The adventurers' guild.
They would buy relics or materials harvested from monsters found in dungeons
explored by adventurers, who made their living doing so. They also were an
intermediary for quests that involved things such as dangerous beast eradication,
protection of merchants, and slaying of monsters that came out of dungeons.
Because adventurers traveled around many countries, the adventurers' guild was
independent from the states it operated in.
A party was visiting the branch of the guild in Parnam. The party consisted of the
hot-blooded and handsome swordsman Dece, the baby-faced, slender female thief
Juno, the brawny, macho brawler Augus, the gentle, affable young priest Febral, and
the quiet, shapely mage Julia.
"Dece's party, right?" the receptionist asked. "Your reward for the villager escort
quest is here."
The girl at the reception gave them a perfunctory greeting and a bag full of silver
coins. The bag bulged slightly, making Juno and Augus's eyes glimmer.
"We've got more than a couple months worth of earnings here, don't you think?!"
Juno asked excitedly.
"Even split five ways, it'll be a lot, won't it?!" Augus exclaimed. "Now I can get
some new knuckle dusters... No, maybe something even higher quality!"
Standing beside the two who were blinded by the prize money, Febral tilted his
head to the side questioningly. "Even if we're being paid on an individual basis, not
as a party, this reward seems too high for the quest. Was there some sort of special
bonus applied?"
The receptionist grinned and nodded. "Yes. This quest was issued by the royal
castle. It said, 'What is believed to be a new breed of monster, the flame pierrot, has
appeared to the south. We would like to request your assistance in escorting the
residents of nearby villages as we evacuate them.' But, with the untimely invasion by
the Principality of Amidonia, we received reports that many of our people had
encountered forces from the principality."
"Oh, that," said Juno. "I encountered them, too."
The receptionist nodded. "Fortunately, because the people of the villages were
evacuated, they were able to minimize the harm to citizens of the kingdom from
principality troops. However, because of the unexpected trouble this meant for the
adventurers, the castle has issued a special hazard bonus. That would be the extra
amount you see there."
"I see," she said. "That makes sense..."
Dece and the others accepted their reward money, heading over to a table in the
cafe and bar that was set up inside the guild.
Once the money was evenly split five ways, Dece asked Febral, "So, about what
she just told us... What do you think?"
"You mean about the unexpected hazard pay?" Febral asked him back, to which
Dece nodded.
"The towns and villages that just happened to be being attacked by the flame
pierrots just happened to be on the route the principality's forces took, and because
we just happened to be evacuating the residents human loses were kept to a
minimum... I mean, isn't that all a little too convenient?" Dece said.
"...You're right," said Febral. "Perhaps what the kingdom was on guard against
was the principality's army all along. Could they have hurried to have us evacuate
the residents because they were anticipating an attack?"
When Febral presented that theory, Juno tilted her head to the side. "Hm? But, I
saw the flame pierrots myself when I was with Mr. Little Musashibo, remember?"
"They looked like mannequin torsos with torches for heads, right?" Febral said.
"That sounds pretty easy to make, doesn't it?"
"Were they made-up, thennnn?" Julia asked in a relaxed tone, to which Febral
nodded.
"Yes. That sounds highly likely. The king must have had some reason for it."
"Heh. Not like it matters to us." Augus wrapped his thick arm around Febral's
neck. "The intrigues of countries are no business for adventurers. What's important
for us is that we complete the quest, and that we make good money for it. Am I
right?"
Dece smiled wryly. "You're right. Rather than fret over it, let's think about what
we're going to do with all this money."
"For tonight, how does a feast sound, hmmmm?" Julia said gently... and then it
happened.
A roly-poly something-or-other came in through the guild's entrance. In its hands
was a naginata, over its back a wicker basket, over its face a silk covering from under
which peeked two adorable acorn-like eyes and bushy eyebrows. Who was it?! Was
it a big moth cocoon?! Was it an egg monster?!
"Wait, that's Mr. Kigurumi!" exclaimed Juno the moment she realized it.
When Little Musashibo entered the guild, he tottered over to the receptionist and
handed her something. It was... a letter?
"Oh! A delivery, I see," said the receptionist. "Thank you for your service."
"..." (Little Musashibo gave a thumbs up.)
Having delivered the letter, Little Musashibo turned to go, his job done, but Juno
wasn't going to let that happen.
She leaned on the top of his head. "Hey, long time no see. You're back from down
south, too, I see."
"..." ("J-Juno?" Little Musashibo reacted with surprise.)
Little Musashibo, who had shrunken slightly under Juno's weight, flailed his arms
around.
Juno stayed on top of Little Musashibo, rubbing his cheeks teasingly. "Thanks for
the save back there. The principality almost got me."
"..." ("No, I'm just glad you were okay," he said, clapping her on the back.)
"Ahaha! But, now I think about it, weren't you in more trouble than me, walking
around all alone like that? I'll bet you were there on the same quest, so you could
have relied on us for help, you know."
