Ep.4 - Party Formation!
Ep.4 - Party Formation!
Delin and Chichi exchanged glances as they watched the gray tail gently swaying from side to side.
If it had intended to ambush them, it would have done so already. Seeing it try to talk like that, it didn't seem like a bad being—but that didn't mean they could relax, so Chichi spoke again.
"...Very well. First, we don't know who you're chasing or who you are, but..."
Perk!
The tail wagged even faster, and both ears fluttered swiftly from side to side!
As if she had been waiting for those words, the bizarre beastman couldn't hide her consecutive bursts of joy. She immediately leaped out of the grass and launched into a self-introduction with overflowing confidence and a bold attitude.
"Greetings! I am a universally acknowledged S-rank adventurer, a solitary gray wolf who wanders alone and brings justice—Kaede of the Gale! I'm certain you've all heard of me at least once. I treasure good citizens as much as my reputation, so please don't worry!"
Delin, who had been rubbing his bottom after landing on the ground and wondering if he'd cracked his tailbone, tilted his head at Kaede's bold entrance and thought, 'Why is she so full of confidence?' But Kaede continued before he could voice his confusion.
"I am currently searching for a pair of heinous wanted criminals... hmm... I can't remember their names well, but one wears an eye patch and the other has white fur!"
An eye patch?
White fur?
"No way..."
Both Chichi and Delin recalled the same individuals from Kaede's description.
The mention of a scent, heinous wanted criminals... Everything the beastman in front of them was saying intuitively pointed to Neva and Philmark, didn't it!
"Uh, are their names Philmark and Neva, by any chance?"
Delin asked, suppressing both the shock of meeting a beastman for the first time and his bafflement. He needed to confirm the facts first.
"Hmm! Just a moment."
To answer, Kaede reached into her chest pocket again, pulled out the crumpled wanted poster, and unfolded it.
The women's names written there were indeed Philmark and Neva!
"Ooh! That's right. The one with the eye patch is Philmark, and the one with white fur is Neva!"
The story began to mesh together. The scattered fragments came together as one.
In front of the mystery of life where connections beget connections and fate intertwines with fate, the wolf, the witch, and the one man looked at each other.
———————————————
"Is that really true? Huh!"
"They're more obsessed with you than I expected."
Delin confessed everything he had endured with Neva and Philmark to the witch Chichi and Kaede of the Gale.
What Chichi felt was fear. The anxiety that she might lose Delin.
Now, all that remained for her was ultimately Delin alone. Because she had belatedly realized her feelings, she had protected him and been exiled from Raftel. In the end, all that remained for her exiled self was Delin and their ambiguous relationship.
Chichi could not let Delin go. At this point, with her magic and her reputation as a witch all gone, her reason for living was Delin alone.
Her still-confused inner self... That hollow inner self simply longed for Delin's existence.
Therefore, Chichi had to stop Neva and Philmark by any means necessary.
Meanwhile, Kaede?
"Criminals are truly merciless. Even if you can't embrace a man, you'd treat him so cruelly? They've always shown signs of committing crimes!"
She clenched both fists with surging justice! How could she not help a man with such a pitiful story? An S-rank adventurer never turned a blind eye to those in danger!
...Of course, that wasn't the only reason. Since meeting Delin, Kaede had been continually wagging her tail gently and searing his image into her eyes.
Even at a glance, he was a man who naturally brought to mind the words 'a beauty that could topple kingdoms.' Despite possessing a strange allure that bewitched women, he was fierce—like a single flower on a cliff!
Kaede concealed her wagging tail with effort and tried to show a cool side to win his favor.
"Don't worry! I, Kaede, will protect your side."
Kaede adventured not only because of her righteous mission, but also to become a renowned, cool adventurer and find a wonderful mate. Even now, countless beastmen roamed the world seeking mates with beautiful looks and the ability to produce good seed! Kaede was one of them.
Of course, because of her stupid— I mean, charming(!) innocent charm and the beastmen's unique trait, she had become a target of avoidance by many men and males, making her search for a mate extremely tough—
but rescuing a man with a special story like this, fostering love, and reaching marriage was exactly the adventurer's romance, wasn't it!
Of course, it was too early to say that. Since it was a first meeting, she had to treat him very cautiously and naturally, as usual. Otherwise, she'd get nervous, and nervousness would inevitably lead to mistakes.
Since marriageable age was approaching, Kaede, who could no longer put off finding a mate, resolved: I must seize this opportunity, which is otherwise nonexistent!
Definitely seize it!
...before she could make that resolution.
"Uh, um... are you two dating, or...?"
Kaede threw a rather direct question at Chichi and Delin.
Both were flustered by Kaede's sudden question, but
"No...! We're not dating."
Delin drove the nail in. He had no intention of dating Chichi. Delin, still heavily traumatized by what happened with Arwen—how could he embrace Chichi?
His firm declaration stung Chichi's heart and made Kaede inwardly cheer.
Hearing his story, she felt a bit disappointed that he wasn't a virgin, but looking at his beauty, how could one quibble about virginity or anything! Moreover, if he had lost his virginity due to being involved in a truly heinous crime, there was even less need to quibble. Rather, she just wanted to embrace his wounded self with love.
Kaede expressed the joy of meeting a new connection through her luck by continually wagging her tail gently.
If she handled this matter well and showed a cool side, countless rewards would come, so how could she hide the joy in her tail?
The very, very wise Kaede thought,
For the sake of catching that attractive man, the wanted criminals she was chasing were walking right into her lap - that's a profit!
Also, since she could fight together with that quite strong-looking witch - profit! (Fighting alongside a single witch seemed more advantageous than having many other adventurers cling to her.)
Furthermore, if she stylishly subdued the two wanted criminals and presented them before the queen of the Albator Kingdom, she'd obtain tremendous treasure and fame - profit!
Lastly, she could gain a beautiful mate - wasn't that profit again! A joyous occasion, a celebration!
If there was one thing slightly puzzling, it was the aura of those two villains that emanated from him. She wasn't sure if his scent had rubbed off on the villains or the villains' scent had rubbed off on him, but the three gave off a strangely similar smell.
Keueung, keung-
Kaede unconsciously sniffed again. In the scent coming from him close by, something truly faint lay dormant.
Even Kaede herself couldn't fully understand, but the man she had decided to help seemed to have a mysterious corner about him.
It was a very faint, blurry scent, but a scent that seemed closer to the essence than what she had felt from the other two villains...
Kaede opened her mouth to ask about that scent, then closed it again, swallowing the question inside.
Why scents that should have naturally been washed away in daily life still clung to him, and whether he himself knew about it...
Though her desire to ask was like a mountain, Kaede swallowed her words inside. It might make the man named Delin recall unpleasant memories of the past...
It wasn't that deep of a concern. It was just the worry that if she talked too much, her own feminine charm might be judged harshly.
Anyway, the three formed a team like that and joined forces!
Delin, who had become somewhat adept at using Save & Load, endured women's countless sexual desires, and awakened (or adapted to another world), and!
Chichi the witch, who was in a position to protect Delin but would no longer be able to maintain her dignity without him, and!
Kaede of the Gale, who had seized an incredible opportunity she had never once experienced until becoming an S-rank adventurer—to obtain a wonderful mate and all sorts of rare things!
Those three, who seemed mismatched yet fit together quite well, walked on, looking in the same direction.
Above their heads, the blue moonlight wrapped them warmly...
It was an event on a quiet night when the moon had fully waxed before they knew it.