part 1 of 2(?)

100% accuracy and grammatically correct not guaranteed

obligatory text poyon poyon

Looking handsome while dripping wet isn't necessarily a man

ikemen(?)

A few more days pa.s.sed after I presented my outlandish idea to Chloe.

As an idea from a complete amateur, there are bound to be problems with it but when Chloe tried to put it into practice, she was able to gleam some inspiration.

She was so grateful to the point of tears. The motivated girl now spends her free time with special training immediately after finis.h.i.+ng her daily request. All for the sake of B-rank promotion.

As for me, I had only disappointments for the last few days. There was no request for hunting delicious variety of magic beast…

Nonetheless, I still completed a number of them. Thanks to the magic beast encyclopedia I bought, preparations for before and during the hunt of a non-delicious magic beast goes smoothly.

This is the story of a certain day.

I couldn't endure my cravings anymore and chose to go out and hunt for delicious magic beast. The request this time takes place in a forest area nearby Draknil. That's why I'm able to return to the city by the time mid day arrived.

After completing the request, I deposited the magic beast at the diner while also having lunch there. I was thinking about how to kill time until dinner when I came across upon a familiar face.

「Yo Real.」

「hn? Oh, its Kanna. Its been a week since we last met.」

A chance meeting with the girl without the usual greatsword strapped to her back.

「………Playing hooky?」

「How rude. I just had some breathing room after finis.h.i.+ng my acc.u.mulated work. Lately, I've been sitting at my desk all day and my shoulders are all stiff because of it.」

With a strained laugh, she put her hand on her shoulder and cracks her neck slightly. If you ask me, no matter how I sliced it, her stiff shoulder are not only because of her paperwork, but also because of her two watermelons. I had a premonition of my head getting a [watermelon split attack] the moment I say those words, so I won't say it.

「Aren't you skipping work yourself?」

「I just got back after finis.h.i.+ng a request. Oh right Real, do you have any plans after this? If ya don't, then let's have some tea somewhere.」

I invited her without thinking anything in particular. Just felt like having a chat with a friend I haven't met for some time.

「Splendid, just as I was thinking on how to spend my time. I think I'll accept your invitation. Come to think of it, you're not completely familiar with this city yet, haven't you Kanna? I happen to know the location of a good tea shop, so let us head there.」

「Oo~ as expected of a local. Counting on ya then.」

Thus, we spend our free afternoon in each others company.

「Nevertheless, you still look the same as ever even in your day off.」

She didn't have her greatsword but she's still in her light armor getup.

「Unfortunately, I don't have any other clothes to wear when I'm just walking around. Is it strange by any chance?」

「Not at all, you look good wearing that to the point its a natural fit on you.」

I see adventurers wearing armors here and there when I take a walk around the city. This capital city's inhabitants show very little reaction to them. It shows how much the presence of adventurers have blended into their daily lives.

Therefore, there is no sense of incongruity with Real's outfit compared to the surroundings. There should be none but………

「Isn't it stifling to wear armor even during holidays?」

「After wearing it everyday, you'll become used to it. Besides………its hard to say but………there aren't many clothes suitable for my [size].」

I had the manner not to pursue this topic further, seeing that she hesitated explaining to that extent. For a man, [that] is packed with dreams, love and romance along with various others hopes but its not necessarily so for women.

The armor she's wearing right now does cover her chest but its actually a custom made protector adjusted according to Real's dimension. Once she's accustomed to it, she doesn't have to go out of her way to get another outfit huh. As for my personal thoughts…

「Also, there's no way clothes that suits a boorish person like me exist.」

「Really? You're beautiful ya know. I think if you dress up a bit, guys won't be able to take their eyes off of you.」

I don't have much of a discerning eye in judging a person's beauty but I can definitely a.s.sert that Real's beauty is preeminent. Although she has enough physical strength to swing around a greatsword as if its a branch, her physique surprisingly resemble that of a professional model. Needless to say about all the feminine allure hidden behind her armor.

For external features, she possesses long and glossy silver hair with pointed ears. With eyes full of dignity. Combine those with her exquisite jaw line in total produces a beauty with a perfect score.

《i dont get author's sense of beauty sometimes. my lacking vocab certainly doesnt help either》

In fact, even though she's wearing her usual armor right now, she still attracts glances from multiple pa.s.serby. Even from an a.s.shole with his girlfriend. She's gonna cause a commotion by dressing up, won't it?

