Chapter 207 – Sweetness

000

The day after returning to the capital, Cleon trudged along the streets of the capital wearing a little more than usual.

The reason was simple, to ask Layla… No, to go buy something for her on order.

Cleon sighed and recalled the conversation he had with Lila last night.

“Listen carefully, Cleon. Originally, if you were invited by a noble family like the Tromeia family, it’s common sense to prepare a gift that shows sincerity even if you’re invited.”

“Is that so… ? It hasn’t been like that until now.”

When Cleon says that, Layla turns her head away and makes her blush.

“Until now, I was fooling around with Aurelia-sama’s favor. Well… As they are the best ducal family in the kingdom, you should be able to get most of them… Then it’s only right to bring something the other person will like. You know that. Because I can’t.”

In response to Laila’s excuse-like answer, Cleon let out something like an exclamation, ‘Hmm’, and Laila glared at Cleon.

“What? Are you dissatisfied?”

“Ah- no. It’s nothing. So? What can I buy?”

Lyla snaps her fingers when Cleon questions Lyla, who feels that if she murmurs about her judgment her any more, her fireballs will fly.

“Preliminary research is perfect. I heard it from a reliable source.”

“Is that why you and Aruru chatted before we broke up?”

After arriving at the royal capital, just before getting off the carriage and parting, Cleon sees Lyla and Aruru whispering with her heads together, and asks if she was talking about that.

Layla then stretches out her finger and puts it in front of Cleon.

“It seems that there is a teahouse in the royal capital that specializes in high-quality sweets! It seems that Aurelia-sama likes sweets there! Go and buy them. I made sure to visit you during the day, so please come early in the morning.”

At that momentum, Cleon shrank his body and nodded his head.

In the end, as Lila said, she left the dorm early in the morning.

However, I don’t know if it’s because of that, but today I felt a little different impression than usual.

Wearing a little more luxurious clothes rather than the usual adventurer’s clothes that are comfortable for activities, I naturally felt the gaze around me even while walking down the street.

It is easy to attract attention just by being a member of the dark horse family, but what protected him from staring was his status as his as an adventurer.

Since most of Ellesia’s residents are adventurers, there was little resistance to adventurers.

In the royal capital, except for a few well-known adventurers, the perception of adventurers was not so good.

Unlike Ellesia, where adventurers are self-governing and maintain peace, there are already security organizations such as the kingdom army, church, and knights in the royal capital.

The hot-blooded and disorderly adventurers were not very welcome, and seemed to be avoided.

-, Explained Lampert, Cleon’s acquaintance who was walking alongside him.

Still one head taller than Cleon, his body is huge, and his muscles his twitch every time he walks.

Under his sleek hair that doesn’t handle fur, unlike his impression of him, his intelligent horn-rimmed glasses his stand out.

Cleon genuinely admires that it is great to maintain that physical beauty even considering that he is over 50 years old, but he feels a little burdened by him walking right next to him.

“You don’t have to follow very much. Lampert.”

“What are you saying so disappointingly? I’m a regular at that store, so I’ll talk to the owner so you can get a little discount.”

Lampert smiled brightly, reflecting the morning sunlight through his shiny scalp.

Cleon listens to Rampart’s answer and looks back at him.

“Are you enjoying their desserts too?”

The scene of Lampert, the giant, holding a small teacup in one hand and cutting the cake with a fork in the other hand, is simulated in my mind.

“No. The hostess and daughter-in-law like it… Oh! Come to think of it, Cleon, you’ve never seen our daughter!?”

“I’ve never even met my wife. I’ve been told that she’s beautiful, but it’s hard to get a scab on my ears.”

As for Lampert’s wife, she was from a certain fallen aristocratic family.

It is said that the assassins who were aiming for her life were smashed by Lampert in her youth her, and the two started dating and married after a long relationship of nearly 10 years.

That was already 10 years ago.

At the time, I remembered how adults complimented the look of the bride-to-be, calling Lampert a ‘blessed one’.

Soon after, Lampert was recognized for his skills and went to the royal road, so he never saw his wife’s face her after all.

