After returning to our room, we passed our time leisurely until Pamela arrived in the evening and had an early dinner.
Then, we continued to wait for Merell’s message while killing some more time.
“Master, it seems Merell has finished work. She wants us to come back.”
“Got it.”
We got up from the kotatsu and stood.
Then, touching Leanne, we teleported.
Upon returning to the Demon Continent, it was pitch dark.
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“It’s so dark… AI-chan... doesn’t know Light magic, huh? Then, Leanne... but she’s too bright.”
None of us could use Light magic.
“Foxfire.”
Golden flames appeared at my fingertips, slightly illuminating the surroundings.
Then, right in front of me, a demon man stood expressionlessly.
Honestly, it was eerie.
“What are you doing?”
“I was trying to startle you, but…”
It was a man’s appearance, but the voice was Merell’s.
“Hey, you’re the one who called us.”
Yeah, I knew it.
“Well, that’s true. Anyway, I took down the patrol soldiers.”
“I see. Good work. Here, this is your share of food. Natalia told me to give it to you.”
Saying that, I handed her a lunchbox.
“Thank you. Your wife is a fine person. But women like her tend to fall for worthless men. Oh, just speaking in general. Munch munch.”
Merell started eating the bread while saying something rude.
“Well, I’m not worthless, so there’s no problem. What about the bodies?”
“I buried them in the ground, so no issues... Thanks for the meal.”
Apparently, Merell had already finished eating.
“That was fast…”
“Quick eating during a mission is a skill of its own. Now then, I’ll cast the disguise magic on you... One extra person?”
Right, there were four of us.
“Master, I’ll return to your mind.”
That would be the natural choice.
After all, AI-chan is a skill residing within my brain.
“Don’t make it sound like I’m a virus.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m unsummoning you now.”
I returned AI-chan and Koma-chan to the amulet.
“I have no idea what just happened, but now that I think about it, there’s no point in trying to understand two monsters. Anyway, that makes three of us. Let’s proceed with the disguise magic.”
Merell nodded in agreement while saying something incredibly rude again and then cast the disguise magic.
“Is this fine?”
Leanne still looked like Leanne, and Merell, who had been disguised as that man earlier, was now back to her original form.
“Yes. I made it so that we can still see our real appearances to avoid confusion. Now, let’s go. Follow me.”
Saying that, Merell produced a light and began walking, so Leanne and I followed.
After walking for a while, we saw lights in the distance.
“That is the town of Ludoe. From here on, I will do the talking, so you two should remain silent.”
“Got it.”
“We’ll leave it to you.”
Leanne and I nodded, but Merell gave us a suspicious look and stared at us for a while.
“What?”
Did something happen?
“Leanne, step a little away from Yuuma. That’s not how two grown men stand next to each other.”
At his words, I glanced at Leanne. She was indeed standing close.
Since we were always this close, I hadn’t thought much of it, but if she were actually a man, it would be a little strange.
“It can’t be helped…”
Lianne took half a step back.
“One more step.”
“Mmm…”
Furrowing her brows, Leanne took another step back.
“Well, that should be fine. Let’s go.”
Merell turned forward and started walking again, so we resumed our pace.
Continuing on, we eventually arrived at Ludoe, a town surrounded by outer walls.
Rather than heading for the front gate, Merell led us eastward.
There, at the eastern gate, torches were burning, and we could see soldiers holding spears standing guard.
As we approached the gate, one of the guards looked at us.
“Yo, you’re late.”
The gate guard spoke without any particular suspicion.
“Saw the shadow of a female traveler.”
Merell replied in a man’s voice.
“Oh! For real? So, what happened?”
“She was a zombie.”
“Pfft… Haha! Ahaha! Damn, how desperate are you?!”
The gate guard laughed mockingly.
“Shut up! I’m heading back. I’ve had enough of this.”
“Bet you’re going to the brothel. Try not to get a bad pick tonight.”
“Screw you.”
“Hah! Man, that’s hilarious.”
We passed through the gate, leaving the laughing guard behind, and entered the town.
Inside, soldiers sat along the roadside, chatting or playing some kind of card game.
They had a rough demeanor, certainly resembling bandits.
As we continued walking down the street, the number of people gradually decreased.
Eventually, there was no one in sight.
“It should be fine now. This way.”
Saying that, Merell walked ahead and stopped in front of a house.
“What’s this place?”
“It’s the room I lived in when I was in the military. More precisely, it’s a house rented by Sven-sama.”
Sven’s house, huh…
Something about this feels off…
“Won’t your boyfriend get mad later?”
“It’s fine. You’ll be dead, after all.”
Right, I was supposed to be dead…
But seriously, think about how you phrase things.
Merell unlocked the door and went inside, so we followed.
The room was spacious and surprisingly clean.
“Tomorrow, I will meet up with my comrades and gather information. You two should return to your home and wait.”
“Alright, I’ll leave Koma-chan here... Are you sure Sven won’t come back?”
This kind of feels like sneaking around as a mistress or something.
“Don’t worry. When that man starts something, he becomes completely absorbed in it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be taking a break during such an important operation.”
Is that really okay for a soldier…?
“I see… Then there’s no problem. I’ll leave Koma-chan here, so call if anything happens.”
“Understood. I’ll do that. I’ll be gathering information for the next couple of days, so it’ll probably take about three days. Until then, please rest.”
“Got it. Leanne, let’s go home.”
Saying that, Leanne entwined her arm with mine.
“Ah, you’re still in the form of two old men. Let’s dispel the magic.”
I just imagined something unpleasant…