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Volume 2, Chapter 5

Translator: Manga0205

The story of Luuty Ligas’s resignation rushed about the royal capital several days later.
Shion and Nino, who were staying at the 『Steel Fish Store』, were having a meal at the first floor bar.
The time was noon.
It was the busiest time of the day, but today at the 『Steel Fish Store』, it was relaxed.
In there, Carol, the store’s poster girl, carried the food to the table that the two of them were sitting at.
「Alright, here are two servings of today’s special! Shion get the normal one, and Nino-chan gets the one with a large serving of Ringos!」
「Thanks. Here, Nino.」
「Un.」
When Shion handed over his own portion of Ringos to Nino, Nino accepted it with a satisfied-looking face. And then, as if in thanks, she placed her deep fried potato onto Shion’s plate.
「Oi, don’t be picky. Properly eat your potatoes as well.」
「This is not being picky. It is the embodiment of Nino’s pure goodwill. Nino is a good woman that is able to properly show thanks after all.」
「I see. In that case, I will also respond to that goodwill.」
When Shion tried to put the deep-fried potato back onto Nino’s plate, Nino quickly moved her plate.
「Since Nino is a wonderful woman that doesn’t seek compensation, she cannot accept that.」
「Don’t say that. It seems that obediently accepting goodwill is also a condition of being a good woman or whatever.」
「That is a mistake. That is for certain since Nino has said it.」
As Shion and Nino were silently fighting each other, Carol laughed with an *Ahaha*.
「It’s fine, Nino-chan. They are delicious Jiol Forest Kingdom grown potatoes after all!」
「Where it was grown is irrelevant. Nino has decided in her heart that she would not eat potatoes for a while.」
「Is that so? Ahー, I see. Adventurers do eat nothing but dried sweet potatoes after all.」
In truth, it was a different problem, but both Shion and Nino spoke ambiguously about it.

「Speaking of dried sweet potatoes……Enam oba-san has really closed shop.」
Carol began to talk with a low voice.
The back alley grocery store Enam was well-known shop that had a proprietress with a good disposition and dealt in foodstuffs with good quality.
Shion and Nino had also purchased food from there quite often.
「Ahh, is that so. Is that really the cause for it?」
The Demi-Human rejection argument.
Due to Luuty Ligas’s resignation, the one of Demi-Human disdain displayed a rapid rise, and its influence spread throughout the entirety of the St. Altlis Kingdom.
It first started with the Adventurers and those in service to the royal palace that were of races other than Human fleeing abroad.
It seemed that the Beastmen in particular, who were sensitive and perceived this atmosphere, quickly migrated to other countries. Next were the Sylphids. And then even the remaining Metalios who were the last ones, one after another, they all started to prepare to evacuate.
Even on the level of the general public, cracks in the relationship where they interacted without any problems up until now had started to appear.
As proof of that, the Humans blatantly avoided arms stores and grocery stores that were run by people of other races.
Since there were few people of the races other than Humans in this country from the start, the customer traffic did nothing but decrease for them, and even the store owners were driven to the point where they had no choice but to go out of business.
It meant that even the landlady of the Enam grocery store, who was half Beastman, could not escape that custom. And then, seeing as how the shopkeeper Galadd was a Metalio, the situation of this 『Steel Fish Store』 was not all that different.
「I wonder what’s going to happen from now on……」
「Who knows.」
When Shion shrugged his shoulders, Carol looked into his eyes with an uneasy face.
「Hey, Shion. What do you think……of that Demi-Human rejection argument?」
「That question, if it has a meaning of asking if I am a supporter of the Demi-Human argument, then it is a foolish question. If I were, I wouldn’t go out of my way to have meals in this declining store, and I wouldn’t stay overnight in it.」
「Sayin’ that it’s in decline was unnecessary!」
Hearing the shopkeeper Galadd’s loud voice from the kitchen, Carol giggled.
However, that smile looked a bit fainthearted.
「I see. I’m a bit relieved.」
「Another helping of Ringos.」
「Ah, sure!」
After taking the now empty plate from Nino, Carol vanished into the kitchen.
While seeing that back of hers off, Nino muttered a few words.
「……How stupid.」
While making a wry smile at her all too appropriate thoughts, Shion roughly patted Nino’s head.
Looking at it from the view of the Mazoku Nino, this was a “farce” called a falling out between fellow mankind.
If a comparison were made with Mazoku, then it was something like cat Beastia and dog Beastia quarrelling over which one surpassed the other as a living creature.
Both of them were Beastia, and there was no other way of saying it. Beastia wouldn’t squabble over something like that to begin with though.

