Chapter 16 – The Back Road To Get The Spotlight

Shouji rented a room at a cheap hotel attached to a bar, but since it was accessible from the back, it was no different from an apartment.

If you cut off the passage, it will become a completely private room, as a matter of course since the hall was a bar, you can drink beer in 10 steps from the room, so Shouji liked it.

It was late at night when Shouji carried the perfect-potion he received from Percibell into a rental warehouse, checked the inventory and distributed it to the retailers.

When he came back from the back road, he noticed that the door was open and the key in the tomato pot at the entrance was stolen.

When he opened the door discreetly, the smell of seafood was smelled from the room.

Valuable heat source stone―― A flat black plate filled with holes is being used.

He heard a bubbling noise of a hot-pot is being cooked.
The room was filled with warm air, making his cold hand become warm.

He saw the back of a female student dressed in a white and blue uniform.

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「Fs, kv’p usw…… Ebyv yal usw eskdt? Ebu es usw jdso xu bswpl?」
「Elznsxl bsxl, eyazkdt. Gv qkapv R qszzsole usw rasrlazu, cwv kv eked’v osaj, ps R ypjle Jydes yde bl vlzz xl, sjyu?」
「…… R pll」

Rv kp y alzklq vs cl sd tsse vlaxp okvb svbla plzzlap, cwv clkdt vss nzspl kp y rasczlx vss.

「Zlyb. Zsw pll, R xyel plyqsse rkzyq yde qakle nbknjld. R yzps byhl vsxyvs pyzye」
「Rv nspv y zsv, aktbv? Zsw esd’v byhl vs es vbkp」
「R byhl vbl clpv pyzlp sq yzz vbl plzzlap, sjyu. Gp vbl taswr blye, eyazkdt byp psxlvbkdt vs pyu, aktbv?」

Shouji dropped his shoulders and surrender as he begged her with his upper eyes.

「I love you Lorelei. You are the best」
「Yossha! Now, I will carry it so sit down at the table」

The living room was small, and since it was a low table Shouji sat down while leaning against the wall.

As can be seen, the messy room are cleaned and the miscellaneous items are being packed carefully.

Not only newspapers and a bunch of documents, but also sake bottles and wooden buckets from meal delivery service are being piled up so as not to get in the way.

The sales book that was submitted was very detailed, and even the correspondence sheet for school girls’ members who purchased was made.

The issues and purchase amount, they wait for the payment at their own discretion, if you make prior investment then you can earn interest.

The little girl is smart and capable. There is no doubt about it.

She is a perfect subordinate that should be loved if she does not act like a meddlesome wife.

「Hey, hey, hey. There is not much spice in the kitchen. Let’s go buy it next time」

Lorelei who was holding a spoon, blows the hot pilaf and the seasoned long grain rice then puts it into her mouth placed an order casually.

Shouji put the pilaf into his mouth, his hands trembles from the seafood soup stock deliciousness, he responded calmly as he was about to let the spoon out.

「Write it down in a notepad. I will buy it…… No, it’s wrong. Are you going to stay?」
「No way. I also have my own house, okay. But I want to take care of darling」
「I’ve been taking care of myself all this time」
「But, you’ll be rich one day, right? Then you’ll probably hire servants, so you should get used to being taken care by other person」
「I see….. I guess so」

Shouji who was coaxed by cajolery turned his attention to food.
He wanted to get hungry somehow and wanted to taste more rice.

The saltiness of the chopped vegetables was well balanced, and the tomatoes were soaked in olive oil to enhance the flavor.

The chicken has a lot of extra oil spread out, the skin is crisp and crunchy.
The meat juice burst out when he chew it.
All of these dishes are comparable to restaurant food.

「Why is this so delicious?」

When she was asked by Shouji who was trapped in the feeling of eating an illusion, Lorelei lifted the edge of her mouth smiled widely and showed her teeth.

「I learned it at school」
「It’s the taste that will shocked Doldo and make him commit suicide. You can become a cook」
「Ahaha, it’s impossible. It’s just something simple that I came up with. It takes a lot of time and effort, so it tastes good. If I make a lot for customers, the taste will change and I have to consider the cost too」
「So there’s that kind of problem, eh」
「Yes, yes, but I’m happy you know. If it’s that delicious then should I come everyday to cook for you?」
「Yeah, I want to eat it everyday…… Ah」

When he casually replied it in a joking manner, a strange silence came into their conversations.

The strange thing is, the place is completely still.

