44 – Company Dinner #1
When I woke up after a good sleep, the sun was setting. The day and night had been disrupted.
From Noble mtl dot com
Inside the labyrinth, I didn’t have to pay much attention to the day-night pattern, so it didn’t matter. But if I wanted to live in the city, I had to adjust my body to the standards of the world that keeps turning.
Otherwise, I couldn’t do anything.
Sudo woke up at a similar time. I turned my body around and snuggled into his embrace.
Sudo’s body stiffened for a moment. It was a brief moment.
Sudo quickly relaxed and gently stroked me. Now, it had become natural for me to wake up feeling someone’s touch.
In this world, everyone did it this way. I wasn’t the only one enjoying such strange things.
As soon as I regained my composure, I felt someone’s gaze. Hibuki, the ninja sister who joined us this morning, was in the room.
“She couldn’t have been standing like that the whole time, right?”
Hibuki was standing in the same position as when I saw her before falling asleep. Standing alone in a room where no one came in.
“Oh, no way.”
I have also stood guard duty at night. So I know very well.
Standing alone like that is by no means an easy task.
Hibuki must have taken breaks from time to time. Leaning against the wall of the guard post or relieving her numb legs, just like we used every trick in the book to conserve our stamina.
In fact, it would be unfair for Hibuki to be treated as if she were using tricks. After all, she is not a conscripted soldier like us.
If she wants to sit, she can sit. If she wants to lie down, she can lie down. She has done enough.
Do not doze off or engage in idle chatter during guard duty. There’s no officer barking orders, so why bother suffering?
“…Although there is a landlady who is stricter than any officer. Still…”
There’s no need to insist on FM. It’s better to live with some decency.
The problem is that Hubuki doesn’t seem to care about decency at all.
“You haven’t been doing that the whole time, have you?”
I asked just in case. In my mind, two opinions were battling each other.
Even if they’re ninjas, there’s no need to unnecessarily make things difficult. They’re crazy ninjas who demand repayment. And they still exist.
Both opinions had enough possibility.
Hubuki proudly replied.
“It’s only natural to do so in order to escort Lord Rei.”
“…….”
It must be a lie.
“Well… it doesn’t make sense.”
No one can answer “no” when asked if they’ve been working hard. There’s no one who can answer “I’ve been playing.” It was only natural to answer that they had been working hard.
It was predictable.
“Let’s go eat dinner.”
As soon as we stood up, he mentioned food. What kind of animal-like routine is this?
But in the Labyrinth City, it was normal. The portals only opened in the morning according to the city’s standards.
It wasn’t unusual for people who had slept well and woke up to come out to enjoy the night air.
Of course, it was a nuisance. Not many adventurers knew the concept of being a nuisance, and they were louder than expected.
It was safe to say that there were hardly any adventurers wandering the streets late at night. Occasionally, a few intoxicated adventurers would stumble out and cause a ruckus without saying a word.
Most of these cases involved third-rate adventurers who didn’t care about the guild’s reputation. According to Loren, the city’s reputation seemed to have a significant impact on guild rankings.
As a result, adventurers only raised their spirits at the guildhouse. The larger the guild, the more lively it became at night.
On the day adventurers returned safely, there would be a gathering with those who had come back unharmed. It was a common rule.
The more people there were, the more parties there would be to celebrate their return. It was only natural.
Even the “Vanguard of Miracles” guild had a celebration party. Looking back now, it didn’t seem like a simple gathering for enjoyment.
“Come to think of it, Loren nee-chan too…”
She had invited me to come if I wanted.
“Shall we go to the ‘Ruthless Blade’ guild? To have dinner?”
* * *
“Welcome.”
The “Ruthless Blade” guild was already having a gathering.
The boys were tearing into the meat, while the girls were tilting their glasses. It felt like the smell of alcohol was wafting through the heated air.
“Well, we should at least greet them before we go!”
“Is Loren like their mom or something?”
We were guided by Loren and able to sit at a table. If it wasn’t for Loren, we would have been dragged somewhere and forced to drink.
It was that chaotic.
“I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”
Loren smirked and handed me a glass. It was filled with juice.
“That’s right.”
I could sense a distance that had formed in just a moment of rest. The difference was greater than I had expected, whether they were party members or not.
I casually spoke up, “I feel like I have something to tell you today.”
“What is it?”
I glanced at Houbuki for a moment. Lauren’s gaze followed me from behind.
