Ch.288288. Drinking Party (1)

[Stay!]

The black spiritmaster rushed over to Soho, who had stopped in front of the food in response to the command, and immediately praised him while petting him.

Looking at Soho, who had now completely become a pet, I couldn’t help but sigh.

[Good job!]

Their giggling and playing really looked like a child who had begged their parents for a cat. The only difference was that they were raising a monster.

While watching the two playing in my room, I suddenly noticed Soho’s tails.

“Haven’t they increased by two?”

I was certain there were only two tails before, but now there were four. When I pointed this out, Stella scratched her cheek and nodded.

[Y-yes, they have.]

“……”

I wanted to just let it go, but I couldn’t. The gradually increasing number of tails naturally reminded me of a certain type of monster.

‘Is it something like a gumiho?’

Come to think of it, when Soho tried to seduce me, changing appearance or even clinging to the ceiling to hide—these were behaviors that suited a gumiho quite well.

‘It must reflect personal desires.’

The desire to become an adult woman and accompany other monsters. When would this girl’s act finally end? I pretended not to notice and resumed packing my belongings.

The situation with Illuania and Goven was mostly resolved, and as for Soho, since the Dark Spiritmaster liked him so much, I was planning to take him along.

“Master!”

Just then, Findenai roughly opened the door and entered.

She probably had nothing to pack, so she was just playing around.

“I’m bored! Wanna go on a date?”

Knowing that 70% of the time Findenai looks for me, it’s just to talk nonsense, I handle it skillfully.

“Then help me pack.”

“You don’t have much to pack anyway. And when Goven arrives, we’ll depart, right? It’ll take about a week?”

It seemed like we would leave Norsweden soon, but somehow reasons to stay kept increasing.

And this time, Findenai was right. I was packing early because of my personality, but there wasn’t really any rush.

In that case.

“Fine.”

“…Huh?”

[Wait a minute!]

[What?]

I only uttered one word, but it drew reactions from all three people simultaneously.

It might be understandable for the Dark Spiritmaster and Stella, but it was somewhat amusing to see Findenai surprised by her own suggestion.

“R-really? No, I was just saying that to tease you!”

Findenai was flustered.

But I wasn’t joking. I grabbed her wrist as I walked past her and headed outside.

I could hear the Dark Spiritmaster and Stella saying something behind us, but they didn’t follow, showing they had some tact.

“Wait, master.”

While walking down the corridor, Findenai forcefully pulled her arm away and said with a reddened face, fidgeting:

“Give me 10 minutes. Wait outside.”

“…You don’t need to change clothes.”

I thought it was strange since she usually walked around in her maid outfit without any issues.

“This sucks from the start. Just shut up and wait.”

“……”

The maiden-like atmosphere from just a moment ago was gone, and the revolutionary leader was giving me the middle finger.

“Sometimes I can’t believe this bastard seduced women.”

Grumbling, Findenai turned toward her room.

“That wasn’t me.”

I answered to her back, telling her not to equate the former Deus with me.

“Fiancée, mentally ill kid, princess. Who else?”

“…Go change.”

I almost staggered from the perfect counter-punch. Come to think of it, I was no longer in a position to blame Deus.

At least my sister’s name didn’t come out of Findenai’s mouth, which was fortunate.

“Hmm? Where are you going?”

I encountered Deia as I was heading outside to wait for Findenai. Judging by the stack of papers in her hand, she seemed quite busy.

“I’m going to the city with Findenai for a bit.”

I answered honestly since lying would create an awkward situation.

“Ugh.”

Deia made a disgusted face as if she’d seen something revolting. She hit my shoulder as she passed by, complaining of nausea.

“Some people work while others go on dates with women. How nice.”

“……”

“Be careful. If I spot you, I might mistake you for wild animals and shoot you with a shotgun.”

Deia, who was clearly on edge, passed by with sharp words.

I knew it wasn’t just because of work that she was angry, but there was nothing I could do about it.

