Chapter 80 – Negotiation
At a warehouse district in the capital.
There was a really battered warehouse. The inside was filled with trash because right now it wasn’t used anymore.
Scrap wood was piled up and cold winds blew in from the cracks.
Miranda-san chose such a place as the negotiation venue. Perhaps she regretted it because her expression was dark.
「Miranda-san, such expression doesn’t suit you. Come on, please smile.」
Shannon laughed at my line.
「You, you have been like this all the time since morning. Aren’t you ashamed?」
「No, not at all?」
Miranda-san put her hand on her cheek.
「I predicted wrongly. I can’t believe that it’s different from usual.」
Firewood was put inside a large can and being used for indoor heating.
We gathered around it.
Novem looked at my face with worry.
「Usually, Lyle-sama will calm down at night, but this time his emotional uplift is still continuing.」
I was in perfect form since the morning.
Aria-san looked at me while placing her hand over the fire.
「He is calmer than usual though. Perhaps this state continued longer in exchange of that. Lyle, really, why are you like this only at this kind of time.」
Clara-san finished checking her artificial left arm and looked at me.
「Will the negotiation be alright?」
Eva-san put a blanket over herself while sending a doubting gaze at me.
「Lyle, do you understand the plan? You will be able to negotiate properly right?」
I smiled and assured Eva-san.
「Rest assured. I know no failure.」
「I wonder where does that confidence come from. The usual Lyle is unreliable but, the current Lyle is only making us worried.」
The Seventh’s disappointed voice came.
『This time is also really funny but, I wish there’ll be more impact.』
The Sixth was in agreement.
『Yeah, it’s lacking. That naked scene was amusing though.』
It seemed that they were pleased by my naked body. But, it was troubling even if a man got interested to me. However, my naked body that led astray even men……good grief, I was really a sinful man.
I grasped the Jewel and stood up before looking back.
There was a frozen monster there.
The monster with an “eagle head” that was put inside white ice within a wooden box could be seen vaguely.
No matter where you looked at it from, it was a griffon.
「……Everyone, it seems they arrived. They’re surrounding this warehouse. There are also some on the roof.」
Sophia-san shouldered her battle axe, then everyone also held their weapons.
The warehouse’s door was opened and Ralph-san wearing a coat appeared.
Around him, there was his retainers for rough matters including Renard-san accompanying him.
Ralph-san’s voice echoed inside the warehouse.
「Here I am, brat.」
I welcomed Ralph-san with a smile.
「We have been waiting. This is the “aforementioned thing”.」
Ralph-san’s gaze turned sharp.
「You intentionally froze it?」
I nodded.
「The rotting was worsening, so we froze it. This way is also better for you isn’t it?」
「If you quickly hand it over then there would also be little problem. Oi.」
One retainer came here and looked at the frozen monster. It seemed he was confirming the characteristic of each body part. Before long he returned to Ralph-san’s side and started talking about something with a low voice.
……It was a tense moment.
I was looking cheerful without stopping from smiling.
Ralph-san nodded at his retainer’s report.
「Looks like there is no mistake.」
「Naturally.」
When I nodded, Ralph-san glared at me.
「Now then, for the deal. I prepared a hundred gold coins. Take it and leave the capital right away.」
His attitude was really oppressive.
「You plan to purchase this with only a hundred gold coins? Looks like you really have a naïve thought.」
When I started talking with body and hand gestures, the Sixth spoke inside the Jewel.
『Good going, you’re in a better form than usual. Show your composure just like that!』
The Fifth was exasperated at the Sixth.
『……You are full of vigor at this kind of time huh.』
I stared fixedly at Ralph-san’s eyes while presenting my price.
「The price is a thousand gold coins. There is no use talking if I don’t receive at least that much.」
Ralph-san’s wrath heightened.
Shannon hugged Miranda-san.
「Please don’t get angry. You make Shannon scared.」
「……Aren’t you really spirited. You are telling me to pay that much money?」
「Of course.」
「Two hundred gold coins. I won’t pay anymore than that.」
「That’s troubling. Even though I was told it was a hippogriff subjugation force, it was a griffon that came out. Thinking of your side’s miss, you should pay more in exchange. Nine hundred gold coins.」
「I’ll recognize that it was our miss. But, we thought that it was a hippogriff at that time. Everyone can make a mistake. Am I wrong? 250 gold coins.」
「Do you think I don’t know anything? A person who sent away his daughter to die has a thick skin for a face. 850 gold coins.」
The amount of money was gradually approaching near.