“I wouldn’t be like you.”

“Hey.Haha! This guyhaha!`

At Cleon’s joke, I tousled his hair.

His bangs his, which had grown to a length that barely covered his eyes his, were scattered randomly in his hand his, and he became no different from bards who sang songs all day while occupying a seat in a tavern.

Cleon sighed as he somehow removed Lampert’s hand her, but still, talking to an old acquaintance like this made him feel at ease.

Maybe it was because the recent events had been straining Cleon’s mind in many ways.

The worst reunion with the death penalty in the past, learning about one’s previous life, etc…

Because of Lampert, it was a new realization that the relationship with the past was not necessarily bad.

Rarely for Cleon, walking down the street showing joyful emotions even outside.

As expected, there was a small cafe near the Plaza of the Royal Capital with a signboard just like Laila said.

“Is this here?”

“At this time, there are still few customers, so you won’t have to wait. Let’s go in.”

When Lampert led the way into the store, the inside was decorated with luxurious and calm interiors, as if it were targeting female customers, and cute decorations that girls would like were hung everywhere.

Inside the glass cabinet next to the counter, you can see a variety of desserts displayed one by one.

“…Just looking at it, it seems like my tongue is tasting sweetness…”

“Haha. Well, that’s right. I often think of eating something like this as dessert after a meal.”

Lampert nodded in agreement with Cleon’s words and approached the counter.

Then, upon the appearance of such a striking Lampert, the host immediately recognizes him and greets him with a bright smile.

“Ohhh! Mr. Lampert! Thank you the other day, thanks to you, the ingredients arrived properly.”

“What. I just did what was written in the request. If I can’t eat your dessert, the women in my house will feel bad.”

Rampart seems to have helped the owner of the cafe before, and when it is mentioned, he shows humility but jokingly stands up to the other party.

Cleon wonders if this is the art of life, feeling the cafe owner’s gaze towards him while feeling admiration in his heart her.

“That’s-“

“Cleon. An adventurer like Lampert.”

The moment the store owner nodded at Cleon’s self-introduction, Lampert gave a Fang! He said while slapping Cleon on the back.

“He’s like my junior. I want this guy to do some service.”

“Haha! If that’s the case, of course. Now, what are you looking for? From family services to gifts for your sweetheart, our products are all popular with women.”

Saying so, the store owner guides Cleon to the front of the exhibition hall.

However, in the first place, Cleon, who did not enjoy desserts, let alone these shops, was in a state of not knowing what was what.

As he was quietly looking at the cabinet and rolling his eyes, a voice from beside him interrupted.

“This guy isn’t interested in these things. You’ll explain, okay.”

When Lampert, who couldn’t see such Cleon, reached out to help, the manager of the cafe nodded.

“If you tell me who you would like to gift to, I will recommend the best product to the best of my knowledge.”

“Then… It’s for a present for a noblewoman. I was invited… “

After hearing Cleon’s explanation, the man looked worried for a moment, then pointed to the piece of cake on the top of the display cabinet.

It is a product that looks expensive in many ways because it is filled with cream and topped with fruit.

“This cake is the flagship product of my shop. I make it daily, so this is the last piece for today. To my honor, nobles often come to the shop looking for this cake.”

As he said, the price was a bit on the high side, but it wasn’t something he couldn’t touch.

The moment Cleon believed his words and tried to nod, he heard the tinkling of a paper hanging on the door of the store.

“Excuse me. Manager. The cake I usually order-“

When the woman’s voice came from behind, the eyes of the three men inside turned around.

There stood a woman with long pink hair.

Her age her may be similar to or slightly below Cleon, her eyes her were sharp and her figure standing with her back straight was closer to that of a ‘warrior’than a young lady.

Her expression of her, which was felt in her dignity of her, said that she was not an ordinary resident of the royal capital.

And- the moment her eyes met Cleon’s, she said ‘Ugh’and let out a quiet voice.

“You-“

“…”

At Cleon’s words her, the woman remained silent and looked at Cleon, and Cleon first turned her head to ask the store manager to wrap the cake.

