Episode 187 – Clear Skies After the Storm

“Grace-ssi? It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“…. How did you end up in a place like this… Didn’t you say you had something you originally wanted to do?”

“Oh my, I thought you’d greet me more warmly… I’m a little disappointed you’re not even accepting my greeting.”

“I’m sorry, it was just so sudden…”

“Don’t worry. I’m not that petty of a woman. I’ll accept your apology.”

I was utterly bewildered by the woman before me.

Niel, who used to have such a stiff and cold personality, had become so mellow that she could now wear a sly smile and speak playfully.

I briefly worried if she might mention something from before my husband lost his memory, but I quickly realized that was a foolish thought.

If she had, there’s no way she’d be so nonchalant with me and be looking for a woman who knew about her memories.

I was conscious of the attention around us, so I turned my gaze to my husband.

“Hey, I’d like to catch up with Niel-ssi for a bit, so could you give us some time alone?”

Ian, who alternated his gaze between my smiling face and Niel’s sly grin, nodded at my question and stood up.

“Okay, let me know if you need anything later.”

As soon as my husband left with a *tak* sound, I glared at Niel as if to scold her.

“Why are you here?”

“Huh? Well, weren’t you the one who saved us from the barbarians? Of course, we’d be here since we received help. Ah, it was so dangerous. If it had been even a little later… *eueu* who knows what those barbarians would have done to us…”

Cutting off Niel’s increasingly long-winded speech, I frowned slightly and said,

“That’s not what I’m talking about. Didn’t you say you were traveling around because you wanted to get railed by goblins or something? Why did someone like you come to the East?”

“Ah… You’re really heartless… To say something like that when we’ve met after so long…”

“…. Your personality has really changed a lot…”

“Well… a lot of things have happened, you know? Anyway! That’s not what’s important. What’s important is that I’m here and you… haven’t told Ian that person everything.”

“….. So, are you going to threaten me or something?”

“Oh my, I’m not that vulgar.”

In Niel’s smiling face, there wasn’t a trace of the knight’s steadfastness.

Unlike her smiling lips, her eyes, devoid of any laughter, held the coldness and composure of a merchant trying to get a high price for their knowledge.

Seriously… she’s changed a lot…

Who would think she’s a knight looking at that smile?

A hundred out of a hundred would definitely think of her as a merchant rather than a knight.

I sighed deeply as if giving up and shook my head.

“Haa… So, what do you want?”

“Pardon?”

Niel tilted her head as if she didn’t know anything. Having accumulated fatigue from the moment I met the Goddess until now, I had no intention of wasting any more time, so I crossed my arms and said,

“Let’s stop wasting time. Please tell me quickly if there’s something you want. Money? A safe place? Or… is there something else you want?”

“Heu-eung… Are you really going to give me anything?”

Niel grinned slyly, and I just nodded roughly, feeling overwhelmed by fatigue.

Seeing that I had no intention of humoring her any further, Niel, who seemed to want to talk a little more, smacked her lips with regret and said with a smile that was as refreshing as could be.

“Grace-ssi seems to be bored with our conversation.”

“…..”

“Yes, yes, I understand. I don’t really want much. Just… help me with one thing.”

I felt an ominous feeling blooming in my heart at her lewd smile.

And I couldn’t help but frown at her subsequent proposal.

* * *

The moment I opened the door and came out, Niel whispered from behind.

“Don’t… forget our promise, okay?”

“Haa… Seriously… you seem to have changed, but you haven’t changed at all. Don’t worry. I’ll talk to him about it.”

“A-ssa~! Hehehe, ah, I’m really looking forward to it…”

Her mutterings from behind were filled with excitement and anticipation, as if she was really looking forward to what was to come.

Feeling a headache coming on, I shook my head and approached my husband.

“Ah, did the conversation go well?”

Seeing my husband’s gentle smile, I felt relieved, and I smiled back just as gently.

“Yeah, sorry, honey, I met her after a long time, so we talked for a while.”

“Yes, yes, I’m sorry, Ian-ssi. I really didn’t know our connection would continue like this! Hehehe”

Ian, who was briefly startled by her appearance as she spoke with a sly smile as if she was enjoying herself, which was quite different from when he met her, said,

“That’s a relief.”

“Yes, yes, I was really lucky… Ah! And I’m late in saying thank you! Thank you so much for saving us… Everyone who was captured is also grateful to Ian-ssi.”

“Ah, it’s, it’s okay… To be honest… rather than thinking about helping you…”

“Shh… At times like this, you’re supposed to say, ‘You’re welcome, miss. I’m glad I could help’… *kikikik*”

Niel stuck her finger to my husband’s lips and smiled brightly.

“Ahem… You’re welcome, miss. I’m glad I could, could help.”

Ian blushed slightly at her sudden action and soon said exactly what she had said.

“Good job.”

I frowned at her, telling her to stop it already.

“Can you stop now?”

