episode_0042

The bed at the inn was quite comfortable. It didn’t matter to me as I’m not the kind of person who sleeps that much to begin with, but unlike what I thought was filled with cheap straw, it was reasonably soft and hard enough, so I was able to sleep very well.

So, when I opened my eyes, even though the sun was high in the sky, I couldn’t help it.

“Arjen, did you sleep well?”

“Wow….”

Arjen, who would normally be watching me sleep, was still keeping his eyelids closed. No, in Arjen’s case, it’s not that he liked the bed, but rather that he felt just as tired as yesterday.

“Are you going to keep sleeping?”

“No, I want to wake up.”

Arjen’s eyes, which looked just like Ruby, opened brightly. After resting for a day, it seemed as if all the hardships he had suffered had returned to normal.

“Hehe… You were a little crazy yesterday, right?”

Arjen seemed embarrassed to have appeared exhausted after destroying the meteorite. From my perspective, it was just cute and I appreciated it, but I felt like my face would turn as red as my eyes if I kept mentioning it, so I stopped.

“What should we do today? When I think about it, I feel like I had a lot going on yesterday and couldn’t play properly.”

I had high expectations about seeing a city where humans live, but instead of playing outside during the day and stargazing at night, I ended up dealing with a meteorite. Even though the festival was over, I was planning on exploring the city properly today.

“…Ugh, I’m so embarrassed that I want to get out of this city quickly.”

However, Arjen actually seemed reluctant. I asked why.

“You’re so embarrassed…?”

“Ugh, you keep chanting my name outside.”

Arjen, who seemed to have bright ears, seemed to hear something in his ears. I opened the window and listened to the sounds outside. The accommodation itself was not far from the square where yesterday’s incident took place, so even if you opened the window, you could hear people talking in the square.

“Long live Arzen!!”

“Wow!!”

I quietly closed the window. To hear such a sound from the square in broad daylight, it seemed like the aftermath of what happened yesterday had exceeded my expectations.

“Haha, Arzen has become so popular.”

“Woo…! Don’t tease me!”

No matter what Arjen’s feelings were, it was nice to see people cheering and calling her name like that.

Since it’s an otherworldly inn, there’s no separate check-out system, so when I came to my senses, I left the room and went down to the first floor. Unlike last night, when it was empty as people were concentrating on stargazing, the first floor, which also serves as a restaurant, was crowded with people.

“Oh. Guests. We will help you check out. Did you rest well all night?”

The person who handed me the keys at the counter was not the middle-aged woman who helped me check in yesterday, but a younger employee. He looked younger than young, but when I saw him helping with the work, it seemed like he was a family member of the store owner.

“Yes. I slept well, perhaps because the bed was comfortable..”

“I’m glad you slept well. Hehe, our store is well soundproofed.”

For a moment, I was taken aback by the waitress’ attitude as she gave me sex drips with a sly look on her face, but she changed the topic before I could tackle her.

“Oh, by the way, did you hear it? In fact, it was said that a dragon named Arjen stopped a meteorite from falling on the city yesterday. Now, everyone in the store is talking about that. They say if it wasn’t for Arzen, we would all have died…”

“Ah… Is that so?”

“Yes! I heard that it has very beautiful silver scales. ah! Like that…”

The employee stopped speaking and made a blank expression. I was speechless when I saw the silver tail coming down from Arjen’s butt.

Come to think of it, I forgot to tell you to hide your horns and tail.

“Ho, by any chance is your name…?”

The employee asked with a trembling voice. Considering the situation, it doesn’t seem like he asked my name, so I gave the answer to Arjen. Of course, Arjen didn’t even pay attention to it or not and just carried me on his back.

“Hahaha… I’ll just go…!”

For some reason, the atmosphere around me was unusual, so I quickly took Arjen with me and ran out of the inn.

“Arjen, quickly hide your tail.”

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot.”

When I came out, no matter where I looked, there was only talk about Arjen. It certainly seemed impossible to tour the city in these conditions. Even I feel embarrassed, but Arjen must be embarrassed.

Of course, since Arjen’s magic wasn’t the best form, it wasn’t that difficult to fool people’s eyes.

Even though they have just met each other for the first time, the story blossoms with the story of the meteorite fall last night, and it is also true that Arjen is so familiar with others that he remains calm when his name is constantly mentioned.

