"What the hell is this?! What's the meaning of this?!"
It was a large room.
It was a spacious study belonging to Fidel Trace, head of the Trace Trading Company. Light streamed in through the large windows, and the room was adorned with an array of lavish furnishings.
The Trace Trading Company, which dealt in shipping and various other businesses, was one of the most prominent trading houses in Baim. Fidel was one of the foremost merchant representatives of Baim, and one of its most influential businessmen.
There, Fidel was crushing a report in his fist, glaring at the man in his thirties standing before him.
The man offered an excuse.
"I-I'm terribly sorry! But I judged that an escort would be necessary, so I inserted one on my own authority. In fact, according to those who returned from Kartafus, the Trident Sea Serpent was subjugated, and both the young lady and the ship's cargo were safe—"
"Don't make excuses! What kind of man did you put on Vera's ship?! Look at her! That Rolfis princess has been completely enchanted! And Zayin—two of them, a saint and a former saint, both entangled with him!"
The reason for Fidel's fury was simple. After all, aboard his daughter Vera's ship, there was an adventurer of questionable character—talented, yes, but with an infamous way with women.
He had been absolutely determined to see this trade deal succeed.
That was why he had sent his daughter, but from his subordinates he'd only heard that a skilled adventurer had been placed aboard as well.
However, once word spread through Baim that they had encountered the Trident Sea Serpent and defeated it, he had grown curious about said adventurer.
He could have offered an exclusive contract, but more importantly, this person was the savior of his precious daughter. Though Fidel was too busy to see his daughters often, he cherished them deeply.
When he investigated this benefactor, he found that the reports were indeed impressive.
So impressive that hiring him felt like a stroke of luck.
But for Fidel, reading the report revealed an unbelievable truth.
A suspicious adventurer—one who should never have been allowed aboard—had been placed on his daughter's ship. Fidel was filled with regret.
"This man—could it be he possesses some dubious Skill and has been ensnaring women with it?! What if he made a move on my daughter... on Vera?!"
Fidel's fury left the man who had arranged for Lyle and the others completely bewildered.
"But, but his reputation at the Guild is outstanding, and when it comes to work—"
"That doesn't matter one bit! He's the kind of guy who seduces women! How can I say he hasn't wormed his way deep into the Guild? Ghh… what if Vera is in danger?!"
The man looked at Fidel with a hint of exasperation. At work, Fidel was worthy of respect, but whenever his daughters were involved, his worrisome side inevitably came out.
That was why, for Vera and his other daughter, Gina Trace, they always had proper guards assigned.
The man recalled this and spoke.
"Please calm down, Lord Fidel. There are plenty of able sailors around Lady Vera. To them, Lady Vera is their goddess of fortune. No shady man could even get close to her. Besides, aboard a ship is their domain."
Fidel still looked uneasy.
He ran his fingers through his slicked-back black hair, crumpling it, then spread out the report he'd been gripping and re-read its contents.
"V-Vera is certainly adored by the sailors. This time it was just bad luck, but my daughter is loved by the sea… There's no way some bratty adventurer could wrap her around his finger…"
And yet, Fidel thought to himself.
Since arriving in Baim, he'd been involved in high-value quest completions and Dungeon subjugations. There was no denying the man's excellence. He'd heard that the fellow had been doing mercenary work in Zayin, but the results were first-rate. Still, why did he always have beautiful women fawning over him… Perhaps he should have the Guild investigate? People with troublesome Skills like this were best eliminated early on. Yes. This wasn't about Vera being in danger. It was for the greater good!
Having made up his own excuse, Fidel decided to take action before Vera returned.
The Guild fell under the merchants' control.
For a merchant of Fidel's caliber, plenty of people were willing to move when he called.
After re-combing his hair, Fidel crumpled the report into a ball and tossed it into the trash can, lightly tracing his prized mustache with a finger.
"…I'll be there to greet the ship when it arrives at port. After that, prepare some capable men. We'll need to arrange separate payment for that as well."
This outcome held significant meaning for Fidel as well. The Vera Trace had survived even a confrontation with a Trident Sea Serpent—or so it went.
He wouldn't go so far as to say it had been defeated, but anything could happen at sea. If word spread that the ship was lucky, more and more people would come requesting them to transport cargo.
And if the cargo arrived safely, more clients would choose to use their services.
The man nodded with a serious expression, then left the room without another word.
Fidel penned a letter addressed to the Guild before resuming his work.
"Hmph! I don't care if he's the son of some noble family — if he gets too close to my Vera, I'll make him disappear. And if he's already laid a hand on her..."
Fidel let a dark smile play across his lips, and once the letter was finished, he returned to his work.
——Tahnia had been summoned by a Guild executive, called in under her alias, Tahnya.
