CHAPTER 6:
I INQUIRED THE SECRET OF THE MARRIED COUPLE (PART 1)
I was, at that moment, inside the Aquarain’s carriage.
Cecilia was next to me, while Sophia-san was sitting on the opposite side. Clayman, on the other hand, was being given a lap pillow by Sophia-san.
“What kind of situation is this?” [Youki]
Why were Cecilia and Sophia-san here? Why was Clayman beaten up until he passed out?
While I was still stupefied by the turn of events, Cecilia gave my back a light push, which had prompted me to go inside the carriage earlier, so I would like an explanation now.
“Where should I start explaining?” [Cecilia]
A question mark appeared above my head as I desperately wished for someone to assuage my confusion at the earliest. At that moment, Cecilia started explaining.
“Yesterday after you went back, Sheik-kun told me the names of all of the insufficient herbs. However, when we tried collecting them, I realized that there is a herb that we couldn’t get.” [Cecilia]
“Uh-huh. So, what happens after?” [Youki]
“It is a special medicinal herb that only grows in a place overflowing with magic power. But when I told them that I would head to the place personally to gather the herb, Sophia-san said she wanted to come along.” [Cecilia]
“The maids in the mansion were put in a difficult situation when they heard about this. So how could I, as the head of the maids, not take any action?” [Sophia]
Even though she made a cool remark in a calm demeanour… it contradicted the image I was seeing at the moment; She was being a lap pillow for a battered middle-aged man.
“I was a little uneasy doing this alone too, so I accepted Sophia-san’s kind offer.” [Cecilia]
“I am somewhat worried about the mansion, but I decide to leave it to Happiness and the rest of the maids. Of course, I have received the permission from Madam.” [Sophia]
Seeing that it was Celia-san, she had probably approved it immediately.
“Then, why did you come with us?” [Youki]
“Yesterday, my husband told me that he would be going to a mine overflowing with magic for a request. Since we were looking for a place like this as well, and I thought this was just right, I talked to him about it.” [Sophia]
“I see. Then…” [Youki]
“He was opposed to it initially, but I persuaded him.” [Sophia]
“Eh?… Is that so?” [Youki]
Why did Clayman object to having Sophia-san and Cecilia come along?
Was it such a dangerous request?
For the sake of fixing Gai, a certain level of danger was to be expected for me, though.
Well, I’ll leave that aside for now.
“I understand now why Cecilia and Sophia-san are here, but why is Clayman in such a battered state?” [Youki]
Clayman was still sleeping on Sophia-san’s lap. What on earth did he do? What he said during his occasional sleep-talking made me feel irritated. Something along the lines of “Sophia’s lap is so soft~”
Is he an idiot?
“He said it was bothersome and I couldn’t get him to wake up this morning. So I forcibly dragged him here.” [Sophia]
Un, I couldn’t find anything to say. Cecilia’s face twitched upon hearing that too.
When Cecilia and I gave Clayman a cold-eyed stare, he suddenly woke up.
“Nn… I was just wondering why the bed felt so comfortable. So it was Sophia’s lap pillow.” [Clayman]
After uttering something stupid, he got up and stretched himself.
“…That’s quite, a fast recovery.” [Youki]
His appearance was like that of a beaten-up rag doll when I arrived this morning. I think Sophia-san said that she had grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and threw him inside the carriage earlier. At that time, Cecilia and I were at a loss, wondering if we should laugh about it.
“Nn, I’ve been sleeping for quite some time, haven’t I?” [Clayman]
“It’s not even thirty minutes yet since we departed. How did you get up that soon despite being in that state earlier?” [Youki]
“Youki-san and I didn’t even use any recovery magic on you. You have an amazing recuperative power.” [Cecilia]
During our journey, Cecilia tried to use her recovery magic on him, but I could finally understand why Sophia-san said it wasn’t necessary. Clayman’s arms were twisted in a strange angle and clicking sounds could be heard from his neck earlier. However, looking at his current condition made it seem as though his half-dead state earlier was a lie.
“Well, Sophia’s touch is the best healing magic for me.” [Clayman]
It amazed me that he could calmly blurt out such a mushy line so easily.
Cecilia, who was sitting next to me, edged a little closer because Clayman was sitting in front of her. It seemed that Clayman’s remark had made her draw back a little. I had gained the advantage from this, and Clayman didn’t seem to mind it either.
Anyway, I should confirm the contents of the request with him since he had woken up.
