The next day, Gesunoh and Kiwami found their targeted group of three in the guild and immediately struck up a conversation with them.
They were all smiles with them.
“Yo, you guys! Wanna merge parties with us? I’m Gesunoh, a C-Rank.”
“Ufufu, and I am Kiwami. Also a C-Rank.”
Showing their guild cards, they addressed the blue-haired young lady and the blonde elf who were sitting on a chair. The dog beastkin was standing next to the two of them, but as a slave without any say-so, they ignored her.
It seemed to them that the guild grew a bit noisy now that they’d addressed the group.
Maybe they were people who were also looking to butter up to them?
They were idiots, the early bird gets the worm, particularly here, where they’d heard news of a particularly famous lady killer that preferred them young. After finding out about that person, Gesunoh decided the best way to go for them was to do it quickly. He cackled inwardly.
“U-Us? Umm, I-I don’t mind, but why?”
“What? You guys’re obviously rookies yeah? I just thought we, as your seniors, should team up.”
“Ojou-sama, are you sure? There are other adventurers here that seem more reliable.”
“Umm, but they’re C-Rank adventurers and they seem fine with us?”
Unexpectedly, the young lady was interested. Accordingly, Gesunoh accelerated his plans a bit.
“See? The Ojou-sama’s on board, so what about you, Beautiful Elf-san?”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll be safe, Darling’s here.”
“Hmm…”
“Shina, it’ll be fine.”
“If you say so, Ojou-sama, I won’t speak against it anymore… However, I will not forgive you if you do anything to Ojou-sama!”
Gesunoh smiled wryly at the elf’s glare.
Smiling, the young lady gave a small bow.
“Please call me Mai. And she’s Shina…. Th-This girl’s our… p-pet, yeah, our pet! Ehehe.”
The black-haired dog beastkin had its head pat, its face expressionless. Mai, the one patting its head, was smiling foppishly.
She’s treating it almost like a human with those clothes on her.
Gesunoh thought to himself.
“… Looks like everything’s falling in place huh, Darling.”
Kiwami whispered so that only Gesunoh could hear her. She was looking at the dog beastkin’s tail.
Kiwami knew that a beastkin—dog beastkin in particular—would wag their tails if they were emotionally attached to their owners.
A surprising percentage of even those slaves who were well-dressed and well-treated by their owners would harbor grudges against them.
In any case, a master often didn’t consider what their slave wants. When that happened, a slave would likely hope for their master to fall destitute or be attacked, [Leaving] them to be injured or killed.
Since there was an equal danger to their life between a sword pointed at them and the collar on their necks, the person they’d listen to varies depending on the slave. If they’d die either way, they’d generally go after the person they hated. That’s just how things went.
“So then, Mai Ojou-sama. Shall I escort you to the dungeon?”
“Well, umm, before that, could we go to the church to pray? I haven’t gone to pray yet this morning.”
“The church? … Yeah, sure, I don’t mind.”
Saying that, Mai got down from her chair and headed to the exit. The slave followed just after her, with Shina staying between Gesunoh and Kiwami and the Ojou-sama.
Gesunoh and Kiwami followed after them out of the guild.
One of the adventurers there that saw it happen stealthily spoke to the receptionist.
“—It’s going as the village chief said, huh.”
“It is.—So, next is—”
Neither Gesunoh nor Kiwami heard this happen.
Gesunoh and Kiwami decided to wait outside while the young lady prayed in the church.
It was because they understood that humans such as themselves couldn’t stand before a god—not. It was because they were called over by a beautiful sister.
Kiwami’s expression warped a bit when it happened, but she decided to not mind it and treat this as intelligence gathering.
“So you were in Pavuera before this?”
“Yeah. I may not look like much but I’m pretty good, I’ve never missed snatching my prey. Sister, do you dislike adventurers?”
“Not at all, the god of adventurers, White Goddess-sama, and our Beddhism are very close to each other. With that, I have no reason at all to dislike adventurers.”
“This is the first time I’ve heard of Beddhism, what are its teachings? What kind of god does it have?”
“In truth, Beddhism believes in no god.—And its teachings are simple. Sleep, rest, value those above all, as well as never disturbing another’s. Saying that is all is no exaggeration.”
Seeing the sister smile erotically, Gesunoh gulped. It was because he was impairing others’ rest—not. It was just because the sister was charming.
“So how about it, want to go with us into the dungeon next time?”
“Oh? Are you sure you should be saying that in front of your girlfriend?”
“Ufufu, a good man is resourceful, after all. Darling wouldn’t be satisfied just by little old me, he needs two or three more to prey on!”
“I’ll accompany you next time if I have the chance. I did hear about some of the sisters wanting to register as adventurers…”
Seeing Gesunoh ogle her, Kiwami thought having the sister be their next prey wasn’t too bad of an idea.
“Sorry to have kept you two waiting.”
Mai Ojou-sama and the the others returned while they were talking.
Their expressions changed quickly, as though they were other people.
“Now then, Gesunoh-sama, shall we go? Will you escort me this time?”
“Yeah, of course. Well then, sister, till next time.”
“Yeah… Have a nice rest, Good Night.”
As the sister said that and with a smile and moved her fingers around in a circle (like a shrine monk), Gesunoh took the young lady’s hand and led her, his prey, into the dungeon.
They would soon be at their hunting ground.