The next morning.
I was having breakfast on the first floor of the inn.
Today's outfit consists of the clothes I changed into yesterday and my dried robe.
The uniform is stored in the hemp sack.
Last night, I slept deeply for the first time in a while.
My mind feels clear.
More than half the seats in the dining area are filled.
Some people are already chugging alcohol at this hour.
This morning, there are noticeably more people who look like mercenaries.
After finishing my meal, I ask the innkeeper.
"I'd like to ask about the ruin subjugation recruitment. I heard the marquis is gathering people."
"Ah, so you came for that too, Hati-sama. Yes, indeed—the lord is recruiting for the conquest of the ruin's new layer. In that case—"
The innkeeper explains the recruitment details.
There's an explanatory meeting today.
No particular participation requirements.
Guild-registered mercenaries apparently get smoother registration.
In other words, I can join too.
The location is a plaza on the outskirts of town.
I return to my room, wrap Pigi-maru under my robe, and head to the plaza.
▽
I could tell where the plaza was even before arriving.
That area alone was unusually lively.
After passing through the wooded path, the view opened up.
Roughly fifty people, by my estimate.
All of them give off the air of seasoned travelers or fighters.
They match the image that comes to mind when thinking of travelers or mercenaries.
If someone said this was the set of a fantasy overseas drama, I'd believe it.
A platform is set up in one corner of the plaza.
Like a stage for an event.
The organizer will probably give explanations from up there.
"I should buy something to tell time later…"
Time seems to be measured similarly to my original world.
Twelve beasts assigned to twelve hours.
Each beast corresponds to 1 through 12 o'clock.
Then morning and afternoon concepts are added.
The "yang" beasts indicate morning, the "yin" beasts indicate afternoon.
But thinking in this world's terms might confuse me.
So internally, I'll keep my thinking aligned with Japanese time sense.
I left the inn a little before 9:30 a.m.
According to the innkeeper, the organizer's designated time was 10:00.
At that moment, a voice rises from one corner of the plaza.
"Hohoo~!?"
A slightly husky, high-pitched voice.
"It seems there's one person here who looks terribly out of place~?"
Hm?
Is he talking about me?
"Even with that cloak on, I can tell~? You're awfully neat and clean. Just the part peeking from the hood already tells me you're quite the beauty~? And there's an air of refinement too. Surely someone of considerable standing~? So why would such a person be in a place like this~?"
Wrong.
Not me.
A tall, lean-muscled man is picking a fight with a slender woman.
"Something wrong?"
That voice…
The lean-muscled man cups his ear theatrically.
"Oh hoo~!? What a wonderfully clear voice~! Almost like—"
He gives a knowing look.
"—the former knight captain of some holy order, doesn't it~!"
The surroundings begin to stir.
"Eh? Wait, is that woman the rumored Princess Knight Seras Ashrain?"
"The one said to be the princess of a high-elf country?"
"I heard she vanished from Nea Holy Kingdom after Bakoss occupied it?"
"Seriously!? That former captain is in Mills!?"
"Isn't there a huge bounty on her from the Bakoss Empire!?"
The lean-muscled man is deliberately drawing attention.
I watch the situation closely.
It's almost certainly the woman I met in the forest.
I recognized her voice.
But I have no obligation to help.
There's no debt between us anymore.
I don't want to stand out right now either.
Even if that weren't the case, I have no intention of intervening.
Why?
The woman has composure.
She doesn't look troubled at all.
Completely calm.
She must have a plan to get through this.
If I interfere carelessly, I might just get in her way.
Well—
"..."
I could probably paralyze everyone here if I wanted.
The lean-muscled man smugly approaches the woman.
"To be honest, I once had the pleasure of meeting the knight captain of Nea~? She was an extraordinarily beautiful woman. But… when I graciously invited her to a meal, she treated me very coldly~!"
"I have no memory of meeting you."
"Guh!"
The lean-muscled man shows clear irritation.
"Y-Yes, yes! I remember now. Back then too, you brushed me off with that high-and-mighty attitude, looking completely uninterested~?"
"..."
"But! Thanks to that, your noble face is firmly burned into my memory! And that indecently abundant, outrageously sinful chest too! Perfectly memorized! Pretending won't work~!? Pitiful fugitive, fallen Princess Knight!"
"Excuse me, but are you sure you're not mistaken?"
The lean-muscled man grins.
"Then how about—your ears~?"
He points triumphantly at the woman's hood.
"..."
"Elves are a race with pointed ears, unlike humans! Yet with that soft hood, we can't confirm the shape of your ears! Yes! Which means you're clearly hiding something! Obvious, obvious~!"
Indeed, the hood is loose.
It could just barely conceal long ears.
"As everyone here knows, elves are rarely seen around these parts! No—in the Kingdom of Ulza, sightings have been practically nonexistent lately! But but but~!? F-For example! The fugitive recently in the news from some country! That fugitive is a high elf! Fuhaha! You might fool fools, but you can't fool me! Those pointed ears are definitive proof that you are Seras Ashrain~!"
The lean-muscled man reaches for the woman's hood.
"So careless~! Careless, careless, careless~! Careleeeessss—!"
Rip!
The hood is pulled off.
The woman's head is fully exposed.
"How about thaaat~!? The one who exposed the Princess Knight's true identity is none other than me—'Flash' Monk Drogetti~! Behold, behold, behold~! Those pointed ears~! And this extraordinary beauty~! Just one look and it's burned into your memory forever—"
The lean-muscled man freezes.
"—not…? Eh…? Ehh!? Huh!?"
The woman's ears are those of a human.
Not pointed at all.
"..."
Well, I thought so.
When I checked in the forest, they were the same.
With her face revealed, the answer is clear.
It really is the woman I met in the forest.
So she came to Mills for this recruitment too.
The lean-muscled man pales.
"N-No way!? And moreover—"
He stares at the woman's face with bloodshot eyes.
"D-Different!? The face is different!"
The woman sighs.
"I told you, you must be mistaken. My name is not Seras Ashrain. It is Mist Barucas."
She speaks calmly, with perfect composure.
"Are you satisfied now?"