3 bar menu

Chapter 84 – Greetings 1

84 – Greetings 1

That day, I got there a little earlier than everyone else, as one of the organizers. Of course I say that, but there isn’t anything for me to do; so in order to stay out of the way of all the busy chefs and servers, I waited for the guests to arrive.

At the entrance, I greeted Florence and two others. She wore a truly extravagant dress today. Her long, sparkling golden hair was tied into two spiraling twintails. In eradicating all villains in this town and single-handedly taking control of all the gambling dens, she has gained enormous support from the townspeople.

She’s one of the wealthiest merchants in the royal capital. One of the Seven, and a magic user specializing in Light Elemental magic, she is called “Florence the Flawless”.

『…Dammit. I was so distracted by the word “party” that I didn’t realize Florence’s scheme.』
muttered Mika about something.

When I looked at Florence, she was smiling. But on closer inspection, her smile would occasionally turn into a goofy one. As if to hide it, she smiles radiantly again. Is she looking that much forward to a party with everyone?

Florence isn’t honest with herself, and really thinks of the rest of the Seven as her precious friends. Maybe she’s happy to meet with everyone on the Day of Love.

『Don’t be fooled, Rain… This is Florence’s domain. At the home she prepared, hosted by Rain. And she’s supporting you as a substantial organizer. The way you two are lined up to greet guests makes you two look just like husband and wife! This was her plan all along!』

「You’re overthinking it. Florence made all these preparations so that everyone could have fun.」

「Exactly. I knew you’d see it that way, Sir Rain.」

『Hey! Don’t just nonchalantly wrap your arms around his!』

It’s true that Florence was wrapping both her arms around my one arm. It’s like she’s glued to me, and my arm could feel the softness of her ample bosom as their shape squeezed and changed to match this new position. Her body heat and scented perfume wrapped around me.

「…I knew it! Stop that this instant, Florence!」 said a voice I recognized.

Suddenly, a gorgeous Majin with long, silver fluttering hair appeared before us. It was one of the Demon King Army’s Big Four, and the person who got me into my current freeloader life. One of the Seven – a magic swordswoman who can use the rare Space Elemental magic – Eleanor the Silver Teleporter.

Looks like she used Teleportation to come here instead of entering through the entrance.

「It would appear you have forgotten such basic things as greeting the hosts by saying “Thank you for your gracious invitation” and “Entering one’s house through one’s front door”. Florence’s composure remains intact even in the face of Eleanor’s sudden appearance.

With a twitching vein on her temple, Eleanor gave me a bow. 「Sir Rain, I thank you for your gracious invitation.」

「Yeah. Everything alright with work?」

「It would appear that the evil Demons have naturally come to notice our actions… It seems even the fellows who are warlike by nature are trying hard to go into hiding for a change, so our intelligence officers are hard at work. All we can do is be prepared to sortie at any time.」

「I see. Well, I guess you can enjoy today’s party for the time being.」

「Yes…! Since you wished to spend time with me, I am here to be with Sir Rain on this day!」 Eleanor cheerfully held up both her fists.

『You’re not the only one who was invited.』

「I was the first to be invited, I’ll have you know, Eleanor.」 said Florence.

「That is misleading, Florence. I was there too.」came another voice.

Madge was beside us before anyone realized it. She had Jet-black hair so dark, you’d think it could swallow you whole. Her outfit clung tightly to her skin. It is the Demon King Army’s greatest assassin – who infiltrates into Makai solo to gather information while hunting evil Demons. She is one of the Demon King Army’s Big Four; a woman who boasts peerless knife-wielding skills, and she is also one of the Seven.

She should be a prodigy with magic, but I have yet to see her use any. She is called the ‘Silent Assassin Madge’.

「Oh Madge, I thought you were in charge of security.」 said Florence.

「All holes in security have been filled. Provided the bouncers you hired do not make a mistake, not even an ant could get in.」 replied Madge.