Above all, it was not enough to go sightseeing with a relaxed mind, so walking around worrying about whether or not I would be caught was not suited to my temperament.

“It would be better to stay calm in Rare for the time being.”

“Ugh.”

Since I decided to go back to Lair, there was no more work to do in the city. But when I was about to leave the city, another problem arose.

“What… are they checking your ID even when you go out…?”

I had the pass I received when I came in. However, if we had been enjoying the festival quietly, we would have already figured out that we came into the city disguised as elves, as we met and talked to the lord yesterday.

It was unconscionable to expect the guards at the checkpoint to remain unaware of what had happened yesterday when everyone on the street was talking about Arjen who stopped the meteorite.

In other words, it was a situation where I had to cover my eyes and say goodbye, but I was worried about whether I would get over it on a good note.

“Or, how about just flying? Or sneak by with magic…”

Arjen vaguely asked if he understood my concerns. It didn’t matter, but I couldn’t help but feel reluctant about it. I haven’t committed a serious crime, but I have to sneak out. You just disguised your identity a little when you came in, right?

“No. Let’s go once.”

I don’t know if it’s a place I’ll never come back to, but it’s the closest downtown area to Argen and Rare, so I couldn’t leave in shame for the last time. There may be no crazy person who would impose the law on Arjen, but I am neither Arjen nor a dragon.

“…Oh, teachers. Please wait a moment.”

Sure enough, I was easily caught at the checkpoint. I thought it was just in case, but I never thought I would actually catch it. Still, there are a few lives saved, so there’s no need to make an issue of disguising one’s identity at the checkpoint, right?

While I was thinking about a million different things, the guard came up with a story that was completely different from what I was thinking.

“The lord is hoping to visit. If you are not in a hurry, please visit us at least once.”

What he held out were not handcuffs but an invitation. A sudden invitation. It seems that meeting briefly last night wasn’t enough to tell the lord everything he wanted.

“What should I do, Arzen?”

“I don’t mind if Eugene wants it. Because Eugene told the story for me yesterday.”

Arjen, who briefly brought up the topic of tribute, seemed to have no interest in the lord itself. In fact, I was interested, but since the lord’s residence is not a place that anyone can enter whenever they want, I had a strong desire to receive an invitation.

‘The Count himself is a bit suspicious, but…’

No matter how much he thought about it, the count was the only one who would ask the hero to exterminate Arjen. However, I didn’t hear it directly from the hero, and unless he has murderous intentions towards us, which is ongoing, I can’t blame him.

“Let’s go.”

In conclusion, we decided to visit the Count’s residence. Even though they could have identified us, I think it would have been a good thing that they didn’t question us and just left us an invitation. If anything happened, there was nothing to worry about as long as Arjen was there, so the decision was made boldly.

“Thank you for accepting the invitation.”

When I went to see him with an invitation, I was able to skip the cumbersome procedures I had been thinking about and get an audience with the lord right away. Although it was not as good as Argen’s Rare, the parlor with its own gorgeous interior caught the eye.

“Arzen. As I said yesterday, I cannot thank you enough for saving the people of the territory from the meteorite.”

The Count once again expressed his gratitude to Arjen. The only difference from last night was that today Arjen’s condition was as perfect as usual, and the Count’s seemingly calm tone could be felt with a hint of fear.

As someone who couldn’t even sense the existence of Mana, it was something I couldn’t sympathize with, but Argen was the one who burst into tears in fear at the mere sight of a girl who didn’t know anything. Judging from the tremor felt in the teacup the Count was holding, Arjen was probably still showing off his energy to the fullest.

“If you want to say thank you, say it to Eugene. If Eugene hadn’t asked me to, I wouldn’t have even thought about destroying the meteorite.”

The Count’s eyes were fixed on me at Arjen’s words. Unlike last night, when he avoided direct conversation, this time Arjen was in a sane state and clearly gave the credit to me. In a situation like this, there was no way the Count wouldn’t be curious about my identity.

“…If you don’t mind, may I ask your identity this time?”

“I…….”

I took a moment to think about it. Unlike in the square where I hesitated to reveal my identity, this time I was able to answer clearly as I had made up my mind at the inn.

“This is Arjen’s favorite doll.”

Perhaps because my answer was extremely unexpected, I saw embarrassment flash across the count’s face, who had at least outwardly maintained his composure the entire time.