Chasing the Runaway (1)
At the Dragonia estate on the frontier's snowy mountains.
Leopard knelt in the audience chamber, a hall so grand it might have been mistaken for a king's palace.
This was a man who could count on one hand the number of times he'd bent his body to anyone in his entire life.
And yet, for once, he could not even lift his head to look his counterpart in the face. He simply remained frozen in place.
It wasn't merely because he was the one making a request.
The man before him was Marquis Dragonia.
Perhaps a figure whose standing surpassed even the Emperor's.
"You say you wish to bring in a human woman?"
"Yes......"
"And this woman has a child tagging along with her?"
"Y-yes......"
"Do as you like. You're the one doing it, Leopard, so I trust you have your reasons."
"Thank you."
Permission came without hesitation.
Then came footsteps heavy with unmistakable displeasure, booming against the floor as they gradually receded into the distance.
It was the walk of a man saying, why are you wasting my time with something so utterly trivial.
Introducing a single woman to a position was well within Leopard's authority to decide on his own — what he feared was the fallout if her true identity ever came to light.
So he had decided to give the Marquis a heads-up, just in case.
The Marquis was a capricious man, but he was not a man who went back on his word once given.
Through the vibration of mana, Leopard confirmed that the Marquis had departed the estate.
Only then did he exhale a long breath and rise to his feet.
The old butler approached him with a worried look.
"You wish to bring in a woman, my Hero? What is this, all of a sudden? Surely she isn't a dangerous person?"
"Don't worry."
"How can I not worry? I fear you've come to think of our Dragonia as a refuge for hiding people who are chasing you down, Hero. Just how many times has this been now?"
"There will be no problems. I guarantee it. So have the villa in the Imperial Capital prepare to receive a maid and her daughter."
"I beg your pardon? Not the main estate here, but the villa?"
The butler's eyes went wide.
If the goal were to hide someone away, bringing them to this mountain fastness hidden deep within layer upon layer of peaks would make far more sense.
And yet he was being asked to leave a servant's position open at the villa in the Imperial Capital of all places.
He could not fathom the intent at all.
"Yes. What, are your ears going deaf already? Shall I clear them out for you?"
"No, my lord. Understood. It shall be done as you say."
The butler had long ago learned this simple truth: nothing was more foolish than trying to assign meaning to the Hero's antics.
He had watched the man for over fifty years — it would have been stranger not to have figured that out by now.
"Whew......"
Leaving the butler behind, Leopard stepped out of the audience chamber and let out a deep sigh.
The butler was right.
If hiding a person was the goal, bringing her here would have sufficed.
Even the Holy See could not dream of storming the Dragonia estate.
Besides, this snowy range held nothing but the lone great estate — not even a small village — so there was no need to worry about the woman running off.
It was the perfect place to keep Yulia confined.
So why, then, had he chosen the villa in the Imperial Capital?
No matter how he questioned himself, no rational answer emerged.
Which was only natural.
The reason had come from a domain where reason and logic held no sway.
"Ah."
Come to think of it, he'd forgotten to ask the Marquis one thing.
Whether he had ever shared a bed with a human woman.
It was a rather insolent question, but he was confident the Marquis wouldn't take particular offense at it.
Asking Yulia herself how on earth she had conceived that disgusting little brat — that would be far, far harder.
"Aigo......"
Outside the estate, Leopard groaned as the knife-sharp wind lashed furiously at his face.
Right before him, a sheer cliff dropped away into nothing.
Mountains, mountains, and snow — the vista was nothing else in any direction.
How am I supposed to get back to the Imperial Capital from here?
He hadn't thought that far ahead.
The Hero Leopard squeezed his eyes shut in helpless vexation.
***
"Period. You're laaate."
She was fully prepared.
She had re-learned the proper use of sanitary pads from Irina in meticulous detail, and never forgot to keep a fresh one on hand every single day.
Ready for it to hit at any moment, at any time.
But wasn't the standard menstrual cycle supposed to be twenty-eight days?
A whole month had passed and payday had come around again, yet her period showed no sign whatsoever of arriving.
No aching back, no cramping stomach, and she felt perfectly vigorous — it didn't seem likely to come today or tomorrow either.
Maybe the cycle was still irregular since she'd only just given birth?
"Yulia! You've been requested!"
"Coming~"
She quickly stuffed another pad into her bag and hurried out of the waiting room.
It was time to work.
Her introduction to House Dragonia had been confirmed, but she hadn't quit her job just yet.
That Hero bastard had only said, literally, that he would introduce her — he never once guaranteed he'd actually secure her a position.
If she quit in a fit of excitement and the employment fell through, she'd have to crawl back here and face an excruciatingly awkward situation.
Given the choice, she'd rather grind it out for a few more days and keep her conscience clean.
"Your requested hostess Yulia has arrived~"
"Yulia! Do that thing for me, that thing!"
"And what thing might you be referring to...?"
"You know, that thing! The one everyone asks for!"
"Ha......"
Unbelievable.
Another piece of trash Vermin customer today, it seemed.
She almost spat a curse right in the customer's face, but instead, lips trembling as she wrenched them into a smile, she drawled:
"M-Mommy Yulia is here for youuu~!"
"Grrrrah! Yes! That's exactly it!"
"......"
I should have just quit.
She wanted to die.
She thought that every day, granted, but today she wanted to die with considerably more intensity than usual.
"Yulia! I brought a baby bottle! Could you maybe rest your head on your lap and feed me some milk?"
"O-of course......"
She forced the words out.
Among the stomach-churning requests, this one counted as relatively mild fare.
