155 Episode 155 "Extra Part 14" Nagi, Iris, and Rafilias Secretly Cheat Escort Trip (Part 2) "".txt (1/2)

Nice to meet you. It's Melody.

The green-haired Mr. Sifu bowed his head towards us.

He was about the height of an upper elementary school student. Her hair was braided in a braid and pulled back at the back of her neck.

To be honest, he was an Iris.

He's got a little dirt on his face to make him look like a wannabe.

Me, Iris, and Rafilia talked it over and decided to give it a 'boyish look' so as not to give away our identities as much as possible. The equipment is a leather armor and a dagger. I kept both in the carriage, just in case. He has a scarf around his neck to cover his collar.

He's also undressed, and in this way it's hard to tell if he's really a boy or a girl. It's cute, though.

By the way, on the surface, she says, ”Iris-sama is resting because she's tired from her trip. We don't want to wake him up. It's still early in the morning, and the villagers respect the Ilgafa lord's house, so it should be fine until we return after killing the crawfish.

''Ilis-sama has introduced me to help you with your quest. Best regards!

So, Iris, aka ”Mystery Thief Melody,” is full of energy.

Haha!

Natalia received that greeting, and for some reason she was holding her chest.

''Nah, what a child you want to ...... protect.

I'm just a beginner, so I'd appreciate some guidance. Senior!

”Senpai!

Again, Natalia slumped back down, clutching her chest.

I've told Iris and Rafilia about 'Natalia-san's troubles' that I've heard about.

Natalia seems to think that she has a bad look in her eyes and that she scares the children. It doesn't seem that way to me, and both Iris and Rafilia agreed. But if it bothers him, it can't be helped.

So we decided to help Natalia gain confidence in herself, while giving Iris some combat experience.

When we were asked for advice, Natalia-san said, ”I want to help rebuild the adventurer's guild in Ilgafa. With a serious Natalia-san, the Adventurer's Guild would be fine.

I'm glad to have a kind mentor. It's been a long time since I've been on a quest, so I've been worried about you: ......

Iris said.

'But, Natalia,'

────

...... Um, Natalia?

Ha!

Natalia shook her head in a hurry.

'S-sorry. I'm just happy that a cute boy called me 'senior' .......

Boy: ”Boy: ......?

Isn't it?

Let's see, which one is it?

Iris lightly brushed off and spun around, spinning around.

She decided that the gender was unknown.

'...... cute.'

Natalia, I'm getting poofy.

Okay, ......, I guess they don't know who ”Melody” is.

Oh, I see. I'll protect you, as the head of the department!

Thank you, sir. Senior. But .......

Melody (Iris) took my hand in hers.

'You said you'd protect me,'

Then Melody (Iris) looked at me and smiled.

Come to think of it, yesterday I told her to stay by my side as much as possible because I was worried about you.

'This is the first time we've done a quest together, isn't it? Let's do our best. Big brother.

All right. Then stay as close to me as possible.

Of course!

Melody squeezed my hand with both hands.

'...... Melody, ...... too attached.'

'Miss ......, brother.'

Melody (Iris) narrowed her eyes and whispered in my ear.

'...... It's not often you get the chance to do this with your brother in public like this,'

...... Well, that's what the quest is for: ......

The reason I allowed Iris to join the quest was to relieve her stress.

I've been freed from the mission, but in the port city, Iris is still a 'Sea Dragon Priestess'.

She's using her skills to get out of the house and other things, but she still can't walk around the town freely, yet.

That's why I thought it would be a good idea to disguise myself and join a quest like this. With me and Raphilia with me and Natalia, a high level adventurer, it wouldn't be too dangerous.

...... And besides, Iris wanted to call me 'big brother' in public.

Iris puffed up her cheeks a bit and murmured.

I'm a ”sea dragon maiden”, so Iris and I call each other ”Iris-sama” and ”Souma-sama” in public. I'm an adventurer hired by Iris, and she is my employer.

We can't call each other by our familiar names in public, let alone at home.

This is what Iris has been complaining about all along.

...... I've been putting up with it until now. I need to vent at times like this .......

Do you have to go to ......?

'...... It's going to explode.　Physically or psychologically.

Iris looked into my eyes and said.

...... I don't want the explosion to happen. You don't know what effect Iris's dragon's blood will have on you.

And also because our motto is to have fun and relax as much as possible in our work.

Okay. Then you're free to do what you want with Melody.

I'm so glad. Big brother!

What's up, Il... Melody?

”Heh. Big brother, big brother. Onii-chan. ...... Hmmm.

Stop rubbing your cheeks together.

Look, Natalia's looking at you.

”──── Oh.

But why is he covering his face with the palm of his hand? Natalia.

I feel like I'm looking at ...... something very precious. ......

Natalia's eyes were peeking through her fingers.

I've never seen boys get along like that before.

I see. It's true that adventurers are temperamental.

It may be rare for adventurers to be so close and protective of each other.

Rafilia also looks at me and Melody (Iris) with admiration. I don't think it's the same as ”You're a double hero, aren't you?” though. Also, Rafilia doesn't have to transform. She doesn't have to take her mask out of her leather bag.

