Chapter 113: Ah, hey! Don’t put your mouth on someone else’s thing without asking!

"...I thought it was still an empty time slot, but it’s surprisingly crowded."

Stepping onto the first-floor floor of the Guild hall, Kazui said his impression.

Just as Kazui said, all over the first-floor floor many adventurers were hanging around.

The time was four in the afternoon. Adventurers who had finished work often visited the Guild hall after five, so it was normally an empty time slot.

Even so, today there were so many people that a line had formed in front of the counter.

At the counter for newcomers, Lumia’s figure could be confirmed.

In front of Lumia’s counter several adventurers were lined up waiting their turn.

"There’s a line in front of the counter too. Do we line up?"

Looking toward the counter, Yuri asked Kazui.

"Or we’re not in a hurry, so do we come back later?"

"How about buying something at the shop and eating it while looking for work on the bulletin board and waiting for the counter to open?"

"Nice. Let’s do that."

Yuri agreed with Kazui’s suggestion, so the two of them started walking toward the shop.

On the first-floor floor, looking from the front entrance, there was a shop in the near left corner.

Already, adventurers who saw Kazui and Yuri and talked rumors related to their lower bodies were almost gone.

The city defense battle had been three days ago. In adventurer circles where there were many topics, it was already no longer a fresh topic.

(They say rumors about people last seventy-five days, but it didn’t take that long.)

While relieved that the rumor talk about them had died down, Kazui and Yuri kept walking through the lobby and arrived in front of the shop.

It was a shop that sold food and drinks, newspapers and magazines, similar to a kiosk in a Japanese station.

Because adventurers who had finished work and gotten hungry ate and drank in the lobby, the shop handled food and drink.

"What should I get?"

Looking down at the food centered on bread lined up in the glass case, Kazui hesitated.

Then an appetite-whetting smell of tomato sauce drifted from nearby.

Turning toward the source of the smell, Kazui checked.

Then the figure of an adventurer in black combat clothes standing and eating a meat pie wrapped in paper while looking at the bulletin board came into his view.

The meat pies sold at the shop were stick-shaped and wrapped in paper, so you could eat them without dirtying your hands, and they were reasonably priced popular items.

Kazui could see several other adventurers eating meat pies in the lobby as well.

"Meat pie then..."

Yuri nodded at Kazui’s words.

Yuri had also smelled the meat pie and wanted to eat one.

The two of them bought meat pies at the shop and moved in front of the bulletin board.

While standing and eating the meat pies they started looking for work. There were chairs, but to move in front of the bulletin board and check various posted papers, standing was more convenient, so they did not sit.

Occasionally they checked toward the counter and confirmed the situation.

Whether talks were dragging on, the line had not gotten any shorter.

"Isn’t that Kazu! And the partner too!"

Suddenly Kazui was spoken to from the right.

Turning toward the voice, Monica in a midnight-blue martial arts uniform was standing there.

"Monica!"

They ended up remembering last night’s sex and felt embarrassed facing each other, but they consciously did not let it show.

Especially Kazui, because the sharp Yuri was nearby, was careful not to be found out.

"On the way back from work?"

Kazui asked Monica.

Monica’s combat clothes were a little dirty, so he thought she was on the way back from work.

"Yeah. You?"

"Same here, on the way back from work. I was going to get my pay, but the counter’s crowded, so I thought I’d look for work until it opened."

"Same as me."

Monica had also visited the Guild hall on the way back from work to get her pay.

Because the counter was crowded, until it opened she had been looking for work in front of the bulletin board together with her party companions.

Then she spotted Kazui and called out.

"Smells good."

Looking at the meat pie Kazui was holding in his right hand, Monica continued.

"I’m hungry. Give me a bite."

Saying that, she brought her face close to the meat pie and bit into it and ate it.

"Ah, hey! Don’t put your mouth on someone else’s thing without asking!"

Kazui protested to Monica.

He thought Monica putting her mouth on something he was eating in front of people might become a cause for all kinds of speculation.

"One bite is fine. Last night at Paradiso Sotterraneo I treated you to a glass."

Because she had invited him, the first glass of fresh juice at Paradiso Sotterraneo had been treated to Kazui by Monica.

Incidentally, strictly speaking it had been a time that could be called early this morning.

"No, it’s not that kind of problem. Putting your mouth on something I already started eating is bad, right?"

"Don’t mind such small things at this point."

A little embarrassed, Monica answered Kazui.

"Onee-san! There’s a good one over here!"

A lively girl’s voice, Nicola’s voice, could be heard from a little away.

"Then see you later!"

Saying that, Monica gave Kazui a light wave, turned on her heel, and started walking toward Nicola about ten meters away.

Not only Nicola. Nearby several female adventurers were hanging around.

Monica was in an all-women party of five.

Joining her party companions, she started talking about the posted work Nicola and the others had found.

"...You got close with Monica."

Hearing Yuri’s murmur, Kazui moved his gaze from Monica to Yuri.

"Not really... nothing like that."

Kazui pretended to be calm and pretended not to know.

"It’s fine. Better to get closer than to get along badly."

After a preface, Yuri continued.

"In your case, Kazu, if you don’t keep getting closer with women who have skills, it’s actually a problem."

(He’s completely found out.)

Putting on a sour expression, Kazui muttered in his heart.

Monica’s statement had told Yuri that Kazui and Monica had been together last night.

He did not know Paradiso Sotterraneo, but Yuri knew there was a shop called Paradiso on Tax Street.

And he knew Kazui had gone to Tax Street last night to pick up women who had skills.

On top of that, Yuri had seen that Kazui and Monica’s exchange was clearly different from before and had become familiar.

That was why for Yuri, who was a fairly sharp type about relations between men and women, he could easily tell that Kazui and Monica had reached a relationship between a man and a woman.

"...Don’t poke into extra things."

Saying that, Kazui glared at Yuri.

"Got it, got it."

Answering in an easy tone, Yuri changed the topic.

"For the next job... how about this?"

Yuri pointed at one of the papers posted on the bulletin board.

A posted paper written about escort work that even trainee adventurers could apply for.

After reading through the posted paper, Kazui said his impression.

"Escorting people going to a lake. Not bad."

After that the two of them checked several posted papers and considered work to apply for.

Around when they finished eating the meat pies and narrowed the candidates to one, Kazui looked toward the counter.

"Lumia-san’s counter opened, so let’s go!"

Saying that, he peeled a posted paper off the bulletin board and started walking quickly toward the counter.

Yuri hurriedly followed after Kazui.

Soon the two of them arrived in front of the counter and entered Lumia’s open booth.

"Hello, Lumia-san!"

Kazui consciously called out to Lumia in his usual tone.

"Hello!"

Yuri greeted her the same way next.

"Welcome!"

In her usual black suit, Lumia returned her usual greeting.

But when her eyes met Kazui’s, for an instant she put on an embarrassed expression.

"Receiving pay for work and applying for new work!"