I'm just reading the atmosphere, and I don't think it's such a great idea to make a girl cry.
I can't...

　Mek and Lenya came right up to us and said so.
　Apparently, they had seen our exchange.

''Nuh-uh, the stuffed animal spoke!

　Rico is surprised to see Meku. His reaction was a bit fresh in a roundabout way.

'Yi, no, it's another world and we shouldn't be surprised by that much... eh, um, what about these people?'
My buddies, the stuffed one is Mek, and the one with cat ears is Lenya.
Oh, my name is Rico Satomi. It's nice to meet you.

　Pecori and Rico bow their heads in greeting.

'Nice to meet you,'
Nice to meet you.
But the stuffed bear is cute! I like stuffed animals. Can I hold it?
'No!'　I am the Elf Queen.　I'm not going to be held in your arms!
'I'm sorry?　...Elven Queen?

　Rico seemed to question the term "Mek Queen", but he didn't come to pursue it in depth.
　It's not something I'm here to teach, so I didn't tell him either.

'You're the saint who returned earlier, aren't you?　A fellow countryman of Tetsuya's.
Yes, I do.
I'm in front of the library. Do you mind if I stay?　If somebody finds out, there's going to be a ruckus. With the amount of popularity. That's why you were in disguise in the library, right?
'Oh....'

　Rico hurriedly put on his glasses and put a hair clip in his bangs.

'It was a close call.'
But do you really think you'll be able to pull off that kind of disguise?
'I'm surprisingly unconcerned. You didn't notice it either, did you, Tetsuya-san?
'Oh, yeah. Shamefully, I had no idea.
'So that's all right. Um, if you don't mind, why don't you come over to my house and we can discuss what we've done to come into this world with each other?
'Yes. I just had to tell you something, too.

　Just as Rico is wearing a glove on his right hand, so he can't confirm if it's engraved or not, but according to the Abyssal King (Abyss King), he's already engraved it.

''Oh, I see. Well, let's go then.''


　circle (e.g. of friends)


　We followed Rico's lead and arrived in front of a large house.

　It was heavily fortified and there was a gatekeeper standing in front of the gate, wearing a large armor.

'A big house!'
You must live in an amazing place.
I'd rather live somewhere more modest but they say it's for safety reasons.

　I don't know who told you to live here, but Rico still seems to be an important figure in this town.

I'm home.
'Oh!　Master Rico!

　I called out to the gatekeeper, and he raised his voice in surprise.

'What have you been doing!　They're going to go out of their own accord again, and it's going to be a big mess inside the mansion.
I'm sorry.
If we're going to leave, I'm going to have to go with an escort... hmm?　What is it with these people?

　The gatekeeper heard us.

'There's something fishy about them!　Lord Rico, please give me a break!

　The gatekeeper drew his sword from his waistband.

''Ke, please don't draw your sword!　I invited you to be my guest!
Nuh-uh, I see. Well, I beg to differ, sir.

　Saying that, he settles his sword.
　He's a very fastidious gatekeeper, pulling out his sword out of nowhere.

　Then the gate opens and we go in.

Shouldn't you really have gone out there?
Well, let's see. I'm told to have an escort when I go out because it's dangerous, but if I do that, it's like saying there's a saint in the room, and it draws attention. I wanted to be alone as much as possible.
'I see. Why were you in the library, come to think of it, and what was that about?
'I like to read. Sometimes there are books in this world that are like novels, so I read them in the library. What brings you to the library, Tetsuya-san?
I just wanted to do some research.
'I see. What would you like to find out?
I'll explain more later.
I understand.

　As we were talking, we arrived at the door of Rico's house.
　We go inside.

　As soon as we entered, there was a huge commotion.
　Rico was told a lot of things by his subordinates, but the fact that there were guests in the house made it quiet.

　The interior is surprisingly simple, with no extravagant decorations.
　They showed us to the guest room and we sat down in chairs.

We sat down in a chair. Well, let's start with what you want to talk about, Tetsuya-san?
'Yes. Is there an engraving on the back of Rico's right hand?
'What?　There is, but how do you know that?
I knew it was there.

　I show him the back of my hand.

'Ah!　That's the same as mine!　Look!

　He takes off his gloves and shows me the back of his right hand.
　It's definitely the same imprint as mine.

"I need to talk to you about that.

　I told him all the information I knew about the imprint.