Chapter 3: Ellie Michelle (2)

“What is that tube for?”

Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked him as he picked up the locked tube, about to leave.

“Ah, the contract we signed has magic on it.

Therefore, if a violation occurs, it immediately inflicts ‘a slight’ pain upon the contractor.

At the same time, it also prevents anyone other than the contractor from altering the contents.

But since it’s still paper and at risk of damage, it is placed in a tube, sealed with magic, and then stored in the strictly managed underground vault of the city trade office.

Naturally, no one other than the slave owner can modify its contents.”

“…It is safe, right?”

“The city’s official slave trade office deals with ‘property’.

Therefore, I can confidently say that its management is particularly stringent.

Even if an unforeseen situation occurs, I am connected with other salespeople, serving as a means for us to mutually confirm today’s transaction.

Even if I am absent, or if for some reason a situation arises where the truth cannot be spoken, the facts will be proven through several stages via contracts and the like… it will be difficult.

Very.”

He tapped his chest once, then guided Elli Michel and me out of the room, handed the tube to the person in charge, and personally showed us it being moved to the vault.

Meanwhile, she received a travel bag containing her personal belongings from the staff and quietly bid them farewell.

Her appearance weighed heavily on my mind, so I turned my head and leaned against the wall, waiting for a short while.

Soon, she quietly stood before me and bowed her head.

Her expression had noticeably relaxed, and her ears had returned to how they usually looked.

One ear was slightly folded, giving off a somewhat calm impression.

Charles guided us to the exit, then saw us off with a polite farewell.

“Then, goodbye. I hope we can meet again if the opportunity arises.”

It wasn’t such a pleasant greeting, though.

I probably wouldn’t have reason to come here again.

Probably.

Outside, clouds had gathered, casting shadows even though it was midday, and people’s footsteps were quickening.

I unfolded the duster coat I had prepared beforehand and handed it to her.

“Wear this. I prepared it for you.”

“Ah… may I really accept this?”

“Take it. Just… just please take it.”

Hesitating, she finally turned her back to me, and I carefully helped her put on the coat, then tried to pull up the hood.

Then, her ears, which had been half-folded, suddenly flattened completely forward, naturally creating space.

“…So your ears can fold completely?”

Hearing that question, the hood suddenly made a thump sound and rose up.

“Ah? Ah, uh… Yes. Just a moment…”

She fumbled with her hands over the top of the hood, then unbuttoned two buttons on the hood and carefully pulled her ears out through the loosened gap.

When I bought it, I wondered why there was a pocket on top of the hood; it seems it was a consideration for beastmen with ears like hers.

Her ears perked up for a moment, then folded again.

Seeing her ears move around like that, I naturally found it cute.

I hurriedly stopped my hand from instinctively moving with the other hand, and instead, when I tried to pick up the travel bag she had put down, she snatched it away with her arm in an instant.

“Ah, no! Please, let me carry it!”

“You must be tired from today.”

“I… I… no. Please let me carry it.”

Since she was shaking her head and holding the travel bag as if hugging it, I had no choice but to let her carry it.

As I was about to return to the inn, something suddenly occurred to me, and I had to stop.

“Ah, um… why are you stopping?”

“You know we’re going to the Rimmyr Inn, right?”

The Rimmyr Inn, the place she once worked, and the very large inn I mentioned earlier.

Since I had been staying there ever since I arrived here, it was now inconvenient to change locations.

I had already paid three months’ worth of accommodation fees, and if I were to cancel the room now, I would have to pay a penalty.

And for that, I might have to spend money again.

“Ah… um, I’m fine.”

“Really—”

“Yes, I’m fine, truly. Rather… I’m worried it might cost you more money.

Since they assign rooms based on the number of people, you’ll probably have to move from your previous room, and you’ve already… spent a lot of money on me, haven’t you?”

Now that I think about it, I did spend 1,200,000 Dikats, that’s right.

The money remaining now… maybe 100,000 Dikats are left.

The equivalent of 10 gold coins, it felt somewhat chilling.

I shivered slightly at that sensation, and she came closer to me.

“U-um, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell?”

Her red eyes met mine.

Her slender arm touched my cheek.

She looked at my face from side to side, her ears twitching, and I noticed her.

Anxiously, I tried to avoid her burdensome gaze from beneath the hood and shook my hand.

“I’m fine. I’m fine. I was just calculating money for a moment. For now… it’s a bit awkward to talk about this here, and it’s lunchtime anyway, so how about we stop by the bank to withdraw some money, eat, and then talk?”

