Chapter 38: Stop talking, I can’t take it anymore (Patreon)

"Miss Pandora, you really are... have you dealt with situations like this before?"

Walking along the road, feeling the stares of passersby, Tishua let out a breath before asking.

She knew the looks weren't meant for her, but she still wasn't quite used to it.

Pandora just shook her head. "Mm... no."

She'd once been this world's shadowy... mastermind, hadn't she? How could she possibly have had experience with something like this?

Hearing that, Tishua grew even more puzzled. "Then why... you don't look the least bit nervous?"

After all, one glance was enough to tell that Pandora hadn't been trained like Fribal, and yet her composure matched his — or even surpassed it.

"Why would I be nervous?"

Thanks to her original world, she'd "put herself on display" plenty of times before. Of course she wasn't nervous.

"Uh..."

That left Tishua at a loss for words.

Here the one being watched wasn't nervous at all, while she, a mere bystander, was the one feeling uneasy...

"This road..." Pandora, paying none of that any mind, walked along studying the buildings around them. "I think this is the way we came from, isn't it?"

Since Tishua was lost in thought and didn't answer, Fribal spoke up instead. "Miss Pandora, it's this way."

They'd only come out through the back door and circled around before rejoining the original path — surely she couldn't have forgotten the way that quickly?

Could she actually have a knack for getting lost?

"Is that so?"

She distinctly remembered passing by that tavern...

At this point, having realized she genuinely didn't remember the way, Pandora said nothing more and simply walked calmly alongside the other three.

About two or three minutes passed...

"Veltol, Fribal, Miss Tishua..." A man likewise dressed in pristine white knight's attire appeared before the group and gave Fribal a slight bow.

It was only thanks to having once heard, within the knight order, others talking about Fribal's "escape" through the back door that he'd found them at all — otherwise he might have spent a good while searching.

"His Majesty... has an urgent matter to entrust to you."

When his gaze swept across Pandora, he faltered for a moment, but as a knight who'd received proper training and discipline, he didn't let it show much.

"This..." Hearing that, Fribal hesitated, glancing over at Veltol and the others. "Sorry, I'll have to excuse myself..."

It seemed there was some urgent matter that required him specifically.

"Go on, then," Veltol said, understanding that something troublesome might have come up.

After all, knights weren't normally sent for at a time like this, and besides... the current king... well...

Of course, that was just a small interlude. Once Fribal had left, the group continued on their way.

Before long—

[We're almost there.] Pandora nodded, looking at the small park not far ahead where many people were out for a stroll.

After all, this little park was close to the inn she'd rented, and she could still remember a stretch of road that short.

This time it was Pandora leading the way, with the other two following alongside.

When they reached the street across from the inn—

"Why don't you come up for a bit?"

She extended the invitation to the two of them.

"We'd better not impose—"

"Can we?"

"..."

Watching Tishua say the exact opposite of what he'd started to say, Veltol could only sigh.

Pandora just nodded. "Of course."

Before heading upstairs, though, there was one more matter...

"Whew..."

[Looks like that clerk's shift is over.]

Not spotting that female clerk anywhere, Pandora let out a breath of relief.

Honestly, she still wasn't very good at handling people who were overly enthusiastic.

The other female clerk, on night shift, gave a slight bow upon seeing the three of them. "Good evening, please—"

And then she froze right where she stood.

"I've already booked a room..." Seeing this, Pandora sensed something was about to go wrong.

"Ah... right."

The clerk, however, didn't say anything more. She simply bowed to Veltol and went back to her own work.

*

"Thank you both for putting up with me today."

Pandora said this after setting two freshly brewed cups of tea — the tea leaves and disposable paper cups taken from the room's amenity shelf — on the coffee table in front of the two of them, who sat on the sofa.

It could be said that today was the day she'd had the most fun, eaten the best, and eaten the fullest... ahem... of her life so far.

"Oh, it's nothing..." Tishua just waved a hand.

Veltol, too, lifted his teacup, took a small sip, and shook his head. "We... we also had a very pleasant time with Miss Pandora today."

In that moment, Veltol's razor-sharp survival instinct showed itself once again.

Hearing that, Pandora smiled faintly. "Please wait just a moment."

With that, she walked straight to the bedside and pulled open the nightstand drawer.

"Mm... five coins... five coins... mm."

After putting the remaining five gold coins in and taking out five Holy Gold Coins, she closed the drawer.

"Here, this is yours back."

Then she held the Holy Gold Coins out to Tishua.

"Mm."

Tishua understood, too — if someone tries to return your money and you refuse for some reason, they're likely to feel bad about it.

And so the room suddenly fell into silence, until...

"Veltol..." Tishua called out once she'd waited for him to finish his tea.

"What is it?"

"Could you go wait outside for me?"

"Why—"

"Because I want to talk to Miss Pandora about some private matters."

"Um..."

And just like that, Veltol was "invited" out of the room without quite understanding why...

"Is there something you'd like to ask me, Miss Tishua?"

Pandora, still seated on the sofa, watched Tishua walk back over, looking puzzled.

"Yes." Tishua nodded. "I have some fairly private questions I'd like to ask — is that all right?"

"Go ahead."

"Um... Miss Pandora, do you use any skincare products?"

"I'm sorry, I don't."

"Then it must be because of your Divine Protection, right?"

"No."

"Uh... then what is it?"

"I'm not sure. It's just always been this way."

"..."