Chapter 15
Claude and Aris went to the guild for the adventurer registration exam scheduled for the afternoon.
“How do you feel? Confident?”
“Yes! Of course.”
Considering the sense she had shown in the battle against the red monster, passing was practically a foregone conclusion.
She had even been an active adventurer before, so there was even less reason to doubt it.
But in Claude's eyes, Aris was a small, adorable girl.
From the tail that swayed gently whenever their eyes met to the fluffy ears that moved as if always listening intently.
He had taken her on as a vanguard, but she made him want to protect her instead.
“Stay focused until the end and pass in one go.”
“Yes. You should wait comfortably in the room too, Master, without letting yourself get distracted.”
Her bold and sensible reply put Claude in a good mood. As expected, she was cute.
Aris, on the other hand, had felt uncomfortable about something since yesterday.
Claude didn't seem to know, but since yesterday, the gazes of the people around them had been strange.
The girl knew perfectly well that she was beautiful. So she had always been conscious of and sensitive to the gazes around her, and acted accordingly.
She was used to it, since she had always attracted attention in everyday life.
But since yesterday, the gazes directed at the two of them had been a little different from usual.
This was because, besides the gazes of the men around them, the women's gazes had increased as well.
Worse, they weren't directed at Aris, but at Claude.
Claude, who had never cared for his appearance at all.
Aris had only made a few adjustments according to her own tastes, but his whole impression had changed.
It had been the same when they ate breakfast in the inn's dining hall that morning.
‘That mage…?’
‘Really, really? What's gotten into her?’
‘What should I do? Eek~ Should I at least go talk to him?’
‘Grrr….’
‘Oh, but there's a scary puppy glaring at me beside him!’
It had been the same on the street after breakfast.
‘Oh my~ Young man. As a service, I'll put in two extra red apples for you!’
‘Thank you. They look really delicious.’
‘Ohoho! I'm glad you like them. You'll stop by again, won't you? You don't even have to buy any fruit!’
‘Grrrrr….’
‘Hoho. Handsome young man. That cute puppy… I'll have to put a leash on her. How frightening.’
‘I'm sorry. Aris? What are you doing? She even gave us extra.’
It had been the same while they waited in line at the guild.
‘E-excuse me? Handsome mage oppa! Hello?’
‘…Huh? Yes? Uh…yes? Are you talking to me?’
‘Hehe! Of course! If you're~looking for a party~we happen to have an opening for a mage!’
‘No, thank you. I didn't come here looking for a request.’
‘Ah…is that so? What a shame. How about tomorrow? Heehee! I'd love to party with you sometime, oppa~!“
‘Grrrrr….’
‘Oh my.’
‘Aris. There's no need to be on guard. She's just looking for a party member.’
More women than usual spoke to Claude, but he didn't notice it at all.
His mind was filled solely with ‘Aris's exam today.’
But the bitches approaching Claude were quite irritating to Aris.
“Hello. I'd like to register for tomorrow's second adventurer registration exam.”
At last, their turn came, and Claude spoke to the bespectacled receptionist.
“If you're here for the second adventurer exam, you'll need to bring your first-exam passing certificate….”
She spoke while indifferently checking the documents, then looked at Claude.
The receptionist's eyes widened slightly. Adjusting her glasses, she said,
“Ahem. Do you have your first-exam passing certificate?”
“Ah, is that how it works? It wasn't listed on the documents. She'll be taking the exam shortly.”
The receptionist stared blankly at him, then nodded.
“I see. Would you like to take the exam now? I'll register you right away.”
“It isn't me; Aris will be taking the exam.”
The receptionist rolled her eyes and looked back and forth between the two.
“I see. Once your companion brings her qualification, I'll register her right away. Would you mind waiting?”
“Waiting would be…a little difficult.”
“Would you like to come inside? Please sit in a chair and wait. We even have warm tea.”
Claude hadn't noticed until now, but he could sense that something was strange here.
Yesterday, the receptionist had been curt and spoken only as much as necessary, but now she was talkative, and her gaze lingered on him.
But Claude couldn't pick up on anything beyond that.
‘Women are different from yesterday to today.’ ‘Was she in a bad mood yesterday?’ ‘She's friendlier than I expected.’
That was all he made of it. But to Aris, who was watching, the receptionist was entirely different.
With every word she said, another fox tail sprouted.
From Aris's perspective, the receptionist now had nine tails sprouting from her behind.
“Grrrrr…!”
