I came to the âWar Maidenâ party house to return the carriage before going shopping. I parked the carriage in the grounds of the house and knocked on the front door, and immediately I heard an indifferent voice from inside.
âHmm, who is there?â
âIâm Gray. Iâm here to return the carriage. Is Emilia or Kasha here?â
âHo-ho-ho.â
When I reply, the door opens and Harsalia peeks out from inside.
âWelcome. I think the leader and Kasha are probably in the room. Do you want me to go get them?â
âYes, please.â
âOkay. Then wait in the conference room.â
He was invited by Harsalia and passed by other members of the âWar Maidensâ several times while moving to the conference room.
âOh, youâre Gray. Welcome, well, take your time.â
âUgh, thatâs Gray⊠whatâs he doing here?â
â⊠(looks away)â
As usual, the reactions were varied, and I imagine that the members from the early days of the âWar Maidensâ are more frank with me.
There used to be some people who were hostile towards me⊠but at some point, I stopped seeing them. And no one wants to talk about the details.
As I sit down in the conference room and wait for a suitable seat, Emilia enters with tea and pastries.
âThank you for waiting, Gray.â
âOh, Iâm sorry, I didnât mean to bother you.â
Emilia takes a seat opposite me as I accept the tea and thank her.
âI wasnât worried at all, but by the looks of it, it went well.â
âYeah, so I came here today to return the carriage I borrowedâŠâ
âWhatâs the matter? Youâre unusually articulate.â
âActuallyâŠâ
I told her the truth about everything that had happened near the Storia border. I told her about Zanis, the children, the holy knights, and how on my way back I was attacked by bandits who damaged the carriage.
While we were talking, Kasha and Harsalia, who declared that they had come to eat sweets, also came to the conference room to listen to what we had to say.
âThatâs what I mean. Iâm sorryâŠâ
âA holy knight⊠from what Iâve heard, he seems to have good skill. I wonder if heâs stronger than the holy knight who fought the other day.â
Kasha said after taking a sip of her tea.
âThe other dayâŠthe one where he was castrated before he died?â
Harsalia, who was lying prone on the table, eating sweets, joins the conversation.
âWait, Haru,youâre not behaving yourself. What? Castration?â
Kasha was surprised by Harsaliaâs words and asked her what she thought she heard. Emilia also froze with a cup of tea in her hand.
âYeah. GrayâŠ.â
âWait. Weâre getting off track here.â
I did try to cut that sex offender Londi from below because he declared that he was going to get his hands on Ariamel.
Well, the one who actually did it was Halsaria.
âI donât know exactly because I didnât fight that holy knight. He was obviously a different type than Londi.â
Londi was the type of fighter who would push with power and aggression. It was a rapid-fire weapon that Sklad had at his waist, and he would not fight in the same way that Londi did.
I donât know anyone like Meyer.
âUh, oh, yeah. By the way, Gray. The carriage we lent you got scratched, didnât it?â
Kasha was not very interested, or perhaps she reacted appropriately and blatantly changed the subject. Well, I originally came here to talk about the return of the carriage and the scratches on it.
By the way, Emilia is still frozen in place.
âOh. And about the repair costsâŠâ
âI donât want it.â
âNo, butâŠâ
I have a bad feeling. And just for this hunchâŠ
âI donât want the money.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âYouâre going to pay back with your body and soul.â
âKa⊠Kakaka, Kasha?!â
Emilia suddenly let out a hoarse voice and was shaken.
ââŠI understand. Just donât make it too time-consuming because of the kids.â
âI know, I know. I just need you to help me with something next time. Iâll let you know the details later.â
âWhat⊠thatâs what you meant.â
Emilia looks relieved. I wonder what she thinks she meant.
âOh. Call me anytime.â
âYeah.â
Kasha nodded. The look on her face was one I had seen a few times in the past, when she was up to something.
âŠIâm really okay, right?
âWowâŠKasha, you look bad.â
With that, Harsalia tossed the last of the candy into her mouth.
After that, I left the âWar Maidenâ party house with Emilia and the others seeing me off.
âŠNow that I think about it, I had already told her before we rented the carriage that I would help her if she needed anything. I donât think Kasha forgot thatâŠI have a bad feeling about this.
Itâs enough for the childrenâs cheeks to swellâŠ