I was picking up my bags again as we headed to the city of Berkeley.

''...Are you sure you're coming?''
''Yes, I wanted to see a brave man once too!

　Ristina smiles as she says, "Smile.

'You don't have to work at the inn, but you're good with the theatre company?
I don't have any plans for a while. What is it?　You don't want me to come?

　Boo, and Ristina-san puffs out her cheeks.
　.........not that kind of thing, though.
　It was easier to say that traveling alone was easier.

　Ristina-san would be absolutely swollen if she realized that, so I didn't say anything else.
　My luggage was ready.

　I left the inn with Val and Ristina.
　We left the inn and got into the carriage.
　After paying the money for the ride to the town of Berkl, we sat down deep in our chairs.
　We sat back in our chairs and glanced at Ristina.

Speaking of which, can you fight, Ristina?
'In a manner of speaking. But I'm not that good at it, though. Well, I'm good enough at it to defend myself!
...I see.
What about senior Lelius?
Well, so much for that.
'I see. I'll have my seniors to protect me if anything happens.
You'll have to defend yourself to some extent.
I know, sir.

　
　With a small sigh to the smiling Ristina-san, I stroke Val's head.
　We'll get to the city of Berkle in the evening.

　


　00


　I was attacked three times by demons before I reached the city of Berkle.
　........However, the adventurers who were riding in the carriage were reasonably skilled, so I did almost nothing.

　........But it's rare to be frightened by demons like this. There's no doubt that the number of demons is increasing, I'm sure of it.

　That's why there must be some brave men and women, right?
　When we reached the city of Berkle, me and Mr. Ristina got out of the carriage and straightened up.

''Hmmm, that was exhausting!
...Yes.
"Va.

　Val also moved her wings near us and purred one.

'So what do we do after this, then?'
We'll have dinner and then we'll go find a place to stay.
Oh, that sounds good. Let's go!

　Lystina smiled and started walking.
　It was a smaller city than Karras, but it was still very lively.
　More than anything else, right now.......it seemed to be more than that.

''Brave-sama is really popular...''
...Yes.
I'm pretty popular there in the theater, but that's a small price to pay.

　I think Lystina-san was quite popular, but she still seemed to get hazy in front of the brave people.
　All over the place, the topic of the brave man was being talked about.


''Haha, it looks like we'll be leaving tomorrow to hunt demons, so maybe we can see them then?''
I wish I could.

　........If you listen a bit, you can hear that conversation.
　It's really popular.

　I'm sure Lynn must be getting pretty strong.
　There should be a clear difference between him and Lin. Even though there were differences in their professions and divine weapons, it was still a bit of a shock.

''Senior, do you want to go to this shop?''
"...hmm?　Uh, yes. Is this the right place?

　I look at the place Ms. Ristina pointed to and see that it was a very disreputable store.
　When I looked at Ristina-san in surprise, she puffed out her cheeks and put her hands on her hips.

''Wow, you've been on top of your seniors for a while now, and you haven't been listening to me at all!
I'm sorry, I'm sorry...

　........so you don't have to pull this prank on me.
　As I looked at Ristina-san, she took my hand.

'Now enjoy your date with me!
'So, so, date!　We just went out together.........
'What do you call a date if you don't call it a date?　Come on, let's go!

　Listina puts her hand around my elbow.
　A soft touch touch touches my arm and my face involuntarily strengthens.
　Seeing this, Ristina-san loosened her cheeks.

''Already, senpai. Are you nervous?''


　If you look closely, you can see that her cheeks were red, too.
　When I pointed it out, Ristina-san bit her lip.

''Ha, I'm embarrassed, but I have to do this!
What do you mean by that?
'It means I'm embarrassed, but if I don't do my best, I'll lose!　Here we go!

　...What do you mean by that?
　I had no idea what she meant by her words.
　I went into a nearby restaurant with Listyna.

　After having dinner, we looked for an inn.

''........I don't see any rooms available anywhere.

　I nodded at Lystina's words.

''It looks like it's occupied by people who have heard the news that the brave are coming here.
'I thought we were already..........we're similar.
That's exactly what it is. I can't speak for others.
.......... Shall we find an available inn?

　I go into the next inn and talk to the clerk.

'We have a room for two people available but is it okay?'
Huh, two rooms?

　Ristina shouts out. Then, she glances at me and buries her face with her cheeks red.
　
　When I was about to say no, Ristina-san giggled and raised her head.

''That's okay!　Good for you, senior!　You can stay in a room with me!
No, no, that's not...
'What is it, sir?　Are you going to plant something on me?
Well no, I didn't mean to do that at all.
'What?　Don't you have any nasty thoughts?　I'm not happy about that, but...
Should I think about it?

　When I retorted, Ristina-san went red to her ears and squeezed out her voice.

'I knew it, please don't think about it...'

　........right.
　My cheeks get hot because I'm embarrassed too.
　I pay the clerk, who was smiling bitterly, for our lodging and we move to our room.
　There are two beds lined up in the room. It was a little cramped, but still, we got a beautiful room to rent.

　I unleashed Val into the room and I sat down on the bed too.

''Well for now, let's rest here for today, shall we?
That's right.........

　Ristina-san also sat down on the bed, but she was somewhat fidgety.

''Well if you don't want to, I'll go outside to sleep?''
That's all right!　I mean, I don't hate it!　I'm rather happy about that!
Oh, I'm glad...?
I don't mean that in a weird way!　I've never slept in a room like this with a man before, so it's a great experience!

　Good experience, she said.
　Ristina-san, who was clearly feeling out of control from earlier, seemed to be embarrassed by her statement, and her face was red.
　........and anyway. It would be better if I didn't touch it any further.

　I'm starting to feel a bit, too, weird. Let's just give Val a hug and calm down.
　Oh, it's nice and smooth to the touch........