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Near the border between Howling Ogre Ridge and the entrance of Schwarzwald…

“Ah, they’re here, they’re here! That’s them right?”
“Yeah, it looks like them.”

Spotting a group wearing black military uniforms, the members of Nord Glacier, Crim and Freya began waving their hands to make themselves seen. The two of them had been waiting at Howling Ogre Ridge for Nord Glacier’s members who were coming to train together.

Originally Frey was also supposed to be there, but he was nowhere to be seen. He had simply vanished from their side at some point.

So that coward ended up running away after all.

While Crim grumbled in her mind, she was not too bothered. The visitors were not the kind of people who required bodyguards after all.

“Hey, thank you for taking the trouble of waiting out here.”
“Mm, I’m the one who should be thanking thine efforts to travel all the way here.”

Crim and Sorleon greeted each other, exchanging a quick high-five as well. It was clear there was no animosity remaining from their past conflict, with no resentment regardless of who won and who lost.

Crim had also properly met Reinhard and Cheval after the post-tournament broadcast, but there were others she had yet to meet…

“So…I believe this is our first time meeting these two, it’s a pleasure.”
“I’m Lueger, nice to meet you.”

While he did not seem to be very talkative, the large dragonewt stepped forward to properly shake Crim’s hand.

Oh, it feels like he could snap my whole arm with those hands.

The game only allowed players to change their height by ten centimeters up or down compared to their true height, so considering that Lueger was around two meters tall, he also had to be rather tall in real life.

Just the difference in the size of their hands left a strong impression on Crim.

Shortly after, another of Nord Glacier’s members stepped forward, the only female of the guild.

“Hello, I’m Ernesta. It’s an honor to make your acquaintance, Scarlet Demon Lord.”
“Ah…right, it’s my pleasure having you here.”

Ernesta had a polite and elegant demeanor, which made Crim feel a bit nervous at first, but eventually she snapped out of it and reached out to her hand.

“..?”

But for some reason she would not let go of Crim’s hand, and instead seemed to pull Crim closer to get a better look at her face. Crim stared back, tilting her head slightly in confusion when…

“…So cute.”
“…Huh? Mnph?!”

Before Crim could get any word out, she found herself pressed against Ernesta’s body, and considering their difference in height, that meant Crim’s face was smooshed into Ernesta’s chest.

“Aww, I knew it, she’s too cute..!”
“..?!?!?!”

Her face completely buried into those soft lumps made it impossible for Crim to breathe, quickly making her panic.

“Hey… Hold up, who gave you permission to do that with my Crimmie?!” But then Freya snatched Crim away from Ernesta, her voice unusually angered.

But that only resulted in Crim being pressed against a different set of breasts, so from her point of view the situation had not improved whatsoever.

“Hngh! Hnghhh!!”
“Ah…whoops, sorry about that eheh~”

By the time Crim began to take suffocation damage and her HP bar decreased by 10%, she could no longer stand still and desperately began to hit Freya’s back, finally letting her be free.

With wobbly feet, she made her way to the male group where she looked for safety.

“Umm… I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, can you forgive me?”
“Grrr!!”

Hiding behind Sorleon, Crim growled at the two girls.

After some time the two seemed to reflect on their actions, and Crim finally stopped using Sorleon as a shield.

“I thought I was going to die…
“I’m sorry about her…”

Crim muttered, her eyes vacant and devoid of light, which was met with an awkward apology that surprisingly enough came from Lueger, the taciturn dragonewt.

“…Does this mean that she umm…swings that way?”
“Actually, no…”
“From what she’s told us she’s actually as straight as can be…but she also adores anything cute. And that’s what she’s been looking forward to the most during our visit.”
“Hahah… We don’t really have anything to show in that department after all.”
“Huhh…”

The men from Nord Glacier exchanged awkward stares as they explained that. Somehow it seemed like the one member who looked the most sensible was actually the one they needed to be the most careful about.

“…You probably should send a warning to the other kids at your place.”
“Right…I’ll do just that.”

In the end, even if he spoke with few words, the dragonewt had the most common sense of the group. And following his advice, Crim quickly sent messages warning Hinagiku and Lycoris about the impending danger.

Eventually everyone was ready and they resumed their trip into Nebel. But there was someone, or rather a pair that kept quite a distance from the main group.

“Well Cheval…when are you planning on joining the rest of us?”
“I mean…still…”

Eventually Sorleon sighed and turned around to talk to the archer who followed apprehensively a distance away.

“Worry not, I’m not so uncivilized as to hold grudges outside of battle.” Crim also chimed in to claim she no longer cared about what happened in their fight, but he could not really let go of his shame, considering he had been the perpetrator.

“I mean, the fact remains that I took advantage of her and shot her right through the heart, it’s hard to not feel awkward around her…”

“Then just go and apologize to her already, you idiot.” And then the second of the pair that followed a distance back spoke. She was a girl wearing maid clothes, a sixth member of the group, and someone who had not been with them during the tournament.

“…Sorleon, I can’t help but notice…who’s that girl in maid garments back there?”
“Hm? Ahh, she’s my personal attendant…”
“My apologies for the late introduction. I’m Lety, Cheval’s younger sister. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

While they talked, she had somehow approached them and stood right next to Crim, where she introduced herself as Lety and made a polite curtsy. Her demeanor was clearly not an act or for show, but the manners of someone who had been in that line of work for many years.

“Wait, so thou art Sorleon’s…”
“I’ve been taking care of his needs from a young age.”

She confirmed that with a slight nod.

“She followed us here to continue tending to me, but I hope you can treat her well too.”
“…A personal maid? Are thine parents some sort of nobility or oil tycoons?”

Nowadays most of people’s housework was taken care of by various AI systems, so only the people with large amounts of wealth and free time would hire an actual person as a servant.

“Well, something like that hahah… Right Leon?”
“Please don’t go there, Reinhard. I asked grandfather dearest to let me stay over here for some time to get away from all that after all.”
“So far it’s been all fun and games though.”
“Cheval, not you too. You also heard what he said, getting the family register in order will take some time.”

It seemed like the three of them knew each other in real life for quite some time, though their conversation was rather cryptic.

“That only raises more questions. Just who are you..?”

Crim could only stare with suspicion at Sorleon, who kept becoming a bigger mystery by the day.