Chapter 21: The Old Man Gets Called Out for a Five-Year-Old Lie

Umm… It’s a little late to be asking, but how did I end up in this situation again…?

Actually, if anyone saw me like this, wouldn’t I be in deep trouble…?

Especially if it was some of the other adventurers… no, if Emma-san saw me again—

Just then, I hear some loud noises from outside.

Thump!

Crack!

And on top of that, I can even hear what sounds like the screams of several women…

This isn’t good.

Could it be that bandits have brazenly appeared in broad daylight?

This is another world, after all.

Unfortunately, even though we’re in town, public safety is naturally far worse than in modern Japan.

And so, hearing those dangerous sounds, I brace myself.

“Mira-san! That noise just now!”

As I say that, I also politely get Mira-san to move away from me.

Then, trying to look as cool as possible, I stand in front of her as if to protect her.

I glance back, looking at Mira-san’s face with a bit of expectation.

“…I told her not to overdo it… and just when things were getting good… That woman… Some ‘Saint’ she is.”

But… I can see Mira-san clicking her tongue in annoyance.

Luckily, I couldn’t hear what she was actually saying, but…

Come to think of it, the Mira-san of today is a beast strong enough to snap a C-rank adventurer’s arm.

She has absolutely no need for a perpetual F-rank like me to protect her.

Just then, the door from the direction of the sound… the back door… opens.

Click.

For a moment, I tense up, but the one who comes through the door is Alicia-san.

“Alicia-san, it sounded like there was a fight just now. Are you alright?”

“Oh…? Was there? I didn’t notice a thing. Fufu…”

Alicia-san says this with a cool expression.

If Alicia-san and the others didn’t see anything, was I just imagining it?

But for that to be the case, those women’s screams sounded awfully realistic and pained…

Hm… come to think of it, where did the members of the Celesties go?

“Um… where did they… where did the Celesties go?”

The moment I voice my question,

“Oh… them? They said they had something to take care of… Fufu…”

For some reason, Alicia-san looks strangely happy as she says this.

“Well then, with the nuisances… I mean, with them gone, we can finally get to the main topic. Sensei…”

“Huh? The main topic…?”

Does Alicia-san have business with me other than just a greeting?

I was sure she was just here on Guild business…

And just like that, the smile Alicia-san had until a moment ago vanishes.

Then, with a solemn look on her face, she kneels on the spot.

Next, she clasps her hands, closes her eyes, and adopts a prayerful pose.

“God… please forgive this unfaithful servant. Despite having once sworn to dedicate myself to you… please forgive this Saint for offering her body to a man…”

For a short while, Alicia-san continued to utter prayer-like words.

I was simply dumbfounded by Alicia-san’s sudden actions.

Then, Alicia-san suddenly stands up and her eyes fly open.

And she stares intently at me.

I’m completely overwhelmed by her intensity.

“U-Um… Alicia-san… i-is something…”

“Mikami-sensei… you… lied to me… no, to us, didn’t you?”

“Huh…? A lie…?”

“That day, five years ago… you told us, Sensei. That you were going to retire and marry Emma-san… However, I met Emma-san today and heard it. The truth…”

Having said that much, Alicia-san glares at me with a furious, accusatory look.

As for me, I could only hold my head in my hands at Alicia-san’s sudden interrogation.

Yes… I certainly did lie back then.

And a truly pathetic, baseless lie at that…

But I wish she’d see it from my perspective.

Can’t a guy be forgiven for trying to look a little cool in front of some young women he never expected to see again?

Besides, I was dead drunk at the time.

In a situation like that, isn’t it okay for a pathetic old guy to tell a slightly exaggerated, boastful story?

I know the days when you could just write things off as ‘drunken talk’ are long gone.

But I’m a man, too.

I just wanted to look good in front of some younger women for once.

Besides, this is another world.