Vol 1 Chapter 10 – A-Rank Adventurer【Vol 1: A Man Who Wants to Buy a Slave】

After returning to Ortelia via teleportation magic, I walked toward my house where Nemu was waiting.

The sun had already started setting, and residents heading home from work filled the streets.

Watching housewives returning with groceries, Nemu’s figure suddenly floated into my mind. The food I’d prepared should be gone by now, and she was probably crying from hunger.

“I’m home.”

Imagining Nemu collapsed face-down on the living room table, I entered the house. But when I looked around the living room and kitchen, she was nowhere to be found. Shortly after, I heard footsteps slowly approaching from upstairs.

“…Welcome back.”

Nemu came down from the second floor rubbing her eyes, wearing the same pajamas as two days ago. While thinking it couldn’t be possible, I couldn’t hold back from asking her.

“Nemu, you weren’t sleeping this whole time, were you?”

“…I ate properly. Thank you for the meal.”

She bowed her head politely.

When I checked the kitchen fridge, sure enough, all the food I’d prepared was gone. In its place, several dishes left in the sink. Don’t tell me she ate everything and just abandoned the chores afterward.

This lazy cat-woman had gone beyond exasperating—I was almost impressed.

“So you really did nothing but sleep when you weren’t eating. That’s actually amazing in a way.”

“Not really. These pajamas are amazing. I’ll treasure them until I die. Thank you.”

Nemu touched her pajamas and lifted the corners of her mouth slightly. Come to think of it, she said she’d been sleeping in her underwear until I bought her those pajamas. When she first kicked me in the face, she was in her underwear too.

I’d bought the pajamas on impulse along with the maid outfit, but if she liked them this much, it was worth it.

Nemu might be an impossibly lazy cat-woman, but I couldn’t hate how honestly she expressed her gratitude. I’d let the unwashed dishes slide this time. The moment I thought that—

“Grrrrowl.”

Nemu’s stomach growled. The stomach of Nemu, who’d just woken up from upstairs.

“…I’m hungry.”

“Haa… Let’s go grab dinner, then.”

When I said this with a sigh, Nemu’s eyes shot open and she dashed upstairs. Within seconds she came back down in casual clothes, and we headed out together.

◇

We entered a restaurant near our house. Being dinnertime, other tables were gradually filling with customers. After ordering, I decided to ask Nemu various things while waiting for our food.

“Come to think of it, I forgot to ask—how long is your suspension period? About a month?”

I’d avoided this topic since we started living together. Given Nemu’s personality, I figured she’d leave on her own when the time came, so I hadn’t asked. But now that we’d reached the point of eating meals together, I thought we should know at least a bit about each other.

Hearing my question, Nemu looked upward diagonally and thought hard. Apparently she’d forgotten her own suspension period. But after a while, her eyes flew open.

“Umm… I think they said… six months?”

“Six months!? Why is it so ridiculously long! Normally it’s one month, two at most! What did you do to get suspended that long!”

“Hmm, I failed protecting a noble. Got yelled at really bad.”

Nemu looked a bit dejected as she said this. I couldn’t hide my shock at the absurd suspension length, but I was even more shocked by what I’d just heard.

As I’d recently discussed with Furla, higher-ranked adventurers could take more dangerous and expensive requests. The prime example being requests involving nobles.

Which meant Nemu was—

“Protecting a noble… Don’t tell me you’re an A-Rank Adventurer?”

“Mm… Hey, can I order another one of these meats?”

Nemu nodded as if it were nothing. Then she immediately pointed at the meat that had just been served, asking if she could order more. Despite my confusion, I gave my approval. Nemu happily raised her hand and ordered another serving.

So Nemu was an A-Rank Adventurer. Honestly shocking, but strangely it made sense. Her unconventional way of thinking and laid-back pace might draw out a strength different from ordinary people.

“I can’t believe Nemu’s an A-Rank Adventurer! So when you failed the escort mission, did you let one of the noble’s servants die or something?”

At my question, Nemu shook her head while stuffing her mouth with meat. Apparently she hadn’t let anyone die. Then what had Nemu done?

Suspending an A-Rank Adventurer for six months should be difficult even for a noble without serious cause. The Guild wouldn’t accept it easily either.

While I was wondering about this, Nemu began speaking with a slightly dissatisfied expression.

“Nemu protected them properly, but the noble came out of the carriage on their own. Then bandits attacked and injured their arm.”

“Huh, what the hell! That’s completely the noble’s fault!… Well, but given who it was, I guess it couldn’t be helped.”

I raised my voice initially after hearing Nemu’s story, but remembered the other party was a noble and held back. Even if it wasn’t Nemu’s fault, the fact remained she’d let a noble get injured. She should be grateful they didn’t take her life.

However, if the story was true, another problem emerged. There’s no way Nemu could have taken a noble escort mission alone.

“Then the other adventurers who took the request with you are also suspended for six months, right… Multiple A-Rank Adventurers absent for half a year, isn’t that pretty bad!?”

The Rodest Kingdom where I lived apparently suffered more monster damage than neighboring countries. Having multiple A-Rank Adventurers absent for six months in that situation was an impossible decision from a monster prevention standpoint.

But once again, Nemu shook her head at my question.

“Hmm, that’s fine. All the other adventurers were B-Rank. I think their suspension was about three weeks.”

“Really? Well, that’s a relief then… Wait, no, that’s definitely weird! There’s way too much difference between how you and the others were treated! What is the Guild even doing!”

It was already unusual for B-Rank Adventurers to be involved in noble escort missions, and their punishment being lighter than A-Rank Nemu’s made no sense. It was suspicious enough to make me wonder if there was some conspiracy.

While I was fuming alone, Nemu—the actual victim—continued eating her meat with an unconcerned attitude.

“Nemu was the escort leader, so it couldn’t be helped. Besides, nobody died, so it’s fine.”

As Nemu said this matter-of-factly, a halo-like light seemed to shine on her from somewhere. This woman had way more sense of responsibility than her usual appearance suggested.

While I was moved by Nemu’s attitude, she started talking with a slightly embarrassed, shy smile.

“I’m grateful to Yuuki. All my savings got taken too, and I thought I’d die. But thanks to Yuuki, I’m surviving. Thank you.”

At her sudden words of gratitude, I looked up and held back tears. To think a girl who wasn’t even my slave would say something so heartwarming. She’d eaten all the food I ordered, but I didn’t care about that anymore.

“Don’t be stupid, I’m not helping you for free! I’m doing it for the reward!”

I answered while sniffling, trying to hide my embarrassment. I was looking forward to tomorrow’s maid outfit, but I couldn’t admit that wasn’t my only reason anymore.

Maybe eighty percent was looking forward to seeing Nemu in a maid outfit every week, and twenty percent was sympathy for responsible Nemu.

As if seeing through my heart, Nemu smiled brightly.

“Yeah, I know. I’ll make sure to wear the maid outfit and sleep tomorrow.”

“Right, I’m counting on you… Wait, Nemu. You’re not planning to sleep all day tomorrow too, are you!? That’s cheating! Keep your promise properly!! Hey, are you listening, Nemu!”

Despite confronting her at my loudest volume of the day, she held up her empty plate and spoke again.

“Excuse me, another order of this meat please.”