As might be expected, even I stood frozen in surprise. After rebooting a little while later, I asked Sword, No harm has been doneat least not as long as we arent told to reimburse them, but what should we do about this?

Sword scratched his head, For starters, well report it to the officials, I spose. How we goin to deal with it changes accordin to whos done this.

When we heard a voice in the distance and looked in its direction, an official was rushing this way even without us calling for one.

Did you come back just now?

Hmm, it looks like hes actually been looking for us.

While pointing at the ruin of our rented house with a thumb, Sword asked, Whos done this?

Thats

The official was quite evasive.

Someone with a higher rank than yours?

In response to Swords question, the official answered in panic, No, thats not it. .It was Sir Brave.

Hoh. Meaning, the brave, who was said to not have appeared yet, has actually shown up and destroyed the building.

Hmm? Why did the brave destroy this building in particular? Did the demon king show up over here?

If not, there would be no reason for the brave to destroy the building, right?

I heard he came along after catching the rumors of Thunderclap Whitefang And then when you didnt answer his calls, he apparently tried to get you out by force.

Moron. Of course someone who isnt home cant come out, duh.

Though he heard that you were visiting the castle, and so he apparently headed over to the palace thereafter. Given that Sir Brave is the perpetrator, I think the entire matter will be dropped, however.

Is that so? The brave is getting quite the preferential treatment, isnt he? And, he seems to follow the doctrine of anything goes.

Were fine, but is the owner of the building going to agree with that?

I doubt theyll have any say in this. Their only option will be to regard it as a natural disaster having struck. Good griefsuch issues each time a brave shows up. Just what is the palace thinking when they choose their braves?

Oh, the official is bitching.

Now, now, dont be so pissed off. Here, have some leftover fish and wine. Feel free to drink it with your friends once youre done with work.

Thank you so much!!

His mood immediately and drastically improved. Somehow, the people of this world really love their liquor, huh? And yet theyre selling such junk themselves.

Well, were going to stay the night in Char then. Fortunately Ive stored all our luggage in there so that wed be able to leave this place at a becks call. After all, wed planned to immediately depart on a journey after eradicating the royal palace in the worst case.

Well, the timin fits. I also planned to tell you, The brave has apparently shown up, so lets get outta here as soon as possible.

Since the cheerful official told us that hed show us to an open plot of land next to their lodging house, we went with him. On the way, I chatted with him a bit.

The official, his name is Yassi, has been serving as government official in the capital for a long time. Hes still unmarried, but he does have a lover.

Ive got pride in my work as an official, but shes the only daughter of a small store.

Apparently he cant agree with her parents who wish that theyd inherit the business and manage it together.

Oh, what a nice story!

Huh? Isnt it rather a pitiful story?

Aww, Sword, please dont get on with the story on the premise that theyre going to break up.

No one says they have to run the store as a married couple, right? If she doesnt hate the idea of succeeding the business, she just needs to work at the store. And Mr. Official can continue working as an official. Their income will increase with Mr. Official working elsewhere, wont it? If shes short of hands, they can hire someone with the additional income from his wages. Even if she cant work after becoming pregnant, everyone in the family just needs to chip in. If its for the sake of a child, even Mr. Official would do his best at his current job and her family would help out as well. It might become tough for a while, but its a hardship everyone is going to bear happily. Their bonds will become stronger too, if they overcome it together, dont you think?

Mr. Official and Sword looked at me with totally startled faces.

Whats wrong? Its something that happens often, isnt it? Even our servants, for example the maids, marry and take a temporary leave if they become pregnant, but all of them come back again afterwards, no?

Even small children work in this world. Its not like they go to school, and its a custom for parents to fuss over their children as little as possible. Especially, if the business starts to go downhill, everyone will run dry on income. Then itd be definitely better for Mr. Official to earn a wage somewhere else.

Youre absolutely right! Ill try to ask for her hand while telling her all that!

He rebooted.

Still, how old is Mr. Official anyway? He looks older than Sword before his skin treatment, so I thought hes at an age where hed already have older children.

Arriving at the lodging house, I got his permission to park Char on the vacant plot. Mr. Official told us to come inside as hed treat us to some refreshments as a thanks, but since we were tired at this point, we turned his offer down.

Its already bedtime for good children.

You and your colleagues are goin to feel nervous, if Im present, right? By the way, you gotta work tomorrow, so dont party too hard, kay?

Both of us said, and waved our hands at him.