There Is No Doubt That You Lot Are To Blame For My Stomach Being On The Verge Of Collapse

……

…

〜A short while earlier, inside the carriage racing through the city at tremendous speed, immediately after the Church’s highest authorities received the dragon’s request, intimidation, at the Dragon Embassy〜

Pom-poko-poooooon!

This is bad, really bad. This is bad, this is bad, seriously bad.

Bang.

The carriage wheels bounced on the stone paving. Clicking my tongue at the seat that made my backside jump, I spun my head at full speed.

“B-Bishop-sama, a-any more speed than this is dangerous. My horses and carriage are gonna break.”

A pathetic, drawn-out voice echoed from the driver’s seat. He was my personal coachman, hired with my own pocket money.

He was not an official member of the Church, but the voice of that country-born man, one of my few trustworthy subordinates, sounded genuinely panicked.

“Grit! You’re the only coachman in the Empire who can drive a carriage at this speed, so do your best! I’ll treat the horses to high-class ginseng later, and if they get hurt, Svi will heal them. If the carriage breaks, I’ll pay for it out of my own pocket!”

“H-hongeh? The money-grubbing Bishop-sama is payin’ out of her own pocket? Ain’t a dragon gonna fall from the sky or somethin’?”

“That joke isn’t funny right now! And who are you calling money-grubbing?! I’ll cut your pay! Just raise the speed already! Don’t run people over! And don’t push the horses too hard either! I thought up a new money-making scheme using horses yesterday! Its name is written as making horses compete, and read as horse rac—!”

Bang.

The carriage bounced, and this time I bit my tongue. It hurt so much I nearly cried, because I am a girl.

“Bishop-sama, that happened because you keep chattering so much… Here, Healing Light.”

A small fingertip was quietly held out. A gentle yellow light touched my mouth.

With just that, the pain receded and vanished like a lie.

“Th-thank you, Svi. You’re the only one who can use a sacrament with the same energy as ‘here’s some tea.’ Anyway, hurry! If something happens to the dragon slayer, it will seriously be bad! Making an enemy of a dragon is seriously bad, really!”

“…I think that person will probably be fine, though.”

Svi, who knew the dragon slayer, tilted her head beside me with a hmm. He was a person who made this girl say that.

It was true that even against that First Knight, he likely would not die immediately. But that was not the issue.

“That being true is also bad! Those damn muscle-brained knights! They have no ability to think politically, yet they have a pointlessly large say in Church operations! If the dragon slayer were just some weakling, that would still be one thing, but if he kills even one of the Ten Swords, the Knight Order will absolutely go out of control!”

“…Out of control? What will happen?”

“Isn’t it obvious?! In retaliation against the dragon slayer, they’ll kill the dragon slayer, and after that, that gold glitter dragon will massacre all of them!”

And then they would pass it down as a heroic tale. They were insane. The knight faction, which inherited the flow of the Kingdom’s Dragon Cult, had an especially strong obsession with dragons.

You dragon freaks, perish. Once my power is secured and you are no longer needed, I will absolutely destroy you.

But not now.

“But listen! Even that ultra-low-intelligence, muscle-brained group is one of the balances maintaining the Church! I cannot afford to lose them now, at this timing! Ngaaaaaaah! Gooooood, why am I the only one who has to think about all this?! The Knight Commander’s spoiled idiot is out of the question, and the feminine female Deputy Commander who can at least talk a little is nothing but a flower garden brain with a pretty outside! Well, I admit she has a nice face!”

“To me, Bishop-sama is more wonderful. Blush.”

“Thank you, Svi! I love you! But sorry, your big sister doesn’t have much composure right now! Um, wait, wait, think, think, think.”

Outside the carriage, the scenery flowed past.

The wheels rolled through ruts in the stone paving, and the crowd hurriedly opened the road.

Concentrate. Cut off the sound of the carriage. Close your eyes, cut off the sight of the shaking carriage interior.

Think. Think. The situation has become far too complicated.

Simplify it and derive the answer I must reach.

First, the highest priority is securing the dragon slayer’s safety. The goal this time is to protect the dragon’s will no matter what.

In other words, backing the dragon slayer. For that, first of all, the dragon slayer’s life being safe is absolutely essential.

“Aaaaaaah?! Why?! Why, of all people, does his opponent have to be Stolu?! The Knight Commander’s pet project, the orphanage-raised weapon of justice! She’s just a damn brat with zero ability to think for herself! Seriously, what kind of education did that face-only woman give her? …No, that’s wrong. Was it intentional? Did she intentionally not let her receive the education she needed? No, wrong again. I’m too clever, so I’m thinking about something else. Gah, so rough. Being too smart is rough.”

