As I used the teleportation circle, I arrived at the designated area near the dungeon entrance. Two people, Kabuto and Emika welcomed me.

This was a temporary countermeasure, considering we hadn't know whether or not the spy still with us. For the long term, we might use some help from the guild receptionist, or maybe the others adventurers and vendors in this place.

".....So? Did you succeed?" Asked Kabuto.

"Of course duh, it was easy."

"....Easy? Haha... I see... of course that's easy... if Eiji himself said it is easy... then I must be a ballpoint that runs out of ink... haha... useless... even if I weren't around... it wouldn't make any effect, right?"

Somehow, It was surprisingly tiring and amusing when I was speaking with Kabuto, he wasn't a badman. But he was completely spiritless, one wrong word and his motivation would be gone as fast as snow falling on a hot plate.

"Um... congrats!" Said Emika. No... she was most likely shouting, shouting in a very low volume.

Anyway, no other student went in when I was on the inside.

We left the entrance behind, we walked along the street for a while and finally met Azusa. She looked with her sharp gaze, and fixed her eyes on at our direction. After that, she started walking towards us without a hint of hesitation.

"Oh... captain, do you want to eat with us?" Asked Kabuto.

However, Azusa just looked at him,

"Sorry, but I have no time, and can I borrow him?”

And cut him down with a single sentence. In addition, Kabuto held his chest as if he had been pierced through by her frosty glare.

 "I-I know, right!? There’s no way you would have any time with a piece of trash like me! Aah, a worthless man like me want to eat at the same table as you to everyone else is pretty brazen, right?"

I somehow started to wonder if his heart always collapsed no matter what others side. Even though we were practically eating at the same table today.

"Eh!? Ah, umm, sure, I don’t mind." Said Emiko.

Hearing Emiko’s answer, Azusa grabbed my hand, turned around and walked out boldly... without even waiting for my own confirmation!

"Umm... You know, Kabuto. Do you think Azusa is dating with Eiji?"

"Why would you ask for my opinion... I'm really just a useless person, after all...haha..."

"E-em... sorry, I guess?"

Thanks to my eavesdropping training, somehow... I still could hear their conversation under the sea of noises. And it looked like the other students were already convinced that we were lovers. I realized some looked at him with eyes alight with curiosity or jealousy. I couldn’t blame them though. After all, the Ice Queen had never spoken to anyone of her own volition, after all.

She took me through the dark and shabby alley, until we arrived at the place with the signboard that had a picture of a green snake drawn on it.

After opening the door and going inside, we saw a tall and slender man sitting at a desk and counting the money.

"THAT GODDAMN SHISHIO!! GOSH! HOW CAN BE THERE IS SOMEONE AS STUPID AS HIM?!"

We just barely entered the pub, and one second later, she already exploded. Yeah... on the past three weeks, almost twice every day she took me to the place like this just to explode.

And in her case... it was an explosion first and then the reason. To tell the truth, she and Shishio weren't that different.

"Hm? What’s wrong? You look really tired." Asked Azusa for a moment as she stopped yelling.

"...I went through hell the moment you decided to lash out to me in a place like this, without taking a seat or ordering a drink, you know?"

She might not aware but lately, we'd been banned on several places like this. And that one time when I bought the poison supply. "Ah... you're the guy that got shouted at the bar last night, aren't you?" Said the poison seller.

"Hm? Did I do something bad? I assumed that the place like this would be the most convenient place to shout."

"No, that is… Azusa, you should be more aware of your surrounding… Never mind."

I decided to stop there because it would take a long time to explain. She probably didn’t even know how the other man saw us.

In any case, we took a seat after confirming the quiet place without many people nearby. We both sat facing each other.

"Anyway... before you lashed out, I'm going to order some drink and food. What do you want?"

"Same as you or anything tasty." She said.

Despite the awkwardness of her shouting, the bar went silent. The surrounding men were speaking in a low voice as I walked to order some food, and what reached my ear was something just about me getting dumped or I was her servant. I didn't mind being lover getting dumped... but why servant?

"Surprise me please, two portion." I said as I gave the man one silver coin.

Seeing the silverish coin, the old man only nodded with a big grin, showing off his only tooth left. " Don't worry about this. Ah by the way Kiddo. She’s certainly quite beautiful. Is she your lover?"

"No."

I affirmed his guess without any hesitation.

"Then, you're her servant? You don't look like one though. Ah, her sex slave?"

"Out of respect on your last tooth, I'll pretend I don't hear that."

"Gahaha! Then she's no one right? So that's fine, right?" The old man said as he pointed his finger toward our table.

Somehow, three men already sitting there, trying to make a move on her. One of them was wearing expensive looking clothes with lion insignia, the others two was almost looked like his bodyguard. 

If this Earth... this would be a crime, but if I wasn't wrong, in this world as long as a girl had their first, society would accept her as the woman. 

At first, I decided to ignore it, considering it was Azusa, the 2nd strongest person in our group. But... most likely because she was Azusa... the 2nd strongest in our group, with Strength already reached 800... wouldn't it be a problem if she accidentally slapped them?

