Rookie Hunting (2)

The next day, Gesunoh and Kiwami spotted their target trio inside the guild and immediately approached them.

With their best friendly smiles for rookies.

"Hey there, you guys! Want to team up with us? I'm Gesunoh, C-Rank."

"Ufufu, and I'm Kiwami. Also C-Rank."

They showed their guild cards and addressed the blue-haired young lady and blonde elf sitting in a two-person seat. A dog beastkin was standing beside the young lady, but as a slave she had no say, so they ignored her.

When they spoke to them, the atmosphere in the guild seemed to stir slightly.

Probably other people who had been eyeing this mark and wondering how to ingratiate themselves. Fools. In situations like this, the early bird gets the worm. Especially since they'd heard there was a famous lolicon lurking around here. Gesunoh laughed to himself.

"U-Us? Um, I-I don't mind, but why?"

"Why? You're obviously rookies, aren't you? So I thought we'd team up with you as senior adventurers."

"Ojou-sama, are you sure? There seem to be other, more reliable adventurers here."

"Um, but they're C-Rank adventurers, and they seem fine with us?"

Unexpectedly, the young lady was receptive. Gesunoh decided to move his planned schedule up a bit.

"See? The Ojou-sama's on board, so what about you, beautiful Elf-san?"

"Don't worry. You'll be safe because I'm here for darling."

"Hmm…"

"Shina, it's fine, isn't it?"

"If that's what you say, Ojou-sama, I won't argue further… However, if you lay a hand on Ojou-sama, you won't get off easy!"

Gesunoh smiled wryly and shrugged at the glaring elf.

The young lady smiled and gave a small bow.

"Please call me Maio. And this is Shina… Th-This one is our p-pet, yes, pet! Ehehe."

The black-haired dog beastkin had her head patted while remaining expressionless. Maio, the one doing the patting, had a silly grin on her face. They've dressed her in the kind of nice clothes a human would wear, Gesunoh thought.

"… Looks like she won't be a problem, darling."

Kiwami whispered so only Gesunoh could hear. She was looking at the dog beastkin's tail.

Kiwami knew that if a beastkin — especially a dog beastkin — was attached to their master, they would wag their tail.

Surprisingly, many slaves dressed nicely like this actually harbored grudges against their masters.

Masters often failed to consider what was important to their slaves. In such cases, slaves might passively wish for their master's downfall and "neglect" to act when their master was being harmed.

If a slave was threatened with a sword, it posed the same level of mortal danger as the collar around their neck, so which they obeyed depended on the slave. If they were going to die either way, they might as well see their hated master suffer. That's how it went.

"Then, Maio Ojou-sama, may I escort you to the dungeon?"

"Um, well, before that, may we go to the church to pray? I haven't prayed yet this morning."

"The church? … Yes, of course, that's fine."

At that, Maio got down from her chair alone and headed for the exit. The slave followed right behind her, with Shina positioning herself between the young lady and Gesunoh's group.

Gesunoh and the others followed them out of the guild.

One of the adventurers who saw this whispered secretly to the receptionist.

"—Just as the village chief said, huh."

"Indeed. —So that means—"

But Gesunoh and Kiwami never heard this conversation.

 

While the young lady prayed inside the church, Gesunoh and Kiwami decided to wait outside.

It was because they understood that people like themselves couldn't stand before a god — actually, no. It was because a beautiful sister had called out to them.

Kiwami's expression twisted a bit at this, but it wasn't worth worrying about, so she decided to treat it as intelligence gathering and made small talk.

"My, so you were in Pavera before this?"

"Yes. I may not look like much, but I'm quite skilled. I've never let prey escape. Do you dislike adventurers, Sister?"

"Not at all. The White Goddess-sama, god of adventurers, and our Beddhism are very close. Therefore, I have no reason to dislike adventurers."

"This is my first time hearing about Beddhism. What kind of teachings does it have, and what kind of god?"

"Actually, Beddhism has no god to worship. —The teachings are simple. Value sleep and rest above all else, and never disturb others' rest. That's really all there is to it."

Gesunoh's heart skipped a beat at the sister's charming smile. Not because he was guilty of disturbing others' rest, but simply because the sister was cute.

"How about it, would you like to come into the dungeon with us sometime?"

"Oh my? Is it alright to say that in front of your girlfriend?"

"Ufufu, a good man has the means to provide, after all. Darling can't be satisfied with just little old me, so I've been thinking two or three more wouldn't hurt."

"If the opportunity arises, I'd be happy to join you. Actually, there's been talk of some sisters registering as adventurers…"

Watching Gesunoh make eyes at the sister, Kiwami thought that making her their next prey wouldn't be bad at all.

"Thank you for waiting."

While they were talking, Maio-sama and the others returned.

Her expression seemed somehow refreshed, as if she were a different person.

"Now then, shall we go, Gesunoh-sama? Will you escort me this time?"

"Yes, of course. Well then, Sister, until we meet again."

"Yes… Eternal slumber to you, Good Night."

The sister said this with a smile, making a circular motion with her fingertips (apparently the shape of the holy symbol) as she prayed. Though reluctant to leave, Gesunoh took the hand of his current prey, the young lady, and headed toward the dungeon.

The hunting grounds were right nearby.