And second is securing the dragon slayer’s position. I can see a certain path for this.

Having clashed with the knight faction, he has become, so to speak, an anti-establishment criminal. That is bad.

We need to bring the dragon slayer into an organization on the establishment side.

And that is not a problem. There are issues to clear, but it is not impossible.

“Heh, hehe. Power and money are won-der-ful. After all, I am the establishment side. Ufufufu.”

“Svi-chan, is Bishop-sama all right?”

“…She’s all right. Bishop-sama becomes like this when she’s cornered. But when Bishop-sama is cornered, she’s cooler than anyone else, so personally, I very much approve… peace.”

“Like parent, like child, huh.”

“Who are you calling a late-unmarried parent?! It’s not that I’m unpopular! It’s just that my stats are too high!”

“Looks like she’s still got plenty of leeway.”

“Bishop-sama, wonderful…”

“Oops. This one’s beyond saving.”

“Huh?! No, no, this is not the time to chat with amusing people. The compromise, the compromise… Whether the dragon slayer killed that dragon by coincidence or whatever, he is still the man who killed that dragon. So he won’t die right away? No, in the first place, why are the First Knight and the dragon slayer hostile to each other… I don’t have enough information… Svi?”

Yes, this situation was far too incomprehensible.

At this rate, I would have to attempt to control the scene with no prior information.

That was no joke. It was like going to war without equipment. Are you okay with equipment like that?

“Yes, Bishop-sama. It should be about time.”

There were two enemies that had to be cleared to settle this situation.

The ultra-low-intelligence, dragon-fetishist, muscle-brained group, the “Church Knight Order.”

And the cause of my stomach breaker and tummy pain, the “dragon slayer.”

“The Knight Order is easy. Easier than persuading a baby. I can easily talk them around. If it comes to force, Svi alone is enough protection…”

“The troublesome one is the dragon slayer. His goal and origin are unknown… But what I sense from his actions so far is intelligence. He seems like he is acting on instinct, but in truth, he moves with terrifying balance… He is definitely a troublesome enemy.”

Assume the victory condition.

What is necessary is understanding the opponent.

My victory condition, in other words, is to buy the “dragon slayer” as cheaply as possible.

If I do that, then while not defying the dragon’s will, I should be able to control the dragon slayer’s actions.

“That dragon’s attitude… In other words, if the Church guarantees his safety in this city while respecting the dragon slayer’s free will, then we should not touch its reverse scale…”

Acknowledge our fault, make him understand the circumstances, present benefits, and bring him to our side.

The point is how cheaply I can keep those benefits.

I will lower my head as much as needed.

I will give as many words as needed.

If it is attitude, if it is heart, I will offer as much as needed.

But—

“But money alone is a no. Absolutely no.”

Do not call me stingy.

“I will definitely keep it at a fair price, within the budget… I will not waste even a single copper coin. I will buy him down appropriately, dragon slayer.”

Do not call me stingy. It is a fair price.

I will decide his value by actually talking to, meeting, and seeing the dragon slayer.

If I judge him to have no value there, I will use any method to buy him down.

“Persuasion. The dragon slayer should likely have enough brains to understand negotiation… The problem is—”

There is a problem.

The dragon slayer’s personality and objective. I lack the pieces needed to create tactics for cheaply buying him down.

But that will arrive soon—

Ah, seriously, my skill is too hard to use. I wish it were simpler future sight.

“Excuse me, my master, Captain. As instructed, I have gathered information.”

Tap, slide.

A sound echoed from the carriage roof, and then a white figure slid into the carriage interior through the window.

“Nice! Excellent! Nice timing! As expected of my feather!”

“All right, good girl, good girl. I’ll give you sugar cubes. How many do you want?”

I instinctively pumped my fist, and Svi took out sugar cubes from somewhere, held them between her fingers, and shook them.

White triangular ears, a white nun’s habit, and a cute kitty face. I seriously think I am a genius for designing the cape of the nun’s habit so only the kitty ears come out.

The cat beastfolk Tossle-chan. One of my favorite Inquisition members.

I had already entrusted the investigation of the dragon slayer to her, whose charm points were her white fur, green eyes, and sleek tail.

I was too competent for my own good, lol.

