CH 49

“Uuuu… Kasha’s a demon…what should I say? To just barge in with a souvenir…”

When I returned home, I found Emilia at the front door. She was holding a paper bag in her hand and mumbling something while alternately looking at the bag in her hand and the door of our house.

“…What are you doing?”

“Huh?! G…g…g…g…g…g…g…g…g…g…Gray?! W…What’s wrong!?”

That’s not the kind of thing you say at someone’s front door.

“Uh…yeah.”

The adventurer party “War Maidens”, the name is known even in the royal capital. The all-female party has completed numerous difficult requests, and recently became even more famous for conquering the “Garden of Flowers,” a dungeon that had long remained unexplored.

The members of the “War Maidens” are all beautiful and are near S rank. They are also attracting attention from aristocrats, wealthy merchants, and, rumor has it, even royalty. Emilia, the leader of the “War maidens”, is acting suspiciously in front of us.

What would happen if fans saw Emilia like this?

“Oh, by the way… is he the one?”

Emilia’s face suddenly turned sharp. Unfortunately, it’s too late.

“Oh, this guy is Ares. Well… he’s just a victim of Storia.”

“I see…”

Ares, unable to keep up with his own topic, lets his gaze wander.

“I haven’t introduced myself yet. I am Emilia and I am an adventurer in this city.”

Emilia introduces herself while staring straight at Ares.

“…You’re a ‘War Maiden’… I’m just Ares, who started as an adventurer in this city today.”

Ares replies with a slightly surprised look on his face when he hears Emilia’s words.

“Hmmm…okay. If you have any questions, you can ask me. As a senior adventurer, I can help you in any way I can… Well, if Gray is with you, it might be unnecessary help.”

“…Thank you very much.”

Ares bows his head saying so.

“It’s not okay to talk while standing, so why don’t we talk inside?”

“Eh… Oh, hey…”

When I opened the door of the house, Ariamel was standing there with a slightly embarrassed look on her face. In the background, Emilia is flustered for some reason.

“Ah, um, welcome back Gray-san. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop…”

“No, I understand. Besides, can you make a cup of tea for our guest?”

The suspicious Emilia had been in front of the house…Maybe she knew, but she didn’t know whether to call out to her.

“Y-yes. Immediately… Oh, the lunch box…”

With that, she took the lunch box I was holding and ran to the back of the house.

…What about Ares’?

“It’s kind of strange to say, sorry to bother you…”

I went straight to the living room with Emilia and the others. As the original owner of the house, it probably felt strange to say, “Sorry to bother you..”

“Well, what’s the matter with you today? You’re not with Kasha.”

I sat down on the sofa facing Emilia. Ares goes to the kitchen to hand over the bento box.

Nina and the others are playing with Iska and Fio.

“Oh, uh…Kasha seems to have been consulted by a party member about something, so she’s acting on her own today.”

“I see.”

Kasha has always been good at taking care of people. I guess she’s relied on even in the ‘War Maidens’.

“Oh, yes, here… a souvenir. Please eat it with the children.”

Emilia said so and handed me a paper bag in her hand. There were various kinds of cakes inside.

“Hmm? Oh, my bad. Ariamel will make tea and we’ll all eat it. Emilia, you’ll eat too, right?”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. I’ll get you a plate, so please wait a moment.”

With that, I got up from the sofa and went to the kitchen.

Oh… Come to think of it, I didn’t ask why Emilia came here until the end. Well, if she has something to say, she’ll ask me.

I was just about to enter the kitchen when Ariamel was coming out with a tray of tea. I told her about Emilia giving me the cake and said I’d get the plates and forks and extra tea ready.

“It’s all right. I’ll get the tea and plates ready. Gray-san, please go get everyone else.”

“I see.…I’m sorry you have to go through the trouble of preparing the tea twice.”

“No, I made a lot of tea in the pot so that I can have another refill. I was going to prepare tea cakes, so I have also prepared plates.”

As expected of Ariamel…

Afterwards, when I told Iska and the others about the cake, Nina, Stella and Ratz surrounded me with sparkling eyes and quickly pulled me into the living room.

Fio immediately went to help Ariamel, and Iska went to call Ares.

And when I returned to the living room, she got up from the sofa

“Wow, let me help you with something. Please!”

Emilia pleads with him.

“It’s okay. Emilia-san is a guest, so please have a seat.”

Ariamel was there to appease her.

…I think there is something wrong with Emilia since she came back from the expedition. Is there something troubling her?