Peeping

After thoroughly enjoying her mock battles, Setsuna returned to her room at the inn.

Nayuta, who had finished her own work earlier, was waiting for her there.

"Oh, Onee-chan, another mock battle? You need to use [Purify] or you'll smell like sweat, you know?"

"Ehhh? I already used it a bunch though… Mmm. Nayuta, cast it on me."

"Yeah, yeah. [Purify], [Purify], and one more [Purify]."

She cast [Purify] like she was splashing water on her. After three times, she was completely clean.

"Onee-chan, who were you having mock battles with? Kuroinu-senpai?"

"Nkyu, Village Chief-san. I've now completed all the C-Ranks in this village! But I lost. Tehehe."

"… For Onee-chan to lose… what happened?"

Seeing Setsuna smile bashfully while saying she lost, Nayuta tilted her head.

Setsuna had the ability of a B-Rank, so Nayuta couldn't imagine her losing to a C-Rank—or rather, someone who was effectively D-Rank since his rank only applied to this dungeon. What kind of method did he use?

"Right, so about that, I lost fair and square in hand-to-hand combat! Made my heart skip a beat."

"Hand-to-hand combat!? Not armed combat? From the rumors I heard from the villagers, wasn't Village Chief-san a swordsman?"

"Village Chief-san himself said he was a mage. His stamina was exactly like a mage's, but his technique was that of a first-rate grappler. Even though he looked exhausted and worn out, his body movements didn't change at all—it felt like he'd drilled the moves into his body and was running on pure willpower!"

What Setsuna sensed was, in a certain way, extremely close to being correct.

"He has black hair and black eyes, so maybe he does have hero blood in him after all? Or maybe he's actually a hero himself?"

"He reacted subtly to Onee-chan's jokes, so the chances are pretty high. But given his rank is what it is, is he hiding his true identity? Or is it the pattern where he's actually hiding an S-Rank? Then again, if he is a Hero, it makes sense that Onee-chan lost. Heroes are known for their extraordinary physical abilities and cheat-like skills granted by god… Did he train his body, or is it a skill? If it's a skill, what kind of effect would—"

"Ahh, Nayuta? Is this going to take long? I have a shift coming up."

"Oops."

Nayuta stopped talking and took a deep breath to reset.

"… So, what about Village Chief-san's magic? If he calls himself a mage, he must have used something, right?"

"Hmm, let me think."

Setsuna thought back to the magic Kehma had used. Perhaps because getting thrown had left such a strong impression, it took her a moment to recall.

"He used [Water] a little bit. Well, it was a mock battle, so he only used it to distract me."

"Hmm… Well, shall we report him as a promising prospect? He obviously knows other magic too. He wouldn't call himself a mage if he only knew one spell—oops."

Nayuta cut herself off since she was about to get long-winded again.

"For a chance encounter, we stumbled upon quite a find."

"… By the way, I think that girl is a Toy after all."

"Kuroinu-senpai? Indeed, her strength at that age is abnormal. Plus with her black hair, black eyes, black dog ears, and brown skin… the possibility of her being a Toy is extremely high."

"If she is, what do we do?"

Nayuta thought for a moment before answering.

"… For now, we'll report it and await instructions. We might need to gather a bit more intelligence."

"Should we send a letter right away?"

"Yes."

Deciding to take a safe approach for now, Nayuta began writing a letter. Setsuna decided to change into her maid outfit and head to work.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

That's apparently what their conversation was like.

I'd asked Rokuko to record it using the menu's monitor function. This conversation happened while I was exhausted and asleep. It's already been a day since then.

I closed the menu since I had no intention of peeping on her changing… Oh, that part was already cut out? Rokuko's gotten capable of that kind of consideration now.

Report, letter… awaiting instructions, huh. Setting aside the hero stuff, what's this Toy thing? They said there was a possibility Niku was one, but is that some kind of title like Hero? Or maybe it's an individual's name? Could Niku's lost past be revealed… or something like that? I wonder if there's something there… Well, given her abilities, it would be stranger if there wasn't.

