Greeting the village chief

"Welcome, Priestess Princess. Thank you for traveling such a great distance to visit us."

After Youki came back, she guided us to meet the village chief. At first he flinched at having Arthur with us, shrunken or not, since a Thunder Dragon is still a Thunder Dragon. But he quickly collected himself and offered a proper greeting.

A muscular adult man with two horns on his forehead, as expected. He bowed his head smoothly and neatly, but even then, his head was still slightly above my eye level.

"… (whisper whisper)"

"Hm-hmm. Mm-hmm… The Priestess Princess says you may dispense with the formalities!"

Dea-kun whispered into my ear, and I spoke.

We did it this way because Dea-kun looked uncomfortable about having to lie.

Basically, Dea-kun suggested to me, "Should we tell them to dispense with the formalities?" I heard that and relayed it just like that.

I call it the "It's Not a Lie If I'm the One Who Said It Strategy"!

Dea-kun thinks I'm the Priestess Princess, so when I say it, it counts as the Priestess Princess's words.

Youki-chan and the others think Dea-kun is the Priestess Princess, so they'll take it as Dea-kun's words relayed through me. It works either way.

A compromise that satisfies both parties.

For the record, I'm in the "Dea-kun is the Priestess Princess" camp. I mean, he's a priestess and a princess, so he'd definitely be cute as one. It fits Dea-kun perfectly. Right?

"You must be tired from your long journey, Priestess Princess. Please wait just a moment. We are preparing a small welcoming feast…"

"(whisper whisper) It was only a day though… Also, can you really afford to hold a feast? Aren't you supposedly being attacked by a dragon?"

"… Hm-hmm. The Priestess Princess is concerned about whether you can spare the resources. Surely the claim about being attacked by a dragon isn't a lie?"

"!? (whisper) I didn't say that much!"

"Also, we already ate dinner, so we don't need any food."

We'd already eaten a normal dinner in the container. If they were going to throw us a welcome feast, we should've let them feed us instead.

"N-no! That is not the case at all! It seems the dragon has no interest in our food supplies, so our storehouse remains untouched. Yes, well then, we shall postpone the welcoming feast until tomorrow."

Ah, I see. So that's how it is.

"That's what he says, Priestess Princess. Oh, wait. Arthur eats food normally, right? Is there really such a thing as a dragon that wouldn't raid a storehouse? Please ask him."

"Oh, okay… Arthur, what do you think?"

"What's stored in there is like grains, vegetables, and dried meat, right? That dragon probably just prefers fresh meat. There's prey in the forest, so it's probably just not bothering with the storehouse."

By the way, Arthur was in compact mode right now, but he was speaking in Draconic rather than flipping through his word cards.

The reasoning being that it looks more dignified that way.

"… (whisper whisper) So, what did Arthur say?"

"Hm-hmm. The dragon says that the other dragon probably prefers fresh meat over preserved food."

"… In that case, we truly must offer up a sacrifice…"

The village chief's shoulders slumped as he hung his head in defeat.

"No, we came here to confirm whether that's actually the right thing to do."

"Wh… I-is that so?"

"Yeah? Huh, Youki-chan, didn't you tell him that?"

"I did, but… My father is the type who stops listening once he gets an idea in his head…"

I see, so Youki-chan is the village chief's daughter. Like father, like daughter.

"Well, for today, we'd just like to rest. Could you provide us with a place where we can set up our lodging?"

"A place… where you can… set up your lodging?"

The village chief tilted his head, thoroughly confused.

"Yeah. Youki-chan would understand, right? You traveled here with us, after all."

"Ah… yes. The container is certainly more comfortable. Yes. Father, the backyard would be best."

"Hm? Well, if that is acceptable to the Priestess Princess and her party. This way, please."

And so, for the night, we set up the container in the backyard and settled in.

Toss the little box like a Hoi-Poi Capsule, swap it for the container, and you've got instant lodging wherever you go.

The village chief was saying to Youki, "How mysterious!? City Magic Tools are incredible… Is this something even we could buy?" Sorry, but it's not for sale even in the city.