My shop, Holshof, echoed with the lively laughter of a crowd.
Perhaps the fact that the divine beast was the owner served as good advertising, and the business continued to thrive even after the initial opening frenzy.
The tables were almost full. Most of the customers were adventurers…not bad.
If business could stay this good, I could buy all the ingredients without any problem, right?
Although I had to hunt myself once or twice a month due to the reported business requirements, this level of success was enough to maintain a decent life.
Very good. Although it was just an ordinary tavern with no amazing income, this retirement fund was quite substantial.
"Ah…it's been so long since I've felt this kind of atmosphere."
As I reveled in my satisfaction, Ceres also seemed to look around at the adventurers with a sense of profound emotion.
Although it was just a light beer to accompany the meal, the alcohol content was enough to relax Ceres.
As if reminiscing about the past, Celeste's gaze held a hazy quality.
Hmm… I heard she used to be an adventurer. Perhaps she frequented taverns like this before?
"Sister Celeste, have you ever been to this type of tavern?"
"Before regaining my noble title, I was just an ordinary adventurer. I used to come here often." Claire, who had joined after finishing her work, asked Celeste as if reading my mind.
It seems our Celeste has experienced all sorts of life… Since we're here today, it wouldn't hurt to hear her stories as a starting point with some drinks.
"Wow. I thought you were born a noble."
"Heh. Although I was born into a noble family, my parents died before I could inherit the title. There was nothing I could do. In the kingdom, if you don't meet the requirements for noble status, you can be stripped of it in the blink of an eye." After a slightly bitter smile, Celeste took a sip of beer.
"Ah... thinking back to the past... I was so arrogant back then, I often froze men who tried to flirt with me in taverns like this..."
"Pfft. Really? Our noble Lady Celeste would do such a thing?"
"Back then, Ladia was still in its early stages of reconstruction, and the adventurers' quality varied greatly. The shops were mostly much simpler than here."
"Our Celeste has truly suffered... Come. Drink. Drink."
"Hehe. Okay. Lord Shimo and the two of you too, join us.
♡"
"Yay~ Sister, cheers!"
After clinking glasses with the females sitting at the table, I took another swig of beer.
Glug... Our Celeste. How can she drink so elegantly and gracefully?
Despite all that she's been through, she's still a noblewoman after all.
"Pfft... But it's still hard to understand how the monsters destroyed Ladia like that. What exactly happened?"
"That was a monster invasion exceeding five figures. And there were powerful monsters like dragons mixed in." Good heavens.
Easily exceeding five figures?
And there were dragons mixed in?
Even if I add up all the monsters and monstrous creatures I've encountered so far, it wouldn't be more than ten thousand.
Where did that number come from?
"So, there's a reason why our Celeste hates monsters. I never imagined those creatures once wreaked havoc. I'm truly sorry."
"Oh dear. Lord Semo is completely different from those monsters.
♡ I've felt incredibly happy since meeting Lord Semo.
♡" She gently patted my shoulder as if to comfort me, leaning against me with a smile.
That expression didn't contain fear of monsters, but rather the deep affection of someone gazing at a beloved lover.
Yes. This female, it doesn't matter if I'm a monster or anything else.
Because Celeste is now mine alone, a female who submits to me.
...But Lisbeth and Claire, sitting at the table, have somewhat subtle expressions.
Why?
Are they envious of Celeste leaning her head against me?
No...these two seem to be enjoying looking at Celeste...? "...For Ceres, Radia, which she risked her life to protect, is truly precious."
"Hmm? Yes... For me, that city is my whole life."
"Hey... So, the humans causing trouble in Radia, are they enemies to you, Ceres?"
"Of course, Liz. I've even personally punished lawless nobles before."
"And you, Master? Are you more important than Ceres' husband?"
"Heh... Lately, my husband has been utterly disappointing... Now I don't care what he does anymore."
"Ahahaha
♡I see
♡" Hmm?
Why are you two asking this now?
Anyway, Ceres will soon swear allegiance to me.
Why ask such a confirmatory question...?
"But, why is that..."
"Damn it! Sit down!!!" Ceres' question was interrupted by a rough male voice that shook the tavern before it even reached their ears.
"Haa. Please let go, okay?"
"Damn it! It's just a drink! What are you pretending to be so high and mighty for!"
"I'm not interested in customers? Please let go." Looking in the direction of the voice, I saw Luna, a shop assistant and member of the orc slave group.
Grabbing Luna's wrists were two drunken, adventurer-looking men.
"Oh dear. Haven't seen you lately, thought things had calmed down again..."