… By the way, I'd also had Rokuko peek at the letter's contents, but it really was just a standard activity report about their work as adventurers. It wasn't written in Japanese or anything either.

However, I couldn't find out the recipient's name. Apparently the finished letter turned into a bird and flew off somewhere. What is that, a carrier pigeon? Looks like she used a magic tool, but that's amazing.

"So, what should I do about this…"

Well, the more information I get, the less I know what to do. The more I gather, the more mysteries pile up. Can I just ignore this and go back to sleep?

For now, I've finished making contact with them, so the next move is theirs. And since they're on standby awaiting instructions, that means I'm on standby too. I'll have them tell me if some letter bird comes flying in.

I decided to keep monitoring them.

After a bit of searching, I found Setsuna waitressing in the dining hall. It was a simple job of taking orders and bringing customers the food Kinue-san made. She seemed to have gotten used to it already, and Setsuna's cheerful smile was popular with the guests.

"Nkyu, here's your D set meal."

"Oh, thanks Setsuna-chan. You free tonight?"

"Ahaha, I might consider it if you can beat me. Want a mock battle?"

"Haha, there's no one in this village who can beat you, Setsuna-chan. You even beat Kuro-chan, right? Kuro-chan was the strongest in this village."

Setsuna casually brushed off the adventurer's flirting, but tilted her head at his words.

"Huh? The strongest in this village is Village Chief-san, isn't it?"

"Sure, Kuro-chan can't beat Kehma-san, but that's because he's Kuro-chan's Goshujin-sama, right?"

"Village Chief-san was strong. I lost to him."

"… Huh?"

The dining hall suddenly buzzed with noise at Setsuna's remark.

Other adventurers cut into the conversation. These were adventurers who had challenged Setsuna to mock battles before—or rather, been challenged by her—and lost.

"Hold on, you're saying Kehma-san didn't lose, but Setsuna-chan lost!?"

"It wasn't gambling or a war of words or something?"

"Yep, it was a mock battle. He was strong…"

"Seriously? Kehma-san was strong!? But he's always sleeping!"

"Come to think of it, Village Chief Kehma is this dungeon's top clearer… Right, there was talk about someone training Kuro-chan wasn't there."

"Hey, did he really win? Village Chief-san… I mean, looking at him, even I feel like I could beat him…"

"If you think I'm lying, why not ask Kuro-senpai? She was there."

All eyes shot to Niku Kuroinu, who was also working there.

Niku answered with a small nod… However, there was a high chance Niku would say anything that favored me, so Setsuna herself saying she lost carried more credibility as information.

"Y-you must have been feeling sick, right? You know, that once-a-month thing girls have?"

"That's sexual harassment! Geez, you pervert!"

"Ghbough!?"

Setsuna struck the customer with a smack, sending him flying lightly.

Not that this level of thing was a problem for adventurers—it was just horsing around. It would be quite a problem in Japan though.

"Ah, sorry."

"N-no, I was out of line. Ha, haha."

"Well, I was in perfect condition though. After fighting Village Chief-san, I fought Kuro-senpai again and won."

"I won't lose next time…"

"Hmph, I'll beat you down no matter how many times you try!"

The two squared off with their trays, glaring at each other. Sparks seemed to fly between them.

"You two, your hands have stopped working?"

Kinue-san's voice came from the kitchen, and the topic ended there.

In any case, the rumor that I beat Setsuna spread through the dining hall in no time, and eventually throughout the village.

… Crap, what do I do about this. I said it was a draw, so why did it become that I won…

But Setsuna's work demeanor was completely natural, and she didn't seem to be scheming anything. Even if she was, what would be her goal? Investigating the dungeon, or maybe investigating something related to Heroes, or perhaps she really is chasing that "Black Wolf" like she said in the interview…? Speaking of which, what is this Toy thing anyway? Is she looking for them?

At any rate, if they're reporting to someone and waiting for instructions, I'll figure something out by watching for that. Probably.

In the end, I guess I have no choice but to wait and see for a while…