Chapter 16
The carriage carrying the members of <Running Wolves> continued to run as planned for three days without causing any major problems. The carriage drove into the wilderness without incident and arrived at the front of the inn where they were to stay <Raging Lizard Inn>
âLetâs get a room, drop off our bags, and gathered again!â
âI hope we have a private room for four people.â
The four of them walked in unison to the innâs counter.
After confirming that there were four private rooms available, they each chose a room.
From the furthest end, it was Shinji, Alvin, Milis, and Renka in that order.
The group gathered again at the entrance of the inn and started walking together. Shinji, who had been to the city before, led the way, followed by Renka. Alvin and Milis walk behind him.
âWe have to go to the guild for now. We have to gather information on the lesser dragons. After that, it is better to find a store that what we need, even if our stay is short.â
âShould we all move together?â
âYes, itâs the first time for all three of us. Basically, itâs safe, but there are a lot of adventurers like us who are in the upper mid-range and above who are looking for a lesser dragon. Just because theyâre strong doesnât mean they have a good personality. Youâd better watch out for pick-ups.â
Imagining a man with a strong face and strong arms, Renka frowned.
â⌠Okay. Mil, you must stay close to Al, okay?â
âY, yeah. And you too, Renka-chan!â
âHahaha, Alvin has a lot of responsibility.â
âNo, no, no, Shinji too!â
âI know.â
Milis holds Alvinâs hand and squeezes it. Alvin canât help but laugh at the fact that Shinji is laughing as if he were someone else. Shinji shrugged his shoulders. Renka and Milis chuckled.
* * *
After arriving at the guild, the group headed to the reception counter in groups. Shinji can feel the people around him staring at him, but he doesnât feel any hostility or harm, so he walks ahead of them. When they reached the end of the queue, Alvin took over the lead.
âIâll take care of the quest. Iâll leave the formalities to you.â
âOkay. Iâll be there later!â
Separated from Alvin and the other three, Shinji moved alone to a board in front of which the quests were posted. He can find many different types of quests: collecting, defeating, guarding, etc. There are no unusual quests.
(Iâll start with a few simple quests to get used to the wilderness⌠and collect information on sightings of lesser dragons and past defeats. ThenâŚ)
Shinji was thinking about his future plans, when he suddenly felt a gaze on him more than ever and looked at a corner of the guild. His eyes met with a pretty girl who walked up to him with a big smile on her face, her shoulder-length blond hair swaying. Shinjiâs face twitched involuntarily.
âEmily!? Youâre here?â
âShinji, long time no see~!â
As soon as she called his name, the girl called Emily quickly closed the distance between them and jumped on Shinji with her arms outstretched like a hug. Shinji prevented the hug by pressing Emilyâs head with his hand.
âI canât get enough of you~. I like you so much âĄâ
âI told you not to talk about itâŚâ
Emily puts her hands on her cheeks and shakes her head deliberately. Shinji sighed at the mockery of this move.
Emily is the attacker of Shinjiâs previous party.
She had a petite body with few curves, but her face was a beautiful girl.
However, she was a tremendous troublemaker, and Shinji had to run around following her every time she caused a problem.
Thanks to her, Shinji has grown fond of her, and sheâs taken a liking to him.
From Shinjiâs point of view, he has no intention of responding to the favor, because once he gets his hands on her, she is an accidental child who will undoubtedly get him into a lot of trouble.
âIâm not giving up yet, though. Na, why donât you go out with me for a trial period? Iâm the type of person who will do anything for you.â
âHaha, thatâs a funny thing to say. You canât do any housework.â
Emilie laughs as she presses her thin breasts against Shinjiâs arm. Shinji continues to keep a straight face.
âOh, well, why donât we just hire a maid? Iâll make you a lot of money, and you can have all the luxury you want. While Iâm hunting demons, you can stay home and relax.â
âI have no intention of becoming a pimpâŚâ (*Note : a person, especially a man, who solicits customers for a prostitute or a brothel, usually in return for a share of the earnings)
The line about being able to afford luxury is not a delusion of exaggeration.
Emily is very skilled at hunting down <Lesser Dragons> that <Running Wolves> is about to defeat. Shinji also values Emilyâs fighting ability.
âAnd donât forget, I havenât forgiven you for disappearing right after the party disbandedâ
Emilyâs hand grabbed Shinjiâs arm, and his bones squeaked with the force of her grip.
I think it goes without saying that the reason Shinji disappeared was to get away from Emily. He didnât want to go on an adventure alone with her.
âIâll apologize⌠Iâve already joined a new party. Iâm coming here to defeat the lesser dragon.â
âI knew youâll say that. The only reason Iâm using this town as a base is because I knew Shinji would come here to defeat the lesser dragon.â
Emilyâs obsession only made Shinji laugh dryly.
In the meantime, the three who had completed the reception at the guild came back to join Shinji. Alvin and Milis are puzzled to see Shinji looking so unusually dead-eyed as a beautiful stranger grabs him by the arm.
Renka is also confused, but she glares at Emily, who is strangely annoyed and still holding Shinjiâs arm.
âWhat do you want with our Shinji?â
Emily replied to Renkaâs words with a beautiful smile that anyone would love to see on her face.
âNice to meet you⌠Iâm Emily, Shinjiâs ex-girlfriend âĄâ
âSheâs a former member of the party⌠letâs go, everyone!â
Shinji pulls his arm away from Emily and walks towards the entrance of the guild. Emily stares at Shinji with moist eyes, but doesnât move.
Alvin looks at Shinji and Emily alternately, then follows Shinji, confused. Milis and Renka followed behind.
âAre you sure? Wasnât she part of your former party that disbanded?
âMay I? Alvin. Sheâs a disaster in human form. Iâll only get in trouble if I get involved.â
Alvin catches up with Shinji and Shinji tells him off with a straight face that he rarely shows. Alvin nodded his head in a strange way.
âIâve never heard Shinji-san say anything like that before.â
âRunning into trouble with other parties, causing trouble for others, not communicating with others⌠well, thereâs no end to it. Iâve been the one whoâs been following her aroundâŚâ
Renka looked at Shinji, who sounded tired.
âYouâre not his ex-girlfriend, are you?â
âI never said anything like that. Iâve rejected her confession as well.â
Alvin and the others ask a lot of other questions, but Shinji is unwilling to answer. He handed Alvin a map of the armorâs shops affiliated with the guild, which was distributed by the guild, without saying a word.
âLook, letâs just stick to the plan for now, okay?â
Alvin laughed at the blatant misrepresentation.
âHaha, okay. Iâm sorry Shinji. Itâs rare for Shinji to be so relaxed!â
âSo, Shinji-san has people heâs not good with.â
âMy face was so tight, huh?â
After regaining their happy mood, the group went for a walk in the city.
