🌸🌸🌸
JUST like that, a beautiful woman invites us to a party, but Kazuya refuses. I absolutely wanna join them (and Luke! The hot guy!), so I beg and plead with Kazuya until he caves and lets us join the Evenfall Lions on a trial basis.
Bless you, Kazuya. Thank you for indulging me.
The beautiful woman introduces herself as Leila. There are more people in their party, but we’ll meet them tomorrow. For now we take our leave of Luke and Leila.
Kazuya is still grumpy while we walk around town, take in the area, buy a bag, and finally return to our room at Jabrin and Marie’s. I recount the day’s happenings to them over dinner.
They both look rather surprised.
“Goodness, really?” Jabrin says. “The Evenfall Lions are an A-ranked adventurer party that only came to town recently!”
“A-ranked?”
“That means they can defeat A-ranked monsters. In other words, they’re strong. You kids have luck on your side! What a windfall, joining a party as good as theirs!”
“They’re that incredible? You know, the guy—his name was Luke—was really cool.” I blush just remembering his smile.
“Luke? The Gold Lion?” Jabrin leans forward.
I nod. “Oh, yeah. They did call him that. Is he famous?”
“He’s one of the strongest swordsmen around. But he’s so strong that he breaks every sword he uses as soon as he swings them. There’s a rumor that he’s trying to track down a powerful holy sword. Not bad, eh? I personally think he might be the chosen hero.”
“Is that holy sword only for the chosen hero?” Kazuya asks in surprise.
Jabrin nods. “Yeah. I’ve also heard rumors that the Demon King—he’s been quiet for years—might make a move soon. If you join the Evenfall Lions, you might get sent to take him on.”
“The Demon King…” Me and Kazuya exchange a glance. That’s a term we’ve only heard in fantasy stories. So it’s real in this world?
Jabrin tells us about a hero who defeated the demon king twenty years ago, and some signs that show he might resurrect soon. For me, the tale is too out there. The idea that it’s real is hard to believe. But Jabrin is serious, so maybe it’s true. After all, there are monsters here. Maybe it’s natural for there to be a Demon King.
After dinner, Kazuya and I go to our room. Kazuya insists on sleeping on the floor again, so I sit on the bed while he sits on the floor, packing the bag we bought today with things we might need tomorrow. I watch him absently, thinking back over the day. He reeeally didn’t want to join the Golden Lions’ party. In the end, he only buckled because me and Leila put pressure on him.
“Kazuya, thanks for today. For joining the Evenfall Lions with me.”
“Yeah… Well, it’s a good deal. Jabrin’s a former adventurer. After hearing what he said, I was just thinking that it’ll be good to build up experience with a strong party.”
“What? You think so? Then why didn’t you want to join them earlier?”
“Because I didn’t like Luke.”
“Whaaat?! Why not? He’s such a nice guy! He helped me out, too.”
“…That’s why I don’t like him that much.”
What does that even mean? How can you not like someone because they’re nice?
I know Kazuya has a dark streak, but that’s a twisted way to think about people. I’m worried about his relationships.
“Kazuya, do you have friends?” I ask a simple question. The moment I do, he glares. Yikes. Adolescent boys are scary.
Oh, well. I’ll try again. “C-come to think of it, don’t you think Luke looks a bit like Tsuyoshi, that college student at my dojo? Y’know, the one with a mole just below his eye?”
“Does he? That reminds me, you said once that Tsuyoshi was cool. Is that your type?”
“Huh? M-my type?! No. I just think they’re cool…” Remembering Luke’s face, my cheeks heat up again.
Kazuya sighs. “You’d be better off not bothering with him.”
“What? Why?”
“Granted, he’s not bad looking. Compared to me, he’s okay, I guess.”
Oh no, he’s back to talking about how hot he himself is.
“But remember Leila? Think about it. No normal guy would be calm when a girl in their party goes around flaunting themselves in a bikini all the time. No way.”
True. I was curious about that, too. Leila’s obviously big on skinship and was more or less pressing her big breasts against Luke. Fine, more rather than less. The most, even. But Luke didn’t bat an eyelid. “I dunno, maybe it’s normal for people in this world to wear bikinis?”
