Chapter 209: Saintess and the Prince

"Uncle...?" Igor looked visibly wounded by being called an uncle, but after a moment, he reluctantly admitted, "Well, I can’t exactly deny it. I’m not the leader, though. The leader of our party is this guy, Warren."

Igor gave Warren, who was sitting beside him, a slap on the back.

Shangguan Wan’er and Xiao Tao both stared at Warren with slightly surprised expressions.

Even Warren looked shocked. "Wait, I’m still the leader!?"

Qiu Nuoya was actually a little surprised too.

While Qiu Nuoya had been pursued by the Church, Warren had temporarily served as the party’s representative. However, after Qiu Nuoya became able to accept quests at the Oraria Adventurer’s Guild, Viktor or Igor had usually been the one acting as the party representative.

Apparently, Warren had still been considered the party leader all this time.

"Hm? Why are you surprised? We decided that a long time ago, didn’t we?"

"That’s true, but I thought that had long since become irrelevant!"

"Why? Then who did you think was the leader of this party?"

"Eh? Obviously Viktor or Igor, right!?"

Qiu Nuoya nodded along with Warren’s words. That certainly seemed like the most reasonable answer to him as well.

However, completely contrary to Qiu Nuoya’s expectations, Viktor calmly said, "I consider Nuoya to be the leader of this party."

"Eh? Me?"

"I followed you here because you said you wanted to come. Basically, I have no intention of doing anything other than what you want to do. I do not consider myself the leader, but at the same time, if someone else suggested doing something while ignoring your wishes, I would have absolutely no intention of going along with them."

"..."

"Hmm. Now that you put it that way, I suppose this party does revolve around Nuoya. For one thing, the party probably would never have been formed if it weren’t for him in the first place. All right, I understand. From today onward, you’re the leader, Nuoya!"

"Eh!?"

Somehow, through a bizarre chain of events, Qiu Nuoya had ended up being made the leader of the party.

Why me!?

"Anyway, this is our leader and mage, Qiu Nuoya, and that is Viktor, who is also a mage."

Igor cheerfully declared it as though it were already settled, leaving Qiu Nuoya with an awkward smile.

Well, the title of leader was probably just a name. Qiu Nuoya knew that everyone in the group was ultimately on equal footing, so he supposed it was fine.

"The youngest kid in the group is the leader? Is this party really going to be okay?"

"Ah, Nuoya is come from earth, just like us. Unlike us, though, his appearance changed when he came to this world, so he looks like a child. He’s actually an adult on the inside."

"Really? Is that what they call reincarnation into another world? So there are ways to come here other than being summoned? A child on the outside but an adult on the inside? That’s just like that famous detective. And he’s such a beautiful boy too! If I had a choice, I would have wanted to come here as a sexy beauty. Then I’d use my cheat abilities to become unbeatable, build a harem, and save the world!"

...What did she just say?

"Oh, right! You! Give me back the sword you took! That’s the Hero’s Sword!"

"Eh? W-What? What are you talking about!?"

"I mean the Divine Sword Velikorya! You took it, didn’t you!?"

The moment she said that, the atmosphere around them shifted.

There were probably adventurers among the customers at the restaurant. The SS-rank mission to locate the Divine Sword Velikorya had been issued to Adventurer’s Guilds throughout the country, with a reward of ten platinum coins.

Naturally, the sudden appearance of words connected to such a lucrative quest immediately caught the adventurers’ attention.

"Young lady, what are you suddenly talking about? When you say Divine Sword Velikorya, you don’t mean that Divine Sword Velikorya, do you?"

"I don’t know what you mean by ’that’ Divine Sword Velikorya, but the Divine Sword Velikorya is the Divine Sword Velikorya..."

"Mmph!"

Suddenly, a slender yet powerful arm reached out from behind her and covered her mouth.

"Saintess, I believe I have repeatedly warned you, time and time again, to be more careful with your words. May I ask what exactly you are making such a commotion about?"

The person who had spoken was presumably her companion, the same woman who had continued eating at their table without paying any attention to what was happening until now.

The armor worn by the Saintess was rather revealing, giving her a somewhat fake-knight-like appearance. This woman, however, was unmistakably a genuine female knight. Her armor was full plate with not a single gap, and there was absolutely nothing remotely sexy about it.

The only reason Qiu Nuoya could tell that she was a woman was her beautiful features and feminine voice.

"Mmph! Mmmph! Ah, what are you doing, Arana!?"

"If anything, I am the one who should be asking that. Why are you loudly shouting the name of a Divine Sword? That is not a name you should casually utter in public!"

"What!? You were the ones who threatened me by saying the world would be destroyed if we didn’t have that Divine Sword! I’m just seriously doing exactly what you told me to do!"

The two began arguing heatedly, while the dishes they had ordered were brought to their table.

The waitress did not seem even slightly bothered by the commotion. Perhaps arguments like this were simply an everyday occurrence at the restaurant.

"Y-You two, stop it! Everyone is looking at you!"

"Huh!? Taotao, just because you are my childhood friend doesn’t mean you get to tell me what to do! Besides, this is all because you ran off somewhere with the sword in the first place..."

In that instant, the female knight’s movements came to a complete stop.

"Taotao?" She turned her gaze toward them. "By Xiao Tao, do you perhaps mean Lord Xiao Tao?"