Chapter 17
“Come on, don’t look so worried. She’s not a bad person—I’ll vouch for her.”
After that, apparently trusting her, Kagami headed straight to the inn without a hint of concern about bringing her along. He secured a room, left Alice there, and went out to look for Takako.
“Kagami-san... You’re taking forever.”
After being left at the inn, Alice waited for about two hours in a room roughly ten tatami mats in size, with two beds and a table and chairs by the window overlooking the whole city.
She considered going outside, but worried about what might happen without Kagami there. Instead, she passed the time sitting on the bed and swinging her legs, or gazing out the window at the city.
Still, being cooped up in an empty room for two hours was getting boring. Compared to sleeping rough on the way from the demon settlement to the Ancient Cave, she was incredibly grateful to have a proper bed—but it still felt a little confining.
“Hey, are you in there? Open the door for me!”
Just as her frustration was starting to build, she heard three knocks at the door and Kagami’s voice calling from outside.
At once, Alice’s face lit up. She jumped off the bed and hurried over to the door.
“Welcome back, Kagami-san! I’ll open it now!”
Cheerfully, Alice turned the lock above the doorknob from horizontal to vertical. With a clank, she flung the door open.
Then she immediately shut it and locked it again.
The moment she opened the door, Alice’s expression went blank. She’d expected Kagami to be standing there, but instead she found a huge man with all his hair gathered into a single braid hanging down his back. He was about 1.2 times as tall as Kagami, built like a muscular bear, and dressed in a pink gi.
“Hey, Alice. It’s me, it’s me—Kagami-san. Open the door.”
But the voice she heard was definitely Kagami’s. Since he’d even said his name, she figured she should make sure, so she unlocked the door again and slowly opened it.
“Oh my... How cute!”
Overwhelmed by the man’s intimidating presence, Alice’s legs gave out, and she stumbled backward.
His body looked as if he’d been born to fight. He had a rugged face with a deeply cleft chin, makeup on, and plump lips that looked as though they’d been treated with lip balm. In her mind, Alice selected the Run command—but there was nowhere to run.
Given the pink gi and his appearance, the only conclusion was that this man was one of those... types. And the sheer mass of those finely honed muscles made him look seriously dangerous.
“Hey, Takako-chan, she’s scared. Let me in first.”
Kagami pushed past the huge man and finally appeared in the room. Only then did Alice manage to calm down.
“Oh, don’t be scared, sweetie! I’m a kind person, you know?”
Kagami thought that was hard to believe coming from someone who looked like that. He helped Alice up from where she’d fallen, let the huge man in wearing the pink gi, and closed the door.
“There we go. Here... I bought the medicine. I’ll hold on to it so we don’t lose it.”
As soon as they were inside, Kagami lugged the big backpack he’d been carrying over to the window and set it down. He’d probably been getting ready for the trip.
At the same time, the huge figure took a tea set from a shoulder bag, poured a drink that smelled like tea from a thermos, sat down, and began sipping it elegantly.
“Um... Kagami-san? The companion you mentioned... is this person?”
Alice had been staring blankly at the two of them, eyes wide, and timidly asked Kagami.
“Hm? That’s right. This is Takako-chan, the Level 124 Martial Artist I trust most.”
Alice wasn’t particularly surprised to hear that Takako was Level 124. Perhaps it was because she looked like someone who could easily be that strong.
The only things that stood out in Alice’s mind were how fitting the Job Martial Artist seemed, and the surprising fact that Kagami-san trusted her more than anyone.
“I’ve heard all about you, Alice-chan. Oh, you’re so cute... I could just eat you up!”
Without changing her expression, Alice slid over and hid behind Kagami.
“I told you not to be scared. Takako-chan is a good person. Even knowing you’re a demon, she has no problem taking your side.”
“Huh...! She knows I’m a demon, and she’s not bothered?”
At Kagami’s unexpected words, Alice stared in surprise, then her expression softened. Somehow, just knowing Takako wouldn’t be hostile despite knowing Alice was a demon made Alice feel closer to her.
