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Well, she probably didn’t mind anything as long as it was edible. She was a gluttonous beauty. But it was one of the things I liked about her. Now, to finish my own dinner. I stretched out a hand toward the table and froze.

 

“Uh, Daniela.”

“Mmm…gg..g…what?”

“Where’s my food?”

“Hm? You know where it is.”

“Huh? Where?”

“Here, in my stomach.”

“…”

 

Okay, I take it back. As far as being a gluttonous beauty, there was a lot of room for improvement.

 

After that, I ate the fish I had bought for myself and then we decided to go to the baths together. I had asked the person at the counter while Daniela was still sleeping, and was told that there was a public bath a short walk from the inn. It also wasn’t a mixed bath, so my safety was insured.

 

“Alright, see you later.”

“Aye.”

 

 We separated at the doors and I went into the men’s bath. Because of the time, there were many customers here… Some looked like merchants and others Adventurers. There was a wide range of races as well. A mens festival, if you will… And so I took off my clothes to join them. It seemed a little risky to just toss my stuff into a basket, but then I saw that there was a guard standing watch. Still, I wasn’t quite comfortable with it… But no one else seemed to care. I guess I’d just have to get used to it.

 

I grabbed a towel and opened the door to an area full of heat, steam and older men. As those were not of particular interest to me, I quickly went about washing the wind dragon blood from my skin. If only I could use magic like Lauria. I thought wistfully, when an old man sat down next to me. I glanced at him while moving away in annoyance, but was then hit by a shocking realization. It was the strong-looking guard!

 

“It-it’s you!”

“Hm? Ah, you!”

 

He looked down at me with a happy expression.

 

“So you’ve come back then.”

“Aye. My job is done now. I’m very grateful to you. It’s because you defeated the boss in Nicora that I was able to come back.”

 

He said as he offered his hand.

 

“I’m Tames. Tell me your name.”

“It’s Asagi. Welcome back.”

“Asagi! Thank you!”

 

We shook hands in celebration. After that, we finished washing up and soaked in the baths and talked about the fight.

 

“I see…the dragon…you must be very strong…”

“It was just by chance.”

“But you took its head in one…oh, never mind.”

“By the way, what happened to the others?”

 

There were three of them. The fast one and the smart one.

 

“Ah, Sevan…the one who was blocking your path when we first met. He’s returned to the imperial capital to make a report.”

“The capital?”

“Hm? Ah, did I not tell you? We work for the army. Well, in intelligence, any way.”

 

Intelligence? Doesn’t that mean you work in secret? Should you be telling me this?

 

“I am sure that it is fine. But as you and Daniela defeated Eve, you may be monitored for a while. It’ll make things a lot simpler if you already knew what was happening, should you catch any of them. Don’t you think?”

“I see… I guess they’ll be wondering whether or not we’ll be a threat to the empire?”

“Something like that.”

 

The empire wasn’t stupid. You killed Eve and freed Nicora. Hurrah! We can have peace now. That wouldn’t do, and it would only be a matter of time before someone took Eve’s place. They would have to find someone capable of governing the town. It would be a race against time, I think.

 

“Wasn’t there also another one? What happened to him?”

“Ahh…him. Weland was taken by a bandit’s arrow when we were fleeing.”

“…I’m sorry.”

 

I wanted to talk with him, but this was the kind of cruel thing that could not be avoided on a battlefield.

We finished our bath without talking much after that.

 

“Asagi, I’ll be returning to the capital as well. But if you ever find yourself there, let me know. I will do what I can to help.”

“Thank you, Mister Tames.”

“It’s nothing! Goodbye!”

 

He put on his clothes and casually raised his hand before leaving. We would be going to the capital eventually, and so I made a mental note about visiting him before leaving the changing room. 

Daniela was already waiting for me. And like that, we took a midnight walk through Usk and returned to the inn for a long night of sleep.

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