In the rest spot before us is a bench occupied by a mother and daughter .

A mother, huh . A closer look reveals that she’s a beautiful woman with beautiful blond hair . Her slit like pupils are engulfed within deep emerald irises . She watches us with an upright posture .

By her side is her cute daughter . From appearances, she seems to be around five years old . A fluffy hat covers half of her head, but hair the same brown color as mine can be clearly seen flowing down her back . Her eyes are similar to cat’s, a big and round . She happily and innocently swings her stretches out legs from the bench .

On the girl’s lap is a kitten . The cat also wears a fluffy hat, one matching the girl’s . It also wears a cute costume, one similar to a dragon due to its wings . Its fur comes off as white, but the tips are pink . Its tail is also surprisingly long, making it an unusual kitten .

“Hahahahaha!”

A dry laugh escapes my throat .

“What’s wrong?”

Ruiseine looks at me with concern .

The beautiful woman before my eyes stands up . The little girl follows and stands up too .

“Daaaaaaad!”

The girl suddenly runs towards me .

“Eeeeeeeeeehhhhhhh!?”

Ruiseine’s scream overlaps with my own .

This girl is… . No no no, that’s not right! No matter how I look at it, the girl who ran up to hug me after blurting out something unthinkable is Priscillchan, .

Wh-why did I become her dad!?

Ruiseine’s eyes widen as she freezes in place .

“Moooooooom!”

This time, Priscillchan runs towards her mother and hugs the beautiful woman…… . No matter how I look at it, it’s Mistral, though!

“Eeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhh”

Ruiseine screams .

“W-what is happening here?”

Facing this situation, my mind falls into absolute chaos .

“E-Ernekun . What does this mean?”

Ruiseine grabs my collar and shakes my trembling body .

“I-I’m also confused here!”

Why did the situation turn out like this…

“Daaaaaad!!”

Priscillchan comes hug me again .

Seeing that, Ruiseine’s lips quiver as she looked at me with eyes full of reproach .

“Y-you’re wrong . It’s a misunderstanding, Ruiseine . P-Priscillchan too, please stop creating weird misunderstandings . ”

As I desperately try to think up an excuse, Ruiseine’s notices my panic and begins to turn red and blue .

“M-Mistral, help me–“

I don’t have the strength to overcome this situation . As such, I have no choice but to ask Mistral, who stares at us from just a bit away, for help .

“Oh my . Well then, Priscilla . The playtime is over . ”

“Nnmtto, it was fun . ”

“Nyaa~”

At Mistral’s words, Priscilla releases me and returns to Mistral’s side with a smiling face .

“Um, this is…”

“are the two of you Ernea’s wife and child?”

While I’m still grasping at the situation, Ruiseine totally misunderstands it .

“T-that is wrong . For Priscillchan… . uhm, that girl to be my daughter, the age gap is off, yeah?” 

“That’s right, but…”

Ruiseine’s eyes are still full of doubt and also carry a tint of reproach .

“Umm, Priscillchan, and also Mistral, please explain what just happened . Ruiseine is making a huge misunderstanding, you see?”

This was definitely old Sleigstar’s idea, wasn’t it? I don’t believe Mistral is someone to start something like this . Therefore, it’s definitely old Sleigstar who encouraged Priscillchan to put on this act .

“I’m sorry, I didn’t expect Priscilla to cause this much mischief…”

“But you didn’t stop her either, right?”

Mistral gives a wry smile towards at retort .

I wonder if she is only half tolerating me .

“Err, then, what happened just now is only teasing?”

Ruiseine, who appears unsettled, asks me apologetically .

“Y-yeah, you can say that . ”

I feel very sorry to Ruiseine for getting her involved in such a chaotic situation . I should properly explain it to her . But, right as I tried to do so…

“Nice to meet you . You must be Ruiseine, right? I often hear of you from Ernea . My name is Mistral . I am his fiancee . ”

“Eetto…”

Ruiseine stares at me with uneasiness and asks me whether this is another joke or not . I tell her the truth .