She consoled herself with the thought that at least he hadn't demanded she breastfeed him directly.
The output had lessened compared to right after Tia's birth, but it still flowed just fine — if she didn't express some every morning, her clothes inevitably ended up soaked.
Would the milk dry up faster if I just stopped expressing it? How long is this going to go on, seriously......
"Aigo. My thighs are killing me......"
"Yulia! Another request! You can take a quick break before you come out!"
"No, it's fine. Coming nooow~......"
Every time she finished one job and returned, another request was already waiting.
If she gave herself a break, she'd only spend it replaying the day's work and drowning in self-loathing — better to stay busy with no breaks at all.
The downside was that once closing time came and she lay down in bed at home, the self-loathing and post-nut clarity would come flooding in as if a dam had burst.
"Yulia! Couldn't you bring Tia in for a bit?"
"No. I'm sorry, sir. Requesting me does not entitle you to Tia as well."
"I'm just saying, ask Tia! Who knows? Maybe she'd want to come show off her charms when she sees this handsome face of mine? I'll give her a generous allowance too! Call her in! Eyyyy?"
"Eheheh......"
She smiled without a word.
The smile meant: please stop talking, you Vermin scum.
Of course, anyone who actually understood that wasn't a Vermin in the first place.
Just how am I going to sweet-talk this one out the door this time?
Today, too, was an endless succession of utterly shit-brained dilemmas.
"So tired, so tired!"
"Good work out there! There were a lot of requests for you today."
"Tell me about it. How about you, Sasha?"
"I only went out once. And even that one turned me away, saying my horn was way too big, so I spent the whole time cleaning instead. Hehe."
"Oh......"
It was right after closing.
Sasha grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of her head.
Moments like this were impossibly awkward to navigate.
Should I comfort her, or tell her she's lucky she didn't have to deal with those shitstain customers......
"Mommmm! Irina Imo teased me!"
"When did I ever?!"
The door burst open noisily, and in came Tia, running to her with a whimper.
In an instant she was scooped into Yulia's arms — and then Tia wrapped her legs around Yulia's waist and put her full weight on them, and something in her back gave a dangerous pop.
Ah. Carrying Tia really is getting too hard now......?
"Mhehehe! Tickles!"
"Huh?!"
Tia, who had been nuzzling and rubbing against her, suddenly burst into giggles and slid right off her.
What on earth was tickling her?
Startled, Yulia reflexively stroked her own chin.
There was no way she'd sprouted a beard.
While she stood there bewildered, desperately searching her body for anything that might feel ticklish, Irina appeared beyond the door wearing a wounded expression.
"Tia, sweetie! It was a misunderstanding!"
"No it's not. Irina Imo hates Tia."
"I don't! I was just teasing! Even if you call me Imo, I'll never hate you, Tia...... I'll never ask you to call me Unnie again......"
"Hmph."
Ah. I see.
Yulia had a rough idea of how things had gone down.
Knowing Irina, she must have pulled one of her little schemes, begging Tia to call her Unnie instead of Imo.
Something like, I hate it when you call me Imo.
And Tia had taken it very much to heart and sulked properly, it seemed.
"Mheh."
Nope.
She was turning away from Irina while desperately holding back laughter — so she wasn't genuinely sulking after all.
The crafty little thing.
This was how she wrapped all the older girls around her little finger.
"Good work with closing, everyone. How about the four of us go for a casual drink together tonight?"
"Sounds great!"
"What about Tia? What about Tia?!"
"Tia can't drink alcohol, silly......"
The Tavern Boss knocked on the waiting room door and called them out.
Yulia had sworn off drinking, but the offer was tempting.
Everyone on closing duty tonight was free the next morning, so they decided one round wouldn't hurt.
"Crack open something expensive, Boss? That '38 vintage you've got back there!"
"Are you insane? Since when was that in our stars to drink? We'll finish off whatever's left in the customers' bottles."
"Awwww......"
"Are you dwinking? Tia wants a sip too!"
"Nope. You can drink when you're all grown up."
"When am I gonna gwow up?"
"Uh......"
Tia's innocently clear question stopped Yulia's mouth cold.
When exactly was she supposed to count Tia as an adult?
Nineteen years after her birth?
Or whenever she grew to Yulia's height?
Her head began to ache.
She decided to drown unanswerable questions like this in alcohol.
"Ahhh. A drink after so long really hits the spot."
"Come to think of it, Yulia, you've only got a few days left before you quit, huh."
"Mm. That's right. Probably done within three days. Thank you sooooo much for everything up until now, Boss!"
"Oh dear. She's already drunk......"
Yulia bowed her head deeply.
It was a thank-you that welled up from the very depths of her heart.
The Boss, who had given a wanderer lost in a strange land a roof over her head and a job to do.
Irina, who had helped her adapt here in a dozen different ways.
And Sasha was...... uh...... uuuh...... what was she thankful for again......?
Anyway, all three of them were benefactors she owed dearly.
If she let her guard down, she'd end up bawling her eyes out and making a pathetic spectacle of herself, so she resolved to drink in moderation.
"Oh, right. Besides you, Yulia, there's one more person who announced today that they're quitting."
"Huh? Who? What kind of scumbag quits that rudely out of nowhere?"
"Natalia. Said the work was too hard and she couldn't do it anymore. Said she's leaving this city altogether, in fact."
"What? Natalia? Isn't she the one who borrowed money from me the other day?"
"......"
At Irina's words, the atmosphere chilled in an instant.
So she's running off with the money she owes. She's skipping out on her debt.
A real headache of a problem had just landed in their laps.