18 - Estia Revelion

Then she asked for my name.

“My name is Yuki——”

As soon as I said my name——

“Yuki, huh, that’s a pretty name. It’s nice to meet you, Yuki.”

—-And so on.

Before I knew it, I was being taken to the royal castle without even a single restraint.

I was dressed in a rather frilly, fiercely moe type of maid outfit by an authentic, simple maid.

I found myself seated at an elegant dinner table.

“Yuki, don’t be shy. Think of it as your own home and do with it as you please.”

“No, I didn’t say it, Tia, but I…..I’m a man.”

“Yes, I know, the maid told me.”

What…did you….

I told them I was a man while they made me change my clothes, but I didn’t think they believed me…….

“What’s with this dress—–”

“It’s lovely. It suits you well.”

“Haa, maa, okay, and by the way I’m 16.”

“Ha? …Haha, that’s ridiculous, there are no adults that small….”

Tia looked me over from my toes to the top of my head and said that, but then she compared me to herself and froze up.

“Yeah, you said you were an adult.”

“Ah, yeah, sorry, that was rude, did I offend you? Yuki-san.”

“No, Yuki’s fine.”

“I, is that so! You’re sweet.”

“Also, this is probably important, but I’m a Malevito.”

I told the truth to her, who seemed to be a bit of a clumsy clod, somewhat like Reinya.

“Ha? …Malevito-sama?”

“Yeah, just call me Yuki.”

“….Have I made a mistake in what I did…”

After some discussion with Tia, it was decided that I would only need to be a maid on a regular basis. Even though I was a Malevito man, I was not dismissed as a maid.

I’m a Malevito and I’m a man.

When I told them that, they said that my regular activities as a maidservant were in consideration of the fact that I was a Malevito.

And—–

“What kind of butler dresses like that? Hmm?”

“No, I don’t think there is.”

“Then you’re a maid, right?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“…You’re quite stubborn, aren’t you. You’re a Malevito, a disciple of the Sage, and most of all, that wisdom…… I really wanted you.”

The girl begins to speak with a faraway look in her eyes.

“I’ve been called a tomboy and a child who dreams too much behind my back. I know, even as an adult, I chase after my dreams, spend time in the library, and sometimes hunt demons with a sword. …..That’s right, I wanted to be a hero.”

The girl gently lowered her eyes.

“For example, the Great Sea Demon who comes from the sea with a great storm. The doll princess who is said to exist in a ruined country in the north ….I want to live a heroic story like those told in fairy tales. I’ve seen you in the library the last few days, reading a book, and I knew you’d be on my side.”

Tia stood up and came in front of me, gently extending her hand.

“Yuki. Yuki the Malevito, please come with me!”

Although Tia was acting stoutly, her expression was anxious, and to me, she looked as if she was about to burst into tears.

Why did she become so attached to me?

“…Haa”

They don’t look alike, but somehow her appearance overlapped with that of my sister when I was a little.

I found myself taking her hand.

“Yuki…!!”

“Hmm, well trained.”

“Yes?”

I squeezed her hand and saw that it was as firm as that of Chisato’s grandfather, Kozo.

It seems that she really wanted to be a Hero.

There are levels in this world, and Tia’s fighting prowess is immeasurable, as she had been training since she was a child.

In addition, although it looks like she has a small amount of muscle mass, in fact, her grip on my hand is a little bit…… unfashionable as she clutches my hand with great emotion. My strength is being drained.

Is this strength equal to or better than Taku’s father, whom I refer to as Muscle-san.

“Release your hand for the time being.”

“….Eh?”

“My hand hurts.”

“Ah! S, sorry…..I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s fine.”

I look at the gorgeous food and drink.

….The amount of meat is too much, even if the food situation is impoverished, do the royals still eat luxurious meals?

“Oh, that? I picked this up today.”

“Oh, really?”

…..I’ve never eaten bear meat before.

◇

“Hey Yuki, want to do some exercise after dinner?”

When the girl asks me that, I decline without hesitation. Because—-

“I’ve got things to do, so good night.”

“He?”

—–Because Aya is supposed to be home.

It’s time for dinner.