“No freakin’ way. I haven’t seen anyone else in them. And the fact Luke was so blasé about it means he’s definitely a player. Anyone else would be tripping over themselves.”
“R-really? Maybe it’s weird at first, but once you get used to it…” Luke was being so cool about it…
“You’re still not convinced?” Kazuya asks, exasperated, seeing right through my excuses to my impure motives.
“S-so what?” I ask timidly.
Kazuya sighs softly and squares his shoulders. “You say you want a boyfriend so badly, but you already have a guy who fits the bill in arm’s reach.”
What?! E-easy, Kazuya!
Someone nice waiting in the wings? I can’t do that! No!
“Absolutely not! Jabrin’s married to Marie already! They even have a kid together! I could never be a homewrecker!” I spell out the obvious issues to Kazuya, dead serious.
Kazuya draws back in surprise.
Geez, he has unconventional views on romance. Well, he does like men, so it fits that he has different views about love in many ways, but c’mon, Jabrin has a wife and kid!
Kazuya’s head drops in resignation. Good. Does that mean we’re on the same page now?
“I’m done. Go to sleep.” He wraps a blanket around him and flops down on the floor.
Excuse me? It’s rude to turn your back in the middle of a conversation.
I say his name several times, but he doesn’t answer.
✦ ✦ ✦
🌸🌸🌸
WE get up early in the morning to meet with Luke at the Guild. Because it’s so early, there aren’t many people inside the building, but there are a few drunk men and women loitering around outside. Maybe the Guild is open twenty-four hours a day.
Leila, Luke, and two other people we don’t know are already seated at a round table toward the back of the Guild. Uh oh. Are we late?! I hustle to the table.
Leila sees me coming and waves at me happily. “Sakurako! Over here!”
“Right, sorry! Have you been waiting long?”
“No, you’re right on time! I’m so happy you came!” Leila jumps up and throws her arms around me. I catch a whiff of alcohol and feel the heaviness of her ample chest squishing against my face. Um, I know we’re both female, but it’s still a bit embarrassing. I’ve never had my face buried in somebody’s boobs before!
Is Leila the type of woman who’s touchy-feely with everyone? Does she do this to Luke, too? Kazuya said he’s probably a player, so I wonder.
An unfamiliar voice next to us interrupts my mild panicking.
“Best leave her be. She’ll suffocate.”
Released from Leila’s chest, I see a man with a superb mustache. He has a huge shield strapped to his back and is pretty enormous himself.
I sneak a glance up at Leila. Man, are they big!
“Oh, no! So sorry! Did I hurt you? I was too excited and got carried away.”
“Um, I’m fine!”
A skinny man, about 30 years old, pokes his head around from behind her with a warm smile. “So this is the girl Luke was talking about yesterday. Pretty cute. Luke’s got surprisingly niche taste.” His smile turns devious as he elbows Luke in the ribs.
“Wh— Ganzi! Don’t make implications like that! Or grin like that!”
What?! Luke was talking about me? What did he say? Something good? Or something bad?!
“D-did you say something bad about me?”
“N-no!” Luke stammers. “Um, it’s true I was talking about you, but no. Nothing bad… I wasn’t being derisive or anything.”
He’s so desperately flustered that I freeze in surprise. I’m glad he wasn’t complaining about me, but it’s suspicious that he’s this tongue-tied trying to explain it.
“Shall we get on with the introductions?” Kazuya cuts in grumpily.
“Y-yeah. Let’s do that!” Luke says, and we turn our attention to the rest of the group.
“I’ll start. I’m Leila, a mage and the leader of the Evenfall Lions! Call me Leila, or just call me for dinner!” Leila’s smile is so radiant it even makes me, a fellow girl, weak in the knees. And she’s a mage! Awesome!
She catches me gazing at her in awe and winks at me. Damn, she’s cool!
“I’m Molozov, a shielder. Nice to meet you,” the big guy introduces himself stiffly. A shielder, huh? I remember the section on shielders in the Adventurer’s Handbook. Their role is to provide support by intercepting attacks that would hit their comrades. With his barrel chest and limbs like tree trunks, he definitely seems tough enough for that job.
“I’m Ganzi, a locksmith. It’s a pleasure!” The skinny man from before greets us with a cheerful wave.