“Sorry to ask this from you since you’ve just woken up, but I’d like to know more about this request.” [Youki]
“Oh, come to think of it, I’ve not explain it to you. The request this time is to exterminate the demons that reside in the magic ore mine.” [Clayman]
Surprisingly, it seemed to be an ordinary subjugation request. Since Clayman asked me to come along, I had initially assumed that there is more to this request than meets the eye, but I might be overthinking it.
“How strong are the demons residing in that mine?” [Youki]
“Based on the report, almost all the demons in there are about C-rank… but I wonder.” [Clayman]
It sounded ambiguous, but as expected, it still seemed like a normal request. It appeared to be a request that Clayman could easily handle by himself. He didn’t need me to come along at all. There must be some sort of scheme behind this.
“Rest assured, Youki-sama. Ojou-sama and I will be accompanying you all to the mine.” [Sophia]
“That’s right, Youki-san. I will do my best too.” [Cecilia]
“…I guess, with this combination, even if anything happens, it will still be alright.” [Youki]
That was because we have Sophia, the strongest head maid, and Cecilia, one of the members from the hero’s party. The two of them are more reliable than Clayman, so there shouldn’t be a problem.
“By the way, how long will this request take?” [Youki]
I forgot to ask him about the most important thing. The time limit left was only four days. Even if we completed the request, if we couldn’t make it back in four days, Gai will crumble into pieces.
“If everything goes well, we can go back after three or four days. Well, we have Sophia and the young lady from Aquarain family with us, so it will definitely work out.” [Clayman]
“Is that so…” [Youki]
It would be a really tight time constraint then. I wasn’t sure if we could make it back in time. If worse comes to worst, the only thing I can do is to fly back by myself once I acquire the magic ore.
“Well, I told the guild that we would take one week, though.” [Clayman]
“Why is it?” [Cecilia]
“That’s so I can finish the request quickly and take it easy–” [Clayman]
Before Clayman could finish his sentence, he disappeared from his seat. No, he didn’t actually disappear. When I realized it, he had collapsed sideways on the carriage floor.
“Dear, please conduct yourself appropriately in front of Ojou-sama. Also, please make sure to go to work after you finish this request, alright?” [Sophia]
“O-Ou… I understand…Sophia.” [Clayman]
While still lying on the floor, he raised his hand as he answered. Upon seeing the two people’s exchange, my and Cecilia’s faces twitched. Could you two please not do something like that in such a narrow space?
“U-Umm, Sophia-san. I’m currently one of the members who have taken up this request, just like everyone else here… so, if it is possible, could you treat me normally?” [Cecilia]
“Even if you say that…” [Sophia]
“Now, now, Sophia-san. If Cecilia wishes for it, why not yield just a little bit and comply with her request?” [Clayman]
I had not expected Clayman to use honorifics. I didn’t know if Cecilia had proposed that because she was sympathizing Clayman, but nice work! It might be Sophia and Clayman’s ‘skinship’ kind of routine, but Cecilia and I couldn’t really keep up with them.
“It can’t be helped then, since it’s Ojou-sama’s request.” [Sophia]
“Thank you very much, Sophia-san.” [Cecilia]
“But I will be speaking with you using the usual tone.” [Sophia]
“Is that so… It’s regrettable then.” [Cecilia]
Cecilia seemed disappointed. Hmm, I would like to do something about it, but Sophia-san didn’t seem to be the type who would change her mind once she made her decision. I have to consider it from her standpoint, too.
“Couldn’t you at least call her by her name?” [Youki]
Sophia-san pondered over my subtle suggestion. It might be fairly different, even if all she did was call her by her name.
“If it’s just that, then… I don’t mind it. Then I’ll call you Cecilia-sama.” [Sophia]
“Is it true?! Thank you very much, Sophia-san.” [Cecilia]
She hugged Sophia-san, probably because she was happy to be called by her name. …I was the one who suggested that, though.
“Heh, you lost to Sophia. Well, it can’t be helped, can it?” [Clayman]
Before I knew it, Clayman had resurrected himself. He patted me on my shoulder. His attempt to console me made me feel even more miserable though, so I wish he would stop that.
The carriage continued advancing to our destination while I was slumped in deep dejection. After that, we continued our idle chat as we gazed at the scenery outside. We reached the town where the mine was after sunset.
At that moment, I was witnessing a rare scene: Clayman and Sophia-san were checking into the inn.