"..." ("I-I'm honored to hear it," he said, bowing his head repeatedly.)
The rest of the part watched this exchange unfold with rolled eyes.
"How do they even make a conversation work like that...?" Dece wondered aloud.
"Could it be... love?" suggested Febral.
"Oh! You're starting to believe Julia's theory now, too, huh, Febral?" said Augus.
"Hee hee," giggled Julia.
While the four of them were talking about it, the receptionist, who had been
reading the letter, called them over. "Oh. You over there. You took the villager escort
quest, didn't you?"
"Hm? Yes, we did... Did something happen?" Dece asked.
The receptionist grinned. "It looks like there's another additional reward for you
from the castle. It was in the letter that just arrived. 'The work of adventurers saved
the lives of many of the people of this country, and so, to reward their hard work, a
small banquet will be held at the castle, which they are most welcome to attend.'
That's what this says."
"A banquet at the royal castle?" Dece furrowed his brow. When they had already
received hazard pay, a banquet seemed lavish.
"I don't wanna go," Juno said, clearly uninterested, as she continued to lean on
Little Musashibo. "The castle sounds like a stuffy place. We'd look so out of place
there."
"Heh heh heh. Are you sure you want to say that?" the receptionist chuckled and
said in a confident tone. "The banquet is being held at Ishizuka's Place, you know?"
""Did you just say Ishizuka's Place?!"" Augus and Febral gasped.
"You've heard of it? Augus, Febral?" Dece asked.
The two of them nodded eagerly.
"We haven't just heard of it—it's the talk of the town," said Augus. "There's a
restaurant with amazingly delicious food in the castle, they say."
"From what I've heard, it's a restaurant that King Souma and the Minister for the
Food Crisis, Mr. Poncho Panacotta, set up inside the castle," said Febral. "I hear it
was made to see if people in this country would be able to accept the dishes eaten
back in King Souma's old world."
"Yes, yes, yes, that's right!" For some reason, the receptionist was getting very
excited as she spoke. "There are various dishes there, but all of them are quick,
cheap, and tasty. It's the best. However, with it being inside the castle, and only open
at night, you can't eat at it unless you work there. Just once, when I accompanied the
guild chief to the castle, I had the opportunity to eat there... Slurp, the taste was
unforgettable."
When he saw the receptionist wipe the drool from the corner of her mouth with
an enraptured look on her face, Dece was weirded out. "Are you all right? You're
sure there're no weird ingredients in that food, right?"
"I'm sure it's probably fiiiine," said Julia. "It's food fit for a king, after all."
Juno tried asking Little Musashibo, who was underneath her, "You want to come,
too, Mr. Kigurumi? You took that quest, too, right?"
"..." ("Oh, no, not me..." he said, sticking his harms out in front of him and shaking
his head.)
"What? Come aloooong," pouted Juno. "If you don't, I'll pull you out from inside
there."
"..." ("N-No, stop, please!" he said, flailing his arms and legs around.)
Juno kept manhandling Little Musashibo. In the end, she forced him to promise
he would attend the banquet.
And so, on the evening of the banquet.
In the castle, an old wine cellar in the castle that was no longer in use had been
remodeled into something like an chain izakaya and given the name Ishizuka's Place.
It was here that the few dozen adventurers who had participated in the escort quest
were celebrating.
For this banquet, tables were lined up in the center with large plates of food that
everyone was free to take from. It was what would be called a buffet. The
adventurers ravenously swarmed around the unusual and delicious-looking dishes.
(Especially those using soy sauce and miso.)
It happened just when Juno's party, with Little Musashibo in tow, had finished
getting in line, securing all of the different dishes and alcoholic beverages they might
want, and returned to their seats.
Someone walked up to the podium opposite the entrance. It was a young girl who
wore a red military uniform and had medium-short hair.
When they saw that girl...
"Wha?! The princess?!" someone exclaimed in surprise.
There was an excited murmur that spread through the room. The one standing at
the podium was, without a doubt, Princess Liscia, the daughter of this country's
former king and the one betrothed to the current (provisional) king, Souma Kazuya.
Liscia bowed, then began to speak in a clear voice. "Adventurers, I welcome you
to Parnam Castle. I am King Souma's fiancee, Liscia Elfrieden. I am here to greet all of
you today, in place of Souma who is currently indisposed due to his heavy workload.
I would like to thank all of you for accepting the recent quest."
Liscia bowed once again.
Juno looked on, seeming deeply impressed. "That's a princess for you. She looks
about my age, but she feels so ladylike."
Little Musashibo blatantly averted his eyes when Juno gave that impression. That
was because he was hesitant to call the princess ladylike, given that she had, just
recently, been leading a massive force on the battlefield.
Liscia picked up a glass of wine. Lifting it up high she said, "Thanks to all of you,
many of our people were saved. On behalf of Souma, and all the people you saved, I
salute you. Now... Cheers!"
