We sit in the common room of the inn, I take a sip from my mug of beer. Rine has a bit of watered wine, the same as Kyou-san. For some reason, Ara-san went with beer as well.

I figure that the common belief that elves won't drink beer is just not true. Well, technically, she's not an elf.

The alfr gulps from her mug a bit, her ears are already flushed deep red. Strangely enough, she leans on me. “Mmmmnnn...” I think she's drunk, going by her ears. It's hard to tell, her eyes look normal, and her face isn't flushed or anything.

She looks hot.

Wait, that's something else speaking, not me.

“Arako, don't try too hard.” Kyou-san rubs her temples.

Ara-san then shifts her weight to sit upright. While her ears are still flushed, she seems totally fine. “I never knew what alcohol does to a girl in constant sexual receptivity. I have the impression that Kenta-kun becomes more handsome with every sip.”

“You should really stop drinking.” The way Kyou-san emphasizes her words kinda hurts, but I agree nonetheless.

Despite our youth, we can already drink alcoholic beverages in this world. To be honest, it's not like you can simply get some juice or barley tea here anyway. Without any industry, it takes a lot of work to produce those kinds of drinks. They could certainly make juice, but without distilling it, it’d spoil quickly.

Also, for some reason, there is no tea in this inn, or elsewhere. Only in Aroahenn did we got something like that. Maybe the humans here haven’t figured out how to make tea. Pitiful.

Usually, I only drink water, but as we're at an inn right now, I ordered a beer to at least have a drink with some taste. All of the girls followed my lead.

Alcohol is most likely the only 'tasteful water' in these realms. Depressing.

Well, I could've also ordered milk, but I'm sure there is no cooling device here, and who knows how they process their milk. I doubt that they homogenize and pasteurize their milk here.

Whatever.

“Kenta, does the beer taste bad?” Rine asks.

“I just want a cola.”

“What's that?”

“Nevermind.” I guess I'll ask Kyou-san later if she can use her [Herbalist]-class to look for some herbs that can be made into tea.

Because, despite liking cola, I have no real idea how to make it. Or if it's even possible with the means of this world, so I dismiss this idea right away.

“Phew.” I look around the room and see other guests of the establishment here. Some of them might be real mercenaries, but they stare at us.

Actually, I got used to it at some point, but after the disaster with the mercenaries of the Bloody-Nosed, I just can't feel comfortable. Still, it's doubtful that someone will pick a fight with us, as long as we're inside the city walls. There are guards and such, so it’s too much hassle to deal with just the four of us.

Still, I should look out for assassins.

...sometimes I hate how I overthink things.

“Kenta!” At least there is always someone I can count on to disrupt any form of anxiety by just doing her usual thing. Like snuggling up to me.

And no, she is clearly not drunk. “Phew.” I let it slide. It would be strange if people see me shoving aside my 'girlfriend' here.

“Tehehehe.”

On second thought: “Not here in public.”

“*cough*” Kyou-san just choked on her watered wine. After drumming her chest a bit, she looks at me with a somewhat shocked expression.

'What?' I ask her with a glance?

Instead of answering me with her eyes, she comes closer. “I'm just surprised that you can show some consideration here. Normally, you would just shove her away.”

She really knows me by now, so is she implying, that I lack delicacy? … She really knows me.

These untypical words of mine before came almost naturally. Strange.

Not that they had any effect on Rine. “Tehehehe.”

“Phew.” I don't want to make a scene right now. Rather I want to hear what the people around us are saying, so I use [Pitch] to discern single voices.

What's going on here in Goldbrunn?

“I heard the princess of Feuerberg ran away and was disowned. Now there is a bounty on her, but only alive!” Disowned? Nah, most likely an exaggeration. Did it spread up to here as just a rumor? Is that fast or slow? Slow, since it's already almost a month, but maybe fast, since I guess that Feuerberg wants to keep it a secret from outside the country.

What does the other table say?

“Damn Cruz! Just swaggering around an' all that!” Maybe just some sort complaint. Cruz sounds like some kind of name.

“Kenta?”

“There is the story about that red beast, who gorges on the horses of merchants!” “Wasn't it a red rabbit?” “Or maybe a hare.” “People say, it's red because of all the blood that is splattered over its body.” OK, that's just weird.

“Kenta?”

“-and then that guy just went into the bar, asking for-”

“Kenta!!!”

“...urks...” Seriously, girl, can't you see that I'm trying to listen!? Even if you hadn’t yelled just now, you spoke directly into my pricked-up ear! “What is it!?”

“Feel.” She takes my hand and puts it on her head. What's that supposed to mean?

“Soft?” Without even knowing what she even means, I just comment on the feeling in my hand, while I try to eavesdrop a bit more.

