Near the entrance to the forest, the village chief and I stood together, watched over by the villagers.
"Hey, this is really going to be okay, right?"
"I told you, it'll be fine. She's someone you can reason with."
I reassured the restless village chief — for what felt like the dozenth time — then looked toward the forest.
Sure enough, May slowly appeared in the form of a Kirin.
Her gleaming white scales, radiant against the dark forest, drew a variety of reactions from the villagers.
Some were on guard.
Some bowed in reverence.
And others simply watched in silence.
As the Kirin drew near, I went through the motions of negotiating alongside the village chief, just as we had arranged beforehand.
"She actually came."
"See, I told you. Oh — make sure you look like you're having a serious conversation."
"Right, right."
I exchanged words with the village chief, creating the appearance that we were conversing with May. After a while, May turned and vanished back into the forest.
The surrounding villagers, watching to see how things had played out, began to murmur among themselves.
The village chief turned around and raised one hand, waving it in a grand sweep.
Seeing that signal, the villagers visibly relaxed — some even sat down on the spot, and a few broke into cheers.
As I made my way back to the villagers, the notable figures of the town crowded around the village chief.
"I knew you'd pull it off."
With that, the village is safe and sound.
Let me treat you all to some of the finest liquor I’ve been saving.
They surrounded the village chief with smiles, their attitudes completely reversed.
Watching this, the successive heads inside the Jewel explained things to me.
When it came to the scale of a village, the Third Generation had become the most knowledgeable.
'Quite the turnaround. Still, this will change how the village chief is seen here. Well, newcomers have it tough everywhere. You have to contribute something to earn their respect, but try too hard and you'll just get used. It's tricky, really.'
The village chief, surrounded by the town notables, gave a wry smile.
I distanced myself from the villagers crowding the chief and regrouped with Novem.
"Lord Lyle, we are prepared for the return trip, but are you certain? The Grey Wolf subjugation was still incomplete..."
Novem seemed worried about the quest, so I nodded. No one was paying us any mind.
"It's fine. May handled almost all of it. We just need to confirm quest completion at the end, and we're done."
Novem glanced toward the forest before turning her gaze back to me.
"I wasn't much help in the final stretch. Also, it seems your deal with the village chief went well. You've passed the trial safely, Lord Lyle."
"Safely" was a bit of a misunderstanding.
What I wanted was to gain an evaluation that would allow me to challenge the Dungeon. I needed to acquire that reputation without appearing too valuable an asset.
"I refused the reward for the additional request because I wanted a convenient evaluation. Well, I guess we won't know for sure until we get back."
How the Guild would evaluate us.
All I could do was pray things would proceed in my favor.
"Perhaps I shouldn't get my hopes up too high... But we do need to take on requests like this regularly, don't we?"
As a party, our scale was small and our achievements limited. While it was true we'd received a high evaluation relative to those few accomplishments, it remained to be seen how the Guild would weigh that.
Then again, there was also the possibility that the requests she assigned would come with higher difficulty levels.
(Well, I'm sure we'll manage somehow. Figuring things out even when they seem impossible is the leader's job, after all.)
If we added May to the party, that would make nine of us.
In terms of sheer numbers it wasn't much, but it meant we could split into two groups and operate separately.
Even just having the option to put together a reserve squad was something I was grateful for.
"Still, I never imagined a Kirin would join us as a companion. Lord Laiel, what reason did you have for bringing her in?"
I caught Novem's gaze peering up at me from below and hastily wiped the corner of my mouth.
I had just remembered kissing May. And not just any kiss — one with my tongue, while she was in her Kirin form… Looking back on it, I really should have asked her to take human shape for that moment.
(No, even that would have been hard to bring myself to do.)
I averted my eyes from Novem and gave a vague reply.
"Ah, well, you see… she said something about our ancestors being acquainted? I don't know, maybe there's such a thing as fate."
I tried to laugh it off, but Novem's eyes widened for just an instant before quickly returning to normal.
"Novem?"
"No… it must be further proof that the Successive Heads are watching over you, Lord Laiel, as you continue to put in effort every day. Let's keep doing our best, Lord Laiel."
Our objective was to defeat Ceres.
After seeing the villagers' joyful faces and the village chief's wry smile, I turned to Novem.
"That's right. But the road ahead is a long one."
Novem nodded.
"Yes, it is."
Night.
When I headed to the village chief's house, I found him back from the party, face flushed, sprawled across the sofa.
He had met the Kirin in the morning, then gone into the forest with the notable figures and hunters in the afternoon to have them confirm the request details. After that, he returned to find the villagers already preparing for a feast—apparently they'd started drinking early while it was still light out, and most of the villagers were making a racket.
Eva was performing a song at the feast, and Monica and Shannon were helping with preparations and cleanup.
The village chief's wife approached me and held out an envelope.
"Here you go."
"Thank you. Is this about the current request?"
