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“So we’ve finally arrived.” Kei muttered as he dismounted Sasuke.
They were currently at an inn-town at Urvan’s outer edge.
Kei took in the view of the stronghold city white patting the head of the neighing Sasuke. Wheat fields rustling in the wind, stone houses crowding a small hill, and a thick wall surrounding all that.
The way how the structure gradually widened starting from the lord’s castle, down the first wall, finally reaching the second wall made the entire city look like it was one big rocky mountain.
“…Finally, huh?” Aileen likewise got off Suzuka and quietly got close to Kei.
Roughly half a day had passed since Kei’s duel against Alexei.
As their caravan had reached Urvan’s urban area, they decided to stay at the inn-town just outside of the wall and take care of the necessary arrangements to enter the city.
“Take that cargo to the first carriage. All fragile freight should go to the second one. Make sure to properly record everything on a list. Oh, and be very careful of how you fold the fur. We’ve obtained one in such a good condition after all!”
At the warehouse of the Cornwell Company located in one corner of the inn-town, the merchants and their apprentices were working tirelessly, moving the cargo to different carriages in accordance to Holland’s instructions.
Apparently all for the sake of lowering the taxes as much as possible. If they had entered the city with the caravan’s carriages just like that, they would have been forced to pay ridiculous taxes, so they were going to shuttle the goods into the city using their own carriages to reduce the costs.
“Once more we’ve arrived without a hitch…”
“Without a hitch…like how? A friggin’ Grande Urs showed up.”
“I mean, yeah. But it had nothing to do with us…”
“Right, everything ended before I even realized it.”
The escorts, who now had finished their job, chatted carefreely as they watched the merchants bustling around with sidelong glances. Given that their last task was to receive their pay inside the city, they had plenty of time to chatter around in a relaxed atmosphere.
As for Kei and Aileen, they had taken some distance from the other escorts, dwelling in their own little world.
While silently listening to the wind, they did nothing but merely gazed at the city towering in the distance. They had complex expressions on their faces, speaking of the various emotions they felt: the sense of safety by reaching their destination, the loneliness that the journey they had started to get used to had come to an end, and a tinge of anxiety due to the new environment awaiting them.
“…But still, you’re telling me that’s Urvan?” Kei spoke up so as to drive away the gloomy atmosphere. “It’s completely different from back in the game, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Aileen answered with a chuckle. “In the game it was a village…and compared to this, it wouldn’t even qualify as a dog house.”
“No kidding.”
Kei reflexively smiled at Aileen’s phrase he recalled having heard somewhere else before. Inside the game, Urvan was a player-made, fortified village — a modestly-built defense base on top of a rocky mountain, and possibly even smaller in scale than the inn-town they were currently at.
“It’s rude to even compare the two, seriously…”
Aileen and Kei quietly shifted their eyes back to the unfamiliar city as they laughed away the depressing atmosphere, though a faint pang of nostalgia had still revived in their hearts. As if naturally drawn to each other, their hands joined together.
“……”
They spoke no further words — but in their hearts, they were convinced that they were feeling the same emotions while confirming their warmth by holding hands.
But alas.
“Heey, Kei! Aileen!”
Due to the husky voice calling out to them from behind, they hurriedly released their hands and whirled around.
Looking in the direction of the voice, they spotted Alexei walking towards them with heavy step as he waved his hand.
He was fully armed just like during the duel. Or perhaps it was better to say that he was carrying his entire equipment. He shouldered his greatsword, adorned by his helmet being flung over its hilt, and in addition to the buckler Kei had punctured, he also wore his armor, shin guards and gauntlets. All of this was rounded up by the knapsack on his back which was almost bursting thanks to all the traveling equipment stuffed into it.
Kei felt disappointed that he had ruined the good mood they had going, while Aileen hissed in displeasure, but Alexei didn’t seem to care about either, and approached up until right in front of them.
“…You can move already?” Kei’s question sounded a little sarcastic, but there was no helping it.
Despite not even half a day having passed since Alexei got trashed by Kei in the duel, Alexei seemed to already be up and about again. The cut on his lip had mostly healed and the bruise on his lower jaw was already fading. As for his left arm that got pierced by Dragon Stinger, it was still covered by bandages, but he was acting like it did not hurt at all.
“Well yeah, I’m a fast healer.”
Alexei moved his left arm around and then pumped his muscles with a grunt.
But in the next moment, his bandages started to dye red.
“Whoops, looks like the wound hasn’t healed up yet.” Alexei muttered as if it was someone else’s problem.