”I've never had so much fun in my life. Let's do our best for the sake of that little ghost boy, for the sake of the lovely Melody and Nagi's friendship.

””Oh.”

We were united and decided to head for the abyss where the giant crayfish, Crayfish Fang, was waiting for us.

Here, we reconfirmed the information the village chief had given us.

Natalia had done a thorough job of asking the village chief and his wife what they knew about the crayfish.

The village chief and his wife told us what they knew in a cursory manner.

The villagers used to use it to water and wash their horses and livestock, but now they went all the way to the upper reaches of the river. And in case we run into ”Clayfish Fang”, we're in a group.

What we wanted to ask them to take down, but we were unsure because we didn't trust the Adventurer's Guild in Irgafa.

They would pay us well if we killed the crawfish.

Finally, he told us about a small stone monument near the edge of the river.

It is a memorial to the people who died when the river was swollen, but the village chief didn't know much about it.

Finally, we reaffirmed the ability of Crayfish Fang.

Clayfish Fang.

A giant crayfish with tusks. The one at the edge of the abyss is less than two meters in size.

Its skin is hard.

Its main attacks are cleaving with scissors and dashing into the body.

It has a strong sense of nawareness, and if a fellow ”Clayfish Fang” appears near it, it will go berserk and fight until one of them is dead.

The meat is very tasty, but you can get a good dashi (soup stock) when you boil it.

That's all the information we got from the village chiefs.

Based on that information, we decided to make a plan.

Well then, let's split up.

I said.

'Me and Melody will draw the enemy to us. We'll create an opening for them to attack, so Rafilia and Natalia, you'll have to attack them from behind.

I'm with my brother on this one.

Melody said as she intertwined her fingers with mine.

'If there's just one enemy, there's no fear of them poking you in the back if you disperse. On the other hand, you can upset the enemy by pincering them. Besides, senior Natalia said that you have experience fighting the 'Clayfish Fang', right?

Yes, yes, it took three of us to take him down.

''Then let me use that combat experience. The greatest offensive power among the four of us is Rafilia's attack magic and Natalia's spear. So I think it's best to make the most of that ...... me.

Perhaps noticing her usual tone, Melody added a final word.

''Indeed, I too have an 'assault technique (charge)' skill with my spear, but...''

Natalia looks at me and Melody with concern.

'But I don't like the idea of putting you guys in danger. ......

I'm willing to walk through the line of death with my brother.

Melody, the mystery sifu, looked at me, her cheeks reddening a bit.

'Besides, in case your father is about to tear ...... your brother and I apart, we might have to go on an escape. I guess it's kind of like a prep session for that!

Come on, Iris, don't be like that.

And he had a big smile on his face.

”I'll make sure it doesn't happen again.

...... but also.

The only normal family we have in our lives is Ili - Melody, so we have to take care of it.

'Yeah. If that's what you want to call it: ...... ehehe.

Melody hugged my arm again, squeezing it.

Normally Iris can't do this kind of thing in front of people. Now that I'm in disguise, it's like I'm trying to make up for it. Raphilia's also giving a thumbs up in a ”goofball” kind of way.

Natalia is at ......

──── dazzling.

So why are you holding your nose, Miss Natalya?

It's like we're holding back a nose bleed.

I hope you're OK. Natalia, you are not in bad shape, are you?

We don't want to be out in the open, so I'm going to have this quest be Natalia's achievement: .......

''Are you okay, Natalia?''

'Yes!　Of course. I am now full of energy and strength. No matter what happens, I'll be fine!

Natalia raised her spear and gutted it.

You look fine. Okay then.

''Well then, can I ask you to finish the mission?　Senior Natalia.

We'll draw the enemy to us. Senior.

I need your help for that ghost. Senior.

Me, Melody (Iris), and Raphilia interjected.

'Oh, we'll take care of it!'

Natalia looked up.

'I've never had such a fun quest before!　Let's use my full strength to take down the evil demons!

That's why we decided to split up and start our operation.

────────────────

The Crayfish Fang is a giant crayfish.

It was only a few weeks ago that the creature, which can move between land and water, arrived at the edge of the abyss, not far from the sea.

The ”Clayfish Fang” has a strong sense of nawariousness.

This means that the creature is happy to take up space with other creatures.

So he knew that there were people who would take advantage of this abyss. It was easy to get rid of them. The humans broke into the place where the cows were being washed and wielded a giant pair of scissors.

After the humans were chased away, it was time to build a nest.

The scissors were used to break down the soil around them and harden it back into a livable structure.

There were some stone monuments around, but it didn't matter.

The fishes were fed by the fishes from upstream. When they were done building their nests, they would attack the village and fill their bellies.

While thinking about this, the giant crayfish ”Clayfish Fang” was about to start building its nest again today - when...

”Giggling!

Nearby, I heard the cry of a demon.

When the demon 'Clayfish Fang' raised his head, he saw the figure of his own kind around the forest on the river bank. His body was smaller than mine, but his scissors were subtly larger than mine. He was waving those scissors around and making a laughing sound at us.

A kindred spirit!　What is this place?　You've come to take the Nawabari!

”Gigaaaaahhhhhh!

The giant crayfish ”Clayfish Fang” screams out.