Chapter 19
Food. Food is a wonderful thing. It is life's driving force, and one could even say it is the reason I live.
That's why today, too, I came to a restaurant in search of a happy, full stomach.
“Livnil. Meat again?”
“Yeah. If we want to move energetically today too, shouldn't we fill ourselves up?”
Griff, the absurdly tall archer in our party. He says something like that without fail once a week.
‘Meat again?’ Doesn't he ever get tired of it? He never says things like ‘Vegetables again?’
“Humans are omnivores, so we need to eat a balanced diet to stay healthy.”
“Anyone hearing that would think I'm some vicious carnivore.”
“That's true.”
“Yeah, exactly.”
No matter what Griff said, we arrived at the shop to tear into a pork leg.
But right in front of it, we happened to run into someone we knew.
Not a close friend, but someone who would be our companion for the next few days in a dungeon.
There stood Claude the mage, with the fluffy friend he'd mentioned beside him.
“Oh! Mr. Claude! Hello!”
“Ah~hello, Ms. Livnil.”
The mage I'd met in front of the Adventurers' Guild.
When I first saw him, he was tall and sturdily built, so I thought he might be a powerful vanguard.
But he was wearing a robe, the symbol of a mage.
I found that intriguing, and more than anything, he was quite handsome, so I spoke to him for no particular reason.
And he really was a mage, just as he'd said.
Since our party happened to be looking for a mage, I asked him about it.
I asked whether he might need a place in a party. But he refused at first.
‘I’m not looking for a party right now. My companion is taking the adventurer registration exam.’
I see. What a shame.
That was the end of it. Just as I was about to move on, I happened to glimpse the area inside his robe at his chest.
A silver glint.
A necklace. Gubnel's Mark. Red Monster Hunter. The Monster of the Mage Tower.
Someone wearing a necklace bearing all those titles.
It was my first time seeing one in person, and it was fascinating to know someone like that existed.
Was that why he seemed so flawless despite being a mage?
It made me wonder whether I could beat him in a bare-handed fight.
What exactly had someone like that just said?
‘Did you say your companion was taking the adventurer registration exam?’
‘Yes. She went to take it a little while ago.’
Gubnel's Mark was a symbol of grand magic, and no one had received it in the past nine years.
A mage like that was waiting for an adventurer who was only just taking the exam.
It was impossible not to find that interesting.
I asked out of pure curiosity.
‘How strong is your friend?’
‘Stronger than anyone.’
The mage declared it without hesitation, brushing his robe aside.
To a novice who was only just registering as an adventurer—from someone bearing a grand magic insignia.
‘She must be a mage with extraordinary talent.’
Perhaps she was his apprentice. Mages training apprentices was nothing unusual.
But he shook his head.
‘She’s a swordswoman.’
A swordswoman acknowledged by a grand mage...?”
That, too, inevitably piqued my interest.
As a fellow swordswoman, I was excited just imagining how remarkable she might be.
To be honest, the mage in front of me was fascinating too, but the swordswoman was even more intriguing.
So I made him an offer.
‘Would you perhaps be interested in the new dungeon that supposedly appeared this time?’
‘A new dungeon?’
An unknown space that appears one day without warning. A place overflowing with monsters and containing rare treasures.
More than anything, new dungeons retained all the magic power they possessed when they first appeared.
As a result, the difficulty of newly formed dungeons was quite high.
Red monsters also appeared with some frequency, so exploring new dungeons was a privilege reserved for veterans.
And our party was one such veteran party.
‘Why are you telling me this?’
‘You're said to be strong, aren't you? Our party needs a mage, and another swordswoman would be welcome too.’
‘Are you asking me to join your party?’
I nodded. But he shook his head.
It was a new dungeon, after all. A red monster might appear.
I couldn't get him just by telling him such valuable information for free.
‘If we form a contract party, I’m willing to join you.’
But unexpectedly, he wanted to form a contract party even if it meant disadvantaging his own party.
We, the main party, would receive much higher compensation.
I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but we made arrangements for later.
“Grrrrr….”
And that's how I came to meet Claude and Aris, the Wolpi swordswoman, today.
When I first heard the name Wolpi, I was pretty nervous.
A powerful beastkin acknowledged by a mage of Claude's caliber.
I'd met quite a few dog and cat beastkin, but this was my first wolf.
But Aris, whom I met today, was an adorably cute puppy beyond anything I could have imagined.
Of course, she seemed a little prickly, so it felt hard to approach her.
If I could pet that fluffy tail even once, I would have no other wish left.
“Shall we order? Mr. Claude, what do you like?”
First, I suggested a menu item to the companion who would be joining us. The girl beside him reacted.
“Master likes stew with pepper and mushrooms. Right?”
“Uh...yeah. That was what I was thinking of ordering.”
“We will have this.”
I'd heard Aris was Claude's slave. A combat slave, at that.
When I first heard that, I felt a little disappointed, I suppose. But when I thought about it again, I realized it wasn't quite so simple.
Combat slaves were usually expendable tools used in battle. They held much the same status as expensive potions.
No one invested in them, and there was no reason to.
But Claude was even paying for her expensive adventurer registration.
Most of all, his eyes were incredibly warm. That wasn't how one looked at a slave.
He treated her as an equal, a companion in his party.
And he'd said it without hesitation: ‘Stronger than anyone.’
A slave didn't need praise like that. She was someone to use and discard anyway.
That only made me more curious about how extraordinary the power this girl named Aris possessed might be.
More than anything, look at how her ears perked up every time I said something, and how her tail thwacked the wall—whack, whack!
She was so cute!
Most of what she reacted to had to do with ‘Claude.’
Even when I asked a simple question just because Claude would be our companion from now on, Aris jumped in.
