48 Chapter 8 5 : How NOT to keep a low profile, part 3 (1/2)

Chapter 8 (5): How NOT to keep a low profile, part 3

”... care to explain the party name?” (Border Guard)

He put a hand on his spear as his gaze sharpened.

”What's there to explain? It's exactly as it says” (Ryuu)

”If that's the case, I'm sorry, but I cannot let you pass” (Border Guard)

”Hmm... Haru, Char, or Mae... which to choose... Haru? What would your father would think about this?” (Ryuu)

”I mean, without context, it does sound bad, but... ah, I see what you're going for” (Haru)

”If you're going to be talking about this, could you do so on your way back to your homeland?” (Border Guard)

”I would be glad to, if you would let me enter my homeland. More than half of the party was born in the human lands, by the way” (Haru)

”And I'm supposed to bel-” (Border Guard)

”My name is Haruveritat el Isala. In other words, I'm the third princess. My father wished for me to stay with the Demon Lord until I could tell if I would be able to accept a marriage between the two of us. As I've decided I would be happy doing so, I'm wishing to return to tell him in person, as well as to probably get the marriage announced to the public. Regardless, I trust there are no problems with allowing a princess and her party into her own country?” (Haru)

”I... no. So long as you can provide sufficient proof of your identity, the name of your party should be... allowed to pass, I guess?” (Border Guard)

Haru showed her signet ring, and a few minutes later, we were back in the human lands. The first guild we came across didn't have any reaction to the name, but when we took a request to escort a group of merchants to the next town over, we had to work with two other parties due to the fact that there was a large group of bandits in the area we'd pass through. Those bandits were more nasty than normal, in that they killed anyone and everyone that they robbed. Oh, by the way, Ver, Char, and Mae ranked up to A while we were in the demon lands. That means we are now an A ranked party, due to the majority of us being A ranks, and everyone else being B ranks.

”Well, it looks like everyone is here. Why don't we all introduce ourselves now? I'll go first. I'm Ren, a B rank and leader of Juniper, and these two are my party members, Nora and Jaune, both B rank like me” (Ren)

”I'm Shiroe, and one could say I'm the leader of the Debauchery Tea Party. Here we have Akatsuki, Naotsugu, and Nyanta. All of us are B ranks” (Shiroe)

”Also, a warning to the last party... be careful of Naotsugu, he's a pervert. If he starts acting like one too much for your comfort, just give him a solid kick to the face” (Akatsuki)

”Noted” (Ryuu)

”Hey! I'm not much of a perv! Don't worry, I'll protect you girls if anything really nasty comes along” (Naotsugu)

”Anyways, onto my party. I'm Ryuu, an A rank, along with Char, Ver, and Mae. Haru, Elise, and Tuare are B ranks. The name of our party is... do I have to say it?” (Ryuu)

”Hey, if they're fine saying the name 'Debauchery Tea Party', whatever name you've got won't faze us” (Nora)

”Our party is The Demon Lord's Harem” (Ryuu)

That stunned them into silence, including the leader of the merchants we were going to be guarding. I guess he only looked at the ranks, and not the party name?

”Uh... I was wrong, it seems” (Nora)

”So, when do we leave?” (Ryuu)

”After you explain what the relationship between you and the Demon Lord is... wait, no, Demon Lord Diablo is dead. I guess that left people feeling free to make fun of him with that kind of party name” (Merchant)

Oh, right. We'd all forgotten that few people in the human lands know that I exist. Most think that there isn't a Demon Lord anymore, and the rumors saying that there's a new one are probably written off as just that: rumors. Well, that misunderstanding is good for us, I guess?

”We couldn't think of a better name, and so we went with the first decent thing that came to mind” (Ryuu)

”Fair enough. Well, let's get going, shall we?” (Merchant)

We left, riding on the merchant's carriages, and along the way, I found myself sitting next to Naotsugu. After a few minutes of him trying to court me, I got annoyed and pulled out the ”Look at the ring on my left hand” card. That didn't work, sadly.

”Oh, come on. Stick with me, I can protect you from just about anything! Well, I mean, if a greater wyvern shows up, I might have a bit of a rough time without backup, but that's what Shiroe and Akatsuki are for, after all. Anything short of that, an-” (Naotsugu)