Chapter 69
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I entered the base of “Silver Orchid” and reunited with Ferris and the others as “Mose.”
All I wanted was for Iris and the others to be allowed to stay, but it seemed that Nina, who was with me, wanted to assess my abilities through her report.
I wanted to avoid meeting Ferris, who I had met as “Koji,” but if I refused, I would be treated as a suspicious person, making it harder to contact Iris and the others.
So, I found myself at the tent where the members I had met last time were gathered, and Ferris, who was sizing me up with her gaze, spoke up.
”I am Ferris, the representative. And…”
After introducing herself, she introduced the other members, and each person mentioned raised their hand lightly in acknowledgment.
I learned that among the two people I hadn’t met before, the woman with the bow was Ms. Sheila, and the Cleric sent was Ms. Anju.
Once their introductions were done, the conversation shifted to me.
”So, you are called Mose, right?”
’Yes.’
”…”
Before I could introduce myself, she asked that, and I simply confirmed it. Ferris stared at me intently.
’…Is something wrong?’
Since the surrounding people also fell silent, I felt anxious that they might have realized I was “Koji,” so I asked.
My voice sounded quite different, but I thought if I changed my tone too much, it would raise suspicion if I messed it up.
Besides, if I had to change my usual way of speaking to hide my identity, it would probably end up sounding rougher.
However, if that happens, I would be rude to someone in a higher position, and I think the person and those around them wouldn’t think well of me.
Because of that, I thought there was a big chance I would be refused the use of the base, so I kept my tone the same as usual… but should I have changed my tone after all?
While I was thinking about that… Ferris looked at Iris and said.
”For now, I’ll allow you to use this base. But we’ll choose the location, okay?”
”Thank you. I don’t have any particular requests about the location, so if you could just put us at the edge, that would be fine.”
Iris lightly bowed her head and replied, but Ferris shook her head.
”No, the opposite. I want you to stay as close to the center, near our tent, as possible.”
”Eh? Why is that?”
”Um… to put it simply, it’s a hostage situation for Mose. If he shows any harmful intent towards us, I’ll use you to stop him.”
Iris protested loudly at Ferris’s carefully chosen words.
”That’s not fair!? Mose has no harmful intent towards you!”
”How can you know that on a first meeting? Only those with skills or magic items to investigate such things would know.”
”Ugh…”
Iris stumbled over her words in response to Ferris.
Well, even after a long relationship, you can’t always know what’s in someone’s heart, so I couldn’t deny Ferris’s point.
However… I felt something was off about the reason for placing Iris and the others in the center of the base.
The content itself wasn’t strange, but based on her earlier attitude, it didn’t seem like she was speaking from the heart.
It’s not easy to understand what someone is really thinking, but since this base is supposed to be a place that protects women, it seems strange to use Iris and the others as dangerous hostages, especially since they are women too.
Well, if they are worried that I might have bad intentions and use Iris and the others like spies, it wouldn’t be surprising if they chose to put them in danger rather than let many women get hurt.
However, if that’s the case, they should have just refused to accept Iris and the others from the start, so allowing them in doesn’t make sense.
As I was troubled by these questions, a woman’s voice called out from outside.
”Mrs. Ferris, we are ready.”
”Got it.”
Ferris replied and then urged Iris and the others to leave the room.
”Well then, it seems your tent is ready, so please go there.”
”Eh? Um, what about Mose?”
”I still have things to discuss with him.”
”Then I want to…”
”This is a conversation you can’t be part of.”
”Really…?”
Iris looked at me with a worried expression at Ferris’s words, but I responded lightly.
’It’s okay. They said they would use you as a deterrent against me, and if they wanted to do something to me here, they wouldn’t need to take you as hostages, right?’
”Well, that’s true…”
’If you understand, then go. I need to secure a place to sleep at the “Golden Lion” base, and if this conversation drags on, I might have to go to the “Gem Snake” base where they might try to rip me off.’
It’s still early for sunset, and from what I could see from above, there should be some open spots at the “Golden Lion” base considering the number of adventurers using it.
That said, it’s a hassle to set up the tent in the dark so late, so I want Iris and the others to leave quickly to finish this meeting.
”…Got it. Seria, let’s go.”
”Uh, okay.”
Maybe my thoughts reached her, as Iris stood up with Seria.
”…”
Iris tried to follow Seria, who left the tent first, but she stopped and looked back at me.
