Meeting his coworkers~

"Zane~! Look~ We're going to be parents~!"

"?!?!"

As the white-haired young man leaned down, the girl hummed happily, unveiling something she carried in the towel for him, causing him to flinch and get all flustered.

"HUH?! Wait… what?! Wh-what?! HUH?! B-but…!"

Zane had troubles understanding the situation, leaning down and straightening his back to then raise and lowering his hands.

"Oh no…! Did the experiments change me so much that… that I made you…. l-lay an…!"

"Zane…! Don't be silly! I didn't lay it!"

He mumbled with a guilt-struck expression that made the girl pout and sigh while she nuzzled up to him.

"Y-you didn't…? But you said…"

"Oh, that's because I am going to take responsibility for her once she hatches, of course! Or is this your attempt to break it to me that I will be a single mother?"

Zane stuttered, making the girl lower her head and look up at him with a pitiful expression.

"Of course not! I… I am just confused. Where did you get it?"

The white-haired man called out before flinching and leaning down to whisper into the girl's ear.

"The…"

She opened her mouth but then closed them after taking a glance back over at the quartet of the goddess's chosen one's teammates.

"...remember the problem I had at the gate? It turned out it was this and not the other thing! Back then, one of them had to sneak it in before we departed. I considered returning it, but having in mind how troublesome it must have been for one of them to hide it in my purse without being noticed, it couldn't be an accident. So I will take responsibility instead~!"

"...!"

Melinda explained, standing up on her tippytoes to whisper back into Zane's ear, which froze him up.

"..."

"~!"

Before the gold-haired girl knew it, the hand of the monstrous man with a gentle look in his distorted venomously green eyes traced the line of her spine, causing her to shiver in anticipation.

"...you mean, we will take responsibility…"

*chuu*

"~!~!~!"

Zane whispered, lowering his head even more and kissing Melinda's neck, delighted at the sight of her body jolting in excitement.

"Z-Zane…"

"Since Stein would smell our scents on each other anyway."

The girl muttered, nuzzling up to him with a worried expression, but he reassured her.

"But we are in front of the dorms…"

"...huh...? Oh... yeah, that's a fair point…"

Melinda grumbled, unwilling to pull away even though she knew it was the right thing to do, leaving it up to the troubled Zane who had to be the one to step back.

"..."

Melinda glanced up at him with a sulky expression before shaking her head and leaning to the side to glance at the group waiting for her man.

"I would like to introduce myself properly, but they don't seem too keen on that."

She tilted her head and pointed out with a crooked smile since two out of four of Zane's teammates were crouching down, clearly trying to hide from her.

"Well, Alenas is a half-elf, and Stein must have recognized your smell from the spot of your little vampire encounter near the slums."

Zane breathed out, explaining with an apologetic expression.

"Alright… I understand Stein. What did Alenas do? Was she… trying to hit on you…?"

The gold-haired girl nodded in understanding before raising her brow and inquiring about the part she didn't get.

"No. She's a half elf. Half. Elf. Originally from Fenrioette territory."

"..."

The monstrous man waved his hand dismissively, repeating himself as if that was supposed to clear everything up.

"..."

"..."

The pair stared at each other, Melinda repeatedly blinking with a blank expression, and Zane was confused about how the gold-haired girl could not realize the point.

"...Zane…?"

"...?"

In the end, Melinda beckoned the monstrous man with the hand of the arm, holding up the kobold's egg wrapped in a towel, leaning in and using the other hand to cover her lips from being read.

"...was… was cannon Melinda supposed to be… racist…?"

"PFFFT! AHAHAHAHAHA~!"

The gold-haired girl asked with a troubled expression, only mouthing the last word, immediately causing the white-haired man to snort and burst into laughter.

"H-hey! I'm serious here!"

Melinda blushed in embarrassment, backing off before pouting as she made sure the egg was snuggly covered.

"Wife of the current head of the Fenrioette family was assassinated, along with her whole side of the family, by an elven insurgent. The poison used on her caused you to be born prematurely. Does that ring a bell?"

Zane rolled his eyes and explained.

"And that guy was dealt with by the Duke and sir Beo. His allies also. And then there was aunt Astrid enticing a genocide… Ohhh…Yeah, I see where the misunderstanding is coming from."

Melinda shrugged her shoulders before she leaned back as her eyes widened in realization.

"Hey, Al-al! It's okay! I can't vouch for other members of the Fenrioette family, but I don't harbor any resentment or ill will!"

"!?!?"

The gold-haired girl called out, making the light-haired half-elf flinch and peek out from behind Virian.

"The only ones who should be worried are those who wish harm upon me~"

"...oh…"

Melinda pointed out which made Alenas let out a short, relieved gasp as she leaned away from her cover a bit more.

"Bye-bye. Keep up the good work~"

The gold-haired girl then waved her hand and winked at Zane before turning around and returning to the girls' dormitory.

"That was… interesting…"

Virian cleared his throat and pointed out as the towering monstrous man approached them.

"Ehehe… I was called Al-al…!"

"...?"

Surprising him, the half-elf behind his back stood up and let out a happy voice, all fidgety.

"Yeah, she did call you that. So… what is it about? Are nicknames a big thing for you?"

Virian raised his brow before inquiring offhandedly, acting as if he didn't particularly care.

"It's an elvish custom… If you change your elder's names in that way, it means that you respect them and treat them as your family. It's a big thing to be called that way by someone younger!"

Alenas fidgetted again and explained shyly.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Zane, Virian, and Rose exchanged glances, thinking the same thing.

The gold-haired girl had to know about the elven custom and used it on purpose, but none of them spoke up since it would surely bring down Alenas's mood.

"Stein, what about you?"

The white-haired monstrous man decided to change the subject and addressed the beastman who didn't get up yet despite the gold-haired girl leaving.

"...Zane… you owe me an explanation…"

"I suppose I do. But not here."

Stein moved his head just a little bit to glare at Zane as he grumbled, making the monstrous man tilt his head to the side and nod with consideration.