Chapter 20
After parting ways with Jonah and his men, Fin and I continue on by ourselves. Once again, we stopped by a small village and rented a place there. We went a considerable distance already from when we first left town, and we're close to our destination.
"Oh... as I thought: they have a lot of pretty ones here, huh?" I whispered to Fin as we both stare back at the villagers watching us.
Unlike the first village we went into, this village was more lively and has more youthful faces. The number of men and women are pretty much the same, but the difference in the distribution of their ages was obvious. There are almost no young adult men there, most of them were middle-aged, and some were elders and children. The women on the other hand, most of what we can see were in their teens or just a bit older.
"Some are indeed pretty, Eria-sama, but I think they are incomparable to you," Fin answered, evaluating the appearances of, obviously, the younger women.
"You're turning into a real smooth-talker now, Fin."
"That's not... it's just the fact, Eria-sama."
"Uhuh... I see," I replied while staring playfully at him. "Well, in any case! Want to pick some girls up? Mm? What do you say?"
"Hu-huh!?"
"Don't you want to have some fun with the ladies? Don't you have an ounce of noble blood in you!?"
"That's not what being a noble is about, Eria-sama!"
"C'mon... just look at those young ladies' eyes staring so affectionate at you! I'm sure this is the first time they've seen such a hunk like you!"
"A hunk...?"
"That's right, I'm sure they won't be able to resist you!" I reassured him and gave a thumbs up, then I took his hand and lead him on.
"What are you doing, Eria-sama!?"
"Don't worry, I'm sure you will have a great time!"
With those words, I took him to a trio of girls looking at us with red faces. No doubt they are blushing at Fin. Seeing a guy heavens above better-looking than the men at the village for the first time, there's no way they wouldn't.
"Hey there!" I waved and greeted as we got closer.
"He-hello... umm..." the girls replied, obviously taken aback.
"Are you girls perhaps busy?"
"N-no! Not at all...!"
"Great! Then, I'm Eria, this here is Finral."
"Finral-sama..." the three girls repeated the name longingly.
"Hey, introduce yourself..." I moved an elbow to Fin, urging him for his introduction.
"Hrmm... As Eria-sama said, I am Finral..."
"Huh?"
I was expecting him to introduce his noble name as he usually does, but he didn't. I guess he learned his lesson.
"As you might've guessed, I'm of noble blood, but in the meantime, I'm only Finral, the student of Eria-sama," he finishes with a bow. And like a group of idol fans, the girls scream in excitement.
"I'm...!" in turn, the girls shyly introduced themselves, fidgeting around innocently. "But... what could you possibly want from us?" they asked with curious gazes.
"See, Finral was curious to see what kind of village this is, so if you don't mind, can I ask you three to tour him around?"
"Eria-sama?" obviously not in on it, Fin was confused.
"Bu-but... the village is not really that big, compared to the city..." the girls muttered anxiously.
"It's fine, it's fine! It's not usual for Fin to get to see what a normal village is like, he's just curious."
"Is that so?"
"Oh! And if you don't mind, can you entertain him a little too? He's a noble-sama, so I think he might want it."
"Re-really!?" the girls enthusiastically asked back.
"Of course! Don't you, Fin?"
"Umu, I guess... I'm kind of curious to see what kind of entertainment a small village like this can offer..." Fin murmurs to himself as usual. I really couldn't help but grin at his clueless thoughts.
Right away, the girls beamed at Fin's answer.
"The-then! Finral-sama, if you don't mind!" one of the girls anxiously said as she bravely took one of Fin's hands.
"Eria-sama? H-How about you!?"
"Don't worry!" I yelled at him as he was taken along by the girls. "I found someone to play along with too," I said as I stare at one lone girl staring at me, flushed and fidgeting as she does.