Chapter 156 : Chapter 156
Chapter 156: Double the Fun (3)
Rine was on the smaller side.
Thanks to that, Miki and Toric, who had good Strength, could easily carry her around.
Of course, Ibi and Lily also took turns carrying Rine occasionally so they wouldn't get tired.
Then, when we encountered monsters on the way.
"Miki! Going that way!"
"Yes! Big Sis!"
"Lily! Blessing!"
"Yes!"
Instead of the four who had to move their bodies busily, I carried Rine.
No matter how rock-bottom my Strength might be, even I could carry Rine, who was small and very light, for a short while.
And above all.
『Sit!』
"Screech!"
Anyway, since I can pull my weight as one person as long as I move my mouth if not my body.
Furthermore, since Rine, who had always handled the main firepower of our party, was completely excluded from combat right now, even one more person had to deal Damage intensely.
This forest area was a region where monsters around level 14 on average appeared, which was a higher level than any monsters we had encountered so far.
Well, of course.
"Haaah!"
Wham!
As could be seen from the 「Forest Predator」 falling away just like that after being struck in the head by that single exhilarating punch of Miki's, it was a threat that our current party could sufficiently handle.
Meanwhile, Ibi, who had been stabbing the neck of the 「Forest Predator」 that sat down after hearing my Word Command with the daggers in both hands, immediately jumped up lightly, and.
Slash!
She avoided the sharp claws of the 「Forest Predator」 that tore through the air while rushing toward her.
At the same time.
"Hraaaah!"
Whoosh!
Toric's heavy axe blade mercilessly chopped into the long head of that 「Forest Predator」.
With that, the third one was finished, and.
"Shriek!"
Whether it was the instinct of a creature that smelled the 'weakest existence' or just a coincidence, the last fourth one began to rush at me while I was carrying Rine.
But before it could reach us.
Zap!
It crashed its head, blocked by the 'barrier' that Lily had cast just in time.
Sizzle!
Zap!
The guy kept ramming its head and swinging its claws as if it couldn't understand, but at most, only its head and front paws continued to be scorched as if burning.
Looking at its appearance, I grinned and raised the corners of my mouth.
『They called you a predator, but I guess you got that name because you let others predate on you plenty!』
***
"So? Where and how are you going to seduce that Morgana or whatever her name is?"
Crackle.
Small embers scattered as the campfire burned.
"If we leave this forest, there is a small village on the way to Shurina."
I answered while looking back at Ibi, who was balling up apple peel scraps into small pieces and throwing them into the fire.
"Before arriving in Shurina, where the entire area is covered in snow, it is practically the last place where merchants can rest warmly."
So merchants traveling to and from Shurina go through there unconditionally.
"I'll spread a rumor there."
"A rumor?"
I slightly raised one corner of my mouth lightly.
"That there is an incredibly beautiful elf."
Naturally, that incredibly beautiful elf is this body. Well, since I am not using 「Disguise」 right now, I am in my usual 'human' form.
"But that elf even possesses a voice as beautiful as their face."
When I placed a hand on my chest and spoke while chuckling, Ibi looked at me with a slightly disgusted expression, as if saying 'There he goes again...'.
"Oh my? Are you denying it, Ibi? My face and voice are so go── Ouch."
The apple seed Ibi threw with full force hit me exactly between the eyebrows.
When I rubbed the spot I was hit with my fingertip for a moment and glanced sideways at Ibi, she was muttering something while staring piercingly into the campfire, finding it difficult to look my way.
I couldn't hear the content well, but since it was an expression I could roughly guess, I let out a giggle once and continued speaking.
"If I make all the merchants fall head over heels for me like that, the rumor will naturally spread inside Shurina, right? Of course, even to Morgana, whose job is dealing with those merchants."
Then Morgana will have no choice but to come find me.
"She is a person who sells even a single drop of worthless water more expensively than a jewel. But, a mysterious elf bard from the north? She will be drooling."
She will think a treasure that can properly empty the wallets of the 'rich idiots' outside Shurina has rolled in by the vine.
"Well, actually, even if it doesn't smell of money like that, she will come anyway."
"What do you mean?"
"I heard she is extremely lewd. That woman."
"......What?"
"So whatever it is, she will come to see me."
If she chases after lust, how could she dare not come to see a Kingdom-Toppling Beauty.
I spoke confidently and picked up the lute I had placed beside me.
Strum─
And lightly plucking the strings, I began a song.
"One, two, three four, five."
***
"Hunt the hare and turn her down the rocky road."
Fitting for a village that merchants use as a base, the tavern in the evening was bustling with merchants today as well.
"And all the way to Dublin, Whack fol lol de rah!!"
Matching my upbeat song, the merchants naturally found the rhythm and moved their bodies, stomped their feet, or sometimes tapped the table roughly with their beer mugs.
Shurina was a city rumored to be boring even among the 12 cities.
Not only was the scenery the same all year round, but the 'people' one could encounter inside the city were all much of a muchness.
Should I say it lacks 'dynamism', fitting for a city of elves who basically live for about a thousand years?
So, this village near Shurina didn't have a very different atmosphere either.
Of course, it was bustling because many people heading to Shurina gathered there, but that was only because this place was the only option.
Fitting for the vicinity of Shurina where everything is slow and leisurely as if time doesn't flow, the existing villagers also generally had a similar laid-back atmosphere, and at least the merchants coming from outside tended to sleep early, thinking they had to walk or run through the snow-covered snowy fields for the next few days.
But, suddenly it appeared.
"One, two, three four, five."
A bard with god-tier charm.
In this quiet village where there was nothing but snow and people.