Aris's face tightened, but the receptionist's glasses flashed as she gave a quiet snort of laughter.
“The person taking the exam is the mage's slave, I see. Her master is truly merciful.”
“There's no need to go that far. Aris should receive the reward that belongs to her.”
“How admirable. Did you hear that, Slave Wolpi Aris?”
The receptionist glared at Aris with a sharp gaze. At that moment, Claude sensed something familiar.
That prickling sensation he had felt from the receptionist yesterday. The hostility directed at Aris.
The sensation irritated Claude.
“Don't bring up that she's a slave. It's not something you need to mention.”
Claude spoke to the receptionist in a lower tone than before.
The receptionist flinched and looked at him. She had said something wrong.
“I'm s-sorry, Mage. Would you like to come inside and wait? You could lift your spirits with some delicious tea….”
“No, thank you. We'll wait nearby.”
Claude turned and led Aris away. The growling wolf girl stuck out her tongue.
The receptionist let out a disappointed sigh as she watched his back.
“Master. I'll be going now.”
The two arrived at the testing site. Claude patted her head.
The lively girl looked up at Claude, her tail wagging energetically, and said,
“Master! You don't need to wait for me here! Go rest in the room.”
“It's all right. Time passes quickly if I take a walk or something. You're the one taking the exam, Aris, so do your best.”
“Uu…understood.”
The girl let her wagging tail droop. Claude grew worried when she suddenly acted like that.
“Aris. Is something bothering you?”
“No, Master…but may I ask whether you intend to recruit companions other than me?”
“Not particularly, not yet. Red monsters are dangerous, so finding companions at the right level would be difficult.”
Aris's ears perked up.
“Right now, I only have you, Aris. Do you want to make friends? Are you feeling lonely…?”
“Ah, no! Master! Master! Aris only needs you too!”
The girl, who was usually expressionless, smiled brightly. Then she began wagging her tail again.
Not only had her gloomy expression brightened, she had even smiled…?
Claude didn't understand, but his heart beat a little faster at the sight of something so precious.
“I'll be going now!”
“Yeah, good luck!”
Time passed, and Aris finished the first exam. As expected, she passed it with ease.
Delighted, Aris went to the place where she had promised to meet Claude.
But Claude wasn't alone.
Aris didn't know what was going on, but her face tightened.
A woman was talking to him.
“So, how about working together?”
“Hmm…I don't think it would be bad. It's a good offer.”
Working together? A good offer? What were they talking about?
The woman speaking with Claude was wearing a sword.
She was clearly a vanguard. Her position overlapped with Aris's.
“Grrrr….”
The two shook hands as if they had reached some agreement, and the woman left.
The information Aris had been given was ‘work together,’ ‘a good offer,’ and ‘an agreement sealed with a handshake.’
Claude had shaken hands with a woman.
“Grrrrr….”
Knowing that, as a slave, she had no say in whatever her master did,
She clenched her teeth. She didn't really understand why she felt this way, but….
For now, she was angry. As a Wolpi, emotions were a fairly important factor.
“Master.”
Aris walked steadily toward Claude. Her voice was slightly chilly.
Claude also sensed that something was strange.
“Oh, Aris! You're here? Um, but…what's wrong?”
“Who was that just now? What did you mean by an offer?”
Claude glanced at Aris uneasily.
Her tail wasn't wagging. Her eyes were sharp. Her ears were definitely pointed toward him.
The muscles in her arms were tense, and her breathing was slightly fast. He wasn't sure, but Aris was angry right now.
“What's wrong? Did you perhaps fail the exam…?”
“No. Here's my passing certificate.”
Watching her expression, Claude accepted the documents she handed him.
“Who was that woman just now?”
“Ah, well. Where should I start? She'll be working with us….”
“With us?”
“Huh? Yes. I heard about a good dungeon this time….”
But why? Aris's cheeks puffed up. She had filled them with air, and there were tears at the corners of her eyes…?
“A-Aris? What's wrong?”
“You said…you weren't going to take on party companions.”
Claude thought about it. He had definitely said something like that before she went to take the exam.
But what he had meant was a companion who would live together with them, form a friendship, and stay with them to the end.
The person he had just met wasn't that kind of companion; it was a contract.
Adventurers met many people in dungeons. It was almost impossible to clear a dungeon with a single party alone.
That was why small parties sometimes joined forces with other parties.
In short, a temporary contract companion. Someone who would part ways once the dungeon business was over.
