Part 3

While Lexia and the others were having a conversation in the bath, Owen tried to gather information on Yuuya and the others. However, because of Kaori's sudden appearance, he has more to look into, and it's a bit of a headache.

Nevertheless, there are several similarities between Yuuya and Kaori, which can be helpful in gathering information.

"(Although their hair and eye color are the same, their facial features are not that similar… the line of brother and sister is thin, and they are probably really friends. If that's the case, does that mean Kaori-dono is a nobleman or royalty like Yuuya-dono…?)"

Nevertheless, it didn't change the fact that he had little information. That's why Owen's misunderstanding accelerated, and his head ached that he had new things to report when he returned to the royal capital.

This was because Owen wanted to gather as much information about Yuuya as possible and report it to Arnold. When Arnold was attacked by Rhaegar, even though those attackers were exceptionally skilled, Yuuya had managed to deal with them effortlessly, and even took out a series of legendary-grade items.

There was no way they would let loose a country with such an individual so easily, and Arnold wanted him to stay in the Alceria Kingdom if possible. It was because he believed that if Yuuya were willing to abandon his country and become a citizen of the Alceria Kingdom, it would be of great benefit to the country.

In fact, there was no doubt that Yuuya's abilities and legendary grade items would have a tremendous impact on diplomacy. However, since both Owen and Arnold had only seen a small part of Yuuya's abilities yet, it was not known what would happen if they knew about Yuuya's transfer magic and other things.

"(The best thing is not to bring in only Yuya-dono, but Yuya-dono and Lexia-sama marry and start trading with Yuuya-dono's country as it is. …But, His Majesty would be reluctant to do so. Well, after the last one, the hostility towards Yuuya-dono is almost gone, anyway…)"

Arnold's assessment of Yuuya had been revised after Yuuya had treated Rhaegar, which Arnold himself had given up on, and that made Arnold revised his opinion of Yuuya. That's how tremendous Yuuya's actions were, but the man himself was not so aware of it.

Still, although Arnold himself still thinks that the current situation of his beloved daughter, Lexia, favoring Yuuya is not pleasant, he was quite troubled by Yuuya's abilities and other factors.

It's a great idea to get a chance to connect with Yuuya, but as a parent, he doesn't want to give her to anyone. Nevertheless, there was no need to jump to conclusions just yet, since Yuuya himself, whose favor is directed at him, has refused Lexia's marriage proposal.

However, the emergence of an uncertain element called Kaori here complicated the battle over Yuuya.

"(Even so…)"

Owen suddenly turned his attention to Night and Akatsuki, who were relaxing near him.

"Woof?"

"Fugo?"

Then they tilted their heads curiously.

"(They were only briefly introduced to me, but… they are Yuuya-dono's family. That's not normal by any stretch of the imagination…)"

With that in mind, Owen took the opportunity to take a good look at Night and Akatsuki.

"(Night-dono is a… dog? It's not… he's a wolf. However, when it comes to black wolf monsters, there aren't too many types… the most famous one is [Black Fang], but they're a D-class. It wasn't very good. In fact, it wouldn't be able to fight in the Great Devil's Nest. Other than that, there are several things that come to mind, such as the [Shadow Wolf] and the [Murder Claw], which are still too weak to survive in the Great Devil's Nest. Besides, a search for enemy ability beyond that Yuuya-dono is not normal. If that's the case──.)"

Thinking up to that point, Owen's mind was filled with the name of a certain monster. And the moment that monster's name popped into his head, sweat appeared on Owen's forehead.

"(C-could it is… that legendary [Black Fenrir]… I guess it can't be that… Even [Fenrir], who is known as the "God Wolf," has been brought to its knees, and has even attacked the three once-glorious nations in a single night…)"

He looked at Night again, but Night still only tilted his head cutely.

"(No, no, no, no, no, that's indeed not true. Legend has it that it was even described as being large enough to swallow a city in its entirety. By all accounts, Night-dono is too small. He's probably a monster unique to the Great Devil's Nest that is still unknown to me and the rest of the world. If that's the case, Akatsuki-dono is also…)"

This time he looked at Akatsuki, but Akatsuki didn't seem to be interested in Owen; he just rolled around sluggishly on the floor with his belly showing.

"…Fumu. For all intents and purposes, he's just a little piggy. No, that red hair is rare, but he doesn't… look particularly amazing. I haven't even seen him fighting like Night-dono, and he's probably not very good at fighting.)"

There was no need to think any further about Akatsuki, Owen decided.

──In the end, Owen was unable to gather any significant information and continued to ponder.

＊＊＊

"Phew… That was a nice bath!"

"Yeah… as expected of Yuuya's bath."

"It's amazing… I never thought I'd feel so much better after a bath."

The three of them came back from the bath, talking happily to each other.

…It's amazing. They were a bit distant before the bath, but now they seem to be getting along quite well. First, let's ask Kaori what she thought after trying the bath for the first time.

"Kaori. How was the bath?"

"It's amazing! My skin is feeling smoother, but even more than that, it feels like… a power is rising from the bottom of my body!"

I could tell by the way Kaori said that with sparkling eyes that she was satisfied.

"I'm glad to hear that. That item seems to have various effects, you know."

"An item from a different world is really amazing… and you can take that bath with you, right?"