However, Ralph-san was the first one to be unable to maintain his patience.
「……300 gold coins. I don’t have any free time to go along with your game more than this.」
I showed a cheerful grin──
「800 gold coins.」
──When I told that, Ralph-san snapped his fingers as a signal.
「──Erase them.」
He was expressionless.
The retainers of the Circry House leaped inside from the warehouse’s windows.
Several people broke through the warehouse’s roof and came in.
They were clad in black outfits and extinguished the fire first in order to slip into darkness.
However, that was within expectations.
「How short tempered!」
Aria-san quickly moved and took the consciousness of several people using thrusts with her spear’s butt.
Sophia-san lifted one hand and the remaining enemies who were approaching fell on their knees.
Ralph-san opened his eyes slightly wider and then said.
「Renard, go.」
「──Yes-」
After he ordered the retired butler, Miranda-san threw a knife. Renard-san parried it with his cane and drew out a sword from there.
A hidden weapon.
The Seventh taught me.
『Lyle, aunt used a pistol. The brat Renard is also secretly carrying one.』
I unsheathed my saber and blocked Renard-san’s attack.
I was slightly surprised by the sharp swordsmanship and heavy attack that was unthinkable from an old man. Without pause he slashed at me consecutively so I dealt with them all.
「Excellent skill.」
「Nothing will come out even if you praise me.」
When I swung my saber horizontally, Renard-san dodged with only the barest distance and then he slashed again.
Sophia-san was surprised.
「My Art isn’t working!?」
Sophia-san’s Art was an Art to change weight.
The first stage could change the weight of an object she touched.
The second stage could change the weight of objects around her.
Even though his weight should be so heavy he couldn’t stand, Renard-san’s face was composed.
「Young lady, Arts are not omnipotent. You should learn that your Art’s effect is weak towards opponents of higher status.」
He took distance from me and pointed his left hand towards me.
「Monica.」
Monica immediately rushed between me and Renard-san. She lifted her large hammer as a shield and there was a firing sound at the same time.
Renald-san didn’t panic and immediately moved into the next attack but──
「Wha, what?」
Fluttering inside the warehouse was string. Furthermore it was a soft and light string that would be blown away if it was hit by air.
If it was touched, it would burn and vanish.
When it touched the body and burned, it would take away mana at the same time. It was a string created by Miranda-san’s Art.
Renard-san immediately detected the danger and tried to get away, but his feet didn’t move. Sticky strings were set up on the floor.
Miranda-san stepped forward.
「Renard, my bad but I’ll have you back down.」
「Miranda-ojousama? Is that so, this is Miranda-ojousama’s Art.」
When Miranda-san waved her hand to the side, sticky strings were produced from her hand and captured the retainers of the Circry House.
They couldn’t make any movement. They struggled to escape but couldn’t slip out of the string.
Deeper inside the warehouse.
Porter’s engine came to life and turned on the light that made the inside of the warehouse bright. Clara-san was sitting on the driver seat.
I sheathed my saber while,
「Is it over already? This is no good. There won’t be any challenge unless you prepare double the number of people.」
Ralph-san clenched his fist.
「A brat who’s hiding behind women acting high and mighty.」
「I can’t say anything back to that.」
I laughed and resumed the negotiation.
「Now then, the retainers of the Circry House are hostages. Let’s use them as negotiation material too. How about 1000 gold coins?」
「Brat!」
「Oh, is that alright? It’s not like we have to sell the monster to you. Let’s see, should I negotiate with a different faction?」
Ralph-san gritted his teeth.
But, realizing that his retainers weren’t of any use, he immediately changed his policy.
「……The upper limit that I can prepare is 800 gold coins.」
「That’s fewer than I thought. Well, fine I guess.」
The Sixth spoke.
『We earn 200 gold coins more than expected. This brat, it’s obvious he is inexperienced at this kind of situation. This kind of type is common among civil officials.』
The Fourth couldn’t stop laughing.
『800 coins! We obtained a really good price!』
Ralph-san said.
