Ch.90Angry NPC. (1)

“No, what are you saying…”

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”

“No! Ragni did nothing wrong! That woman was the weird one!!”

Ragni bows her head toward me, while Ira shakes her head vigorously in Ragni’s defense.

Let me briefly explain the current situation.

After imprisoning the bald bastard who harmed the children and his gang, I was wondering what to do with the severely weakened children when Rey, who had followed me, paid a hefty fee to a healing mage from the guild under a confidentiality contract and had all the children treated. Rey apologized for not listening to me at first, but I praised her instead, saying I survived thanks to her quick judgment.

We then asked the mage to keep watching over the children there for additional payment, which he accepted quite readily.

For a moment, I felt like his eyes turned into currency symbols, but I figured someone obsessed with money might actually be trustworthy, so I made the contract. I even remembered that the man was definitely a party-eligible NPC from [Naty].

He was even a support character with a pretty good personality. So I trusted him and left the children in his care. Then, I returned to our rented home in Naty with Rey and Gor, who had handled everything well on his own.

It was already getting dark, and thinking that Ira and Ragni would be cleaning the house, I bought skewers and other food for dinner. When I entered, I found Ragni sitting in a chair with her hand on her forehead looking exhausted, while Ira was massaging her shoulders and telling her she’d done well. They hadn’t been cleaning the house at all.

Ragni explained to me what had happened at the Academy today, and it was quite terrible.

I never expected something like this to happen to Ragni and Ira. Has the world gone mad, or was I just too complacent?

“Ragni, no matter how I look at it, it’s not your fault. Don’t apologize and don’t blame yourself too much.”

“No. I should have done better. If Ira’s exam or interview scores are negatively affected because of me, I really…”

“No! Ragni, I also think you did nothing wrong!! A crazy person threatening a student and guardian during an interview! I would have drawn my sword too if I were there!!”

[It seems there’s trash inside the Academy as well. Master, shall I go take care of it?]

Seeing Ragni worry that Ira might suffer because of her, I continued patting her back, while Rey beside me kept defending her, saying it wasn’t her fault.

Gor is not only absolving Ragni of blame but is fully prepared to kill the other party.

Calm down. If Ragni was overwhelmed to the point of immobility, I’m not sure if you’re at a level to win. Probably not?

Meanwhile, Ira, unlike her usual self, is sitting on Ragni’s lap instead of mine, hugging her. Even with this comfort, Ragni’s expression remains troubled—quite a severe case.

“Snap out of it. I need to go to the [Spirit Demon Country], and I’m counting on you, Rey, and Gor to take care of Ira while I’m gone. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry. You’re the brains, Gor is the protection, and Rey is the muscle—that’s what I’m trusting in while I’m gone. No one here thinks your judgment or actions were wrong. Besides, if you’re really worried about Ira’s admission, shouldn’t you be helping her study instead of sitting here like this?”

“…You’re right.”

“Yes! I love studying with Ragni!”

“Okay, then. Let’s clean up first, and then start studying…”

“No. Let’s eat first, then just clean our bedrooms today. We’ll do a thorough cleaning tomorrow.”

“Yes! I’ll prepare the meal! Gor, help me!”

Though it’s just a matter of putting the takeout food on plates, Rey quickly starts preparing the meal with Gor’s help. Ragni pats her own cheeks as if trying to snap out of it, then strokes Ira’s head, who had been hugging and comforting her.

Watching everyone, I reflected on what Ragni had told me and quickly arrived at an unpleasant conclusion.

‘…No matter how I think about it, that must be the Headmaster.’

ep.3 [Land of Knowledge, Naty] Naturally, deus ex machina exists here too.

And the ill-tempered, red-haired middle-aged woman Ragni met…

In my opinion, that woman is probably the Headmaster.

‘…In this world, deus ex machina’s role was clearly just cleaning up after the Vice Principal’s death, wasn’t it?’

The route where the player, protagonist, and Headmaster meet occurs while pursuing the Vice Principal, and even then, they don’t get very entangled.

The reason is simple: what happens here is something the Vice Principal did after gaining the Headmaster’s trust over a long period. The Headmaster only appears at the very end to tidy up the incident for the protagonist and player after seeing the undeniable evidence they present against the Vice Principal they killed.

She was definitely a convenience character for plot progression, with no combat involvement whatsoever. Yet such a person released enough magical power to overwhelm Ragni and gave Ira a pressuring interview? Why?

‘…I don’t want to think so, but could it be…’

Miho, whom Gor moved early this morning, is still unconscious in a bedroom on the second floor of our rented building.

Perhaps the narrative is being pulled in this direction because I started attacking the human traffickers and the Vice Principal’s group—the regular storyline—while traveling with that woman?

Has it been determined that I’ve started the protagonist’s or player’s quest? But by whom? The world itself?

Or someone who reincarnated me? Some kind of god? This is really giving me a headache. And…

-Crack.