And only when I—Livnil—was the one asking.
The archer Griff said,
“It's fortunate you're quiet as well. There are plenty of noisy mages. They fuss over cleanliness or go around arrogantly pointing out faults. I like you because you're easygoing.”
“Thank you. I think I'll get along well with all of you too.”
Aris nodded along to the praise of her master, her tail wagging.
Even her faint smile was cute.
But what if I said something like that?
I decided to test it by saying it to Claude.
“A Gold-ranked mage, huh? That's reassuring. There are hardly any mages of that rank. There are also plenty of idiots who barely scraped Gold despite not having the skill. You're not one of those, are you, Mr. Claude?”
At that, Aris's sharp silver wolf ears perked up, and she glared at me.
“Of course. Master is stronger than anyone. You have no reason to doubt him.”
Oh my, look at her defending him so earnestly.
Slaves usually didn't speak. They couldn't even imagine sitting at the same table as their master.
But these two sat together naturally.
Claude had just placed his hand over hers.
Then—swish, swish?—the girl's fluffy tail began wagging.
Did she like it that much? I felt oddly envious, and it was so pleasant to watch that I wanted to tease them.
“What do you think of Hophnil's music, Mr. Claude? Do you like it?”
“Ah, I do. It's a soft, warm melody.”
“Oh~me too! I love it.”
Then Aris's tail stiffened and began smacking the wall repeatedly.
“You had a book with you last time, too. You must like books.”
“They’re indispensable to a mage.“
“Ah~I guess I don't have a talent for reading. I get sleepy whenever I open one~so I don't like them.”
“I see.”
This time, the girl perked up her ears and wagged her tail. She's remarkably easy to read.
“What about you, Aris? Do you like exercise?”
“M-me? Are you asking me?”
What a fascinating puppy.
On the surface, she was a beautiful girl with a cool demeanor. Her manner of speaking was the same, stiff and imposing.
But each of her actions was every bit as angelically girlish as our cleric Chris's.
She had firm likes and dislikes.
Chris was shy around strangers, so she was currently studying the two of them.
“Yes. What about you, Aris?”
“I like it, but since I wield a sword, training is essential.”
That was an unnecessarily coy way of putting it. So what if I asked Claude this?
It would be hard to get a positive answer from a mage, but oh well.
“What about you, Claude? Do you like exercise? Mages need it too, after all. Aris likes it.”
I deliberately brought Aris into it. He nodded without hesitation.
“I like exercise. Magic, too, comes from a healthy body.”
Compared with everyone else in this shop, his physique might well be the best.
He really was a fascinating mage.
And then there was the girl wagging her tail beside him.
When Claude said he liked exercise, her expression came alive.
The two of them didn't look like lovers, but one thing was certain: Aris had feelings for him.
I still couldn't tell how Claude felt.
Watching them made me happy and want to cheer them on. Couldn't I somehow bring them together?
But given Aris's status, it might be presumptuous for me to intervene.
I was looking forward to this dungeon mission.
The love between an adorable puppy girl and her master.
Hehe, just thinking about it made my mouth water.
“Livnil. Don't drool over the meat.”
“Ah, right. It looks delicious! Let's eat!”
When the food arrived, Aris was drooling too, wagging her tail like crazy.
It was completely at odds with the cool, stiff demeanor she'd had before.
Adorable.
We finished lunch together.
The two of them then headed for the testing grounds for Aris's second adventurer registration exam.
I said to Griff and Chris,
“They're interesting people, aren't they?”
“Yeah. You found us a Gold-ranked mage, Livnil.”
“Could I touch Lady Aris's tail...?”
“I want to touch it too. Let's get close to her and make sure we do.”
Chris nodded, steeling her resolve.
◇
I passed the second exam with flying colors.
Everything went fine, but for some reason I didn't feel good.
The three new companions we'd met at lunch. None of them were bad people.
But the woman who seemed to be the party leader kept asking Claude odd questions.
Why did she keep persistently asking what he liked and what he disliked?
Claude showed no particular reaction, but what if he had feelings for her too?
Did that mean Livnil could become my master too?
I didn't like that. I hated it.
I left the testing site in a foul mood.
“A-ri-is! Miss!”
But why? The person who appeared directly in front of the testing site wasn't Claude.
“Ms. Livnil. What is it?”
“Nothing much. You passed, right?”
“Naturally.”
“Congratulations. And I'm glad we're in the same party now.”
I looked at the hand she held out. She must know that I'm a slave.
I stayed on guard, unsure of her intentions.
“No need to be so guarded, Miss Aris. I want to be friends.”
“What would you want with a Wolpi slave as a friend? Hmph.”
“Hmm~I don't care about that.”
Grrr... She was making me let out a growl for no reason.
Then Livnil said,
“I'm sorry. But I really only want to be friends.”
“I'm sorry too. I'll accept your handshake.”
Claude had also kept telling me to get along with her. I had no choice.
As she shook my hand, she said,
“You like Mr. Claude, don't you?”
“Yes.”
“You like him as a man, not as your master, right?”
“W-what...are you talking about? Don't say such strange things.”
Her grip tightened on my hand as we shook.
“Are you perhaps already dating?”
“I-I'm only a slave....”
“Even so~the barriers between a man and a woman aren't very high!”
Cold sweat broke out at the sudden turn in the conversation.
Why was she asking me this? Wasn't Livnil in love with Claude?
Why did she think that about me? Had I done something to give her that impression?
More importantly, in my mind, I was still...
“I'll give you a push, Miss Aris! What do you say?”
“Uwaaee....”
“M-Miss Aris? Wait! Snap out of it!”
The already-confused little mind of a Wolpi filled to the brim and short-circuited.