Parting ways

"The guild and the church of the goddess Perseverance already know about you. You are vouched for by none other than the champion of Perseverance, so there should be no problems. But still, if you do not attack first and the humans will still try to stir trouble, use the message scroll and contact either Zane or me immediately."

The gold-haired girl finished saying while handing an official-looking document to the gray-scaled Kobold looking the most lizard-like among her peers.

As the summer break was coming to an end, so was the time that Melinda and Zane could spend in the Kobold's quarry, affectionately renamed Koboldia Town.

"Even so, being acknowledged by the church means that they will try to send in a priest or two. I know I said to be friendly with humans, but you know…"

As the gray-scaled Kobold passed the documents on to someone else, Melinda stepped in and held her paws with a worried expression.

"It doesn't mean that all humans are our friends! We will be careful! I promise!"

When the gold-haired girl seemed to have a hard time finding the right words, the grays-scaled Kobold screeched out, finishing the sentence for her.

"Don't worry! Not only those priests! When the merchants arrive to trade, I will make sure that they will not scam us, and we only buy the things that I know we'll need or could use!"

The Kobold screeched.

"Exactly. I'm sorry for repeating things that you already know…"

"Don't apologize! Friends worry about each other! I'm worried about you too! You are so kind that bad creatures will want to trick you!"

Melinda nodded before lowering her head apologetically, but the gray-scaled Kobold shook her head and squeezed the girl's hands reassuringly as she screeched.

"You have to protect her from bad creatures!"

"Of course."

The gray-scaled Kobold looked at the monstrous man and screeched sternly, making Zane nod back at her with a solemn expression.

"I want to hug every single one of you so much…!"

Melinda's heart was completely melting hearing those words, and she even got teary-eyed.

"But if you start, then everyone will want to keep hugging you, and you won't be able to go where you want…"

"...!"

The gray-scaled Kobold screeched in concern, only adding to Melinda's heartache at having to leave.

It ended up at the point where the gray-scaled Kobold had to be the one to step away because it seemed that the gold-haired girl would not budge.

"We will visit you whenever we can!"

"Take care."

"We know~! You too! Bye-bye!"

Finally, the words of farewell were exchanged, and humans left Koboldia.

Shockingly enough, there were three humans within their group, but not one of them was the green-haired monarch, as he had left a week earlier due to the difference in the distance and the restriction of his own traversal skills.

The third person in the group turned out to be some maid, but it was impossible to tell for sure how she found herself there…

"Young Zane, wouldn't it be more proper for me to carry our young lady? I appreciate your concern for me, but she is an engaged woman, and being carried by a man other than her fiance in a situation that isn't an emergency is rather… You know…"

The maid spoke up as their group scaled the mountain, taking one final look at Koboldia town before actually preparing to leave in earnest.

Leaving in earnest means Melinda being carried in order to prevent the cataclysmic levels of destruction her charge would cause.

"Miss. I am the chosen champion of goddess Perseverance. Saying that I cannot carry her is basically like saying that just having a man who is not her fiance in the same room is cheating."

Zane calmly pointed out while already having Melinda in his arms, holding her in a bridal carry, which she clearly greatly appreciated.

"I… I see your point. It would appear that my own inexperience clouds my judgment…"

The maid hesitated before looking away and admitting.

"Seeing that you missed the chance to gain experience makes me want not to accept such an apology."

"!!!"

"Zane?!"

The white-haired young man let out a scoff, causing the maid to freeze up completely while even the lovestruck Melinda let out a gasp.

"You didn't ask Ace Adonis to train with you. You didn't offer him to escort him back. Hell, you didn't even say goodbye to him! It makes it really difficult for me to be understanding."

Instead of backing off, Zane doubled down.

"I mean, if you were worried about the possible consequences, let me remind you that your ability would wipe off his memories the moment you got out of his sight. Perfect opportunity to become experienced and anyone being none the wiser."

…and then tripled down…

"I…! I AM NOT THAT KIND OF PERSON!"

The maid trembled and shouted before walking away while clenching her fists.

"Zane! Why would… wait…! You're jealous even about Adi?!"

Melinda grabbed onto Zane's shirt and tugged on it with a grumpy expression before her eyes widened in understanding and she gasped.

"Of course. Once I will have to leave our party, I will forget about her and the potential danger that she is. I have to use this chance to make sure to push her into a serious romantic relationship with literally anyone else."

The monstrous man shrugged his shoulders and confirmed before starting to run and keeping an eye on the maid who followed him at a distance, seemingly gravely offended by his remark.

"And the person you want to push her on is Ace Adonis, of all people?!"

Unable to hold back, the gold-haired girl asked in disbelief.

"Yes."

Zane nodded, giving a short answer.

"Zane! You do understand that this is so awful, right?! Ace is a good person and can change his playboy ways for someone he loves, but since Adi's ability will make him forget her, he would hook up with someone else while she is still watching! Her heart would break!"

"I have not once mentioned getting together in that way. It was implied, sure, but if she is as prudent as she attempts to act, she won't react the way she did. Also, you seem to believe that in my jealousy, I have some compassion for others. What would you do in my place?"

Melinda called out, pouting grumpily, which made Zane glance down at her and point out.

"...ugh…exactly the same thing… Making someone who could potentially steal you away from me be as miserable as possible would be most preferable…"

"See?"

The gold-haired girl groaned and admitted begrudgingly, making the white-haired youngster smirk triumphantly.

"Zaaaaaneeee…! That only makes me realize how petty I am!"

"You mean, how petty we are."

Melinda kicked up her feet and complained but ended up only making Zane chuckle with no remorse whatsoever.

"...but I am clingy, and you are not around all the time! Adi is the safest person for me to cling to in your absence because she treats me like a spoiled little sister and thinks nothing of it!"

The gold-haired girl tried out another approach…

"...fine… I will not apologize for what I already said, but I will not bring up the topic anymore to her…"

*chuu*

"Good enough for me~"

The monstrous man rolled his eyes and gave in, earning himself a sweet peck on the cheek from the satisfied gold-haired girl.