Chapter 438: Finally Reunited, Good Good?

Advancing at a trot through the rain, lights became visible. When there are lights in the pitch darkness, one somehow feels a warm feeling.

Under the lights there were several people.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I have brought Takamoto Konoka-san."

When I said that, "Oh!" voices rose.

"Good. Because of this rain, I was worried that there might be some unsatisfactory results."

When said that, I learned that what I had said earlier had been listened to half-believing, half-doubting. After all, one has to confirm the facts with one’s own eyes.

"Then where is Lady Takamoto Konoka?"

The eyes lined up under the lights were going toward Lily. If not me, thinking it was Lily was not unreasonable.

"She is on my back. Konoka, please get down."

It was just when my back had warmed up, so there was a regrettable feeling, but this could not be helped.

"Konoka, please get down."

Urging once more, I squatted, and when Konoka’s feet touched the ground I released my hands. In the still steadily falling rain, when the rain cape was removed from her head, Konoka with a flat face but blue-green eyes and hair appeared.

"Hooo——"

Voices rose from the men, but thinking about it, perhaps no one knew Konoka’s face? Because she had been shut in the whole time, had some characteristics been heard in advance even from Her Majesty the Queen? They had probably at least heard about the color of her hair and eyes.

"Anyway, since Lady Takamoto Konoka has been safely secured, let us proceed to the hut."

Since confirmation was finished, guided by the men we advanced. Konoka climbed onto my back quite naturally. And put on the rain cape again.

The hut was about 50 m in after entering the forest. I thought how there was a hut in a place like this, but I decided not to ask. It did not seem newly built, so was it that a woodcutter or someone had been using it and it was rented?

In the fireplace inside the hut, firewood was burning. It was truly warm and felt like coming back to life. Entering the hut and removing the rain cape, again

"Ohh!?"

a voice rose. This was not toward Konoka, but the voice when Lily removed the rain cape. Lily was thoroughly soaked all over, wearing a combat breastplate, hat, knee pads and such, but because the clothes were clinging to her body, the contours of her body could be understood extremely well. The top was one thing, but the trousers were stuck tightly to her body. On top of that, when she removed the hat, the usual chignon came undone and her hair fell down with a bang, so this was a shot that stirred men’s hearts.

As for Lily, she had not intended to service the men, so she was expressionless and letting her gaze flow. Konoka was exactly as in the dress appearance when she left the mansion, and Konoka was also thoroughly soaked all over, but her figure without contours stood out further, and I am very sorry, but it did not draw men’s eyes. This could not be said to be neither Lily’s fault nor Konoka’s fault, right.

Since Robbie and Lily’s change of clothes had been brought (inside the mana bag), it was decided to have Konoka wear my change of clothes and change in the storage shed beside the hut. When I said to have the two change in the storage shed, the men’s disappointed sighs were their true feelings, and I wanted to ask if it would have been better to partition a corner of the hut with a sheet or something and have them change. Since we had been helped, would that much service have been fine? Thinking that was my thinking, but from Konoka’s side it would absolutely be disliked. I also felt she might say "Then I’ll stay without changing!"

Konoka’s change of clothes was a set of clothes for me, there was no bra but she wore my pants (it seemed). Konoka who came out after changing looked 100% like a boy. But the men’s eyes were going toward Lily, and no one’s eyes went to Konoka’s boyish girl, no, girlish boy appearance. Because of that, or for a different reason, since reuniting Konoka had not spoken a single word and remained silent the whole time.

Here I noticed, but it was not only Konoka who was not speaking, Lily and I were also not speaking. Surrounded by unknown men, tension would not ease, so that was natural. The men were talking in low voices, but one could tell they were also tense, and spending until morning in this state would be quite tough for both sides. Surely these guys would not start drinking the "good work" alcohol or something. Just in case, one could not say there would be no disorder in the place.

"We will return to the embassy."

When I declared toward the man who seemed like the leader, the men were all surprised.

"Would it not be dangerous to move now?"

Thinking that was natural, but I also did not feel safe being inside this hut. We were not yet close enough to let our guard down that much. Moreover, if remaining enemies were left, they might attack here. In that case even here could not be said to be safe. With faces estimated to have lower combat power than Robbie and Lily, it felt as though they would rather become a burden. Moreover my intuition was that there would be no more guys attacking, and the three of us had not exited the gate through formal procedures, so returning inside by formally passing through the gate would be difficult. Therefore, we would cross the wall again and return.

"Even staying in this hut is not necessarily safe. There might be guys who attack. Moreover Konoka was thrown out from the gate, and Lily and I came out from a secret route. I think we cannot openly enter the Royal Capital from the gate. We are grateful for being helped tonight. This is only a little, but it is a feeling of gratitude. Please eat it among yourselves."

Saying only what I said, I took out a pot from the mana bag. It was a pot like beef stew that was still hot. Whether the meat was beef or not I did not know because I had not eaten it. When I went to the Eisleben lands, when I passed in front of a stall it smelled delicious so I had bought the pot as is. The considerate me attached three bottles of wine.

The men who had been showing dissatisfied faces at my statement of leaving here, but when the steaming pot and wine were brought out in front, their attention went there, and the feeling of trying to detain us vanished into thin air.

"Then, thank you for today. You helped us."

Implied in the words was that you guys do not seem useful so we are leaving, but I conveyed thanks for the time being.

"Likewise, thank you. Itadakimasu!"

Since there were already guys serving soup from the pot, warm words were directed. When we left the hut, the rain outside had stopped.

The moment we left the hut, Lily

"Fuu——"

sighed largely.

"Were you tense?"

When I asked,

"Of course. But it cannot be helped, there were no familiar faces either."

I felt relieved thinking Lily had the same feeling. I had also worried whether she had wanted to spend until morning inside the hut.

"There were no people I knew either, and being inside the hut was tough. I also did not want to expose Lily to people much."

"Well, ufufu. Thank you. But it will still be dangerous from here, so let us proceed carefully."

"Yes."

We returned to the place of the gate we had slipped out from.