“Kyou did it.”

“I see.” I have to blend her out. Let's just use the routine I did, whenever I was called to the principal's office back in school.

“...sometimes, I really ask what the mayor is doing here.” Dammit, I missed a chance to hear something useful.

While Rine is more or less talking to me, and while I just make up stuff on the spot without even processing what she says to me, I try to get some other pieces of information.

Most of it just isn't relevant or even remotely interesting. Who cares about the cat population in Goldbrunn anyway?

“Great!!!” Somehow a very sudden outcry made not only me, but all the other guests turn their heads to the one who made it.

Of course, it's Rine.

I look to Kyou-san and Ara-san, Kyou-san seems amused, and she tries to hold in her laughing so much that she has tears in her eyes. Ara-san's ears are twitching like crazy, showing her bewilderment.

“I'll go upstairs!” Like a whirlwind, Rine stands up and goes to our room.

Following the usual pattern, Rine may have asked me about something unreasonable, and since I didn't pay attention, I just complied. Something like a date, most likely. Not what I like, but I might still talk her out of it, or at least endure it.

Just to be sure: “What did I just promise?”

“She-uhuhu. Sorry. She-ahaha. Sorry, Ara-san please.” Kyou-san isn't even able to explain it to me, and that actually makes me concerned.

“She asked you if she can sleep in the same bed as you and you agreed. Then she asked you if you're sure, and you made a sound, which could be taken as confirmation. Finally, she asked you to promise it, and you answered 'I promise.'”

…

… …

“By the way, Ken, tonight Arako and I will sleep on the other side of the room.”

… …

…

“And I think I'll sleep outside tonight.” There is no way that I'll sleep next to Rine. It's not because of sexual reasons, or because of something that can be considered as 'bad sleeping habits'. It’s because she literally kills everything off that tries to harm her or makes sudden movements while she sleeps.

There was one time when she crawled up to me while I was asleep. I had a nightmare then, and the sudden movement of me waking up triggered her 'condition,' which almost ended me twice. To think that the nut shot I got because of Kyou-san is still considered 'lucky' makes me want to cry.

“What about the WP?”

“There are more important things than WP, Ara-san! Like my life!”

“But Rine-chan certainly won't take it well if you don't uphold your promise.”

“I'm dead if I do.”

“Come on, Rine-chan won't willingly kill you. Yet.”

“I really don't like that 'yet' there.”

“Kenta-kun, while it might sound preposterous, maybe you should consider taking the risk today.”

“...if it weren't you, Ara-san, I wouldn't even listen. Explain.”

“In general, Katarine-san reacts to anything harmful to her in her sleep. However, it's not like that must be an unconditional reaction. So you sleeping next to her would provide us with two benefits: First, we might figure out what exactly triggers it. Second, maybe she'll get used to you.”

“Are you still holding a grudge since Kyou-san and I let you sleep in the same tent as Rine once?”

“I’ll leave that to your imagination. Nonetheless, considering our future travels, it'd be detrimental if Katarine-san gets in a bad mood.”

“So you do still hold a grudge.”

“Ken,” Kyou-san interrupts. “Just wait until she's asleep and slip away.”

…might be a possibility. In general, though, things go wrong whenever I involve myself with these girls. Still, other than Rine and Ara-san, Kyou-san's is good at plotting, so I can trust her advice to a degree. Unless she wants to see me suffer.

Should I take that risk?

“Kenta-kun, watch out. That human there is staring at you quite a lot.”

“What?” Listening to Ara-san, I turn around. There really is a man looking at our table.

I move my upper body a bit, watching his reaction. “He's not looking at me.” I point with my thumb at Kyou-san.

Actually, there are some guys looking at her in this room, but even more are looking at Ara-san. “Go away, alfr!” Someone is muttering this.

Could it be, that alfr are quite unpopular here? Is it some sort of racism?

Well, considering the usual demeanor of alfar, it shouldn't surprise me. They're playful, bratty, and like to play pranks. Still, Ara-san is somewhat different to the likes of Jazzman or Oro'hekk. Maybe because she's an alfr hero from another world instead of a native one.

I mean, I'm pretty different to the humans I met in this world as well.

Or it's just that alfar are as diverse as humans in terms of personality.

“I totally don't know where she's from, but she's hot.” Without [Pitch] I wouldn't even have heard that with all the noise in this room, but that comes from one of Kyou-san's admirers. “Maybe I should befriend her brother.” Won't happen, scumbag.

Actually, that reminds me of something. “Kyou-san, what's our backstory?”

