I Was Reincarnated as a Nameless Combatant in a Japanese-style Fantasy Depressive Erotic Game, but the Women Around Me Are All Dangerous, and I Have a Bad Feeling about It

's character or circumstances.
The problem here was more fundamental.

 

　”With all due respect, are you in your right mind saying such a thing to me? Wouldn't your Lord, Hibiki-sama, be offended if he hears you talking like this?”

 

　It is not an honorable thing to expose the affairs of one's family to a mere servant.
Especially if it is the chairman of the company who has a soft spot for his daughter.
No, it's not that…
it's the way she said it.

 

　”Since it is Madam who employs me, the person to whom I call for instructions is also the same.”

 

　The old maid said the same thing as she had said in the argument with Kayo earlier.
I see, what she means is…

 

　”…I understand.
But for her sake, it would be better to avoid rashness.
There is a difference between freedom and indulgence.
Uhh…”

　”My name is Otsuru.”

 

　Realizing that I don't know the old woman's name, she blurts it out for a moment, but the old woman soon realizes this and answers with her own name.

 

　”…Well then, Otsuru-dono, please tell your Madam.
It is only the shallow wisdom of an uneducated servant, and perhaps she has deeper thoughts.
However, for Miss Kayo's own sake, I do not think it is right to let her behave according to her temporary feelings.”

 

　I had advised her to do so, even though I knew it was too much and I was not in a position to say such a thing.
Still, I suggested it.

 

　”Besides, I'm too much older than she is.
She probably doesn't mean half of what she says.
It's just like a game for her.
So, it is obvious that it is not good for Miss Kayo to be surrounded by unnecessary rumors for the sake of a fleeting feeling.
I hope you will reconsider.

 

　I could guess what Tachibana Kayo's mother was thinking, and I could understand that it was out of the goodness of her heart for her daughter.
But…
she should at least consider her partner a little more.
At least there could have been a better partner.
I wonder why she would choose a servant of all people.

 

　”…I understand, I will pass on your words to Madam.
But please note that I cannot guarantee that she will accept it.”

 

　The old maid, who had heard my words to the end, looked thoughtful for a moment and bowed ceremoniously in reply.
Then, she walked quickly away toward the ox cart on the city street…

 

　”Tomobe-san……”

 

　As I was staring at this scene with a sharp gaze for a while, I suddenly heard a voice calling my name from nearby.
When I looked, I saw Shiro looking up at me with a somewhat uneasy expression, probably because she didn't understand what we were talking about.

 

　”…Seriously, they make us take unnecessary detours, don't they? Let's get back soon, you're getting hungry, aren't you?”

 

　I pat the half-youkai girl on the head through the shades, and then I walk to the Oumi family's mansion which is just around the corner.
Shiro looks at me but follows me silently.
My sleeves are wrinkled as she grabs me.

 

　(Well, well, what should I tell to the Gorilla-sama?)

 

　I hope she won't abandon me…
in the narrow position I'm in, although she has a lot of trouble with my medicine and etc.

 

　As I crossed the Wakachiku Bridge with these thoughts in my mind, the Oumi family's residence, which the Kizuki family is renting, came into view in the distance, and I involuntarily held my breath under the pressure of it, holding my footsteps.
Because…

 

　…A girl dressed in a bright peach-colored kimono was standing in front of the building.
She was slender and petite but had a beautiful bosom that could be seen even over her clothes…
She was clearly staring at me even though we were still quite a distance away from each other.

 

　And the moment our eyes met, she laughed, covering her mouth with a fan.
Gruesomely, like a predator stalking its prey.
Yes, it was like a child picking the legs of an insect as a toy…

 

　”Pyeekk!?”

 

　With a strange scream, Shiro jumped up and hid behind me, hugging my leg.
Although her clothes and hat are hiding it, her tail and fox ears are probably wagging underneath.

 

　”…as I thought, smiling in this world is a bonus…”

 

　I muttered this with a tight smile on my face and resumed my steps with the heavy steps of a prisoner on my way to the place of execution…

 

 

　….If I may add, it was on that night that Uemon, who was holding a Senryo-Bako (a large sum of money or a container that was used to store or transport money) with the Tachibana crest on it, told me that I was going to be rented by the Tachibana Trading Company for a day.
Haha, d*mn it!

 

* * *

 

　…Evening was approaching in the capital.

 

　Two figures of a traveler wearing a hat and carrying a walking stick were sitting in a teahouse on the main street of the capital, which was filled with people in the evening.
The tea house girl is slightly displeased with the travelers who stay there for a long time, each ordering only a cup of hot tea and a few skewered dumplings, but she soon puts her displeasure aside and goes to take orders from the newly arrived customers, showing her affection for them.

 

　The travelers stare at the waves of people from under their shades.
As night approaches, officials and workers on their way home from work, women hurrying home to cook for their families, peasants returning to the nearby villages after peddling, and a convoy of horses and carts heading for the warehouse just before the curfew…
Even though the main street of the capital can accommodate more than ten ox-carts, at the time of the day, it is now still a busy street with people, vehicles, and livestock.
On such a noisy street, travelers search for a single goal.

 

　It was soon found.
Yes, that's right.
Because the ox-cart had a family crest proudly engraved on it and the crowd of people would be split when the ox-cart passed by.
It was easy to spot it at a glance.

 

　”That's it…”

 

　One of the travelers mutters emotionlessly.
He saw a girl pull down the window of the oxcart and look at the old maid who was waiting by her side and grumbled something to her.
But…
in his eyes, there is no curiosity, no infatuation, no longing, no hatred.
It is just an inorganic and emotionless gaze like an insect observing its prey.

 

　The traveler puts down the money and gets up, not caring that there are still some dumplings left on the skewer.
The other young man hurriedly ate his dumpling and followed him, putting down the same amount of money.

 

　”Is that the target? Are you sure she's not a shadow warrior (Kagemusha/double body) or something? I can't believe a wealthy merchant's daughter would show her face so openly….”

　”You should be able to tell that much.
Anyway, you'd better memorize your target's face…
or smell…
When the time comes, don't be foolish enough to pick a stranger up on the day of the job, okay?”

 

　After said that, the two figures follow the oxcart.
They should have attracted some attention because of their dirty, rustic appearance, which is somewhat unusual in the capital…
but no one paid them any attention.
No, people were unnaturally unaware of them.
This was the result of a high-level concealment technique.

 

　In the end, not only the oxcart but also its attendants, including its escort, did not notice or feel anything strange about them until the oxcart returned to the head office of Tachibana Trading Company.

 

　And no one noticed that the duo figures, who had caught a glimpse of the girl's face as they alighted from the oxcart, had vanished from the scene like the wind before they knew it…