Chapter 3

Sitting in the corner of the cafe, sipping milk, Airi voiced her complaint.

“By the way, finding a wallet seems like such a trivial request.”

*Thud!*

“Ouch!”

Airi had said something foolish, so I gave her a light knock on the head. Even though she had just come of age, she was still too naive, so I had to say something.

“Even if it seems trivial to you, it might be precious to someone else. Don’t speak carelessly, you foolish disciple.”

Originally, this was a line Werner had said when Airi broke a plate he cherished, and he got angry. Airi had retorted, asking why he was making such a fuss over a plate.

Airi, rubbing her head, pouted her lips.

“You hit me again! Hitting a cute girl like me, Master, you’re definitely going to get punished!”

“Disciple… my troublesome disciple… I think I’ve already received all the punishment I deserve in this lifetime just by taking you on as my disciple.”

“Tch… Then why did you take me on?”

“Because your father was really scary.”

While Airi’s father being scary was one reason, there was another.

Werner was originally just an orphan with a talent for magic. The main party of <Draghinty Fantasy 1> had taken him in. To repay that kindness, Werner had taken on Airi.

“By the way, it’s about time for the client to arrive… Looks like they’re running late.”

“I really don’t like this.”

Just two minutes late, Airi puffed her cheeks and expressed her dissatisfaction.

“This is how it is when you’re taking someone else’s money.”

Soon, the cafe door opened again, and all the men’s eyes turned in one direction.

“Long time no see, Werner.”

Her glossy black hair fluttered in the wind. Through her hair, her pointed ears stood out. The beautiful woman with a somewhat cold impression stopped in front of our table.

“Long time no see, Sister Camelian. You haven’t changed a bit since back then.”

Camelian Peony. A half-elf swordsman who was part of the main party in <Draghinty Fantasy 1>, second to none in swordsmanship.

“You’ve changed a lot, though.”

“Well, I’m human, so I’m different from a half-elf like you.”

“Your mouth is still the same, so I’m relieved.”

Camelian was one of the closest to Werner in <Draghinty Fantasy 1>. When she joined the party, Werner was only 10 years old, and she and Airi’s mother took care of him.

Moreover, her looks and abilities made her incredibly popular, and I remember she ranked quite high in popularity polls.

Thinking about it, there were a lot of one-shot manga featuring Werner from <Draghinty Fantasy 1>.

“By the way, I was surprised to hear you’re the client…”

“As you know, I’ve never been good at finding lost items.”

Camelian turned her gaze to Airi, who was sitting across from me, and asked.

“Is that young lady over there their daughter?”

Here, “they” referred to Airi’s parents.

“Yeah, my older brother left her in my care. I wish they’d consider my position, having to take on such a bothersome task.”

I complained while gulping down melon juice. I tried my best to deliver a line Werner would have said, and it seemed to work.

Camelian offered her hand to Airi.

“I’m Camelian Peony. I’m close with your parents and your master.”

Airi, happy to meet her parents’ comrade, smiled brightly.

“Hello, I’m Airi Res. I’ve been taking care of my incompetent master who can’t even do laundry for 12 years now. It’s really bothersome.”

“Yeah, that guy’s always been like that. Back then, he couldn’t even wash his own hair, so your mother and I…”

The women suddenly teamed up to diss me, even bringing up Werner’s dark past from <Draghinty Fantasy 1>.

“Ladies, please stop badmouthing me in front of the person in question and let’s talk about the request.”

I tried to ignore their somewhat unsettling gazes and move the conversation forward.

“So, Sister, you lost your wallet?”

“Yes, the wallet itself is precious, but I’d also like to recover its contents.”

“So, what does it look like?”

“It’s a sky-blue wallet with my initials engraved on it.”

“Oh, really?”

I already knew this, but for the sake of smooth progress, I asked anyway. I actually knew the wallet’s location and what was inside, but I had to pretend not to.

“So, Sister, where did you lose it?”

“Near the intersection by the adventurer’s guild building. I bought something and when I entered the guild, the wallet was gone.”

“Oh, really?”

With a *slurp*, the melon juice was gone.

I patted Airi’s head and stood up.

“Let’s go, my foolish disciple.”

“Master, why do you always call me foolish?”

“My mistake. You’re not a foolish disciple; you’re just a fool.”

This was also a line Werner had in the game’s side story. I knew it because I loved the game so much, buying everything from drama CDs to side stories.

“Master, you’re always like this with me.”