Aileen took a step back, looking clearly put off. Kei’s sarcastic smile also twitched a bit.
No matter how tolerant to pain he was, this was still a little too abnormal. It was as if he actually did not feel any pain at all…
“『Pain Reduction』huh?”
Alexei suddenly lifted his head in response to Kei’s mumbling. With his eyes slightly widened, he looked as though he was forcibly suppressing his shock.
“It’s a Crest, right? Or did I get it wrong?” Kei added while tilting his head.
He had been suspecting it since their duel but Alexei’s reaction just now confirmed it.
Although not to the extent of 『Lighter Body Weight』 which Aileen used,『Pain Reduction』was also one of the minor Crests that hardly anyone used.
The requirements to acquire it were relatively easy, and it had the effect of “reducing the pain and decreasing the chance of knockbacks and fainting.” However, even a simple injury could lead to death in the game, and since the player did not feel any pain in the first place, there was barely any value in getting Crests to reduce pain which were based on the assumption of injuries. It was at most used by some mages to decrease the likelihood of their chants getting interrupted through bombardment. If not for meeting Alexei, Kei would have even forgotten about its existence.
『Pain Reduction』 was useless inside the game, but he could not help to admit that it was conversely quite useful in real life. Ever since coming to this world, Kei had experienced making wrong judgments and being unable to move in battle as he wanted to due to pain. It had the downside of delaying your realization of an injury, but it was a useful skill, if you wanted to specialize on offense. If a warrior who already had dauntless courage furthermore obtained immunity to pain, no one would be able to tell what kind of result it would bring about.
Incidentally, taking Alexei’s fast recovery into account, Kei judged that he probably also had 『Enhanced Body』 or maybe a minor 『Enhanced Natural Healing』 Crest.
“…You seem knowledgeable. I mean, you’re right… But where did you learn that?”
A faint smile was visible on his lips, but Alexei’s eyes did not laugh at all. Kei wondered if he had stepped on a landmine, and answered with a small shake of his head.
“You aren’t the only warrior of the Snowland people I know.”
“Oh really? Give me a name.”
“『Andrei』”
Aileen, who had been listening to their conversation in silence, twitched and glanced at Kei from the side.
“Andrei… Andrei… I don’t think I know anyone like that.”
“Well, it’s been a long time since then. That aside, did you need something?”
Kei casually changed the topic as Alexei was pondering about something.
“Ah right. It had to do with you, Kei.”
Alexei clapped his hands and, contrary to his words, looked affectionately at Aileen while lowering his knapsack to the ground with a thud.
“Now then.”
Following that, he tossed his greatsword and buckler at Kei’s feet, and kept removing his equipment, such as his shin guards and gauntlets one after the other. Starting with his knapsack, he piled up all the items in front of Kei.
“Wait, what are you-”
Ignoring Kei and Aileen’s confusion, Alexei removed his armor, and got naked down to his underwear and sandals with the same frightening undressing speed that he displayed at the lake. And then, at the end, he put the purse in his right hand on top of the pile.
“This is all I own!”
Declaring that somewhat loudly, Alexei fixedly stared at Kei.
Folding his arms and standing with a daunting pose while practically naked was already enough to gather attention as is, but he even yelled on top of that, so it would have been unreasonable to expect that it would draw no looks by the people around them. The escorts that were chatting on the side, the passing residents, and even the busy merchants all stopped what they were doing and stared at him.
“…What’s this all about?”
“Accept it!” Alexei declared with a frustrated expression. “For you… are the winner of our duel!”
In response to his words, Kei and Aileen reflexively looked at each other. Aileen just shook her head expressionlessly.
“Don’t need it.” Understanding what she was telling him, Kei answered clearly and concisely.
This caused Alexei’s pose to fall apart.
“Why!”
“I’m not sure what to tell you. Your things simply don’t interest me.” Kei scratched his cheek, looking troubled.
He had certainly won the duel against Alexei, but he had done so in order to protect his honor and Aileen. Kei got slightly injured himself as well, but he had beaten up Alexei hard enough to make up for that. For him, the duel had already ended — and he did not feel like bringing it up any longer.
At most, Alexei’s armor — the greaves and gauntlets made out of an alloy that managed to repel the arrows of Dragon Stinger, even if just the white-feathered ones, looked somewhat attractive to Kei given his current armor. However, that would only apply if they were brand new, certainly not for Alexei’s hand-me-downs.
He did consider grabbing the money as a fee for all the troubles, but even that sounded to him quite petty. It would be one thing if Kei was alone, but Aileen was with him right now. He had no will to act greedy in front of her.