「……The handing over of the money will be in my mansion.」
「Yes, I don’t mind. Please prepare the correct amount of 800 gold coins.」
Eva-san collected the weapons of the attackers.
Like that, the attackers were united and they were led outside by their colleagues hands.
.
──The warehouse’s entrance.
Ralph talked to Miranda who was on her guard.
「Miranda, do you intend to return?」
Miranda made a sharp gaze. Shannon beside her hugged her so she immediately let go of the weapon she was holding.
「I won’t return. ……You aren’t asking Shannon.」
Ralph looked at Shannon.
However, his gaze immediately returned to Miranda.
Shannon strongly grasped at Miranda’s clothes and let out her tears.
「How about you say something?」
Ralph’s tone toward his daughter was cold.
「You are necessary for the house’s sake. If it’s necessary then I’ll also accept Shannon. If you wish for an apology, then I’ll do it at the mansion just as you wish.」
「Do you think I’ll say “Yes, I accept” if you told me like that?」
Her father changed completely after her mother’s death.
Miranda was really frustrated at that.
「……Since Okaa-sama died, you became someone who only worked for the sake of the house. Once, I was also worried for you. I thought that one day you would return to become that kind father again. And yet, you keep dragging it forever!」
Ralph smiled at Miranda as though to look down on her.
「You wanted me to be kind to you? You got caught by an outrageous man because of such reason huh. ……All of you will regret it. Killing me here might be better for that brat too.」
「What do you mean by that?」
「Think about it yourself. I don’t know of anyone like you all anymore. Do as you please.」
Shannon stifled her voice, but she couldn’t completely hold it and sniffed.
Ralph didn’t look back even once at his crying daughter.
Miranda hugged Shannon.
「Onee-sama, I……I……」
「I’m sorry, Shannon. It’s fine. I’m at your side.」
There were footsteps rushing towards the two of them.
「I’ve listened to the situation!」
The one who appeared in front of the two with a pose was Lyle. He didn’t read the mood and smiled.
Even Miranda was troubled as expected.
「Lyle, give us a bit of time.」
Shannon was also angry.
「Read the mood, you. Why are you smiling! Is it that funny seeing us getting abandoned!?」
Miranda and Shannon didn’t think that Lyle was making fun of them, but this was a delicate problem for them. They had no composure to smile even if they were told a joke.
Lyle spoke to the two of them.
「Don’t be stupid. You two aren’t abandoned.」
In front of the two of them, Lyle lightly hit his chest with his fist.
「You have chosen this me──this Lyle Walt. You can feel proud. The man the two of you have chosen is me who will become the best man in the world after all!」
Shannon looked at Miranda’s face and pointed to Lyle.
「Onee-sama, are you really planning to go with this guy? I can only feel anxiety.」
Miranda laughed.
「You’re right. He is worrying, that’s why we have to be the reliable one.」
Shannon who stopped crying complained at Lyle.
「You, just when are you going to go back to normal. Cut it out already, you’re annoying!」
「What? Are you embarrassed? What a cute fellow.」
「I’m not embarrassed! There is a limit in even being presumptuous!」
「Presumptuous you say? You are wrong there, Shannon. I’m an amazing man, that is the truth. And then, I swear I’ll absolutely make you two happy. So just shut up and come with me.」
Miranda looked at the posing Lyle while laughing.
「I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Lyle, I won’t forget what you just said for my entire life.」
Lyle laughed loudly.
「Fuhahaha! No problem. This Lyle is a man who won’t say any lie.」
Shannon’s face twisted and displayed her displeasure.
「No, you lied not long ago.」
「Oi oi, did I lie even once? I didn’t say anything like 『I’m selling a griffon』 even once. That’s why it’s not a lie.」
Miranda smiled slightly hearing that.
「Certainly you didn’t lie. Even so, today is cold isn’t it. ──Oh?」
Snow fell from the sky that the three looked up to──
.
──The next day.
Ralph and the others were in the warehouse located inside the Circry House’s mansion.
Ralph opened his eyes wide in front of the object he purchased.
The frozen monster wasn’t a griffon.
What came out from inside the melted ice was──a hippogriff.
It had the same eagle head and its appearance was really similar……the beheaded hippogriff was decorated like its legs that were wrapped with fur and so on to make it look like a griffon.
