After I bought some clothes, I headed to the inn town where the middle-ranking explorers gathered in the Eighth Ward. The property rented out to me was located on a hill high up in the inn town.

　It was on the third floor of a larger building with three floors and eight rooms on each floor. Nornil Heights, Ward 8, Room 304, that's the address of my room.

　It couldn't be a south-facing corner room, but it seems that the next room is still vacant, so I don't have to worry too much about it. However, it's not like we're going to have a meeting until midnight, so we're going to go to bed early today.

　The hostess who showed me around is a good-looking woman, and she always works at the lodge, cleaning and managing the facilities with some of the employees. She said she would wake me up on time if I asked, so I decided to have her wake me up at six-thirty so that I could arrive at the mercenary mediation office at eight o'clock tomorrow.

We have only one key to your room. If we have to rebuild it, we'll have to replace the whole key, so we'll charge you eight silver coins.
Okay, I'll be careful not to lose it.

　Eight silver coins are eighty copper coins. I don't think they are cheap, so I want to keep them under tight control.

''Excuse me, Igarashi-san, it seems I can't make two keys.
'What ... when two people live together, do they make a key for each of you?'
'Well, well, that's what happens when you consider convenience. Me and Igarashi-san might even come back to our rooms separately.

　I've never given anyone a spare key to my apartment, either. I'm just saying that it's more convenient to have two of them, and I'm not talking from experience.

''Well...eh. You don't have to worry about it now, so it's fine.　There's no way we're going to be separated, not without getting into a fight.
Yeah, well....

　It's as if she's saying that she's never going to fight. If it was her a little while ago, she would be fighting every time she opened her mouth, so it's honestly hard to believe her.

"If you want to fight, I'm always up for it, but?
'No, no, not at all. Let's just be harmonious.
Well, well...you can learn a lot by talking to them. You are surprisingly easy to talk to, aren't you? I don't know if it's a harmonious one or not.



　Although it's called a confidence level of 10, it's just a 10 increase in contribution, but it doesn't mean that Igarashi-san has gotten along with me by that number or anything - it should be.

'More importantly, I need to get some food after I put my stuff down. I heard the cafeteria is open late, but I heard it's difficult to get involved with drunk high level searchers.
''It seems they rarely get involved in crime because their 'karma' goes up. But it's good to be careful.
That 'karma' is also very convenient. There's no need to call the police, the guild's security team will come to you on their own.

　Presumably, when the license detects an increase in 'karma', it is transmitted to the guild. It seems that not all of the information is leaked to the guild, but that may be a surface story, and I would like to learn more about the license eventually.

　When I opened the door to the room, the first thing that struck me was the living room. There is a room at the back from the living room, and there are indeed two beds in the bedroom.

It's bigger than the hotel my family used to go to. How did you manage to move up the pecking order to be able to stay in a room like this, Rear-kun?　Because you killed that red one?
''Yes. Igarashi-san also fought, so of course you have the right to stay. So please don't hesitate.
Well, I guess you could say that...

　Igarashi-san shrinks back with the bag of luggage, as if wondering what to do.

　I thought she was used to rooms like this, and that she was going to split up staying with me and act briskly, but I didn't expect this reaction.

(.........ah. I see, it's a house with a strict curfew, and Igarashi-san has been observing it.......)

...Igarashi-san?
What?
Excuse me for speaking to you so suddenly. Let's see, there are two luggage compartments, so please use this one for you, Igarashi-san. We'll decide on the bed allocation later.
'Uh, yeah, okay. It's fine this way.......yikes!

　Igarashi-san almost falls over in the middle of nowhere. Just like the horribly cute scream just now, this twenty-five year old female section chief definitely has no experience with men.

　I'm a wizard candidate who asserts that, but even I can understand that. If a woman who is more nervous than I am is the one I'm dealing with, for some reason, I can relax my mind, and that's exactly what I'm feeling right now.



"...what are you smiling about?　Hey, what's your problem?
It's gone. You left your stuff in the car. Let's go, then. I'll take it. You don't need to bring your wallet.
'Well that's so sloppy and annoying. Can I hit you?
'Please don't hit me, I'm still as good as a man of flesh and blood myself.

