Ch.35The Disgustingly Huge Snowball Shot by an NPC. (7)

“Ragni, what did you just say…”

“Hm? Did I say something complicated? I’m telling you I didn’t earn any money.”

“……”

The inn where I returned carrying the dirt-covered Rey like a sack.

There, Ragni was sitting leisurely with Ira, eating snacks and skewers.

Next to her, Gore was standing with an expensive-looking teapot from who knows where. Looking like that, she really does look like a young lady from a prestigious family, doesn’t she?

Ah, no. She’s a princess, right?

I send Gore a look demanding the truth, incredulous at the situation.

[For the past two days, all she did was meet a few people and come back. After that, she just went around with Miss Ira, buying and eating food.]

“Haa. Is that so, Gore? Were there any problems?”

“Hm? Problems? Well, there were some men who tried to hit on me, but our excellent golem maid handled everything perfectly.”

“Yeah! Gore went boom! boom! and took care of them all!”

…It seems the poor insects who approached her, captivated by the princess’s beauty, were dealt with by Gore’s hands.

Sigh, it’s really petty of me to ask why someone who’s lived as a distinguished princess didn’t earn money.

It’s a bit frustrating to think we were the only ones working hard, but Ira seems to have enjoyed herself, so let’s let it slide this time.

[I judged them to be humans who would be bad for Miss Ira’s emotional state. Was that a mistake?]

“Hm? Surely not…”

Gore’s question, seemingly misunderstanding my frown. What?

“Oh, did Gore tell you someone was creeping on Ira too?”

“…What?”

What kind of crazy bastard? Give me their name, address, and description. Wait, I’ll just go out for a moment.

“Don’t get excited. It was just a common kidnapper who shook candy at Ira and told her to follow because she’s cute, since she was with me.”

“Gore, guide me to where those bastards are…”

“I already handed them over to the guards, so calm down.”

When I tried to grab Gore and head outside, Ragni shook her head dismissively.

Damn, I should have twisted all their necks…

[I dislocated all their shoulders. I adjusted it so that even after recovery, their arms will never rise above their shoulders again.]

“Nice. Well done.”

“…It was a bit scary watching Gore beat people up. And that eye-covering thing? What was that about?”

“Eye covering!”

“Yeah, that. Gore covered her eyes with her fingers and Ira immediately did the same, but she wouldn’t put her hands down for the longest time.”

“You have to say ‘caught you’!”

“Right. Caught you, there.”

“Caught!!”

Our slave princess smiled bitterly at Ira’s cuteness and looked at me, and I just shrugged.

What? She’s cute, isn’t she?

“Really, it’s never boring with you people.”

“How could anyone get tired of Ira’s cuteness?”

“Well, I’ll admit that.”

“Ehehe!”

“Urgh… Jack… please… put me down…”

“Oh my, what’s this? Rey was alive?”

Huh? What? Did you think Rey was dead? But why is your reaction so bland?

She had completely passed out on my shoulder.

Well, I really did carry her like luggage, so whether she fainted from motion sickness or exhaustion, there’s no way to know, but it’s her own responsibility.

“D-don’t kill people. I’m properly alive.”

“When I saw a dirt-covered comrade being carried like baggage, I thought you were bringing back a corpse for a memorial service.”

“……”

At Ragni’s words, Rey sits on the floor with her lips pouting, while Ira beams at Rey’s dirty face.

Hey, no touching the dirty one.

“…D-dirty one?”

“Looking at your state, no one would want to let a child near you.”

“You don’t look much better yourself, though you’re cleaner than Rey. What kind of hunting did you do?”

“Dungeon. We found an unexplored dungeon in the mountains and cleared it right away.”

“…What? There was still an unexplored dungeon in the Empire?”

“Yes. We found one and cleared it immediately. I think we earned about 150,000 kan. Hey, Rey.”

“Yes.”

“You won.”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you hear earlier?”

She must not have heard what I said while she was being carried on my shoulder. She looked at Ragni with round eyes.

And Ragni shrugged her shoulders in response.

“Yeah. I didn’t earn a single penny. You win.”

“Uh, eh? EH?! Why, why?!”

“What do you mean ‘why’? I don’t have the ability to earn money in the hundreds of thousands in just two days like you guys. How is that even possible? Unless there was a casino nearby or something.”

After saying that, Ragni immediately picked up a snack from the table and approached Rey.

And then.

“Wait, shouldn’t you go wash up first?”

“Hm? Me?”

“Yes, Jack. You.”

“…Well, alright. Ira, let’s go wash up.”

“Okay!”

Gore stops Ira from trying to hug my dirty self, and I head outside the inn.

Well, the two women probably have things to talk about. I don’t really understand what the significance of this competition was, but they surely have things to discuss.

Fortunately, my quick thinking led me to immediately take Ira to the public bath.

*

“Aah~n.”

“……”

“Aah~n.”

-Crunch.

“You must have had a hard time?”