「I have assembled only the best, so rest assured.」

「Relief leads to self-conceit. I will do my best to protect Sir Rain should anything happen.」

「Thanks, Madge. I appreciate your concern, but we’re having a party where those we are close to are gathering, right?　I want you to have a good time, Madge.」

「…Understood. In that case, I still wish to be by your side. It is where I am most comfortable.」

Perhaps copying Florence, Madge wraps her arms around one of mine. A sweet smell enters my nostrils, like nectar being poured into hot milk. I could feel my body heat rising. Is it because I’m sandwiched between Madge and Florence?

「M-madge… To have already gotten this close to him despite being the last to be reunited… As a fellow Big Four, I cannot lose…!」

Full of resolve, Eleanor walks slowly towards me.

「E-Eleanor?」

「Sir Rain does not seem to mind being intertwined with two people. Is it perhaps…me you have issues with…?」 Eleanor’s eyes were tearing up.

「No, it’s not like that.」

「Thank you very much! Well then, if you’ll pardon me.」

「Hold on, Eleanor! That isn’t fair!」

Eleanor wraps her hands around my neck from the front.

「Mrgh.」

It’s shocking to me how often…this has been happening lately.

My head has been buried in more and more cleavages – not just Eleanor’s…ever since I became a freeloader. In one breath, my lungs are filled with Eleanor’s scent. It smells like I was transported to a field of flowers. Although I’m sure a field of flowers isn’t this soft, or warm, or – incidentally – suffocating.

「…I will not forgive you if you intend to suffocate Sir Rain. Even if it’s you, Eleanor.」

「Hmph… Oh, please.」

At that moment, I could sense Eleanor’s mana surging. At the same time, the sensations wrapped around my arms disappeared.

「Ah!」

Florence’s voice was far away. I managed to pull my head out of her cleavage and looked around. Yup, we teleported. However, we’re still in the manor. Entering through the front door, there is a hall with stairs on either side. They were connected to the upper floor corridor, which overlooked the downstairs area. Eleanor teleported us to a position where she could look down on them.

「Now then, Sir Rain, Could you please show me around this manor?」

「EEELEEAANOOOR~!」

Florence growled「Grr…」while bending her folding fan.

「Did you think that I would allow you to pretend to be his wife?!」

『Agreed.』

…Hmm?

Where’s Madge? Florence was the only one making a racket, Madge was nowhere to be seen.
In the next moment, the sound of a sword fight rang out.

「I have permission to be by Sir Rain’s side. I will not allow you to separate us.」 ground out Madge. Eleanor used her sword to defend herself against Madge’s unsheathed knife. Just now, she jumped out of my shadow.

…Oh, Shadow magic. As the name implies, it’s magic that affects shadows. Only a select few can use this. She can hide in people’s shadows, materialize shadows, and make a shadow synchronize with its owner so that attacking the shadow would damage the owner too. Shadow magic itself isn’t an element, but a combination of multiple elements – similar to Louto’s Barrier magic.

It’s no wonder Madge is one of the Big Four.

Wait, this isn’t the time to be impressed. 「Hey, Madge…」

「I know. This isn’t a joke, so it’s fine.」

Looks like she remembered me saying it wasn’t nice to brandish your weapon as a joke the other day. 「…Are you serious, Madge? You would fight me over Sir Rain?」

「I will not allow you to monopolize Sir Rain. Whatever you do, I will be by his side.」

The two of them glared at each other for a while. Meanwhile, Florence was holding onto the bottom of her dress as she ran quickly up the stairs. Her breasts bounced up and down in a lively way as she ascended. I couldn’t look away.

「While I do not believe I will lose to you in a fight, this is, for the most part, Sir Rain’s home. I wish to avoid destroying it.」

「Agreed. Of course, I would win if we fought, however.」

「I call for a ceasefire. I am stronger than you, though.」

「I agree to the ceasefire. Because if I fought you seriously, you would be dead and we would become the Six Maidens.」

「Hmph. Now that that’s settled, let us have Sir Rain show us both around the manor.」

「Fine.」

「Gasp, gasp… I’ve finally caught up to you two!」

As soon as Florence reached the second floor, Eleanor touched Madge and I and teleported us to a different room.

「Oh, for goodness saaaaake!」 Florence’s scream reverberated throughout the manor.