“But yeah, I’ll just accept your feelings.”
“B-But… That’s troublesome for me!”
Alexei looked downcast and flustered due to Kei’s blunt reply. He completely lacked his usual cocksure attitude.
While feeling amused that Alexei seemed to have not expected this flat refusal at all, Kei asked him in return, “Why would it? Doesn’t this work in your favor?”
“It concerns the honor of my family. It is customary for the challenger to offer all their belongings to the victor if they lose the duel. I’ve lost in a duel of love that I started myself, and if I were to get…p-pitied on top of that…!”
Alexei’s cheeks reddened as he explained. He practically squeezed those last words out. It was probably extremely humiliating for him to explain all this as the loser.
“So… This is to set things right. Please take it.”
“…I see.”
Hearing the desperate plea in Alexei’s voice, Kei gave up with a troubled expression.
“So, you’re telling me you’d be shamed for life if I don’t accept this?”
“Exactly.”
“I see… Well then…”
With a sigh, Kei brushed up his bangs and switched to a serious expression.
“Got it. I’ll accept your request.”
“Huh, you will?”
Aileen blinked in complete surprise.
“Ohh, you will?”
On the other hand, Alexei’s expression brightened up. But at the same time, he narrowed his eyes in a lonely way as he looked down at the pile of luggage — and Kei did not miss this.
“Yeah. By the way…I’m free to do what I want with the items I received, right?”
“… Yeah, of course. Sell them or use them, do as you wish.” He paused a little. But even so, he answered resolutely.
“I see,” getting his acknowledgement, Kei nodded seriously, and continued, “In that case, as the winner of our duel, I give this equipment to you.”
“…Huh?”
Everyone around them looked dumbstruck, taken aback by Kei’s words.
“S-Stop screwing with me! Then it’s basically the same as not having accepted it in the first place!” Alexei drew his flushed face close to Kei with a momentum as if he was going to snap at him, but Kei was not perturbed.
“No, I have certainly accepted everything. Both your resolve and price.”
Alexei was dumbfounded by Kei’s earnest words, and flapped his mouth open and closed like a fish on dry land.
Kei was a foreigner.
Of course he was not familiar with the Snowland people’s customs. If Alexei wanted to, he could have easily deceived him after the duel.
But instead, he willingly came and offered his property to Kei. It was perfect proof that he lived by his pride. Even if it was incompatible with Kei and hard to understand for him, he could at least appreciate the honesty.
This world did not guarantee one’s life, let alone the necessary things to lead a humble but normal life. It was hard to imagine what kind of determination one would need to throw down and hand over all of their belongings to someone else when they were in a foreign country surrounded by almost nothing but strangers.
Kei thought that it was such a brave and sportsmanlike behavior that it actually felt refreshing to him.
“I was impressed. I can’t help but admire your spirit. Thus, as a display of respect, I wish to bestow you with these arms.” As he spoke clearly and eloquently, Kei’s jet black eyes were fully fixed on Alexei’s wavering ones. “Accept it. Proud Snowland warrior — Alexei.”
Kei’s silent, yet overbearing words made Alexei hang his head in silence. Kei could not see his expression as it was hidden behind his right hand.
“…If we abide by the customs…”
Do you think we can act like it didn’t happen?
A small voice reached Kei’s ears. It was a faltering voice that felt afraid and trembled.
“……Haaahhh.”
Finally, accompanied by a long sigh, Alexei looked up to the sky with a lethargic expression. After glaring for some time, his lips tightly pursed, he roughly scratched his head and answered.
“…Got it. I will gratefully accept it.”
Alexei quickly nodded as if he had realized something, and then pulled out his clothes from the pile of luggage, silently putting them back on.
It was as if the earlier undressing was played backwards. He put on his pants, shirt, plated leather armor, greaves and gauntlets. He roughly crammed his purse into his pocket, then picked up his sword and shield and put the knapsack on his back.
And with that, Alexei had returned to what he looked like a few minutes ago.
“…”
He awkwardly averted his eyes, scratching the tip of his nose, just to roughly put on his helmet. He was about to pull down his vizor — but stopped and gave a small sigh.
Then, he pulled the hand off the vizor and extended it to Kei.
“—Thank you.”
Kei accepted Alexei’s firm gaze and returned the handshake.
Alexei’s handshake was…strong.
“There is nothing to be thanked for. I simply did as I pleased.”
“…I see.”
With a bitter smile, Alexei shouldered his greatsword once again and turned his back on Kei and Aileen.
“…It was my loss.”
