Explaining the situation to the girls was surprisingly easier than Loren had expected.
However, Lapis was the only one who was aware and sober. The girls in Klaus’ party, including Ange, were not that heavily under the influence of the alcoholic, but it wasn’t sure whether they were listening to what was being said or not. As for the ones in his own party, Lapis was almost completely clear headed, but Gula looked happy in her sleep, perhaps due to a full stomach, and showed no sign of waking up even when Loren shook her.
Having no other choices, after explaining the situation to Lapis, Loren told Minuet that they would definitely report to the designated place but they would need a little more time. When this was accepted, he and Klaus took two of the women who were unable to move properly one at a time and carried them to the inn they planned to stay at tonight.
“Should I have passed out too? Loren would have carried me if I did.”
“Give me a break. Also, didn’t we say that since you’re not out of it, you can go with us to court? ”
“It’s hard to say which was better.”
Loren could only smile wryly at Lapis, who looked as if she was seriously troubled about it.
Meanwhile, Klaus paid the bill, then absorbed himself in the task of carrying the drunken and somewhat not-normal girls in his party on his back or in his arms to the inn he had booked. He even made use of the rare blessing > to transport them from one place to another at an unbelievable speed, and even though Loren thought it was something too trivial to use such a blessing for, he still found it amazing. Amidst the confusion, Klaus tried to carry Gula princess style, but Loren grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pushed Gula’s body toward Lapis, who was ready to pick her up.
“What are you doing? You can’t be trying to piss me off, can you?”
“No way. I only have good intentions...”
“Ah, I see. Then don’t worry about it.”
Loren said and pushed his face close to intimidate Klaus, who never lost his smile despite slightly twitching. Lapis watched on with Gula’s body in her arms, then she remembered that she couldn’t keep doing this forever and carried Gula properly in har arms.
Gula was slightly taller than Lapis. As for body built, if Lapis’ could be described as slim, Gula’s could be described as curvy.
“Somehow I’m a little ticked off.”
Loren looked at Gula and Lapis’ bodies alternately, then said in a serious voice to Lapis, who sounded unhappy as she looked at the area around Gula’s tube top.
“Is it really that much to worry about?”
“This is the kind of thing where the person herself cares more about those around her.”
“Is that so?”
Although he did not understand, Loren avoided further mention on the matter, agreeing that if Lapis said so, that must be so.
After they had managed to get the other members of the group into the inn, Loren and the other two moved through the city to go to the place designated by Minuet. The sun was already setting by then.
The place was also a rather strange place.
Minuet had told them to come to a certain address in the city, which she wrote on a piece of paper and handed to Loren. Loren took Lapis and Klaus to that address, but it was not the Lord’s mansion in the center of the city, but rather a shop located near the outer edge of the city.
“This is the so-called red light district.”
As Lapis described with a blank expression and no hesitation, their group came to a suspicious area with a not-so-favorable atmosphere and a somewhat decadent smell.
Lights in strange red and pink colors illuminated various parts of the district – how in the world did they make such shades? Uncouth male beastmen wandered around, while beastwomen in revealing outfits hung around here and there, weaving in and out of the gaps between the lights. The air had a sweet smell to it, and it felt like if you breathed in deeply, your whole lungs would be engulfed in a thick sensation. Loren openly frowned, while Klaus was looking here and there with great interest.
“Well, I guess there are tourist attraction places like this everywhere.”
“It’s not the kind of place to meet up with someone claiming to be a lord.”
“I actually feel very grateful to meet at this kind of place.”
“Shut up for a minute.”
Loren and Lapis warned in harmony, and in response, Klaus kept his mouth shut as if they were the ones at fault. But he seemed to have no intention of refraining from giving unreserved glances to those around him, and he waved back at the beastwomen who occasionally waved to him, paying no heed to Loren and Lapis’ disgusted glances.
“So, which shop?”
“Probably this, I think.”
Lapis pointed to a building that looked a bit plain in a district lined with suspicious-looking buildings. Still, Loren found it sufficiently garish and gaudy.
At the entrance, there were some thug-like beastmen hanging around. Loren didn’t want to go near them, but he felt that he might get into a lot of trouble if he ignored the instructions of someone claiming to be the Lord to come in, so he approached the entrance, though reluctantly.
“What do you want?”
Noticing Loren’s group approaching, one of the beastmen came toward them. He had a knife in his hand, and although Loren didn’t feel very nicely about him flashing the naked blade at them, he couldn’t be rough with the guy, considering that he was probably doing his job. He showed him the piece of paper that Minuet had handed to him.
“We were summoned here by the one who gave us this.”
The beastman looked at the piece of paper Loren presented as if he was looking at something fishy, but eventually noticed the writing on I. He continued to stare at it for a while, then turned his gaze away and jerked his chin at the entrance to the building.
“Come in. A guide will be waiting for you inside.”
“Thanks.”
The beastman had not become more affable, but he seemed to be the type of person who did his job properly. After briefly thanking the guy, who did not try to do anything else after indicating that they should enter, Loren led Lapis and Klaus through the indicated entrance and into the building.
