For the next hour or so, Akimi and the others waited in the living room for Nirrnir and her companion to return from their negotiation with the Korloy family.
The moment the door reopened, Kirito immediately asked Nirrnir, who had just walked in,
"How did the negotiation with the Korloy family go?"
"Although we argued back and forth for quite a while, as expected, they eventually agreed to the monster stable inspection." Nirrnir let out a cold sneer.
"Those guys… The inspection will take place in half an hour. Akimi and Kirito, you two get ready."
After a brief pause, Nirrnir frowned slightly and added,
"However, for some reason, they insisted I must be part of the inspection. So the ones going this time will be me, Kio, you two, and two beast tamers and two guards from the Nactoy family."
"What about us then?"
Asuna asked after hearing Nirrnir's assignment.
Kio stepped forward and explained,
"Since we already have enough people for the inspection, Asuna, you, Argo, and Kizmel have a different task—protect this room. Don't let anyone come in."
Asuna asked suspiciously,
"Did something happen?"
"Earlier, during the short time we were away, someone poisoned my wine bottle." Nirrnir crossed her arms and said coldly.
"If Kio hadn't noticed the marks on the cork, I might have fallen for it."
"P-poison?!"
Everyone was shocked—turns out Nirrnir wasn't joking earlier when she said that, compared to petty tricks like poisoning, she'd prefer they just attack her head-on.
After hearing this, Asuna went silent for a moment.
When she looked at Nirrnir again, there was a strange motherly tenderness in her gaze.
She nodded firmly and said,
"Leave the room to us. We'll protect it well."
Nirrnir felt a little creeped out by Asuna's strange expression—she didn't understand why Asuna was suddenly looking at her with such a gentle and pitying gaze.
Even so, she managed a rare soft smile and replied quietly,
"Then I'll leave it to you."
A while later, there was a knock on the door, and a voice called from outside:
"Miss Nirrnir, it's almost time. We can head out now."
"Alright."
Nirrnir answered and returned to her room.
When she came out again, she was dressed in a thick black velvet outfit, wearing a fuzzy hat clearly unsuited for the season, and had a scarf wrapped around her neck.
Her completely out-of-place outfit drew sidelong glances from Akimi and the others—
In this kind of sweltering weather, wearing something like that… wouldn't she get heatstroke?
"Uh... Miss Nirrnir, aren't you hot in that?" Akimi couldn't help but ask.
"Hmph." Nirrnir let out a cold laugh, glanced at Akimi with disdain, and replied flatly,
"I'm not like someone, who's afraid of both heat and seasickness."
Akimi's face froze.
He turned his head toward Asuna and shot her a fierce glare—it was obviously her who told Nirrnir.
Faced with his look, Asuna turned her head away, pretending to chat casually with Kizmel.
Seeing that, Akimi could only grit his teeth bitterly and mutter inwardly:
Just wait. You'll pay for this later!
After adjusting her collar, Nirrnir led the way out of the room.
In the hallway, a tall, handsome male NPC was waiting silently.
His outfit was distinct from that of the casino guards—rather than the standard-issue silver-plated armor, he wore a dark gray uniform overlaid with a silver breastplate.
A black lily emblem adorned his chest—clearly the crest of the Nactoy family.
The moment he saw Nirrnir exit the room, he brought his right fist to his left chest in a salute.
"Huazo, thanks for your work. Where are Ruje and the others?" Nirrnir waved slightly as she spoke.
The NPC, called Huazo, stood up straight and replied,
"They're already waiting at the stable gate."
"Then let's go."
Huazo nodded and moved to stand behind Nirrnir, lining up next to Kio.
When he spotted Akimi and Kirito, a hint of wariness flickered in his eyes, and his hand on the hilt of his longsword tensed slightly.
He whispered to Kio,
"Sis, who are those two guys?"
Kio frowned and said with some displeasure,
"While on duty, please refer to me as the head maid. Also, were you really taught to refer to guests using terms like 'guys'?"
Hearing Kio's rebuke, Huazo lowered his head in shame and said,
"My apologies, Head Maid. I'll be more careful in the future."
Kio finally nodded and said,
"These two are adventurers hired by Miss Nirrnir. They'll be joining us for the stable inspection."
"?"
Huazo asked in confusion,
"Why are we letting some random outsiders come with us? Just the few of us would be enough…"
"Huazo, remember your place!" Kio said coldly.
"It's not our role to question Miss Nirrnir's decisions. All you need to do is follow her orders without complaint."
"...Understood."
Only then did Huazo fall silent.
By the time they arrived at the stable gate, the sun was already beginning to dim.
The land was bathed in a warm orange glow, as if foreshadowing something.
"There's probably just over an hour until sunset," Akimi thought, glancing at the time.
There were two groups of people at the entrance to the monster stable.
Three of them were dressed in the same uniform as Huazo, standing solemnly as they stared ahead at another group of ten.
Those ten wore uniforms similar in style to those of the Nactoy family, but their colors were a striking blend of red and black, with black chest armor.
On their chests was an emblem of a soaring red dragon.
As Nirrnir's group approached, the ten guards from the Korloy family stepped aside, allowing a tall, slender figure to walk out from their midst.
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