This was the last line he uttered before pulling down his vizor and walking away at a slow, calm pace.
As he continued north, amidst the refreshing early summer wind, his back gradually grew smaller.
And thus, the young man went on a solitary journey, never again turning around.
“…Now then.”
After Kei saw him off, he grabbed Sasuke’s reins and corrected his helmet.
“We should go as well.”
“Yeah.”
Aileen curtly agreed, and jumped on Suzuka. They heard voices from Holland’s group calling for them, seemingly having finished their preparations for departure.
What a farce.
Despite those cynical thoughts, Kei did not feel bad about it for some odd reason.
While sitting atop Sasuke, he glanced back one last time, looking northwards. Then he pulled Sasuke’s head over, heading in the direction of the caravan members.
†††
Kei’s silent, yet overbearing words made Alexei hang his head in silence. Kei could not see his expression as it was hidden behind his right hand.
“…If we abide by the customs…”
Do you think we can act like it didn’t happen?
A small voice reached Kei’s ears. It was a faltering voice that felt afraid and trembled.
“……Haaahhh.”
Finally, accompanied by a long sigh, Alexei looked up to the sky with a lethargic expression. After glaring for some time, his lips tightly pursed, he roughly scratched his head and answered.
“…Got it. I’ll gratefully accept it.”
Alexei quickly nodded as if he had realized something, and then pulled out his clothes from the pile of luggage, silently putting them back on.
It was as if the earlier undressing was played backwards. He put on his pants, shirt, plated leather armor, greaves and gauntlets. He roughly crammed his purse into his pocket, then picked up his sword and shield and put the knapsack on his back.
And with that, Alexei had returned to what he looked like a few minutes ago.
“…”
He awkwardly averted his eyes, scratching the tip of his nose, just to roughly put on his helmet. He was about to pull down his vizor — but stopped and gave a small sigh.
Then, he pulled the hand off the vizor and extended it to Kei.
“—Thank you.”
Kei accepted Alexei’s firm gaze and returned the handshake.
Alexei’s handshake was…strong.
“There is nothing to be thanked for. I simply did as I pleased.”
“…I see.”
With a bitter smile, Alexei shouldered his greatsword once again and turned his back on Kei and Aileen.
“…It was my loss.”
This was the last line he uttered before pulling down his vizor and walking away at a slow, calm pace.
As he continued north, amidst the refreshing early summer wind, his back gradually grew smaller.
And thus, the young man went on a solitary journey, never again turning around.
“…Now then.”
After Kei saw him off, he grabbed Sasuke’s reins and corrected his helmet.
“We should go as well.”
“Yeah.”
Aileen curtly agreed, and jumped on Suzuka. They heard voices from Holland’s group calling for them, seemingly having finished their preparations for departure.
What a farce.
Despite those cynical thoughts, Kei did not feel bad about it for some odd reason.
While sitting atop Sasuke, he glanced back one last time, looking northwards. Then he pulled Sasuke’s head over, heading in the direction of the caravan members.
†††
With them passing through the city gate and receiving their pay at the Cornwell Company’s branch, Kei and Aileen’s work as escorts came to an end.
They had received six small silvers and a few coppers per person, or if you converted it all into copper coins, it would amount to almost 70 coins. That was the wage for their seven days of escorting the caravan as guards.
Considering that one needed three copper coins a day to get by on frugal meals, it was not a bad pay at all. Aileen started using her magic midway, so they added two silvers as a special compensation for the catalysts.
Incidentally, according to Holland, they would even pay medical treatment, depending on the level of the injury, if an escort got seriously injured during their job.
“Man, I’m so glad we’ve got to work with you two! If there’s another chance, I’d love to work with you again!”
“We have to thank you instead. You helped us a great deal.”
“Stay safe, princess!”
“We’ll eventually meet again, but see you until then!”
Dagmar and the rest of the escorts talked about celebrating their last work day with a drink and headed off the moment they received their pay. Can they not live without alcohol? Kei wondered with a wry smile, but he did not overlook Aileen muttering that she wanted to drink some vodka too.
After that, they quickly discussed what to do with the Grande Urs fur, and then left the branch store.
They could expect to sell the fur for a fairly high price if they found someone knowledgeable about pelts, allowing Kei to choose from two options: Wait until such a buyer turned up, or sell it off to the company at a normal price. In the case of the former, it could be sold off for a high price in exchange for having to wait for an indefinite time, but with the latter, he could get the money immediately in exchange for having the price lowered.
According to the information they got in Satyna, the admission fee at Urvan’s library was quite high, so Kei went with selling it on the spot as he needed the money as soon as possible.
