Chapter 175 – It was received well!

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“To this new journey for our comrades, cheers!”

The tigerfolk banquet had begun in the dining hall of the inn.

The tables were covered in delicacies and drinks.

Beyron addressed everyone in the hall.

“We will be opening all of the barrels of ale that we’ve been saving! Drink up, everyone!”

The tigerfolk raised their cups into the air in reply.

Such was the banquet that we had been invited to.

“Come on, drink.”
“Uh, thank you.”

I held up my cup as Neia filled it with a grumpy expression.

Upon seeing this, Beyron muttered,

“Hey, Neia. You won’t win Joshua over like that.”
“…I prefer a strong man! Not someone like him!”

Neia said with a look of embarrassment. Iria gave her an icy glare.

“Ms. Neia. I’ll have you know that Sir Joshua is very strong.”

Neia shuddered.

“Iria… I appreciate the thought, but this is a feast.”

I made her calm down and turned to Neia.

“By the way, Neia. There is something that I wanted to share with everyone here.”
“Huh? But you are just guests. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“No, I would be very happy if you all ate it.”
“If you insist… Ah, I know! You are trying to make us buy something, aren’t you!”
“You really are quick to suspect others… In any case, I’ll need to borrow a plate.”

I got up from my seat and headed to the back, where there was a cart with stacks of plates.

And then I took out the thing I had made in magic workshop, and placed one on a plate.

It was freshly baked bread. The smell spread out, as if I had just opened an oven.

Neia’s eyes widened.

“What a nostalgic scent… What is it?”

Eventually, the other tigerfolk began to show an interest as well.

And so I served the bread on the plates and had Iria and the others distribute them to the tigerfolk.

Once they were done, I took some over to Beyron as well.

I wasn’t sure if everyone was suspicious of poison, or they were just surprised by the smell.
Regardless, none of them had taken a bite.

Beyron looked at me and said,

“You… Could this be…”
“Aye. It was made from the Grank wheat that you gave us.”

I answered, and Beyron burst into laughter.

“Hey, hey. As if it could have grown that quickly!”
“If you don’t believe me, take a bite. There is no poison inside.”

But though the others had not touched their bread, Melk was eating hers ravenously.

“It’s delicious. You eat some too, Riise.”
“Really? Okay!”

And then Riise took a bite.

“It is! It’s so soft…and sweet! Is there honey inside?”

I shook my head.

“No, it’s just wheat.”
“So it’s sweet even without honey… How strange.”

Riise continued to take bites. Clearly it was nothing more than delicious bread.

Eventually, the other tigerfolk picked up their bread as well.

And they must have liked it, as they devoured the bread in no time.

Except for Neia, who ate slowly as if to savor the taste.

“This…taste is…”

Before I knew it, Neia’s eyes had welled up with tears.

Some of the others were also shedding tears and seemed to be thinking of old times.

I suppose they were all people who had eaten Grank wheat before.

There were very few elderly folk in the Grank Mercenaries now. Beyron was in his forties, and was one of the older ones. It was like this with other demihumans as well. It was the result of being driven from your homeland and living in harsh environments.

“…It was you people who gave us the wheat. So I really wanted you to eat it.”

I said, and then placed a bag in front of Beyron. It contained the same amount of Grank grains that Beyron had once given to us

Beyron looked at it and laughed.

“You…are quite the strategist. Now everyone will want to join the Fendel Alliance.”
“That wasn’t my intention…”
“We will accept it gladly… I suppose I will have to hurry now.”

Beyron muttered to himself as he accepted the bag.

“Hey, Riise. Do you want to eat another one?”
“You’re not going to eat it, father?”
“I’m already full.”
“But it is so delicious. Joshua. I would like to eat this again!”

Riise said as she sat on Beyron’s lap and held her bread.

“Of course. I’ll prepare a lot more next time.”
“Yes! I can’t wait!”

Answered Riise, and then Beyron looked a little sad as he said,

“Riise… You can go too, if you want?”
“No. I want to go with you, father. You and older sister need me. Or you will start fighting again.”

Upon hearing this, Melk muttered,

“Riise is like their mother.”
“Yes! So if they do anything bad, I will scold them!”

Beyron scratched his head.

“Well, that will certainly keep me in line.”
“Yes! Because I will always be close by.”

Riisee said, and then she buried her face in Beyron’s chest.

“Riise… Aye.”

Beyron hugged her tightly.

