“My mistress, Lady Elane Bellenfort, wishes to speak with you.”

As disbelief forced me to hold my tongue, Erika repeated herself. Ever polite, she carefully dipped her chin in an elegant bow that would have seemed unbearably rigid had her dog ears not swayed with the movement.

Miss Bellenfort did seem to let me off the hook rather easily, but I never thought she’d come for me so soon. And right after Yua left.

“How did you find us?”

We’d made sure we were far enough from her when we parted that she couldn’t have heard us talk about the inn. Maybe we underestimated her ears?

Erika lifted her chin and shook her head, denying the thought.

“I tracked you through scent,” she said, looking around the room. “There may be a sound-muffling enchantment placed on this room, but it does not hide your scent. And because of my mistress, I am now very familiar with it.”

“Tch…”

Miss Bellenfort must have held onto the both of us long enough for our scents to rub off on her.

She tracked our scent through an entire city’s worth of people, restaurants cooking various foods, all the ovens burning wood for fuel and warmth and even the salty ocean air? Is this girl a bipedal bloodhound or something? I am almost positive neither Yua and Mana can do that.

“I have been instructed to not take no for an answer.”

“Oh, really? And she sent you to force me to come?”

This girl was a level 1 Beast-Warrior without a second class. Her stats would most likely be similar to Mana’s, but with Mana growing up in a culture of warriors that actively loved to fight, while Erika was practicing at being a maid, she wouldn’t stand much chance. And that wasn’t even counting my own abilities.

She can’t force us to do anything and I’m not exactly keen on having an axe shoved in my face again.

“C-Calm down, Sir,” Erika said, waving her hands. “I d-don’t wish for violence.”

She must have noticed a change in my heartbeat while I held the hilt of my sword, I took a breath. No need to get antsy just yet. If Mana was right, then Miss Bellenfort isn’t even here.

“But, um,” Erika continued, looking over her shoulder. “Perhaps we should continue this discussion inside?”

“Why? Your mistress ask you to threaten us some other way?”

“N-No, um, how should I… You see, the innkeeper and her friends pulled me aside and forced me to show proof that I was not a cat-kin before she let me go upstairs.”

“What, are your ears not proof enough?”

Erika shook her head, and in doing so, made her ears flop about.

“To most non-beast-kin, it can be hard to tell the difference.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

While I’d typically say most cats have pointed ears, I know that’s not always the case. The ears of some breeds may look like hers, assuming different breeds of cat-kin even exist. Should probably clarify that with Yua later.

“Wait… Did the innkeeper force you to show your tail to prove it?”

Unlike Yua and Mana, her maid’s dress had no tail holes to speak of. Meaning the only way to show her tail would have been to flip her skirt. And if the innkeeper’s friends weren’t women, that most definitely would have counted as harassment. Hopefully the sort that would bring that blonde’s axe down on this place.

Erika’s cheeks grew a little pink and I thought I was on the money, but she shook her head again.

“N-No. Of course not. While my tail is no more a secret than my ears, she only had me use a Scrying Orb.”

“Right, sorry.”

“It’s fine, but we really should move this into the room. If the innkeeper catches wind of who you have in there, it’ll certainly cause you trouble.”

“And you’re not?”

“I-I don’t wish to be. I am merely here on my mistress’s order.”

“…”

Knowing she was right, I stepped aside and gestured her in. With a small bow that seemed habitual rather than polite, she quietly stepped inside just far enough for me to close the door. Her and shoulders gave a small twitch when I locked the door, but she quickly forgot any worry when she lifted her nose to the air.

A couple of small inhalations later, and she was looking my way.

“Is that other woman you were with not here?”

“Yua? No. She had some errands to run, why?”

“Nothing, really. It’s just strange. Her scent is in this room and on you, but I don’t sense it having left. And I don’t hear her anywhere in this room.”

Wow, her nose is good enough to essentially learn that Yua teleported away. Better change the subject before she figures out how exactly we managed that.

Or so I’d like to say, but Erika found a distraction all on her own, as her eyes darted over to the bed. Her eyes widened for a second, but biting her lip, she continued.

“A-Anyway, my mistress is waiting for you as we speak, so…”

“She expects me to drop what I’m doing and show up just because she asked?”

“W-What you’re doing?” she parroted, briefly looking behind me. “N-no. Well, yes, but it’s not like that. She has some important business to tend to tonight, so she won’t have time later.”