“We don’t know how long we’d need to wait after all.”
“Exactly. But the fur of Grande Urs can be turned into fairly good armor if processed properly, right? So it’d also be an option to use it.”
“I’m fine with my current equipment. But if you want it, Aileen, just holler.”
“No, I’m set. Besides, it’s heavy…”
As they were talking, they headed to the inn Holland had recommended to them.
The main street, connecting the common district, was crowded with people as if buried by a flood in the evening hours. Kei saw a girl with shopping, a slave in a simple, black tunic, and a traveler-looking man haggling with a street vendor…
As he proceeded on the road with its neat paving while holding onto Sasuke’s rein, he noticed that the buildings around here were overall taller than those in Satyna and Yulia. Starting with the buildings at the outer edge, near the wall, all of them had at least three stories. Perhaps due to that, this city appeared more advanced than the other cities, despite the fact that it looked medieval.
“I suppose I should expect this much from the capital…”
As he was darting his eyes around like a country bumpkin, they reached their inn. It had a peculiar signboard with a deformed beetle hanging from a beer mug that said “HangedBug”.
They left Sasuke and Suzuka to the maid at the entrance and opened the green entrance door. As a bell rang, they got a glimpse at the interior.
“Oh, good evening.” A young woman greeted them while holding neatly-folded sheets.
She had a well-tanned light-brown skin, shoulder-length flaxen hair which was bound together by a bandana, and a lovely pair of black eyes, looking at them full of curiosity.
“Are you here to dine? Or to stay over?”
“We’d like to book a room.”
“‘Kay. Give me a moment.”
With an amiable smile, the woman disappeared inside the inn, carrying the sheets away. “HangedBug” was a regular inn, meaning it had a bar and dinery on the ground floor. Round tables were lined up in the large room illuminated by lamps, and a middle-aged man was polishing a glass behind a bar counter. He had a muscular build and a ruffled mustache that would make you think he was a dwarf, though that particular race did not exist in the game, and probably not in this world either. Later, Kei found out that Aileen was thinking the same at that moment.
“Hey, sorry for making your wait. Now then…”
As soon as the woman returned, she opened the reception book. Her eyes alternated between Kei and Aileen.
“…Are you fine with a shared room?”
“…Yeah.”
Kei nodded as if it was nothing, trying hard to not get worked up about it. He felt like Aileen’s existence next to him was getting hot and distinct.
“How many days do you plan to stay?”
“We haven’t decided yet, but what’s the minimum amount of time required?”
“I mean, even just one day is fine. But it’d be a bit troubling if you keep extending it day by day. It’ll be a bit cheaper if you book in weeks, though.”
“Is that so? Then let’s go with a week for now.”
“Mhm, ‘kay. Then your room will be #203.”
Kei accepted the key and paid for both the room and the horse feed with a silver coin. “Take your time~” They heard the woman’s voice from behind as they headed upstairs.
Room #203.
It was a snuggly room with a sense of cleanliness. A small table at the window, armchairs with cushions, a wooden chest with a lock, and two beds near the two walls — as Holland had claimed, the quality of the furniture was quite high here compared to other inns. The window was a simple sliding storm shutter, but since it was facing the other side of the street it offered a relatively quiet environment.
“Hurray, a bed!”
Aileen threw her luggage on the floor and dove onto the bed. Unlike the one in Satyna, the beds here had proper padding so the mattress cushioned her body.
“Ahhhh~~~ I’m melting~~~”
“Yeah, we’ve just been sleeping on clothes spread on the ground these past few days.”
Kei also put down his luggage and took a breather. The pleasant firmness of the mattress caused his cheeks to slacken. He enjoyed their travel quite a bit, but continuously sleeping in tents had made his entire body stiff. He was truly happy to be able to sleep on a comfortable bed.
Truly…Happy.
“……”
Before they knew it, the room had fallen silent.
They were currently not in a tent made out of cloth but a tightly sealed room with proper walls and a ceiling — and that emphasized the fact that they were alone now. Even their relaxed emotions brought about by relief, a sense of accomplishment, and exaltation from having reached their goal, spiced up this feeling even further.
Kei tried to silently distract himself from this fact by doing random things such as removing his armor, sorting his luggage, or confirming whether the window shutter worked as intended. But as he racked his head about possible topics, the atmosphere of the room was only getting more and more saturated.
“……”
Running out of things to do, Kei glanced back, and he saw Aileen gazing back at him while hugging a pillow who flinched in response.
“Ah, right.”
