Author: SS Samurai	Original Source: Syosetu
Translator: rm31439	English Source: Re:Library

[Alim, is now a good time?] the message asked. It seemed to be from Uruto, one of the SSS-Rankers.

I haven’t seen him in some time.

“Mika, I just got a message from Mr. Uruto. Could you stop hugging me for a moment?”
“From Mr. Uruto? What could he want?”

She gave me some room. Her warmth faded little by little, but for now I didn’t let it bother me and asked Uruto what he was contacting me for.

[Yes, I am free. What do you need?]　
[Well… I have a small… no, a rather big favor to ask of you.]　
[Hm~.]　
[As for what exactly, I’d like to talk first, so I wanted to ask if we could meet at some point from tomorrow on.]　

I see… Looks like the SSS-Ranker has a request for me… Is this about weapons? Well, I’ll find out when I go there.

On that note, I made it so Mika could also see our back and forth on the Tozumaho.

“…I mean, it should be fine, right?”
“Yeah, it should.”

After hearing her reply (recently, since my idol activities went well and I wasn’t that busy, most of my plans centered around spending time with Mika, so I made sure to get her consent when something came up) it should be fine to go with Uruto’s plan.

[That works for me! When would you like to meet?]　
[Thanks to what you and your friends did, I’ve been able to focus on managing my inn recently, so I have ample time. I can adapt to you.]　
[Could you give me a moment to discuss it with Mika?]　

Uruto and his friends were there before we started our activities. Parasuna especially must’ve been busy. Beautiful people do have it tough. I-It’s not like Mika and I stole their work! To begin with, they probably have more money than they’ll ever need in their lives.

More importantly, I need to consult with Mika.

“Mika, at what time should we go?”
“Hm~, you’re generally busier than me, so you should be the one to decide.”
“Understood. Then, will tomorrow at 2 pm work.”
“I think that should be fine.”

Good, let’s recommend that.

[Uhm… would tomorrow afternoon… at 2 pm work for you?]　
[Yes, that’s fine. Can we talk at my inn?]　
[Yes.]　
[Sorry again for suddenly contacting you. See you tomorrow at 2 pm, then,] Uruto sent and then cut off the message.

…I wonder what he needs from me.

“Mika, what do you think his request might be?”
“Hm~, it might be about items… or maybe his skill or something detected the appearance of an SSS-Rank magic beast, so he needs our help?”
“Both are possible.”

When we came to that conclusion, Uruto sent me another message.

[Sorry again, Alim! I forgot to mention some things. First, Parasuna will also be there tomorrow. Also, it’s not about something dangerous or unsettling, so no need to worry.]　
[Y-Yes… I understand.]　
[That’s it! See you tomorrow!]　

He cut off the connection again.

“…I wonder what’s going on?”
“Who knows.”

It isn’t about something dangerous… so it might be related to an item that isn’t a weapon. Maybe he wants me to build him a new inn or something. That sounds probable.

But in that case, would there be a need for Parasuna, another SSS-Ranker, to be present? Ah~, I don’t get it. Let’s leave it for tomorrow.

“Oh, well. We’ll find out tomorrow anyway.”
“Yeah, we will. By the way, Ayumu, won’t you kiss me?”
“Of course.”

_____
___
_

“It’s been a while since we were at Mr. Uruto’s inn,” I mused.
“Here was where we started out in Anazamu. It’s a place with many memories.”
“It wasn’t that long ago, though.”

Mika and I opened to door to the inn “Hikari”, which Uruto managed. Its interior was mostly unchanged, and the man himself sat at his usual place behind the counter.

“Thank you for coming here.”
“Oh, no. You helped the two of us out a lot!”
“That’s true. It’s honestly scary how fast you grew… A-At any rate, please come in.

Mika and I went further inside from the front door.

“Over here.”

Uruto opened a partition of the counter. I was pretty sure we’d go to the parlor where I met Parasuna and Gilmars for the first time. We followed him and, as predicted, arrived at the nostalgic room. Mika saw it for the first time.

“Oh, Alim, Mika! It’s been a while.”
“”Long time no see!””

Parasuna was already there. She had donned the hood she always wore, similar to Rir’s treasured red hood, which she had gotten from Shuu and wore every time she left the house. Though there were also times she didn’t put it on.

“For now, please have a seat.”

After Uruto brought out some tea for us, he sat down next to Parasuna and opposite us. We also sat down in the chairs he had indicated.

“Then, what is this important matter?”
“Right, before we come to that, we have something to announce,” Uruto replied with a smile.

At the same time, Parasuna’s cheeks turned slightly red.
Huh? What’s going on? Don’t tell me-

“We are getting married.”

TL notes:
We’re starting volume 18 by picking up a story thread that was last mentioned in volume 9 (though it’s possible my memory fails me, and it came up again later). With 62 chapters and 3 side stories, this volume will be the longest so far.

⇐ Previous

Next ⇒

⌈ Index ⌋