That's Why I Decided to Become a Miser (5)

For the next dozen seconds or so, Kagami and David stared each other down in silence. As if trying to gauge one another's intentions, neither moved an inch as they waited to see what the other would do. And then――――.

"Staff from the Quest Issuing Guild! It's this man!"

Kagami pointed at David and shouted.

"This man was leering at that innocent young girl over there with a sinister smile, as if he were about to lick her! And me too, for good measure! He's a pervert no matter how you look at him. Thank you very much."

"F-fweh!?"

David's voice cracked as he cried out at Kagami's completely unexpected accusation. Everyone nearby turned to look at him—not only the Quest Issuing Guild staff, but also adventurers who happened to be stopping by and villagers who had come to post quests.

"N-no, you've got it wrong! I-I...!"

He hurried to explain himself, but it was already too late. While he was distracted, Alice had left David's side and gone over to Kagami. The scene had given rise to a misunderstanding: a young man protecting a girl from a suave, middle-aged pervert who'd tried to make a move on her.

"Come on... Hiding a tree in a forest, huh? Doing something like that in a crowded place..."

"Look at his eyes—they're dead. He looks like a criminal no matter how you see him. Trying to seduce a cute girl like that... What is he thinking?"

"I knew there was something off about him. He came in so quietly, then stopped right behind that girl... Ugh, that's disgusting."

"Gross. That guy's gross. Seriously gross."

All around them, people who hadn't even been paying attention said whatever they pleased.

"You there. Would you come with us for a moment?"

"N-no! I didn't do anything... I swear!"

David was firmly seized by both arms and led away by two intimidating adventurers hired to provide security inside the Quest Issuing Guild.

Seeing his chance, Kagami shouted, "Now! Let's get out of here!" He figured getting involved would only lead to trouble, so he tried to slip away.

Tina and Alice followed Kagami toward the exit, but when Alice saw David—who had been apprehended for no reason and kept insisting he was innocent—she stopped...

"Let him go. He didn't do anything."

Instead of running off, she went over to David and asked the two hired adventurers to release him. Her unexpected action left the adventurers and the people around them confused, while David looked at her with a surprised, impressed expression, as if he hadn't expected it.

Beside them, Kagami was more shocked than anyone, muttering, "Huh?"

"Kagami-san, I think you did that on impulse because you were worried about Kururu-san, but I don't think this was right. Maybe he was looking at me in a weird way, but it's wrong to frame him for something he didn't do."

"That's so reasonable it hurts. What is this?"

The two hired adventurers still hadn't quite grasped what was going on, but after hearing Alice's testimony, they let go of David's arms.

The others who'd been heckling from the sidelines hadn't managed to follow what was happening, either. Perhaps they couldn't back down after all their jeering, so they simply drifted away in different directions.

"Well, I must say, that was surprising. Hmm... At any rate, you've been a great help. You have my thanks. You're an honest one... and remarkably admirable for someone so young."

Once released, David stood before Alice and bowed deeply. This time, he smiled at her with an openly delighted expression. Alice smiled back at him.

Seeing her smile, he murmured, "...Oh?" with another look of surprise, before his expression grew pensive.

"Well, I'll leave my thoughts for later... Are you out of your mind? Didn't I tell you I had business with Kururu-sama?"

As if putting his thoughts aside for now, David suddenly remembered something and sharply turned his head toward Kagami. Then he said this.

"You're perceptive. Kagami-san is pretty nuts. Nuts enough to try to debut a Hero as an idol. Though I guess I... went along with whatever Kagami-san said."

Tina answered David, then bowed once more to apologize for Kagami's actions as if they were her own.

"No, no, please don't worry about it," David said, urging her to lift her head. Once they had made peace, Tina, Alice, and David all turned suspicious looks toward Kagami.

"Well, I mean... it looked like I was about to get dragged into something troublesome. If he had business with Kururu, he could've gone straight to her. Coming to us instead had to mean there was something else going on..."

"Oh... I see. So you weren't just making an excuse to get away without thinking it through. Well done. As you surmised, I came here because I have business with all of you as well. I certainly never expected to be treated like a pervert, though."

David said this, then laughed with evident delight.

Still unsure what was going on, Kagami and the others decided to hear David out about why he'd come. They returned to the plaza, met up with Rex, and then went to a café nearby to talk.

"I never expected to see you here, David-dono... It's been a long time."

"It has indeed, Rex-sama... I'm relieved to see you're as well and lively as ever."

When they reached the plaza, Rex saw David and shouted, "Why are you here!?" Looking as if he'd never expected this particular person to appear, he seemed somewhat flustered.

Unexpectedly, Rex and David already knew each other.