I'd say her beauty is at that level.

………Somehow I'm having a complicated feeling imagining her all dressed up.

「hn?」

As I was tilting my head to process my last thought, Real started talking before I could ponder upon it deeply.

「Yo-You're good at making jokes Kanna. N-Nothing's going to happen if you f-flatter a woman with not a fragment of s.e.x appeal like me.」

「Its not a joke though………」

Looking at the negative Real, her usual dignified look was gone and in its place, you can see her blus.h.i.+ng for just a little bit. When she noticed my gaze, she turns away in a panic.

『Strange. When he told me that, I felt strange. Even though my subordinates and superiors told me that I am [beautiful], there was not a fragment of me affected by those words.』(Real)

I couldn't catch her muttering while she's looking at who knows where but she seems to be worried about something. Maybe she's not used to being praised for her beauty? Suddenly, I felt some slight tingling along my spine.

「Hold on Real, there's something.」

I suddenly stopped and Real who had gone a little ahead turn to face me. Her cheeks are still red but after looking at me furrowing my eyebrows, she tightened her expression. I stopped right at the entrance of a back alley with my line of sight directed to the dimly illuminated interior areas.

「………Is it a presence of the [usual]?」

《im guessing a.s.sailants》

「Nope. Feels completely different. But, there's no mistake its an unpleasant air. Just a hunch though.」

「Considering how helpful your intuition had been, I'm sure there's no reason to doubt it now.」

Her earnest praise made me chuckle a bit. And then, after nodding to each other, we simultaneously rush into the back alley. As we proceed deeper in, the presence I felt back at the entrance feels more prominent.

「Three a.s.sholes and a woman.」

《4 a.s.s holes?》

「I can determine the situation from that information alone.」

Most likely, the women was dragged here for some unsavory act. This spot is considerably deep in the winding corridors of the back alley. Even if someone were to shout at this time of day, their voice will be drowned out by the bustle of the main street.

「You didn't bring your prided partner, ya gonna be okay? 」

Pointing out to Real's back only earned a chortle from her.

「If I swing [that] around in such a narrow place, damages to the surroundings won't be trivial. Besides, I'm not soft enough to lose against that level of opponent even while barehanded.」

She sure is amazing. The back alley is much narrower than the main street. Although she should've been in a disadvantageous position by wielding her greatsword, she instead implied that she'd destroy the buildings surrounding us if she were to swing it here.

She's certainly reliable but at the same time, I'm scared of her. I can't imagine just how powerful a blow she can unleash with her tremendous strength.

「Are you going to be okay?」

「Don't be silly. Back alley brawls is right up my alley.」

As we continued further, we found ourselves at a cul-de-sac. And as I perceived, three men and a woman was there. The lone woman was pressing her back to the wall while being encircled. From my perspective, I can't see the men's facial expression but judging from the terrified look of the woman, it seems that my intuition was spot on.

「Real.」

I instantly create an ice lump not larger than a fist and threw it to Real. Discerning my intention from that alone, she stopped at once after catching it. Me on the other hand, exerts more power to my feet and accelerated further.

One of the three turned around after noticing me charging in. But before he can even show the slightest reaction…

hyun

「gweh!?」

An ice lump from Real hit him squarely in the nose. The man let out a pathetic yelp and collapsed on the spot. Surprised by the sudden screaming of their companion, the other two hurriedly turn around.

However, they're too late. I'm already within range.

The man on my right got smashed in the face with my tekkou-covered backhand. Even if I'm holding back, my tekkou was made out of iron, ya know. After being blown away flas.h.i.+ly to the side, he didn't move anymore.

Continuing my momentum after sending one of them flying, I reached midway point between the last man and the woman. All of a sudden, two intruders barged in and without even a word, proceeded to knock down half their numbers. The abrupt change in situation couldn't be immediately processed by the remaining two, as they became white-eyed from surprise.

[Victory goes to the first one who makes a move] is one of my method of getting a win in a brawl. Using a surprise attack to take control of the situation is preferable for me and its especially effective for group battle. Originally, I'd pummel the survivors after catching their attention but this time, top priority is given to the safety of the victim.