I’ve heard that Ferris has abnormal strength, enough to break city walls, and I’m worried that my threads won’t be able to restrain her.
Seeing Iris’s concern, Ferris let out a light sigh and spoke to reassure her.
”Haah… Don’t worry. For now, I promise I won’t harm him here.”
”Really!?”
”Yeah, we can’t move forward like this anyway.”
”I see… understood, then.”
Feeling relieved by Ferris’s promise, Iris left the tent and seemed to head toward the tent assigned to them with Seria, who was waiting on the other side of the closed entrance.
With Iris and the others gone, the main topic of discussion likely began inside the tent.
”Phew… First, I want to confirm, do you know who Iris is?”
’No, I don’t.’
Ferris could have asked if Iris was a noble or someone close to that, but… if that were the case, it would lead to the question of how I came to that conclusion.
I guessed Iris’s position based on her goal and actions to heal a cursed noblewoman, and if I shared that, Ferris and the others would learn about the cursed woman.
Of course, that matter is a secret, so I can’t say anything about it. That means she’s trying to guess Iris’s true identity just from her words and actions.
In that case, I think only special people like nobles or royalty can be understood just by their behavior and background.
If that’s the case, it’s likely that people will assume I’m helping Iris because she’s one of those special beings. From their perspective, it might look like I’m trying to use Iris to gain power by protecting women from men.
If that happens, my reputation will obviously get worse. Even though I said I wouldn’t harm anyone here, I can’t guarantee that for the future.
I’m also worried about how much Ferris’s power can withstand my Magic Armor, so I really want to avoid being attacked by her.
So, I answered that I “don’t know” about Iris’s background.
””…””
At that moment, not just Ferris, but all the women present are giving me sharp looks.
Well, they were already staring at me from the beginning.
After being under that gaze for a few seconds, Ferris crosses her arms and lifts her chest, then asks her next question.
”So, what is that girl’s goal?”
’No, I mean, why not just ask her directly?’
Iris’s goal is probably something that should be kept secret, even more than her background.
She must have only told me the details, and it seems she hasn’t even shared them with Seria at this point.
Well, the reason she can’t tell Seria is that they are after the same thing…
Anyway, I decided to say that I don’t know about that either.
After I suggested asking her directly, Ferris responds with a serious expression.
”Since I couldn’t hear it, I’m asking you.”
’Have you heard anything about it?’
”Do you know that girl was trying to join us?”
’Yeah. But since I couldn’t hear it from her, you’re asking me, right?’
”That’s right. I know she was being really pushy about wanting special treatment and tried to join because she wanted something… So, are you helping her without knowing her real purpose?”
’Well, I didn’t have any other goals besides making money. I thought it was fine.’
Ferris continued with a sharp look.
”On top of that, you want to use her body, too.”
””…””
At that comment, the gazes around us became sharper.
Oh no, they might think I asked for her body in exchange for help.
That’s a misunderstanding and it’s unfair, so I should clarify that it was Iris who brought it up.
’No, um…’
”Oh, I know it was that girl who brought it up.”
’Oh, is that so?’
So, it wasn’t that they thought I was forcing a physical relationship.
Well, Nina probably knows some of the situation, too.
Then the sharp gazes were probably because of my response to it.
However, at that time, I was under a lot of mental stress after killing someone for the first time, so I hope they can overlook it a bit.
I mean… if they’re paying this much attention, do they know Iris’s true identity?
I decided to ask about that.
’Um, since you’re so concerned about Iris… do you know her true identity?’
””!?””
My question made the women focus their gazes on Ferris, curious about how she would respond.
In that gaze, Ferris thought for a moment before speaking up.
”That’s something I wish you could ask her directly, so I can’t say much… but that girl is a noble.”
’Ah, I see.’
”You don’t seem too surprised. Did you have a feeling?”
’Well, it was within my expectations.’
Since she could confidently say Iris is a noble and can’t say much more, it seems she understands her background.
So then…
’Was the reason for refusing her to join not just the “Gem Snake” issue, but also to stay away from the dungeon?’
”I’m not the one who was there, but that’s what it said in the documents from Shirley. So I only know that she’s a noble, but if there’s just one girl who can’t contribute anything, she would only be invited to the team for her body, right?”
’Well, that’s true.’
”On top of that, she wants such convenient treatment, so the people coming to her never intended to help her achieve her goals. They just want to take advantage of her and then run away, right? She probably knows that too, so Shirley thought she would come back to us and tell us her purpose…”
’So, she had at least one ally who could bring her this far.’
