Chapter 39: Invitation

The late-night affair has taken its toll on me, so I greet the visitor who knocked on the door with a slightly tired appearance.

「Morning, it’s a nice morning, isn’t it?」

「…… Morning, it sure is.」

The visitor was Nell Lemure, the leader of the prestigious Magic Knight Order. I was correct for not letting Haru greet the visitor since I had a slightly bad feeling. After all, the atmosphere was dangerous the last time she came here. Still, what is her business that she came in the middle of breakfast like this?

「Here, a gift for you.」

「This is… the cake from last time?」

「You said that you wanted to eat it, didn’t you? I bought three servings this time.」

A cake in the morning, eh? I won’t complain though. I’m honestly happy that she remembered my words. Let’s eat it after lunch.

「Thanks. Have you eaten breakfast? I was having breakfast just now. If you like, how about you join us?」

「I haven’t. But, I don’t want to impose.」

「It’s okay, let’s eat together. I don’t think it won’t be enough with just you joining us.」

「……?」

Nell, who doesn’t know about our meal situation, seems to be wondering what I’m talking about. Well, she’ll find out soon enough. When I invited Nell to the living room just like the last time, Haru, who was munching on her food, noticed us.

「Ah, Nell-san! Good morning!」

「Morning, Haru―― hey, what’s with these large portions!?」

This is a perfectly normal meal in our house.

「This is the same cake from the same store as the last one, but….. I guess there’s hardly any place for a dessert, right?」

「No, it’s fine as long as I exercise for that portion later! Let’s eat it!」

「I-I see, I’m glad if you are happy…」

Being able to give a scare to the strongest knight in the kingdom by just showing off the meal scene, she sure is a big deal. I really mean it.

I let Nell sit next to Haru, who has no sign of losing appetite, and put one serving of the cake in the kitchen. Since Nell doesn’t eat much, I put her meal in a somewhat smaller bowl, which she always used in the past.

「Is this enough?」

「Yes, thank you. Let’s eat.」

This exchange is somewhat nostalgic. After that, just as expected, there wasn’t much difference even with Nell joined the dining table and the food mostly went to Haru’s stomach as usual. Still, it seems that she hasn’t full yet. At the same time we finished our meals, she quickly cleans up the table and then set out the cake and tea. Then, she goes back to the kitchen to wash the dishes. It was so fast that I missed my chance to say that I will eat the cake after lunch. Well, I guess I will do my best eating it as thanks to Nell.

「So, what is your business today? Is it the continuation of yesterday’s case?」

「On the outward, yes. Joseph’s reminder was annoying.」

Nell sighed exaggeratedly without hiding her exhaustion.

「Erm, what was it? To put it simply, you were given that much reward, so don’t tell anyone. If you caused a problem, I’ll be the one to erase you, so keep that in mind.」

「Ahh, got it. I don’t want any trouble anyway. I’ll just do so.」

Nell said so without showing any motivation, so I replied in the same manner. For Joseph, by sending Nell, the kingdom’s strongest, it works as a threat on its own… but honestly, there’s no sense of crisis or whatever like this. In the first place, he should manage them properly if he doesn’t want me to do the job.

「Well, that’s just a side note. Here is the main subject, I’ve got an important announcement.」

「An important announcement?」

What, is she finally getting marri―― ah, no, don’t glare at me like that. Also, don’t read my mind.

「Cough! Let’s see… I also took a disciple.」

「…… Haa?」

A disciple? ‘That’ Nell took a disciple…!?

「Do you have a fever?」

「Did I say something weird?」

When I put my hand on her forehead to check it, she glared at me suspiciously. That’s a face she makes when she’s a little irritated. That’s a face that can make the elite knights turn pale. But, I mean, you see.

「You weren’t interested in training people, right? I heard from Canon that you are raising your subordinates by letting them train by themselves and interfere when necessary, and you also refused to take Haru as your disciple.」

「You are the same, aren’t you? That bad habit of yours, being enthusiastic about something that got your interest, it was because of that, right?」

「Ugh, you are not wrong, but…」

「Then, experiencing the same symptoms this time. I found a girl as interesting as Haruna the other day. Perhaps, she’ll be a good rival for her.」

Nell was gracefully drinking the tea, but then she said such things.

Hou, someone who can rival my Haru, huh? Even though she has not enough experience in training her subordinates, she sure said an interesting joke.

「Equal to Haru? I don’t think you can find such a talented person easily…」

「Deris, who never denies the possibility, sure is saying very flippant remarks today.」

「No no, believing in your disciple is one of the master’s jobs.」

「Haha, then I believe in my disciple.」

「「…………」」

Crack. As the quiet pressure begins to fill the room, a crack begins to run through the cup. The crack runs deeper and deeper――

「Both of you, the tablewares are in trouble because of the killing intent you are leaking! Please do it outside!」

「「Ah, I’m sorry…」」

The unpleasant atmosphere was completely dispersed by Haru’s words as she came out of the kitchen. We both bowed our heads and apologized.

「…… Well, it’s true that I can’t say for sure that there isn’t any. There’s also a matter about those who came from the otherworld, so it’s not surprising. I’m a little interested too.」

「I-Is that so? Erm, to tell you the truth, I thought that If Haruna and my disciple competed with each other, they would become stronger…… so, I came here to invite her.」

「Invitation?」

Nell averts her gaze while fidgeting with her hands.

「I’m thinking of taking my disciple with me on the upcoming Knight Order’s expedition… I’m wondering if Haruna would like to join us. Of course, you can come too, Deris.」

The expedition of the Magic Knight Order. It is a conquest in which the leader, Nell, personally leads her knights to defeat vicious monsters that are beyond the control of ordinary adventurers. The missions assigned to Nell are all of the highest difficulty occurring at that time, and the marching knights are prepared to meet their ends.

―――― That might sounds scary, but the reality is that it is a sightseeing tour where you can see Nell alone kicking off a vicious monster from nearby. Of course, only those who are involved can participate, but it seems that it is quite popular within the group to get a glimpse of the strongest power. However, there are rumors that if there are cheeky noble newcomers, they will be forced to participate in the tour and be forced to experience the horror up close.

Well, Nell just doesn’t want to work in the castle, so she makes the expedition as an excuse. She brings back the enemies heads and achievements with her, though, so nobody in the castle can complain about it.

「Is it okay for us to join?」

「I can manage it with my authority as the leader. In the first place, it’s up to me to choose who to take along.」

The arrangements have been made. Now, what to do? It’s not every day that you get to see Nell fight, and I’m quite curious about the disciple that she took in. After all, yesterday’s Ash Rope guys were a disappointment, so it’s not a bad thing to give Haru a great stimulus.

「Then, I’ll take your offer.」

「Really!?」

Nell stands up with a bang. Please don’t knock down the chair.

「You know that I won’t lie unless necessary, right? So, where are we going?」

「…… Ah, right. Cough. We are going to exterminate a self-proclaimed Demon King. Don’t worry, it’s not that dangerous.」