　If I treat her wrong here, the spring that comes will be far away. No, I know that it won't suddenly turn out that way - if I didn't discipline myself to do so, I wasn't going to be able to tighten my face at all.

　◆ ◆ ◆

　Meals can be taken in the inn, but they are more expensive, so we were advised to have dinner at the tavern down the hill.

　It was almost time for the sun to go down, and the restaurant was crowded with explorers who had finished their adventures.

'Apart from the fact that I'm not quite sure what kind of meat it is, I'd say the taste is just okay.
Igarashi-san, do you have any likes and dislikes?
'Not so much, but you weren't a fan of kusaya or blue cheese. Or stinky tofu.

　So you don't like anything with a strong scent. Then it seems that durian is not good either. I've never eaten them either.

"I wonder if they're as high up on the pecking order as you are.
''It seems so. The highest ranking people in the Eighth Ward seem to change their quarters again.
''You're dividing the labyrinth country into eight sections and then making them compete within each one of them as well. So the first district is totally different from this one or something?
'There will come a day when we'll know as we move up the pecking order. Maybe we can go to a different ward if we just want to move.

　In order to do that, you have to get your party members, level up, and get strong armor.

''Speaking of which, who was with Rear-kun, dressed like a thorn in the side?
Her name is Theresia, the Lizardman. My occupation was a mysterious one, so the receptionist was worried about me and gave me a mercenary ticket. I used that to hire him. Eventually, I plan to have him officially join the party.
'I see. You seemed so strong, so it would be reassuring if you stayed on all the time. I've got to raise the bar so that I don't drag you down too.
'I'll assist you. When I go exploring tomorrow, I'll also explain to you how I defeated the red one there. Information about the explorer's skills is a lifeline, so don't tell anyone else, please.
'That's such an awesome way I'm starting to enjoy it. When that red one came out I didn't want to go into the labyrinth anymore.

　That would be a traumatic experience for anyone if Redface suddenly came out of nowhere.

'It looks like that party of explorers called Budwick that was there was targeted by Redface. Igarashi-san said he just happened to be there.
'Yeah I mean, I just took down Watadama by myself and he called out to me. He said something like, 'I'll protect you, give me the profit,' and I was about to say no, when that guy answered.

　Talk to the beginner explorers and sell them a favor. Just thinking about what Budwick and the others would do after that was disgusting.

'Igarashi-san, you used a spear, didn't you? I think Watadama moves pretty fast, but I'm surprised you were able to take him down by yourself.''
"I was in the Cleave Club. I chose something as close in shape as possible so I could use it, but the red one was hard and broke, so I'll have to get a different one.
''Shall we go to the store in front of the labyrinth tomorrow and buy some? We don't just need clothes, we also need the armor to wear over them.
'Oh well that's right, the armor I couldn't think of that much, I couldn't imagine spending that much money on clothes... and weapons were broken. Even though
'Let's do our best to keep our earnings steady, shall we? We'll be busy again tomorrow.

　Once we got our stories straight, the after dinner meeting was over. It was time to go home and get some rest for the day - that's when I thought about it.

'Hey, did you hear that?　I heard that the 'Sword of Death' is coming to the eighth district.

Yeah, now they're trying to get the new guy and train him to be a thing.

　At first I thought it was unrelated, but when I heard the crap about 'newcomers', I thought of the two girls I met today.

(If it's Elitia and Suzuna.......Elitia is the 'Sword of Death' (Death Sword).......?

Don't you think we have a chance?　It's a high level searcher, and he's got some baggage with him. If we play our cards right....
Hey, don't be so open about it. You can talk about it later.

　A man with a scar on his cheek, perhaps the leader of the party, said, and the men who had been talking changed the subject.

'What's up, Rear-kun?　You look scared.
'No, a little. Let me talk to you tomorrow.
Yeah, yeah I get it. If you say so, Rear Admiral.

　◆ ◆ ◆

　The bathrooms in Nornil Heights were divided into men's and women's bathrooms. As a lower level explorer, you'll be using the communal bathrooms in town, so it's convenient to be able to bathe in the inn.

