Chapter 44: The Old Man Has a Sleepover

After gathering the sisters in a corner of the room, Emma-san muttered something to Alicia-san in a weary voice, loud enough for her to hear but not for me.

“Honestly… Shuzou-san is…… truly…… so unconsciously skilled at…… charming people…… charming vixens…… It’s terrible for my heart……”

Alicia-san seemed to agree with something, letting out a deep sigh.

“Indeed…… I wonder why it is that troublesome insects flock to Sensei one after another…… If I don’t stay on my toes, I’ll worry for him……”

Just then, Alicia-san’s gaze happened to fall upon Fel, who was sitting quietly at my feet.

She must have been too distracted by everything else to have properly noticed her until now.

“Oh?”

Alicia-san tilted her head.

“By the way, Sensei, who might this…… utterly adorable young beast-girl be?”

Emma-san answered the question, a hint of amusement in her voice as if she’d been waiting for this moment.

“Ah, Alicia-san, my apologies for the late introduction. This child is Shuzou-san’s—”

Emma-san paused for a beat, as if to gauge Alicia-san’s reaction, and continued with a hint of enjoyment.

“—‘Ojou-sama,’ so it would seem.”

“O-Ojou-sama, you saaaaaay!?”

Alicia-san’s scream echoed throughout the luxurious dining room.

Her earlier composure was completely gone, and for some reason, her beautiful eyes now seemed to be filled with jealousy, suspicion, and despair.

“S-Sensei has one!? S-Since when did that happen…!? While I was away, just what woman did you…!?”

Her shoulders trembled, and she looked as though she was about to burst into tears, yet her face was contorted like that of a vengeful demon.

Hey… Alicia-san… There’s… no need to be that shocked…

Even a shabby old man like me might… just maybe… find a remarkable woman somewhere in this wide world who could accept me and build a family with me.

Yes… I’m sure… someone like that has to exist.

Please… let her exist…

And so, I retorted to myself, getting my own feelings hurt by Alicia-san’s completely over-the-top reaction.

Emma-san, perhaps seeing a reflection of her very recent self in Alicia-san’s state, let out a small sigh as if to say, “good grief.”

“Honestly, is this what they mean by ‘love is blind’… Well, I suppose I’m not one to talk…”

Muttering something to herself, Emma-san firmly grasped the shoulders of the semi-panicked Alicia-san.

“Um… Alicia-san, there are some rather complicated circumstances involved. It’s difficult to speak of them here, so let’s move somewhere else for a bit. Alright?”

Then, she began to lead Alicia-san out of the dining room, practically by force.

Alicia-san, who must have been far from convinced, screamed and thrashed about… or rather, resisted to the very end.

Emma-san and Mira-san somehow managed to restrain her and haul her away.

…If they hadn’t been here, the mansion would’ve probably been destroyed.

Setting that aside… Emma-san then prompted the sisters who had been waiting in the corner, and they shuffled out of the room.

As she was leaving, Emma-san sent a glance toward Mira.

“Mira, sorry to ask, but could you please keep Shuzou-sama company? I’ll be right back.”

“Yes, Mother…”

Mira nodded with a perfect smile.

But something about Mira-san’s expression seemed unnatural.

It looked to me as though the depths of her eyes were not smiling at all.

Like a storm, Emma-san, Alicia-san, and the sisters left the room.

When the heavy door closed, silence returned to the dining room.

And as for me…

I was completely unable to keep up with the torrent of events that had just happened, leaving me utterly dumbfounded.

And so I was left behind, stranded in the overly luxurious dining room with Mira-san, who was staring at me with a strangely bewitching smile, and Fel, who was watching me with an amused expression.

Come to think of it… what happened with me getting fired…?

Maybe… it’s been postponed for the time being…

As someone who had been prepared to be let go, I was, to be honest, relieved.

There was no way I could make a living on today’s earnings alone.

Every extra day of work I could get through the guild was another day I could survive.

This was a matter of life and death for me, so it couldn’t be helped.

I let out an internal sigh, a mix of relief and self-loathing.

Just then, as I looked around the room again, I saw the raw aftermath of the battle.

Broken windowpanes, overturned chairs, and fragments of black clothing scattered across the floor…

This is a pretty bad mess…

Hoping to atone in some small way, I stood up.

“Um, Mira-san. I’ll help clean up a little.”

However, Mira-san, with a perfect smile… but with eyes that were still not smiling in the slightest… cut off my offer.

“No, Mikami-san. Please don’t worry about it. Someone else will take care of things like this. As our guest, Mikami-san… Heh heh… please, make yourself comfortable.”