She'd been brought to headquarters alongside her superior.
Both her superior and Tahnia were perplexed by the executive's agitated expression.
"That Lyle Walt — what kind of person does he strike you as? His abilities are clearly competent; the reports make that much plain. But what about his character?"
Standing before the visibly anxious headquarters executive, Tahnia was at a loss.
"He's an excellent adventurer, and it's not as though he has a bad attitude. He takes on our commissions whenever possible, and this time as well, he helped with the subjugation of the Land Dragon in Kartafus—"
"That's not what I mean. What about you?"
The executive turned to Tahnia's superior for input. Tahnia had assumed she was the most qualified to speak on his character, since she handled his conversations at the reception desk.
But in front of the executive, she kept her mouth shut.
"Even if you ask me... there's nothing beyond what the reports already cover. Is there some kind of problem?"
The executive, looking rather reluctant, produced an envelope and showed it to Tahnia's superior.
Upon seeing the name, the superior's eyes widened.
"It's a letter from one of Baim's representatives — Mr. Fidel Trace, specifically — expressing specific concern and requesting direct consultation."
When Tahnia heard that name, she nearly slapped her hand to her face. She held back and kept her expression neutral, but inwardly—
(What are you doing, Lyle? He's the last person you want to make an enemy of.)
Brilliant but with a few screws loose — that was the current assessment of Lyle as an adventurer.
After all, no normal person would pick a fight with an entire country, even a small one, with only a hundred people at their back. He was becoming a living legend, and over in Baim, there were already moves being made to investigate those around Lyle.
I was surprised that he hadn't taken service under Zayin and was still working as an adventurer in Baim.
(Will he cause trouble again, I wonder?)
Tahnia grew uneasy, and then she heard a certain word from one of the executives.
"That Lyle fellow — have you heard that he uses mental-type Skills? Apparently, he surrounds himself with women? A typical harem party, some might say? If he's harmless, we won't make a problem of it, but, well…"
The Guild was no fools. Adventurers under suspicion were monitored, and this was Baim — the very headquarters of adventurers, a city so central it was called the City of Adventurers.
They had countermeasures in place for such things.
Tahnia's superior spoke with a serious expression.
"We've confirmed that he uses multiple Skills. He was carrying a blue Jewel that seemed to be a support type, if I recall. Mental-manipulation Skills are almost all support-type, after all. Very well — I'll begin the investigation immediately."
"I appreciate you understanding. We can't jump to conclusions just yet. Let's send people when he returns from subjugating the Land Dragon and arrives back at port. We'll also dispatch personnel from headquarters."
(Mental Skills are certainly dangerous, but with some degree of resistance one could… No, given Lyle's abilities, a mediocre adventurer wouldn't stand a chance at resisting. The possibility is definitely there. It is, but… he's not that kind of person.)
Tahnia thought things had become rather complicated —.
"…Huh?"
The Vera Trace had set sail, and I had been invited into Vera's cabin.
Vera, her face flushed red and her gaze lowered, grabbed both of my hands —.
"I-I said… I'm admitting defeat."
Even though I knew she wasn't looking, I shook my head from side to side.
(No, no, no, no! What is going on here?! What does this mean?! You said it wouldn't come to anything! You said — Vera, you said you had someone you liked!)
My mind in a whirl, I turned to the Successive Heads within the Jewel for help.
This time Mireia was there too, being a woman, so surely she'd be of use.
But the Fourth Generation was just as confused as I was.
"Hey! Somebody explain what's going on here! I don't get it at all! What kind of magic did you use, Lyle! No, wait, Mr. Lyle!"
I mentally swore I'd knock this guy out someday. With that thought, I ignored the unhelpful Fourth Generation and waited for the other Heads' opinions.
The Third Generation was surely grinning, judging by that voice.
"Oh ho, just as I thought. That's ruthless, Mr. Lyle. After all, when you tell someone 'don't think about it,' humans just end up thinking about it even more... Besides, she was quite fond of you. I predicted this development."
If you predicted it, I wished you'd given me some advice beforehand. What was I supposed to say to refuse? I racked my brains.
Then the Seventh Generation laughed.
"Hahaha, isn't this great, Lyle? Now you get the funding!"
Sure, maybe I'd get financial assistance. But was that really okay? That was my question.
(N-n-no good. Getting involved just for the money... a-and, I have everyone here! I have to take responsibility!)
I was about to speak to Vera, who was looking down with her ears bright red. Just as I was about to refuse, Mireia offered her advice from the Jewel.
"My, this is rather thrilling, isn't it? I'm curious what Lyle will say to accept."
The Fifth Generation asked, sounding exasperated.
"Accept as a given? The financial help would certainly be welcome... But Lyle, what do you intend to do?"
