He finally gave in to my pestering.
Little by little Raven revealed the story.
Man, it wasn't surprising at all...
Apparently he first met Hapyneth on the day I was out with the rest of the Hero Party when we caused that huge commotion in town.
Raven worked as the Captain of the Knights, but he couldn't communicate with words, so he usually patrolled the imperial city by himself.
Since so many problems were occurring that day, he was patrolling around all the back alleys.
"...Hm. Nothing amiss here."
And as he was about to patrol elsewhere, he heard some hoodlums nearby.
He immediately headed for the voices, and saw Hapyneth cornered by a small gang of thugs.
He easily wiped the floor with them, and was about to leave when,
“...”
Hapyneth had grabbed onto his sleeve, causing him to stop.
"...Thank you."
She thanked him very quietly.
"...Just doing my job."
Usually, when Raven was thanked he would just nod his head in acknowledgement, but he mistakenly replied instead.
Just when he thought his life was over, Hapyneth opened her eyes in surprise.
Raven thought he would be ridiculed, however,
"...Wonderful voice."
Is what she said.
Raven had been made fun of, but never complimented.
So, feeling a little funny, he spoke further and asked a question.
"...You're not gonna make fun of my voice? My voice is really..."
He suddenly asked.
I mean, I didn't make fun of his voice, but I didn't compliment it either.
"...Jealous."
"...Eh?"
Raven wasn't finished talking to her, but she took off in a flash.
Raven still had other places to patrol, so he couldn't afford to chase after her.
And so, unable to forget about maid uniform-clad Hapyneth, he began to investigate which household she might work for based on her uniform and finally found it.
Then, he asked me for advice, and after giving him my support, he confessed, which brings us to today.
“...Are we done now?”
After finishing his story, Raven looked really tired.
Raven was, no, Hapyneth was the first to show interest in the other party, I'm sure of it.
...Couldn't they at least be friends?
But for the time being, I've got to get Raven out of here before he starts sprouting mushrooms.
I'll go to Duke's place and tell him the information I got about Hapyneth.
"Raven, let's get you out of here. I know a guy who's acquainted with your maid girl, let's go see him."
I'm 'acquainted' with her as well, but...
Raven didn't want to go at first, but after half-dragging him along, we went looking for Duke.
Duke was at Cecilia's home when our little meeting adjourned, so I thought he'd either head to the inn or the guild. On a hunch, I took us to the guild, and there was Duke.
"Huh? Well if it isn't the Captain...is that the bloke that confessed to Hapyneth?"
Noticing Raven, Duke gave him a look over.
Duke views Hapyneth as a precious comrade after all, so he was just making sure Raven wasn't a bad guy.
Duke had always had a strong sense of duty where his comrades were concerned.
"...Youki, is this the guy that knows her? ...And what was that 'Captain' thing all about?"
Raven asked me with a whisper.
"It's kind of a nickname. But that’s not important right now..."
The Guild noticed Raven and started in on the hysterics. I don't want all hell breaking loose on me now.
"You two, let's get out of here."
I grab them both by the wrist, and head for my room at the inn as fast as my legs could carry me.
"Captain, you're way too fast~"
"...I agree."
We finally arrived at the inn after jetting it out of the guild before a commotion could break out, but running at full speed left the other two exhausted.
I accidently ran too fast, but these two should be trained for that kind of thing, they shouldn't be running on empty already.
But more importantly...
"Raven, your voice..."
After Raven realized what he'd done, he clamped his mouth shut.
And with Duke nearby of all things.
Duke actually didn't seem to care about Raven's voice, but asked why we reacted that way.
And so we let him in on Raven's story.
"I don't really mind at all...So, is it you? The guy that likes Hapyneth?"
“…Yeah.”
Raven paused before he answered.
Wh-what's with the tense atmosphere?
These guys, there's no need for pretense here!
"Hapyneth was my former colleague. She has a certain trauma when it comes to dealing with men. You, would you be able to cure Hapyneth of that?"
Making it just men in general instead of humans, I suppose that’s the way it’s gotta be.