After waiting outside for about 20 minutes.

“Oh, it’s warm.”

Findenai came out rubbing her arms with both hands, as if she had just stepped out for a smoke.

She was wearing a white sweater from somewhere, similar to what Deia had worn before.

“Deia gave it to me.”

“……”

“She came to my room and threw it at me. How did she know I don’t have many clothes?”

I could guess that too.

She only wore maid outfits every day.

I heard that all the maids who used to wear that uniform had quit, so Findenai had several identical outfits.

That’s why she could wear the same clothes every day.

“When I tried to change, I realized I only had coats and shirts from fighting? So I immediately put this on. How is it? Does it suit me?”

Findenai pulled down the hem of her sweater, deliberately showing off her figure through the thick clothing.

Perhaps appreciating her effort, I nodded with a slight smile.

“It doesn’t look strange.”

“You always give compliments in a weird way. Can’t you just talk like a man and say ‘Let’s go to a motel! Spread your legs!’ or something like that?”

“I know you wouldn’t be able to go through with it anyway. You’d just get surprised and hiccup like last time.”

Findenai was all talk, wasn’t she?

But this time, Findenai was different. She straightened her shoulders with a hearty laugh.

“Are you crazy? I’m confident I won’t back out now! Someone’s been away for months, and I’m sexually frustrated.”

“……”

“Are you confident? If you can’t get it up because you haven’t used it in so long, I’ll bring an axe.”

“Did you call me out to talk about this?”

I’m starting to feel dizzy.

Why do I naturally fall into her pace whenever I talk with Findenai?

‘It’s probably because I don’t really dislike these conversations with her.’

I know the truth but pretend not to. My pride is still too strong to accept it.

“It’s because you don’t compliment properly. You’re such a shy boy. No, a Dey-boy.”

“Take it easy.”

“Fine, fine. Let’s go. We’ll be talking here until sunset.”

Findenai walked ahead. I sighed and quietly muttered:

“Pretty.”

Findenai turned her head at an incredible speed, as if someone had hit her.

“What did you say?”

She looked at me with wide eyes, but I just gestured forward with my chin.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Whatever.”

Even as she faced forward, Findenai’s lips curled up into a smile, and her breathing quickened.

The faint blush visible through her hair made it clear she had heard what I said.

She seemed to have a destination in mind, leading us to the outskirts of the city, close to the mountain range.

The rising smoke, the scent of charcoal-grilled meat, and the loud voices of men just beginning to get drunk.

Members of the Junkyard and Norsweden’s private soldiers were having a party, eating meat among themselves.

“I was planning to come here originally.”

“Didn’t you tell me you were bored and wanted to go out?”

“I didn’t think you’d actually come along.”

Was she planning to just tease me before leaving, but got surprised when I actually followed?

“You’ve arrived!”

“Oh! The second young master is here too!”

“Y-young master!”

“Loyalty!”

The Junkyard members welcomed me quite warmly, but Norsweden’s soldiers immediately stood at attention and saluted.

“No need for formalities. We’ll stay separate.”

“Oh, listen to that sweet talk.”

I’m even tired of telling her to take it easy now. No matter how much I tell them to be comfortable, my presence alone makes it uncomfortable, so Findenai and I moved away to a spot closer to the mountain range.

Simply sitting on two folding chairs and looking at the towering mountains was a time to experience many emotions without much effort.

“Want a drink?”

Findenai asked, bringing bottled beer.

I don’t usually like alcohol, but today it wouldn’t be bad.

When I reached out my hand, she flicked the cap off lightly and handed it to me.

“Cheers.”

Clink!

The two beer bottles collided with a refreshing sound. Findenai grinned and drank straight from the bottle, and I took a sip a moment later.

Perhaps because it wasn’t Norsweden alcohol but from the Republic of Clark, it was stronger than I expected.

“Kihyaa! This is good! Hey, bring some snacks!”