episode_0089

“Hmm. They seem to get along well. Ah, very well indeed.”

Amy, who suddenly stood up at the sound of the door opening and looked down at me and Freddie with her arms crossed, nodded repeatedly while chuckling, a smile on her lips but a subtle sense of pressure clearly conveyed in her expression.

“Uh, Amy? Um, it seems there might be a misunderstanding….”

I flinched reflexively as I tried desperately to explain the situation, feeling that if I didn’t clarify things, a serious crisis might ensue, although I couldn’t understand why I was in a position where I had to explain this.

“A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?”

“Well, I mean, this wasn’t the kind of thing you’re thinking about….”

Wait a minute, doesn’t this sound like the typical excuse of a guilty husband caught in the act?

Although I tried to hastily explain, as I spoke, I realized that instead of resolving the misunderstanding, my words might only deepen it.

“What am I thinking about?”

Oh no. Amy’s questioning gaze was twice as cold as before, resembling the stare of an obsessive high school girl who caught her friend and lover merging at the front door, as if she should be holding a knife or saw.

“Um, well, you see….”

Desperately, I turned my head to glance at Freddie, silently pleading for help in explaining.

It seemed Freddie understood, nodding as if to say, “This mess is your responsibility, so you should take charge and explain,” which brought me a slight sense of relief.

As soon as he caught my plea, I felt a wave of relief.

“Hmph.”

Freddie rested both hands on my right shoulder, leaned his face against them, and smirked, lifting one corner of his mouth in a victorious smile.

It was a provocation that seemed to be drawn in a picture. Amy pulled out her staff and struck Freide’s forehead with it, but she had a look as if she would be acquitted.

“F-Freide…?!”

I let out a bewildered groan.

What is this? When I asked her to try to fix the situation, why is she provoking me instead?

“Yes, it’s Freide. Miss Hilde Hilde.”

Freide met my eyes and chuckled. It was a laugh filled with so much mischief that it was staggering.

…Well, it seems like she has no intention of trying to fix this.

Sheesh. My plea didn’t seem to be heard at all, let alone understood.

Well, they say that lately, Amy and I have gotten along somewhat, but before, our relationship was almost as bad as it could get.

She probably didn’t want to miss this perfect opportunity to tease Amy.

Even considering that, “Miss Hilde Hilde” was just a bizarre and absurd nickname.

◆◆

Freide, who ended up provoking Amy instead of trying to make amends, put me in an extremely awkward position.

However, the provocation surprisingly had a definite effect.

At least, did it achieve my purpose of calming Amy down?

“Sigh… I need to control myself.”

I don’t know if that was Freide’s intention, but Amy, who I thought would be furious at her provocation, instead let out a deep sigh and just lowered her head, contrary to my expectations.

What should I say? Responding at all feels pathetic, and I feel like the foolishness of continuing such behavior has disappeared.

“Anyway, I’ve received a new request, so let’s go downstairs and talk.”

Thanks to that, we were finally able to start talking about work as usual. It was a bit later than usual, though.

“Whether we talk here or downstairs doesn’t matter.”

“No… I’ll go down first and wait. I’ll quickly wash up and come down right after.”

I lightly brushed my messy hair and expressed my intention to talk about work on the first floor.

I had just woken up, so I looked terrible, making it difficult to have a suitable appearance for discussing work.

First, I need to wash my face and change into proper clothes.

Sweaty and damp, instead of pajamas that revealed everything, she was dressed in proper outdoor clothes and armor.

If you’re going to talk about work, shouldn’t you dress appropriately for it? It’s just basic manners.

“Got it. You didn’t eat breakfast, did you? I’ll order in advance, so don’t be too late.”

Amy, nodding, turned and walked out of the room.

“Uh, then I’ll go down first…! You can come slowly!”

Hastily getting up, Freide grabbed her armor and backpack, chasing after Amy out of the room.

Now that they were alone again, she suddenly felt a renewed fear of the consequences of her pranks.

Whether it was forcing me back into bed or asking Amy to calm down only to provoke her instead, both actions were more fitting for dealing with a close sibling than an equal colleague.

Anyway, after seeing them off, I pulled back the covers and got up, heading for the bathroom.

They’ll probably be waiting for me, so taking a bath might be excessive… but at least I can wash my hair and go downstairs.

…Wait a minute.

Amy and Freide, they wouldn’t be fighting downstairs, would they?

The sudden ominous thought made my heart skip a beat.

If those two non-guests caused a commotion on the first floor… as the party organizer, I’d bear full responsibility.

The innkeeper already knows I’m their party organizer.

In the worst case, I could even be kicked out of the inn. As much as I hated to admit it, all I could do was hope that both of them would behave.

“…Amy, surely not. They’re not kids, they wouldn’t be doing that down there.”

To suppress my anxiety, I reassured myself that my colleagues wouldn’t be that immature.

======[ Inn, First Floor ]======

Hilde’s trust had been betrayed. About half-heartedly.

While Amy and Freide didn’t rampage through the furniture on the first floor as Hilde had feared, they weren’t exactly quietly waiting as she had hoped.

Two people who had come down to the first floor asked the innkeeper for a breakfast for three, then walked outside the inn and started arguing.

The kind of talk they couldn’t have in front of Hilde watching them.

“What was that earlier? Were you trying to test my patience?”

Amy shot back at Friede.

Earlier, she had let it slide with just a sigh at Hilde’s presence, but now that they were alone, she felt she should consider the meaning behind that arrogant face from earlier.

“I don’t know what happened last night, but if you come out acting like that, I might start to think…”

“…Think whatever you want. I won’t pay attention to anything you say anymore.”

