/
Beauty and the Beast
Earl Keeley’s house was quite the peculiar place. Overhead on its bejeweled walls hung mounts of stuffed animal heads and longbows, underfoot were carpets made out of pelts of various monsters. The house presented itself as if it were the den of a hunter.
RenĂ© felt it sufficed well as the house of an aristocrat, with the wild yet sincere vibe the place had, though she refrained from thinking too highly of the owner himself, who most likely had a few ‘quirks’ he ought to keep hidden.
“Welcome, Dragon’s Throat.”
Earl Keeley spoke, sitting opposite of the four-member party. The Earl, Oswald Mickle Keeley, was an old man in his late forties.
As a consequence of being a Lord, Earl Keeley was most certainly a trained Knight of the Order and during emergencies, he would certainly have to raise his sword and command an army in the name of his King, but the man had a delicate air. He seemed much more a mere civilian than a Lord. His short hair ran down in gentle streaks of well-trimmed and primmed orange, while his grey eyes shone brightly like gems, lightening his otherwise stiff expression.
To put the impression he gave off in one sentence, he’d be ‘one of those old, stubborn and inflexible officer types’.
While adventurers had at least some social status, to be called to the Earl’s mansion itself to receive quests was certainly a rare occurrence. It was clear this was common for the Earl to do as well as for Dragon’s Throat to accept these summons.
“Please, I could never refuse a request by the Earl himself.”
Benedict grabbed his own, large paws and smiled with all his teeth bared. His tail, popping out from behind his pants, swished and swashed on the sofa like a hairy mop.
He wore a ragged, old t-shirt with no sleeves, most likely because his fur prevented the cold from affecting him much.
Oswald nodded, satisfied with the current state they were in, and began his talk of work.
“I’ve already spoken of this with Benedict, but I would like to take this chance to explain this quest to all of you once more.


For quite some time now, I have started operations to expel Night Python from my realm. Upon reaching the final stages of my plans, I understand they will launch a counterattack, or perhaps seek to take vengeance upon me. That is why I ask you, Dragon’s Throat, to protect me, and my daughter Catharine. The quest will officially start from next week. I do not know the exact duration of the quest, but I do expect it to be within the range of two to four weeks. You all will receive your rewards on a daily basis during that period.”
“Lord Earl, may I?”
Clad in full body armour even in a place such as this, Hugh raised his arm.
He had left his sword and shield behind, however.
“Please.”
“I would, um, like to request that we be informed of the status of the Night Python Expulsion Campaign, both current and future situations. If we do not fully understand the situation, we would be unable to do our work properly.”
Hugh’s true intentions were, in this case, to find out whether or not they were in over their heads with this matter.
Oswald paused to think, then answered.
“Night Python has embedded themselves deeply in my realm, raising bases in the bigger cities
 Well, they’re more like hideouts. Hideouts, yes. We have already found out where those are. Beyond that, we are well-equipped to capture all of their prostitutes and sellers of illegal drugs at a moment’s notice. If we are only able to apprehend their key executives, we can slowly crush their source of funds within my realm, thus impairing their activities.”
“Um, Lord Earl,” Iris (RenĂ©) spoke, much to the surprise of all others present.
Iris was the type to never speak during negotiations, so there was a tad bit of worry about whether or not she would look unnatural, but nevertheless, it was a question that she must ask.
“Do you know where the Night Python boss is? Can you arrest him?”
Of course, this was related to René’s true intentions.
Once she formed her contract with Miriam, René had wandered for quite some time in search of word on Night Python.
The first order of business was to obviously check the place where Miriam had worked. A spirit can travel a thousand miles in one night. To her, traveling to the other side of the country was quite easy.
There, she listened for days on end, but there appeared to be none who truly knew anything about the boss.
René considered for a good while if she ought to start torturing everyone, making her way up to the superiors, slowly peeling away their skin as they divulged what they knew, but she decided to refrain. She had already pretended to be defeated by the Order of Knights. They still ought to be under the impression that she had lost her life. If she were to suddenly wreak havoc anywhere at all, they may be alerted to her presence, which would be quite the troublesome situation. On top of that, if her target took that chance to go further into hiding, there was very little she could do.
She would get her chance to rampage through the streets again once she had achieved her current goal. It could wait. And while pondering on how she would advance her investigation, she caught wind of talks of an Earl planning to mount a campaign to expel Night Python from his realm.
And when she traveled all the way to that realm, she chanced upon the most delicious of coincidences and the tastiest of conveniences, bearing the name of Dragon’s Throat.
――Well, as long as I’m in this kinda position, it should be pretty easy to ask the Earl about things related to the campaign and whatnot. I need to use this Earl and Dragon’s Throat well, know as much as I can about Night Python. Of course, anything about the current state of affairs would be much appreciated. If he can tell me where the boss is, this’ll be a piece of cake.
“