“Haaa…”

“Ahhh!!”

Ruiseine’s face pales and she faints . I quickly catch her as she falls down .

“W-what should we do, Mistral?”

I stare at Ruiseine who lost her consciousness and frown . I really feel like crying now!

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think it would turn like this…”

Mistral’s shoulders droop as she reflects upon her actions . She helps me bring Ruiseine to the bench where we lay her down .

Priscillchan and Nymia, happy at having been able to successfully tease Ruiseine, squeal as they jump up and down .

Ruiseine awakens as soon as her body is laid on the bench . As I give her water, we apologize .

“I’m sorry . They were just playing a prank . ”

“I’m so sorry . I went too far with the teasing . Please forgive Priscilla and me . We’ve reflected upon our actions . ”

Mistral bows her head down .

Priscillchan doesn’t seem to be reflecting, though . She’s happily playing with Nymia .

“Etto, yes . I was surprised, but now I’m okay . Now then, what is the true relations.h.i.+p between the both of you?”

Ruiseine, having calmed down after drinking some water, looks at Mistral and I .

“It’s just like as I said before, I’m Ernea’s fiance . ”

“Err, a lot of things happened, and it becomes like that . ”

“Haaaaaah…”

As I explain the situation together with Mistral, Ruiseine faints again .

“I-in other words, both of you are engaged because of family matters, right?”

Once Ruiseine regains her consciousness again, we slowly explain our relation as we walk . Mistral currently explains about the dragon tribe and dragon’s forest in detail .

We had arranged what to say to Ruiseine while she was still unconsciousness . As such, we’re currently explaining the underlining details in order to clear away the misunderstandings, but Ruiseine is already starting to understand .  

“Correct, hence I came to see him because I’m worried about if the unreliable Ernea is suitable for guiding a shrine maiden . ”

“Am I really that unreliable…”

“Fufufu, you still have a long way to go . ”

I might still be weak compared to Mistral, but even so, I think I am already much stronger than before . Old Sleigstar also said that my dragon’s power has been increasing quite recently .

I puff my cheeks in dissatisfaction .

“Looks like both of you are really close . ”

“Nnmtto, he is closer to Priscilla!”

“Nyan~”

“Oh my, is that so?”

Ruiseine, having regained her composure, caress Priscillchan’s head with a tender smile .

Priscillchan hides her ears underneath a fluffy, long, lop-eared, hat to keep from revealing she’s of the Long Eared Tribe . Nymia wears the same fluffy hat to hide her horns while also disguising her wings to look like a costume .

I see, so their garments are for disguise .

I’m reluctant about deceiving a shrine maiden like Ruiseine, but I’m positive she will faint again if we tell her the truth .

Since we have no choice, I leave the talking to Mistral who insist on traveling to the vice capital with us . Truthfully speaking, I think it would be better if I do the talking, but Mistral obstinately said that she will do all the explaining herself .

Up until now, Priscillchan has always been living in the dragon’s forest . Therefore, the outside world is new to her . She recently left the village of the Long Eared Tribe and moved into the moss-covered plaza . Still, being inside the forest is completely different from being outside it .

If she keeps up this energy, I get the feeling she will get tired soon…

Even though noon hasn’t yet arrived, Mistral is already burdened .  

Furthermore, Nymia having been banned from flying, got tired from walking . She now lays stretched out on Priscillchan’s head with her tongue sticking out .

Ruiseine can’t help but smile at such a cute scene .

We draw the attention of many who pa.s.s by . Ruiseine, a shrine maiden carrying a ma.s.sive sword is naturally very beautiful .  That beauty, however, come nowhere close to Mistral’s who even walks carrying a cute child on her back .

Then comes me, the only male . Heaps of men glare at me with jealously .

However, as expected from walking alongside a shrine maiden, we’re spared from having to deal with frivolous men with bad intentions . It’s all thanks to Ruiseine .

Having resolved the morning chaos, we continue walking forward . No demons have appeared, and the relations.h.i.+p between Mistral and Ruiseine’s isn’t that bad .

