Night fell upon the ruined city, enveloping the surroundings in the quiet chirping of insects.
Krishna’s blonde hair was illuminated by the light of the lamp on the dining table.
“It’s especially quiet at night, isn’t it, Zenos-san?”
“Well, it is a ruined city.”
“Hmm, it seems more comfortable than I expected.”
“Make sure you go home when the mission is over, okay?”
That being said, the mission was to capture Zenos, the “Mediator”.
The end of the mission = the end of his Dark Healer business, so he had to do something about it.
Krishna gazed into the darkness outside the window.
“But, don’t undead appear in places like this?”
“They might. Wraiths might appear.”
“Wraiths…?”
“Scary, right? Maybe you should go home?”
“You’re really trying to get me to leave, aren’t you? Don’t worry, wraiths are top-tier undead monsters. You don’t encounter them that often.”
I see one every day, though.
In fact, one’s peeking out from behind the ceiling board right now.
He had considered getting Camilla’s help to scare her away, but he was worried that she might bring the Imperial Guard division to exterminate them later.
The most realistic solution at the moment was to move while Krishna was away on her investigation, but the troublesome thing was that he’d become quite attached to this dilapidated building.
“It’s not much, but…”
From the side, Lily placed a teacup down with a thunk. She seemed to be pouting.
“Oh, thank you.”
Krishna took the cup and slowly brought it to his mouth.
“Ahahfū!”
“Eh?”
“Ah, excuse me. Actually, having a cat’s tongue is my only weakness.”
Translator’s Note
As explained previously, having a cat’s tongue (nekoshita) means being sensitive to hot foods and drinks.
“You have a surprising number of weaknesses, don’t you?”
“What are you talking about? I only have one weakness.”
“I see…”
After that, Krishna continued to blow on the cup, cautiously bringing it to his mouth and groaning “Afahā!”
“Mmmmu…”
“What’s wrong, Lily?”
“Zenos, lap.”
Lily said bluntly and climbed onto Zenos’s lap. She snuggled up to Zenos and glanced at Krishna.
“Zenos, the usual.”
“The usual…?”
“The u-su-al.”
She shook her head slightly, so he stroked her blonde hair, and Lily twitched her ears. She crossed her arms and proudly lifted her chin.
“Fufun!”
…What’s going on?
I feel like Lily is being clingier than usual.
“It’s jealousy.”
“Whoa, you startled me.”
“What’s wrong, Mr. Zenos?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
He had accidentally spoken aloud because someone had suddenly whispered in his ear. Was that Camilla’s voice just now?
“Kukuku… That’s right. I’m hiding my form and whispering in your ear.”
It was seriously bad for his heart, so he wished she would stop. Camilla said that she didn’t usually do this because she couldn’t touch things and her vision was poor in this state. Zenos replied in a low voice.
“Why is Lily jealous?”
“She’s asserting dominance over the woman who suddenly barged in. She’s saying, ‘I’m closer to Zenos than you are.’ It seems she gets along with the demi-human girls, but she can’t possibly accept a woman who shot a magic gun and then had the nerve to borrow his bed. Moreover, that insensitive woman is attacking with the ‘gap moe’ of being sensitive to hot drinks. Her heart must be in turmoil. Now, what will she do? What can she do? The battle for a woman’s pride, let it begin…!!!”
Translator’s Note
Gap moe (ギャップ萌え) refers to finding someone attractive because of a gap between their usual behavior/appearance and an unexpected trait.
“Be quiet.”
He had been thinking this for a while, but why was this top-tier undead so worldly? The sound of “Hee-hee-hee…” gradually faded in his ear.
However, it was true that Lily was being particularly clingy today, just as Camilla said.
“Zenos, the tea is still hot. Lily will blow on it for you.”
“Zenos, your hair is sticking up. Lily will fix it for you.”
“Zenos, it’s an apple. Lily will feed it to you.”
Seemingly fueled by some mysterious rivalry, she was being unusually attentive. However, Krishna, sitting across from them, was completely unresponsive and seemed to be lost in thought.
“M-mmmu… I-In that case… Lily will… use her secret weapon…!”
Perhaps finally losing her patience, Lily’s face turned bright red, and she pressed Zenos’s cheeks with both hands.
“Z-Zenos… T-tonight, Lily… won’t let you sleep!”
…
…
…
“Spii…”
She fell asleep.
“The elf child is sleeping soundly.”
“Ah, yes, she is…”
A few seconds after declaring that she wouldn’t let him sleep, Lily was sound asleep on Zenos’s lap, breathing peacefully. She’s a child, so she goes to bed early.
He carried her to the bedroom and returned to the living room, where Krishna still seemed to be deep in thought.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, that elf child said she was captured by a slave trader, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Do you know the identity of the slave trader?”
“No, I don’t.”
They only interacted for a short time, and the trader quickly disappeared. At the time, he needed to prioritize Lily’s treatment, so he didn’t do anything like follow them.
“I see. It seems there’s a hotbed of illegal child trafficking somewhere that doesn’t go through the exchange.”
Krishna said that before this mission, she was investigating that case.
“So that’s why you shot me out of the blue.”
“I’m truly sorry. Like the ‘Mediator,’ they’re hard to pin down, and they always manage to escape at the last minute. I acted reflexively to make sure they wouldn’t get away this time.”
A human living secretly in a hideout-like place with an elf child. Certainly, looking at the situation alone, it might seem quite suspicious.
“Being short-tempered is my only weakness.”
“Don’t you have a lot of weaknesses after all?”
“What are you talking about? I have only one weakness.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter.”
“I have solved all kinds of incidents. <Stone Lady Rose> must be a perfect guardsman and a hero to the citizens. Even if I have a weakness, I can only be allowed one at most.”
“…”
Zenos felt like he glimpsed another expression behind Krishna’s expressionless face.