　I came to take a bath first, but I came back to my room earlier than Igarashi-san. As I lie in bed, thinking about what happened at the bar earlier, my eyelids are getting heavier and heavier.

(Tired as mud, but pleasantly sleepy... although I feel like I could use a little more time awake...)

　I closed my eyes and surrendered to sleep. After a while, I was just about to lose consciousness when I heard the door open.

'Rear, this inn's bath is amazing!　I thought it was a different world, but there's some kind of shampoo and rinse and... oh... hey, were you asleep?　I'm sorry, I'll be quiet....

...That's good, isn't it, Igarashi-san?

　I thought about it, but I was too sleepy to speak. I was thrilled with the benefit of the shampoo and conditioner, too, and I wanted to share it with you - but I was at the end of my rope.

'I'll see you tomorrow, rear-end,'

　A gentle voice encouraged her to fall asleep. It's been a very long time since I've had someone in the same room with me when I go to sleep.



　--I continue to sleep in my bedroom with the lights dimmed.

　My consciousness surfaced a bit, but it's not like I'm waking up and trying to fall asleep again.

"Hey, hey........Rearward, just.......
........hmm......oh, good morning, Igarashi-san.

　When I woke up after being discreetly swayed, I found Igarashi-san in her pajamas. It's amazing to see that her beauty doesn't change much even when she's naked.

　She's standing by my bedside in the dim light, looking at me while trying to say something.

　Even in a vertical sweater, I couldn't look at her eyes, but even in her nightgown, I can't help but stop looking at her breasts. It won't raise my karma, but I still try to look away - I want to look, but I shouldn't.

''Can't you ... sleep?　Or maybe it has to be your usual pillow.
'Well, I don't mean... well, I don't want you to be offended, but it's not like I want you to sleep with your back to me...'
Turn your back on ... oh, God. Did I turn over in my sleep? I didn't really sleep facing that way, though.
That's just the way it is, so it's not your fault. The fact that the rear of the car is looking at you is not bothering me, it's just that I think it's weird myself...

　I'm not sure, but if it bothers me to sleep facing her, should I turn around and sleep on my back? Even if I did, I'd probably turn over again.

(...wait...)

　It's impossible, that's impossible - I think so, but if so, I can't explain what she's saying and the gesture of embarrassment.

(Isn't 'Support Recovery 1' for 'Rearguard' working all the time, even during normal times... even while you're sleeping...?

　The indication on my license that my confidence level has increased comes to mind. If I just lie back and the 'Support Recovery 1' continues to activate every 30 seconds - the next time I'm woken up, probably.

''Wow, I get it. I will definitely not turn that way, so don't worry about it.
Uh-huh. I'm really, really sorry. I'm sorry I have to wake you up for this.

　After apologizing sullenly, Igarashi-san went back to her bed. I waited until she started to breathe in her sleep, and then it was time to get out of bed.

(If I was sleeping normally, I'd definitely turn over... I'd like to think that if I slept on the couch, as expected, I wouldn't get a rear-guard decision. No, I still don't have any proof that it's because of 'support recovery' but...)

　Let's get the bed moved to another room or something, so I can get a good night's sleep tomorrow. However, I was able to sleep in the bed sufficiently, and the couch isn't as uncomfortable to sleep on as I thought it would be, so I decided to just go to sleep.

　◆ ◆ ◆

　--and in the morning. I wake up before the innkeeper's little mother comes to wake me up.

"...hmm?

　It wasn't cold, so I was sleeping with nothing on, but before I knew it, the blanket was covered.

　I wondered who had done it - had Igarashi-san woken up?

　When I looked at the table, I found a note left in Japanese. 'You'll catch a cold if you sleep here,' it says.

　Will my trust level increase just by being behind me? What happens if the trust level goes up too much - there's no way to verify it, since there's no record of your actions outside the labyrinth.

　Today, I'll try to sleep in bed normally again. Still, if Igarashi-san woke me up in the middle of the night, I would ask him to carry my bed to the other room then.