It makes sense, since she isn't afraid of Cecilia or Sophia-san at all.
"...I don't know."
There was another pause after he answered.
I suppose it was understandable since they’d barely met.
But that's still not good enough.
"What?! That's where you're supposed say something cool like 'I will heal her fragile heart'! You are a worthless piece of shit. That's why your confession was rejected by Hapyneth!"
"...What's that supposed to mean?"
Duke's words were like a slap in the face, and Raven immediately put his hand to his sheathed sword, ready to draw it.
"Oh, you wanna go at it? I don't know much about that Hero Party nonsense, but I'm not gonna lose."
Duke drew his sheathed sword, and stood at the ready.
...Are these guys idiots?
We're in my rented room at the Inn, a room that can barely squeeze six people into it!
It wouldn't be funny if they started a sword-fight here.
I'll get chased out of the inn if I don’t stop these two!
"Chill out guys! If you're gonna fight, do it somewhere else! This is not what we got together for."
I brought Duke along to help Raven, and now they're at each other's throats.
After begging them to stop, they finally put their swords away, but they were still glaring daggers at each other.
"...Hmph, This is ridiculous. I'll comply with Captain, but next time we'll settle this."
“…Indeed.”
They both seemed satisfied with that.
Now I don't have to worry about getting kicked out of the inn.
"Now then, back to the subject of Hapyneth. You said you didn't know if you could cure Hapyneth of her trauma. That's not good enough."
“…I know.”
Raven agreed with Duke.
After calming down, Raven himself realized he lacked the resolve he needed.
"Why don't you start as friends first? I think it'd be a good idea for you to get to know Hapyneth a little more."
That's my Duke!
He gave Raven some solid advice.
Raven seemed satisfied with that too, and nodded his head in agreement.
However, I felt like I'd turned completely invisible to them.
They’d laugh together, they’d arguing together; all in an unending loop.
They were off in their own little world.
I was completely left out, relegated to being a mere spectator.
After a while, their conversation finally came to an end.
"Go show me you're a man! Good luck getting your feelings across to Hapyneth."
"...I will, I feel like I can do it now."
They gave each other a firm handshake.
Honestly, I have no idea how things turned out like this.
Were those two always like this?
I guess love can change both humans and demons.
...What am I even thinking about?
They left for the Aquarain mansion all jazzed up after their conversation.
I was also curious how this would all play out and tagged along.
When we got to the mansion, we were in luck as Hapyneth was cleaning out in front of the gate.
Heartened by Duke, Raven approached Hapyneth.
Noticing us, Hapyneth stopped cleaning for the moment.
"...Please be my friend."
His face was red from embarrassment, and his nerves were so bad he was shaking. Even though his voice was weak, it took all he had just to get that much out.
And Hapyneth's answer,
"...Just friends."
After that, silence lingered between them.
And then, with their faces flushed, they both sprinted off at full speed, Hapyneth to the mansion, and Raven to the main road.
All that remained was a satisfied Duke, and me completely dumbfounded.
Well, I'm sure Raven was also satisfied, now that Hapyneth could gradually become used to human men.
Afterwards I head that Cecilia indirectly urged Hapyneth in that direction.
I had thought Hapyneth agreed a little too easily, but it made sense after hearing Cecilia was giving her encouragement.
And so it seems Hapyneth herself wasn't completely against the idea, since she wasn't forced.
As I thought, I was right that Hapyneth was charmed by his voice.
I'm looking forward to seeing how things develop between them.
By the way, after this, Duke became quite attached to Raven.
TL Note: (º﹃º) heh heh heh -Solistia (The BL Addict)
After the whole incident, they really did duke it out.
Although Duke is a great swordsman, even he couldn't win against Raven, but it was quite a good battle I heard. Because of that, Raven used his authority as Captain of the Knights to recruit Duke.
However, this meant Sheik and I were the only ones left at the inn.
"Captain~ Let's play~"
Sheik was clinging to my body.
"'Eey, leggo! I've got a quest to do. Hapyneth, Duke, come back!"
This is the worst thing that could possibly happen. With them gone, I was the only one left to babysit Sheik!