As their eyes met, Kei opened his mouth as if he had suddenly remembered something.
“I…I forgot to ask Sir Holland something. Mind if I head out for a bit? It’s just a little something, so I’ll be right back.”
“Ah, well okay? I’ve got no problems with that.”
Aileen blinked in surprise and nodded while hugging her pillow.
“Okay, I’m off then.”
“Sure, leave the key here~”
“There you go.”
He flicked the room’s key with a finger and Aileen caught it skilfully.
“Be careful and see you soon.”
“Yeah, later.”
Kei glanced back at Aileen, who smiled behind him and then returned to relaxing by lying back down again, and left the room.
*step* *step* *step*… Aileen carefully listened to the sound of Kei’s boots gradually growing distant..
Eventually, when she was convinced that Kei had definitely left the inn, Aileen suddenly got up.
“Hmm…”
With hands on her waist, she looked over the room that was neither spacious nor cramped. Then her gaze fell on her luggage in the corner of the room, and she pinched the shirt she wore with her fingers.
“…Okay, let’s change.”
She muttered to no one in particular, and then started rummaging through her things.
†††
After walking along the streets at a quick pace with the sky already darkening, Kei arrived at the company once more.
His objective, as he had told Aileen, was Holland.
“Oh hey, I knew you’d come back.”
Holland greeted the fidgety Kei with a bright smile in a small room for business negotiations located in a corner of the branch.
“Then, you should know why I’m here, right?”
“Of course. This, right?”
With a smug smile, Holland opened the small box he had brought with him into the room.
The box, stuffed out with silk padding, contained a hand-sized rectangular mirror.
“Ohh… So this is the one?”
“Yeah. Originally, I planned to deliver this one here, but the client said they want a round one. That’s why I was transporting the round mirror you guys have also seen.”
“I see. So, how much do you want for it?”
Kei asked, implying that he did not care about the particulars, and thus beaming a wry smile in light amusement on Holland’s lips.
“Twenty silver…or so I’d usually say, but I’ll drop the price to fifteen silver as a friendship discount. Let me tell you just in case, this price is already close to my prime cost, so I can’t go any lower on it.”
“No, that’s plenty. So…how do you want me to pay?”
“Hmm, well you can pay now, or I can deduct it from the payment for the fur.”
“…Let’s go with the deduction then.”
Holland readily agreed with Kei’s desire to not use the money on hand as much as possible.
“Now, do you need it wrapped up?”
“You offer such a service as well? Please do so.”
Kei answered while scratching his cheeks bashfully as Holland directed a meaningful smile at him. Holland surprisingly fetched a ribbon and wrapping paper from a nearby shelf and started to personally wrap up the wooden box.
“…By the way, Sir Holland, is there a good restaurant near the HangedBug you could recommend to me? I’d like to arrange a nice dinner for this occasion. Money plays no role.”
Kei asked timidly as he observed Holland’s hands moving in an unexpectedly skillful and nimble manner.
“Hmm, a restaurant, huh…? If we ignore the costs… No wait, you two don’t have any dresses, do you?”
“Ugh… Unfortunately, no.”
“Renting them… might come with the issue of the size not matching, and it’d take too long. Then, hmm… a place you can visit without having to dress too formally…”
Holland’s hands stopped and he started to seriously ponder about it, perhaps a display of his true ability as Chef.
“…I have one in mind, but the question is…Tu sais parler le francais?”
Kei’s brow twitched at Holland’s sudden words, then he hesitantly looked away for a moment.
“…Oui, un petit peu.”
“Oh, color me surprised. In that case, it should be fine.”
Kei confirmed Holland’s question whether he could speak French with “a little”. Holland seemed quite surprised, repeatedly nodding.
“R-Right… Why did you bring that up so suddenly?”
“There’s a restaurant called 『Le Donjon』on the opposite street of HangedBug, but both the owner and the staff are Highland people. It isn’t all that pricey and they offer an excellent menu, but they turn away everyone who doesn’t speak their language. I think you’ll also be turned down at first, so just tell them that I referred you.”
Holland pulled out a memo from his chest pocket and quickly wrote something on it with a quill. Accepting it, Kei saw Holland had signed it after writing, “please treat them hospitably.”
“Still, you sure are versatile. Well, I did suspect it since you seemed to somewhat understand my conversations with Dagmar.”
“I’m not that good at it. I can only speak a little.” Kei answered humbly with a shrug.
