"Hmm... you..."
"Mama Mia, a large party just came in!"
"Coming~! ...I'll deal with you later."
"...Hahaha."
Syr saved me by bringing in a large group at just the right time...
"Hey, starting today, your name is Rex. Got it?"
"Meow?"
"Rex."
"Meow."
"Rex."
"Meow!"
"That's it, that's it. Good boy."
If I put him on the bar, his fur might fly into the kitchen, so I kept him on my lap. After wiping the seasoning off my hands, I slowly stroked him from his ears all the way to the tip of his tail. The little guy—no, Rex—seemed to like it, purring away. I looked down at the floor, wondering whether I had interrupted him while he was eating, but fortunately, he had picked the meal clean, leaving nothing but gleaming white bones. There was nothing to worry about.
I gently scratched under his chin, circled halfway around to tickle his ears, then slowly ran my hand along his spine. When I lightly scratched all the way to the tip of his tail with my nails, he wrapped his tail around my forearm as if throwing a little fit and purred. The steady vibration against my thigh whenever he purred felt nice... Seriously, this guy is so tame. Is this the legendary dog-like cat every cat servant dreams of?
"Wow, I've never seen a cat sit so calmly before. Is he yours?"
"Yeah, Rex is really gentle compared to the stories I hear from other cat owners... Who are you?"
Someone beside me had complimented our ca—no, no, Rex, so I answered without thinking... But who was she? I had never seen her before. A woman with flaming red hair was sitting beside me before I knew it.
"Oops, sorry, sorry. I'm Alise Lovell, captain of the Astraea Familia. My alias is [Scarlet Harnel (Crimson Flower of Justice)]!"
"I'm Smith of the Hephaestus Familia, and my alias is [Keeper of Illusions (Homeros)]. The Astraea Familia? Ah, you're the vigilantes."
"Heh, so you're the famous [Keeper of Illusions]?"
"I wouldn't say I'm famous..."
...Why are you here?! No, it makes sense that she's alive since this is before the Juggernaut incident, but I never expected to meet her in person.
"What are you talking about? Both captains of Orario's current twin pillars, the Loki Familia and Freya Familia, bought weapons from you. How could that not make you famous? These days, any adventurer Level 2 or above is watching for an opening to see how they can commission a custom weapon from you."
"...For all that, nobody has come to commission anything from me."
"I just told you, they're watching each other. How did that atmosphere form? Whoever commissions one first will set the price standard, so they don't want to be the one stuck placing an order at an unnecessarily high price."
"Good grief..."
So that kind of behind-the-scenes maneuvering had been going on without my knowing... I wonder if Goddess and my sister knew. Hmm, I should pry into it later.
"Let's hear it, then. How much was the weapon you sold to [Braver]? The one you sold to [Mighty One] was a backup weapon, so it would have cost less than [Braver]'s custom-made weapon."
"Hmm... Should I really say?"
"Come on, it's only the price."
"Still, word could get around about the Familia's budget..."
"Who in Orario doesn't know the Loki Familia is loaded?"
"Keep it to yourself. Don't tell your members either."
"Mm-hm!"
"...Swear it on your Goddess?"
"......Yeah."
"That silence bothers me... but fine."
"So...?"
I glanced around before leaning close to whisper into Alise's ear.
...She flinched, apparently because my breath felt unpleasant. Sniff.
"One hundred million valis."
"Gasp...!"
"It was a first-class special armament, with additional features included, but it was one hundred million. Don't go telling anyone."
"One hundred million, one hundred million... How many expeditions would that take..."
As I watched her do nothing but mutter, apparently stunned senseless by the enormous price, I sensed someone behind me.
"What is the star of the dinner gathering doing here alone, Captain Alise?"
I turned around to see who it was and found a blonde elf whose face was hidden standing there. [Gale]...
"..."
"..."
I did not know why, but the instant our eyes met, we both had the same thought at the same time.
'Somehow, I feel like I'm going to end up in a bad relationship with this man—this woman.'
We glared at each other for a while before she spoke first.
"...Our captain has been rude. We'll be going now."
Apparently having no intention of saying anything further, she moved to lead Alise Lovell away.
"Wait."
"...Do you have something to say?"
"You can go after you hear this."
"What is it?"
Her prickly response got on my nerves, but... honestly, whenever the Astraea Familia's story came up in the novel, I had always liked them. I genuinely admired them for voluntarily taking on the role of the city's vigilantes. Modern police officers and firefighters at least get paid, but these women act purely out of their own will, without anything like that.
I am not trying to disparage modern firefighters or police officers. It is simply that their circumstances are different, so I hold these women in higher regard. Modern-day officers are not risking their lives every day, walking the line between life and death against murderers. The lower a society's stability, the more brightly the efforts of those who seek to uphold the rule of law there shine. At least, that is what I think.
I liked the Astraea Familia enough that, if I had walked the path of an adventurer rather than a blacksmith, they would have been the first Familia I wanted to join. That was why I really wanted to say this.
"Thank you."
"...?"
"Thank you so much for supporting present-day Orario, hunting down the Evilus who are trying to take root here, and protecting the people of this place by your own will."
"..."
"Among the people you have saved, there must be some who never got the chance to thank you, and others who were too embarrassed to do so. I'll offer my thanks here, carrying their gratitude as well as the gratitude of one person living in Orario."
"..."
"Thank you, truly. And I'm sorry, too, for leaving such responsibility entirely to you."
"...There is no need for that. We engage in vigilante work because it is what we want to do..."
"That's why I'm even more grateful, and even sorrier. You're protecting Orario entirely of your own will, aren't you? Don't refuse it. Being thanked doesn't cost you anything, does it?"
"...Very well. I will accept your gratitude."
Grin.
"Mama Mia!"
"What is it?!"
"One glass of ginger ale for every member of the Astraea Familia!"
"Coming! Eleven more glasses of ginger ale!"
"Put it on my tab!"
"That goes without saying!"
"...What?!"
"Think of it as a gesture carrying my gratitude. If it truly weighs on your mind, help me out sometime later. Ah, it would be even better if you promoted my shop too."
"Your name is?"
"Smith of the Hephaestus Familia, alias [Keeper of Illusions (Homeros)]. As for the shop's name... I still haven't decided on one, so for now I just use my own name."
"[Keeper of Illusions]'s shop... I will be sure to remember it and spread the word widely."
Nod.
All right~ I've formed another connection with a canon character!
Well... separate from the fact that I feel a natural revulsion toward elves as a race, my gratitude toward Ryu Lion and the Astraea Familia she belongs to is sincere. Anyone who does not feel grateful toward those fighting on the front lines against Orario's darkness is either a rookie who has not been in Orario for even an hour, or someone on the side of Orario's darkness. Besides, Ryu Lion rejected the elves' supremacist ideology and left them behind, so she is better than other elves.
"Well then, I'll be going. See you later if we get the chance. Mama Mia's cooking is the best in Orario, so eat while you can. You won't regret it."
"Yes, I will also enjoy the ginger ale you gave us. And if the opportunity arises, then..."
Today was another fulfilling day! And delicious, too!
"You think so too, right, Rex?"
"Meow."
"Yeah, yeah. Let's hurry back."