Chapter 30 – Mara The Rapid Fire 1
It was a slightly late afternoon at the usual diner, where the number of customers had become sparse. Aix was struggling with the mega-sized mushroom grilled pork, courtesy of the annoyingly kind offer from the manager heard from the backyard, “I’ll make Ex bigger!”
“Huff…there’s so much…”
The dish was a combination of thickly sliced succulent meat accompanied by the refreshing aroma of mushrooms. It was delicious, but the biggest chunk of meat remaining had a final boss-like feeling to it.
“Thank you for choosing our service. It was a pleasure serving you. We hope to see you again soon.”
The voice of the waitress, a dog girl, echoed as it seemed Aix had entered a one-on-one battle with the meal. Everyone else was eating fast.
Perhaps feeling bored, the waitress, who had nothing to do, slid in beside Aix and spoke up.
“Aix, you won’t grow big eating like that, you know? Big-sis is worried about you.”
“Come on, you’re so annoying.”
With a teasing grin, the non-blood-related pseudo big sister laughed.
How about this? When the dog-girl changed her expression, she stared at Ex intently.
It was like a predatory gaze.
Her tone changed to a pampering one.
“You’re also worried about your Big-sis, aren’t you?”
Aix was being fixed with an intense gaze.
“No, not at all.”
“What a no good little brother.”
But I, who was no good, succumbed to her temptation.
I’ve lost.
“Oh, then this ia deal.”
Giving up on the mega-sized dish I never asked for, I stabbed my fork into the remaining large piece of meat and asked for the help of my reliable assistant.
Dog-girl showed her seductive canine teeth and bit into the meat on my fork. The final boss disappeared into her stomach in an instant. Her tongue, which licked up the sauce on her lips, was very sensual.
I also cleaned up the remaining mushrooms.
The flavor has changed from “delicious” to “painful”.
The scent of the forest spread throughout my mouth.
Ah, I’m fully satisfied.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Please come again!”
Oh no. I’m so full.
The feeling of fullness is intense.
I felt the scent of the forest in my breath as I patted my stomach and walked. Maybe I’ll go to Lina’s shop for some after-meal dessert. I’m curious if there are any daily specials.
Walking through the city slower than usual, it’s interesting to see the scenery in great detail. When I met the fairy flying around the flowers blooming in the flower bed, playing with the air, I became interested and she clung to me. This is my new daily life.
Freedom as far as the eye can see, if you don’t worry about money.
The sleeping cat in the alley was in its usual spot and still looked sleepy today.
“Must be nice not to have any worries like you.”
Well, if I were to move into Luca’s house, I would have a similar life. But that would mean being tied down.
“Hmm, being tied down, huh?” I thought.
Being with Luca is fun, but if my elven master Elise finds out that I’m tied down, what will she say? I thought about such things when I heard a commotion from the direction of the adventurer’s guild.
“I think I’ll pass.”
It smells like trouble.
I changed course. Following the whims of my heart, I am free.
###
The cause of the commotion was a tall, red-haired woman shouting at the guild, angrily slamming on the counter, causing her ample breasts to jiggle.
“Aix quit!?”
“Yes. It’s all the guild master’s fault.”
The woman causing trouble was Mara, a mage who pursued the same efficiency as Aix but in a different direction. Her specialization was super efficiency: being able to cast powerful magic with minimal mana usage, making her super low-level magic quite formidable. Frankly, she’s a very strong S-class adventurer.
“You’re useless. Call the guild master.”
“The guild master has been sent to the mines.”
Mara’s face twisted.
She has a reason to be angry. Due to the cost of super efficiency, her magic power has dropped to that of a child, and without Aix’s buff magic MP+1, she can’t keep firing without replenishing.
“Well then, until we find Ex, let’s take a break.” Mara consumed 8 credit tokens and activated “Long-Term Vacation”!
Mara tried to submit the paperwork and leave, but the receptionist’s pursuit echoed loudly.
“Um, Mara-san, you are S-ranked, right? You can fight even without Aix, right?”
“Certainly, I can fight, but… I don’t want to.”
Even without Aix, it is possible to drink potions and restore magical power while casting magic.
Mara had been doing so until she met Aix. Certainly, it is possible, but if you drink too much, you’ll reverse it.
She doesn’t want to vomit anymore.
“Mara-san, there is still work for you to do, and there is also a named request for you!”
The receptionist unrolled a paper that was lying on the desk.
A trap card, “Named Request,” was the finishing blow. “Huh? You should be able to refuse a named request, don’t you.”
“What are you talking about? You can’t refuse it (according to this guild’s customs).”
Mara’s “Long-Term Vacation” with a sad face was sent to the graveyard. So, Mara will be taking a separate action for a while.
“Eeh?”