Since the two of them said they could handle it, Cecilia and I decided to move to another location not too far away and chatted amongst ourselves.
“…Which reminds me.” [Youki]
“Is there something wrong?” [Cecilia]
“I was just wondering – Sophia-san wouldn’t be wearing her maid clothing tomorrow, right?” [Youki]
That was because my impression of her was that she was always wearing her maid uniform. We would be going to a mine where demons appear, so she should have prepared herself with appropriate equipment.
“She should have the clothing from when she frequented the guild last time. So she should be wearing those, I think.” [Cecilia]
“Please don’t worry about it.” [Sophia]
“Uwaa!?” [Youki]
Sophia-san suddenly appeared from behind. She was supposed to be talking to the inn’s receptionist a while ago, but it seemed that she had left Clayman to deal with it alone.
“Is there something wrong, Youki-sama?” [Sophia]
“No, that’s because you suddenly appeared behind me. More importantly…” [Youki]
“Sophia-san, do you have the clothing to wear for tomorrow?” [Cecilia]
Cecilia raised the question before I could do so. She must have been worried about it. Considering that I had never seen Sophia-san dressed in anything other than her maid clothing, I was slightly curious about it.
“I have naturally prepared one. It’s something that was custom-made.” [Sophia]
It seemed to be something that was specially made for Sophia-san. Cecilia appeared to be relieved as well after hearing what Sophia-san said. Although… there was something that I would like to ask, just in case.
“By the way, what kind of clothing is it?” [Youki]
“Let’s see… It’s not much different from the maid outfit that I am wearing now.” [Sophia]
Ah, Cecilia looked stunned. Well, I was stunned too. Couldn’t she have prepared proper clothing?! She didn’t have to go through the trouble to prepare another custom-made maid uniform.
“Why didn’t you prepare any regular protective gear?” [Youki]
“My husband said he likes seeing me in a maid uniform.” [Sophia]
“…” [Cecilia & Youki]
Cecilia and I were dumbstruck. Sophia-san said something after that, but I couldn’t remember what.
When Clayman brought the room keys to us, Cecilia hid behind me, which caused him to tilt his head in wonder. Nonetheless, there was nothing I could do but give him a pat on his shoulder for now – an indirect way of telling him not to mind it. In any case, I had not expected that Clayman has a ‘maid moe’.[1]
I went to bed after that to prepare myself for the next day.
The next day, we headed to the mine after we finished our preparations.
It was somehow saddening though, when I saw how Cecilia was avoiding Clayman as we left the inn. Sophia-san was dressed in her maid outfit, as she had declared yesterday. It seemed that it was certainly similar to her maid clothing yesterday. I wonder if it was okay. On the other hand, since Clayman didn’t seem to know the reason why Cecilia was avoiding him, he grew a little anxious. By the way, as for me, there is a proverb that describes what I think about people’s preferences: To each their own.
At the moment, we were proceeding into the depths of the dim mine, with the help of Cecilia’s magic as illumination.
“Hey. I have a feeling that the young lady from Aquarain family is avoiding me…” [Clayman]
“Ah, un. Well, isn’t it just your imagination?” [Youki]
I gave him an ambiguous reply as I looked at Cecilia, who was on the front line illuminating the mine.
Cecilia and Sophia-san were in the vanguard while Clayman and I were the rearguard.
“It’s not just my imagination. I have this feeling ever since I came back from the reception table yesterday.” [Clayman]
“Ahahaha…” [Youki]
I smiled bitterly. Hmm, it would be somewhat unpleasant to prolong this awkward atmosphere, so I guess I should tell him what happened yesterday. I explained the content of yesterday’s conversation to Clayman secretly, speaking in a low voice, so as to prevent Cecilia and Sophia-san from overhearing it. …though, Sophia-san might have overheard it anyway. I caught her glancing towards us once when I started talking.
“Ah, I see.” [Clayman]
Clayman seemed to be convinced after listening to my story.
“Hey, do you really have a ‘maid moe’, Clayman?” [Youki]
To be honest, Clayman doesn’t seem to be the type of people who have maid fetish to me. So long as it’s Sophia-san, any clothing will look good on her. That is how Clayman is, in my opinion.
