Pakira nearly spat out her drink, too.
Anyone would. I asked.
"Huh? No, why?"
"Why? There's no reason."
She said it matter-of-factly and sipped her cider.
"No reason?"
"The hell?!"
"Or are you working for someone?"
"Well, that's—"
"You're not, right."
"...Well, no. I'm not hired by anyone."
Those stern eyes left no room for lies.
"Wh-why?!"
Pakira asked with a groan.
"Because there's no reason."
"No, no, there absolutely has to be a reason, doesn't there?"
"What? Were you worried your boyfriend would get stolen?"
"He's not my boyfriend!"
"She's not my girlfriend."
"Well, then there's no problem, right?"
"...That's not the issue..."
Pakira let out an indeterminate sound.
"............"
I doubted there was no reason at all.
I had a suspicion.
But that――my tension spiked.
Through Danger Perception, Megadia was bright red.
She wasn't black, so I felt a wave of relief.
If she had been black... I didn't want to think about it.
Danger Perception didn't only identify physical threats.
It could identify dangers related to one's environment, circumstances, or mental state.
"――It was a joke."
"Huh?"
"It's disheartening when you make that awful face at me."
Megadia let out a small, wry laugh.
"Ah, s-sorry. It was just so sudden."
I felt relieved. Oh, it was a joke.
Pakira groaned, looking exasperated.
"What a nasty joke. You weren't serious about traveling together, were you?"
"That's the truth."
"Then that's fine."
"Sigh. Am I really not attractive at all?"
Megadia grumbled with a sigh.
"W-well, it's not like that..."
Huh? Huh?
What's going on?
"That can't be what this is about."
"Um, well, Miss Megadia, you're beautiful."
In fact, she was tall and Gothic Lolita suited her without any sense of mismatch at all.
She was a very beautiful person. Megadia gave a faint, wry smile.
"It was a joke."
"...Please don't tease me like that."
Being made to say something embarrassing like that, even I was a bit annoyed.
"Heheheh. That's payback for rejecting me."
Megadia smiled seductively.
Honestly.
"...Mm. Wof."
"What is it?"
"What about me?"
"Hm? How about me?"
How about her what?
Pakira's expression turned sour.
"I'm asking... how is my charm, or whatever."
"Huh? Uh... um, w-well, you're cute. A real beauty."
Cat ears are justice.
Well, she actually is cute. A real beauty.
"Hmph. Naturally."
She huffed and turned away. The tips of her ears had gone bright red.
Did I... mess something up?
That was genuinely embarrassing, though.
Megadia gave me a deadpan look.
"If you're going to flirt, could you do it in the next room?"
"We weren't flirting!"
"We weren't."
Also, what did she mean by "the next room"?
Pakira's cheeks colored slightly as she cleared her throat.
"Ahem. That's enough. Megadia — I'll take this matter about joining forces home and send word with my answer later. Does that suffice?"
"Sure. We have a subjugation coming up soon, so I'd appreciate an early response."
"How should I word my reply?"
"Just say my name at the Delvers' Guild reception."
"Got it. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Oh, there's one thing I wanted to ask."
"What's that?"
"So Megadia is an Edda?"
"Is that so?"
Edda. The supreme race. The ruling species.
The being at the apex of all races.
"...That's right. I'm an Edda. You're pretty sharp, figuring that out."
"Those purple eyes. And I know someone who's half-blooded, so..."
Must be Ambrosius.
Hearing that, Megadia nodded as if it all made sense.
"I'm a pure-blooded Edda. But that doesn't make me anything special."
"Are you nobility?"
"I'm a countess, actually."
A countess!? Even Pakira was taken aback.
Megadia swirled the cider glass in her hand.
"But I'm a delver."
She took a gulp.
Pakira lowered her gaze.
"I shouldn't have asked that."
"That's fine. You can't change your race."
Megadia gave a wry smile.
Had she experienced something as an Edda?
"......"
"Wof. What's wrong?"
"Ah, no, it's just... I was wondering what exactly Edda are."
"They're the dominant race, aren't they?"
"That's true, but I don't really know much about them."
"You don't see them often, after all."
"---As for Edda characteristics, well. They have purple eyes."
Ambrosius had those too.
Purple eyes, huh.
"And they're born carrying two Relics."
"Then does that mean Megadia too...?"
"Yes, I do. Of course."
"That alone makes them far superior to other races."
"That's right. The only others who always carry Relics are the fairials."
"Really?"
"They're a special case. The rest are all nobles, as I mentioned."
"Right. Come to think of it, I've been wondering—are all Edda nobles? If that's the case, are there no nobles outside the Edda?"
It was a question I'd been wondering about for a while.
"No. Other races besides the Edda have nobles too. The king of this country isn't Edda, for instance."
"Is that so?"
"You. You ought to at least know what race your own king is."
"Sorry. I've just never had any reason to know."
And I had zero interest.
"But that's definitely a common misconception."
"Some places don't have nobles, true enough. This is a frontier far from the royal capital, after all."
"Even Hydrangea's lord — the Border Count — isn't Edda, though."
"Is that so?"
I had no idea.
Pakira and Megadia exchanged a look and let out wry laughs.
"You're a funny one, Wof."
"You should at least know the bare minimum."
"Y-yes. Sorry."
She was right. You should know these things, even if you're not interested.
Not that I'd ever had any connection to it.
"As for other things — let's see. There are gods they worship."
"The Supreme Species worship gods?"
"The Dominant Species, you mean."
"That's right. A god with purple hair and six purple eyes."
"Now there's a first."
"...Does this god have a name?"
"Yes. Generos."
"A curious-sounding name."
"It is. Do you worship her too, Megadia?"
"Everyone in Edda does, more or less. That probably wasn't very interesting, was it?"
"No, it was very informative."
"Indeed. That was a valuable tale. I hadn't expected the people of Edda to worship gods."
"I hear that a lot."
Megadia took a sip of cider, looking faintly embarrassed.
"Well then, I believe it's about time we took our leave."
"Oh, leaving already?"
"I had business that couldn't wait, and it's been settled."
"I should be heading home soon as well."
"Oh, you too? That's a shame. But I had fun."
"It was an honor to converse like this."
"The feeling is mutual. Thank you very much."
"Don't mention it. Let's talk again if the chance comes up."
"Quite."
"Yes."
We left the shop after that valuable experience.
After walking a little, Pakira stopped.
"Let's part ways here."
"Yes. Thank you for everything today."
"I should be the one thanking you. If you hadn't been there, I wouldn't have been able to talk to Megadia."
"That's an overstatement."
"Also, I... enjoyed being with you as well."
"Yes. I had fun too."
"By the way, Wof."
"What is it?"
"You're not taking on any hired work, are you?"
"I-I'm not. Sorry. I'm not."
She had seen through my lie.
I felt a little guilty about it.
"Is that so... How curious. You are."
"I suppose."
"And somewhere before..."
"?"
She was mumbling under her breath and I couldn't quite hear her.
"I hope this Herb Encyclopedia proves useful to thee."
"I will make sure it proves its worth."
"I look forward to that. Well, then."
"Well then, goodbye."
And so I parted ways with Pakira.