Neia watched this with a smile on her face.

And like this, the feast ended as a great success

But for the tigergolk, this was not goodbye.
The tigerfolk that would be returning to Fendel with us were more like an advance party for the Grank Mercenaries. They would set up a place for the others to live.

And so Beyron would surely come to Fendel one day as well.

That night, we also stayed at the inn. So on the following morning, we could leave the royal capital with the tigerfolk.

As it was a luxury inn, it was quite impressive.
The rooms and bathing area were incredibly fancy.

I was currently alone on the top floor, and using the bathing room.

“It really didn’t have to be me alone…”

Iria and the women were using the room next to mine.
But as I was the only man in the group, I was often alone like this.

“Well, I have you Wiz… Alright, I’ll wash you up now.”

I sat down on a chair and used a horsehair brush and soap to clean Wiz.

I then picked up a bucket and filled it with the hot water that poured from a hole in the wall, and used it to rinse off Wiz.

After that, I just needed to wash my hair and soak in the water… Or so I thought.

But I heard the sound of the door opening.

Beyron also stayed on this floor.
So I assumed it was him as I washed my hair.

“Thank you for letting me stay here. This place is amazing.”
“Well, it was one of the best inns in the whole city.”
“I see… Huh?”

It wasn’t Beyron’s voice.

I turned to look, and my eyes widened.

“Ne-Neia!?”

A beautiful human woman with brown skin and long golden hair… Neia. And she was walking towards me without a shred of clothing on.

She had an athletic physique and ample chest… I averted my eyes.

“Why are you here?”
“…I thought I would help you wash up. I couldn’t think of any other way to repay you.”

Was she joking?
I would hardly be able to stay calm.
And if Iria saw us…

“No, I am fine. I just have to rinse off my hair and…!?”

Neia ignored my words and embraced me from behind. I could feel something soft press against my back.

“Uh, I thought you were going to wash me?”
“If you are king in Fendel… Then your child will be next in line.”

Neia breathed into my ear.
Her finger then drew a line along my chest.

“I think you are misunderstanding something, I am no king! In Fendel…”
“Argh, you… You really talk too much! In spite of it all, I’m in the mood! So just shut up and act like a man-meow!”
“Ne-Neia? Mmm…”

Neia had forced her lips onto mine.

“Bah… Now, Neia. Calm down a little!”

I said as I pulled away.

“Meow… Am I really so lacking in appeal?”

She was usually so serious, but looked sad now. Her almond-shaped eyes were glazy.

“I-I wouldn’t say that!
“Meow. Then why don’t we… Meow!?”
“Huh? Oh.”

I turned to see what Neia was looking at and froze.

Out of nowhere, the ‘Oni’ was soaking in the hot water.

As my consciousness began to fade, I heard the Oni speak.

“Good evening, Ms. Neia.”
“Meow, why are you… When did…”

This Oni really did seem to always appear out of nowhere.
Just like Iria was… No, recently, it really was… Huh?

“Well, well, please calm down. I am not here to devour the cat thief. However, Ms. Neia. There are rules within our alliance. Though, as this is a special day, you will be allowed to stay.”

Right before I lost consciousness completely, I felt Neia and the Oni embrace me. After that, I experienced what it must be like to be in heaven… Or so I thought.

Regardless, when I came to, I was lying on a bed in my room.

“…Huh?”

While I felt as if I had had a pleasant dream, I could not remember anything about it.

“Good morning, Sir Joshua.”
“…Aye, morning. Iria… Was I with Neia last night?”
“Hehe. Indeed, quite late into the night.”
“Oh? Really?”

I asked, and Iria looked puzzled.

“Oh, dear. But we were talking and having so much fun.”
“S-sorry… Sometimes, my memory fails me.”
“It happens to all of us, so don’t worry. Ms. Neia said that she would visit us again one day.”
“I see… That’s good.”

Beyron had also promised to come to Fendel one day.
And so we and the tigerfolk would have to prepare to welcome them.

Iria smiled and said,

“In any case, let us return to the village. Everyone is waiting for us.”
“Aye… Let’s go back.”

And like that, we started our journey back to Fendel Village.

From the royal city, we could hear the sounds of the people shouting as they saw us off. And their voices echoed until we were out of sight.

Next Chapter

Seisan Mahoushi no Rakuraku Henkyou Kaitaku - Saikyou no Ajintachi to Howaito Kokka wo Kizukimasu!