Just one look was enough to tell they were drunken, troublemaking adventurers.
Even if our slaves are beautiful, they should at least give up if they don't want to. Sigh... Anyway. There are always these kinds of guys. Wouldn't it be better to just finish eating and leave?
"Ah, Master... no, Manager!"
"Manager...? Uh? Wh-what? How come there's a monster...!"
"Take your hands off my employee? If you don't want to die."
The moment I glared, the frivolous-looking adventurer shuddered and released Luna.
After gesturing for Luna to go to the kitchen, I sized up the group of troublemakers.
Unfamiliar faces… What are they doing? These punks haven't even had much to drink? Tsk. Not drunk and still sexually harassing. These are truly despicable scum.
"I won't take your order. Get lost."
"Wh-what…!? This damn place, I heard it's run by some divine beast, turns out it's a monster-run hellhole?"
"You don't recognize me, so you've only been here a short time, right? We don't serve mad dogs. Come on. Disappear immediately."
"Damn, who are these monsters targeting now…!"
Huh? Look at this? These bastards, could they not be after the alcohol or the women, but have something else in mind?
"Let me go, you monster bastard! How dare a mere monster act so arrogantly…!"
"Alright, alright~ Shut up and get out~ If you don't want to be dragged away, hurry up…"
"Fuck you!!!" Accompanied by insults, fists from the thugs flew towards me. "Nothing much. They dare to attack me bare-handed with this much...? Holy crap. They have knives."
"Ouch!" I nimbly ducked to avoid the short sword, but the blade still grazed my shoulder, tearing my clothes.
My skin seemed to be slightly cut as well, dark red blood seeping from my clothes.
These bastards dare to brandish weapons!? They're asking for death...—Whoosh!!! Before I could retaliate, with a freezing sound, the table where I and the thugs were standing instantly froze.
It avoided me, as if it were a spell precisely targeting those two.
Looking back, Celeste was holding out her hand, her face full of rage.
"These trash, how dare they...!" Celeste walked slowly towards me, her leather shoes clicking.
Standing beside me, staring at the two frozen figures, she angrily spat out a curse.
"How dare you... harm Lord Shimo in my city...!"
"Damn it! Who do you think you are?!"
"Quick, quick, dispel the spell!? Do you know who we are now...?!"
"Ha...! You're the ones who should know who I am!?"
"Damn it! You slut dressed like a prostitute...!" *Clang!*
As the enraged Ceres stomped the ground, a magic circle unfolded beneath her, countless ice crystals floating in the air.
The two adventurers, staring at the sharp ice crystals aimed at them, trembled with deathly pallor.
In the silent shop, a low muttering echoed.
"The Ice... the Ice Witch... no, the Lady of the Lord...?"
Oh my... someone actually recognizes her? Our Ceres is that famous? That's right, everyone. This is indeed my female—the Ice Witch.
"You trash! With the authority of Lady Ladia, the Lady of the Lordship and the Earl, I will execute you on the spot!"
"W-what...? Lady Ladia...? Earl...?"
"Hey, hey, this isn't what the rumors say..."
"Okay~
♡Sister
♡Wait a moment
♡" Just as the enraged Ceres was about to execute the adventurers before her, Lisbeth intervened and stopped her.
"Liz! This trash needs to be cleaned up right away...!"
"Hehe
♡ Hmm. That's true, but there are so many onlookers. Using magic would destroy the shop, wouldn't it? This is Master's shop, you know.
♡"
"...Ah, yes... Yes... We can't destroy Lord Semo's shop..."
"Hoo hoo
♡ Claire went to call the soldiers. I'll hand them over and come back. Sister, calm down and take care of Master's wounds first.
♡ I'll bring Claire back right away.
♡"
"Uh, it's just a scratch... I'll go get someone..."
"It's alright.
♡ I'll handle it properly.
♡" This is even worse than the injury Cecilia caused... Anyway, our Lisbeth is really worried sick.
"...Sister. There really are a lot of trash among humans. Right?"
"Indeed. Sigh... I thought the citizens of Ladia had improved a lot, but I didn't expect there to still be such scoundrels..."
"It seems Ladia needs a major purge?"
"Yes. Who knows how many more of these scumbags there are in the city..."
"Humans, ah, so helpless, aren't they?"
"...Yes. Yeah... Humans, so helpless..."
Lisbeth gently stroked Ceres's body, speaking subtly in a seductive tone.
Hmm... well. The conversations of my females are sometimes really hard to understand.
"Hehe...
♡Well then, I'll take care of this trash.
♡ Just a moment~
♡"
"W-wait a moment, Lady...!"