Kyou-san looks at me as if I had asked her in what year the dinosaurs had their skateboards. Utter confusion, then she realizes what I mean and answers: “We both were born in Feuerberg, our parents are from far away, but they never told us about our 'real home.' To avoid any questions about that. Our parents died during a monster attack when we were young, and we were raised by mercenaries instead, that's how we learned how to fight. The mercenary group was a small one called 'Starknife,' it had to cease business because of monetary reasons. Now we are trying on our own.”

It's simple, but that makes it good.

It may be a bit over-dramatic, but considering how some lives turn out, it's still below the mark.

“OK. I'd like to get some information here.” I just have no real idea how except just by listening in on conversations with my [Perception]-ability. “Like what's going on around here, if there is trouble awaiting us on our way west, anything that can and want to kill us. And Correo, of course.” Most likely he hired some mercenaries in this city. I can only hope that they are all outside of it now.

“*sigh* I guess I could investigate a bit.”

“Good, Kyou-san. What about Ara-san?”

“I'll do that, if Kenta-kun accompanies me.”

“Why?”

“Because people are staring at me. It's like they are undressing me in their mind.”

“I absolutely think you'll be fine.” I believe people are more afraid of her, and that she's just joking around in her somewhat serious tone.

I lean back, concentrating on my ears.

“Ken, you help as well.”

“I am. I'm listening.”

“It's less suspicious if we all ask the people here.”

… “Phew.” What a pain.

I stand up and just go to the next table. Three men are sitting there. They're already a bit drunk, but they immediately notice me. “What?”

“...” I want to punch that guy. His smell reeks of alcohol, he's missing a tooth and looks like I'm just a brat, who knows nothing.

Instead of hitting him, I just sit down at the table. “I'm new in the city. Is there something I need to know?”

Even though I'm kinda diplomatic here, the three guys look at me as if I'm insane. “Are you kiddin' me?”

I know those types of people. Everything I'll say will just make it worse, so I just smile.

“You dirty-” Somehow it still made everything worse. Well, maybe instead of a smile, I flashed a smirk. Happens.

As the one with the missing teeth is about to jump me, one of his friends hold him back: “Bruno, I saw him checking in. He had a hood!”

“A hood!? No friggin' way that's a ranger!”

...what's so special about having a hood?

I put my armor in the backpack since it'd be suspicious to wear it while drinking and it'd be more of a pain to clean it if something spills. The same goes for the hood, but for some reason, it still seems to have some sort of meaning.

I mean, guys, just because someone wears a hood doesn't make him special. In general, there could be a lot of guys wearing hoods.

The friend continues. “Even if he's not, there is no reason to start a fight here.”

“He's right.” The third one backs up. “This is an inn.”

“Then let's take it outside,” I suggest. I really feel like letting off some steam, this guy rubs me off the wrong way.

“Fine with me, brat.”

A broken nose later.

I sit with the three men at the table, the guy who rubbed wrong bought me a beer. Especially, since I didn't break his arm.

Well, he said he's sorry and that he would gladly help me. He totally thinks I'm a [Ranger] now because I had such an easy time with him. Seriously, he's just some sort of hobby-brawler at best. Nothing I couldn't handle, in a one-on-one, with my ever-growing experience of killing monsters and people.

“So, what’s the news around town?”

“Yes, sir! You noticed the Crusaders outside?”

“I did.”

“They cleaned up the monsters around Goldbrunn, and now a number of them are allowed into the city.”

“What are they doing here?”

“They called a crusade against the demons and are on their way to Feuerberg.” I guess that's a good thing.

“Do they pick fights?”

“Not as far as I know. But they look for demon collaborators and the profane in town.”

“I'm neither. But how do they do that?”

I get a surprised look first, but right after that an answer as well. “Using their unique magic.”

“Aha.” Looks like it goes into common knowledge, so I'll ask Ara-san later, or maybe even Rine. “Enough of the Crusaders. Anything else?”

“There may be a beast outside town. It eats the horses of merchants, kills whatever crosses its path. Sounds like a job for a ranger to me.”

“What kind of beast?”

“I only heard about it secondhand, but it seems to be red and small with big teeth. Some think it's some kind of hare.”

“A red hare? How stupid is that.”

“The guy who told us about it last night was drunk, but he said it's red because of the blood of its victims.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Phew... let's talk about the west, right now.” I'm seriously doubting, that I’d get anything out of it.

“I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE!” From the other side of the room, a guy runs away, crying like a little girl.

Ara-san, who was just talking with him, calls out to him: “I still have some questions: Is having more fur for you a plus or a minus?”

What the heck did she do to him?

―○●○―

The night is approaching, and Kyou-san, Ara-san and I are heading to our room.

“Seriously,” Kyou-san mutters. “Just die, you rotten trash.” Some guys really liked to talk to her, so she got a good deal of intelligence out of it. While it lasted, she smiled like the kindest girl in the world. Now that no one is looking, her face is full of disgust and dislike.