The wife nodded and glanced over at the village chief.
He wasn't exactly frail, but he'd been forced to down a massive quantity of alcohol and was completely knocked out.
"He hurried to finish writing it as soon as he got back. He looked at the preparations and the scale of the feast and said there wouldn't be enough time tonight or tomorrow morning. He's actually quite the diligent person, you know."
She said this with a smile, then pulled the blanket back over the village chief after he'd kicked it off. She looked cheerful—genuinely happy.
I accepted the envelope, though I was slightly disappointed that I couldn't talk with the village chief. I was curious whether the terms matched what we'd agreed on, but the envelope was sealed in a way that would let the Guild side read it.
Seeing me looking worried, the wife spoke up.
"You don't need to worry. My husband never lies about these sorts of matters."
She giggled softly, and I scratched my head.
"But he does lie about everything else?"
"Oh yes. I only knew him as an adventurer and as village chief, but he certainly does lie. Like this time, for instance."
She seemed to know exactly what we were doing. And if she knew—was I known to others as well? That thought sent a flicker of unease through me.
"It's fine. I'm probably the only one who knows."
She was attractive, too, and seemed sharp and quick-witted.
As I looked at the village chief, slumped there sleeping sloppily, I—
"Chief, you were lucky to marry such a beautiful and intelligent woman like yourself."
The chief's wife gave a wry smile.
"I had a feeling you were a young adventurer, but it seems you don't really know much about how things work around here."
When she said I didn't know how things worked, I tilted my head.
The chief's wife glanced around to make sure none of the children were awake, then told me to sit down.
She prepared tea and sat across from me.
"You're Lyle, correct?"
"That's right."
I answered while sipping my tea, and the chief's wife began to tell me her story.
"I was a former prostitute."
I nearly spat out my tea but forced it down, choking as I looked at her. She was still young, beautiful, and had a lovely personality to boot.
"That's... well, I mean..."
As I faltered, the chief's wife smiled and nodded.
"Yes, my husband was one of my clients. Let me think... it was about ten years ago, I suppose. Once he became an adventurer and started making money, he began visiting me regularly."
I didn't know what expression to put on my face, but then I heard advice from Jewel.
It was the Sixth Generation.
'Lyle, you don't need to do anything. Don't show some misplaced sympathy — just listen seriously.'
I listened to the chief's wife's story.
"Your party was made up entirely of women, wasn't it, Lyle? I won't pry too deeply, but parties like that are quite rare. Most adventurers seek partners outside their profession. And in Baim, many adventurers choose prostitutes as their partners."
I knew that many adventurers stopped seeing people in their profession as potential romantic interests, but I hadn't expected that their go-to choice for partners would be prostitutes.
I had assumed they would be guild staff or townsfolk.
"Well, Baim's pleasure district is quite bustling, so there's no shortage of young girls sold off cheaply by their parents from distant villages. I was the same, myself. In a year with a poor harvest, after Monsters attacked and we desperately needed money, there was simply no other choice."
I listened, feeling guilty about pressing the chief's wife for these details.
"I thought about becoming an adventurer to earn money."
The chief's wife shook her head, then fixed me with a serious expression.
"Many adventurers lose their lives. Even among people I knew, quite a few died. It wasn't because they were weak—they were genuinely just unlucky. If you wanted to earn money safely, there really was only one path. But it wasn't all bad. I was taught manners, reading, writing, and arithmetic over the course of two years—you needed an education as well."
From inside the Jewel, the Sixth Generation's voice came.
"Hmm, sounds like you were bought by a fairly reputable establishment."
For some reason, the Sixth Generation seemed far too knowledgeable about that sort of thing. I couldn't exactly press the matter now, so I kept listening to the chief's wife.
"In Baim, people gravitate toward you even if you do nothing. Once a woman reaches a certain age, it becomes difficult to continue working as a prostitute. When that happens, some are bought by regular customers. But if you truly didn't want to, you could refuse."
The fact that she hadn't refused meant the village chief must have been someone she liked.
"He's a kind person. I consider myself fortunate."
The chief's wife glanced over at the village chief, then turned her gaze back to me and smiled.
"I've been rambling on with the preamble. What I really want to say is about your party, Laiel."
"Mine?"
When I tilted my head, the chief's wife let out a rueful laugh.
"Well, how should I put this—men and women alike can't get by on pretty words alone. Laiel, you're good-looking and you earn well, so I'm sure you'll have no trouble, but I wanted to give you some advice. You helped my husband, so please think of this as repayment for that."
I certainly was having a hard time right now.
No, not so much a hard time as... there were moments when I simply didn't know what to do. I'd blame myself for blurting things out in my post-growth high-tension state—telling people I'd protect them or to follow me.
But in my natural state, I wasn't exactly someone who excelled with women.
When I straightened up, the wife spoke to me.