 *Sigh*

"C'mon, the lady with black hair. Just tell us your name, don't you feel lonely? I don't mind accompanying you." Said the most likely rich man.

"She's with me." I said from the bar desk.

"Ha? Shut up, you commoner! Right now, Lord Mark is speaking, don’t interrupt!" Scolded the man that looked like his servant.

The one tooth old man behind me, immediately pulling my shirt and shaking his head. "Don't. it's better to search for another one."

While nodding to the Oldman that tried to stop me, I observed that the man in the middle most likely holding his pouch on his back pocket. Nevertheless, the natural red haired man that talked to Azusa clearly showed elegance good-looking nobles, and it probably wouldn't different with other nobles. The man with red hair displayed a calm pose, but the two furious servants at the back were despising me completely.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Excuse me, but who are you?"

"Ha! You bastard! It’s rude not to know who is Lord Mark." Shouted Servant B.

"Calm down. My name is Mark DeGrace. I am the second son of proud DeGrace family who will become respected noble eventually."

The man who introduced himself as Mark bowed gracefully. Hmmm, unlike his servants, this man seemed to esteem politeness.

"So... how much?" Said Mark as he took his embroidered pouch from his pants pocket. 

"Hm?" I said as I tilted my neck... not like I didn't realize where this would be going though.

"She's with you, right? So how much do I need to pay you so you'll leave her? No, how much do I need so you leave this bar? To think you have the same black hair as her... disgusting. Seeing someone has the same hair colour as her brilliant obsidian hair, ah... you, woman, you are very beautiful. Would you like to become my attendant?"

He...was beyond creepy.

"Oi! You! Lord Mark is giving a direct deal to a commoner! What's your answer?" Said Servant A.

Before the servants finished speaking, I replied on the spot by splendid business-like smile.

"Nah... I'll pass, I might not look like it, but I'm a pretty successful artist (Con artist and escape artist), you know."

"Deciding in spur of moment… As expected from the foolish commner." Said Servant B.

...He kept calling me 'commoner' but wasn't he just a servant?

"Hahaha! you guys, calm down. You said you are an artist right? Then how about working at my household? That way you can see her every day, right? And you don't need to worry about getting hungry again."

I'd been wondering for a while, but why didn't he ask Azusa's opinion? And somehow she didn't mind or bother by this incident either.

And just when we made the rule about not to use our chosen one's status. ...Not to mention, it would be a bad news if the chosen ones were hitting noble first, weren't we?

"Hah, what's up with that silence, commoner? getting tempted by Lord Mark offer? Don't tell me he's your lover, eh woman? I can give you a far better life than this." Said Lord Mark.

...Did he just mentioned his self as 'Lord Mark'?! Anyway, this should give me enough reason.

"Ah, yes, she's my lover. So can you just give up? no matter what you said, I'll refuse."

"Wha- Come on, you’re supposed to deny that!!"

From out of nowhere, Azusa decided to speak. I tried to give her an eye signal, but she completely ignored me.

"Er..., we are, aren't we? Don't tell me you like that freak?"

"T-That’s not what I mean, and besides, are you really okay with someone like me!?"

"Duh..."

........

A heavy silence settled over us, thicker than the uneasy tension in the atmosphere. Unsettled eyes glanced unceremoniously around and tried to avoid catching other glances that passed by. Some shifted uncomfortably in their seat and others grasped their sweaty, nervous hands under the tables, and even others shuffled their feet against the cobbles of the bar floor, awkwardly tracing the outlines of each brick while judging whispers swirled in the air around the small space.

And the one who broke the silence.

"Er... Kiddo,  your food will be cold if this goes on."

Maybe because the old man worried about me, or maybe because the old man didn't want any fight in his falling anytime soon bar, or maybe he just couldn't read the mood. But he put a big plate of food onto the bar table, filled with boiled crayfish, I guessed he really gave me what I ordered.

"Oi! Don't you dare ignore us!" Said Servant A, though this time he walked into my direction, and raising planning to unsheathe his swords.

Veins appeared on the forehead of the man who asked him. Anyhow, even if they were angry, it was too much for them to be this menacing because someone ignoring them. Then again, maybe because I hadn't change my expression made them saw me as nothing but an impudent fellow. 

I wasn't crazy enough to think it was my fault. But I guessed I needed another countermeasure for the next problem like this huh.

With his eyes opened wide, the man who was swinging his sword at me, now was kissing the ground, accompanied by a loud sound.

With dumbfounded expressions, Mark, Servant B and the others moved their gaze from the blown man to me, who was gripping the tail of the red, boiled crayfish with a pose of someone grabbing a twin dagger. Somehow, I felt the eyes of the dead cracked crayfish were somehow shining.

"Wh-, wh-." Servant B was flustered.

After all, I did not want to get involved with noble since it would become various problems later when the noble of this house aware we (the chosen ones) were the one who beat them. But, there was no way they could report me if I used crayfishes to smack someone with a sword, right? 

Taking another pair of newly boiled crayfish, I glanced at Mark and his servant. Needless to say, having received a pressure he never felt before, the man of Sea-dweller tribe thrust his rapier while shouting as he panicked from seeing his friend getting beaten down by a crayfish.

