“That’s not right.”
Says Rurika.
Rurika and Chris are relaxing in our room after taking a bath, so I told them about what happened earlier.
“…I feel like I can kind of understand how Mia feels.”
Chris says with a kind of troubled look on her face.
“…I don’t know if that is really how Mia feels, but I imagine she is feeling worried.”
“Worried?”
“Yes. It’s not like we could bring Elsa and Alto along, but I imagine that she is feeling kind of like them. I know you have Mia’s best interests in mind, but I think she wants to continue to go along with you.”
I figured she simply felt like she owed me for saving her, but she probably likes me to some extent too.
“Anyway, some things you just have to put into words, so have a good talk with Mia.”
“All right. I will.”
“Yes, I think that is for the best.”
“…So what kind of quest did you accept?”
I ask, changing the subject.
“Oh. We accepted a picking quest, and we’re going to be camping.”
Rurika says that they met Siphon and the others in the adventurer guild too, and they talked about accepting a quest together.
But since there were no hunting quests, they settled on a quest to pick medicinal herbs.
“Are you all going?”
I ask, and she nods.
Their group has fifteen people, right? With Rurika, Sera, and Chris that makes eighteen. Isn’t that a lot?
“Fred and the others only really explore dungeons, so they’ve never done something like a picking quest. We figured we’d teach them as we go along.
It’s really more about training than about the reward.”
I guess that makes sense?
And they can experience walking around a forest and stuff like that.
“We won’t be going too far, so it will be fine. Oh, and they also asked us to teach them some simple cooking.”
“And we told them we can’t cook as well as you, but they said that’s fine.”
Apparently they’ve been thinking about cooking while on the move.
They were traveling by wagon, so apparently they do have cooking utensils, but were mostly making do with preserved foods.
Hearing about how their hearts were crying out for some (at least somewhat tasty) soup makes me nod without even thinking.
…I don’t think Yuno really cooks. We accepted an escorting quest together once, but I don’t remember her ever cooking.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Mia, we really should go to the slaver and have that contract rescinded.”
I say, and a cloud hangs over Mia’s face.
“I really do want to rescind those contracts. I don’t want people to look at you and Hikari like that. You say you can handle it, but I can’t.”
“But…”
“It’s not like we have to part ways just because that contract’s been rescinded. We can continue traveling together if you want. But of course, you have to keep in mind that we’re going to the dark forest. I’m not too familiar with what it’s like there, but from what I hear, it’s a dangerous place.”
I look at Mia, and she looks at me right back.
The serious look on her face makes me nervous. I feel my mouth getting dry.
I clear my throat, and continue.
“But if you still want to come along, you can. There’s no denying that I was the one who destroyed your life.”
If I had told Dan right away that she was safe, I’m sure she would have a different future waiting for her. They would’ve been more wary of demons, and she wouldn’t have to put herself in danger in the dungeon.
I don’t want her to die, I want to save her. That much hasn’t changed, and at the time, I thought what I was doing was right. And more importantly, I wanted to protect her from those unreasonable people.
“That isn’t true, there is no doubt that you were the one who saved my life at that time. The cardinal helped too, but… This is just what I want.”
Mia stops and takes a deep breath.
“So Sora, I just don’t want to leave you. Well… I probably… Like you.”
I can feel my face turning red, and Mia’s is turning red too.
“…I’m honestly happy to hear that, but right now…”
“Yes, I know what’s important to you right now. So… I can wait for a response until after this is over. A-also… Unlike your original world, you can be with more than one person here!”
Mia lets out a quiet sound and falls flat. It’s like she literally ran out of energy.
“Master, are you done talking?”
Asks Hikari, and Mia instantly revives.
“H-Hikari!? How long have you been here!?”
“…? From the start.”
Yes, she was.
“Anyway… Should we go to the slaver?”
Mia nods, so we’re going out too.
Join my patreon to support me and read ahead.
Wow I thought it would end the week on them push mc into cooking but we got the official start of the harem in this chapter. So far 1 has confessed many more to go. Mc is in for a smartphone type life 🎉
Thanks for the treat.