“And what business is that? We were about to start something.”

Even if our rumors didn’t help much, or even at all, we still had to do something. Sitting on our hands waiting for Yua to come back would be a waste of time.

Then again, she might be wasting time by breaking a few noses, too.

“A-A-About to start?!” Erika cried, her face turning bright pink. “S-Sorry to have interrupted you during such a delicate moment!”

At that, Erika broke into a flurry of quick bows that had her hair and ears flopping all over the place.

“Delicate? It’s nothing so important. More like an errand we needed to run.”

“S-So something like this is just an errand for you?”

For some reason, that earned me a blushing, lip-biting glare of reproach. Unsure of what I did, I met the glare right back and, her reproach weakening, Erika’s eyes flitted right back towards the bed. Towards Mana.

Keeping weary of sneak attacks, I turned and tried to find what it was that made this girl blush so deeply and my shoulders slumped.

Still on the bed, not having bothered to rise to greet our guest despite bearing her fangs at her earlier, was Mana. Lying on her back, she kept her legs parted for maximum comfort. Because of this, and because she’d flipped up her skirt for seemingly no reason, we could both tell that she had once again pulled her panties to the side for some fresh air. We could see everything.

Feeling my cheeks heat up a bit myself, I put two and two together and realized Erika had completely gotten the wrong idea about what we were doing all alone together in what was essentially a cheap hotel. And with Mana bearing it all like that, with her legs dangling over the side of the bed, even I had to say it would have looked like she was waiting for me to pounce on her, were it not for the cutely bored pout on her lips.

Erika mentioned I had Yua’s scent on me and assuming that could only mean one thing, she must have had some particularly dirty thoughts about me. And after Yua’s glorious wakeup call, I wasn’t about to apologize to anyone for forgetting to hit myself with a cleaning spell.

Shaking my head, I sped across the room and pressed Mana’s skirt back down. She whimpered, but didn’t stop me. Erika’s face only heated more.

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“Sorry about her,” I said, trying to sound calm. “Mana’s people aren’t very fond of clothes, so…”

“I-I see. I haven’t been myself, but I have heard rumors about the cat-kin in the forest.”

“Right, well, as you can see, meeting Miss Bellenfort alone isn’t a good idea. Mana here’s not very familiar with the city, so I’d rather not leave her alone.”

“Then please rest assured,” Erika said, her cheeks still red. “My Mistress has instructed me to stay here with your cat-kin women, though I suppose it’d just be with Miss Mana here.”

“And why would she do that?”

Finally finding the ability to compose herself, Erika clasped her hands in front of her apron.

“I believe she means to use me as a bargaining chip of sorts. To prove she means you no harm.”

So, in the event Miss Bellenfort does attack, Erika would be the one to suffer as well. Mana could probably handle herself, but she was expecting Yua to be here and Miss Bellenfort had already taken a punch from her, so she might understand just how strong she is and how easily she could over power this maid. Not that it mattered unless Yua chose to run all the way back here while I was gone.

Still, her mistress was offering her up as a sacrificial pawn and Erika didn’t even seem to mind. She even held out her arms, as if ready to submit herself to a pat down.

“I truly mean neither of you any harm. Per my mistress’s order, I’ve even been asked to act as their temporary maid while you are away so that you might meet her without worry.”

I turned to Mana, who peeked at me with one eye and smiled. Her ears flicked almost playfully.

“Dog Ears is telling the truth. She hasn’t lied since she got here.”

“M-My name is Erika.”

“Okay.~”

“… And you’re fine staying here with her,” I asked and Mana shrugged.

“Why not? This way, I get to lay in the bed more, right?”

Mana rolled onto her stomach and I had to pull her skirt back down again to keep Erika from exploding. The worst part is that I couldn’t tell if she was doing this on purpose or the tail poking out of her skirt made her prone to these sorts of accidents.

Maybe Erika would be the one in danger if I left them alone.

“Then I guess I’ll head out,” I said, tossing Mana her bow and quiver, just to be safe. Erika didn’t seem to take offense to this. Nor did she react when I made sure my sword was secure to my belt. Instead, she opened the door and saw me off with a smile.

“I’ll wait here as long as it takes. Please, have a safe trip.”

“Uh, thanks. Please make sure Mana doesn’t leave the room.”

“Of course. So long as…!”

Her face suddenly twisting with a forcefully repressed something, a faint rustling maybe, that left her brow twitching, she put on a brave smile. Had she been cat-kin, I knew her ears would have been standing on end.

