| Author: Bankuru | Original Source: Syosetu | Word Count: 2672 characters |
| Translator: PunishedLyly | English Source: Re:Library | Word Count: 1316 words |
| Editor(s): Fire | ||
While we reflexively froze from what just happened, the man gradually came closer.
Still, it looks like he didn’t see us since he was only looking around restlessly.
「Hmmm, it should be somewhere around here.」
「A good smell? Didn’t really smell anything like that, but you found something there?」
「I can’t really explain it. It’s, like, real fresh and sweet and things…… Ahh, that’s it. It’s like when you pass by some fine woman, that kind of smell. You get it?」
Ufufu, we did it, Nera-san. We’re, like, fine women, he says.
… No! Not that! He said “a good smell”, was this actually because of the lemon or the perfumed oil we use everyday!? Hasn’t practically every ladylike thing I’ve done kept on being a problem!? NOooo!!
「Aren’t you just so backed up that you’re starting to hallucinate about women? Go to some red-light district the next time you’re off.」
「Man, aren’t you just rude. I’m not that backed up…… Yeah, I’m definitely smelling something good.」
Damnn, just turn around and accept that it’s just your imagination!
This is bad, if he comes any closer and touches us, we’ll definitely be found out; on the other hand, if we try to run away right in front of this weirdly sharp guy, we’ll probably get found out too.
Flying away might also be dangerous…… Uhhhh…… Huh? Could we go up a tree and wait it out for now?
『Nera-san, Nera-san. How about we sneak up a tree and just wait it out?』
『Hmm…… That’s true. As long as he doesn’t touch us, he might think that it’s simply his imagination and give up on us. Let’s go with that plan.』
We sneakily tiptoe towards a nearby tree and climb up. With how we are right now, it’s hard to say who’s the bandit here in this situation.
After climbing the tree and holding our breaths, the man came right below us. He repeatedly sniffs with his nose and tilts his head in confusion. Ugh, he’s surprisingly persistent. Just go and leave!
「That’s weird, this should be where the smell is the strongest, though.」
「And there’s nothing there. In the first place, it’s not like you’re sure about that smell, right?」
「Well, yeah, but…… Fine, let’s go back to patrolling now.
Ah, give me a second, I need to piss for a bit.」
「Sure, be quick~」
He started rummaging around his crotch and suddenly faced our tree.
Uwah, it’s been a while since I saw one, this really takes me back. It’s been quite some time since I’ve lost mine but did it really look like this? My memories about it have gotten pretty hazy too.
I feel like I’ve really gotten so far since then……
Huh? Before I noticed it, beside me, Nera-san’s face got really red.
Is she okay? She’s surprisingly innocent. But she’s still staring straight at it, though.
Or rather, I really don’t want to get down this tree after this. What do we do?
After the men left to patrol, we still continued our observation. On top of the tree, obviously. I mean, I don’t even want to step on that place after that guy did that. When we finish this, I’m absolutely flying off directly from this tree.
『Still, that was really dangerous. And based on how you were so panicked earlier, people don’t usually notice you, right Nera-san?』
『That’s right. This magic doesn’t simply make one invisible, it inhibits the recognition of their sounds and smells to make them unperceivable…… That man, he might cause us a bit of a problem.』
『Wasn’t that just because his nose was good by some chance?』
『It would be nice if that’s the case, but still……』
Nera-san had a frown on her face, probably still bothered by it, and stopped talking after that.
And so, we continued observing the area and got a rough idea of how many there are.
There should be around 40-50 of them. It seems like this is considerably large-scale for a group of bandits that just appeared recently. After all, they’re mostly just a gathering of ruffians and penniless people, so bandit groups normally can’t hold together and collapse on itself before they get this big. This means that their leader might be really talented, or so.
The subjugation team would probably end up being big too, huh. I hope that the Order of Knights will do the subjugation instead of us, please.
『Well then, it should be about time for us to retreat. We can’t be sure that there aren’t any other people with a nose as good as that man earlier after all.』
We’re finally done~ For some reason, it felt like an awfully long time. Or did it only feel that way since we were just observing them in the same spot?
After confirming that there aren’t any people around, I immediately took flight. The sun had already set and the sky was completely dark. Still, the moon was there, glowing brightly. The air in this world is really clear, so I can clearly see the moon’s beauty. If Ruti was here, I would’ve pulled out a pick-up line like 「The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?1」 and stuff.
Ah, but she wouldn’t understand what it means, huh…… Sniffle.2
「Just a bit more……Just, a, bit……」
『Natsuki-san, don’t push yourself too much……』
After the investigation, we returned to the inn back at the town and slept for another night, but as I expected, I couldn’t sleep much again. Even then, I still wanted to go home as soon as possible, so I pushed myself to fly faster from early in the morning but I still couldn’t get any speed which would mean more breaks. It ended up taking us much more time than when we were heading to the town.
And so we probably won’t reach the capital within a day…… Dammit.
「In the first place, the speed from before was abnormal. When I talked to the leader during our periodic report, he froze for a while, you know?」
Nera-san said so while she poured some water during our break time. Oh yeah, she did some reports and such. She would talk to the leader using some small stone tablet-like magic item. If it had a screen, it would’ve looked exactly like a smartphone.
While feeling really exhausted, we set up camp for a few times and after that, the capital is finally in sight.
『I’ll go report to the leader, so it’ll be fine if you head home once we reach the capital, Natsuki-san.』
『Eh, really? Honestly, I feel really tired, so I’m grateful about that.』
『Really. Also, I’ll arrange it so that you can take a break from Order work for a while. Relax and rest well, alright?』
Uwah, thanks a lot. Nera-san is a goddess. I’m following you to the ends of the world.
As we landed in the capital, I thanked Nera-san and made a dash towards the cafe. They should still be working right now. Even though I might have tripped on the way, I compensated it with willpower.
「I’m back!」
The cafe is bustling today as usual but I ignore the crowd and look for Ruti.
There she is. She’s just about to start cleaning a table.
Exactly as I found her, she noticed me too. And at the next moment, she vanished and reappeared right before my eyes. Eh? Teleport?
「Natsuki! Welcome home!」
She immediately hugged me tight as she welcomed me.
I wanted to ask her about her teleporting and stuff, but the moment she embraced me, the feelings of exhaustion and relief smacked me unconscious.3
