We Just Beat It Down and That's the End of It, Right? (5)

Rex was sitting there as if it were the most natural thing in the world, leaving Alice looking dumbfounded while Parna let out an exasperated sigh. A few seconds later, Alice’s face lit up and she ran toward him, her long, dazzling red hair swaying as she launched herself at him.

“Hot?! W-what are you doing?!”

Unable to react to her sudden tackle, Rex spilled the tea from the cup he was holding all over his face.

“Who are you...? Are you a fan of mine? Even if you are, don’t you think it’s rude to suddenly jump on someone? Hey, Parna, has training the new staff gotten sloppy since I left?”

Alice was taken aback by his unexpected words. But from Rex’s slightly irritated expression, she quickly realized he wasn’t joking.

“What are you talking about? That’s Alice.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? Alice is much smaller. If I remember right, she was about this tall—practically a little girl.”

As he spoke, Rex held a hand just below his knee. Alice puffed out her cheeks at his recollection, which made her seem even smaller than she’d been three years ago.

“That’s rude! I was way bigger than that! Here, do you still not believe I’m Alice?”

When Rex refused to believe her, Alice took off the ribbon and the magic-suppressing cloth she wore to hide the horns at the back of her head, showing them to him. Rex’s eyes widened in shock, and he began scrutinizing her from every angle.

“...Haven’t you grown too much? In more ways than one?”

“You were tiny for a thirteen-year-old even three years ago. Guess you were just a late bloomer. You don’t seem to have changed at all, though.”

“That’s not true! My beard’s been growing faster lately... And I’m sure I’ve put on more muscle than I had back then! I’ve been training like crazy!”

“Training, huh... What have you been doing all this time? Since you and Kururu left, we’ve had way fewer noble customers. Well, now...”

“I’ve been traveling from dungeon to dungeon all over the world, holing up and training.”

“Huh? What for?”

At that moment, Alice seemed to realize something and cautiously backed away from Rex.

“What’s wrong, Alice?”

“Um... Rex-san, maybe it’s because you’ve been holed up in dungeons, but you kind of... stink.”

Seeing Alice’s strained smile, Parna slowly approached Rex as well. The moment she caught his smell, she cried, “Whoa, you stink!” and jumped back. Apparently shocked, Rex silently left the break room and headed for the shower in the staff changing room.

A little over ten minutes later, Rex returned to the break room with a towel around his neck and a refreshed look on his face.

“So... what do you mean, you were holed up in dungeons?”

“Allow me to explain that.”

The door to the break room opened slowly, and a man in a suit and bow tie stepped inside, his dead-fish eyes particularly striking. A girl in white clerical robes, with light green twin tails, popped her head out from behind him with a spring in her step.

“Tina-san! What are you doing here?”

“Well, well, Alice-sama. Aren’t you going to say ‘I’m home’ to me?”

“Ugh... I’m sorry for slipping out without permission, David-san.”

“It’s all right. As long as you’ve returned safely, Alice-sama, there’s no problem at all.”

As he spoke, David smiled warmly. Parna recalled how, just a few hours ago, he’d panicked when Alice suddenly disappeared, worrying she might vanish just like Kururu. She gave a derisive snort.

“I feel like you haven’t changed much since last year... But David-san’s become so devoted to Alice-chan that he’s turned into her guardian completely. It’s nice to see you’ve become more expressive.”

“Ho ho ho. Speaking of which, Lady Tina, haven’t you grown quite a bit since a year ago?”

“You noticed! For a while, I was really worried when Alice-chan nearly caught up with me, but now, look... Just look!”

Apparently unable to wait to show off, Tina trotted over to stand beside Alice and struck a confident pose. “How about that!” Tina had indeed grown taller than she was three years ago. But she was now the same height as Alice.

Realizing this, Tina looked shocked, apparently devastated.

“Hey! How have you grown again?! I’m already nineteen! I’m not going to get any taller! At this rate, I’ll be the shortest one!”

Alice tilted her head as she asked, “When did you get back, Tina-san? Your timing’s pretty good, too... Did you have some kind of arrangement with Rex-san? Why was Rex-san holed up in dungeons?”

Parna seemed to share Alice’s curiosity and nodded slightly, asking David to explain. David suggested they move somewhere more suitable, so they headed to Takako’s bar, which Menou was now in charge of.