Kei, who had been learning English since childhood, also started to learn a few other European languages in order to talk with other patients all over the world as soon as the VR device had been implemented. He knew a bit of French, Spanish, Italian, and very few words such as greetings in Portuguese. Russian was a bit out of his reach so he did not learn any of it in the end, but deep inside, he was now regretting that he had not learned it.
“Okay, done.”
“Thanks. It looks perfect.”
Kei was overjoyed, grinning cheerfully, as he picked up the box, now wrapped up prettily. Holland, revealing a smile of a different kind altogether, pushed Kei’s back as encouragement.
“Now, do your best. Bonne chance! (I wish you luck!)”
“Haha, merci bien! (Thank you!)”
With a wry smile, Kei put the box under his arm and left the company.
On the way back, Kei realized that it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to show up like this, so after much thought about how to hide his gift, he finally succeeded in cramming it inside the bow case on his waist.
Sorry about this, Dragon Stinger
He felt apologetic towards his partner inside the case because of the temporary tightness in there.
“I’m back.”
As soon as Kei called out and knocked on the door of their room in the inn, Aileen unlocked the door while greeting back.
“Oh.”
Kei was momentarily stunned by Aileen.
“…You changed?”
“Yeah.”
Aileen smiled shily while illuminated by the gentle lamp light. Her powder blue dress swayed gently in front of Kei.
“…You had a dress like that?”
“Umm, I actually found it in Satyna.”
Her upturned gaze as she smoothened down the hem with a faint blush on her cheeks pierced through Kei.
“…It looks great on you.”
“…Thanks.”
As she responded with an embarrassed laugh, Kei could no longer look into her eyes.
Afterwards, Kei had Aileen leave the room first, somehow managed to hide the mirror, and then he left as well, heading to the restaurant with her.
They found Le Donjon easier than he expected. It had a characteristic castle-shaped signboard, and on top of that,『Le Donjon』was written on the storefront in big letters. As Holland had feared, they were almost turned away at the door as first-time customers, but that immediately changed with Kei showing Holland’s note. While receiving many curious looks by customers who seemed to be regulars, they were guided to a neat private room.
“Kei, so you can speak French too!?”
“…A bit.”
Key looked fairly triumphant despite his humble reply, but he was immediately at his wits’ end when he was given a menu full of words unknown to him.
For starters, he chose the orthodox approach of ordering pasta and grilled lamb while enjoying the white wine-based aperitif. It took quite a bit of time for the main menu to be served. Hence Kei and Aileen ended up quite drunk, but the quality of the dishes was amazing in proportion to the long wait.
Fresh cream and ground beef served as hors d’oeuvre, accompanied by mousse made out of various herbs. The fragrant and rich sauce excited their tongues, stimulating their appetites. While Kei devoured his portion in no time, Aileen ate hers in small portions, as if to prolong the opportunity to eat it for as long as possible.
The next item on the menu was pasta. The noodles were quite resilient, reminding Kei of the handmade noodles he had eaten in his previous life. Kei had ordered bolognese, Aileen carbonara. They shared with each other, confirming that both dishes were perfect. The carbonara, in particular, had been amply sprinkled with something of a peculiar moist fragrance, which, according to Aileen, might have been an ingredient similar to truffle.
The main dish was grilled lamb. Very likely this was the dish with the biggest impact. With just one bite, both completely froze, before silently wolfing it down. The meat barely had any smell, despite coming from a sheep. It was tender while still maintaining its texture, and juices gushed out each time they bit into the meat. It had a heavy flavor, and yet it had just enough fat to not be excessive. They kept eating, one bite, then another bite, as if swallowing the meat whole, and without them even realizing, nothing was left on their plates.
“They probably tenderized the meat very carefully in advance.” Aileen gracefully wiped her mouth with a napkin and added, “Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so soft.”
Kei’s portion had broken bones in it, so it was probably just as she had said.
They got apple tart for dessert. Its sweet taste that caused their expressions to melt away was naturally considered a luxury in this world. And Aileen, who had only drunk weak alcohol such as beer and wine as of late, decided to let loose and ordered spirits, enjoying them to her heart’s content.
“Man, that was delicious.”
“We should come here again!”
The two returned to their inn in a good mood while being slightly drunk. They had spent a whole silver coin on today’s dinner, but they didn’t mind it since the food and drinks had fully satisfied them. It was practically set in stone that they would dine there again — Kei was even starting to consider whether he should switch his goal in life to earn enough money to eat at Le Donjon every day.
After getting back, they took baths in turn. Although public, the inn had a small bathroom on the ground floor. This was also the main reason why Holland had recommended “HangedBug” to them. Aileen went to take a bath first, then Kei switched with her, using the opportunity to completely get rid of the journey’s exhaustion.
