I woke up to the chirping of birds and the morning sun streaming in through the window.

　...an unfamiliar ceiling.
　I see.
　Come to think of it, I moved in yesterday.

　It may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I'm the lord of a castle.
　My cheeks almost loosen up.
　However, I can't keep getting carried away, can I?
　I must continue to work hard to maintain this life.

''Hm?''

　What's that warm feeling next to you?
　I wondered and looked over....

Soooooooooo....
...What?

　Nina was curled up, curled up in a ball, breathing peacefully in her sleep.

　Huh?　Huh?
　Why is Nina here...?

　Nina remains comfortably asleep, without regard to my confusion.
　Her ears are twitching occasionally.
　A smile on her face.
　Is she having a good dream?

"...did you miss being alone?

　Nina is still a child.
　Besides, she had been attacked by a human, and had been badly hurt.
　With all that experience, it was lonely to be alone and maybe she just snuck out to me.

'Oi, Nina.'
.......................
Rise and shine.
...Hi....

　I shake my shoulders lightly, but Nina won't wake up.
　Is she weak in the morning?

　I don't like it.
　If someone sees this place, they might get the wrong idea...

'Rain, hey!　It's morning!

　With a bang, the door opened and Kanade entered cheerfully.

''Ah.''
What?

　Seeing Nina sleeping with him, Kanade froze in place.
　........It's going to be a noisy morning today.

''Nyaaaaaaah!

　Kanade's unfamiliar screams echoed throughout the house.



----------



　On the way out of the house to the Adventurer's Guild....

Meow....

　Kanade's needle-like stare pierces me.

'Really, nothing happened?'
No.
Really, really?
Really, really.
The real, the real truth?
There's no end to it.

　I get doubted over and over again.
　Am I that untrustworthy...?
　I feel a bit depressed.

'Okay, Nina?　A girl shouldn't sleep with a man so easily, you know, so easily. Do you understand?

　In the back, Tania was lecturing Nina about not sleeping with her.

'Uh...and...how...?'
That's because Nina's a pretty girl. And men are animals.
Rain....human...?
Well, that's not what I meant...
I was so lonely last night....did I do something bad...?　Sorry, sir....
'Oh, no it's not Nina's fault, is it?　Well, I mean, how should I put it...

　Just because Nina doesn't have any bad intentions, Tania doesn't seem to know what to do either.

''I didn't expect to find an unexpected ambush soldier in a place like this...''
This is a tricky one.
Would it help if Sora and the others snuck in?
'Wait. Isn't it not fresh to use the same hand?　I think we should use our own original hands here.
I see. Luna is very reliable in times like these.
'Hahahahaha, I'm sure you do!　.... hmm?　Wait. The way you talk about it, it sounds like my normal self is unreliable, doesn't it?
I care about it too much.
Yeah. Well, you can have it.

　Sola and Luna were talking about something I didn't understand.
　It seemed that Nina's snuggling was having a stranger effect on them all than I thought it would.

'Hey, hey, Rain,'
Yeah?
Can I sleep with Lane next time?
No, of course not.
Well, why is that?　Nina would have slept with you.
'Nina is a child, right?　Kanade is a grown man now.
Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

　Kanade gave Nina a look of envy, which she didn't understand, a look of envy.
　Nina didn't understand what it meant, and she was pouting.

　While she was doing that, she arrived at the Adventurer's Guild.

　With the rise to C-rank, there might be more requests to be undertaken.
　Besides, I haven't been working properly as an adventurer lately because of all the things that have happened.
　I guess I came to the guild to fulfill my original role.

　By the way, Tina's been away for a while.
　Since she's a ghost, she can't go out during the day.
　She looked disappointed, but there's nothing I can do about it, so I'm sorry, but please bear with me.

'Hello.'
Oh, Mr. Shroud. Everybody else, welcome.

　When I walked in, Natalie greeted me with a smile.

'How are you doing today?'
I was thinking of taking on a commission... do you have any suggestions?
Well ... hmmm.

　Natalie pulled a file from the shelf and flipped through the papers.

'Shroud-san just got a C-grade, but Kanade and Tania are here, and if it's mostly... well, how about this?'
Smugglers caught?
Not long ago, there was an incident where some of the animals listed as protected were brought into town. So we did some research, and it seems that there are people hunting and capturing these animals, which are listed as protected species.
'I see. But isn't that what the Order is for?
''Originally, that's true, but it seems that the Order is short on manpower at the moment. If it's a case that puts people in danger, they will take care of it, but if it's a protected animal, they don't have the time to devote to it...
'Uh....'

　Just the other day, we, the rest of us, beat out most of the group members.
　Stella said that a replacement knight would be sent from King's Landing.......
　It would take some time, and it probably hasn't come yet.
　Even if it had been replenished, it would be a mess for the time being.
　It would be difficult to move quickly.

　I can assure you that we did the best we could right then and there, but....
　Still, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel responsible.
　Besides, as a Beast Tamer, it's a bit hard to overlook the fact that animals that are designated as protected are being harmed.

'All right. Then I'll take on this request.
'Thank you. Well, I'll just go through the process.

　Natalie popped the paperwork and stamped it.
　Then she hands me a form with information about this case.

'Speaking of which, what's the reward?'
'Kusu, are you going to ask that at the end?　Mr. Shroud is somewhat out of it.
Don't make fun of me.
The reward is 200 pieces of silver. Furthermore, for every trafficker you catch, you will receive 10 pieces of silver. And for every trafficker you catch, you get 50 more.

　It was a pretty tasty request.
　If it works, I might be able to earn about 300 silver coins.
　I just bought a house, so this is great.

'I'm sure Mr. Shroud won't have any problems but take care of yourself.
Thank you.

　As I left the reception area, everyone who had been watching the situation from a distance came over.

'Rain, Rain. What request did you take on?　All-you-can-eat fish?
How could anyone ask for that? How greedy can you get, Kanade?
Nah I haven't eaten any fish I'm going to come down with a fish deficiency.
It's a job like the Order.
Hmm, animal trafficking... and Nina's gonna be the first to go after you.
Huh?
Don't make those threats.
"Fugui.

　He knocked Luna's head on the knuckles and spanked her.

'I'm going to head into the field right away... what's the problem?'
No!

　Kanade replied cheerfully.... and everyone else nodded to follow suit.

　It's been a long time since I've had an adventure.
　I was a little excited.