“Your wife is jealous. Hehehe”

“Haa… I didn’t want to talk about what happened when you lost your memory in the first place…”

Shaking my head at her sly behavior, I began to tell the story of the days when he lost his memory, which we had agreed on in advance.

Of course, I wasn’t stupid, so I mixed lies into the truth.

Meeting Niel at an inn, accidentally helping her, and then going down into the dungeon, and the altar we found there.

While investigating the altar, the ground collapsed. I mixed in a little lie here.

“After falling, what we saw were countless goblins. We barely managed to escape from the goblins’ horde after a bloody battle and wandered around in the cave for several days.”

“Yes, we started wandering around the goblin den to escape.”

Nodding at Niel’s help, who added to the story in the middle, I continued.

“While wandering around the den, we eventually found a place where we could feel a faint breeze, and we, who had been wandering around without eating properly for several days, had no choice but to head there, but unfortunately, what we found there was…”

“The Goblin Lord.”

“You got hurt in the head during the battle that broke out then, and after coming out, you and Niel parted ways.”

“I had something urgent to do.”

She probably had something to do.

It’s just that the problem is that her urgent business was fucking with different species like goblins.

I glared at her, disliking her smiling face, and said to myself in my heart as I looked at my husband.

“When I finally came back to the city and checked on your condition, you didn’t remember anything from the moment you met Niel. Honestly… there’s no need to regain the memories of fighting without sleeping or eating properly for several days… And you were seriously injured back then. That’s why I didn’t tell you…”

I looked at my husband as if I was sorry after finishing the whole story.

“Still… sorry, I should have told you…”

“No, it’s okay. So that’s what happened… By the way…”

My husband, who was looking at Niel with a deep feeling, said,

“I never thought we’d meet again like this. Aren’t we really tied together by some kind of bond? Hahaha”

Thinking that I had successfully deceived him with his pleasant laughter, I agreed with him, intending to make Niel a little embarrassed.

“You’re telling me. Ah, so what happened?”

When I asked as if I didn’t know anything, Niel raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at me, and soon smiled like a mischievous child as if she had come up with an interesting idea.

…? What, why is she smiling like that? Suddenly very anxious…

“Ah, actually, I really like having sex with monsters. When I saw the goblins, I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I immediately went to find other monsters living in the mountains.”

Crazy….

I couldn’t help but close my eyes tightly.

The room became silent for a moment at her explosive remark, and my husband seemed to think he had misheard her at her sudden and extremely violent remark.

“….. Uh…. Excuse me? I, I, I misheard you… Could you say that again…”

Ian, who had unexpectedly learned about Niel’s unique tastes, asked awkwardly with a dumbfounded expression, and Niel looked back and forth between my husband’s expression and me, who had closed my eyes tightly, and said as if to confirm it with a playful smile.

“Ah, did you mishear me? I like having sex with monsters.”

“……”

What should I say?

It felt like those words were appearing on my husband’s face.

Seeing him smile awkwardly and send me a look as if asking for help, I shook my head and said,

“Isn’t it a bit much to say something like that out of the blue?”

“But it’s also annoying to tell you my tastes again… Ian-ssi, you don’t have to worry. Ian-ssi knew my tastes, too. Besides, isn’t it better to know in advance?”

“Yes… Th, that’s true… Ha, haha”

“You don’t have to tell him that.”

“Aigo, yes… I understand. It was my fault.”

I was so worried about the journey ahead because of her overly sly appearance that I shook my head again with sincerity and told my husband, who was smiling awkwardly, the main purpose.

“Honey.”

“Uh, uh, yeah?”

I looked at my husband, who was still unable to escape from Niel’s unique taste revelation, and said with my arms crossed.

“Can we help Niel-ssi?”

“Huh?”

Looking at my husband, who was puzzled by my sudden suggestion, I said with my arms crossed.

“Actually, the reason we were helped back then was partly because of my fault… If I hadn’t suggested investigating the altar back then, nothing would have happened… I feel so sorry that she went through such a thing because of my mistake… So… if it’s okay, can we stop by just one place before going to the Orcs’ holy ground?”

My husband, who was looking at me with a curious expression as if my appearance of asking for a favor while being mindful of him was quite unfamiliar, soon answered coolly.

“If that’s the case, it’s okay, let’s help her. And I also owe her a debt.”

“Debt?”

Is there anything he could owe? Hmm… Did something happen at the barbarians’ encampment?

My husband nodded at my puzzled expression.

“Yeah, when I went to the barbarians with you, the barbarian who guided us to the place where the women were gathered took us there… Ahem, I got a little help back then…”

I understood his face turning red and telling me honestly.

Ah, he fucked a woman there.

Feeling a little more at ease, I nodded.

“Then that’s a relief. Okay, let’s decide to help Niel… right?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t matter. We also have the Goddess’s blessing… We can take our time as much as possible.”

“Yeah. Niel-ssi, so where are you going?”

Niel, who had been watching our conversation with a smile, smiled brightly at my question and answered.

“Further north from here.”