Chapter 94
A small insignificant country located along the eastern border of the Bismarck Empire, the Piast Kingdom. The city of Ruthenium, the closest to the Empire, was one of the outer cities where news from the Bismarck Empire spread the fastest.
On the second floor of a small house in such a city, a young couple had moved in and begun to live there. The landlord on the first floor congratulated them on their marriage, calling them a handsome couple as if their wedding was his own.
The first morning greeted the newlyweds…
“Ah, good morning, Dein.”
“Uh… good morning…”
It was filled with awkwardness. Dein and Eri had disguised themselves as a newlywed couple to hide in the city of Ruthenium, following Nahun’s advice. Just as Nahun had said, they definitely didn’t hear any rumors about the adventurer Ellie who supplied artifacts after crossing the border.
That was fine, but…
“…Sh-should we eat?”
“Uh, uh uh…”
How were they supposed to handle this awkwardness? It was still just that they had met in the morning after waking up in separate rooms, but the situation of needing to act like a couple felt incredibly uncomfortable.
When they had greeted the landlord on the first floor yesterday, pretending to be in love had also been quite challenging.
“Wait a moment. I’ll make something!”
“Eri, can you cook…?”
“…Yeah.”
“What can you make?”
“Eggs….”
“Eggs?”
“…I can fry eggs.”
In the end, it was not Eri but Dein who was chopping in the kitchen. Since he had enjoyed cooking alone since he was a child, he knew how to make a lot of dishes. Eri sat at the table, resting her chin on her hands, watching Dein cook.
It had become a common occurrence for Dein to cook like this. When he and Luke had started their adventurous lives bravely, they couldn’t afford to eat out due to lack of money, so they often ate meals that Dein had cooked with ingredients bought at relatively low prices.
‘Brings back memories.’
Recalling those days made Eri smile gently. Dein, who saw her expression when she turned her head slightly, quickly averted his gaze and focused back on cooking.
After a while, breakfast was properly served. Eri looked at the delicious side dishes laid out on the table and honestly expressed her admiration.
“Oh, Dein~! Your skills haven’t faded!”
“Not like someone who has no talent for cooking.”
“What!?”
“Quit talking, let’s eat.”
As soon as Dein and Eri lifted their utensils, there was a knock at the front door. They both looked at each other in surprise, and Dein cautiously stood up and headed for the entrance.
With his hand resting on the dagger hidden at his waist, Dein opened the door and was slightly taken aback.
“…Madam?”
“Oh dear, I’m sorry to bother you in the morning. This is from my garden; it’s delicious, so please try it.”
It was the landlord who lived on the first floor. She handed a small basket of tomatoes to Dein. He regained his composure and accepted the basket from her with a smile.
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Oh, if it’s tasty, do tell me! I’ll bring more. Since I can smell something delicious, I assume you were having a meal.”
“Ah, yes.”
“It seems the young lady can cook quite well.”
“……”
Dein only smiled and nodded slightly without answering.
“Enjoy your meal~.”
The landlord laughed heartily as she went down the stairs, and Dein closed the door and returned. Eri tilted her head slightly and asked.
“Was that the landlord?”
“Yeah, she gave me these.”
As Dein set the basket of tomatoes on the kitchen counter, Eri responded with a delighted, “Oh!”
“Tomatoes look delicious.”
“Let’s eat them later. We should have our meal first.”
“Okay.”
After enjoying a delicious meal prepared by Dein, Eri smiled contentedly. She then got up from the table and headed for the tomatoes given by the landlord.
“Going to eat them right away?”
“We’re leaving soon, anyway. Let’s eat first.”
“…You should stay home.”
“Uh?”
Dein made a statement that should have been obvious.
“We’re acting as a couple… ahem, pretending to be married, right? Usually, wives handle housework at home, right? That’s what my family did.”
“Oh, is that so? We did that too.”
It was natural, as the concept of dual-income hardly existed in this era. Earning money outside was typically the husband’s job, while managing household duties fell to the spouse.
“So, I’ll go out alone. You… stay home and study.”
“No, I should handle the housework then.”
“…You?”
“What kind of nuance is that, Dein?”
Eri grinned menacingly, and Dein avoided her gaze.
“…No, it’s not like that.”
“What does that ambiguous answer mean? I can clean and do everything, you know?”
“Really?”
“Then who do you think cleaned my room at the Demon King Castle!?”
Seeing Eri erupt with anger, Dein swallowed his words back.
‘Wasn’t it Cecili who did it…?’
He recalled Cecili’s fatigued expression whenever she came out after cleaning Eri’s room. Imagining a house that could be a mess when he returned made him wear a troubled expression.
“For now, I’ve secured my identity as an adventurer, so I’ll gather information about the Empire. You should…”
Dein looked at Eri. He recalled the talkative landlord from their earlier conversation and continued.
“Get friendly with the neighborhood ladies and chat with them.”
“…Huh?”
“There might be some useful information to overhear.”
“Ah, I see.”
