We made it across the Stride Bridge without any trouble as before.
　We continued south.
　After a while, we arrived at River End, the first town on the southern continent.

　It's a small town, but it's a base of operations for adventurers and merchants, so there's no trouble finding a place to stay.
　We spent most of our time traveling, and it was already getting dark.
　

''Nya........''

　When I finished taking the inn, for some reason Kanade was not happy.

'What's wrong?'
Why are we apart?　I'd like to have everyone in the same room together, like before we bought the house.
'I don't blame you. There's no room.

　We could have rented one of the large rooms, but unfortunately they were all occupied.
　There were only small rooms for two people left.
　So we rented four small rooms.
　By the way, the room assignments are me and Axe, Kanade and Tania, Sora and Luna, and Nina and Cell.
　Tina is going to stay with Nina since the kettle is like a bed for her.

'I don't feel comfortable being alone with Tania, or something?'
No, no, that's not true.
Yeah?　Why would you prefer to be with me?
'Nah, not even nymphet!　Nah, nah, it's just a vague idea that doesn't make any sense!　It's a nymphoid!
Oh, yeah?

　Kanade is in a hurry.
　Did I say something so strange?
　I have the feeling that Kanade has been acting strangely since Suz-san arrived...
　Hmm, I have no idea.

'Come on, let's go get some food.'
Meow, food.

　Anyway, I need to rest my body now.
　We were a little late and moved to the dining room on the first floor of the inn.
　Everyone was already seated and we were the last to go.

'Good, we're all here!　Let's have a toast, then!　It's only for a while, but we're a traveling party together. Let's be friends. Today, let's drink, eat, and have a good time!

　Cell punched Axe, who was making a toast, silently.

"What are you........doing........?
'What's the point of having a social gathering?　Dinner is on the way. The main thing is to talk about how we're going to move forward, what policy we're going to take... right?
Yeah, well but you don't have to hit him...?
Axe would have to do this much to know.
You're right...

　These two are either good friends or bad.
　It's hard to tell.

'Nya you two must be good friends. They breathe so well together.

　Kanade had come up with such an answer.

''Please don't do that. You're out of your mind.

　Cell, on the other hand, made a disgusted face, as if to say, heartily.
　Really, they are two people whose relationship is not well understood.

''Well, well ... let's partition and talk about the future.

　Axe makes a serious face and pulls the conversation along.

The purpose of our investigation is to find out about the 'demon' that is said to have destroyed the village. So, I think we should first go to the village that is said to have been destroyed, okay?
I'm not so sure about that.
Yes.

　Me and Cell, at the same time, disagreed, and Axe made a face like 'yeah'.

'W-why not?'
'What?　No ... if you go to a place like that, you might run into a demon, right?　The killer is going back to the scene of the crime... and with that possibility, I think we should avoid it...
'Lane's right. I might add, if we're going to investigate, we should talk to the survivors of the village, right?　I won't have a problem investigating the village until much later.
Hmmm... come to think of it, I'm starting to feel that way.
"...Axe is a boorish character?　I'm sure a child could come up with this stuff, not me.
''........Shh. Luna, you shouldn't talk about those things even if you notice them.

　In the back, Sora and Luna were blurting out their true feelings that shouldn't be said.
　Fortunately, or should I say, Axe didn't seem to hear them.

'If we're going to talk to the surviving villagers...............................I wonder if the destination is the Jisu village?
'Yes, I suppose so. They're building the biggest shelter over there right now, so I'm sure all the surviving villagers are being gathered there.
'It's just ... it's a bit far. If I had to walk, it would take me a week to get there.
'I think it would be much shorter if we could use the carriage, but the road to Ziss is so rough that they can't use it properly. Even if we could use it, it would be rickety on the rough roads and we might get tired instead.
'So I guess we'll have to walk. We'd better get ready for our journey here at River End before we leave.
Yeah, it's the best way.
....

　

'Oh, you guys ... how do you know all sorts of specifics?　I don't know anything...
Huh.

　Cel sighed at Axe's question.

'Didn't you look at the material that was distributed to you beforehand?'
'What?　Shall we?
The Guild gave you a lot of material to work with when you made this request, didn't they?　What you just said is what was written in it.
I'm not very good with paperwork and letters........so I tend to avoid that kind of thing, you know?
Don't do it. Information is important.
'I'm sorry I'm sorry, please don't step on my head.....gah!
''Totally... well, it's good that you're going through the motions without thinking, because it's not the first time... no, it's not good. This time, I'm taking on a joint request with Rain's party. You should learn it properly so you don't get into trouble.

　Somehow, I could see the power relationship between the two of them.
　I also understood that they are a good duo.

　Axe is a bit of a boor, but Cell supports him tightly.
　The fact that he doesn't stop supporting Axe even though he complains about it is a sign that he trusts him.

　It's a good party.
　I want to build a relationship like theirs with everyone else.


Really, I can't help it... hey, hey, hey.

　.... not all of them, but some of them, it seems, that we don't need to learn from.

'Hey Tania. What's that........what are you two doing.......?
Shh ... don't look at her. Nina's not ready for that.
?

　It was bad for Nina's education, and Tania had put a blindfold on.
　Nina, who has no idea what's going on, just looks at her in wonder anyway.
　As it is, I want her to remain pure.

'I'm sorry. I'm sorry, this idiot has a habit of wanting to partition when he's not smart enough to do so. I won't let you do this kind of thing again, so can you forgive me?
'No, that's fine but is Axe still stepping on it?　That looks pretty painful...
It's a discipline. It's what you need to do.
Yeah?

　I knew I didn't understand their relationship.

'Well, I'll take over the story then but our first destination is the village of the Zith. There we will gather information about the demon and what we do after that will depend on the information we gather.
Yeah, that won't be a problem.
'So ... since the Zith are so far away, well let's take the whole day tomorrow to get ready. So we leave the day after tomorrow, is that all right?
I agree with you.
Well I'll let Cell tell you what to do.

　Axe groaned as he was stepped on.
　Is it just my imagination that he looks a little pleased with himself, even though he should be in pain?

Hey, hey... what's that...?
So don't look at it.

　Behind me, Nina was once again blindfolded by Tania.

　What a bit of a chaotic meeting this was....
　Well, we've moved on.
　We could decide on a course of action.
　Let's call it a day for now.



----------



　When I went outside, I found that the sun had completely set.
　The sky was all black, and the stars were shining like jewels scattered across the sky.

　I left the inn alone and wandered around the city, with no particular destination in mind.

''Well you're back on the southern continent, aren't you?

　This request probably had nothing to do with my past.
　Still, I couldn't help but think about my hometown.
　Stepping into the southern continent, where my hometown is located, made me think of the old days.

　It made it difficult for me to sleep...
　The next thing I knew, I was outside, cooling myself off in the night air.

'Huh I thought I'd blown it out of the water but I knew it wouldn't be that easy.

　When I think back to the past, I still feel a buzz in my chest.
　A storm rages in my mind and I can't stay calm.

'It can't be like this... but it's hard to break it off...?'

　I'm going to take a walk around town.
　I need to keep my head in the game.
　We're in the middle of an important adventure and we don't want to make any mistakes.

...hmm?

　As I was strolling through the city at night, I heard a voice that contained a ruggedness.
　I stepped over there....

Hey, sweetheart. Nice night, don't you think?
What's the matter with you?　If you're alone at this time of night, you're going to get in trouble with the wrong people, okay?
You know, like we did.

　A bunch of crooks and...

Hmmm ... hey, isn't the moon very beautiful tonight, don't you think?

　A girl in a jet black dress was there.