Vol 1 Chapter 14 – Temporary Evacuation【Vol 1: A Man Who Wants to Buy a Slave】

The next morning, I was telling Nemu about what happened yesterday while eating breakfast.

How I’d been surrounded by several Rank B adventurers when I tried to go back to the restaurant last night. How those guys knew Nemu and I were living together and threatened me to kick Nemu out of the house. How when I refused, they gave me money instead.

I didn’t know what their goal was in doing this, but among the adventurers was a man called Geed. I asked if she knew that name, but Nemu just shook her head.

“—So basically, those guys want me to kick you out of here.”

“Hmm… I wonder why. Maybe they don’t like that Yuuki’s hogging Nemu all to himself?”

Even though I was telling her she was being targeted, the person in question apparently didn’t understand the danger. She developed some incomprehensible theory and somehow made it out like this was my fault. She was such a dangerous woman that I had to question whether those guys were insane for targeting this idiot cat.

“You’re seriously amazing. Where does that confidence come from? Wait, are all catkin like this?”

“Umm… I don’t know.”

Nemu tilted her head with an expression that said she really didn’t know, then carried her finished plate to the sink. She’d finally learned the ‘clean up’ command too, and now brought her used dishes to the sink. She just didn’t wash them afterward.

I smiled at Nemu’s growth, letting out a chuckle. But I immediately returned to my serious face and let out a deep sigh. I couldn’t come up with any good ideas for how to solve the problem we were currently facing.

“Well, anyway. Since I took the money, I have to kick you out, but… this is a good opportunity, so why don’t you try leaving?”

“No. Nemu will continue this lifestyle for another half year.”

Nemu instantly rejected my proposal. Not that I expected her to accept it, having suggested it myself. She got to live rent-free with free meals. Even I would cling to that arrangement, even if the other person was unpleasant.

“Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t want to leave. But if I don’t kick you out, who knows what those guys will do to me! Come on, Nemu, help me think of a good idea!”

When I appealed to her like that, Nemu put her finger to her mouth and began thinking for a while. Then after several seconds, her eyes widened with a look that said she’d come up with a brilliant idea, and she started explaining her plan proudly.

“…I think Yuuki should just beat up the guys who come after him.”

“No way! I’m not a Rank A adventurer like you, Nemu! I don’t have the skills to beat up multiple Rank B adventurers!”

Hearing my answer, Nemu tilted her head with an expression that said she didn’t understand. Nemu somehow thought in terms of her own abilities. Certainly, if it was a Rank A adventurer, even if surrounded by lower-ranked Rank B adventurers, she could’ve instantly killed guys at that level.

But on the surface, I was an ordinary Rank B adventurer. Everyone thought there was no way I had that kind of ability. Well, in reality, if I got serious, I could kill all those guys in five seconds, but there were tons of reasons I didn’t want to do that.

Was there any other good idea? A way to make them think I’d kicked Nemu out without actually kicking her out. Something, something—

“I’ve got it! What if I give you money and you go back to living at an inn for a while!? That way you’d have left the house once, and even if you came back later, they couldn’t complain!”

With this plan, we could return to the original situation without anyone getting hurt. After a while, the guys who got the intel would probably come threatening again, but then we’d just use the same trick. If we continued this cat-and-mouse game until the six-month suspension period ended, mission clear.

Despite it being a perfect plan, Nemu had a troubled expression on her face.

“Mm…”

She groaned, closed her eyes, and fell silent. After more than thirty minutes of silently worrying by herself, Nemu finally seemed to make up her mind and opened her eyes to speak.

“Okay. I’ll go to an inn for just two weeks. But after that, I’m coming back here. Promise.”

“Y-Yeah. Promise.”

I intertwined my pinky with the pinky Nemu held out to me, exchanging a pinky promise. After that, Nemu kept staring intently into my eyes. Maybe she thought I’d change the locks while she was gone.

“Don’t worry! I’ll come pick you up after two weeks!”

“…It’s a promise. I’ll go pack my things. Give me money later.”

With that, Nemu went upstairs. I could hear clattering sounds from her room.

I let out a sigh of relief, feeling like I’d somehow managed to solve the problem. Everything would work out fine. At that moment, I genuinely believed that.