“Maid moe? What’s that? I don’t really get it, but all I said was that… When I see Sophia wearing those clothes, I realize that she has a normal job.” [Clayman]
“I see. Was there a reason for that? I had initially thought that you have a ‘maid moe’.” [Youki]
“Like I said, what the heck is that moe thing? I’ll say this beforehand. I did say that I like it, but I did not force Sophia to wear it.” [Clayman]
As what Clayman said, it seemed that they did not request it from each other directly. However, it was a fact that Sophia-san did have a maid outfit custom-made for his sake. Even if they did not say it out, this couple tried to satisfy each other’s demand as much as possible.
“When I see how intimate the two of you are, it makes me somewhat envious.” [Youki]
“What’s with you, all of the sudden? I’ll say this first, but don’t you dare get any ideas about Sophia. Our relationship is still lovey-dovey now.” [Clayman]
I never had the intention to do that at all, so what the heck was this guy saying? The way he said it sounded like how a father speaks.
“Which reminds me, do you have children, Clayman?” [Youki]
“Ou, I got a daughter and a son. They are starting to resemble Sophia and me recently.” [Clayman]
Clayman said as he laughed… Wait, son?
I was certain that I had not heard about his son when I eavesdropped on Sophia-san and Celia-san’s conversation the previous time.
“Hey, you have a son, too?” [Youki]
“Didn’t I just say that I have a son? …Ah, you have overheard it from Sophia before. Sophia hardly talks about Quinn. That’s probably because he bears a remarkable resemblance to her.” [Clayman]
Apparently, his son was just not mentioned in the conversation.
“That means your son resembles Sophia-san then. What about your daughter?” [Youki]
“Sophia’s giving her different kinds of education now but… it looks like she’s starting to take after me when she plays with me.” [Clayman]
Clayman said as he laughed, but hearing what he said had instantly made me realized the difficulties Sophia-san was facing.
She did tell Celia-san that she was educating her, but she didn’t tell her that her daughter was starting to resemble her beloved husband, did she? I could roughly imagine what she would be like since she resembles Clayman. It seems that the son takes after Sophia-san while the daughter takes after Clayman. It really made me feel like meeting them.
“Youki-sama, Dear. It’s time to put a stop to all that idle talk.” [Sophia]
At Sophia-san’s words, we turned to the front, to find countless black shadows coming towards us. They were probably a group of demons.
According to the information provided by Clayman, the demons in this mine are about C-rank.
When Cecilia illuminated the surrounding with her light magic, we were able to eventually discern the appearance of the demons; they seemed to be rock lizards and rock gorillas. The surface of those demons’ body seemed to be as hard as rock, as expected of the demons in the mine. Though, I wasn’t sure if it had any relation to that. It didn’t seem as if physical attacks would be effective against them. Magic is my forte, so I guess it didn’t really matter.
I had initially intended to defeat the demons with magic, but before I could do so, Sophia-san, who was supposed to be standing next to Cecilia, suddenly advanced towards the demons before us. She jumped up, spun in the air and landed an axe kick on a rock lizard, pulverizing it.
“Ou, as expected of Sophia! Your skills haven’t gone rusty at all, even after you became a maid. Your movement’s really agile.” [Clayman]
Even after encountering a group of demons, he still seemed to be doing things at his own pace as he observed Sophia-san’s fight. In the meantime, Sophia-san was delivering killing blows to the demons one by one.
“No wait, I should go help, too.” [Youki]
“Ah, you should guard the young lady for the time being. Sophia and I will handle them.” [Clayman]
Having said that, Clayman moved in front of Cecilia and me. Certainly, Cecilia was in a defenceless state at the moment, so I guess I should be guarding her.
At any rate, how does Clayman fight? He didn’t seem to be carrying any weapon, so he was probably a magic user like me. Nevertheless, I soon realized that the way Clayman fights was vastly different than what I had imagined.
“Wha.. Cecilia, what’re those” [Youki]
“I’ve seen them before when I was travelling as a member of the hero’s party. That is what we call shikigami.” [Cecilia]
I had seen them before in manga in my previous life. The ones using it should be priests, I think? …Somehow that doesn’t seem right. Well, such a trivial thing is irrelevant to me.
Clayman was fighting the demons using that shikigami look-alike thing, but…
“Do shikigami look like that?” [Youki]
“No, I’ve seen quite a few shikigami users already, but…” [Cecilia]
Cecilia appeared puzzled, too. Apparently, they were different than the ones Cecilia saw. Well, it wasn’t surprising.