Just by my existence alone, the village that was always quiet had turned into a place overflowing with vitality in no time.
Especially the tavern, where people came to melt their bodies escaping the cold blizzard, changed into a place where the sounds of singing and laughter did not cease.
People, especially merchants who felt good, ordered more alcohol.
Those who put money on the table and counted money soon gathered one by one and started gambling with that money.
And while doing so, they ordered alcohol again.
Those who started touching hands, touching arms, and touching bodies while dancing to the upbeat song eventually touched lips if they kept at it, and ordered alcohol again.
Or they got a room.
The flow of money in the village, which had been stopped for a long time, started to speed up.
Solely because of me.
And when I, the very person who revitalized the village's economy like that, finally finished the song and offered a greeting, people all began to send enthusiastic cheers and applause.
At the same time, they started throwing countless copper coins, silver coins, and sometimes even gold coins onto the stage where I was standing, one by one.
To that, I expressed my gratitude and winked lightly, or blew a hand kiss every once in a while.
Then, among the cheering audience, those who misunderstood thinking 'Me, is it me...?' ran to me as I came down from the stage regardless of gender and hit on me, asking to have a drink together.
For these past two days since I started the stage at this tavern, it was like that.
"──A moment."
But today was different.
"There is someone who wishes to meet you."
Even though he wasn't dressed in armor or a uniform, I inadvertently let out a grin at that disciplined tone that made it obvious to anyone listening that he was a 'soldier'.
"Is that so?"
It meant that the prey I was waiting for had finally been caught in the spiderweb.
In the room I followed the 'soldier in plain clothes (?)' to under his guidance,
"──Just as the rumors say."
A Northern Elf woman, who clearly looked like she came from Shurina to anyone's eyes, was sitting with her legs crossed in front of a small table, tilting a wine glass with the moonlight from the window as a side dish.
"I heard that an incredibly beautiful bard compatriot is staying in this village."
The woman who took a sip of wine like that slowly put down the glass, and soon wore a soft smile.
"Do you happen to know who I am?"
There's no way I wouldn't.
"Morgana, are you not?"
Kurt's Left Arm, and practically the financier of the current military.
"You know me."
Morgana spoke like this and slightly wiggled the finger holding the glass, and at this, the man who brought me here bowed his head and left the room just like that.
"How could I not know?"
I raised one corner of my mouth and continued speaking.
"For I am in a profession that eats and lives off rumors."
"What rumors have you heard?"
"Above all else, it is the 'Dew', of course. It was very impressive."
This wasn't acting, but truly sincere.
"To make them offer up money like that, begging you to please sell a single drop of water that is useless for anything outside of Shurina... It will become a very popular song in the future."
"Heh. You had better not think of actually singing that."
Because then she would cut off that impressive tongue.
Morgana, who spoke calmly, then licked the rim of the glass once with her tongue.
"Would I dare."
When I answered slyly with a shrug of my shoulders without being intimidated, Morgana turned not just her head slightly, but her entire body toward me this time.
It meant she started to show more interest.
"You don't seem to be a person from Shurina; where is our compatriot from?"
"Ah, I am from Tiaria. I am currently wandering the continent."
"Tiaria, huh."
Tiaria is the place where the most people live on the continent.
No matter how rare Northern Elves are to find outside of Shurina, it wouldn't be strange for one or two to be born in Tiaria.
"It is an impressive city. I also go to play often."
As expected, Morgana seemed to accept my answer immediately upon hearing it.
Of course, it was also because one of the three dice rolled for [Persuasion] showed a 6.
"Then, if I said there is no need to wander around eating and living off things like rumors anymore, what would you do?"
Morgana added immediately.
"To put it bluntly, do you have any thoughts of working for me?"
At those awaited words, a smile formed without me realizing it.
However.
"It is an honor, but,"
I couldn't just snap it up.
"Somehow, I prefer a free life where I am not bound to anyone."
I have to play hard to get properly so we can negotiate, right?
"A free life, huh."
Of course, provided that Morgana, who let out a smirk while mulling it over as soon as she heard those words, actually has any intention of doing something like a negotiation.
"If you knew how much I could make you earn, that freedom... wouldn't you be able to sell it to me?"
Morgana lightly shook her glass and continued speaking.
"Naturally, I have no intention of tying you down for a lifetime. Work for me for just about a hundred years."
Upon hearing it, one might think 'what kind of crazy talk is that', but we are elves.
That was a number called out with relative conscience.
"Then you will earn enough money to live off for a lifetime, so from then on, whether you wander around freely for the rest of your life with that money or whatever, do as you please."
In short, she was dangling a carrot.
"Don't decline."
At the same time, wielding a whip.
"No matter how good freedom is, isn't walking around fine on two legs much better than wandering around limping on one leg?"
At that blatant threat, I let out a bitter laugh.
Pretending to ponder for a moment like that.
"...If you speak to that extent, it can't be helped."
Eventually, I shrugged my shoulders as if I couldn't win.
"Let's negotiate the conditions."
"You thought well."
Morgana, nodding satisfactorily at that, gestured lightly for me to come here and sit, and I obediently followed her and sat next to her.
"Before that, one more thing."
And Morgana gently placed the hand she had gestured with right on top of the back of my hand.
"There is a skill I want to verify."
"What skill are you speaking of?"
When I asked slyly, pretending not to know as much as possible, Morgana let out a smirk as if asking if I was going to play it like that.
"If you are a bard, isn't there another skill you polish importantly?"
Just like that, Morgana's long fingers began to slowly stroke the back of my hand.
"Let's hear how good a voice you cry with in bed."