“Something wrong?”

“N-Nothing at all.”

“Bye, Big Bro!”

“Right. Um, bye?”

Trusting that Mana was sure the maid meant no harm, and following the instructions I got for this little meeting, I hurried back into the city.

Wave Watcher’s Cross was rather hard to find, even after asking for directions multiple times. People didn’t seem to come here often and it wasn’t hard to see why.

Near the edge of the city’s outer limits was a four-way intersection dividing the street between a dilapidated church, a now overgrown park, and an alley where I was sure drugs could be bought for a fair price.

The cross stood atop a steep hill leading down and off towards the side of the docks. Beyond this was the wide expanse of the sea. The afternoon sun sparkled off the endless expanse of rippling waves like little droplets of gold. Perhaps, thanks to the dock’s current occupation, the ocean was free of any and all vessels that did not naturally call the water home. The only feature blocking the horizon was a small island a good swim off the mainland that was rife with greenery.

This was the Milnoras Sea, or maybe the Alucentia Ocean, as the map I paid for labeled it with two different names. There was probably some story behind it featuring two countries that had been bickering over its ownership for hundreds of years, but I couldn’t know for certain. Most people probably wouldn’t know something like that, save for the person that made the map. Maybe, having been to both countries, she too couldn’t decide which to call it.

Were it not for the surrounding desecration, the spot easily could have been a big tourist destination. But right now, all I could see it as was a mostly secluded spot where a fight could break out and nobody would know.

Feeling the sea breeze more now than ever, I gripped the hilt of my sword. I wanted to trust Erika, to trust Mana’s promise she was telling the truth, but I wasn’t about to take any chances. And yet…

“I thought she wanted to meet ASAP. Where is she?”

I’d been standing around for over forty minutes, waiting for the blonde woman to show up, but the place was completely devoid of life, without so much as a runaway pet sniffing around the gutters for scraps of food.

Why was I being rushed out the door for this? If she was lurking in the shadows somewhere waiting for me to drop my guard, we’d be here all night.

“U-Um, excuse me, mister.”

Just when I was considering heading into the church to safely teleport Yua back so she could sniff out Miss Bellenfort, a voice appeared behind me.

Spinning on my heel, I made a grab for my sword, only to find a little girl.

Smaller than Mana, she wore a set of messy rags that would have looked out of place on a slave, but the gauntness of her cheeks was most worrying. She was thin, painfully so. The tattered, woven basket she carried looked like a lead weight in her hands, but all it held was a few fish. Dead ones, judging by the pungent smell.

Forcing back sympathy to engage caution, I checked her info box. Sherry, age thirteen but with the stature of a ten-year old, in the cruelest of ironies, was born with the Baker class. Only, besides that was the Thief class. I let go of my sword.

I made the mistake of assuming Lilt was a good person turned thief like Yua, but a girl this young and this clearly malnourished? She had to have stolen food at some point just to quiet the pain in her belly. Maybe it was the same desperation that filled her basket with nearly-rotted fish.

People like this must exist all over the world. Gone were the days of overabundance, they were replaced with inequities that were several times harder to pull yourself out of. Being reincarnated next to a large merchant city overflowing with money must have just blinded me to this.

“Mister, could… would you like to buy some?”

Her lips were dry and flakey when she bit down on them. She squeezed her eyes shut and quickly looked away, but held out her basket. I didn’t need to look at their info box to know the fish were no doubt a day or so past fresh, but they at least looked edible, to a degree. Not that I’d feed them to anyone. I might have even stopped her from biting into them had she tried.

Still, seeing her trying to turn a profit from something she might have found in a fish monger’s unsold scraps, eased my doubts. Kneeling in front of her, I pretended to look inside the basket.

“Hmm. How much are they?”

Her eyes shot back open, disbelief already bringing tears to her eyes.

“T-Two coppers a piece, please.”

“Alright, let’s see here. You have one, two, three… ten fish. So that’s 20 coppers, right?”

“T-Twenty? You mean you want all of them?”

“Sure. I like fish. But is it okay to buy them all?”

She nodded so vigorously she almost dropped the basket.

“Then here you go.”

With her obvious lack of a silver tray, I dropped three coins into the hand she only stretched out in hopes I was serious. She flinched when they clinked into her palm, but her eyes widened at their shiny silver coating.

