The seven members of Crimson Vow and Wonder Trio walked through the city together. When that many cute girls walk around together, they stand out a lot and attract attention. So, they didn't usually all go out together. Even when they went to the guild, they went separately at different times.
However, this time, they were all heading to the market together to confirm what each of them couldn't eat, what they didn't like, and how much of a budget they would allocate to food costs... in other words, to decide on the quality of meal. Their work as a hunter was on a break.
"As expected, with this many people, no one is going to talk to us, right?" Mile said that, but it was obvious. Even though they were girls, there were seven of them. There were two swordsmen and five magicians. Moreover, all of them were clearly wearing Hunter gear.
There were two vanguards and five mages who were valuable enough to serve as hunters. Moreover, three of the mages were carrying staffs and daggers—not knives or anything like that, but short swords measuring about 35cm in length—which put them in the heavily armed category for magicians. Depending on the mages' areas of expertise, unless the opponent was a veteran soldier or an experienced mercenary, they might even be powerful enough to instantly kill an enemy three times their size.
Furthermore, these mages were aware that their defensive capabilities were weak, so they would mercilessly counterattack with all their might against any attacks directed at them or the preparatory movements for such an attack. So, instead of brandishing a staff like a normal magician, they brandished a dagger... No thug or low-ranking hunter would dare get involved with something like that. So, the group was walking along feeling quite relaxed, but...
"Ahh, the Four Dragon Maidens!" Suddenly, a group of four men passing by called out to them.
"Something weird's here!!" All seven of them exclaimed in unison.
"Sorry. We'll deal with it..." Marcella looked apologetic and apologized to the four members of Crimson Vow, but...
"Thank you so much for saving the ship, the crew and the lives of the passengers!!" The man and his three companions bowed deeply to Mile and the other Crimson Vow.
"Not Wonder Trio (us), but Mile-san's?!" (Marcella)
"Ahahaha..." (All CV)
The group asked the four men not to make a fuss as they were there incognito... well, not exactly incognito at all... and after receiving their thanks, they quickly left the place.
"...Huh? It's true that Marcella-san's party rode Kragon-san, so I understand that you were mistaken for the Dragon Maidens when they called that, but those people did say the Four Sisters right? Then I know it's not Marcella-san's party..." Mile made that remark, but...
"The third princess, Morena, who acts as the gate on the Kingdom of Brandell side of the Princess Teleport System, was also on board, so there were four of us..." (Marcella)
"Ah, is that so...?" (Mile)
In fact, Mile had met Princess Morena once before, but of course she didn't remember the princess' names. ...Or rather, she didn't even ask her name at the time, so she didn't realize it was the princess from back then. And just like this time, when she had heard about the "Princess Teleportation System" from Marcella before, she had been completely unaware of it.
"Well, the only people who saw us aboard the Kragon-san were the people on that ship. Those four made a considerable profit by selling the sea serpent that we defeated, and they are now using that money to travel around the neighboring countries, hoping to make lifelong memories... Since the ship never called at this country, the chances of meeting other crew members or passengers are quite low. That's why—" (Mile)
"The next time we meet someone who calls Dragon Maidens, it will be related to Wonder Trio (us)... They were probably nobles, members of the royal family, or palace employees who had seen us from nearby inside the palace... When we got on and off the Kragon-san in the courtyard, we were far away from the ordinary citizens of the Royal Capital, so they couldn't see our faces, and everyone's eyes were on the Kragon-san, so there's no way anyone would have been paying attention to us in that situation." (Marcella)
"Eh? Well, if we are found out, it will cause trouble—" said worried Reina.
"...I don't think it will be that bad," with those words, Marcella lightly dispelled Reina's worries.
"With the authority of Kragon-san, I don't think anyone would dare lay a hand on Princess Morena and us, her guards," Marcella explained. "No matter how much you think that getting us in your hands will help you connect with the ancient dragon, if you make one wrong move you could anger the ancient dragon and destroy the country, you know? Is there anyone who would take such a risk, potentially losing everything? I can understand why someone with nothing to lose right now would bet on a risky one-shot. But would someone who already had plenty of money, status, and power really risk using an ancient dragon as a workhorse, or angering or even turning those who treated them as friends into enemies, just to gain a little more? Not only would they themselves be destroyed, but their family, relatives, clan members, and the country itself would be destroyed. Their family, which was more important than anything else to a noble, would be destroyed and the bloodline would come to an end. That's what it means to upset an ancient dragon, you know?"
There was no way such a person existed. "Even if there are any, it seems like they're just trying to curry favor with you. ...Well, that kind of thing is quite annoying though..." said Mile. Everyone nodded in agreement at Mile's words. It was troublesome when people used their authority to attack one another, but it was also troublesome when people tried to curry favor.
In the case of the former, they could simply crush them with force, but it was not that easy with those who tried to humble themselves and curry favor. If you crush someone who has done nothing wrong just because you find them annoying, you are a tyrant. Therefore, the only option was to verbally reject them, but—those kinds of people were not going to give up so easily just because they were verbally rejected.
"But if they pick a fight head-on..." (Pauline + Reina)
"That's fine, isn't it?" (Pauline)
"That's okay, right?" (Reina)
Pauline and Reina harmonized except for the endings of words. These two seemed to want that especially strongly. Reina looked disgusted. ...And for some reason, Pauline looked unusually happy...
"Be careful of Pauline-san..." and seeing that evil smile, Mile and Wonder Trio made a vow to themselves...
Author's Note
Volume 12 of the comic "Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement" is now on sale! Thank you for your support! (^^)/
Announcement of the marathon broadcast of the "Roukin" anime.
Saturday, December 16th, 25:00-30:00 on AT-X.
And, to commemorate the 100th episode of the comic serialization of "Roukin" and the publication of the 12th volume of the comic, the Kingdom of Zegreius will be giving away a "Princess Shrine Maiden Commemorative Coin" to readers! (^^)/
8 tickets per person (not 80,000 tickets) for 100 winners!
https://seiga.nicovideo.jp/watch/mg797353?track=official_list_2
The application guidelines are at the end of the 100th chapter of the comic! (^^)/
And what's more, the pageviews of "Didn't I say to make my abilities average in the next life?" have finally topped 500 million!!
...That's four times the total population of Japan! (^^)/
This is all thanks to you all.
Thank you very much!!
The computer replacement work was completed successfully! (^^)/
...That said, I have only set up the basic environment of the computer, and I have not yet transferred the data from the saved HDD to the new computer...
Well, I have confirmed that Ichitaro, the email software, and access to Narou are all working, so there is no problem with writing and updating Narou.
The fine adjustments will be made during the winter break....