Lorelei make a faint smile, but her eyes are not laughing.
She has a bad face with a grin while distorting the corner of her mouth.

It looks like a face that you made the moment you drop someone on purpose into a pit.

Shouji suddenly realized that he had been taken by her words.

「…… Uh, well, it’s okay once in a while. It’s once in a while, alright」
「Yes, I know」

Shouji did not know if she really understood or not, but it felt like he was ensnared into her way little by little and felt cold.

It is not as easy as dealing against assassins and gangsters in the in the city.

When she finished eating, she started washing the dishes without saying anything, and when she was finished, she complained about the place for laundry.

She said that he should go to buy storage table and fashionable clothes for going out.
He dozes in the room and nodded ambiguously while listening.

If he was at home with his buddies, they would have a drink or playing cards or talking about business, but Lorelei often talked about school.

Right now, it seems that she have started club activities. Shouji was wondering whether she lean towards sports or hobbies, but it is said that entering a social club is the quickest way to sell the potions.

「I’m small, but I have a lot of influence. It was sold smoothly, you know. Come to think of it, what happened to the gang that sold the potions before?」
「Do you want to hear it?」
「Y-yeah…… Well, tentatively」
「They were the Alchemist Association’s underling. An alchemist’s little boy was holding one of the female student in his arms and made her addicted to potions. I asked a disposal company to to turned him into pig food in a steam boiler, but he was a friendly guy who greeted me politely」

He was able to collect ultra-purified water too, so it was killing two birds with one stone.

If he have an organization behind him, is the possibility of being hostile around 50%?
If it turn into crushing each other, then there is no other choice but to fight.

「Umm…… Darling won’t turn me into a potions addict, right? It feels like a sex slave. I don’t want it. I can only do pure love route, okay」

She hold herself with both hands as if to protect her body.

Shouji raise one of his knee while leaning against the wall, he put his arm on his knee and relaxed.

「It’s a world where even if you try to restrain yourself and live seriously, it doesn’t work. There may be some weak guy who are addicted with potions, but if it’s you, perhaps even if that happened to you, you can still turn back halfway」
「What about you, darling?」
「I’m an addict. I have no choice but to get on with it moderately. I can also put rest hours」
「Hmm…… I will sell the perfect-potion at the party. I will let everyone drinks all at once and has sex with men. It’s going to be a great feast filled with loud moans」
「I will give you a gun. Protect yourself with that…… Just in case, contact me when you kill. I will handle it properly. If it needed, I will bring a judge over, a young lady like you will never go to jail」
「It’s okay to protect myself…… But if I look those things all the time then I will be aroused…… It may be necessary to have darling take care of me」

While crawling around the table on all four all of sudden, she goes around and approaches him.
She tilt her her neck with a sweet face and ask without speaking, she press her head against her chest.

Like a cat who wants to be in the hands of her master, she put her weight on and leaned.
She cannot get her knees down, so she cross her legs and hug him.

Her leather jacket is taken off and since she is in her uniform, Shouji felt as if he had become a gigolo.

It smells of a young girl.
A sweet scent that resembles the fragrance of a large flower drifts around his nose.

He can feel that her hair is soft to the touch and he discover that her body temperature is high even through clothes.

When he looked down, her long eyelashes were sparkle and blinks incessantly.

「…… Want to do lewd things?」

He stroked her head intentionally because he was shy.

「Your parent will be worry if you don’t go home」
「I will stay here today」

He did not rely on the voice to ask for permission, but he answered while caressing her head like loving a small animal.

「Do as you wish」
「Yes, I will」

　△　▼　△

When the morning came, there was no one in the futon.

Lingering scent smells lightly from the futon. The scent that induces emotions and burns the brain. While he was sleeping together, he limit it to only stroking her small buttocks, but if something like this happened several times, he felt that his reason was out of control.

Perhaps that may be what the person herself wants too―― Not only her feet, if she immerse herself in the world of gangs, she will eventually dropped out from school, and everything in the future will be destroyed.

Sooner or later, he should let her make a choice.

Since he and his friends could not live properly, they became the residents of darkness.
But there is no need for Lorelei to do so.

She does not seems to be in trouble with school fees and did not hesitates to buy stupidly expensive food ingredients. He already overlooked the fact that she wears first-class dress and is a daughter of a wealthy family.

She is also good at scouting female students who are in trouble with money.
It is regrettable to lose a talented person, but at least should he turn her to the sub-level instead of the main one?

「Hmm……」

There was a memo under the sandwich plate on the table.