Ralph was trembling with anger in front of the hippogriff──
「Master, there is this thing」
Renard handed a wet paper to him.
He roughly took it and read the content.
.
『It’s a hippogriff that your daughter defeated. Decorate it and show it off okay! Also……did you think it was a griffon? Too bad~』
.
Ralph crushed the paper in his fist. Renard shook his head toward him.
「I asked my subordinate that checked it. It seems he investigated a griffon’s characteristics from a book beforehand but, hes never seen the real thing or the stuffed one before. This is the harmful effect of us specializing in facing humans.」
They were trained for fighting humans. Because of that they were uninformed about monsters.
There were also people who’ve never seen monsters before because they lived in the safe capital that was protected by a wall.
Furthermore when it came to a griffon that was almost never seen, most people would only ever see one in books.
「……THAT BRAATTTT!」
Ralph threw away the letter in rage, then Renard’s expression turned grim.
「Master, the youngster the young ladies chose is formidable.」
Renard asked if they would still fight him even then. In response Ralph calmed his rough breathing and answered.
「No need. They won’t be able to move anyway.」
The snow that was falling since yesterday was starting to pile up on the capital.
It also affected the transportation. Ralph had noticed that Lyle and the others wouldn’t be able to leave from the capital for a while.
「They should enjoy their victory against me for now.」
After saying that, Ralph left the warehouse and headed to his mansion.
Renard followed behind such Ralph──
.
『You have chosen this me, wasn’t it?』
『He also said something like, I want you to look at my naked body more.』
『It was also amusing this time.』
『The impact was lacking but, we were able to enjoy it for a longer time.』
『As expected from the Walt House’s wonder child.』
At the inn.
I locked myself inside the room with a blanket over my body while trembling.
「……No. It wasn’t me. That thing wasn’t me!」
I exposed my naked body in front of everyone.
I got the feeling that I was saying all kinds of embarrassing things the whole time.
I didn’t know what kind of face I should make in front of everyone!
The Fifth was cold towards me.
『The truth won’t change no matter how strongly you deny it. Even so, even though it shouldn’t be strange even if you start getting a little used to Growth, your post-Growth was still as intense as usual.』
The Fifth’s words pierced my chest deeply. I wanted to just faint like this.
It was painful how the people around me were being considerate to me since the morning.
Miranda-san and Shannon were grinning at me. It felt like Clara-san was smiling with a little bit of relief when looking at me. Surely she thought of me as her comrade.
「I’m not wrong. The tension post-Growth is to blame.」
While I was trying to convince myself like that, the Third spoke to me with a mean voice.
『Eh? Is it alright for you to say something like that? Certainly it was post-Growth but, it’s the truth that you bothered everyone right? You got naked and said look at me, or saying I’ll make you all happy. ……I think it won’t be acceptable if you say that it’s a lie.』
Tears came out.
While I was suffering, the room’s door was opened. Even though it was locked, the lock was opened without any consideration and Monica entered.
「Chicken dickwad, I brought your afternoon snack.」
「……I don’t need it.」
Right now wasn’t the time for that.
Even though I was writhing in shame, Monica was looking happy.
「Geez, don’t be shy. Even so, this time was really great. I was able to record every inch of chicken dickwad’s naked body. Well, setting aside whether it is a great sword or not, I can say for sure that it’s not a short sword.」
From inside the Jewel,
『……puh』
I could hear a voice that couldn’t hold back laughter and snorted.
Other than that,
『Great sword he said.』
『That’s too pretentious.』
『It wasn’t a short sword, that’s the impression I got.』
『Lyle is still in his Growth period. It will still grow from here.』
『It reminds me of Lyle when he was small.』
……It was so embarrassing I wanted to cry.
Or rather, my tears had spilled out.
「Please forget it.」
When I pleaded, Monica spoke to me with a smile that was filled with compassion.
「Impossible. I absolutely won’t forget it. It’s Monica’s treasure.」
「Don’t call someone’s naked body a treasure!」
「I won’t forget it for my entire life~」
Monica looked happy and began to dance there. In front of that, I covered myself under the blanket once more and rolled into a ball.
「GOD DAMMITTTTTT! Why am I the only one to go through something like this!」
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