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“My father is like the sea. Vast and free. It is not my intention to tie him up and drag him home. Besides, his business is still going quite well.”

“So, why?”

“I cannot tell you the details. But there is a danger that threatens Berneze, the floating city. That is all that I can say. My father is necessary if we want to deal with this danger.”

“Does this have something to do with those assassins earlier?”

“Very sharp. Exactly.”

Upon hearing this, Eve replied angrily.

“It’s not sharp at all. You put my master in danger. The least you can do is explain the situation to us.”

And so I remonstrated Eve.

“Everyone has a secret or two that they cannot tell others. And while we were attacked, it is also true that she helped us. I see no reason that I shouldn’t return the favor.”

“In other words, you’ll come with me to the labyrinth?”

Ryoma’s face lit up.

“Aye, I will help you. However, once we return, I would like to talk to you about trade.”

“That is a very welcome demand. The help of a Demon King like you is worth a thousand men. Besides, you seem to be expanding rapidly now. I have no complaints in regards to you being a business partner.”

Ryoma said as she offered her right hand.

She wanted to shake on it.

And so I accepted her hand and shook it firmly.

While she was very strong, her hand was delicate and soft.

I looked at the rest of her.

Her clothing left little to the imagination.

And she was much more shapely than most elves.

That brought memories of the scene by the lake, but thankfully, she did not recognize me as the stranger.

And it was best that it remained that way.

It was with that thought that we returned to the carriage.

I needed to do something about Jeanne’s drunkenness if we were to go into the labyrinth. And it was also becoming dark.

And we had no reason to stay up all night. I wasn’t some struggling author.

And so I returned to the carriage and slept.

Ryoma returned to her own carriage and brought it next to ours.

And then she too slept for the night.

While I was a Demon King and she a merchant, Ryoma’s carriage was much more luxurious than mine.

This daughter of Sakamoto Ryoma seemed quite powerful.

I muttered this to Eve before falling asleep.

However, I awoke in the middle of the night. Perhaps the drink had made my sleep lighter.

Since I felt the urge to relieve my bladder, I went to the shadow of a tree. However, there was someone already there.

It was Ryoma.

She looked at me and joked, ‘Well, we can do it together.’

It was a reference to the Sengoku era, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu would stand side by side. But I wasn’t either of them, and so I refused.

Of course, she was only joking.

“Besides, I am a woman. I would not do something so vulgar.”

She turned away.

And when she did, I saw that her eyes were wet. But I didn’t say anything.

I also didn’t say anything about how she had been shouting the names of her parents in her sleep.

While she seemed strong, perhaps her heart was much more sensitive.

But none of these thoughts were meant to leave my lips.

And so I finished my business alone, under the moon, and went back to sleep.

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