『Do not cheat too much!』is written with a portrait of angry mark attached to it, inserted between the fine paper letters.

There is a trace of beeswax released, the postmark was a few days ago. but it must have arrived yesterday.

The sender is Holly S. Detromix.

When he read the notepaper, he noticed in addition to the season greeting, a silver badge was enclosed as well.

An unfamiliar badge in the shape of a pickaxe.

To my dear.

The autumn harvest is over, and the wheat-colored sea around me is reaped, leaving a lonely scenery.

Due to job failure, I asked the Magician Church to arrange the next job, but it was not good.

Frankly speaking, it is your fault, but I do not regret it that much. To tell the truth, it is because I was tired too.

After all, I spend my days studying books at my other residence while enjoying the late vacation.

Calculating the decay rate of plants harvested in undeveloped land, collecting rare plants with different speckles and look at them with a microscope, summoning other world microorganisms and gives them raw meat.

I thought I would spend this peaceful days with you, it is a pity, but I know it is not what you wish.

Moreover, my sense of values regarding the underworld does not change.

Even if my relationship with you will be lifelong, perhaps it will never change.

Well, you know that I am a summoner magician, but I also like my position as a doctor.

Although my father’s uselessly large territory has a long history, but it is easy to find ruins with a deeper history than the royal era.

Most of the time, I find it at construction sites and reclaimed lands, since it is troublesome to dispose of it, it is customary to either leave it out or bury it, however I retained the ruins by using the bounty system.

This domestic policy was a birthday present for me, I enjoyed researching the ruins to the fullest and recording the appearance and history.

When I submitted it as a paper, I was approved to rank as one of the few 『Archeologist』authorized by the royal government.

The management will be the Cultural History Office. Although it is not under direct control, I have been registered as a government official, and I have been entrusted with trivial rights, if I submit the results, I may receive money from the royal government, although it is only a small amount.

I will use these rights a bit and give you the position of acting as my agent as a present. The position will be as an aide. It is an official rank. I got signature from my friends who are working for ministries. Not a shady unofficial one.

The master of Adventurer’s Guild seems to have a guilty conscience for refusing your registration, but if you visit as the 『Archeologist’s Assistant』he cannot refuse you.

The complicated procedure has already been completed.

We shall give Shouji Quik permission to step into the dungeon as a historical heritage of His Majesty’s nation and our friendly nations.

Please do not lose the enclosed silver badge.

That way, I will not forget you just as you will not forget me too.

I will pray for you to return to the path with light.

　―― From the window where you can see the wheat field. Your closest “friend” Holly.

PS : The party is one month later.

After reading the letter, Shouji realized that the road to the surface world that was so difficult was narrowly connected.

Although feelings like expectations have been welled up, but he relaxed and calmed himself down.

「It’s already too late, Holly」

The hand holding the letter fell. It is already late.
It’s been too long since he was abandoned.
He already lived as a dirty man for two years.

He have lived by beating to death anyone who blocks his way.

He do not regret and there is no looking back.

He picked up the silver badge suddenly. Did the situation changed if a person who did this far appeared earlier? Did he keep his hands without dyeing it with evil deed? Did he held justice in his hands for once?

Even if he think about it, it is useless.
It is difficult to restore fresh water that has flowed into the ground to its original shape.

「But, thank you for giving me a new status. I will make good use of the title『Archeologist’s Assistant』」

Adventurers are, in a sense, someone who always drinking potions.

This sign is great for selling it to them.
No scholar has gained the trust of a scholar authorized by the royal capital.

It seemed like Holly’s good intentions had been spoiled, but it would be fine to buy some of the dungeon’s harvest and hand it over.

In the first place, those who go to a dangerous place such as a monster’s nest are adventurers.

There are also those who embody “death or glory”.

Although they will not become an addict obediently, perfect-potion’s resilience is such that even a missing arm can be repaired over time.

Even if it is forbidden, it is assured that it will be coveted.

「Should I find a job first before attending the party?」

In order to look better, he changed his shirt into a clean one, he wore an open-collared Norfolk jacket with a strap on his belly, and trousers with light hemp tones.

He put on socks without holes and dress himself with a silver badge on his chest.

He only had work boots as his shoes, but it fits nicely because it matched with the hard feeling.

Opens the door and departs now―― Remembering that he had to reply to the letter before he went out, Shouji searched the room for a brush pen.

He was troubled with the thank-you text, and it took him several hours to complete it after deleting and adding words many times.

He must give his words of gratitude to her.

「You have helped me widen my path」 he said.