Sue sat down next to me, but Houbuki remained standing.
She seemed to be on guard in the bustling guildhouse. It seemed she had no intention of sitting quietly.
“I found a guide.”
It was a result of coincidence, but we managed to find one. So there was no need to worry.
I wanted to tell this to Lauren. As soon as possible.
“Really? I didn’t know you could find one so soon.”
“I got lucky. Remember Sakura-neesan we found in the labyrinth?”
“I remember. You went on and on about repaying the favor.”
“She’s from that family.”
I briefly explained the meeting we had with the Kurotsuki family in the morning.
Lauren chuckled and laughed.
“That grandma is amazing. Did you misunderstand her like that?”
“Yes. Even though she said it was fine to bring someone along.”
“Since it turned out this way, might as well make good use of it.”
“…Then someday, we’ll have to ask for compensation in return.”
Lauren knows my true intentions. That’s why the words flowed out effortlessly.
“What’s wrong with hoping for compensation?”
Lauren scanned me up and down. Although she was dressed in casual clothes, the mask that covered her nose gave a rough idea of her identity.
“…By the way, your eyes seem familiar.”
“Do you know someone?”
“I don’t know them personally. They just resemble Sakura.”
“Because she’s a ninja.”
The only ninja family I know is the Kurotsuki family. If they’ve hired a ninja for the party, it’s common to assume they’re somehow related to Sakura.
Lauren shook her head.
“No, that’s not what I mean. She really looks like Sakura.”
“….”
Being from the same family, it’s natural for their attire and mannerisms to be similar. But what Lauren was saying wasn’t about that.
Her appearance. She was saying they looked alike in appearance.
“Uh…”
Sakura came to mind. And I superimposed her image onto Fubuki.
Fubuki, who had been listening absentmindedly, spoke up.
“Miss Sakura is the direct granddaughter of the head of the household, and I am a branch family member.”
“A branch family?”
“The current head is my great-grandmother… That’s why we look alike.”
The only branch family I know is the Fuyuga clan. Is it safe to assume it’s something like that?
Hubuki nodded.
“That’s correct.”
“…You’re quite wicked, aren’t you?”
Lauren tilted her glass and gave a bitter smile.
“I suppose you made this decision because you believe it’s necessary for the family.”
“……”
Even though a stranger was calling her grandmother a tree, Hubuki didn’t say anything special. She simply closed her mouth as if to agree.
“Have you ever explored a labyrinth? Have you tried?”
“…I plan to slowly navigate through the labyrinth with Lord Ray. I intend to do my best to be of help.”
Did Lauren sense something from Hubuki? She looked at me and asked if she could borrow Hubuki.
I readily agreed.
“I think Lauren can give you the advice you need more than I can, Hubuki.”
A mindset that a thief class should have?
If I leave her alone, Hubuki will never move. So, I gave her a command that wasn’t really a command and told her to learn from Lauren and come back.
“…Understood. If it’s something that will be helpful to Lord Ray, I will carry out the mission.”
Lauren and Hubuki left. Only Swuman and I remained at the table.
I put meat on the bread and took a hearty bite. Grease was smeared all over my lips.
“Mmm…!”
Indeed, eating with someone else’s money is the best.
Moreover, this is the “Dictator’s Sword” guild house. The meals here were on a different level from those at regular inns.
“Ray!”
“Brown, Rohan.”
The boys from the “Autocratic Sword” were thoroughly enjoying their company dinner. Perhaps because it was still evening, they all seemed lively.
“Rayyy!”
“What’s wrong with him?”
Brown seemed relatively fine, but Rohan’s face was not normal. It was clearly flushed, and it was obvious to anyone that something was off.
“Alcohol?”
He had been given alcohol. But who?
I see some girls giggling in the back.
“Rayyy… You’re amazing, really…”
“Is this your true personality?”
Rohan sobbed and approached me. Like a female orc monkey trying to kidnap a male, she grabbed onto me tightly.
“You’ve come back alive from the labyrinth again… You’re truly amazing… I, I’m scared of the labyrinth…! Ray, aren’t you scared of it?”
“Someone stop Rohan.”
A drunken guy.
It’s terrible. I don’t want to deal with this.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Rohan, stop bothering Ray and go upstairs to rest.”
The girls who had been watching us approached and took Rohan away. Rohan whimpered as he was carried away by one of the girls.
“What did you drink anyway?”
“Curious?”