—–Town of Beruta.
「Waa〜 So this is Beruta Town?! This is the first time I've ever come to such a big city! 」(Claude speaking)
「I have come here before, so let me be your guide. I will make sure, Claude doesn't become a lost child」 (Milly speaking)
Could it be that she has already forgotten that the last time she came here, she was the one wandering around and getting lost like a child?
Milly was already leading Claude away, and separating from me.
「Hey! Where do you guys plan on going? 」
「Well〜 I smelled something really nice from that direction so I kind of just...」
Milly is a person who really lives via instinct.
「Our stomachs are empty, let's go after we eat lunch? 」
Come to think of it, it is already daytime.
Having something to eat before heading off to Lydia's store is not such a bad idea.
But they should have at least said something before trying to head off.
—Down Town.
In the middle of the buzzing streets of Beruta, a fragrant smell of meat and fish being cooked stimulates our empty stomachs.
Along the pathways, there were numerous restaurants, and on the opposite side, there was also food stalls with all kinds of cuisines.
Milly had sparkling eyes as she looked around the vicinity.
Oi oi, saliva is starting to drip out of your mouth ya know? How improper.
Claude also seems to be in absorbed interest with her surroundings.
「Welcome! Welcome! That cute young lady over there! The Taikoyaki our store serves is the best in Beruta Town! Please come over and try some! 」
「Is that so?」
「Well that's the thing! When people of this town talk about Taikoyaki, it's always about our shop! 」
Taikoyaki is is a mixture of meat being rolled in vegetables, furnished with a special sauce and then baked. (TL: if you search for images of 太鼓焼き(Taikoyaki), you will get a feel for what it is, although, I think it is traditionally meant to be sweet red bean pasting inside the muffin, and not meat)
It is a local specialty dish from Beruta.
Naturally, there were other food stalls around grilling some Taikoyaki, but there was no one who boasted like the person in front of us.
The other food stalls were glaring at this particular shop, and it seemed that this guy didn't seem to care at all.
What a scary fellow.
「Then…..」
「You can't Milly-san」
Milly was completely enraptured by the smell of the muffins and she was about to buy them, the shop owner was also convinced that he had already won her over when a voice spoke out.
It was Claude.
「Whilst it is true that this shop seems to sell delicious Taikoyaki, but was it really true that it was the best in Beruta? Although I can't say that I've looked around at every shop, in comparison with other stores, both the quantity and the price for food here is much more expensive than the others」
「Th...The meat we use here is different from the other stores! 」
「The meat seems thin, and I feel that it doesn't look very fresh, wouldn't you agree?」
Guu…..the middle aged man gulps down his breath.
As usual Claude is really detailed.
She really acts like a girl.
Just as I was thinking such things, Claude looks at me with a smile that said "I am a girl, you know?".
Can she read other people's thoughts or something?
「With that being said Milly-san, my recommendation is that shop over there. It would seem that the: quality, amount and price are all of high standards.
「Nn in that case, let's go over there!」
Milly immediately charges over to the shop on the other side.
The other shop stall owners all banded together with a gaze that said "Serves you right!" to the fellow who just got owned by Claude.
The grudge between these shop owners are a terrifying thing.
The shop that Claude recommend was a narrow place, but it served a large amount of food and was relatively cheap compared to the other shop, all three of us eat for a portion of five people, and both Milly and Claude had satisfied looks after finishing our meal.
———–Lydia's store.
We were standing in front.
The two girls seemed to be a little bit nervous.
The door rattled open, and we were allowed inside the shop.
Inside the store, there was several guests, and an energetic voice welcoming the customers was heard.
It was Lydia's voice.
When I headed to the interior of the shop, Lydia's back figure could be seen as she was doing her packaging work.
I notified the two girls, that she was the one I was planning on meeting.
「It's been a long time, Lydia」
When I called out to her, Lydia faced towards me and noticed our presence.
「Ohh〜 Isn't it Zeph-kun! Long time no see, are you well? 」
She stood up and brushed the dust of her hips, her breasts which were standing tall before our eyes started to bounce. (sfx ponpon (brushing dust off)
Same as ever, it was huge.
「Hello, I've heard so much about you from Zeph-kun. You must be Lydia, right? 」
Claude calls out to Lydia.
「Oh, Are you the one that Zeph-kun talked about? The person who is the Guild Master? You are quite the pretty boy aren't you? 」
「Thank you very much. However I am not the one who is the guild master. Moreover, I am a girl」
「Ahhaha. I knew that when I saw you! It's just that even so, you really seemed like a pretty boy! 」
「is...is that so?」
To be able to see through Claude being a woman in the first meeting.
Lydia is incredible.
「This is the Guild Master Milly」
「Umm…..It's nice to meet...」
「Ohhh〜 So cute〜♪ petite〜 and such a fluffy blonde hair♪」
「Mugyuu!?」
Lydia captures Milly who was trying to introduce herself, and starts to hold her tightly like a plush toy.