“Ah…!”

And, again, a voice came from behind. This time, it was a voice mixed with bewilderment.

When Cleon turned her head again, there she was, shocked that the object she was aiming for in front of her eyes her had fallen into someone else’s hand her, followed the cake being taken out of her display case her with her eyes her and glared at Cleon. .

“…Did you come to buy that too?”

“…Okay.”

Injeya, when she made a voice in response to Cleon’s words her, Cleon shut her mouth for a moment.

Then she sighed and turned to her manager her.

When the woman sees Cleon like that, she waits for Cleon’s words with a slight anticipation.

“Store manager.”

After opening his mouth like that, Cleon continued to say—

“I’d like to ask you to pack other desserts that can be eaten with the cake. I’ll leave that to the manager’s choice.”

“Hey, wait!”

At Cleon’s words her, her woman raised her voice as if she could n’t stand it, and Cleon turned her head again and met her eyes her with her.

“Wasn’t it just about to give way completely!”

“Why do you need to yield? I’m sorry, but I’m also for a present.”

“Ugh, ugh…”

Cleon dismisses her vain expectations of her.

Seeing Cleon’s response her, Ram Part laughed bitterly and shook her head.

Cleon, who looked at the woman who blushed in resentment, shut her mouth for a moment, and then she said ‘Ah-‘ as if thinking of something about her.

“Are you the crusader holding the shield that was next to Mr. Esca?”

“…”

At Cleon’s point her, she opened her eyes wide for a moment, wiped the emotional expression of her moment ago her from her face her, and looked at Cleon with her cold face her.

“Don’t stare at me like that… I have no intention of doing anything to Esca-san. She’s my benefactor. You, your name her is-“

“…It’s `Verastor`.”

When Cleon could hardly remember her name, she said as if answering her Cleon’s question to her.

“Yes. Verastol. I’m sorry. I can’t remember the name.”

“…It doesn’t matter. We’re not related enough to call each other by name anyway. ‘Dark Demon Clan.'”

At the sound of her voice she calling herself that, Cleon shut her mouth for a moment.

When I first met her before, in her place her before. At that time, she was wearing full body armor and even a helmet, so I could n’t see her face.

I still remembered the look of some flesh mixed in between the gaps in the helmet of hers.

She was so focused on meeting Esca and talking to her that she wasn’t paying attention to her that much.

She knew very well what she thought of herself.

However, it is familiar.

The gaze she sends, the condescending words and actions.

Thinking like that, it was wiser not to accept the feelings she received, but to let them go or swallow them in one gulp to neutralize them inside her.

It was a kind of living skill that Cleon had learned and mastered in his 20 years of life.

As a one-sided yet awkward atmosphere is created between the two, Lampert looks at Cleon for a moment.

However, it seemed that Cleon himself was responding well to that relationship, so he did not intervene.

So, while the stinging silence continued, the item Cleon had been waiting for was prepared and handed over to Cleon from the store manager’s hand her.

Cleon, who finished her calculations and turned her body to her, met her gaze once again, but soon her eyes turned to Cleon’s side first.

“Rampart. Are you not buying anything?”

“Hmm? Ahh. That’s right. Owner. I also order normally.”

As if Ram Part always ordered something, the store manager nodded his head and tried to move his hand his, but suddenly remembered something and talked to Ram Part.

“Come to think of it, Mr. Rampart. The one I told you about before will come in this afternoon.”

“Huh? Ah- oh! That’s right! Keugh~ If I knew it would be like this, I’d come in the afternoon…!”

“Haha. Don’t worry, Mr. Rampart’s share will be prepared separately.”

At Cleon’s gaze at her, which looked at the two as if they were scheming something, Rampart suddenly turned his head and sighed.

“No. This is what I mean…”

“Don’t worry. I won’t ask anything. So, are you waiting here until afternoon?”

“No… For now, it’s work time, so I’ll have to go back to the adventurer’s guild. I’ll come back in the afternoon.”

Cleon nodded and continued talking.