「To force yourself onto a young woman during broad daylight, it seems that some of the imperial citizens are surprisingly ill-mannered.」

Real who caught up with me slightly later voiced her disappointment. The man who finally swallowed the situation shows a mixture of anger and fl.u.s.ter on his face.

「Miss, you've been forcefully dragged into this alleyway by those bunch. That is your situation right?」

With my body still facing the man, I turn my head to speak to the young lady behind me. Although she's still trembling, she shook her head vertically in response to my words. There's no indication of a lie or fabrication. Seems like I truly didn't make a wrong a.s.sumption.

Relief awash over me once I confirmed this fact. Well, I am almost certain of my intuition but there was a time when Yuuzuki skipped everything and barged in the middle of some incident similar to this one. Turns out it was just a misunderstanding. And because of that precedent, I had to ask the would-be-victim behind me as an insurance.

By confirming her situation, any counterargument from the man got completely sealed. If he truly doesn't have any bad intention, some words of denial would undeniably be spoken immediately at this juncture but if its the other way around, his thoughts would be filled with how to spout excuses. There's a possibility that he's speechless due to confusion but the man currently sports an ugly face like he's bitten a bitter bug.

That face tells me everything I need to know. He's also groaning something unintelligible. Realizing his disadvantageous position, he ran past Real back towards where we came from while clicking his tongue in annoyance and leaving his friends behind.

「You okay with letting him go Real?」

For some reason, Real just silently watch the man escape. I thought she's gonna rake him over the coals severely.

「Getting caught almost red-handed aside, it was still at the level of an attempted a.s.sault. I did properly memorize his face, as a precaution. Next time he tries something similarly foolish again, I intend to put him down where he belongs.」

…………I had the hunch she would say something similar considering her preemptive attack caused the first man to faint straightaway but I guess that much is par for the course.

「Ano!」

A non-Real female voice resounds. Goes without saying whose voice it was.

「Thank you so much for helping me out of that danger!」

The young lady who still had her back to the wall bowed her head with grat.i.tude towards me and Real. She was that scared huh. Her bowing form reflects the sincerity of her grat.i.tude as far as I can see.

If I look closely, she's quite lovely herself. Not at the level of Real, Chloe or Faima though. She may not be wearing something elegant but her clothes can be considered as stylish. Beauty of Real's level is perched high above the clouds and clearly out of my reach but for this lovely maiden, I wonder if I can extend my evil clutches towards her. Well, that would be rude to the lady.

「Miss, are you hurt anywhere?」

「No, I'm fine. They………haven't done anything yet.」

She must've imagined her worse case scenario as she shuddered a little. It was immediately followed by a sigh of relief.

After a light inquiry, we discovered that the young lady is in fact the daughter of a shop owner who runs a clothing and accessory store nearby. She was out on a shopping errand to restock their accessories when she unluckily got entangled with those men earlier. Despite her clear intention to reject them, the men persisted. Fearing for her safety, she ran away in a panic and got herself lost in the alleyway as a result.

「Why did you run into a place like this? You should have known about this dead end here.」(Real)

「If she's not used to running away, she can't afford thinking about escape route in her panic, I can a.s.sure you of that.」(Kanna)

If one had the leeway to a.n.a.lyze their situation, they might've considered running away either to the guard station or the adventurer's guild to seek safety. But expecting that from a panicking girl might be a tall order.

「I think its gonna be all right now but we'll send you home just in case.」(Kanna)

「I-I can't possibly trouble you further…」

「We must insist because we don't know when that man might return to retaliate. If you were to be attacked again after separating from us, it would leave a bad taste for us.」(Real)

「For our peace of mind, please let us escort you home.」(Kanna)

「uu………Thank you very much.」

She bowed to us again to show her gratefulness. Now then, let's get the young lady home and settle this case shall we.

「ーーーhn?」

This time, Real reacted first.

With her ears twitching, she narrowed her eyes while turning back to face the alleyway. When I look at the same direction, I can sense several people approaching us.

「………Don't tell me he brought more hoodlums.」

Retaliating by calling in more manpower. Its a common behavioral pattern for a street thug.

Real denied my a.s.sumption by shaking her head.

「No, its different.」

Before long, the man who ran away earlier showed up at the entrance of the cul-de-sac. But the ones he brought along was not of his kind. I recognize as much with a glance. The reason was because they are wearing armor, simple as it may be. If I'm not wrong, they are soldiers of Draknil, patrolling as city guard to safeguard the public order.

