(2 days later...)
At that time, Yuu-chan had already agreed with Hime's suggestion that we would depart for Charlotte's residence today.
Yuu-chan didn't seem reluctant to go along either—in fact, she looked a little happy.
If I recall correctly, Yuu-chan and I once met Charlotte back when Yuu-chan still took the form of a status screen.
Ah, that moment came back to me.
But after we got to know Hime, it was Charlotte who ended up being expelled from the kingdom.
I don't know how Yuu-chan feels about that incident, but the point is, she has never once brought it up again in front of Hime.
It seems she doesn't want Hime to recall a moment that would only make her feel pressured.
—
Hime said we should first go to the adventurers' guild and ask for a ride from someone who was also heading north.
She also said that merchants often stopped at one of the towns in that area—Malcro.
A town not much larger than Ulvur, but said to be known as the "City of a Thousand Soldiers."
The reason is that many of Necvalion's soldiers and guards came from Malcro.
It's also common for some nobles to visit that town just to hire bodyguards.
Honestly, that town didn't sound too comfortable to visit. But Hime said that from that town, Charlotte's home was already very close.
"Only a few hours away," that's what Hime said back then.
If she said so, then I had no problem. I still wasn't familiar with the map of this world anyway.
It was better to leave it to someone more experienced—and with promising results.
Besides, just how strong were those soldiers from Malcro, anyway?
Strong enough to make the kingdom and the nobles keep visiting the city to recruit them.
Wait a second, if that's the case, could it be that Charlotte came from that city?
Hime said Charlotte's home was north of the kingdom, but she didn't mention exactly where.
If Malcro produced strong soldiers, then Charlotte might have come from there.
After all, she was strong enough to serve as Hime's bodyguard and protect her from all sorts of threats.
Well, even though I recall that it was Hime's uncle who took Charlotte in... but that's fine.
It's possible that Hime's uncle found Charlotte while he was visiting Malcro.
And in the end, he decided to make Hime and Charlotte master and servant.
Even though, when they were little, the two of them were very close—one could even say they were friends, maybe best friends.
But her uncle didn't like Charlotte playing with Hime. He thought Charlotte wasn't worthy of doing that.
That made Charlotte feel pressured, and eventually, she realized she couldn't keep playing with Hime.
She finally gave up and chose to become Hime's bodyguard instead.
While serving as her guard, Hime said Charlotte would never speak to her unless it was about something important.
Of course, that only made Hime feel guiltier toward Charlotte. She wanted to be friends again, but she had to remember the risks of doing so.
——
"You two already look ready... aren't you a bit too early?" I asked, just waking up from sleep.
Honestly, I'd finally gotten used to the comfort of sleeping on the floor. I'll never forget this feeling.
Even though my body still felt cold and stiff upon waking, it was still comfortable.
I'll never forget this heartfelt moment.
"Yukito-san, you overslept," said Hime while looking at me with a puzzled expression.
"Huh?" I said, surprised and not believing what Hime just told me.
I hurriedly ran to the window and pulled the curtain open.
My eyes were immediately met by the sunlight and the refreshing morning scenery.
Down below, people were passing by on the streets, greeting and chatting with each other.
No doubt about it—I really did oversleep.
"We actually tried to wake you up earlier, but you were sleeping too soundly," Yuu-chan added.
I immediately grabbed my towel and robe, ready to head for the bathroom.
"You two go ahead, I'll catch up later," I said.
Bang!
I slammed the door in a rush—I couldn't let the two of them wait too long.
At the reception desk, the female clerk looked at me as I ran.
"Good mor—" I couldn't hear the rest of her greeting because I was already running.
I'd have to apologize to her later for not replying.
——
My body felt refreshed and ready for today's activities.
I walked leisurely toward the second floor, glancing toward the receptionist.
"Sorry, sorry, I was in a hurry earlier," I said with a small smile.
"It's fine. By the way, your two girl friends already left earlier. They said they'd wait for you at the guild," she replied.
"Really? Thank you!" I said, quickly running back to my room and putting down my towel there.
I was wrong to think they'd pity me and decide to wait.
Also, yesterday Hime had told the receptionist that the room rental would be extended for another week.
I had no idea where she got that much money from, but thank goodness I wasn't the one paying.
Since we were heading to Charlotte's home, it was better to keep the room booked just in case.
Who knows, we might not come back in just one or two days.
Besides, my belongings were only a small towel and the clothes Max-san gave me.
If I lost them, I could just buy new ones, so it wasn't a big deal.
Ah right, I needed to catch up with them.
——
"Took you long enough just to take a bath," said Yuu-chan, seeing me exhausted after running from the inn to the guild.
I didn't expect to be this tired in the morning. Earlier, I thought I still had plenty of energy.
"Well, fine, here, for you, Yukito-sama," said Yuu-chan.
I turned to her and looked at what she wanted to give me.
A plastic bottle filled with water—I hadn't seen packaged water like this in a long time.
I quickly took it from her hand and drank it in one go.
"Ah!" I said, feeling much better already.
I didn't expect Yuu-chan to hand me a bottle of water to drink.
It was like she already predicted that I'd get tired and decided to give it to me.
"That's a new product that was just sold at the guild earlier. I gave it to you to make sure it's not poisoned," said Yuu-chan.
"Pfftt!!" I immediately tried to spit out the water I had just drunk.
But it was too late—I had already swallowed it, and it was now inside my stomach.
Seeing me panic, Hime and Yuu-chan only chuckled at my reaction.
"Just kidding~ It's regular water," said Yuu-chan.
"They said it's a new invention from a hero in Necvalion. You remember him, right?" asked Hime.
I got tricked. Great.
"Ah, him, of course I remember..." I replied.
No wonder he could make something like bottled water here in Velmoria.
With his skills and knowledge, he could probably create many new innovations in this world.
I just hope he defeats all the enemies out there—so I won't have to deal with them myself.
That would be such a relief.