World Alliance (3)

Kimidori Gorun-san lived in a log cabin by the lake.

It was a rather stylish house, with a table and chairs and a couch on the wooden deck, and even a small boat for heading straight out onto the lake.

To be honest—I had been imagining a shack, perhaps even a cave...!?—as the sort of place that would qualify as "an eccentric's solitary house" or "a mad research facility," so this residence came as a shock.

"Well, don't be shy—come on in, nuru."

Kimidori Gorun-san kept urging us inside while glancing our way now and then. He seemed to want us to come in... but seriously, was it really all right to invite people he'd just met inside so readily? If anything, this made me even more wary.

Normally, basic escort etiquette called for letting Asha enter first, but we had no idea what might be inside, so I took the lead, fully on guard.

"...It's ordinary."

I said it aloud before I knew it.

There was a fireplace, a bed, and a table for four. On the table sat a plain but sturdy copper pot and some mugs.

The place was neat, spacious, and clean...