“Sure. I’ll go first. I don’t want to be late for my appointment.”

“Okay. See you later.”

After briefly bidding her goodbye and walking away her, Cleon met her eyes once more as he walked beside her her Vera Stoll.

She still did not hide her distrust and displeasure her with Cleon, and was to keep her silence her.

Cleon, too, thought that there was no need to answer each and every one of her responses to her, and she went her own way.

001

Not long after, the Tromeia mansion.

Cleon, who visited the Tromeia mansion with Lyla and Quon, looked at the cake in front of her and looked at Aurelia’s expression her, which seemed to smile slightly brighter than usual, and let out a sigh of relief inside her.

Apparently, the manager’s choice was correct.

And it wasn’t just Aurelia, it was the same for Aruru, who was sitting next to her dressed like a noble lady.

It was rare to see her eyes shining outside of Cleon and her swordsmanship.

“Cleon. Did you buy this from the cafe in the plaza?”

When Aruru asks such a question, Aurelia glances at her daughter her and clears her throat.

“…Aruru. Let’s talk about that later… It wasn’t necessary to come here with a gift like this on purpose. Thank you, all three of you.”

Her persuasiveness declined because she seemed to be happy inside.

“I heard the rough story through the telecommunication tool that Gabriel-sama gave me. Fighting and winning against Astaroth’s executive demon-Lilim, and capturing her, is a considerable achievement. Obviously, she will take the initiative in the future fight greatly this way .I can bring it to you.”

Lilim is currently living in a dorm with Sasha.

It seemed that she especially liked Sasha, who was the closest in age among the group.

“I heard that there was an attack in the capital while we were away.”

And, the original purpose of coming here.

Astarothe and the brainwashed soldiers under his command attacked the monastery.

Eustes and the maids were able to defeat them and send them back, but it was not without damage.

In addition, the newly protected brainwashed soldiers have different symptoms compared to other victims.

Like a human whose soul had escaped, the patient’s condition continued, breathing but being unable to do anything else.

Thanks to that, it seemed that Ferdia and other monasteries were taking care of her almost every day like a war.

“I’ll have to visit the monastery once.”

Cleon says so. I was a bit behind on work, but I had to convey my thanks to Perdia, Anansi, and the nuns at the monastery.

With that thought in mind, as we talked about how we would fight against Astaroth in the future, there was a knock on the door.

“Sir, excuse me. I brought tea.”

The door opens with a phrase in an awkward voice somewhere.

Naturally, when everyone turns their gaze to that direction, there is a girl wearing a maid’s uniform holding a tray with a teacup and a teapot on it with trembling hands-

Eustes… No, it might no longer be rude to call him Eustes in that form.

It had the appearance of Justina.

Her hair is longer than it was a few days ago, and the maid outfit she wears is similar to that worn by other maids in Tromeia.

She couldn’t help but feel that the apron and ruffled lace her suited her better than the bunny-like outfit she had previously worn.

“Why is Eustes here…”

If Cleon was taken aback for a while, she then looked back at Aurelia and asked.

Aurelia answered Cleon with a smile.

“Right now, even one person needs a lot of strength. I thought there would be no problem if I became a woman, so I hired her as a ‘battle maid’. I don’t normally direct duties, but… I ‘m familiar with everyone. I wanted to show you a little bit. .”

“Your mother likes to play pranks too…”

Aruru also sighed at Aurelia’s words and actions her.

Eustes somehow approached slowly and put the tray on the table where the party was sitting around.

“Whew…”

“Why are you so nervous about bringing a tray?”

When Layla can’t stand it and asks her, Eusteth raises her voice and says, ‘Ugh…’.

“Rubera… Said that the tray must be held horizontally… It’s rude if it shakes even a little…”

“I don’t have such manners…”

At Aurelia’s words to her, Eustes opened her eyes wide, and she blinked two or three times.

“Looks like Rubera is teaching Eustes well as her senior her.”

When Cleon said that to Aurelia, Aurelia nodded her head.

“Ugh… Rubera…!”