“Man that was great, I’m super satisfied.”
When Kei returned, Aileen was rolling around on her bed. Her damp golden hair looked quite sexy to Kei. She had chosen to go with the dress as clothing again, so her white thighs, as they peeked out from underneath her clothes, looked quite dazzling to Kei. But he managed to keep his calm, with the alcohol playing a bigger part in this.
“I feel refreshed! Thank god for the existence of baths.”
“No kidding. I don’t remember how many years it’s been since I’ve had the last one.” Kei muttered while wiping his hair with a towel.
Hearing a small yelp from Aileen, he immediately realized that he had made a verbal gaffe.
“Ah, right. I actually have a present for you, Aileen.”
Kei switched the topic, acting as if he had just now remembered it. Then he went to the corner of the room and slowly pulled the wrapped box out of his luggage.
“Ohh! What is it! What is it!” Aileen lifted her body on the bed, and started to frolic around in high spirits like a little kid.
“Here you go,” Kei sat down next to her, handing over the box.
“…Can I open it?”
“Of course,” Kei smiled in response. “Do you even need to ask?”
With that, Aileen started to remove the wrapping very carefully, as if she was defusing a bomb.
And then, as soon as she opened the box, she found a mirror bedded in silk.
“…! It’s a mirror!”
Aileen looked back and forth between Kei and the mirror. After the second time, she speechlessly stared at her own reflection in the mirror with her eyes wide open for a while.
“…It’s a mirror!”
“You wanted one, right?”
“Are you for real…? Yaay! Thanks! Thanks a bunch, Kei!”
She started to thank Kei over and over again, as if feeling that she couldn’t thank him enough, while happily bouncing up and down on the bed. She then carefully put the mirror back into the box, faced Kei with a big smile, and got ready to pounce on him.
As soon as Kei spread his arms to catch her, she hurled herself into his embrace. Kei’s visual field was momentarily filled with her golden hair, along with a pleasant fragrance tickling his sense of smell.
“Thanks! I’m really happy!”
“You’re welcome. It makes me glad that you like it that much.”
Kei smiled broadly while gently hugging her delicate, small body. Aileen rubbed her forehead against his chest while squealing in delight.
They kept hugging each other like that for some time, but…
“……”
…before long, they fell completely silent.
Kei looked down on Aileen with gentle eyes as she looked up to him with eyes full of affection.
“…Aileen.”
It was Kei who showed a bit of courage first. He tenderly kissed her forehead, as if giving her his blessing.
Aileen trembled, apparently feeling ticklish, straightened up, and returned the kiss on Kei’s forehead to not fall behind.
They silently looked into each other’s eyes with their faces being at the same height. Black and blue looks overlapped and entwined.
“……”
Drawn towards each other like flowing water, they exchanged a kiss. Like little birds pecking at each other. A moment in time where they confirmed each other’s feelings. Even as they felt each other’s ticklish, pleasant laughs, they didn’t stop kissing.
However, at some point, one of them started to play-bite the other’s lip, breaking the silent balance.
As if melting away…their hesitation lasted but a moment.
There was no longer anything that could possibly separate these two.
They felt like their heads were growing numb, as if stars were showering down behind their eyelids.
Desiring each other, they kissed. It was a sensation causing goosebumps on their skins. They wished for this moment to last an eternity, but as with all good things, this wish came to an end as they ran out of breath.
Their lips separated, both gasping for air like people about to drown in the ocean. Their breathing was so much of a mess that it was actually shameful. Their hearts pounded inside their chest as if they had finished sprinting at full speed moment’s ago.
“…Aileen.”
Kei tightly held her frail body. The thumping of her heart, beating as fast as his own, sounded like music to his ears.
He would not stop, could not stop, any longer. The burning desire welling up in him made him tremble.
“Kei…”
Pulling her body away a bit, Aileen peered into his eyes.
Her clear blue eyes said everything that needed to be said with her mouth staying silent. She too was trembling.
She gazed uneasily at the flickering lamp at the ceiling.
And then, the air outside the room stirred. A small breeze blew inside the room through the gaps of the window, gently extinguishing the lamp’s flame.
Darkness descended upon them. It was dark — yet Kei’s eyes captured everything.
The figure of a girl, an unbelievably lovely girl, distinctly standing out with her white body.
“Aileen.”
He whispered in her ear, gently pulling her hand.
“Ahn…”
Reason played no longer a part in this. Both fell onto the bed, their bodies entwined.
Their night — had only just begun.
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