“I have arrived!”
With a rough opening of the door to Fairy and Silver Coin, all eyes were on me.
The regulars smirked and waved, while the strangers looked on in disbelief as they downed their drinks.
And today, it seems to be Butler Day, with employees dressed in butler outfits nodding lightly.
Well, “butler outfit” is a bit of a stretch when it’s short sleeves and shorts that show off their arms and thighs, not to mention their barely-buttoned shirts that expose the skin just before the chest.
Hmm… business as usual today!
Despite how they look, they’re usually pretty nice to me. Apparently, thanks to the outfit I designed, their income has tripled or something.
Anyway, I waved back with both hands. As I stepped a bit further inside, I spotted a familiar figure.
Roughly grown gray hair. Perky wolf ears sticking up and yellow eyes filled with longing (definitely not wholesome thoughts). A woman extinguishing her mana herb cigarette with her almost burnt-up single arm.
I dashed over to Ellie with the best smile I could muster.
“Ellie!”
“Hmm? Oh, Jonah, how was your trip to the labyrinth….”
“Ellie! Ellie! Ellie!”
I hopped over the counter, continuing to chant her name while spinning around her.
Was she shocked by this strange scene that resembled some sort of cult ritual? Ellie grabbed the back of my neck and lifted me off the ground.
As I flailed my legs in the air, Ellie brought her slightly scrunched face closer. But her smile still seemed somewhat amused.
Of course! Every action was according to the plan of the legendary man, Kim Jonah…!
I figured Ellie would definitely like it. I would have, after all.
As I smirked wickedly in my mind, Ellie, unable to hold back, burst into a smile herself, hiding her expression with a loud exclamation.
“Calm down, you little brat! Didn’t I tell you not to come behind the counter while I’m working?”
“I can’t calm down! How could I with you right here in front of me!”
“…What happened in the labyrinth?”
“Nothing? Even if something did, it’s a secret between me and Lydia that I can’t tell you!”
“….”
Ellie’s face, which had looked pleasant moments ago, crinkled with annoyance as she glared at Lydia, who had just entered behind her. This was genuine agitation, not embarrassment.
Lydia, who suddenly found herself being treated like a thieving cat, waved her hands in denial, but that wasn’t really important.
While Ellie was distracted, I twisted my body. This acrobatic move would have been impossible if I lacked flexibility.
It was something I learned while fighting in the labyrinth. I didn’t even know I could move like this.
Amazed that I had managed to escape, Ellie watched in shock as I flung my body wide open like a flying squirrel.
“Catch me!”
“Huh? Wha…?”
Ellie grasped me as I fell directly into her arms. I sneakily buried my face in her chest.
The soft feeling, even through her clothing. The warmth that thawed my cold body. And then I enjoyed the pungent smell of mana herb smoke before lifting my head again.
There was barely a palm’s length, just enough space between our faces, so close that I could barely tilt my neck without touching.
Ellie’s cheeks were flushed, and as I feigned innocence, I said, “Listen, Ellie. I caught 11 goblins in the labyrinth today….”
“Wow… that’s… amazing?”
With a blank stare fixed on me, Ellie gave a half-hearted reply. It was painfully obvious she was already daydreaming about having four kids and planning for retirement. But since that’s what I was aiming for, I let it slide.
Thanks to Ellie, I could learn the basics of being an adventurer from Lydia. Considering how much that helped me, it was only fair to give her this little service.
After sharing the events of the day in detail, I reluctantly broke away from Ellie.
“Oops.”
“Ah….”
Ellie looked longingly at me. I grinned at her.
“Could I rent out the second floor at Ellie’s place again today? I brought proper money.”
“…If that’s the case…”
Ellie, having barely managed to collect herself, extended her hand. I was going to hand over the earnings from today, but since I suspected she still hadn’t caught on to my true intentions, I felt a bit mischievous.
“Hey!”
I leaned my chin on Ellie’s hand. Then I began rubbing my cheek against her rough palm.
