Chapter 31 – The Evil Dragon Gets to Stay at a 【Friend’s】 House 【Part 1】

It had been more than half a day since they left Kamiina.

After crossing the Tekuma River, Ryuuji and his party finally arrived at Shea, the northern continental city. This city, where the King’s castle was located, boasted the highest population density in the country. As a hub where people and goods gathered, it exuded a lively, festival-like atmosphere every single day.

Since they arrived in the evening, Ryuuji and the others headed straight for their inn. They would have loved to dress up and go sightseeing in the royal capital, but they were already exhausted. Therefore, they decided to hit the hay early and prepare for tomorrow.

However, an incident occurred the moment Ryuuji and the others arrived at their booked inn.

“You’re saying there’s only one room available?!”

At the front desk, Karma, disguised as an adventurer, screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Didn’t we book two rooms in advance?! We are a mixed-gender adventurer party, you know! Why is there only one room?!”

With bloodshot eyes, Karma grabbed the receptionist’s collar and shook her violently back and forth.

“I-I’m so sorry…”

“K-Kaasan, please calm down. Let go of her!”

“Grr… Grrr…”

Because her son told her to calm down, the mother cooled her head even though she was practically mad with rage. She reluctantly let go of the receptionist.

“Umm… so why was the reservation changed?” Ryuuji asked.

“I’m sorry, it was a mistake on our end. The guild in Kamiina contacted us saying that a duo of adventurers would be staying and asked us to prepare a room.”

“So they contacted you saying two people were coming, rather than explicitly asking for two rooms?” her son asked.

“Yes. Adventurer duos are usually of the same sex. We never imagined it would be a mixed-gender pair…”

The inn had made an assumption. If it was a same-sex duo, they would naturally stay in the same room.

“That’s a lack of confirmation on your part! Good grief! What do you think you’re doing?!” Karma snapped as the receptionist bowed her head profusely.

“Umm, would it be possible to book another room right now?” Ryuuji asked.

The receptionist’s expression clouded over. “The thing is, we are completely fully booked. We can only offer you the one room you reserved.”

“Is… that so?”

“Yes. We also checked with other inns to see if they had any vacancies, but everywhere is full. There isn’t a single inn that can prepare two rooms right now… We are truly, deeply sorry,” the receptionist said in a fading voice.

“No, please don’t worry about it. Everyone makes mistakes.”

However, with a troubled expression, Ryuuji looked at Sheila and then at Karma. When he looked specifically at Sheila, Ryuuji’s face turned red and he looked down. Sheila did the same, her face turning bright red as she fidgeted bashfully.

I can feel the rom-com waves, Mother Karma thought to herself. Forbidden! Impure relations between the sexes are strictly forbidden!

Karma wanted to scream. A boy and girl of that age sleeping in the same room, in the same bed! She was completely and utterly shaken.

“U-Umm… well…” Sheila timidly raised her hand. “Sheila could, um, sleep in the carriage. So…”

“You can’t do that! No way, Sheila! You’ll catch a cold!” a panicked Ryuuji said, shaking his head.

As for Karma, she didn’t want Sheila to catch a cold either, so she also vetoed the carriage idea.

“B-But… for Sheila to, um… sleep in the same room as Ryu, Ryuuji-kun… it’s t-too embarrassing…” Sheila hid her face with both hands, while Ryuuji similarly looked down in embarrassment.

This is bad. This is really bad. I have to do something…! At this rate, my son and his friend will sleep in the same room, sleep in the same bed, and cross the finish line! That’s no good. Absolutely not. I haven’t even acknowledged Sheila as being worthy of becoming my son’s wife yet.

No matter what, I cannot let them sleep in the same room. What do I do… Use magic to change Sheila’s sex? No, even I know that’s a bad idea. Isn’t there… isn’t there something else I can do?

After pondering what to do, Karma suddenly received a divine revelation.

If the inn is a no-go… we can just stay somewhere else! Inns aren’t the only places you can sleep!

Right here in the royal capital, there was another place they could stay.

“Ryuuji-san. Sheila-san. How about we stay somewhere else?”

“Somewhere else…?” Ryuuji asked.

“But, but, but, they just said all the inns were fully booked…” Sheila added.

Karma shook her head. “I actually have an acquaintance living in the royal capital. How about we ask to stay at their house?”

“An acquaintance?” they asked, tilting their heads in unison.

“Yes. An old friend of mine lives here in the royal capital. That person owes me a very, very large debt. So, they’ll listen to pretty much anything I say.”

That was right. 【She】 owed Karma a massive debt of gratitude. After all, Karma had saved the world in place of the Hero, which was an incredibly massive favor. A trivial request like letting them stay at her 【place】 would surely be granted.

“What do you say? That person’s house is, well, quite spacious, so there should be plenty of empty rooms. I believe they can easily accommodate us in separate rooms for a night.”

“Umm, is it really okay, so suddenly…” Ryuuji said hesitantly.

“There’s no need to hold back. Even if I visit out of the blue, I’m sure she will gladly meet us and gladly offer us rooms,” Karma answered with absolute confidence.

“In that case… um, I feel bad about it, but… could we ask you to do that?”

Karma gave a firm nod. “I will go make the appointment then, so please wait here, Ryuuji-san and Sheila-san.”

Since her son nodded, Karma left the inn alone.

“Chekiita. Come out.”

Swish… The watcher elf, Chekiita, appeared before Karma.

“Hiii, Karma. You need something?”

“I wouldn’t call you if I didn’t have any business with you.”

“So cold~. You can call me even if you don’t need anything, you know~” Chekiita familiarly wrapped her arm around Karma’s neck. “So, what do you need from big sis?”

“Please go make an appointment. Ask if we can stay over.”

“Hmm. Sure, but with who?”

“Isn’t it obvious? With your boss,” Karma answered.

Chekiita tilted her head before a look of realization washed over her face. She burst out laughing.

“Ahahaha, that’s hilarious. Karma, you really are… unconventional, aren’t you~? Or rather, shameless.”

“I don’t think it’s shameless at all. She should feel at least that much gratitude toward me.”

“Well, true~. You did defeat the Evil God and save the world, after all.”

“Got it,” Chekiita said. “Then big sis will take a quick trip to the castle and ask.”

“Please do.”

With that, Chekiita faded away.

A short while later, Chekiita reappeared before Karma. “She said it’s okay.”

“Understood. Then I will head over there with Ryu-kun and Sheila.”