The building was dimly lit, with doors leading to rooms on either side of a long passageway. A beastwoman, also in a very revealing outfit, was waiting near the entrance; as soon as Loren’s group entered, she bowed and announced that she would show them the way.
Following her, the group walked down the hallway and were led to a single door, where they were urged to enter. Loren opened the door and stepped inside.
There was only one round table in the room, and on one of the chairs surrounding the table, Loren could see Minuet, whom he had met during the day, sitting there, dressed as she was during the day.
“Welcome, Loren-sama.”
“I’m not one to be called ‘sama’.”
Minuet stood stood up and greeted Loren, who replied in a curt manner, but Klaus bowed politely and walked up to Minuet to take his place.
“Thank you for inviting me, Minuet-sama.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t invite you in particular…”
Minuet tried to correct hurriedly, but Loren could not tell whether her words had properly reached Klaus’ ears.
“There must be a reason why you asked us to come here today…”
“Klaus, the talk can’t go on like this. Shut up for a minute.”
Minuet tried to move the conversation along, but Klaus pressed on, appearing to not listen at all. It wasn’t Loren’s duty to help, but he had a feeling that if he left things as they were, they would continue to go back and forth forever, so he had no choice but to interject.
Klaus reluctantly backed away, and Minuet, looking relieved, urged Loren and the others to take their seats.
When they had sat down, Minuet opened her mouth.
“How about a drink and something to eat?”
“Let’s talk business first. You didn’t choose this shop to interview us about a fight in the city, did you?”
If they had been ordered to report to the Lord’s mansion or the soldiers’ station, it would have been a straightforward interview and a notice of punishment for the brawl. However, as it was a room in a shop in the redlight district, it was unlikely to be an interrogation or a notice, and he couldn’t help but wonder what on earth she wanted.
“I see. Then… are you aware that there is currently an anomaly in the city of Karlovy?”
“I’m not sure if I’d call it an anomaly, or just something that is happening”, Lapis answered before Loren did. “I’ve heard that a large percentage of visitors leave unsatisfied. Is there some kind of blunder?”
“It’s not a blunder. The cause is under investigation, but… Things do not look good.”
“What happened?”
To Loren’s question, Minuet opened and closed her mouth several times and looked terribly lost, as if she was afraid to say it. But eventually, she seemed to decide that it would be easier to bring up the next discussion if she spoke honestly, so she took a deep breath, looked Loren squarely in the eye and began to talk.
“Karlovy is a city of food and hot spring. It used to be a tourist destination that sold delicious food and offered a warm hot spring, but a few days ago, the hot spring suddenly became unserviceable.”
“What do you mean by ‘unserviceable’?”
“I heard that the water quality of the hot spring has changed. They said it might be harmful to the bodies, and that we should forbid its use.”
Minuet said that, since the city sold itself as a city of food and hot spring, they had imposed quite strict checks on the quality of these two things. During one of these checks, the hot spring water was found to be toxic. This had forced the temporary closure of all hot spring facilities, and the town of Karlovy was now unable to use one of its selling services.
“I see. So that’s why some of them came back in a bad mood.”
Loren thought that if he had come because he heard that the hot springs were very great but then were told that they were unserviceable, he would have been angry. And considering the kind of information a tourist who went through such an experience would give out outside the city, it was certainly a matter of life and death for Karlovy.
“So, I would like to ask all of you, who are probably skilled adventurers, to represent this city.”
“I beg your pardon, My Lady, any hardships of yours, this Klau…”
A single dull thud cut off Klaus’s interjections.
With half-lidded eyes, Loren looked at Klaus crumpling on the table and Lapis standing behind him, holding a chair with both hands. He gave her a firm thumb up as a response.
“Eh? What?”
“Never mind it. Please continue.”
“H-haa…. So, this is my commission.”
In the form of a commission, Minuet told Loren to investigate the source of the hot spring in the city. If the water quality of the hot spring had deteriorated and became harmful, she wanted to know what had mixed with the spring water and where, and what could have caused it.
“Officially, we declare that this unusual phenomenon will soon be resolved. Of course, there is no basis for this declaration, but if we didn’t say so, not only the visitors but also the native residents of this town might start a riot.”
The hot spring was the lifeblood of this town; if it was to be ruined, the impact on the residents would be immeasurable. Minuet said that it was why she secretly made the request behind the scenes. She chose to meet in the redlight district because she believed that even if someone wanted to eavesdrop, they would not be able to get into the district so easily.
“How about it? Would you be willing to accept my commission?”
Minuet leaned forward and appealed to Loren.
As someone who wanted to enjoy his vacation, he had no intention of accepting the commission, but if it was not resolved, the atmosphere in the town would be dark and the price of food would skyrocket.
“How about this? Please.”
Minuet, who seemed to sense from Loren’s face that he was not very enthusiastic, began to bow her head so low that it looked as if she was about to hit her forehead on the table top.
Not knowing how to respond to the sight of a humanoid cat-like being bowing so desperately, Loren instinctively exchanged a glance with Lapis.