Roughly twenty minutes later…

「So you're not sure where the demon lord is?…」

Greaves asks with his arms crossed, bearing a somewhat displeased and disappointed grimace on his face.

「I told you… He's somewhere up north, in the east…」

Straf lets out a frustrated sigh and reiterates his previous explanation.

「…Greaves. Hey, Greaves…」

Alicia meekly calls out while tugging at Greaves's shirt as Straf continues explaining Stripe's part.

「Hm? What's up?」

He asks with his brow raised.

「…Let's not go. You heard what she said, the path itself is dangerous… And it'll be a foreign kingdom. We don't know what the people there are like. Let's not, Greaves.」

Alicia says with a troubled face and pleading eyes staring into his.

「Huuh? Alicia, if the demon lord is there, I can't not go! I've gotta fight it!」

Greaves replies with no effort to keep his voice down, bringing the attention of everyone else to himself.

「But… But it's dangerous… Bad things could happen…」

She meekly protests, lowering her gaze.

「Bad things could happen everywhere!」

Greaves says with his arms spread, nearly knocking over a decorative flower vase on the table.

「Alicia, do you not want to go?」

Will asks, peeking over from beyond Greaves.

「…I don't want you two to go.」

She replies with her gaze lowered to her lap.

「I don't really want to go either. I'm well aware of the danger, but it's not like that'll stop Greaves… Right?」

Will adjusts his glasses, and turns his eyes to Greaves.

「You two can stay in that case!… I'll just go alone!」

Greaves exclaims, throwing his arms up before crossing them.

「Tsk… You'll get yourself killed in no time… You can stay, Alicia. I'll keep an eye on him.」

Will clicks his tongue and replies, letting out a sigh full of frustration before turning his bespectacled gaze to her.

「If you're going then I'm going too…」

She says quietly with her troubled frown lowered.

「…Are you done sorting this out between yourselves?」

Straf asks after a moment, staring at the three with his arms crossed and his mouth aslant.

「Yeah. And?」

Greaves bluntly replies, almost matching Straf's expression.

「Right. To reiterate… The cat- Spare me… Is going ahead of everyone else to scout things out. You know the customs and local culture, so it shouldn't be too hard, right?」

Straf says, and Stripe opens her mouth. Before she can say a word, Straf quickly cuts in way ahead of her. She simply clicks her tongue and angrily crosses her arms.

「…I suppose so. Keep in mind that I'm not supposed to be there. I will have to hide my identity there too.」

She begrudgingly replies with her gaze turned aside.

「You'll manage, right? You've managed to hide here for so long, after all.」

Straf asks again with a shrug.

「…Tsk. I should. Most people are clueless. I still have some contacts I might be able to reach without them knowing anything.」

She clicks her tongue again after a brief moment of silence, and shrugs her shoulders as well.

「Riiiiiiight. I don't know how long it'll take us to actually get there, so let's agree to just regroup at that inn you mentioned…」

With a nod of his head, Straf turns his gaze elsewhere and looks at Nona, Cycelia and Lily.

「…You three will ride with me. Unless one of you wants to sit in my lap, we're full…」

He says, and Nona raises her hand, wiggling it left and right at him with an excited smile on her face. Straf turns his gaze to Greaves and his party before he can see it, however.

「…That means you're going last, and by your own means. I don't care if it's by a carriage or on foot, you figure it out yourselves.」

Straf casually adds, and shrugs his shoulders.

「Huuuuuh!? Why can't we go with you!?」

Greaves perks up in outrage and leans forward onto the table.

「For many good reasons… One, we're full. Didn't you hear me?… Two, I'm not turning around and coming back for you… Three, I'm just plain not giving you a ride…」

Straf begins counting up on his hand with a nonchalant expression on his face, showing each finger to Greaves.

「Huh!?」

Greaves stands up, and his jaw drops in outrage.