"Well, yeah. Therefore, you can take a bath wherever you want, and since the effect of the item seems to be to make it invisible to the people around it, you don't have to worry about being seen. But even so, I suppose you still have to choose the place to some extent."

"But it's still amazing!"

While smiling bitterly at Kaori, who was more into the bath than I expected, I asked Lexia-san and Luna as well.

"Speaking of which, what did you do here today? You know, I forgot all about it in the introduction of Kaori and the sudden bath…"

"Ara, we don't have particular needs, you know?"

"Huh?"

I froze at the unexpected statement. However, Lexia-san didn't seem bothered by it and puffed out her chest.

"I came here just to see Yuuya-sama!"

"…I've always wanted to meet Yuuya too, but your location is hard to go… This princess doesn't care about that, so I have to put myself in her shoes, as well…"

"Eh, no, this place is indeed dangerous, but wait a minute… You came here after properly informing Arnold-sama, didn't you…?"

"We didn't do it because it was too much trouble!"

Not good…! This is going to piss him off again…!

As I put my hand over my head, Owen-san let out a sigh and told me.

"Yuuya-dono. Please be at ease. I have reported to him, just in case."

"Oh, that's good to know…"

No, really. But if they don't have anything to do, then it might bore them…

I'm sorry that they came all this way, and I tell them honestly.

"Well, sorry. I've got another thing to do tomorrow…"

And by things, of course, I mean school. There's not much time left until the test.

"Ara, is that so? Does that involve Kaori?"

"Yes, that's right…"

"Fumu… I'm very curious about the details of that when it's just the two of you doing things together… but it's also true that we came here so suddenly that I can't say anything about it."

Lexia-san seemed to be convinced, even though she looked a little dissatisfied.

"If that's the case, it's time for us to leave too. My father is going to be angry if we stay too long!"

"No, I think he'll be furious when you come out without telling him…"

Lexia-san didn't seem to be bothered by Luna's righteous argument either. She wondered what would happen from her position as a former assassin, but it was good that the two of them seemed to be more compatible than expected.

Then the moment Lexia-san and the others said they were leaving, Kaori looked a little sad.

"I understand that, but when it comes to saying goodbye… it's a little sad."

"Oh, it's not like it's a lifetime farewell. You don't have to be so depressed! If you want, I can come back tomorrow at the same time as today, okay?"

"Lexia-sama. From tomorrow onwards, your official duties will continue for a while."

"Eh."

At Owen-san's words, Lexia-san's expression, which had been so lively a moment ago, froze.

"Ugh, it's not true, right?"

"No, it's true. Giving your official duties would make it impossible for you to be selfish, no matter what you say. I advised Lexia-sama that this would be just fine for her."

"O-Owennnnnnnnnnnn!"

Lexia-san stared at Owen-san with a devilish look on her face. That's scary… But even though Owen-san looks at Lexia-san like that, he doesn't seem to be affected.

"You've been acting a little too freely lately. I'll have you working to your heart's content for a while from tomorrow."

"N-no!"

"No, no. For now, as far as I know, you'll be attending the upcoming social events, and you'll be meeting with people from the neighboring kingdom of Rowness. Also, there will be a visit to a provincial city that you were unable to visit last time."

"N-nooooooo!"

Lexia-san collapsed on the spot. H-how hard it is for royalty to do that… And just by listening to the story like that, I can strongly feel that Lexia-san is a real princess. The world we live in is different, after all.

Next to the crumbling Lexia-san, Luna let out a dumbfounded sigh.

"Sigh… I wouldn't say I like it too, but all this. Since I'm employed by Lexia, do I have to join in…?"

Then she heard Luna's words and suddenly regained her energy.

"L-Luna! You're with me, right? You don't like it, too, do you? There's nothing fun about socializing at a dinner party, after all!"

"Yes. But I'm just an escort. I don't have to deal with any of the annoying interactions around there, though."

"Y-you traitooooorrrr!"

Apparently, Lexia-san doesn't have any allies. So please don't look at me like that. There's nothing I can do about it.

"Ugh… i-it can't be helped… I will finish those things right away and come here again!"

"Yes, yes, that's right."

"Just one 'yes' is enough!"

Lexia-sama yelled at Owen-san and then looked at us again.

"Well then, It's a regret to say goodbye, but we'll leave now."

"Oh, do you want me to walk you to the entrance of this [Great Devil's Nest]?"

"Thanks, but no thanks. Since we're here, it's best also to raise Luna and Owen's levels!"

"This girl…!"

Luna and Owen-san's eyes were wide open. A-are they going to be okay?

Well, the monsters near the entrance to the Great Devil's Nest can be dealt with by Luna, even if they come in packs, so it's okay.

"So, Kaori. See you later!"

"Yes! I'm sure we'll have plenty to talk about again!"

──That's how Lexia-san and the others left. In the meantime, I asked Night to follow them from the shadows, so they should be fine.

As we were watching them off, Kaori muttered next to me.

"They've gone…"

"That's right…"

"…Lexia-san and the others were nice, and we had a lot of fun."

"I see. I'm glad you're getting along so well."

At first, I was strangely tense, and I wondered what was going to happen. I chuckled, and I asked her something that was suddenly on my mind.

"Oh, by the way, you were so close at the end, what exactly did you talk about in the bath?"

In response to my question, Kaori looked up at me and smiled mischievously.

"…It's a secret!"