* * *
“Who the hell are you?!”
“I’m talking to the monster!”
“If I line up nicely, can I be at the front?”
The guy who called him a monster?
I threw him far, far away.
The polite one?
I let him stand at the front.
There were a few complaints about me taking control and being the only one allowed to talk to Bati.
But most of them shut up real quick when I subtly showed them the dagger inside my coat.
“Guess who I am? Raul Florenti.”
“What kind of thief uses aura…”
“What’d you say?”
Who just called me a thief?
“I didn’t say anything!”
I definitely heard something, but whatever.
I let it slide.
There were more important things going on.
My friends, who had stumbled out with us earlier, helped me out, so getting everyone in line was easier than expected.
More adventurers kept showing up once they heard the news, but once a proper line had formed, all we had to do was stick them at the end.
Easy.
“Alright, next. Come talk.”
He returned to Bati’s side and gestured toward the adventurer standing at the front of the line.
“Can’t I talk to Zerbin?”
It’s really starting to bother me how everyone keeps calling him ‘Zerbin.’
Maybe I should hurry up and switch it to Florenti?
Not that I’m saying I want to marry Bati that badly or anything.
I mean, there’s no reason to keep using the surname given to me by that garbage former master who framed me just to use me.
‘I need to defeat the Demon King quickly…’
So I can get married.
No, stop thinking that!
I was literally just worrying about whether the holy sword would awaken, and now look at me getting ahead of myself.
What is even happening right now?
“You can’t. Bati promised to fight if the information was useful, but he never said anything about agreeing to talk.”
“So you’re saying Zerbin just assumed you’d help him and acted on that? Zerbin? Just assumed?”
Shocking, right?
Honestly, I’m shocked too.
But seeing how surprised everyone else is gives me this weird sense of pride.
This just proves how much Bati trusts me.
“Think about it. Who do you think made the usually antisocial Bati go so far as to engage in active information exchange with other people?”
At my smug remark, the adventurers lined up in the second row started murmuring among themselves.
“…Now that you mention it.”
“Wow, even with that grim reaper. Raul’s shamelessness is really something else.”
“Thanks, I guess!”
“But you still can’t date him! Break up!”
What was with that curse at the end?
I was about to find the culprit, but Bati was faster—he radiated such murderous intent that the entire group of chattering adventurers instantly went silent.
The air froze in an instant.
“Do your tongues mean nothing to you?”
“…”
No one answered. Of course not—one wrong word and you could practically feel your tongue being ripped out.
Now that I think about it, maybe Bati likes me more than I thought.
Was I worrying over the holy sword for nothing…?
No, it’s only natural to worry when the criteria for ‘true one’ isn’t exactly clear.
“They’re just saying that because they like you, that’s all. I don’t really care. Don’t be too mad.”
“So you’re saying you don’t care if people tell us to break up?”
I mean, I get it, but… Bati is just too cute!
“Of course I don’t like it! But I know they’re not being serious. It’s just petty jealousy. It’s the losers whining because they’re bitter, and there’s no reason for a winner like me to bother responding to that, right?”
Somewhere in the crowd, I heard a quiet “What an arrogant prick.”
Let them tremble in envy all they want.
Because in the end, Bati likes me.
Wahaha.
“I don’t think making promises you can’t keep is particularly wise.”
…Bati is terrifying.
Seriously, I wish he wouldn’t look around like he’s actually going to cut out someone’s tongue.
I might really believe he will.
Bati, the Hero.
Not the kind of man you can joke or mess around with.
Everyone, mind your words.
Thanks to Bati’s intimidating aura, the overheated atmosphere finally cooled.
Now, at last, the ‘information gathering’ he had orchestrated could begin.
The adventurer at the front stepped up.
“The House of Zeppelin is one of the most prestigious noble families in the kingdom! It’s said they were the right hand of the first king among the founding heroes…”
“Hey.”
“A-And Dieter Zeppelin, their only son, has been appointed as the next High Priest—!”
“You don’t actually know anything, do you?”
Even I know that. It’s common knowledge.
“…”
“You just wanted an excuse to talk to Bati, didn’t you?”
“…Yeah.”
“Leave.”
Come on, there’s no way this many adventurers actually know anything about the House of Zeppelin.
From what I heard earlier, there was someone claiming to be a servant from a vassal family, another from a gardener who worked there 20 years ago—it was all nonsense.
Honestly, I’d bet over half of them are just dead weight.
Should I just yell at everyone who doesn’t have anything useful to say and tell them to leave before I even hear them out?
Not sure if they’d actually listen, though.
“Anyone who wastes my time further will die.”
Whoa, Bati.
That charisma is no joke.
If I had said that, they’d be lining up to defy me, but coming from Bati?
People scattered like flies.
I guess it sounded serious.
Wait, this isn’t the time to be impressed.
“You’re threatening to kill the people who came to help?”
“They’re just getting in the way.”
Bati cut in flatly.
“You’ve already wasted several days cozying up to nobles. You don’t have much time left with just one week here, do you?”
Well… That’s true.
But is it really okay for the hero to threaten to kill people?
Then again, he didn’t actually kill anyone, so maybe it’s fine?
Yeah. It’s probably fine.
Our Bati is actually a sweetheart!
“Alright then. Let’s call the next one.”
Honestly, it was convenient to weed out the weaklings all at once.
After the crowd thinned, the next adventurer at the front was a man wearing his hood pulled deep over his head.
There was something vaguely familiar about him, but I couldn’t tell who it was without seeing his face.
Not that I know that many adventurers, anyway.
‘Should I tell him to take off his hood?’
Honestly, I wasn’t really worried about Bati being in danger, but still—with all the enemies around, I couldn’t help being a little cautious.
“You’re not allowed.”
But Aimone stepped in first.
“What makes you think you can show your face here?”
What the hell?
Who is this guy?
“…I-I’ve got real information! If you send me away now, you’ll regret it!”
A nervous voice came from under the hood.
I couldn’t see his face, but I recognized the voice instantly.
‘What the hell, it’s that guy.’
Now I get why Aimone reacted like that.
Seriously?
I thought he’d left Swindlin after what happened last time.
Instead of calling him over to Bati, I approached him myself.
I tried to pull his hood down to see his face.
He resisted, twisting away like he didn’t want to be identified, but there was no way he could stop me.
The hood came off, and a familiar face was revealed.
* * *