「…Four, the way is dangerous, the cat can manage, but it's best if I clear the route first… And finally, five, this all could have been avoided, but Lia is scared of flying.」

Straf adds, shrugging his hands as he looks at Cycelia. She bashfully averts her embarrassed emerald gaze.

「I will keep my elder sister's party safe, master-」

「What? No, you're not going.」

Shien bows his ponytailed head towards Straf, but Straf interrupts him before he can properly finish his sentence.

「…Master?」

Shien says in a confused, inquisitive tone with his brows ever so slightly furrowed, blinking his almond-shaped eyes at Straf. He exchanges a quick glance with Lian, and the two look at him.

「You're not going. The fuck is everyone going to do if another big monster pops out? You deal with it while I go take it easy for once. I didn't come here to work.」

Straf bluntly declares with his arms crossed, and a nonchalant expression on his face. Lian's face eye twitches in a very faint display of anger, while her light smirk contradicts her.

「…You are trusting me with the defense of the people?… I am deeply honored, master. You have my uttermost gratitude for this opportunity.」

Shien asks, then bows low, nearly slamming his forehead onto the white tablecloth.

「That's not…」

Greaves utters out with a pitying, somewhat indignant side-glance directed at Shien. Will and Alicia look at him with troubled eyes.

「…That's not what he meant, Shien.」

With her arms crossed, Lian says loudly and clearly with an unnaturally large smirk on her face, tapping her finger on her arm and glaring at Straf.

「Hm? Have I misunderstood, elder sister?」

Shien lifts his head, turning his slit pupils to his sister.

「I meant what I said. Stay.」

Straf adds with a shrug of his shoulders.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

「…You may have not noticed, but my brother is not a dog.」

Lian narrows her eyes at Straf as her voice takes on a more openly menacing tone. Will adjusts his glasses while nervously, glancing between Straf and Lian with an awkward gaze.

「No, elder sister, whether it be an attack dog or a guard dog, I am fine with being either for my master-」

「My dear idiot little brother…」

Shien shakes his head in a gentle protest, but Lian cuts in, raising her voice a little while lowering her head.

「Yes, elder sister?…」

Her brother tilts his head, blinking his black eyes at her in barely visible confusion.

「…Shut up.」

She demands, turning her tight-lipped grimace and almond-shaped black eyes to her brother with a whip of her ponytail.

「…Yes, elder sister.」

Shien nods, lowering his head without protesting further.

「Do you think you can just order my brother around?… I don't know what made him like this, but you are the last person I'd think of to be a good example to follow.」

Lian asks, just barely masking her hostility behind her frigid face. She briefly glances at Will, causing him to rapidly lower his gaze down to his lap and adjust his glasses again.

「Well… I'm not bringing him with me, so…」

Straf casually replies with his head propped up on his hand with his elbow on the table, staring at back at her with a blank, bored gaze.

Cycelia, Greaves, and Will exchange silent, concerned gazes while watching the two.

「That's fine. He can make his own decisions… Isn't that right, my dear little brother?」

She nods her head, speaking in a deceitfully calm tone. Lian then turns her eyes to Shien as she asks.

「Actually… I'd like to stay and help master maintain the peace here… If that is acceptable to you, elder sister…」

Shien meekly, softly protests again while keeping his head lowered and his gaze down in his lap.

「…Is that what you personally want?」

Lian asks, raising her brow at her brother. Still keeping his eyes and head lowered, Shien returns a quick, light nod, jiggling his ponytail behind it.

「Ahhhhhhhh…」

Clunk.

His sister takes a large breath and exhales a massive, resigned sigh as she drops her bodysuit-covered hands to the white table.

「…Fine. Do what you want, as long as it's what you want to do. Good grief.」

「Thank you, elder sister…」

Lian replies, dismissively waving the issue away with her hand. She recrosses her arms and peeks at Will with a disappointed, and somewhat frustrated tight-lipped grimace on her exotic face.

Will tugs at his collar and lets out a covert sigh of relief along with Cycelia as the tension evaporates. Straf's face remains bored the entire time.