「Hello, is Shion-san here!」
As if to interrupt Shion and Nino’s thoughts, that voice resounded in the 『Steel Fish Store』, and the door was opened with a slam.
The ones who came rushing in as if they tumbled in were Kain Stagius who occasionally came here since the Ogre extermination, and one of his female friends, Quelia Lewistale who was the daughter of the Great Altlis Temple’s Head Priest.
「I’m not here.」
「Ah, so you are here!」
「If it’s for something troublesome, then leave. I also won’t be accepting jobs as a counselling service.」
「Th, that’s not it! It’s about Luuty-san!」
Carol, who had carried Ringos out from the kitchen, lightly hit the head of Kain, who was shaking his hands and head, with her tray.
「Hey, Kain-kun! Don’t be so noisy in the store! Also, if you’re staying, then make an order!」
「Ah, sorry! Then, erm……If you have a deep-fried special, then I’ll take that! Senpai, what will you have?」
「Eh? Ah, well then, I will have a salad and fruit juice……」
After telling the two’s orders to Galadd in the kitchen, Carol placed a plate of Ringos in front of Nino who was made to wait and was making a dissatisfied looking face.
Kain sat in front of Shion. After hesitating a bit, Quelia also sat down next to him.
「So, what’s up with Luuty?」
「I can’t believe it. Shion-san, haven’t you heard?」
「If it’s the matter of her resignation, it’s already common talk within the town.」
Kain was still wearing his armor. Even Quelia next to him, who was making a somber expression, had a short staff and mace hanging on her slightly dirty priest outfit.
It seemed that the two of them had taken a request and gone to a nearby town. It was there that they discovered an Earthworm that he recognized.
An Earthworm was a gigantic multi-legged-type bug that possessed a hard shell that shined in purple.
Possessing a large build that surpassed even bears, it could dash at great speed even in a desert.
On the occasion of the Ogre extermination, even Shion and Nino had ridden together with him on Luuty’s Earthworm.
When Kain’s group approached that Earthworm that they just happened to see, sure enough, it seemed that Luuty was there.
「When I called out to her, she said 『Ara, Kain-kun. I, have left my job as board chairman. So I will be returning home. If you ever come to the Jiol Forest Kingdom, I will welcome you. Well then, take care.』, and now it’s like this!? I was totally surprised.」
「It seems that her resignation speech at the school had finished while we were gone as well. Even though we would have been able to make some sort of arrangements if we had known.」
While listening to the story, Shion sensed that there was a considerable difference in the attitudes between the two of them.
When compared to Kain, he got a somewhat calm impression from Quelia.
He felt that the cause wasn’t a difference in personality……but some sort of difference in their sense of values.
「To begin with, there is no way there would be anyone more suitable than that person for it anyways! Why would they do that!?」
「Nn? Going by the way you say that, did she not resign of her own will?」
When Shion asked him that, Kain breathed a deep sigh.
「Yeah, that much hasn’t circulated through the rumors. Erm, about that……According to Seira, it seems to have been the king’s decree. Though, it seems that even in the Adventurer School, the reason was to bring about a new breeze or something like that……」
「I see. So the cause of it was in fact discord between the king and Luuty. Was the impetus the Demi-Human rejection argument?」
So the one called Seira really was a female friend of Kain’s, and if he wasn’t mistaken, she was the daughter of the Necros Duke Family……is what Shion remembered.
In that case, it was probably information with a high degree of accuracy.
「Although I don’t know if that was definitely it……But, it seems that the King certainly didn’t get along with Luuty-san……」
「It is because there were rumors that he had originally desired her dismissal. There must have been changes to the figures of power within the royal palace.」
In response to Quelia’s words, Shion said “fumu” and nodded.
This probably meant that there were many voices that desired Luuty being in office up until now, but now……
「However, in that case……things will probably change even more so than how they are changing now.」
「That is true. I believe there will be big changes.」
Shion stared at Quelia’s eyes as she nodded in agreement.
Most likely……This young girl is probably on the same side as the king.
To begin with, he had heard that there were many believers of the Demi-Human rejection argument among the officials of the Temple.
In that case, it was almost certain that Quelia, the daughter of the Head Priest, would also see things that way.
Above all, anger like the type Kain had couldn’t be felt in Quelia.
That composure that could even be seen as detachment couldn’t be displayed unless she was 「on that side」.
「Alright, here’s your order! A deep-fried special and a salad……As well as some Ringo juice!」
Carol had brought the food over.
「Ah, yeah. Thanks.」
「Shion-sama, Nino will also drink that.」
Nino pulled on Shion’s sleeve. Shion made a nod to Carol.
「Yes, yes, well then, a Ringo juice for Nino-chan as well!」
「Yeah, if you would. And while you’re at it, just make it a jug of it.」
「’Kaーy!」
「Shion-sama, I love you.」
Shion pushed Nino away as she tightly hugged him.
Kain and Quelia displayed smiles while gazing at that scene.
「What is it?」
「No, um……」
「I was just thinking, it sure is peaceful.」
Kain took over after Quelia who spoke ambiguously, and then stuck his fork into his deep-fried food.
「Even though it would be fine to just smile together with everyone like this…… Why did it all turn out like this.」
「That is what I want to know. What is so fun about attaching rank among mankind?」
Kain couldn’t answer to Shion’s question.
He had his own resentments, but he was unable to put them into words.
No, even if he did……he probably understood that it would be nothing but an idle complaint.
Even if he were to make some kind of assertion here, it wasn’t like there would be any sort of change due to it.
It was because not even a single thing in the world would change with a single child’s idle complaint.
「Well, just eat your meal. It will get cold.」
「……I.」
Kain tightly gripped his fork, and muttered as if squeezing his words out.
「I, believe that the current situation is mistaken.」
「Is that so.」
Shion said that, and nodded.
「As long as you understand that much, you are surely of excellent class.」
After saying that and changing his gaze over to Quelia who was at Kain’s side, Quelia kept silent and quietly smiled.
On the other hand, Nino was drinking the brought over Ringo juice as if none of this was her concern.
In the 『Steel Fish Store』 that was dominated by silence……only the sound of Galadd’s preparations being made quietly resounded.