If by that, you mean the Head of Night Python, then I’m afraid even I am unaware of his whereabouts. Of course, it would be most surprising and most unlikely for him to even have stay within my realm, and even if he did, I would be unable to touch him. If possible, I would love to have the heads of those key executives running their business in my realm, but
. To be honest, I have no idea where even they are. Well, no matter. My goal is to put a stop to their nefarious business in my realm. Catching the boss unnecessary for that.”
Right. Wholesalers don’t wholesale.
Iris (René) felt quite the disappointment, but there was no one else willing to fight Night Python other than Oswald under these circumstances. To put him to use somehow would be the shortest way to victory.
――Would’ve been perfect if I could find that boss’ lover and possess them. But if they’re not female, my magic output would drop by a lot. On top of that, these people are like the underground mafia, their defenses should be airtight. One mistake and I might even have to say goodbye to ever fulfilling this contract. I want time to look at the country’s state of affairs too, so I guess putting a squeeze on them slowly is all I can do for now.
“Lord Earl, I have something to ask as well. Is it true that you wish for Iris to act as a body double for Miss Catharine? Could I ask to hear more on this matter?”
Of course, Diana acted to confirm Iris’ safety.
“Hmm. I was thinking of discussing that right now. Anyway, it is not as if I want Iris to pretend to be my daughter and jump headfirst into danger, nor do I intend for her to be a decoy.”
Well, for RenĂ©, jumping headfirst into danger would’ve been the fastest way to gather information, but it seemed that was not meant to be.
“I simply wish for her to be with Catharine at all times. My phrasing was dubious, I understand, but it is simply a mechanism to cause hesitation in the enemy before they try their hand at assassination――”
Just before Oswald could finish, the doors slammed open.
“Benedict!”
A well-dressed girl jumped into the office room.
Her physical appearance looked to be the same as Iris. While her long, glossy hair matched the soft orange of her father’s, her eyes were a mismatched pairing of ash and red. She wore a red dress that looked like it was woven with numerous, interconnected red ribbons.
She ran around the sofa and jumped into Benedict’s arms.
“You’re hereăƒŒ!”
“Gh- My young lady, please.”
His begging helped him little as the young girl floofed his big and furry body as one would a giant dog.
This was Catharine Margatera Keeley. Iris’ escort target.
Before he was an adventurer, Benedict worked as a family bodyguard for the Earl.
And ever since then, Catharine had taken a liking to him, a liking that persisted to present day.
“Catharine. Manners.”
“Oka~y, father.”
After being reprimanded slightly by her father, Catharine crept away from Benedict.
RenĂ© knew of her appearance via what parts of Iris’ memories she could salvage, but this was the first time RenĂ© saw her in person.
She gave the impression of a little bit spoilt, little bit willful young girl. Whenever her eyes went to Iris, they seemed to thin, her face turning into a scowl.
“
Father, are we really going to do it?”
“Yes. It is for your safety.”
“Hmph.”
“My lady, please listen to what your father, Lord Earl, is saying. He is thinking of your safety first and foremost.”
Catharine stared daggers at Iris for a good moment, then slung her finger at her.
“Listen good, okay? You’re pretending to be my body double, so make sure you act as I would, with grace and finesse! If you dare display any vulgarity whilst donning my name and appearance, I will-!”
“Catharine, stop. It is rude to point at people.”
Having concluded their talks, the party of four made their way through the castle corridor, to the room they had been alloted to stay for the duration of their quest.
“Ya know, sometimes, I think the young lady sees me more as a puppy than a man.”
“You better turn that thinking around, pal. She does actually think you’re her pet puppy, definitely not a guy.”
Benedict looked down with a silent whimper and started patting his furry tail.
“Anyway, is it just me, or does the young lady really not like Iris since, uh, forever?”
When Hugh posed the question, Benedict looked up from the stone-cut cold floor.
“The young lady’s, ya know, how do I put it lightly? A sore loser
. On toppa that, she didn’t inherit any magical prowess from her mother, so it’s a sore spot our Iris is hitting.”
“Ah, so it’s because Iris is a mage?”
“A genius at that too.”
On the other hand, René only thought of her as a puppy barking at a tree, to the point she thought the little girl was quite adorable.
In any case, the worries of some young girl mattered little to her.
“She’s getting her life saved by our Iris, should be a tad bit more grateful.”
Diana shook her head as she let out an exasperated sigh.
While she was quite friendly with children, if it ever came down to it, she prioritized Iris above all others.
“It doesn’t matter if Cathy hates me lr not, you know. I can’t leave her be, it’s just that kind of quest.”
“You’re
 you’re not wrong, yes
”
Diana seemed to still be a bit wary, so RenĂ© decided to use Iris’ lips to assuage her, even if a little.
Anyway, she had to look into Night Python’s boss in the middle of her quest as a member of Dragon’s Throat.
――I’ll put you all to good use, my dear, jolly friends

The slight smile RenĂ© let out show on Iris’ face, went unnoticed by the others.
Translator : Fried Hedgehog