When asked, I shook my head. Then Mireia spoke.
"She confessed with such resolve after coming this far, and you're going to refuse? Lyle, you were the one who confessed first!"
(She's right! I did confess! But that was different! Even she admitted she was just riding high on the emotion!)
When I showed signs of refusing, the Third Generation made a suggestion.
"Lyle, a girl that headstrong gathered her courage to confess to you. Besides, do you dislike Vera?"
I shook my head in denial.
"Well then, isn't that fine? Whether it's eight or nine, that's a trivial matter now. Sacrifice Lyle's future to get the funding. Once it's all over, you just work hard to get back in your bride's good graces. That's something Marks... the Fourth Generation is good at."
The Fourth Generation spoke, looking somewhat displeased.
"I'm certainly better at it than the other Heads. But please don't think that's all there is to it. Also, Lyle! You've been treating her awfully lately, haven't you?"
I wanted to tell him to figure out the reason himself, but right now I had no idea what to say to Vera.
Then Vera raised her face and—.
"I-I love you. I love you."
From inside the Jewel, I heard Mireia's scream.
"Gyaaaah! A girl confessing is so nice too!"
The Fifth Generation sounded slightly taken aback.
"R-really? This development is too sudden for me to know what to say... Still, Lyle-san is something else. If he was genuinely predicting this would happen, I'm impressed. At the same time, I'd like Lyle to try just a little harder when he's being himself, though."
What an unreasonable thing to say, I thought, but when a woman was making a serious confession, I had to respond with a serious expression.
"I'm happy. Thank you. And—"
I was about to continue with "but," when the door burst open and the crew poured in. From the things in their hands came the sounds of "pop!" "pop!" — the crack of gunpowder.
They wore pointy hats, and the smell of gunpowder filled the surroundings. But these weren't guns. Crackers — party supplies.
They were what Monica had been holding.
"Congratulations, Miss!"
"With Lyle here, we can rest easy!"
"The Master will surely be delighted too!"
Overwhelmed by the crew's congratulations, Vera's eyes went wide and she threw her arms around me. The ones who had come in alongside the crew were Novem and the others.
Monica wore a pointy hat and set off an oversized cracker. A loud pop echoed out, and tiny scraps of paper and thin strips scattered through the air.
"Y-you lot!"
When I was about to complain to Monica, Novem was clapping.
"I think she's a wonderful woman. She's a fitting match for Master Lyle. I'm sure she'll be a great help to you, Master Lyle."
"O-oh?"
Stuck between Novem's approval, I remembered what Septem had told me.
(Novem is a goddess — no, was she a dark god? Could that be why she keeps recommending women to me like this?)
Just then, Eva and Clara came into the room.
The two were glaring at each other.
"That's why it's more exciting to talk about this after we've beaten Trathy! Besides, the details don't matter! Even if you try to spell everything out precisely, it just doesn't work that way!"
"No, it won't do! I can't accept that! I need to hear exactly how you took her down and record it properly! I won't allow these accounts to be turned into misleading legends!"
Aria watched the two of them argue.
"Those two are at it again... Actually, Lyle — you really have no standards at all, do you?"
Miranda corrected Aria's claim that he had no standards.
"He turned down the princess of Rolfis, didn't he? He does have standards, right? That House Walt family code or whatever it is."
May looked at me and Vera.
"...Hey, isn't it pretty obvious that Lyle's the one being kept here? Is that really okay? In the wild, some animals where the males are strong do form harems, but... for humans, money seems to be the important thing, right?"
It was the Fifth Generation, inside the Jewel, who had watched May begin to learn about human society.
"May, you're a smart one. Back in my day, I tried to keep her away from all this as much as possible... You've grown, May."
The Fifth Generation looked pleased, but Mireia seemed exasperated.
"Father, you haven't changed at all, have you?"
Monica stepped out of the room, then returned carrying food. There were glasses and bottles there as well, and alcohol had been prepared too.
"Hey!"
Monica remained expressionless.
"No matter how many women you bring around, my master is nothing but a Chicken. This Monica may despise it deep down, but not preparing would be unthinkable! Now then, the toast is all ready!"
Monica, wearing a pointy hat and loaded with all manner of party goods. Not a shred of persuasiveness.
(This one's definitely having a blast.)
The crew members:
"That's real thoughtful of ya, sis."
"Like I said, you gotta toast with booze on a day like this. Oh, anyone with work only gets one glass, got it?"
"Alright, I'm cracking open my special stash today! It's a celebration for the young lady!"
While Vera and I looked on in bewilderment,
Shannon popped her head through the door and dropped one remark.
"That girl was a pushover too, huh."
Hearing that, I thought to myself:
(You've got no room to talk, you pushover!)
...and that's what I ended up thinking.