"..." I wondered how much Mark paid them. I meant, it had been a while since I fought against the fellow human, but man, I guessed we were the real cheat, or this one was weak?

I could see in his eyes, this was an attack that satisfied him his whole life. However, the sure-kill attack pierced the crayfish on my left hand and was easily stopped.

"Eh? What? H-How…"

When I swung the crayfish on my left hand, the man was clearly at a loss on his word after seeing the unbelievable spectacle, and thus his rapier was easily snatched. The swinging momentum made the rapier flew out from the crayfish body, getting stuck to the ceiling.

"Sorry, I'll pay!"

I once again swung the crayfish on my right hand. Directly hitting the face of the servant whose rapier was taken and thrown away. He groaned as the blood gushed out from his bleeding nose and had cramped cheek because of the almost straight from the comics scene of the red boiled crayfish hitting his face. Taking another crayfish with my left hand, I swung the crayfish to the top of his head, and he was kneeling on the ground just like the man earlier.

"Now then, I actually don’t want to fight against the noble. As such, why don’t you just leave this place? However, indeed I can’t stay silent if someone tries to hurt my companion... especially by the crayfish." 

Throwing the crayfishes from my one hand, which had broken down, and raising my hands as a sign of peace. However, Mark didn’t seem to accept my proposal. Maybe it was because his pride seemed to have been damaged by me.

"Y-you! H-how about working with me?! If you don't want, you must be a demon, aren't you?! Don’t move you demon! I will make sure to hand you over to the Kingdom. Your safety isn’t guaranteed though."

I... clearly at a loss for words, I had met numerous amount of stupid and arrogant people back on Earth, but he was the stupidest one I'd ever met. And was that the best threat he could think off?

"Oh, I don't mind. But what happens if I'm not a demon? That's a serious accusation, you know? Well, not like you'll care about the truth. But what will you tell to them? A demon beat you with crayfish? Well, feel free to do that Mr noble, let's see how others will look at you for the rest of your life."

"In fact, that lion insignia, that's your house symbol, right? What is it... ah, right, DeGrace? Does it depress you, Mr DeGrace, to realize the lion is getting beaten by a crayfish?"

I stopped for a while, shaking my head around to show Mark how the others reaction.

They all shaking, biting their own lips, a vain attempt to keep their laugh at bay.

"Aw~ does Mr Lion want to cry? How about you telling your papa lion about how the crayfish humiliate your house?"

"U-ugh! Y-you're going to pay for this!!"

And there he went, running away leaving his servants behind. While I was wondering what kind of face Mark would make if he knew we were the chosen ones.

What followed was a high cold cackle, piercing the silent air, rippled across the otherwise silent room.

"HAHAHA!! If only I can see this every day!!" Said the one-eyed muscular man.

"Hah! His face is even uglier than my wife!" Said the middle-aged thin man.

"Gahaha!! Kiddo!! Feel free to order anything that you want! It's on the house!!" Said the one tooth old man.

Though, I immediately went toward Azusa. "Azu-."

Azura staggered back two or three steps from her chair as if she was shocked by my words.

"Wait, wait, wait. Let me gather my thought first." She said as she was taking a deep breath. "Erm... so now what? Are we going to do Night-time play?"

"Err...Sorry. That's only an act, but I didn’t expect you to take it so seriously. Maybe I should play it differently."

"E-Eh!? I-I wasn’t taking it seriously at all! Not one bit! Whatever gave you that idea!? I was definitely not thinking about anything of the sort!! Hahaha! Of course, I know that was an act!"

She broke out in a cold sweat while talking continuously.

"Speaking of which, why don't you just decline him?" I asked in a low voice.

"We are in a different world, after all. What’s wrong living a little dangerously? And that was the first time someone is hitting on me. I'm just curious, you know?"

Well... couldn't blame her, I meant everyone must be curious by that kind of situation. 

"So... what is this ‘night-time play’? Come on, tell me."

Azusa thought that she had successfully put that topic to rest, but I continued to ask that while fully knowing the meaning of that.

"You don’t need to worry about it. It is something that is completely unrelated to you."

"We don’t know that for sure, right? You never know, there might be a time when I have to play that with you."

"T-That’s not going to happen!"

Azusa answered in a shrill voice while I secretly thinking that it would be nice if such a thing were to happen.

"...You’re right. Having someone like me as your lover would just be troublesome for you."

"Eh!? N-No, I didn’t mean it that way, and it certainly makes me happy when you say that, n-no! I mean everyone will happy if the opposite gender said that right? but..."

"Azusa... there are some very nasty men who will say things like that to mislead women, so be careful."

"...Ah, okay."

I felt like an executioner watching a girl being swallowed by a snake, she dropped her head and slouched her shoulder as she seemed to get smaller with every second passed.

"Good."

Hearing her reply, I smiled and patted her head. I could not help but think that I was making her danced in my palm. And, having these kinds of interactions with this kind of girl who had been a faraway existence to me until only recently felt both fresh and amusing.