Eri nodded. With their roles defined, Dein and Eri finished their preparations. As Dein was about to leave, Eri came out to the entrance to see him off.
“…You really don’t have to do this.”
“Don’t all couples do this? My mom and dad did too.”
“Yeah, I guess…”
As Dein opened the front door, Eri stepped out slightly and waved him off. Dein stared blankly at her for a moment, and Eri tilted her head, asking.
“Dein?”
“Ah, I’ll be back…”
As Dein intended to simply greet and leave, his gaze shifted to the side. He suddenly stepped towards Eri and pulled her into a tight embrace.
“!?… De-Dein!?”
Dein calmed Eri down as she was startled.
“Just a moment, the landlord is looking this way.”
“…Ah.”
So it was an act. Since the two had to display a good relationship as a married couple, it would have a much better effect. It seemed to work well, as the landlord quickly turned her gaze away and left to do her own thing.
“…She’s gone.”
“Ugh, yeah…”
Eri’s face was as red as an apple due to the unexpected embrace. Dein felt a tingling sensation in his heart at her expression but swiftly apologized.
“Sorry for hugging you suddenly.”
“Ah, it’s fine. It couldn’t be helped…”
“Thanks for understanding. Then I’ll be back.”
“…Okay, see you soon.”
Eri waved goodbye to Dein and closed the door as he left. Once outside, Dein recalled the sensations he felt when he held her and cleared his throat while heading towards the adventurer guild.
#
When Eri and Dein successfully hid in the Piast Kingdom, Nahun was walking around, looking around the streets.
He was strolling in none other than the capital of the Bismarck Empire, Germanium. The capital had been quite noisy since the civil war began, but there wasn’t a single rat in the streets; it was eerily quiet.
‘It’s quiet.’
After the news of the civil war broke, the citizens locked their doors, closed their windows, and pulled their curtains, refusing to come out. It was understandable; nobody wanted to die caught up in a war.
Telling people to seek shelter was absurd. Where were they supposed to run to during a civil war in their own country?
And they couldn’t even leave the capital. Princess Charlotte’s troops had imposed a curfew in the capital and restricted access.
In such a situation, Nahun was meandering through the streets. He wasn’t doing this to monitor the civil war; he had something to retrieve from Germanium City.
When one wins a war against the human faction in Ebel Queen Maker, they could bring back good rewards from their capital through a treaty. Hence, waging a war against the human realm could, under certain circumstances, become advantageous. The best items were obtained when one won a war against the strongest military, the Bismarck Empire.
That meant the item was here, in Germanium. Since it was something one could acquire after winning a war, it was likely…
“…It must be in the royal palace.”
Given the civil war, it’s likely that security had been heightened there, and sneaking in wouldn’t be an easy task. If he knew the palace’s structure well in advance, he could quickly find the item, but with his inability to use mind-control magic right now, that wasn’t feasible…
‘I’ll have to infiltrate.’
Nahun turned into an alley from the main street. He waited for a moment at the end of the alley, and as a soldier from the princess’s patrol passed by, he pulled him into the darkness.
Shortly thereafter, Nahun emerged from the alley, now disguised as an imperial soldier. Although the plate armor he wore felt rather awkward, nobody among the higher-ups would mind if a person changed, and it was a fitting identity to enter the royal palace controlled by Princess Charlotte.
“…Surely, I won’t run into anyone.”
Thinking only of slipping into the palace to snatch the item, Nahun hoped he wouldn’t encounter a certain someone. He slowly moved in the direction of the palace that the shadowy lion had seized.
#
Seere, who conquered the 66th floor, was currently having a meeting. Not with Gremony, but with Citri, her long-time ally. She had called Citri to discuss the transfer of the floors 57 and 60 that she had acquired from Gremony.
After finishing their discussion, Seere and Citri stood up from their seats. However, before Citri could leave, she asked her.
“Seere.”
“Yes?”
“Where did that guy, Nahun, go?”
“The teacher has stepped out for a moment. Why do you ask?”
“No…, I just noticed he hasn’t been around lately. I wonder if something happened.”
Citri considered this but decided to let it go. She was somewhat curious about where Nahun had gone, but she didn’t want to pry since Seere had already deflected the question.
But Seere, glaring at Citri with fierce eyes, spoke up.
“Citri.”
“…Yes?”
With a sudden step, Seere moved closer to Citri. Although Citri was still a bit taller, Seere’s intensity was not to be overlooked. If anything, she was more overwhelming.
Maintaining her fierce gaze, Seere whispered quietly at Citri.
“Don’t take too much interest in the teacher. He’s only mine.”
A chill ran down Citri’s spine. She could somewhat sense how Seere viewed Nahun, but this was essentially a blatant declaration.
‘Nahun’ belongs to her, so don’t covet him.
“If you take too much interest, you might not like the outcome.”
With that, Seere relaxed her expression. The fierce glare that had been directed at Citri moments ago had vanished. Instead, she wore a youthful smile and grinned at Citri.
“Then I’ll be counting on you for support in the next floor conquest. Please return safely, Citri.”