"You should know—even the smallest thing doesn't go unnoticed. If you give someone a present, you should assume everyone already knows about it. Lail's party members are clearly hung up on you. Trust me, you're being watched closely."
I gulped, terrified at the thought that I'd been observed.
"I'm going to ask you straight—have you been involved with all of them?"
I answered immediately.
"I haven't. Kissing was... only three of them."
(First it was Monica, then Novem... then Monica again, and the last was Kirin, but I also kissed May, so three? Right?)
The wife looked at me and shook her head.
"Do you have a death wish?"
"Stabbed!? No, surely it wouldn't go that far..."
But even as I thought that, Aria and Miranda's faces flashed through my mind.
"Once you make a move on one, you'll have to deal with the rest, and that won't be pretty. It's one thing if you leave the party, but I've seen cases where grudges fester and companions end up killing each other."
I thought I'd heard something like this before as I agonized over how to handle the disaster that was about to befall me.
(Wait, but they did join up with me to take down Ceres, so it should be fine, right?)
I thought so, but then I remembered the tense relationship between Novem and Miranda.
"If you can't be upfront about it, you should at least think about handling things so it doesn't blow up somewhere down the line."
"Hand-h-handling!? No, that's, um..."
My face flushed red, and the wife giggled.
"You're so serious. But you really should take some kind of precaution—love turning to hatred is something I've seen plenty of. Lail, please be careful not to let that happen."
I nodded repeatedly, my expression grave.
The next morning.
We left the village, having completed our quest.
The Grey Wolf and Kirin business had been sorted out by the village's side, and all that remained was the trio's problem.
Before departing, I'd heard the relevant details from the hungover village chief.
(Two years of forced servitude, then expulsion from the village, huh… Slavery — come to think of it, I'd only heard of it but never really knew the details)
I knew the institution of slavery existed, but I didn't know the specifics. The Kingdom of Banseim didn't have a slavery system, so all I knew was that the system existed somewhere.
To keep them from following us, the trio was apparently under surveillance in the village.
I slid open the door to Porter's cargo bed and sat near the entrance, gazing blankly at the scenery.
The reason was simple — it was too noisy inside Porter.
I had considered escaping to the roof, but the current lookouts were Novem and Miranda, who had lost their game.
I didn't want to go near them.
The newly joined May was in the middle of a fight with Monica.
"Cheapskate! Feed me more!"
"Shut your mouth, you beast! This is Chicken's lunch!"
May didn't back down even a single step against Monica.
"Aren't you being unfair, giving just one person special treatment?"
Monica snorted derisively. But with a basket in hand and one arm pressing down on May's head, her posture didn't look very impressive.
"Hmph! Then make do with Chicken's leftovers. The others aren't complaining."
She had a point.
Even if they disagreed, it would be the same conversation anyway.
But the one who refused to stay quiet was Shannon.
"Hey! If you eat that, I won't get any of Layle's dessert!"
Hearing that, Monica—
"You insolent brat! So you're one of those vultures eyeing Chicken's lunch too, are you?! I won't allow it! This is a meal perfectly balanced and optimized for Chicken!"
May, meanwhile—
"Just hand it over already. It's all the same once it's eaten!"
Monica bellowed.
"It's not even lunchtime yet! How much more are you lot going to eat since morning?!"
Eva was scribbling all sorts of things in her notebook on Porter's noisy cargo bed. Whether lyrics had come to mind, she was writing with a serious expression.
Clara, who had to deal with Porter's operation, was up on the ceiling amid the tense atmosphere.
Amidst all that, Aria sat down beside me.
"It's noisy, you know? Do something about it, Leader."
At Aria's words, I looked at the three of them rampaging inside Porter.
(Porter is pretty sturdy, huh.)
That was the impression I came away with.
More importantly, I didn't want to get involved.
If I butted in, it would absolutely blow back on me too.
The Fifth Generation had said the same thing... just leave them alone. But the village chief's wife had also said to keep an eye on things. I couldn't tell what the right call was anymore.
"I think some venting is necessary."
Monica, holding my meal in her right hand and a drill equipped in her left, was intimidating May and Shannon.
The two of them had teamed up and were surrounding Monica in an attempt to somehow get their hands on my lunch.
"Moderate? You call that moderate? Hah..."
We'd added new members, but May had already settled right in.
I'd told everyone that May was a Kirin. As for why she cooperated with me, I'd made it clear that it was purely to repay a debt to my ancestor.
I'd also told her in no uncertain terms never to mention wanting seeds.
"What?"
Aria was looking at me like she had something to say, so I asked her.
"Wow, you sure have gathered quite the motley crew of complicated people. In a way, it's an impressive roster."
It was true—May the Kirin and Monica the automaton were certainly unusual picks.
The rest of the members were no less eccentric when compared to ordinary adventurers.
"If you find out how I ended up like this, I'd like to know too."
That was the honest truth.