An Outing With Maiodoru

For now, I wrote a letter to Rokuko explaining that my return would be delayed, that I might not be able to refuse the engagement if things went badly, but that I would do my best.

… I also asked Rokuko to let me know if their messenger said something about me being delayed two or three more days.

I asked him to bring back a response, so… well, yeah. Time to sleep for today.

I decided to sleep with Niku as my hug pillow.

… The guest room's bedding was a futon. One of the ones from our dungeon. To think it's even being used in the lord's residence.

 

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The next day arrived. A letter from Rokuko had come. Let's see, what does it say?

"Oko."

Just two characters. In Japanese. Rokuko's already getting the hang of her [Japanese] skill.

But what's "oko" supposed to mean? "Oko" as in "angry"? … I thought she said she wouldn't be angry even if I took another wife, but is she mad after all?

No, wait, let me think about this carefully. This could be "OKOK" read as romaji, making it "oko(k)," a shortening of "OK OK," meaning "Got it, no worries"…

"She seemed to be in quite a bad mood for some reason."

"Ah, yeah…"

Rokuko is a girl too. The kanji for "angry" (怒) contains "a woman's heart" (女心) in it, and since it also contains the character for "again/another" (又), of course she'd be angry if I went after another woman.

Also, she never said she wouldn't be angry. I think she said she would pout…

"So what should I do today? Maybe I can just sleep through it. Let's go back to sleep."

Just then, there was a knock at my door.

Yeah, I know. It's breakfast time.

 

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Led by Maid-san to the breakfast table, only Maiodoru and Vonodoru were there. Breakfast consisted of freshly baked round bread, fried eggs, boar bacon, and salad. Simple, but it really felt like a proper breakfast. The tomatoes in the salad had a rich flavor and were delicious.

"Now then, do you have any plans for today, Mai?"

"Yes, I was thinking of visiting the orphanage with Kehma-sama."

"I see, it might be good for him to understand the work we nobles do. As for your escort… hmm, since Kehma-dono will be going with you, perhaps you don't need one?"

Things are smoothly becoming troublesome. At the very least, I want to avoid working for free. If I don't get paid, they might casually keep pushing things onto me thinking "It's free anyway." Therefore, I should actually overcharge.

"… It will only be for half a day, but I will accept if it's treated as a full day's escort quest for my party."

"That's fine, I'll pay market rate. I'll handle it as a designated quest."

He readily agreed even though I asked for a full day's pay for half a day's work. Should I have asked for more… no, he's a noble and a lord, so he must have the money.

"Then let's hurry and go, Kehma-sama!"

And so, Niku and I headed for the orphanage, practically dragged along by Maiodoru.

 

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The orphanage was attached to a church. It seemed we would visit the church first, then head to the orphanage afterward.

The priest came out to greet us personally, apparently having been told in advance that Maiodoru would be coming.

By the way, what religion does this church follow? It's not that dungeon-busting Church of the Light God, right? Just as I was thinking that, Maiodoru explained it to me.

"This church worships the White Goddess, the god of the adventurer who laid the foundation for the Raverio Empire. Come, let's pray."

It's obviously Haku-san. Yay, I'm sure I'll receive such blessings～ (Not).

"So the White Goddess even has churches built for her… Is it acceptable for a real, living person to be a god?"

"? Gods are all real beings, aren't they? Are there any gods that don't exist?"

Ah, right. In this world, gods actually exist and grant blessings.

So then there's no problem at all even if a living person becomes a god. As long as they can grant blessings.

Well, even on Earth, great people from the past were worshipped as gods, and founders of new religions were treated as deities, so I guess it's like that.

Hearing our conversation, the priest spoke up.

"… If I may ask, are you not a follower of the White Goddess Faith?"

"I follow Beddhism. It has a friendly relationship with the White Goddess Faith. We worship the god who protects the tranquility of the night."

"I've never heard of that religion, but… the tranquility of the night? Does that mean it's a sect branching from the Dark God? If so, it would indeed have a friendly relationship with the White Goddess Faith."

"Yes, well, something like that."

Let's go with what the priest says. If the priest says so, it must be right.

I don't really know the proper way to pray, so I used Maiodoru as a reference and knelt down with my hands clasped in front of my chest. Please let these troublesome matters be resolved so I can go home soon. Amen.

… She definitely wouldn't grant blessings for that. I'm absolutely certain.

 

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With our prayers complete, we headed to the orphanage.

When we entered the grounds, I could hear the noisy sounds of children. High-pitched cries of "Yay!" and "Woohoo!" They should learn from our Niku as an example… ah, Niku might be a bit too extreme.

"Ah, it's Mai Ojou-sama!"

"It really is, Mai Ojou-sama! Ojou-sama～!"

A lot of children around the same height as Niku and Maiodoru, or perhaps a bit smaller, came running over with smiles on their faces.

Beastkin, humans, elves, and what I think are dwarves… there's quite a variety of races.

It might sound strange to say, but they look surprisingly tidy and normal. This world has life magic like [Purify], so maybe that's why?

"Who's that Nii-chan…?"

"Ah, this is…"

"I'm Mai-sama's escort, an adventurer. Same with this small one here."

"You look pretty weak for a guard. Can this shorty over here even guard anyone?"

Fool. Niku is stronger than me. I won't bother correcting him, though, since that appearance makes enemies underestimate her.

"She's still a D-Rank adventurer. Well, as long as we're not going anywhere with bad public order, someone of my level is sufficient."

"I see～"

"Since we're escorts, we'll be staying by Mai-sama's side. Go on over to her."

"'Kay～"

Still, I'm not really good with children. They seem to look down on me… not that we're on the same intellectual level or anything. Uh.

Well, setting that aside, Maiodoru seems to be quite popular among the children. Despite being a noble, she remembers all their faces and names. She must come here frequently.

"Kehma-sama, won't you play with us too?"

"No, I'm fine. I'll be relaxing over there in the shade."

"Hey hey, Mai Ojou-sama! C'mon, let's play mino! Mino pretend!"

"Coming coming. Well then, I'll be off, Kehma-sama."

And with that, she ran off excitedly to play what looked like a game of tag. It seemed like you lose if they tap your back with a stick. Mino probably stands for minotaur, so losing means being killed by its weapon… yeah, way too troublesome to join in.

Looking beside me, Niku… didn't seem like she wanted to join in either.

Niku really is different from normal children.

"You don't want to join them?"

"… If I did, that level of play would end in an instant. Not fun."

I see, so the skill gap is just too large.

However, a boy who heard Niku's murmur challenged her.

"We're gonna be adventurers in the future too!"

"I won't lose that easily! I can even hold off an adult for five minutes!"

"…"

Niku quietly stood up and gently grasped the boy's hand.

"Wh-what are you… waaah!?"

"There, finished."

Niku lightly threw the child, tumbling him to the ground, then patted his back.

"S-surprise attacks are dirty…"

"Would you say that to a real minotaur too?"

The boy fell silent when Niku said that… A real minotaur wouldn't resort to visual deception in the first place, but oh well. At least the difference in ability got through to him.

But from there, things became difficult for Niku. Having shown a glimpse of skill that belied her appearance, she was surrounded by children who now saw her as a capable adventurer. "Wow!" "So cool!" "How'd you do that? Teach me!"

… Yeah, don't look at me with those eyes. Figure it out yourself.

For Niku, this kind of interaction with others her age will be good experience.