Ragni brought a snack to Rey’s mouth and fed her, then poured tea from her own seat and placed it in front of Rey.

“…Why didn’t you earn anything?”

“Because there was no reason to?”

“…It would have helped in the future…”

“I just went along with what you wanted.”

“……”

“So, did you have fun on your date with Jack?”

“D-date?!”

“Come on, don’t hide it. You came back to the village last night, right?”

“H-huh?! H-how did you know that?!”

“So, did you have a good night?”

“G-good night?! W-what are you talking about?!”

Rey’s face turns bright red as she recalls last evening at Ragni’s words. However.

“…Hmm, that reaction. So nothing really happened?”

“…W-well, something did happen.”

“What I meant is that nothing happened.”

“W-what…”

“You didn’t have sex.”

“*COUGH*?!!!”

Rey spits out the tea Ragni gave her and stares blankly, while Ragni’s red eyes gleam as she speaks.

“You did this because you were jealous that he found a new woman and seemed to be getting along better with her than with you, right?”

“T-that’s…!!”

“Sigh. If anything, I should be the jealous one.”

“Eh?”

“Hmph. Let me tell you, I gave you the chance you wanted. And while you might think you’ve won, just wait until tomorrow. After that, you can ask me for whatever you want.”

“…W-what are you talking about? You said you didn’t earn any money…”

“Enough. Now go, hurry up and wash. You really look like a beggar right now.”

“……”

Waving her hand dismissively, Ragni sat back at the table and started using Ira’s teacup.

And Rey, sensing that no further conversation would be forthcoming, stood up to leave the room.

“…Ragni.”

“……”

“I won’t lose to you.”

“…Do as you please.”

Rey left, opening the door with her back turned, and Ragni reached for a snack.

-CRUNCH!!

She bit into it viciously.

“…Ha. I’m at a disadvantage from the start, what is she saying?”

That token around her neck, proof that she belongs to that man—without it, she would have no reason to be in this group.

Moreover, the reason she wears it is not by her own choice but due to that man’s pity.

Therefore, Jack will surely remove it the moment he thinks she’s safe.

Ragni already knew all this, which is why she had been trying her best to become friends with the group.

And that’s why she gave Rey the opportunity first. However.

‘I don’t have any options besides waiting for my turn anyway. If they slept in the same room, she should have at least forced herself on him.’

To quickly establish a rotation, she needed to at least pretend to help someone else get a chance first. Such calculations were running through her mind.

‘Eventually… I’ll obviously become the biggest burden to this group.’

Jack probably intends to take her and leave the country, but would her father, the Emperor of the Empire, just let her go? Even if they went abroad, he would surely cause problems.

“Sigh. My fate.”

Ragni tilted her teacup with a genuine sigh.

*

“…What? You lost that monster? Who exactly interfered?”

“I beg your forgiveness, Your Majesty.”

“Haa. I was hoping to make her bear a child quickly to establish the next heir, but this…”

The Emperor of the Empire, who referred to his only daughter Ragni Bluemoon Ottoman as a monster, twisted his face in irritation.

If that vicious creature had already made connections outside, she would surely be preparing to put a knife to his throat.

Moreover, according to the returning assassins, that monster had roughly predicted the assassins sent and their circumstances.

It was truly frightening that such a being was born from his love with the now-deceased Vi.

“Your Majesty. We have already organized a tracking team. Please do not worry too much. And the skill of the man who was with her was quite impressive, but there is a possibility that he is not related to ‘that.'”

“…What do you mean?”

The minister who spoke directly to the Emperor continued his explanation.

The man had indeed saved the princess, but he had tied up the assassins without killing a single one.

And one person who had been knocked down but regained consciousness had overheard some of the conversation outside.

From what they heard, it seemed that the man was literally just a passing traveler who came to help an overturned carriage and ended up fighting the assassins.

“…I see. Yes, then that creature is now…”

“Probably manipulating that passerby to stay with her. In the future, we can send someone to talk to him and guide him back. With appropriate threats and money, even a small sense of justice will tuck its tail.”

“…Yes, that would be good. Although helping that creature was not a good thing, someone who tried to help others is probably not a bad person. Make him think he got caught in a natural disaster and wrap things up appropriately.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will obey your command.”

The Emperor, who didn’t hesitate at all about recapturing the princess, immediately began attending to other state affairs.

“So, has the request for support come from Ponia?”

“About that, well…”

“Hmm?”

Contrary to what the princess had said, the Emperor was thinking of sending reinforcements to Ponia.

No matter how much expanding territory in his generation would benefit the nation and become an achievement, the people of another country who were dying were still people. That’s what he thought.

And anyway, if they helped reclaim the land, Ponia would have no choice but to compensate them accordingly.

That’s what he had been thinking, but the report the Emperor heard was that Ponia had overcome the monster parade, pushed back the front lines, and recovered their territory.

It was the moment when the princess’s predictions, which had always been terrifyingly accurate, completely collapsed.