“Phew… Luckily, no one’s tailing me.”
Charlotte arrived at the hideout and thumped the bound bundle into a corner.
… The journey to the hideout was long and treacherous.
Thanks to Charlotte’s movements echoing those of a spy from some movie… what should have taken 20 minutes ended up taking 40.
At first, I cautiously followed her thinking it must be tiring due to her position, thinking, “Wow… I can understand that.”
But no.
Along the way, when she suddenly stopped and said we had to check if someone was following us, I suggested we could check with my spirit sense…
That’s cheating! This is something you have to see in person for the romance! And then she suddenly jumped up onto a building.
So, I hurriedly expanded my spirit sense.
Seeing the princess sitting on the rooftop, puffing smoke and chuckling… I realized the truth.
It was all just out of boredom…
Give my innocent heart back…
“Ha… I’m stressed.”
Ruby, who sighed next to me, carefully set down Hephaestus she was carrying on her back.
“Y-you did well, Ruby…”
I patted Ruby’s sweaty back.
“Yes… Noah worked hard too.”
“Seriously, why would you choose to carry her yourself when I said I’d do it?”
“I didn’t want to see that damn hand groping Hephaestus.”
Ruby, who had just been giving me a sweet smile, suddenly changed.
With her teeth gritted, she shot a furious glare at Charlotte.
“You need to speak clearly. It’s not groping! My hand just slipped. Why would you think I’m a pervert…”
No matter how I looked at it, it was hard to deny that it seemed a little perverted, but for now… I decided to stay quiet.
What if they accuse me of insulting the royal family if I nod along too much…
They say Ruby has more power and money than me…
But.
Ruby didn’t hold back unlike me.
“Everyone knows you’re a pervert.”
“Hey… Ruby, don’t you think that’s slandering the royal family—”
“Yes. Go ahead and arrest me.”
Ruby extended her arm, cupping her wrists together.
Like someone putting on handcuffs.
“Sigh… You weren’t like this when you were younger. What happened? What can we do about our Ruby?”
Charlotte, who had been quietly watching, placed her hand on her forehead and shook her head.
When she said “when you were younger,” did that mean she’d known Ruby for a long time?
“We’ve only known each other for two years, so what do you mean by ‘when we were younger’…”
With a real annoyance, Ruby hugged me abruptly.
Then she whispered sweetly in my ear.
“Noah. Punish me.”
“Uh, okay…? N-no, that can’t be…”
“It’s okay. If there are no witnesses, you don’t have to worry about assassinations.”
“W-what do you mean…! Even if there are no witnesses… we can’t kill people!”
I shook my head vigorously and pushed Ruby away.
At that, Ruby’s expression slightly twisted.
Charlotte, who had been sunk into the sofa, also scrunched her face.
“Noah… You shouldn’t kill innocent people, but those who deserve to die can be killed.”
“Y-yeah…?”
“That’s because they’re not people; they’re beasts. It’s fine.”
W-wait. Are you calling the princess a beast right now?
Well… um… when you listen to her talk, it does sound a little bit like that…
But still, no!
“Hey, hey. Enough of that. Noah, you should wash up. You smell like a stinky street dog, and I can’t be around you.”
Gasp… Stinky street dog?!
“What’s wrong with your expression? Isn’t that obvious? Think about where you guys just were. Do you really think there wouldn’t be a smell?”
“Uh… ah, that’s not true… Ruby used that odor-blocking technique on me earlier…”
I had cleaned off the blood that was on me with drinking water, and Ruby had used her divine power to remove bad odors too…
I raised my arm and took a whiff—sniff sniff.
I swore… all I smelled was a faint peach fragrance.
“Ah… there’s no smell… ah…”
I wanted to shout “There’s no smell!” but…
With the poise of Charlotte sitting and her expression… exuding an immense presence, I could only hide quietly behind Ruby…
“Uh-oh? Are you refusing to listen to the princess?”
Charlotte jumped up from her seat.
“Ugh, eep…”
I pressed even closer to Ruby’s back.
Then, this time, Ruby gently pushed me away.
“I think it’s best if you wash up. You only smell good to Noah, but it’s still better if you clean yourself.”
“Y-you think so…?”
“Whew… Yes. After all, you took down that many monsters all by yourself. Washing up would relax you… wouldn’t that be nice?”
“Yeah, yeah. Plus, the warm water here will make it easier to wash up.”
Under the double assault from Charlotte and Ruby… I reluctantly nodded.
Of course, I didn’t dislike washing up.
But… it’s just that… my… underwear… is a bit…
It’s normal to want to wear dry underwear after washing, right?
Moreover, um…
The bandage wrapped around my chest is torn and barely holding on…
If I take it off, it would be irreversible!
Well, it’s not like anyone would notice my body, but…
“Ah, okay…”
I nodded obediently and stepped away from Ruby.