Now Ellie looked like a drug addict going through withdrawal. I smiled at her, desperate to suppress something.
“Can I pay with this?”
“…Are you kidding me!”
Realizing too late what was happening, Ellie quickly yanked her hand back and hid it behind her. But she couldn’t hide her sagging lips from disappointment.
“Ah, what a shame. How much is it for a night?”
“30 copper.”
“Here you go.”
I pulled out three hefty coins from my thick wallet and handed them over.
Staring blankly at the coins, Ellie exhaled deeply and took the room fee.
“Ha… alright. Since I’ve received the payment, you can use the same room you had yesterday.”
“Would it be okay to rent a different room?”
“Huh? That was the best room! But since moving your stuff is your job, go ahead if there’s an empty room.”
“Yes! I’ll just move my stuff to Ellie’s room, then!”
“…Stop! That’s a non-rental space! As a customer, you should behave like one and just use the guest room.”
“Is that a no?”
“Is that even a question?”
“Ugh.”
Pouting, I took a step back. The mood was clearly “I’m upset.”
In that moment, Ellie seemed a bit incredulous but was slightly annoyed. She lifted her shirt just enough to reveal her belly. From the outside, it was barely visible behind the counter.
“Jonah, you…!”
Ellie’s voice suddenly rose. To hush her, I pressed my finger to my lips.
“Shh.”
“…….”
Ellie was about to say something but fell silent and swallowed hard. Then she whispered, just loud enough for me only to hear, “I won’t lock the door tonight.”
“……!”
Ellie’s eyes went wide, and she froze like she’d just been struck by lightning.
With a giggle at her reaction, I turned and headed upstairs.
Without a second thought, I strode into the room. The moment I closed the door, I jumped up silently.
Ha!
That was me just now. I was incredibly charming.
*
Ellie was at a loss for words.
After he’d thoroughly shaken her heart, Jonah vanished without a moment’s hesitation, leaving her staring blankly at his retreating figure.
“Is it true that pink-haired ones are cunning?”
In Ellie’s left hand remained the lingering sensation of his abdomen from earlier, along with the image of his smooth, pale belly etched in her mind.
And just what was with that relentless chatter about today…?
She had nearly broken into a cold sweat, thinking they were about to kiss, but this was the first time Jonah had acted so boldly.
That strange dissonance threw Ellie’s reason off balance.
“Could it be related to a secret he can’t share with me? If that’s the case, I’d feel a bit upset….”
Ellie’s mind began to spiral into unhealthy fantasies.
Jonah, acting more aggressively than usual. He claimed it was sympathy, but that kind of behavior was definitely not just sympathy.
What if Jonah had really experienced the adult world before her? What if that partner was none other than Lydia?
– “Ha! Can you believe you’re still a maiden at your age, Ellie? Guess the experienced me will have to take your virginity.”
– “Wait. Is that really it? Lydia was better at this….”
– “Nuh-uh. That’s not how it works. As long as you do well from now on, you’ll be fine. Speaking of which, would you like to observe me and Lydia?”
At that moment, imagining what would follow, Ellie finally couldn’t contain herself and screamed.
“AAAAAAH!!”
“Ellie-senpai?”
“LYDIA!! How could you do that to me!”
“…Sorry. Maybe it was a bit inappropriate to eat food from another place.”
“That’s fine! Since you worked hard today, I’ll give you a refreshing beer on the house!”
“?”
Lydia tilted her head, puzzled by Ellie’s bizarre behavior, but as Ellie had always been somewhat odd anyway, she let it slide.
For a while, Ellie kept blushing and shouting, but by the time Lydia finished her beer, she had regained some semblance of sanity.
That was when Lydia, seizing the opportunity, spoke seriously to Ellie.
“Ellie-senpai. There’s something important I need to tell you.”
“What…? Oh no! Don’t take Jonah away from me!!”
“Shut it. That’s not gonna work.”
Was it still not enough?
Sighing, Lydia went behind the counter to refill the beer. After polishing off another drink, she finally resumed the conversation.
“Have you calmed down?”
