“Where are you escorting me to today, brother?” Recilia asked, her expression as flat as always.
Despite her lack of emotion, I’d spent enough time with her now that I could pick up on the more subtle shifts in her tone to gauge her mood. I could tell she was teasing me with the way she glanced at me, and also that she was in quite a good mood.
Ever since she saw that kiss mark on my cheek she’s been pretty pissed, so this is a nice change of pace, I thought with relief.
I’d been planning on having a longer discussion with her to clear up that misunderstanding, but when I’d told her there was somewhere I wanted to take her, she’d immediately brightened up and given me a warm smile. I felt like I’d wasted my time steeling myself for this confrontation, but at the same time I was ultimately glad she was willing to hear me out properly.
“I’m taking you to a restaurant called the Wyvern’s Perch,” I replied, and Recilia visibly perked up.
“Isn’t that the restaurant famous for its high-class food?!”
“Yeah.”
When BB had been a game, it hadn’t particularly mattered whether the food of a particular establishment had been good or not, especially since restaurants didn’t have any real mechanical benefits, and existed mostly to flesh out towns. So I hadn’t really paid too much attention to them. But while I didn’t care that much about restaurants, if this brought a smile to Recilia’s face, it was worth taking her there.
“Th-That’s a surprise. I didn’t think you’d invite me to such a nice place, brother. U-Umm, is it all right for me to go dressed in these clothes?” Recilia asked hesitantly.
“We’re adventurers—I don’t see any problem.”
If I recalled correctly, part of the setting lore was that adventurers’ formal wear was just their combat clothes. As a result, a lot of the important characters that showed up in the game wore their armor about town, or when they were giving speeches, and so on. I suspected the real reason things were like this was because it would have taken a lot more time and money to prepare sprites for every character in different outfits, but regardless I was grateful that was how this world worked.
“Umm, I’m pretty sure it’s right around this corner... That’s it, right?”
“Hmm, it certainly does exude a refined aura. I never imagined I’d visit an establishment like this with you brother, but since we’re here, I’d like to—”
Recilia broke off, her smile freezing in place. I followed her gaze and immediately spotted the cause.
“Hello, Rex! And you must be the sister I’ve heard so much about! It’s nice to meet you!”
Standing right outside the restaurant was Lily Harmonix, the other person I’d invited to today’s meeting. And she was dressed up even more than usual.
❈❈❈
“So, care to explain what’s going on here?” Recilia asked, her words dripping with venom.
“Well, like I told you before...” I trailed off at the look on her face.
Recilia’s good mood had evaporated instantly when she spotted Lily. She seemed even more put out than she had yesterday morning. I’d assumed the reason Recilia had been in a bad mood was because she’d mistakenly believed I’d gone out to fool around with prostitutes that night. Furthermore, since Recilia had been insistent that I consult with her before doing anything, I’d figured I could introduce her to Lily, who’d agreed to work with me, and clear up the misunderstanding in one fell swoop.
“You shouldn’t be so hard on him, sister,” Lily said with a smile.
“I don’t recall giving you permission to call me ‘sister,’” Recilia retorted coldly.
Oh no...
I hadn’t expected them to be this incompatible. While Recilia was always like this, Lily was acting more aggressive than usual. She still had the same cheerful smile as always, but she was clearly taunting Recilia on purpose.
“I understand you’re afraid someone might steal your beloved brother away from you, but isn’t it about time you grew more independent?”
“D-Don’t be ridiculous, I’m not afraid! Besides, we’re not even...” Recilia suddenly trailed off and glanced back at me. “No, never mind. It’s nothing,” she finished, calming down.
“Is that so?” Lily cocked her head, looking a bit disappointed that Recilia had backed down so quickly.
I, of course, knew what Recilia had been about to say. Her brother wasn’t me, but Rex. However, I had no intention of revealing that to Lily, and it seemed neither did Recilia.
“C-Calm down you two,” I interjected. “Now that we’ve introduced ourselves to each other, let’s get down to business.”
I’d originally wanted the two of them to get to know each other better before discussing work, but at this rate it looked like their relationship would only deteriorate.
“Like I explained to you before,” I continued, “Lily’s going to be helping me gather information from here on out.”
While I had a lot of game knowledge, I was still just a regular person. In a world without the internet, I had no way to efficiently collect information. Fortunately, Lily did. She wasn’t particularly skilled in combat, but she was far more sociable than I was. She was much better suited to this job than Recilia too. However, it seemed Recilia wasn’t happy with my decision.