I just needed to cover up properly…
Then I quietly stood in front of the bathroom, still.
Calmly.
Quietly.
Ruby and Charlotte, who were looking at me, tilted their heads.
Then.
A small laugh escaped from Ruby’s mouth.
“Puhuh… Noah, I’m sorry, but I think it’s best if you wash up alone today. I think Charlotte might spy on you, so I’ll keep watch.”
“Ah…”
“Ha, this is absurd.”
Charlotte roughly swept her bangs back as she lit a cigarette and continued talking.
“I wouldn’t spy. I’d just watch plainly.”
Then, with an air of pride, she puffed out the smoke after lighting up perfectly.
“… So, I really mean it. Just wash up alone today.”
“Ugh… okay.”
I stood still for a few seconds, energetically moving my body like a cat before just heading into the bathroom.
Hmm…
Today, I really wanted to wash up with Ruby.
Just a bit.
How disappointing…
*
Shwaaah—
The sound of water came from the bathroom, and Charlotte sunk back into the couch.
“Suuup- Phew…”
Through the haze of smoke, golden hair swayed.
“The mana cigarette… are you still feeling the aftereffects of ‘that incident?’”
“Partly that. I think I might be addicted. Hehe…”
Charlotte shook her head with a wry smile.
“If you need help, just let me know. I’ll help as much as I can.”
“Then let me touch your chest a bit.”
“Get lost.”
“Ugh… Charlotte, you ungrateful…”
“Why did you come to Ursphere?”
Since I didn’t react at all, Charlotte awkwardly scratched her head and straightened her posture.
“Hrm… A lovely lady, overflowing with righteousness and sizable breasts, asked me to kill a scorpion because she was scared of it, so I had no choice but to come.”
Charlotte Let out a laugh, puffing out smoke.
“… What do you mean?”
The last time I met Jur in Loholan.
I had linked with Jur’s unique ability.
With that, I had asked for support for this incident, and I had heard that a total of 5 troops would be sent, and Charlotte was among those 5?
“I heard you two were on friendly terms, but did you tell Jur to send you to Charlotte?”
“Yeah. I had something to do in Karahan anyway, so the timing worked out well. Got to see both big tits and small tits. What a treat. I feel like I’m about to explode.”
Ignoring Charlotte’s nonsense, I continued with my inquiry.
“Jur mentioned 5 troops would be coming. What about them?”
“I got bitten.”
Seeing me ignore her meaningless blabber, Charlotte laughed, her eyes twinkling as if saying ‘not bad.’
“Everyone wouldn’t have known it would turn out this way. They probably thought the late-arriving supporting soldiers would be around 300 from the Red Scorpion. How silly it must seem.”
Charlotte’s words were right.
According to what I heard from Jur, the Red Scorpion boasted a little over 300 members in total. The ones we encountered last time numbered around 30.
“So, where are the rest of them…?”
“They’re all dead.”
“… Huh?”
“I said they’re all dead. The rest of the members.”
Charlotte, who had been slumped into the couch, straightened her back.
“I just heard a bit ago that Kalt seems to have come and gone.”
“Kalt? The Black Knight Kalt?”
“Yeah. The one who went missing last time.”
The Black Knight Kalt.
Originally known to be the chief of the Imperial Knights, he reportedly killed the entire knight order after reaching Master and then went missing.
But… why is Kalt with the Red Scorpion?
“Hahaha! Yeah, I had the same expression when I heard that too. Can’t make sense of it, right?”
“… Not at all.”
“Me neither… He disappeared one day, and now he shows up again; I don’t get it. Well… even if they were scum that deserved to die, was it necessary to take it this far…?”
Charlotte tossed the last of her mana cigarette into the ashtray and scratched her head.
“But… Do you know who his next target is supposed to be?”
Charlotte’s gaze directed towards Hephaestus.
“Wait…”
“It’s Yuria.”
As countless questions swirled in my mind, the puzzle pieces began to fit together.
“So… the Red Scorpion was aware of the existence of Eliximona…”
“Yeah. They probably intended to kill that girl. You know that stone that Yuria possesses? That girl has it too, doesn’t she?”
“Ah… the artifact that Yuria said she made?”
“Yeah, that one. It helps determine survival status. They likely intended to lure Yuria with that.”
“Which means…”
Taking out a new mana cigarette, Charlotte lit it and growled.
“Yeah. That bastard Kalt is definitely in Ursphere.”
As soon as Charlotte finished speaking.
The bundle thrown in the corner trembled—twitch.
The last surviving member of the Red Scorpion, Mariel, awakened.
“What impeccable timing.”
“Yeah. Once Hephaestus wakes up, let’s send Noah out for a bit.”
Suppressing the heat bubbling within me, I quietly said.
“Let’s do some interrogation.”