“…Yeah. You said it’s important, right? What is it?”
“It’s about Jonah.”
“Gah! …Oh, never mind. Keep going.”
Ellie was breathing abnormally hot air. Lydia tilted her head at this, but seeing Ellie urging her on, she decided to continue.
“What kind of kid is Jonah?”
“Huh? Well… he lived by begging when he was little and did odd jobs as he grew up. Lately, I hear he’s picked up some bad habits and has been pickpocketing from thugs. That near-capture incident was his first major scare.”
He’d been lucky to get away unscathed, but Jonah had narrowly escaped a horrifying encounter with a crime syndicate.
Ellie seemed angry when thinking back on it, accidentally growling under her breath.
She’d been irritable since earlier, but this wasn’t surprising to Lydia, who waved off the fierce attitude.
“Just a petty criminal. No reason to be too worried.”
“What do you mean?”
“About killing someone.”
Having reached that point, Lydia drained the last of her beer and continued.
“He doesn’t hesitate when it comes to killing. He doesn’t empathize. He doesn’t get flustered. Even knowing the weaknesses of goblins he’s never been taught shows he has significant knowledge of history and theology. He’s definitely not your everyday street urchin.”
“Could it be coincidence? It’s rare to be born with that kind of talent, but it’s possible to find one. He could’ve just studied hard.”
“I’ve definitely felt that there’s something off about his common sense. In terms of speed, he’s on par with two-story adventurers.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. As you said, it could be coincidences. But when you look at it all together, can you really say that?”
“…What are you getting at?”
“You know enough. You’ve been more involved than I have.”
“…….”
Ellie silently clenched her empty right sleeve. There was a chilling calm in her eyes.
“One who devours the twilight.”
A heretic willing to do anything to gain the remains and powers of the god sleeping in the labyrinth. The very culprit who stole Ellie’s arm.
Lydia nodded with an expressionless face at Ellie’s murmur.
“Yeah. Jonah could very well be that kid who escaped from there.”
“Is that right.”
Ellie’s hand, which had been gripping her empty sleeve, loosened. She still remembered the horrors she had seen three years ago in the labyrinth.
Adventurers’ corpses, utterly dismantled and subjected to unspeakable experiments.
A madman wielding the abilities of a dead god, bending monsters to his will.
Kids, twisted by indoctrination, raised among heretics.
And once, while trying to protect those kids from an out-of-control guardian, she was stabbed in the back by one of them.
Because of that, Ellie lost her arm to the guardian. The kids vanished in the chaos.
The phantom pain from her right shoulder conjured memories of that dreaded day. As long as this cursed shadow looms, Ellie would never forget.
“Jonah…”
As the phantom intensified, Ellie pulled out a mana herb cigarette and lit it.
Thinking it over, Jonah shared some of the same traits as those brainwashed kids.
Thick tendrils of smoke filled the air, almost as if to conceal her from the haunting memories of the past.
Of course, all of this was just Lydia’s speculation. Nothing was certain.
Yet, the one who devoured the twilight seemed especially fixated on pink-haired kids, and among those gathered, quite a few certainly had pink hair.
What if? What if Jonah really was one of those kids…?
She’d have to immediately deliver Jonah to the Goddess of Love’s temple for “rehabilitation.”
But Ellie didn’t want to do that.
Perhaps Jonah’s affections were veiled, meant to stab her like on that fateful day three years prior.
But she didn’t want to suspect him.
“What should I do…?”
Ellie’s somber voice settled quietly on the ground like ash.
Knowing that nothing she thought could reach the boy upstairs, she let her head drop as if life had drained from her.
Lydia could do nothing but refill her senior’s cup wordlessly.
*
Downstairs, two adults were completely lost in their absurd misconceptions.
Jonah was dancing joyfully in the middle of the empty room.
His wide-open arms flailed like seaweed, and his hips moved rhythmically side to side in a bizarre manner.
“The dance to raise gacha luck!”
It was an ancient gacha-originating dance born from the Holy Grail War.