「Ha?」

Me and the young lady tilt our head.

Well, I can understand if the thug came back while being tied with a rope, but why did he return while leading those guards? To the side, its Real's turn to show a bitter look, like that man earlier. She seems to have grasped the situation quickly. And we'll know the rest immediately anyway.

「Ah there! Its them, officer! They attacked us all of a sudden! Look sir, you can see my friends lying there!」

…………………………………

「Well, this development was certainly…… unexpected.」(Kanna)

「We coincide then. I am of the opinion as well.」

Both of us hold our temples to suppress a headache. The young lady who finally finished processing the new development, suddenly turns pale.

At this moment, we got involved with three simultaneous unlucky events.

First. We were busy suppressing our headache due to an unexpected development and our reaction was delayed.

Second. The patrol unit rus.h.i.+ng to this place has a prominent sense of justice even among the guards, which unfortunately are also famous for not listening to people.

Third. Patrol units often employ magic of the water attribute to enforce public order.

「Conducting violence during daytime is far from admirable! Surprise attacks are extremely cowardly! Surrender obediently!」(stuー)

「Rather than that, you should tie up the one in front of you, y'know.」

「hn? To even drag a young woman into a back alley, you are further aggravating you crime!」(ーpid aー)

「I am also a woman, are you going to ignore me?」

「No more words! My water magic will wash away your evil acts!」(ーho)

Their lines sounds like they came straight from a period drama. I was about to put in a tsukkomi when the patrol-guards began to cast a spell. Me and Real finally return to our senses at that moment. But it was already too late.

The patrol-guards invoked their spell and produces a large torrent of water. As it is a spell that specializes in mob suppression, there are no sharp elements or any other changes to the water. It is just a ma.s.sive stream of water.

I instantly create an ice wall to protect the young lady behind us but I couldn't make it fast enough to reach both of us. Lack of killing intent from the guard also plays a big role in our delayed response. Me and Real were inundated by the ma.s.sive stream of water and got ourselves drenched to the skin.

Although I lost to the currents and fell down flas.h.i.+ly, Real was able to withstand it head-on without budging an inch. Sometimes, I'm doubtful of her status as a member of the humankind.

Ultimately, all the misunderstanding was resolved when all the falsehood spewed from that thug immediately got unraveled by the young lady's testimony. Giving false testimony as the offense, this time the thug cannot escape arrest as he definitely got caught red-handed doing it.

The whole unit expressed their deepest apologies and offered reparations but we refused because we didn't want the commotion to grow further. Besides, the young lady was not injured and both of us only suffered wet clothes with no other injury-like injury to be found anywhere. Still, the patrol unit refused to back down.

It was not until Real reluctantly took out a dagger that they stopped insisting. The dagger, or to be exact, its handle is engraved with elaborate pattern not unlike a crest. After witnessing the crest, their complexion shoots pa.s.s blue into pale white. From there, Real said to them in a low voice, [I ask you to keep this matter a secret]. The patrol-guards snapped in attention as they answered her with a salute.

This time, the arrested thug leaves the area while being dragged with a rope. Incidentally, the two fainted men were left as they were. Perhaps, compared to the one who was taken away, their crimes are much lighter in comparison.

「But now, what should we do?」

I point out to my wet clothes. Real also looks troubled by her drenched outlook. The sun is high and its kinda warm now, and I hardly feel cold due to the spirits' protection. However, the sensation of wet clothes sticking to my skin still feels unpleasant.

「We can't just continue to walk around the city like this. There's nothing else we can do but to return home and change our clothes.」

「Yea you're right. Which means that we have to part here.」

「It can't be helped.」(Real)

My spare clothes is at the inn and as for Real, it goes without saying that hers isn't there. There's no choice but to return to our respective residence at this point. Looks like we have to cancel our plan to have some tea time after this. Its a bit unfortunate but we can't possibly enter a tea shop while being soaked to the skin.

「Ano.」

Before I can release a sigh, the young lady raise her voice.

「If the both of you don't have anything planned after this, would you be willing to stop by my house? Please consider it as my thanks!」

After hearing the sudden offer, we look at each other.

chance get-to daze

test