Airi puffed her cheeks again. If she keeps puffing them like that, they might make stickers of her puffed cheeks.

“Sister, we’ll go ahead and look for it. Don’t get your hopes up too much.”

“Right, Werner, you’re so careless, it’s better not to expect much.”

Camelian isn’t one to joke, so that was a genuine statement.

Werner muttered a curse he often used.

“Damn half-elf…”

“What did you just say?”

“Nothing, I said you’re more beautiful than anyone.”

“The youngest who didn’t even know table manners has learned to give compliments. You’ve grown a lot.”

As we left the cafe, Airi, who had gone out first, suddenly linked arms with me.

“What was so fun? You didn’t even notice your cute disciple leaving first.”

“You’re the disciple I see every day and eat meals with. Sister Camelian is a comrade I haven’t seen in almost 10, no, 15 years.”

“Ah~ So it’s because you’re seeing an old comrade after a long time?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

They’re not just simple comrades. When Camelian heard that Werner had died, she cried for the first time in the series.

Her always expressionless face crying was so shocking that it touched the hearts of many users. The reactions were…

Title: Isn’t Camelian crying so hot?

ㄴShe didn’t even show emotion when she lost her hometown, but she cried when Werner died.

ㄴㄴThat just shows how precious he was as a comrade.

ㄴFriend>>>>>>Hometown? Crazy woman?

ㄴㄴYeah, next is Airi.

Title: Why did Camelian cry?

ㄴShe doesn’t have many friends, you know.

ㄴHaven’t you played 1? She had the most conversations with Werner.

ㄴIf you think about it, Airi is the real problem.

ㄴㄴAiri, stop being a baby.

Title: Fighting Camelian, who got pissed after hearing Werner died, as a boss.

Body: Damn, this bitch’s patterns are so complicated. Just because her friend died, she’s trying to stab me with a sword.

ㄴHonestly, it’s natural to be pissed if your friend died because of some nuisance.

ㄴㄴDid Airi do it on purpose? Why are you guys not blocking such idiots?

ㄴIf you spam Werner’s signature magic, she’ll have a mental breakdown and it’s an auto-clear.

ㄴHonestly, her wailing made me take a step back.

“If it’s an old ‘comrade,’ I guess I can’t help it. I’ll specially forgive my pretty and kind disciple.”

“All the kind people must have frozen to death.”

I can admit she’s pretty, but saying she’s kind would make even a passing dog laugh.

“By the way, disciple, can you let go of my arm? It’s hot.”

“But Master, you get lost so easily.”

“I’m not such an idiot that I’d get lost in my own neighborhood.”

Werner is definitely lacking in life skills and can’t find his way around well. But what Airi is saying is just an excuse; she’s just been following Werner since she was little.

Some people ship them as a couple, but to me, Airi just sees Werner as a father figure.

“Fine, let’s link arms. It’s hot as hell, but whatever.”

“Hehehe…”

Following the original story, we decided to look for the fence first. In the original, Airi hears that the stolen goods are likely in the back alleys and heads there.

And as soon as you enter the back alleys, an event triggers as if it was scheduled.

“Hehehe, mister, you look like you have money. How about making a donation?”

“The girl next to you is pretty cute. Let us have some fun with her and get lost.”

As if it weren’t a game world, the dialogue was really cheesy. Even though they’re just thug extras, it’s just laughable.

I couldn’t hold back my laughter, and the thugs couldn’t hold back their anger.

“Is this guy crazy? What are you laughing at?”

“Let’s see if you can still laugh after getting stabbed.”

Even their threatening lines were cheesy.

“Kukuku… Sorry, you guys are just too stupid to not laugh at.”

“What?”

“Lightning, crawl like a snake.”

The snake-shaped lightning from my fingertips wrapped around one of the thugs. The thug wrapped in the lightning snake fell down, smelling like roasting pork. Maybe I’ll buy some pork barbecue for dinner tonight.

“If you don’t want to end up like that, you better cooperate.”

“Y-you bastard! You’re killing people…”

“He’s just unconscious, so don’t worry too much. Do you want to try it? Or will you quietly guide us?”

“…Where are you looking for?”

When I said we were looking for the fence, the thug gave us the detailed location.

“Master, you were really cool just now.”

“Your master is always cool.”

“Yeah, yeah~ I’m sure you are.”

Airi tightened her grip on my arm. And my neck has been feeling prickly since earlier; is that thug glaring at me? I guess I’ll have to fry him too later.