I'm not just a kept elf

Karina-oneesan was apparently feeling unwell.

So much so that she couldn't even join us for dinner…

"Is Onee-san going to be okay?"

"Yeah. Ain't nothin' wrong with her, really. She'll be fine if she sleeps it off, so don't worry about it."

Mashiro-san said that while eating her stew. She'd been the one looking after Onee-san, but I was still a little worried.

Should I go visit her to check on her?

"Please wait, Dea-sama. It might be better if you didn't visit her."

"Eh, is she that sick!?"

"… Ah, um. She'll recover with rest. Her life isn't in danger, but in a way… yes."

"Aishia's right. That one might just be terminally stupid, though."

"It's an illness of the head!? Isn't that a serious condition!?"

When I reflexively stood up, Arthur gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"Nah, Dea-kun-chan. Sis prolly just did somethin' stupid and brought this on herself, ya know?"

Arthur had become completely comfortable using his word cards, wielding them as naturally as speaking aloud.

Seeing how he even added his own words when there weren't enough, he'd really mastered human language.

"Eh. Oh… Is that what you mean?"

"Yeah. Arthur gets it better than you, huh. As expected of a dragon."

"Nah, Dea-kun-chan's just too pure, is all. Must protecc…!!"

Hmm, I feel like I'm being treated like a child…?

"Well, just take it easy for two or three days. Not like we're in any rush on this journey."

"This journey is supposedly meant to save the world, though… But they do say haste makes waste. I have no objections to waiting until Onee-san is fully recovered."

Well, that aside, I should still pay her a visit.

It should be fine since her life isn't in danger, right?

 

*

 

If I'm going to visit Onee-san, maybe I should find something tasty in the town of Akahagane to bring her. An interesting Magic Tool might work too.

Since she tamed a slime, something related to that could be nice.

Oh, I know! How about going ahead and gathering information about the Divine Artifact!

Aishia-san said she'd be looking after Onee-san, so me gathering information in the meantime would be a good move, right?

"Oh, in that case, I'll tag along, Dea-kun."

"Are you sure, Arthur?"

Having Arthur the dragon accompany me would be reassuring.

"If Sis found out we let ya go out alone, she'd get mad at us."

"Ahaha. I'm not a child, you know."

"Not bein' treated like a kid would be more trouble, ya know? Ya wanna get confessed to left and right again?"

Oh, right. To dwarves, I apparently look like an incredible beauty… That was proven back at Aishia-san's village, and even when we checked into the inn, I did catch some slightly suspicious glances…

… When I think about it, I should probably go out dressed as a boy. Yeah.

As a boy, I'll just get treated as a beardless child, but that's better than being surrounded by dwarf men.

"Shall we head out, then?"

"Yeah!"

After changing clothes, I headed out into town. I had my gun equipped for self-defense.

Leaving the base brought us to our inn room. Leaving the inn brought us to the dwarven town of Akahagane.

"Gotta mark our scent so we don't get lost!"

Arthur said this while rubbing his body against the corner of a building.

I won't mention that for a moment I thought he was going to lift his leg like a dog.

"Now then, when it comes to information, taverns are the place to go, but…"

"This is a dwarf town, after all. Taverns exist but also kinda don't."

"Since every regular eatery is basically a tavern here."

Aishia-san would know more about this and could probably investigate more efficiently.

After all, Aishia-san is a half-dwarf bard. It wouldn't be wrong to call this country her home turf.

"Shall we look for a Magic Tool shop?"

"Ooh, sounds good. We could even sell one of my scales and make some spendin' money. I'll give ya one."

"Thanks, Arthur. But I do have some money of my own."

I've earned a decent amount from selling Magic Tools to Onee-san and getting paid for helping out.

… I'm not just a kept elf, after all!