"I-we are...!"
"Shut up.
♡Let's go.
♡"
"Uh! Ah, wait, wait a minute...!" Lisbeth wagged her fingers, leading the two still-stiff people outside.
After the troublemakers left, the once quiet bar began to murmur intermittently.
Hmm. Our customers must have been quite frightened. There's nothing we can do about it.
As the owner, it's time to be generous and offer some service.
"Ah~ I didn't expect such customers to come. I'm so sorry for the commotion. Ladies and gentlemen! As an apology, everyone here today will receive a free beer!"
"Oh! Brother Divine Beast, you're really generous!"
"The way the staff protected everyone was so cool~"
"Lady, your strength hasn't diminished at all! You might consider returning to the ranks of adventurers!"
Hearing the news of free beer, my shop gradually regained its vitality.
Faced with the shouts of the middle-aged adventurers, Celeste lowered her head shyly.
We returned to our seats together, Celeste and I smiled at each other, waiting for Lisbeth and Claire.
......
"Hey, a lord's wife and all that…! What is this…!"
"Wait, wait a minute! Miss! We're just…!"
"Hmm~
♡Shut up
♡Trash
♡" A small alleyway a little distance from the Demon King's castle.
The red-haired mage flicked her fingers, leading two men deeper into the alley.
The moonlight was gradually obscured in the pitch-black night, the alleyway shrouded in darkness.
After walking for a while in the deserted, secluded alley, a blonde woman appeared before them.
"Ah~ So heavy. These pieces of trash are nothing but heavy."
"Good job, ♡Liz
♡" In front of Saintess Claire, Lisbeth put down the two men, letting out a giggle.
"Saint, Saintess! This isn't what we agreed on!"
"Wasn't it supposed to be a disturbance because the church was hunting criminals? How did it turn into a lord's wife!?"
"Suddenly we've been targeted by nobles! What are you going to do now!?" The two men, crawling and dragging their increasingly limp bodies, questioned Claire. Claire ignored the men's words, not even glancing at them, and asked Lisbeth instead:
"Shall we each take care of one?"
"Hehe
♡ They're going to be burned anyway
♡"
"Heh. Moving them here must have taken a lot of Aether, right? Just burn the bodies."
♡" The two women exchanged an ominous conversation, making the two men gradually realize that something was wrong.
The two women didn't even give them a second glance.
For some reason, these two women seemed like inhuman, alien beings, making their hair stand on end and their teeth chatter.
"Saint, Saintess? What...why..."
"Wait, wait a minute...Miss, why is your hand now..."
—BOOM!!! Pfft!!!
"Gaa ... Lisbeth held a magic circle that released flames, while Claire gripped a sharp short sword.
As if performing a mechanical operation, the two girls took the lives of two adventurers who had come to Ladia with dreams of becoming adventurers.
"Gahhhh! Help, help!!! Ahhhh!!!"
"Cough, cough...! Saint, Saintess...!"
"The screams are louder than expected. Are you alright?"
"Heh. Isn't this what training slaves is all about? Even if it's just blocking the alley with cheap soundproofing, it should be enough for this kind of small alley."
As the two girls smiled and looked into the depths of the alley, they could vaguely see the figures of several women.
Women holding cheap magical items that could only dampen the sound.
They stood scattered like guards of the alley.
"Gahhhhh! Ah, ahhhhh!!!"
"Shut up like a pig. Just die already."
"Honestly, even death is annoying for humans." Two beasts looked down at the dying man with cold eyes.
Their eyes held only disgust and displeasure, as if staring at something filthy. "…" So empty, the two adventurers became corpses.
After kicking the corpses into a corner, Lisbeth and Claire stretched as if they had finished their work.
"Hoo hoo. But for humans, it's a luxurious way to die."
"Yes. Because they undertook the glorious mission of verifying Ceres-neechan's mission."
♡
"Hehe.
♡Isn't this all the use of humans?"
"That's right. Lisbeth. Hoo hoo…
♡Come on, let's burn some more corpses and hurry back."
"Okay.
♡Master is definitely waiting too.
♡" A laugh seemingly imbued with evil echoed through the alley as the red-haired mage rekindled the flames on the corpses.
After setting the corpse ablaze, the two females left the dimly lit alleyway as if they had no more regrets.
"Now that Ceres's verification is over, this weekend should be quite enjoyable."
♡
"With our current status, there will be even more things we can do in the future."
♡
"Really, I'm getting more and more excited for the future. Whew…"
♡
This was the crime of two beasts, committed in the silent darkness of the night.