“Johann! Where are you going?”
“Oh, Elisa. I’m just going out for a bit.”
“Can I come with you?”
Elisa quietly wrapped her arm around mine and asked.
Can she come with me… huh.
It’s fine, I guess. I’m just going to request something at the Explorer Guild and the Mage Guild anyway. As I nodded, Elisa grinned and looped her arm through mine.
Her small, soft hand overlapped with my big, rough one.
This is totally Beauty and the Beast.
“Let’s go!”
“Can we just go out like this? Wait a minute, why are you in your outing clothes? Didn’t you plan to rest at home today?”
“…Hehe.”
Where did that timid girl from a year ago go, and why is this cunning fox left in her place? I playfully ruffled Elisa’s hair as she subtly turned her gaze away.
“If you want to go out, just say so anytime.”
“But if I do that, we can’t go out just the two of us. Everyone else is busy today, so it’s the perfect opportunity for just the two of us!”
Did she calculate all that?
My harem… saying it like that seems odd, but are they battling for dominance among themselves? I hope not.
“I’m always ready to accept, so I hope you guys don’t end up at odds.”
“Don’t worry! We all know!”
Well, these kids aren’t the type to fight. Karina goes without saying, and Millia and Elisa aren’t the sensitive types either. Viola and Sif? They’re somewhat the same.
“Let’s head out quickly!”
“Alright.”
Now that I think about it, I haven’t gone out alone with Elisa since she confessed to me. Even when we went out, it was always with others, never just one-on-one.
The extent of my outings has been with Viola a few months back and a couple with Karina.
Most of those were for work, anyway.
In a pure sense, this is practically my first one-on-one date since Viola.
“There are a lot of people.”
“This is the peak hour for crowds.”
Housewives do their shopping, and adventurers restock their supplies. Students have mostly cleared out, but the energy is still lively.
By the way, why are there so many people staring at us?
“That’s Sir Quartz…”
“He’s not a saint…”
“They say heroes are lecherous…”
Any complaints? As I glared at the crowd, they all hastily looked away. A couple shot me glances of respect, but I ignored them and kept walking.
With a notable name, this kind of thing makes life easier.
These pesky folks don’t dare approach.
“Johann! People are staring at us a lot.”
Elisa said, sounding a bit scared, and pressed closer to me. An obvious appeal. But after getting used to such blatant flirting for the past few months, I casually continued walking and replied.
“Don’t mind it.”
“It’s actually nice… it recognizes the bond between us…”
Elisa, that’s a frightening thought.
So, you’ve been thinking that way, huh? How can she get more and more sly as time goes on? I’m starting to think I should check if she’s hiding a fox tail or something.
“By the way, where are we headed?”
“To the Explorer Guild.”
“Are we going to explore a dungeon?”
“No, a strange letter came in. I’m planning to request an investigation into where the letter came from.”
“A strange letter?”
“It mentioned something about Paradise and called for Renny.”
Since it’s clearly a suspicious letter, checking it out is practically mandatory. The letter was sent to Renny, but I can’t guarantee it won’t affect Karina.
It’s really hard to predict what lunatics might do.
“Paradise…”
“Do you know anything about it?”
“Not at all.”
Looks like Elisa doesn’t know either. Well, there’s no way she’d know something I don’t. By the way, “Paradise”? It seems to be a term that didn’t appear in the original work, so it’s probably related to some kind of outsider incident.
It’s still just a guess, but if I have them investigate and gather clues, things should gradually become clearer.
If the clues point to outsiders, then it’s time to take action.
If not, and it’s just an issue that can be solved within the Empire’s borders, I can easily just step in, or handle it quietly. Honestly, with sufficient power and resources, I could force my way through it as well.
Unless it’s the emperor, there are hardly any who would dare go against me.
If I put my mind to it, I could even command elves.
Not that I actually plan on taking it that far. They’ll probably just bend to my will anyway.
“It’s been a while.”
“Now that I think of it, it’s been over a summer break since I last came.”
“Indeed.”
We soon entered the Explorer Guild. As we opened the door and walked into the lobby, all eyes immediately turned to us, then quickly away.
They probably didn’t want to talk to me. Avoiding dangerous situations is something explorers generally do, and I’m definitely seen as a ‘dangerous’ figure.
Even people from remote areas know my name, and I’m a high-ranking noble, so they probably didn’t want to get dragged into trouble.
Even the riffraff who used to bother me turned into timid sheep the moment our eyes met.
They must have some sense to know who to mess with and who not to.
“Qu-Quartz! You’ve arrived!”
What the, when did he show up?
Someone must’ve tipped him off, as the guild leader suddenly appeared in front of me, rubbing his hands together. Is he trying to flatter me?
“I came to make a request, so I’d like to receive a request form.”
“Understood! Temi! Get some paper!”
The paper soon came into my hands along with a pen. I put the paper down at the counter and started writing my request.
I figure a reward of about 10 gold coins would be fine. I handed the densely written request form to the noname clerk, who took it with a nervous expression and began rolling his eyes.
It took about three minutes before any reaction came.
“I-it’s been received. I-I’ll contact you as soon as the request is accepted…”
“Got it. Then, good work.”
“P-please take care!”
As soon as my words finished, I heard a yelp of “Ouch!” He must’ve bitten his tongue. I addressed the pained clerk.
“Show me your hand.”
“Huh?”
The clerk looked puzzled and hesitantly extended his hand. I placed a finger on his fingertip and infused it with the Power of the Phoenix.
“My tongue…”
“Be more careful next time.”
“Thank you!”
Well then, shall we head to the Mage Guild now?
We quickly exited the Explorer Guild. It was now time to head to the Mage Guild. As we walked, Elisa spoke again.
“Johann, you’re too kind.”
“Are you jealous?”
“I am jealous.”
“If you want, I can be nice to you anytime, so don’t be jealous.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Elisa seemed relieved by my response and rubbed her face against my arm. With her dog-like behavior, I replied by gently scratching her chin.
Coming out together like this isn’t too bad.
Maybe next time I should bring another girl with me and go on a date too.
The others would probably be fine with it, right? They wouldn’t be against it, at least.
I thought about that as I headed toward the Mage Guild with Elisa.
———————
“Did you put in the request well?”
“Yeah.”
“How long will it take…?”
“Probably about a week.”
Considering the time it takes for the person receiving the request to get there, investigate, and return, that’s about right.
It might take longer, but they probably wrote in the description that additional compensation would be given for finishing quickly, so it’s likely someone will come back with information well within a week.
Unless they can’t, that is.
“I still feel uneasy thinking about the letter’s contents. What on earth happened?”
“I hope it’s nothing serious.”
There’s a high probability that something serious has occurred, but for now, it’s merely a hope. The information suggested by the letter is genuinely ominous.
Paradise.
It’s not exactly a bad word in the dictionary… the problem is that “Paradise” is a term that’s quite rare to hear in this world.
The Kalon Church hardly ever uses the term “Paradise.”
“Right. Honestly, it’s been over ten years since I’ve been back, so it’s unsettling if something’s happened back home.”
Renny, who answered like that, gazed out the window with a bit of a gloomy expression. The worry on her face was evident as she looked over.
Is she worried that something may have happened back home?
“For now, just keep your head in the game and focus on work. There’s nothing we can do until the results come in.”
“Yeah, it’s true. We can worry about it once we get the results…”
Renny nodded at my words.
Whatever the outcome, time will reveal it. We put the results aside for now and dove back into our routine.
…Until a shocking news reached us a few days later.
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