Eustes also raises his voice, perhaps realizing that he has been deceived, but he realizes that if he shouts at someone who is not here, he will only get tired, so he bows his head and tries to leave the room.

“Eustes.”

Then, her voice of her Cleon her calling her to stand her up.

Eustes stopped and glanced back at him.

“At the monastery. I heard. Thank you for protecting everyone.”

Eustes, who had been depressed, blinked once again two or three times when he heard those words—

Soon, his face brightened and he answered.

“Ah! Of course! It’s my job to protect everyone from demons! Leave it to me! Cleon!”

After answering that, he immediately smiled and left the room.

“…That’s the part. Cleon.”

And the voice coming from Quon.

`Yes. “Yeah,” Aruru nodded her head, and Lyla let out a sigh. Aurelia just smiled.

“…What?”

Only Cleon seemed unaware of its meaning.

002

After that, the story connected with Aurelia is the place where the spirit vein of the last fire connected to the elemental cross of the royal capital flows.

This place, called the Mountain of Promise, has been the territory of fire lizards since ancient times and is the place where the descendants of Vulcan, who threatened the in the past, lived.

Of course, it is designated as a dangerous area, and people without permission from the kingdom are strongly prohibited from entering.

When her party her tells Aurelia that her special permission her is needed, she leaves her mansion after saying that she will take care of the matter and contact her.

“Sure. I’ll stop by the monastery.”

When Cleon said that, Quon and Lyla nodded.

“Give my regards to Ferdia. Ask me to come to the inn sometime. Oh, why would you like to come with me today?”

Understanding Laila’s words, Cleon sighed and sent the two of them back to their lodgings first.

He must have been worried about Sasha and Lilim, who would be together.

“Then…”

The moment Cleon said that and was about to leave the area where the nobles lived and head for the monastery.

“Move!!”

With a voice saying, I look at the man who pushes me and runs away.

The next moment when I thought it was something suspicious to hurriedly run away with something or luggage in my hand.

“Huh!? Oh, Cleon!”

I saw Rampart running toward me.

“Rampart…? What’s going on?”

“Oh shit. He said It’s a thief! He just ran away with the thing that was supposed to come into the cafe we ​​stopped by earlier!”

“”What?””

Cleon turned his head when he heard another voice cut in, as if overlapping his own.

Then, I saw a pink-haired woman who hadn’t been there before – Verastol, standing there with a stiff face.

“…!? Verastol, where did you just-“

“Rather than that, is that true? Bald.”

“Dammer… Keuheum. Yes, I think he’s probably from the thieves’ guild…”

Rampart kicks his tongue and looks down the alley behind him into which the man ran.

The inside was entangled like a maze, and it was an area that could be a bit of a headache if you went wrong.

In addition, Rampart was the head of the thieves’ guild and the hostile adventurer’s guild.

If you set foot in that area by mistake and it spreads to a dispute between guilds as a cause, there was a high possibility that it would become an issue to wrap your head around.

Now that the members of the adventurer’s guild have become victims of female body transformation and their power has been cut, the thieves’ guild seems to be rampaging and ignoring the adventurer’s guild.

“…I can’t help it. I’ll help you, Rampart. You tell the store manager that I’m gone.”

“Really? I’d appreciate it if you did, but… I’m embarrassed. I’ll treat you later.”

“What are you messing around with? The dark horse clan. If you go, hurry up.”

As if to interrupt Rampart’s words, Berastol stood in front of the entrance to the back alley before he knew it.

Cleon looks at her for a moment as if she is dumbfounded, then lets out a sigh.

“You’re selfish. That lady.”

Nodding her head as if agreeing with Rampart, Cleon also stood next to Vera Stoll.

“You mean… Why are you helping?”

“Help? Wrong. I’m just interested in the contents.”

“…Ah. Is that so.”

A person who can be a Crusader… ? It must be a lie A little while ago, the answer appeared suddenly.

Clearly this woman, she is spying on herself.

Thinking so, Cleon glanced at her and brushed her hands to loosen her body.

“Let’s go. I’ll let them know that if you steal, you’ll get caught.”