I slammed my head down on the table and shut my eyes.

◇

When I woke up, I saw Aya.

She peeked at me and poked me on the cheek.

“Hey, Onie-chan, welcome back!”

“Yeah, welcome back Aya.”

“Do you want to take a bath? Dinner? Or do you…. Want me?”

“I’ll have dinner.”

In the first place, what do you mean by “me”? Sometimes I have no idea what Aya’s saying.

I heard that Aya was cooking dinner for us, a little past the usual dinner time, and I felt sorry for her.

I learned about medicinal herbs and poisonous plants.

By selling the rabbit meat to Alan, I was able to earn some silver coins. Looking at the market this morning, it seemed that the prices of food were extremely high, and the prices for other times were also generally high.

The apothecary’s medicines, pills, and ointments were in short supply even at high prices, probably because players were buying them.

As for hardware, weapons were selling well, even if they were of poor quality, while pots, knives, and other items seemed to be selling poorly.

In addition, the prices seemed to be going up and up.

The players are probably hunting demons and selling their meat to make money, and they are probably throwing away broken or unusable swords and spears on the spot.

After all, they are ordinary citizens with no martial arts training, and unlike Taku, Chisato, and Yuri, they have probably never taken care of their weapons.

If this is the case, it is obvious that mineral resources will be depleted in the future.

If that happens, the war potential of the Revelion Kingdom, including the players, might be drastically reduced.

I guess I’ll be picking up scrap metal in the meadow tonight.

Aya is staring at me with a smiling face as I eat my food while doing some light research and thinking.

The plate in front of her is empty, as if she has already finished eating.

“Ah, sorry, I’ll eat soon.”

“No, you can go slower, you know?”

"

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If that’s what you mean. I continued to research, think, and eat until I could sort out some things.

After that, I cleaned up, washed the dishes, and did the usual chores. I checked the game information email from Taku. Today’s schedule was decided.

Hunting in the grasslands with Aya. Of course, I’ll be collecting iron scraps.

So, I logged in.

◇

When I opened my eyelids, there was an unfamiliar ceiling.

I looked around lightly with just my eyes and saw a blonde girl reading a book next to the bed.

“Hm? Ah, Yuki, you’re awake. I was worried about you, they say Malevito can suddenly fall asleep and not wake up for days.”

“Yeah, my sister and I have to go hunting in the grasslands for a bit—-”

“Hm? Yuki has a sister, I must come and say hello!”

“Yeah, anything is fine, but I’ll go for the time being.”

So I get up and leave the room. I need to go to the library and get Uluru and the others.

“Come, let’s go!”

Yeah, whatever.

◇

When we left the royal castle, the gatekeeper didn’t say anything to us.

I went straight to the library, collected Uluru and the others, and headed for the north gate where we were to meet.

“Heey, hey, are you alone? Would you like to come with us?”

“No, thank you.”

“Maa, maa, don’t be so sure.”

Aya was being picked up at the meeting place.

The red-haired, pony-tailed, loli, was no doubt, Aya.

Aya is being picked up by a group of handsome men who look uncomfortable in some way.

It’s true that Aya is pretty, but I don’t know why they’d want to pick her up……She speaks in a very sluggish way.

“It’s hard to level when you’re alone, you know? We’ll protect you.”

“I’m waiting for someone, so I don’t need you.”

“Leave the horrible guy who makes pretty girls like you wait and come with us.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re a lot stronger than that guy.”

“Heey, let’s go.”

“….”

Aya was about to snap, so I went to help her out.

“Hey, thanks for waiting. Lets go—-”

“Aah? Oh! There’s more cute girls!”

“There are two of them! A blonde and a silver-haired, super beautiful girl. Oh, man!”

What’s the big deal.

“Hehe, come with us.”

"

"

At the moment when the guy with the weird smile was about to touch me—-

“Oi, oi, what do you want with my companion?”

There was a man who grabbed his hand from the side and twisted it up.

Big Bear Stew Quality:B Rarity:3 Durability:E

Note: A stew made from the mead of a big bear.

Physical Strength Boost (Very Slight) 240min.

Strength Boost (Very Slight) 240min.