「Right… Is everything clear then? Everyone knows what to buy and pack? Do I need to repeat when we're leaving? Any questions? If you have suggestions, you can go fu-」

Straf asks while glancing around everyone seated at the table.

「Um, Straf, can I make a little request?…」

Cycelia cuts in, raising her dainty hand a little. He abruptly stops himself from saying another word.

「…Yes, Lia?」

Straf asks with a tight-lipped grimace, swiveling his head around on his hand with his cheek still smushed against his palm.

「…Could we stop by Millie's manor? It's not too big of a detour, and we need to stop somewhere for a night anyway, right? It'd be dangerous to cross after dark.」

Cycelia asks, tilting her chestnut head and blinking her emerald puppy eyes at Straf.

「It wouldn't be dangerous to cross at night. It'd be outright suicidal.」

Stripe chimes in with her cheek likewise resting on her fist.

「Right, so… How about it, Straf? She invited us, remember?」

Cycelia nods in agreement, and turns her eyes back to Straf, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

「Tsk… Yeaaaaah… I remember there being something like that…」

He clicks his tongue and lets out a frustrated sigh, shrugging his shoulders.

「…So, you want to know if they picked baby names yet, huh?」

「Huh?」

Straf adds, and Cycelia's head perks up in confusion. Will and Greaves look around the table to guess what the topic is, while Stripe simply appears to not care much.

「I'm saying they'll be contributing to the population growth stats in just a few months, Lia… Tsk.」

He replies with another shrug, then waves the thin air away with his hand from in front of himself with an annoyed click of his tongue.

「Eh?…」

Cycelia blinks, furrowing her brows as she thinks for a moment. Straf leans back in his chair with his mouth aslant.

「…B- But Straf, they're siblings!」

Her eyes widen when she realizes Straf's meaning.

「Not blood related. I think we both know what they were up to in those past few months.」

Straf nonchalantly shrugs his arms, and glances around the table.

「Huh?… You mean some guy married his sister?」

Greaves asks, deeply confused and unsettled.

「Non-blood related sister… I don't know if they're married, but I sure know they've been busy! I can bet good money on that!」

Straf scoffs, shrugging his arms again as he smirks at Greaves.

「…Gross.」

Greaves remarks, crossing his arms and greatly furrowing his brows as his gaze drifts down.

「…Right. We leave next week, and a brief stopover at the kinky siblings' place. Anything else?」

Straf asks, spreading his arms as he looks around at everyone seated.

「…Will we be heading directly to confront the demon lord, Straf?」

Lily asks with her arms crossed, tilting her golden head with an inquisitive gaze.

「No, it's more like just another point on the list. We'll be trying out their food, annoying the locals, acting like we own the place, and generally being horrible western tourists.」

Crossing his arms back up, Straf returns a nonchalant shake of his head with a tight-lipped grimace, and shrugs his shoulders.

「I see…」

Lily nods with a curt reply, turning her disinterested gaze aside.

「…Yakiniku… Takoyaki…」

Stripe mumbles to herself with an absent-minded gaze ahead, wiping the drool that tries its best to pour out from the corners of her mouth. Greaves warily furrows his brows at her.

「…WIll. Will!…」

Greaves calls out quietly while yanking at Will's robe.

「Tsk… What do you want, Greaves?」

Somewhat annoyed, Will adjusts his glasses and turns his tight-lipped grimace to him.

「…Heheh… Teriyaki too…」

「…She's mumbling some weird stuff… Is she casting a death curse on us!?」

Greaves says in a hushed tone while staring at Stripe with a disconcerted face.

「What?… No- At least, I don't think so… Never heard of any spell that goes like that.」

Will furrows his brows and adjusts his glasses as he sneaks a quick glance at Stripe's vacantly grinning face.

「…Mmmhhuhuhuhu… Maybe some good sake to go with it too…」

Stripe continues mumbling her spell to herself and periodically wiping the drool away with the back of her hand, filling Greaves with unease…