Anyway, if we go to the inn, we’ll have to go through the check-in procedure again.

“Ah, understood. Then.”

Ah, wait. If we do that, I’ll have to keep carrying the luggage, and that might be a bit cumbersome.

“Um, it would probably be better to leave the luggage in the room… so, we’ll stop by the bank, then the inn. After that, we’ll go eat…?”

“I’m fine. Please, whatever is convenient for you—”

“Then, we’ll go to the inn, and then eat.”

“…Thank you for your consideration.”

Hesitating, she bowed her waist to greet me.

As a bonus, her white hair, the same color as the fur on her ears, was particularly noticeable outside the hood.

As I looked at her again, her captivating appearance once more caught my eye.

She wore a black hood, but her long ears, covered in contrasting white fur, stood out.

Her distinctive sharp facial lines and prominent nose, which even the hood couldn’t conceal.

And above all, those eyes and long eyelids were so captivating that no amount of praise would be enough.

Such a person, my s-

Plop, plop,

Cold drops began to fall on my face.

So, it was going to rain after all.

Feeling the rapidly darkening street, I decided to quicken my pace.

But before that, it seemed I should help her, as she was trying to pull her ears out from the hood’s opening, perhaps to prevent them from getting wet.

“Wait a moment, I’ll help you.”

“Eh? Ah, just a moment…”

As my hand touched her ear, I was startled by the incredibly soft texture of her fur.

At the same time, her ears also stiffly sprang up for some reason, which confused me even more.

But with the harder falling raindrops, I hurriedly gently grabbed her ears and slowly pulled them out through the hood’s opening again.

Fortunately, despite standing stiffly, they followed my touch gently, and I couldn’t help but shiver at the uncanny sensation.

“Ugh, huff… Ah…”

The sensation was so captivating, like stroking downy fur, light, soft, and warm, that I even forgot my shoulders were getting wet.

Only after the task of tucking both ears under the hood was complete could I check her condition.

Her face was distinctly flushed.

Breathing heavily, she barely held onto her bag and stood there, looking at me with slightly dewy eyes.

Perhaps her ears were a sensitive area?

Was I hurting her?

Had I acted rudely?

Yes, that’s right. Just as Paul had warned me not to touch his tail before, perhaps this was an action I shouldn’t have taken?

“U-um, I’m sorry. Did I do something rude?”

With a flushed face, she shook her head vigorously, then barely managed to utter a few words with trembling lips.

“Th-that’s not it… Let’s, let’s go quickly for now. Before the rain gets heavier…”

In the end, I couldn’t exchange a single word until we found the money, arrived at the inn, and calculated the additional fee for changing to a double room.

Truly, not a single word.

Both of our faces were bright red, flushing whenever our eyes met.

It felt like I had done something I shouldn’t have—no, had I?

Fortunately, thanks to her deeply covering hood, the person at the reception calculated the additional fee without much reaction and handed over a new key.

The old key was to be returned after I moved my luggage out of the room.

Slowly climbing the stairs, while she waited at the open door, I haphazardly put the remaining luggage into my backpack and went up to the new room with her.

When the door opened, an open view of the gloomy sky and the soaking dark green mountains was visible.

A wider desk and two chairs, a cabinet with a mirror, and…

One bed?

Startled, I looked at her, but she was just standing there with her head bowed deeply.

“Ah… no, wait a moment. I’ll go change the room. I didn’t hear that the beds were attached—”

“Ah, no, you don’t have to…”

“It’s not alright at all. There’s no way sleeping in one bed is fine.”

“Wasn’t I supposed to sleep on the floor?”

“What are you talking about, sleeping on the floor? Weren’t you supposed to sleep on the bed?”

With the conversation taking an unexpected turn for both of us, an awkward atmosphere lingered for a moment.

This uncomfortable and suffocating feeling.

It was she who broke it first.

“Um, before we continue talking, would it be alright if I put down my luggage first and closed the door?”

“…You don’t need to ask for permission for every little thing. And, phew. There certainly will be a lot to talk about. Definitely.”

I don’t particularly like her attitude towards me, and her constantly trying to gauge my mood is bothersome.

I should probably address this clearly.

Unless we properly establish things for our future life and don’t deviate, it’s obvious we’ll continue to interact in a tense atmosphere.

But to live in the same room with such a beautiful woman.

Isn’t this too much to ask?

Her twitching ears really seem bad for my heart.

Especially that sensation…

First, let’s stop staring blankly.

And, it seems I’ll have to order lunch to the room.

We’re going to have a somewhat serious conversation, and doing that in a noisy place wouldn’t be ideal.