Выбрать главу

After saying that, Lupusregina left through the back door.

“Thank you very much!”

Lupusregina didn’t stop or turn back in response to Enri’s shouted thanks, only waved her hand.

“…Ane-san, Ani-san, we’ll take over the task of guiding the others. You two should go have some rest over there.”

Without waiting for a reply, the goblins started moving. Shouldn’t they leave someone with us, Enri thought, but she was more worried for Nfirea than that, and put a hand on his shoulder.

After leaving the corpse of the troll behind, the two of them sat down.

“Haaaa.”

Their sighs of relief overlapped each other. Then, the two of them raised their eyes to look at the night sky.

“She saved you.”

“Mmm.”

“It was just good luck.”

“Mmm.”

“Don’t do that again.”

“Mmm.”

Silence flowed between the two of them. Enri suddenly spoke the words in her heart.

“I don’t know whether or not this is love, but I don’t want Enfi to go anywhere.”

“…Mmm. …Mmm.”

“Is this love?”

“…I don’t know. But if it is, I’d be very happy.”

Enri and Nfirea sat silently like this, leaning shoulder to shoulder and watching the stars until the goblins arrived—

EPILOGUE

“Ane-san, looks like you’re ready.”

Jugem commented on Enri’s appearance as he entered her home.

“Yes, that’s right… is it odd?”

Enri asked Jugem while looking down at the dress she was wearing ― one of the best she had, which she usually reserved for the harvest festival.

“Not at all, don’t you think, Ani-san?”

“Mm. You’re very pretty, Enri.”

“Ahhh, really now!”

With a red face, Enri stared at Jugem and a smiling Nemu. Or rather, at Nemu's mischievous grin.

Ever since Enri and Nfirea’s relationship had taken a step forward, she wanted to call out Nemu’s transient facial expressions as they came, but Enri knew that would just embarrass herself more and wisely kept her mouth shut.

However, leaving it alone was dangerous too. Especially for Nemu.

Sometimes, her little sister would ask questions that she couldn’t answer.

I keep thinking that over the past few days, I’ve matured mentally… maybe I should ask Enfi for help for this…

Seeing the plea in Enri’s eyes, her lover spoke.

“Umm, ahem! Speaking of which, Jugem-san, can you use that magic sword well? I heard it’s not like normal swords, and using it is tiring.”

The greatsword Jugem was holding had been obtained in the raid several days ago.

“I’ve gotten used to the sword’s weight and center of gravity, so I can use it as well as my old sword. As expected of a magic weapon, its sharpness and so on are much better than the other one.

However… the poison in here, it weakens its opponent’s strength, but it’s a bit strange…”

“It is? Is it a powerful effect?”

“Well, it’s not a particularly strong poison. Someone like me can resist it easily. However, against weaker opponents…”

Jugem’s face took on a dark expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah―” Jugem said as he looked to the ceiling, speaking in an irritated voice. “I was thinking about the troll I got this sword from, he seemed like an odd fellow.”

“The corpse doesn’t seem any different from a normal troll. Maybe it was a subrace?”

“No, no, I didn’t mean that, Ani-san. From its movements, its lack of regeneration, the way it felt when I cut into it… it felt weird… that’s right, like a body that was already dead. Something bizarre and foreboding like that.”

“A moving corpse? Like a zombie?”

“I don’t know. There might be a species of troll like that―”

“―Thanks for waiting!”

The door opened in time with that fresh and bright proclamation.

With the sun at her back, Lupusregina strolled boldly into Enri’s house. As Enri and friends watched in stunned silence, a pang sound came from the top of Lupusregina’s head.

“Owie~”

“You idiot. How could you be so rude? Everyone, I apologize on her behalf.”

After pulling Lupusregina back, the woman in the back bowed to them.

“I am Ainz-sama’s maid, Yuri Alpha. I am here to receive Nfirea-sama, Enri-sama and Nemu-sama.

Will you permit us entry?”

“Ah, yes. Please come in, Lupusregina too.”

The woman who had entered with Lupusregina had an otherworldly beauty, just like Lupusregina.

“Then, once you’re ready, we can begin the teleportation straight away.”

“Te-teleportation? You can teleport?!”

Nfirea was practically shouting. Although Enri didn’t know why Nfirea was so surprised, she could guess that it was a big deal.

Was teleporting the Warrior-Chief and the others a big deal too?

“Ah, no. This is not my power, but the power of a magic item Ainz-sama gave me.”

“…The horn, the potions too. He’s amazing. Why is he so amazing?”

Nfirea’s shoulder sagged. Sensing an opportunity, Enri decided to ask a question.

“Then, is it really all right for me to go? And my little sister too!”

Today was the day that the village’s savior, Ainz Ooal Gown, had invited Nfirea to his home.

However, she felt unease when she heard that even a mere village girl like herself could go along.

Their host was a powerful magic caster, and they were people who lived in completely different worlds. The idea that she might accidentally do something rude made her stomach hurt.

“It’s cool~ since we’re celebrating Enfi-chan’s new invention, his girlfriend En-chan can come along, no problem. Ainz-sama said so too, yanno. Formality’s not such a big deal.”

“…Lupus, mind your tone.”

“Yuri-nee, what’s wrong with that? We’re friends, right? En-chan~”

“Eh? Ah, yes. Yes. Just like that. Mm.”

Yuri sighed with a ‘Haaa…’, then walked to the front of a nearby wall. Suddenly, as though erupting from some form of space, a gigantic wooden closet appeared. It was big enough for people to pass through with ease, and its exterior was intricately carved, so it looked like a decorative closet.

“…Could this be a ‘pocket space’? No, this is too big, it should be a higher tiered spell.”

“Come, please, step inside. Lupus, can I trust the safety of this place to you?”