Ruiseine has a good personality, and Mistral, with her big sister trait of looking after others, immediately opens her heart . I’m glad .

I was afraid that if sparks started to fly, I would be able to be here . Even so, Mistral sure is kind to come after worrying about me .

Eh, wait a minute .

Didn’t she come because I’m unreliable? Or did she come here because she had something else in her mind?

Some troubles might occur on this journey . That thought makes me nervous…

Even though Mistral and Ruiseine gets along very well, I wonder why chills are running through my body .

Once lunchtime arrives we search for a nearby restaurant .

I wonder if they calculated our journey’s walking speed? Right when I was thinking it was time to eat, we arrived at a place where restaurants and rest areas are scattered all over the side of the highway .

We don’t know any reputable restaurants, so we just pick a suitable one and go inside . The restaurant we choose is a three-story building . It’s an often seen one where the first floor is dining room while the upper floors are an inn .

Since it’s a big and easily spotted building, we play it safe and choose it .

Right at lunchtime, there are a lot of customers in the dining room on the first floor .

We’re still half a day’s walk from the capital, and since there is only one big highway, a lot of people are coming and going . Naturally, a lot of people are looking for similar places to eat .

We are guided into a crowded dining hall by a cheerful woman serving as the shop’s waitress . Being able to have a meal is good enough for us, so we’re not picky about seating . As such, we sit right we’re guided to .

Beside me within the booth is Priscillchan . On the outside of the table sits Ruiseine with Mistral by her side . Nymia is treated as a pet cat and quietly rests on Priscillchan’s lap .

Priscillchan gets a children’s meal while the rest of us order the daily special .

The waitress quickly takes our order and returns to the kitchen .

Well, what kind of food will come? To be honest, I ordered the daily special without checking the contents because it’s cheap . That said, there is now something else that makes me anxious, money .

My family isn’t wealthy . Hence, my mother and I were troubled about the money for travel expenses . However, since I was to be an errand boy for the temple, Ruiseine is the one in charge of covering all travel expenses . Yet, when I thought I was saved from paying expenses, Mistral and Priscillchan suddenly tagged along . Simply put, the number of travelers doubled .

Is letting Ruiseine pay for everything really alright? Even if she’s covered by the temple, won’t she get scolded if the expenses increase?

While I was worried about that kind of thing, our meals arrive . Also, for some reason, noise is coming from the entrance .

“Oi, don’t mess with me . Why are there only small seats for us!?”

The man who yelled from the restaurant’s entrance is giangantic . Only half of his body is protected by armor, the rest exposes his brown skin . His hair is the color of rusty iron, and his unshaven face looks dirty . On his back is a large and fine sword .  

Another person is with him . That man also wears a worn leather armor and has the same brown skin . He is bald and has no eyebrows . He looks bigger and stronger than the giant man . In his left hand is a round s.h.i.+eld and he carries an enormous axe on his back .

“Come on, you, quickly, open up a s.p.a.ce for me!”

“Dear customer, please stop . ”

The reception woman trys to stop him, but she is frightened by the big man’s glare .

The giant man with the unshaven face kicks out the seat near us and forcibly makes room .

Screams and shouts echo throughout the restaurant .

Uwah, we happen to meet such strange people . The uproar from the entrance of the restaurant makes me feel unpleasant . Mistral isn’t interested and pretends to be ignorant of the event unfolding . As for Priscillchan, she’s curious and keeps looking at the entrance . Finally is the shrine maiden Ruiseine . She stands up with a complicated expression, but Mistral tries to stop her .

“For a maiden to arbitrate over such a thing is…”

“While it’s true that I’m a shrine maiden, this is getting dangerous!”

“Still…”

As Mistral and Ruiseine argue back and forth, a great noise comes from around the entrance . An adventurer tries to stop them, but he’s sent flying into the wall by the big bald man .  

“Oi, oi, do you not know who we are? We’re from the dragon tribe!”

The big man’s comment sends a s.h.i.+ver through everyone in the restaurant .