”Exactly. It was written that it was a shame to introduce her to an inn that was easy to contact.”
From Ferris’s story, it seems that Iris has been staying in the dungeon since before she applied to join “Silver Orchid.”
She probably learned about Iris from the documents sent by Nina, but… who is Ms. Shirley, who knew about Iris?
When I asked about that,
”I won’t tell you, and if you ask again, I’ll kill you even if it means breaking my promise with that girl.”
I decided not to press further since that was the response I got.
Ms. Shirley was also completely covered in armor, and since she said that much… she might have a background similar to Iris.
If she has a similar background, there’s a chance she met Iris somewhere in the past. That could explain why she knew who she was when she came to apply for membership, and maybe that’s why she introduced a safe and easy-to-contact inn.
I was curious about why Ms. Shirley was in Dungeon City, but since I was told I’d be killed just for asking about her background, I decided not to ask.
For me, it’s enough to have Iris and the others at the base, and I don’t want to cause any unnecessary trouble.
Once it became clear that I couldn’t ask about Iris’s goals, Ferris let out a light sigh.
”Ha. Shirley can’t easily move people around, so I can’t have anyone investigate that girl’s house. In the end, we still don’t know her purpose.”
Oh, right.
If they knew her background, they could send someone to investigate.
Well, for some reason, it seems like there aren’t any available people for that, so for now, it looks like the cursed woman won’t be found out.
As I felt relieved, Ferris leaned forward slightly and asked about our future plans.
”So, what are you guys planning to do from here?”
’Well, that’s connected to Iris’s goals, so…’
”You can’t say, huh?”
’Yeah.’
Ferris made a difficult face at my response.
”Hmmm… I want to prevent that girl from getting into dangerous situations, but from what I’ve heard, your skills are easier to use in the 3rd District, right?”
’Well, that’s true.’
”Then, are you going to start making money in the 3rd District from here?”
’Well, I’ve heard that you can earn more deeper inside, and Seria… my Cleric friend wants to raise the healing magic effect as quickly as possible.’
It’s true that the “Shield Expansion” she probably heard from Nina is suitable for use in the confined space of the 3rd District.
However, if we’re aiming for magic items, it seems we need to go deeper.
But if I say our goal is magic items, they might realize that we’re facing a problem that can’t be solved by normal means.
That could lead them to think about curses, so I’ll just say that we might go deeper because of Seria.
Maybe I should have kept the plan to go deeper a secret… but if we actually try to go deeper, that information will get out, and then it would be clear that I lied to Ferris.
I really don’t want to be stopped by force, so I answered honestly about going deeper.
Now, after hearing my answer, Ferris looks at me with a suspicious expression.
”Isn’t it true that beyond here, it’s not a path? From the next district, it turns into a forest, and monsters could come from anywhere. If you make the shield bigger, it might become hard to handle, and you won’t be able to protect those girls, right?”
’Well… we’ll manage somehow, I guess.’
Actually, I plan to cover Iris and the others with Magic Armor as “Magic Mending,” but if I say that, she might remember when I made “Koji” invisible by covering herwith magic, so I couldn’t say it.
However, with my answer, Ferris seems to gain some kind of confidence and smirks as she opens her mouth.
”Hmm… It seems you have some confidence in protecting those girls. Does that have something to do with the magic power you’re wrapped in?”
Ah, so she’s going to ask about that.
She can roughly see magic power, so if I’m using Magic Armor, she would notice it right away.
However, at this point, she probably doesn’t realize that the armor itself is made of magic power, so I’ll just play it off to avoid her figuring out I’m “Koji.”
’Ah, this armor is a magic item. Thanks to it, I have the power to crush the Gatekeepers.’
If I’m holding a shield, there might be a chance I could drop it, and someone might try to take it from me, so I didn’t mention it as a magic item.
But with armor, I would have to take it off, and if it gives me strength, they would think it’s hard to take it away.
I’ve told Iris and the others that the armor is made of magic power, but that’s only as “Magic Mending” through magic thread.
If they realize that I have the ability to create armor from magic power, they might eventually trace it back to my origins, so I decided to say it’s a magic item.
”Oh, really…”
*Clatter.*
Ferris, with a deeper smile at my answer, stood up and pointed her fist at me, saying this:
”Then, shall we have a strength contest?~♪.”
Ah… I see how it is.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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