Milly's face was tucked just perfectly in between Lydia's breasts and whilst being embraced, Milly's hands and feet were struggling to get free.
「Please leave it at that, Milly seems to be in pain」
「Ariya(Oh la)?...I'm sorry〜 Milly-chan was just so adorable…..」
Showing a smile that displayed her complete lack of reflection, she liberated Milly from her grasp.
Milly was having a violent coughing fit, and Claude anxiously calls out to her.
「Are you alright? Milly-san? 」
「...」
「Milly-san?」
When I glanced at her from the side, Milly's face was like she just got totally defeated in something.
She was alternatively comparing her own chest to Lydia's, and the more she looked she rapidly started to show the white of her eyes.
「Milly?」
「....It can't be, it definitely cannot be」
She was slapping her own cheeks, whilst deliriously talking to herself repeating the same thing over and over.
「Which reminds me, has the item I left with you sold yet?」
「Ahh, yeah. It got sold…..however, is Milly-chan okay? 」
「She will return to her usual self sooner or later, right?」
「Zeph-kun, you are unexpectedly quite heartless〜」
「It's her usual routine」
「Oh is it really….the norm〜?」
Lydia was smirking at me whilst we went deeper into the store.
Claude had a face full of concern as she kept comforting Milly, but it would seem that her recovery will not be seen anytime soon.
Because Lydia beckons me in, I decided to rely on Claude to take care of Milly.
「Yes! This is how much it was sold for, 320,000 Rupi. If I subtract the money lost when we went hunting, your share of the profits come to 305,000 Rupi, right?」(TL: Hmm reading back to Chapter 25: Bath, I calculated his profits to be 320,000- 12,500 = 307,500, but I suppose I could be wrong… And Lydia is a professional scammer ~ On second thought, she probably took a fee to list the objects in her store)
「Thank you」
I received a bunch of paper money from Lydia, and I gave her my thanks.
With this amount of money, I think that the cost of living and purchasing equipment can be managed for now.
During break time, Lydia left the shop back to her father's care, and she was drinking tea with us.
Marveling at the tart cakes that Lydia made, we sipped on the slightly sweet tasting tea.
Once in a while Lydia would try to touch Milly's body, but the more she tried, Milly got better at running away, and Lydia seemed to have a regrettable look on her face.
This fellow, she's acting like some kind of sexual predator old man.
Like father, like daughter...
Along the way, Claude started to sit in between the two people, at any rate, it seems like Lydia finally gave up.
「By the way Lydia, I was thinking of asking you to make our guild emblem accessory…」
As I said this, Claude began to show the emblem she designed to Lydia.
「Oh Well isn't this cutee〜Nn♪ But it will take a considerable amount of money you know? The cost for the design will be 50,000 Rupi, additionally each time you need to make one it will cost around 5,000 Rupi as well〜」
「Th…..That is fairly expensive isn't it...」
It's custom made, and if we thought about it, it was quite a reasonable price, however, for us who, was already having trouble maintaining our equipment's, the amount was a little too severe for us to pay.
「Noo, well as one of the members of this guild, shall I cooperate with you guys just this once and make it free of charge〜?」
Lydia was crossing her arms as she said this.
Ah, that's right, I do remember inviting her to join the guild.
At that time, she didn't seem all that motivated to join, but it seems that she is considerably interested right now...Or more like she's acting like she has already joined.
Did she take that much of a liking towards Milly?
The person in question, Milly, was perhaps not good at dealing with Lydia, and hearing Lydia say such things, her body began to quiver. (sfx bikun = tremble/quiver)
「Nee〜 Milly-chan, what do you think?」
Lydia was staring at Milly with the eyes of some kind of carnivorous cat ready to pounce on her prey. Milly who was being asked by Lydia became silent, and after a while she answered back with a determined face.
「.....That's true… Since you are going out of your way to help us…..I think that we should rely…on you. From here on out, please take care of us Lydia-san....」
「It's fine to call me Lydia〜 Let's get to know each other kay〜 Milly-chan♪」
Lydia cheerfully requests a handshake from Milly, and Milly bitterly accepts it.
As one would expect, from a devious merchant like her, she easily lures her prey in.
I talked to Milly using the guild message system.
(Milly, if you believe that Lydia is too difficult to deal with, you don't have to force yourself to put her into the guild, alright? Besides, we aren't that pressured for money right now)
(It's alright, moreover this person, she's strong right? She's really good with money, and her personality is also good, she's also really good at cooking, and she's a really beautiful woman.....H, her, b, breasts are also...…That's why I think that she will be a valuable asset for the guild!)
I'm not quite sure whether the last few points she raised had anything to do with war potential though?
「I, won't lose alright…..!」
Milly declares such a thing towards Lydia whilst staring at her with a fierce fighting spirit, on the other hand, Lydia was grinning and affectionately looking towards Milly with a slovenly face.