“Kenta-kun, why are people avoiding me?”

“Ara-san, where did you get the hot sauce and why did you put it in that guy’s drink?”

“I had it on me, in case I needed it. I put it in his drink because he looked like he could use some.”

“Why did you follow someone to the outhouse just to freeze the door latch?”

“He didn't answer my questions.”

“Is there anything else, that I should know?”

“Do you remember the human with the fringe of hair and the mustache?”

“I don't.”

“I see. Well, don't bother looking for someone like that. He doesn't have a mustache anymore.”

I really want to throw in a complaint here. but I can't help but be glad that Ara-san doesn't do stuff like that around us.

Too bad that things like this have consequences. Like when we arrive at the door to our room. Someone wrote on it with chalk : “Beware... of the... alfr.” I need some time since I'm just barely used to reading the letters of this world. “Phew.”

“At least there isn’t a 'No alfr'-sign here.” Ara-san seems to be in a good mood, which concerns me.

“Is that even a thing?”

“Yes. In some cities, it's hard to find a place as an alfr. People are racists.”

“Isn't it more you reap what you sow?”

“Just shut up, both of you. I want to sleep.” Kyou-san might throw a fit here, but she's right.

I open the door and see a sight, which is hard to express in words.

It's Rine. Rine in clothing that doesn't reveal much but clearly shows off her curves... and breasts. Such big breasts!

I have had a few drinks, and now I feel how it makes me want to embrace her. In an adult way. Oh heck, I already have Kyou-san and Ara-san, so- wait, wait, wait. I'm still in control.

Still, a small voice inside me tells me, that I might pull it off. I know that that's the alcohol, but it gives me some serious self-confidence.

“Kenta!” Rine jumps at me, and instinctively I catch her. Even though she may be a slaughter-machine, her flesh is soft.

“Rine-chan, you made yourself pajamas?” Kyou-san's mood improves.

“Yes! I worked extra hard to finish it for tonight.”

“I just remembered something.” I try to push Rine back and escape through the door. I really remembered something: That I have to get away since I promised Rine that I would let her sleep next to me tonight.

However, the fingers of her right hand already clenched my sleeve. The moment I put my hands on her really great breasts to shove her back, she twists my arm without batting an eye. “Oops. Sorry, dear.” She releases me.

“Who's your dear!?”

“Come on, Ken. Take it like a man.” Kyou-san seems to be enjoying it.

Ara-san adds “But please don't be too much of a man tonight. It would be tough for me.”

I might get away from here. I might convince Rine to call the deal off, but after seeing those two, I decided to just drag them with me to hell. It'll be most satisfying. “Rine, how about including Ara-san and Kyou-san?” I'm not drunk, but I got some liquid courage into my system.

“What!?”

“...”

Both of them aren't thrilled about it.

But Rine is: “Yay! All of us in one bed!”

“We should rather move two or three beds together. Might be too much otherwise.”

“Ken, don't you dare-”

“Kyou! Let's do it! All of us together.” The glare Kyou-san gives me is something between rage and a cry for help. She can't refuse Rine's enthusiasm, and she lacks an excuse.

Let's rub the salt into the wound. “Kyou-san, it's not like Rine would kill you willingly. Yet.”

'Die!' An order from her eyes.

Haaa... so sweet.

“Why would I ever kill Kyou?” Of course, Rine doesn't get it.

“Don't worry. Everything will be alright.”

“OK.” So simple. So precious.

“Ara-san.” I continue. “We may get valuable information about Rine's sleeping habits. And of course the WP.”

“Your methods are questionable, but I concur.” Ara-san is surprisingly easy to convince.

I won.

At least until I realize the big problem about that arrangement: I'm supposed to sleep in the same bed as three attractive girls.

Rine snuggles at me, and I feel her breasts on my arm. She's mindful of her still broken arm, but she rests her head on my shoulder. I can smell her.

Next to her is Kyou-san, who faces me tonight. I guess to keep a better eye on Rine, but I have a good look at her face. She's so pretty when she's quiet.

On the other side is Ara-san, who, for some reason, also snuggles at me. The curse made it so that my body craves for her.

Well, I crave for all of them.

While one girl after the other falls asleep, I can't. At times, Rine would snuggle with me, as if I'm some sort of stuffed animal.

Then Kyou-san grins cutely in her sleep. She's most likely dreaming about how she tortures me, so innocently cute is her smile.

For some reason, Ara-san's hand sometimes crawls around my chest, giving me hot chills.

The only thing that keeps me in check is the fear of Rine, who might kill me in her sleep if I suddenly make a move on anyone.

My struggle between lust and fear keeps me awake almost the whole night.