‘…No. Just endure it for now. They only threatened her. For now, just endure it.’

I can’t act on impulse. Ira stopped Ragni to secure her admission, and Ragni endured the humiliation.

Yes, the person I most want to overthrow right now isn’t me.

“Jack! Dinner’s ready, aren’t you going to eat?”

“Brother! Snap out of it! What are you thinking about?!”

“Hey, are you still worried about what I did?”

“Uh, huh? Already? No, Ragni, that’s not it.”

“What do you mean ‘already’? Jack, you’ve been standing there lost in thought for 20 minutes!”

What? No, I thought I had organized my thoughts quite quickly?

Once again, time and consciousness seemed inverted as the world rushed by. I sheepishly scratched my head, apologized to everyone waiting for me, and joined them for dinner.

Needless to say, the skewers and food I bought were all cold.

*

“Grrrr!! Sniff! Sniff sniff! Woof!”

“Oh, Sister Miho is awake! Hehehe! Oh, sister!!”

Though she hadn’t been hit on the head, Miho, still acting like a dog, came down from the second floor, stretched like an animal, then rushed to Ira and started licking her. Seeing this, I could only smile wryly.

“You’ve finally woken up at this late hour?”

[There was nothing wrong with her body, and her HP had recovered. It was rather strange that she hadn’t opened her eyes until now.]

Gor sharply analyzes as he pulls her away from Ira and wipes Ira’s saliva-covered face with a handkerchief.

“Hey, Miho, are you hurting anywhere?”

“Woof!”

“She says she’s not hurting! Seems like she’s all better!”

“Still, shouldn’t we get her checked tomorrow? She was asleep all day, so there might be something wrong with her head or something?”

“She was strange in the head before and still is now, and she obviously looks healthy, so let’s not waste energy on unnecessary things.”

“Ragni, you’re always cold to Ms. Miho.”

“Try having your breasts forcibly groped and your crotch stroked. I’m already being extremely patient.”

Ragni shudders, holding her body after seeing Miho rush to Ira.

It seems the memory of that day still remains a wound. Well, now that Miho has also returned, I should set up a proper schedule for tomorrow.

“Rey.”

“Yes.”

“Tomorrow, take Ira, Gor, and Miho to the church. Have them use [Cure] on Miho to return her to normal, and if there’s no problem, give her money so she can return to Aigram on her own.”

“Eh? Is that all?”

“Hm? What else should there be?”

“Ah, nothing! I understand!”

I tilt my head at Rey’s strange reaction, and she just smiles to herself while discussing tomorrow’s schedule with Ira.

Ira doesn’t seem sad about possibly parting with Miho tomorrow… rather, she seems happy that Miho will be cured.

“You’ve traveled together for quite a while, but it seems you haven’t grown attached? Not even going to say goodbye?”

“Why bother with goodbyes? She doesn’t like me, and I don’t like her. It’s better to part ways cleanly here. And Ragni.”

“Yes?”

“You’ll be with me tomorrow. I need your help.”

“Understood.”

After finishing our conversation, we each returned to our bedrooms, cleaned up a bit, and went to bed.

Naturally, I thought Miho, who had been sleeping all day, wouldn’t fall asleep right away, but…

“…Unbelievable. She can sleep all day and still sleep more?”

Is this mentally unstable werebeast really like an actual cat?

As if it were the most natural thing, she followed Ira and me, climbed onto my stomach, curled up into a ball, and immediately fell asleep. Ira stroked her head for a while before passing out herself.

Sigh. I’ll just have to endure it for tonight.

I roughly patted the white tiger woman’s head as she purred on top of me, then closed my eyes.

*

Early morning, before sunrise.

After pushing Miho off my stomach and before Ira even woke up, I left the house with Ragni on my back.

“Ughh, I hate mornings…”

“Don’t whine. It’s annoying.”

“Ugh. It’s not whining, I really hate mornings…”

This woman, who’s rubbing her whole body against me while riding on my back and even nuzzling her face into my nape, claims this isn’t whining.

‘This is driving me crazy, the sensation on my back feels even softer now.’

“Sniff. Haaah.”

“…Don’t smell me.”

“But you smell nice…”

“What’s nice about it? I only washed my hair this morning.”

“Hehehe.”

With the normally functioning Ragni on my back, I arrived at one of the hideouts of the guys who were protecting the children yesterday.

-Knock.

[Who is it?]

“Gray.”

-Click.

After I say the predetermined password, the iron door immediately opens, and the gold-ranked adventurer man—a party-eligible NPC who I left the children with yesterday—looks at me and raises the corner of his mouth.

Why are you suddenly smiling?

“I was thinking about this yesterday too, but how many women do you have?”

“…We’ve only met twice, so let’s not talk about that.”

Why are you suddenly hitting a nerve? It’s embarrassing.

I looked toward where the children might be, wondering if they had heard. The boys who had woken up early were somehow looking at me with shining eyes.