"""Cheers!"""
With that, the banquet began. The adventurers drank much wine, and smacked
their lips at tatsuta-age, spaghetti buns, fried seafood skewers, and many other
dishes not yet common in this country.
"This tatsuta-age stuff is great! I can't get enough beer with it!" Augus declared
enthusiastically, and Febral nodded in agreement.
"It seems they use the mystic wolves' soy sauce for it," said Febral. "It's very
good."
"The fried octopus skewers are good, too," said Julia. "Here, Dece. Say ahhh."
"Wait! Julia?! Are you drunk already?!" Dece exclaimed.
They each enjoyed themselves. Juno, whose eyes were already a little unfocused,
was wrapping herself around Little Musashibo. She was pushing a wooden mug full
of beer up against his cheek. "Come on, Mr. Kigurumi, you've gotta drink toooo."
"..." (Y-You're a bad drunk?!" he said, panicking.)
"If you won't drink, I'll give it to you mouth-to-mouth," Juno threatened.
"..." ("It will just stain the cloth, so please don't! I'll drink it myself, okay!")
Then Little Musashibo turned his back to Juno. When she was wondering what
was up, looking at him dubiously, suddenly a man's hand came out of the seam in his
back.
"Wuh?!" That shocking scene made Juno throw her head back in surprise. The
arm that grew out of Little Musashibo took the mug of beer from the dazed Juno
before slipping back inside Little Musashibo's body. Then, after some gulping sounds
from inside, the empty mug was expelled from his back.
"Whaa, what was that just now...?" Juno yelped.
Little Musashibo turned to face her and clapped a hand on her shoulder. "..." ("A
fantastical illusion." he said, nodding his head up and down.)
"Huh? But, just now I saw..."
"..." ("A fantastical illusion." Got it? He tilted his head to the side.)
All Juno could say at this point was, "Uh, sure."
From there on, with the occasional interruption for a fantastical illusion, the two
drank together.
As they did, Liscia kept peeking over and watching them.
Twenty minutes later.
"..." (Little Musashibo's body suddenly tilted over and he fell down on his back.)
Juno who was eating and drinking beside him, shouted out in surprise.
"Whoa, are you okay, mister?! Isn't it a bit early for you to pass out?!"
Juno shook his body, but Little Musashibo couldn't get up, it seemed. Then,
"Pardon me a moment," said an adult voice.
"Huh?" Juno asked.
When Juno looked up at the voice that suddenly called out to her, the young girl
in the military uniform was rushing over to Little Musashibo. It was Princess Liscia.
She was so surprised to have the princess suddenly call out to her that her mouth
bobbed open and closed in mute shock.
Liscia pressed her ear up against Little Musashibo's mouth.
"You're at your limit. Because of the alcohol. That makes sense." With those
words, Liscia sat Little Musashibo up. "I'll take care of this guy. You handle things
here."
"S-Sure..." Juno replied vacantly.
Liscia stared into Juno's face.
"Hm? ...Um... is there something on my face?" Juno asked.
"No, it's nothing," said Liscia. "Anyway, I hope you enjoy yourselves."
With that said, Liscia took Little Musashibo away.
Juno was at a loss for what to think, only able to watch their backs as they
departed.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Why did you push yourself so far to be able to participate?" Liscia demanded.
"Even going so far as to wear a kigurumi suit."
As they walked down the castle hallway, Little Musashibo borrowing Liscia's
shoulder for support, a male voice came from inside Little Musashibo. "Hey, can you
really blame me? Even I've got people I have to go out and socialize with."
"You say that, but they're not your associates, they're that doll's, right? Now
hurry up and get out of that thing. Nobody else can see you here."
When Liscia said that, the doll's back opened wide and Souma emerged, dripping
sweat. In addition to the heat of the kigurumi suit, he had alcohol in him, so his face
was pretty red. When he finished crawling out of Little Musashibo, Souma sat down
on the floor right there, exhausted.
Normally, Souma controlled Little Musashibo remotely with his ability, Living
Poltergeists, but today he'd to eat and drink, so he'd gotten inside it himself.
Liscia looked at him with exasperation, lending Souma shoulder to lean on.
"Look, if you're going to rest, don't do it here, do it in your bed in the governmental
affairs office. I'll have someone put away the doll later."
"Ahh, sorry," said Souma. "It'd be a big help if you could do that for me."
Souma leaned on Liscia for support as he walked on shaky legs.
"By the way, that girl, Juno?" Liscia asked as they headed to the governmental
affairs office. "She was pretty cute, huh?"
Souma looked away. "I haven't done anything with her that I should feel bad
about, okay?"
"Oh, I never said anything about that, did I?" Liscia asked.
Liscia was staring, while Souma couldn't meet her gaze.
If anyone had overheard, they might have sounded like an old married couple.