Her words made me feel as if she were implicitly saying, “I don’t want you touching anything,” and I felt a wave of discomfort as I meekly sat back down in my chair.

…I wonder if Mira-san is still angry after all…

Well… the mansion gets trashed, and my termination gets postponed… From her perspective, she’s probably furious.

In that case… there’s no reason for me to stay here any longer.

I stood up once again.

“I-Is that so… Well then, I’ll be taking my leave. Today was… well… a lot of trouble… Sorry about that…”

“Please wait, Mikami-san.”

Mira-san called out to stop me.

For some reason, her voice had a probing ring to it.

“Where do you plan on staying tonight?”

“Huh? Oh, the usual cheap inn in town.”

I answered, though I was bewildered.

At that, Mira-san made a show of thinking for a moment, then looked up at me with an oddly expectant gaze.

“……If you would be so kind……how would you like to stay the night here at the mansion? We have plenty of empty guest rooms available…… If it’s alright with you, Mikami-san……”

She’s… offering to let me stay the night…

That was a very welcome offer.

It would save me a night’s lodging fee.

And comparing that cramped, smelly, rundown inn with Emma-san’s luxurious mansion…

I felt bad for the innkeeper, but there was simply no contest when it came to sleeping comfort.

My instincts desperately wanted to accept the offer.

But reason held me back.

Namely, Mira-san’s attitude for a while now had been bothering me.

Something… feels off.

Could it be that Mira-san is planning to continue with the notice of termination?

Once Emma-san returns from dealing with the previous mess, the firing that got brushed aside might be brought up again.

If… that’s the case… then my only option here is to ‘run’.

My termination was postponed by a stroke of good luck.

There was no way I wasn’t going to take advantage of that.

“N-No, no! That’s unthinkable! I’ve already caused more than enough trouble for one day, I couldn’t possibly impose any further! I’ll gratefully accept the thought, though. Thank you, Mira-san.”

I fought desperately against my inner desires and politely but firmly refused.

“……Is that so……. That is very… unfortunate……”

Mira-san’s shoulders slumped in blatant disappointment.

Seeing her looking so dejected pricked at my conscience.

Sorry… Mira-san… Just let me be spoiled by you all for a little while longer…

However, Mira-san quickly seemed to recover, putting on her usual smile.

Then, she muttered something in a voice so soft I couldn’t hear it.

“……Heh heh…… Well, it can’t be helped, then……. I know which inn Mikami-san is staying at……. Tonight, I’ll just have to sneak over…… Yes……. With that nuisance Mother and Alicia-san out of the way…… Heh heh……. I’ll have to make Mikami-san thoroughly understand that I’m not a child anymore……”

Though Mira-san’s expression had an unsettling quality to it, I pretended not to see it.

With a, “Well then, I’ll be taking my leave for real this time,” I left the dining room.

As for Fel, she said nothing, simply following behind me.

She’s been strangely quiet for a while now…

We exited the magnificent gate of the mansion and headed down the night road toward my usual cheap inn.

It was a dark path, lit only by the light of the moon.

After we’d walked in silence for a time, Fel, who was beside me, suddenly stopped.

“Master.”

She looked up at me with those golden eyes and spoke in her usual haughty tone.

“I shall be acting separately tonight.”

“Huh? What’s this all of a sudden… Do you have somewhere to go?”

I asked back in surprise.

“Hmph. As expected, remaining in this human child’s form for so long is a bit taxing. I shall stretch my wings in my original form for a little while.”

As Fel said this, she gave a mischievous wink.

Then, in a voice almost too quiet to hear, she looked down and muttered something.

“……My wounds have finally healed…… Perhaps it is time for a rematch……. No…… perhaps it would be better to first discern that bizarre art that even my divine eye could not perceive……”

Then, she raised her face again.

“Do not worry, I shall return by dawn…”

Before the words had even fully left her mouth, Fel’s form seemed to melt into the darkness as if she’d simply vanished, her presence disappearing completely.

“Huh!? Hey! W-Wait a…”

I called out in a panic, but it was too late.

Where she had been standing, only the night wind blew past.

She’s as ridiculously fast as ever…

Left alone on the dark road, I let out a heavy sigh.

Still… what was that all about?

That girl…

Well… she probably just got fed up with me in the end…

After spending a few days together, even a child could see what a hopeless man I am.

Honestly… I feel bad about leaving an orphan on her own… but, well… with that kid… I kind of get the feeling she’d be fine by herself anyway…

Though I felt irresponsible, I ultimately stopped thinking about it too deeply and hurried my steps toward the cheap inn, alone.