However, Aris had been part of a large mercenary group.
So she had never had an experience like this.
“Wait! Aris? It's a misunderstanding!”
Claude thought about her past. The terrible things she had experienced during her time with the mercenary group.
Aris had told him:
She had joined the mercenary group and gone through and overcome many hardships with her companions.
From small tasks to major ones, the girl had built up experience and achievements.
Her goal was to be recognized as a member of the mercenary group. It seemed her hopeful mercenary life would continue.
But she said that the more achievements she accumulated and the more her reputation grew, the stranger the looks she received became.
Men who kept hitting on her. Men who approached her asking to embrace her just once.
Knowing how dangerous their behavior was as a Wolpi, the girl avoided them.
As time passed, the mercenary group came to think of her not as a comrade, but merely as a female.
They wanted to embrace her at least once someday. If only they could, her mercenary life no longer mattered to them.
And on the day of the incident, Aris went into heat. Pheromones poured from her arousal fluid.
A terrifying scent capable of making most male members of the humanoid races erect.
The girl was attacked by them and ended up killing them all.
“Aris. It's a misunderstanding.”
Claude had thought about it while she was taking the exam.
The reason she was reluctant to have other companions. It was probably trauma.
“It's all right. Aris is a slave. If Master…wants it…I can only…follow.”
The girl suddenly turned around. Seeing that she looked as though she might leave, Claude followed her.
“Aris. Shall we talk things through?”
“I'm…fine. I'll return to the room and prepare for the exam….”
“Aris? Will you look this way?”
He took Aris by the shoulder and turned her around.
Their eyes met, and Claude slowly brought a hand to her cheek.
“I only have you. Are you thinking about someone else?”
He wiped the corner of her eye with his thumb.
Claude thought,
‘I only have Aris. So let's erase the painful memories of your old mercenary group and make our own memories together.’
“The one thinking about someone else…is Master….”
But Claude's intention and Aris's thoughts didn't quite align.
The girl pursed her lips. The woman she'd just seen wasn't bad-looking. She might even be Claude's type.
She couldn't stand feeling so upset.
“No. I only have Aris.”
“That's a lie. Still…still, it's all right. Aris is a slave. I have no right to say anything.”
The girl tried to leave again. But Claude held her tightly.
“I want to talk with you, Aris. Just the two of us.”
“But….”
“Do you not want to talk with me, Aris?”
“No! B-but…Aris has nothing to say.”
He stroked her hair.
“Do you want to go back to the room?”
“Yes. I don't feel like doing anything….”
“It seems you're feeling down.”
“Yes….”
For a slave to presume to tell her master how she felt.
Aris felt pathetic.
“Then how about we take a walk?”
But instead of scolding her, Claude suggested it with a bright smile.
To Aris, he looked dazzling.
She was grateful for his kind suggestion.
“Yes! I'd love to!”
Thump, thump. Her heart began pounding for no reason.
Without realizing it, Aris was drawn in by his suggestion and began wagging her tail.
Claude was flustered too; he hadn't expected her to agree so readily.
“Ah.”
But the girl quickly realized what she had done and came back to her senses.
“Ah…ah! No, I don't want to! Master…you lied to me.”
“It's really a misunderstanding. I'd like you to give me time to explain.”
“Sniff…no. Aris isn't in a position to receive an explanation, so…I'll do as you wish, Master….”
Claude held out a hand to Aris, who had lowered her head.
“Shall we walk for now? Don't you want to take a walk?”
“I-I don't dislike it, but….”
“Walking will help you sort out your feelings.”
The girl took his hand. Then they began walking side by side.
Time for Claude's explanation—or rather, his not-quite-explanation.
They were merely contract companions, meant to part once the mission was over.
“So you don't need to be afraid. There isn't anyone left who will hurt you. I'll protect you.”
“I'm truly sorry, Master. Aris was imagining things all by herself….”
“No. I understand.”
Aris felt embarrassed. She had thought Claude was showing interest in another woman.
But even so, she wanted to say her piece.
“Master? Be careful. All women are foxes!”
What was that supposed to mean all of a sudden? It felt as though the conversation had veered off course.
Claude's thoughts could only short-circuit.
“Of course, there's no need to worry about Aris—she's a wolf!”
“Kraaang!” The girl stood proudly, as if daring anything to come at her.
Still, it was probably a good thing that she had brightened up.
Let's not let the contract companions she'll meet in future dungeons get too close to her.
Claude made up his mind.