“M-Mister…These are silvers. I said they are only 2…”

“I really like fish. And so does a cat-kin friend of mine. Hahaha. You should have seen her face the first time she tried them.

“B-but…”

“Actually, would you like to see a magic trick?”

“Magic? Like a mage?”

“Yup. Here, watch.”

Hovering a hand over her basket, and with a snap of my fingers, used my item box to spirit away the offensive-smelling fish one by one. Her mouth fell open in awe as the weight in her hand slowly decreased until there was nothing left but the basket.

Once the fish were all gone, she flipped it over and bent to look under it in search of the missing fish I planned to dispose of later. She then looked at the coins in her hand again, then at me. Tears welled up and fell down her cheeks, like it’d just set in that they were real.

“Go buy yourself something to eat. And make sure you don’t let anyone else know about your money, or they might try to take it. Okay?”

“Y-Yes…Food and…Won’t tell anybody.”

“Good.”

I patted her head and she ran away, clutching the coins to her chest. She stopped before rounding behind the church and dipped her head in thanks. I waved back.

“… Did you know her?”

Hearing the voice I that was familiar to me, I was surprised at myself for not jumping. Then again, it may have been the fact that she wasn’t yelling at me this time.

“No, I didn’t. I’m not from Guerraway.”

“Hmph…”

Turning to find the person I’d set off to meet, I saw that Miss Elane Bellenfort not only was still refusing to cover her chest with any but that blue long coat of hers, but that her giant axe was resting peacefully on her back. The simple fact that it wasn’t in her hands was almost overwhelmingly comforting. Seeing it allowed me to work out why she’d been late.

Had to wonder why my Detect Trap ability didn’t work, though.

“You know, trying to bait a reaction out of me using an orphan is pretty mean.”

She scoffed, but looked off in the direction the girl ran. “Hardly. I told her she could keep whatever you gave her. I even told Sister Maybel I’d give the orphanage a healthy donation if she let the girl help me out.”

“You say that like you knew I’d buy her smelly fish.”

“I didn’t. I thought you’d turn her down as soon as you smelled it. But for some reason, Erika was sure you wouldn’t do that.”

“So, she was in on this too? Why go this far? I honestly thought you were asking for a fight.”

It’s not like she could have known, but Erika showing up right after Yua left was suspicious as hell. Add onto that her asking to meet without either of the girls and I should have been walking into a trap. Although, I guess she just didn’t want my girls to sniff her out before her little trick could play itself out.

“It’s not like I wanted to,” she said, crossing her arms. “I just wanted to see what sort of man you were, if your slave is that devoted to you. It even looked like she loves you.”

Feeling a small smile creep across my lips, I said, “I am proud to say she does. She’s made it very clear. In fact, according to her people’s customs, we are confirmed as mates. So, she’s basically my wife.”

Hahaha. I can’t believe I finally get to brag about having a wife to someone. The wait was torture, but it was so worth it!

Miss Bellenfort’s brow twitched. Clenching her bicep, she said, “Still, for her to trust you enough to suggest something like enslaving myself to you, just to solve my problems. I can’t even say my own would go that far.”

“I don’t know. Erika seemed pretty devoted, too.”

“Tch... I wonder about that. That girl wouldn’t even be in that position if it weren’t for me.”

“What do you mean?”

Shaking her head, Miss Bellenfort slapped me on the back. The blow was hard enough to knock the wind out of me, but the uncomfortable twist in her brow didn’t possess any anger.

“Enough about that,” she said, shoving me forward. “We’re not here to talk about our slaves. Follow me.”

“I thought you wanted to talk here.”

“Tch. We’re only here in case I needed to use this.” Casually pointing to her axe, she started walking in the direction she shoved me. “I picked that girl to help for a reason. If you’d tried to enslave her, you wouldn’t be standing gawking at my tits like an idiot.”

So, she wasn’t testing to see if I’d be nice to her, but if I would try to enslave a little girl that was, if anything, looked like a thief? I mean, I could understand that. If I were to think like an evil bastard, then she’d be easy pickings and would likely earn me a good deal of gold when sold.

I understood her want to test me on that, I did, but that was still a bit much. Besides…

“I wasn’t looking…”

“Oh, shut it and move. I don’t want to have this conversation in public.”

“Where are we going?”

“Don’t worry about it, just follow. I know a good place where we can speak privately.”

Wondering what sort of place could be more secluded than a street corner that looked like it hadn’t seen any traffic in years, I went ahead and followed.