But Ar-niisama still hadnât removed his hands from my face.
âThis isâŠ?!â
âFor some reason, it appeared after a mutant Giant Rat was defeated.â
âA Giant Rat?â
âPerhaps⊠When I dropped the ring outside the village, the Giant Rat ate it. The ring received a little bit of divine magic, so it is possible.â
I heard about it from Amanda-san before. In the case where one wanted to apply a defensive power on their equipment, other than having an enchanter like Georg-san endow the equipment with a magical circle, there were other ways to endow divine protection on it.
Rather than engraving a magical circle on an equipment, it would be easier and cheaper to have someone possessing a magical power to endow divine protection on it, and it seemed a lot of people did it for their wedding ring just like Carl-sanâs.
It seemed like monsters didnât only eat living creatures, they also ate things that possessed magic, and that was why Carl-sanâs ring was eaten.
âIs that when you went out of the village with Tania?â
âYou knew?â
âItâs a small village. Of course Iâd know! As I guessed, you and that womanââ
âLike I said, itâs a misunderstanding, Mary. I did go out of the village with Tania, but it was in order to visit a grave.â
Hee. The gravesite was located outside the village.
Certainly, the graveyardâwhere the Undeads appeared in the gameâwas located slightly distant from the village.
Such kind of thing was the same as how it was in Elysia Online, huh?
âVisiting the grave?â
âYeah. There is a hill where we could take a look down towards the village a short distance away from the village, right? We went to Thorâs grave there. I put a fragment of Thorâs axe in his gravesite, simply to satisfy myself.â
ââŠI didnât know.â
The Monster King during the previous Monster Flood was an Undead. According to the story I heard a bit from Ar-niisama, the people who were defeated by the Monster King in the battle turned into Undead themselves and attacked the others, so maybe, Thor-san alsoâŠ
âI thought I had to say this sooner or later, but I didnât marry you just because the Monster Flood was occurring and there wasnât the time to look for anyone else. Thatâs why you didnât have to worry about anything.â
âI⊠Sorry, Carl. I had always loved you, so⊠When I heard that you were looking for a marriage partner, I thought that⊠Since anyone would be fine, then I would be fine, right? Thatâs why I told your father that Iâd like to marry you, Carl.â
âIs that so? âŠSorry, I didnât realize it. I thought that you had always loved my older brother for sure. Thatâs why you must have been reluctant to marry meâŠâ
It seemed that Carl-san was chubby back then, and all the women preferred his older brother who was popular.
âGive me a break, Iâm not such a woman. I donât like someone whoâs too friendly to all the women in the village. I like your kindness and I feel healed by being with you, Carl!â
âMaryâŠâ
âAh~. Cough. I wonder if you guys still remember that there are other people around you? And we also have a young girl over here.â
It felt like Frank-sanâs words and his purposeful cough made the two become separated from each other.
When Ar-niisamaâs hands that were covering my eyes finally went away, Carl-san and Mary-san were bright redâŠ
Yup. Being lovey dovey is sure nice, isnât it?!
âMary. Will you please insert this ring once more?â
âOf course, Carl.â
The two of them stared at each other with blushing cheeks.
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And as their faces gradually drew nearâ
Eh. Why are you covering my eyes again, Ar-niisama?!
âYes, yes. Save that kind of thing for later~â
I heard Amanda-sanâs voice along with the sound of hands clapping, and Ar-niisamaâs hands left my face.
Geez, I thought as I looked up at Ar-niisama, but he then patted my head.
Y-you wouldnât be able to gloss over it with just this, okay?
âAh, sorry. âŠEven so, Iâd like to express my gratitude to everyone no matter whatâŠâ
âCarl. What about giving them todayâs lodging as a service?â
âOf course Iâm also thinking about that, but that alone wonât be enough. I received a help not only to make up with you, but also in defeating the Armored Insect⊠Thatâs right.â
âCome with me to the inn,â said Carl-san as we followed him along. Then, he took out something from behind the axes that were Thor-sanâs memento that decorated the wall.
Eh. Wait a bit!
Isnât that⊠a key?!
âIf youâd like it, Iâll be giving you this. There is a dungeon called as [The Cavern of Ordeal] near this village where there wonât be that many strong monsters appearing, but this is apparently the key to enter a hidden room in it. Itâs an item that I received from Thor with the hope that weâd be going there together once I become an adventurer and be able to fight, but Iâd always be staying here making a living with the inn together with Mary, so itâs not something I can use anymore.â
Carl-san looked at the key with a very nostalgic expression before he handed the key over to Frank-san.
Eh, butâŠ
If I remember it correctly, [The Cavern of Ordeal] is a dungeon thatâs located near the Initial Village. In other words, this Graham Village is the Initial Village that one visits in the very beginning of the Elysia Online?!
âThor said that apparently, there would be a treasure chest in the hidden room thatâs guarded, but the guard isnât that strong, so itâs just perfect as a test of strength.â
Yup, yup. Certainly, there was a boss deep inside the dungeon.
It was a monster in the form of a black, murky beast from the canine family⊠what was it? Eehh, thatâs right. Mad Dog would show up there.
The guild master, Cecilia-san, helped me in defeating it and it was an instant kill, thoughâŠ
I looked at the faces of the people around me.
Ar-niisama, Amanda-san, Frank-san, and Virna-san. And then there was also Karin-san who wasnât here.
âŠYup. Weâd definitely be able to defeat it in an instant.