“The ones Cecilia saw were in the forms of humans or animals, weren’t they?” [Youki]
“Yes. Youki-san, you actually knew about it already, didn’t you?” [Cecilia]
“No, well that is, I’ll leave it at that.” [Youki]
Sophia-san and Clayman might be in the middle of a fight, but I still don’t think I should talk about my past life while in their presence. I gave them a quick glance.
“…I’m sorry. So it’s like that.” [Cecilia]
Cecilia nodded, as if she understood what I meant. As expected of Cecilia! Our conversation ended up getting deviated from the main subject. What was I supposed to be talking about again?
“To me, I can only see what looks like origami fighting.” [Youki]
Facing the group of demons that were attacking, humanoid-shaped papers could be seen fighting against them with weapons like swords, spears, and wands that were made of paper, like origami.
Moreover, those origami were strong.
They stopped the rock lizards’ claw and fang attacks easily, and dodged the rock gorillas’ fierce attacks without difficulty. The origami swords cut through the rock surfaces with ease, the spears were able to penetrate the demons, and fireballs could be seen flying from the tip of the wands.
Nonetheless, Clayman, the one had created such a surreal spectacle, was just standing there.
In the beginning, I thought he was concentrating on manipulating the shikigami, but that didn’t seem to be the case. He could still repel the occasional stones that flew towards him with his hand, as though he found them irritating.
“Fuaa~” [Clayman]
Not to mention, he started yawning, looking relaxed about the whole thing.
While we were watching the Clayman, wondering if he was actually fighting considering his languid demeanour, the battle ended before we realized it.
All the shikigami grew smaller and returned to Clayman.
Sophia-san was also brushing the dust off her maid clothing.
“Alright, shall we proceed?” [Clayman]
“Hold it, hold it. Clayman, what were those thing from a while ago?” [Youki]
“Don’t you know about it? It can’t be helped then. Listen well, alright? Those are what we call shikigami…” [Clayman]
“I’ve heard that from Cecilia earlier.” [Youki]
That was not what I wanted to hear.
“Umm… Why do Clayman-san’s shikigami look like that?” [Cecilia]
Cecilia wound up asking him in place of me.
She must be curious about it since she had seen what shikigami looks like.
“Cecilia-sama, my husband said it was a troublesome to think of the shikigami’s form, so they ended up becoming like that.” [Sophia]
“Huh?!” [Cecilia]
Cecilia was surprised, but that explanation had convinced me. So that was the reason. It seems that Clayman is actually a genius who excels at using both weapons and magic. However, since he is lazy, he wanted to think of a way to fight without exerting much effort. When he tried searching for the means to do so, it seemed that what he found was the art of shikigami. It appeared to be a skill from a foreign country and it seemed that he had a hard time learning it. Nevertheless, it was not known if it was due to his talent, or his high tenacity that resulted from his laziness, but he ended up acquiring the shikigami skill.
“However, because of my husband’s usual lazy habit, he decides to leave the shikigami’s forms as is and use them.” [Sophia]
“…That means, if he wanted to, he was able to change the forms of the shikigami earlier to humans or animals and use them in that fight?” [Cecilia]
“Yes.” [Sophia]
“…” [Cecilia]
Cecilia cocked her head, seemingly not convinced by it, but…it didn’t really matter to me. That behaviour was just like Clayman. As long as those shikigami can fight, who cares what they look like. To be honest, I was tired of coming up with a retort for Clayman’s antics.
“Time is precious. Let’s proceed ahead.” [Youki]
If we don’t hurry up, it will eventually be too late to save Gai and Tiel-chan.
When I urged everyone, Cecilia lighted the mine with her magic and walked ahead.
“By the way, is it common for demons to appear here?” [Youki]
“That’s right. Is there something wrong?” [Clayman]
“I was just wondering if there would always be requests given out to subjugate them like this.” [Youki]
“Of course not. The people working in this mine are unexpectedly high ranking, so they are capable of fighting off the demons here on their own.” [Clayman]
The interior of this mine seemed to be well-maintained, so I guess they would try handling whatever things that they could do on their own. In other words, it was certain that there was another more troublesome enemy aside from the normal ones: one that couldn’t be defeated by those who could normally defeat C-rank demons. Well, it was expected that it would be a troublesome request, judging from Clayman’s behaviour. Not only that, but I still need to acquire the magic ore for Gai and gather the herbs for Tiel-chan’s medicine too. Henceforth, there was no way I could back out of this.
NOTES
1. Click here if anyone doesn’t know what ‘moe’ is x3 [↑]
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