Friede interrupted Amy’s words with a smirk. It was an attitude that said he, as the winner, didn’t care what the loser said.

“Oh, really? Your way with words has certainly improved. You used to stumble over your words like a recluse. You seem overflowing with confidence now.”

Amy taunted Friede with a slightly angry expression. She pointed out how much he had grown from being unable to speak properly like a hermit in the corner.

However, instead of getting angry at Amy’s sarcasm, Friede only smiled even wider and nodded confidently.

“I’m already sure. Amy, you can’t beat me.”

It was a fact directly conveyed by Brunhilde. Her confession that she liked Friede gave him endless confidence.

As both Brunhilde and himself liked each other, he was confident that no third party could interfere between them.

Even though it was actually just a perfect misconception.

“Is that so? Shall we check once?”

Anyway, that remark deeply scratched Amy’s pride.

Amy glared fiercely at Friede, placing her hand on the book bag hanging from her side.

“After a punch in the gut, you might change your mind a bit, right?”

Her voice lowered. It seemed she was about to pull out a spellbook immediately.

However, Friede shrugged his shoulders and turned his head as if he didn’t care at all.

“…I didn’t mean to talk about winning or losing in that sense. It’s not something I’d confidently assert.”

The response was, “Isn’t it so obvious that you can’t beat me to the point where there’s no need to realize it all over again?”

The undeniable truth in the response made Amy even more furious. Because it was a truth that she couldn’t deny—she was weaker than Frid.

“Frid…!”

“…Call me Sigfrid. The only one who can call me Frid is Hilde.”

Frid glared at Amy and issued a warning not to call her by that name, then smirked and pushed Amy’s shoulder against the wall.

Then, facing Amy with her back against the wall, she spoke sharply.

“From the start, I should be with Hilde, but you don’t have to be with anyone, do you?”

The reason she didn’t like Amy.

“If it’s a woman you like, does it matter who it is?”

She didn’t like Hilde, she just liked women who were like Hilde. That was the fundamental reason why Frid avoided Amy.

Trying to force alcohol on her while claiming to like Hilde, trying to persuade Frid to join in despite her objections, trying to take control without regard for the other person’s feelings, and even showing an attitude that it didn’t matter if it wasn’t just Hilde, but any other woman.

It was filled with actions that could not be embraced if she wanted to.

“I saw you had a lot of experience last time. Are you just going to find another woman to fuck around with this opportunity, instead of eyeing a woman who already has a partner?”

Frankly speaking, to Frid, Amy seemed fine as a colleague, but as a lover, she was simply close to being just another battlefield with a different gender.

Therefore, once Hilde’s mind was made up, she resolved to thoroughly prevent herself from getting closer to Hilde and ‘that side’ any further.

“…Tsk.”

Amy, pinned against the wall, struggled to free her held shoulders, twisted her body, and then realized it was impossible, biting her lip in frustration.

“…Talking like a possessive lover.”

Then she opened her mouth and poured out a venomous tirade. If you can’t win by force, you should at least win by words, igniting the arrogance.

“If I had really done something, both of us would have been stripped naked without a single thread left. So obvious, so predictable. You just slept without any incident, right? Even if Hilde was sleeping next to you, you wouldn’t dare touch her. You.”

“What courage? The courage to freely sleep with a drunken woman?”

Frida retorted sharply.

To attach the word “courage” to the crime of violating a sleeping woman. If that’s courage, then aren’t the death row inmates in underground prisons the bravest people in the world?

“Don’t make me laugh. Unlike women like you who only care about their own desires, I respect and cherish Hilde’s intentions and protect her.”

It was an outrageous and contemptuous act.

“People who say such things usually end up losing their partners to others and crying. You seem likely to do the same.”

Amy sneered, lifting the corners of her mouth mockingly.

Normally, she wouldn’t have displayed such sharp mockery.

However, due to the irritating situation that had just occurred, and Frida openly provoking her, Amy couldn’t help but feel her patience reaching its limit. That’s why she unleashed her anger so forcefully.

“What did you say?”

That statement, for Frida, touched on a sensitive area, which Amy didn’t realize.

“Uh…?”

Suddenly changing her attitude, Amy, startled by the mixed look in Frida’s eyes, involuntarily let out a bewildered whimper.

Crying after being taken away by someone else. It was a statement that could turn Frida’s eyes upside down. She had actually experienced that.

Even if she wasn’t a heroine, even if the other party wasn’t a member personally chosen by Hilde, she probably would have reached out and broken the other person’s neck immediately.

“What are you two doing there? Breakfast is ready, aren’t you going to eat?”

Even if Hilde, wearing a helmet, hadn’t poked her head out from behind the inn’s door to call them, she probably would have thrown a punch.

Ah, I just needed a moment to clear my head. I’ll leave now…!

As Hilde’s voice reached her, Friede quickly adjusted her expression, released Amy, and walked towards the inn as if nothing had happened.

Amy, whose face had turned a bit pale, took a few deep breaths and then followed, slightly bowing her head.

“Um… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said.”

Apologizing with a deeply remorseful tone, admitting that her words were too harsh.

She too had some conscience. Even in an argument, she believed one should not touch the other’s sore spot.

“…It’s okay. I was a bit too much too.”

After a brief hesitation, Friede eventually accepted the apology.

It was a gesture of true magnanimity, considering that it was difficult to lash out when the other party had already apologized, unless there was a risk of being taken advantage of, or unless it was a situation where neither side would yield.

In her own way, she showed the magnanimity of a true warrior.

Whether that was truly magnanimity, no one could say for sure, but at least Friede herself believed so.

That she had shown mercy.

Like a true warrior.