“I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? I’m Builder Takako. Just like Kagami-chan said, I’m a Martial Artist. I’d never attack you just because you’re a demon, so you can relax.”
“W-why? Aren’t demons a problem for you?”
“How could I kill a sweetie like you, Alice-chan? Besides, it doesn’t matter whether someone’s human or a demon. Sure, I used to think I had to defeat demons, but once, when I ran out of healing potions and nearly died, a demon saved me... That’s when I realized humans and demons aren’t any different.”
At Takako’s words, Alice’s eyes widened as she looked back and forth between her and Kagami.
“Um, I want you to help me! I want to build a friendly relationship with humans!”
“That’s impossible. They just won’t understand. The fact is, demons are still harming humans. So I got tired of fighting, retired from being an adventurer, and settled down in this city. I run a bar and Club GACHI MUCHI.”
In a deep, booming voice, Takako added that she’d hit it off with Kagami when he’d wandered into her bar, and that although she’d quit adventuring, they often went treasure hunting and took on quests together. Then she sighed.
“Kagami-chan hasn’t come to visit in ages, so I was happy when he finally showed up... But I never expected him to ask me to guard a demon! Honestly! I couldn’t refuse when it was Kagami-chan asking, though.”
“That’s because you’re hardly ever open, Takako-chan.”
“Then come to the club! It makes more money, you know?”
“No way. That place is terrifying. I wouldn’t go there if you paid me.”
Watching the two of them banter, Alice gradually began to let her guard down around Takako.
“Um... I’m sorry. I was caught off guard at first.”
“Oh, how polite! It’s fine, you know? I look like this, so it’s only natural you’d be surprised.”
“I look forward to working with you, Takako-san!”
With that, Alice bowed to show her sincerity.
“That’s all right! Oh, I know! You’ve been sleeping outdoors this whole time, haven’t you, Alice-chan? Don’t you want to take a bath? Let’s go to the hot spring in town together! Don’t worry, it’s a secluded spot where hardly anyone goes.”
At that, Alice reacted with unrestrained excitement. She’d been sleeping outdoors for so long that she’d secretly been longing for a bath.
She’d bathed in streams a few times along the way, but she still couldn’t give up the desire to soak in warm water.
“Y-yeah! I want to go! Kagami-san, you should come too!”
“If you want to go, the two of you can go together. They separate men and women anyway, so there’s no point in me coming, right?”
“...Huh? Isn’t that the same for you, Takako-san?”
“What are you talking about? Takako-chan’s a woman.”
At that instant, Alice’s thoughts stopped as if time itself had frozen. Wow, Kagami-san is amazing—he can use magic to stop time!
“Um... Huh? But... Takako-san is bigger than you, Kagami-san...”
Takako was wearing makeup and a pink gi, that much was true. But her body was far beyond what anyone would consider a woman’s usual proportions.
But she was a woman.
Her chest was firm with muscles like steel plating. Her incredibly trained physique was so overwhelming that just standing there made her look capable of crushing boulders. She was more manly than anyone.
But she was a woman.
With arms and legs thick as logs, an imposing appearance that brought a ferocious bear to mind, and the strength to match her Level 124, she was the owner of a bar and Club GACHI MUCHI in Valman.
But she was a woman.
“W-wait just a second! Um, Takako-san, you don’t have breasts or anything!”
“All the fat in Takako-chan’s boobs burned off and turned into muscle.”
Kagami said this while crouching down to sort through their luggage, as if he were used to it.
“Oh, Kagami-chan! Don’t you know how to choose your words?”
“Haha, seriously, stop, Takako-chan! My HP’s dropping like crazy, okay?”
Maybe because he’d said something rude, Takako began kicking Kagami in the nape with low kicks from her log-thick legs. Each kick landed with a tremendous thud, and the ground trembled slightly.
Kagami was impressive for putting up with it, but Alice couldn’t hide her astonishment at Takako-san’s low kicks, either. This is... a woman? Alice wondered, her expression blank.