“Captain, I do not eat sugar cubes. My master, this is urgent, so I will report the information. First, the clash between the dragon slayer and the First Knight was caused by the murder of knight-faction gate soldiers at the East Gate before noon today.”

Svi and I both smiled warmly at her beautiful husky kitty voice.

The age of kitties really has come.

“…The East Gate. The district where reports of corruption came in before. Wasn’t it included among the targets for purge by the Inquisition?”

However, this was not the time to melt over her kitty voice. At her report, I recalled a previous report.

“As you say. From what has been confirmed alone, evidence has emerged of them forcing bribes on low-rank adventurers, especially provincial adventurers with no base in this city and isolated people with few companions, as well as forcing sexual acts on female adventurers. Recently as well, there are traces of threats and adultery against a woman who drifted in from the Kingdom and became an adventurer.”

Help the weak and crush the strong. Tossle-chan’s kitty eyes, which had a tendency toward fastidiousness, narrowed.

She likely had feelings about the conduct of the gatekeepers who died this time.

“Hmph. Being incompetent alone is one thing, but once trashiness is added too, they are nothing but oversized garbage. I don’t know who did it, but I’m glad they killed—wait, could that be it?”

Kaaah, bleh. Everything was connecting.

Having my head spin too fast is also something. I felt all the points connect to points, becoming a line and then a picture.

“I do not know whether that is what it means, but the Knight Order apparently concluded that the perpetrator of the murders was the dragon slayer. It was likely an investigation through the supernatural ability of the Seventh Knight, who is possessed by the familiar of ‘Death.’”

“That cheat woman. She should have become a detective.”

Spin your head. I had already obtained the necessary information.

The starting point was likely the dragon slayer and those trash gatekeepers.

First, profile the dragon slayer’s personality.

He had no common sense and was insane. Yes, that was certain. He was a being who killed a dragon, so there was no way he was normal.

However, on the other hand, he had tamed that invasive species, the Lizardonian. According to Svi’s report, they had built a fairly good relationship of trust.

“He made a partner out of that troublesome species that acts solitary yet gets lonely… What an eccentric. Well, I don’t dislike it.”

They were a species extremely fussy about people’s likes and dislikes.

They were troublesome people who were gentle, yet whose underside seethed with the evil of their species. At least for now, that sort was together with the dragon slayer without any problem.

“Lizardonians are fussy about the front and back of human personalities… They should be fussier about that than a forty-year-old man who has twisted himself up over being a virgin… In other words, there is no duality in the dragon slayer’s essence?”

They hated evil deeds. And yet, they were extremely suited to committing evil deeds. They were an ominous sort.

Considering the situation, it was fine to theorize that the Lizardonian’s values and the dragon slayer’s values were similar.

He was the type to obey the rules within himself more than legal order. Even if that meant murder, he was the type to do it without mercy to protect the things within himself that he could not yield.

And the fact that the Seventh Knight investigated meant the killing was cunning enough that he could not be identified without using the Seventh Knight’s skill.

“Excellent at hunting, cold and cruel, but also possessing charm that attracts a Lizardonian. His own rules. Ah, so that was why, back then, even toward the dragon…”

The pieces fit into place. The dragon slayer, who had seemed incomprehensible, his personality and character, began to make sense.

But it was still not enough. Dangerous. This man was far too dangerous. To be honest, I wanted to dispose of him. But doing so would make an enemy of the dragon.

What I wanted was not logic, but emotion.

Not because the dragon told me to, but as my own personal will, I wanted conviction to take in the dragon slayer.

“…My master, there is one more thing. Information on the Crows.”

“Huh? Those hateful pest birds? Right now, small fry like that don’t mat—”

“The Crows have been moving to search for the Lizardonian adventure slave and the black-haired adventurer. It seems there is a high possibility that the Crow executive killed in the slums was also murdered by the dragon slayer. Also, information has reached our wings that the dragon slayer took several slum children out with him. …It may be called protection.”

“Great work!! Nice, nice info! That, that’s exactly the kind of thing I needed! Negotiation material, get!”

Wonderful. I instinctively shouted with delight. Those hateful Crows, those boneless chickens, and the dragon slayer were hostile?

No, okay, okay. The emotional part is clear. If he is hostile to those pest birds, then that means he can become my ally.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes. This can work! Including the other various things, I’m beginning to see the benefit of holding onto the dragon slayer! Well, with all that said, surely there won’t be any more problematic material than this!?”

I had formed a predicted image of the dragon slayer’s personality and character.

Cruel, rational, and softhearted.

Objectively, that personality was opposed and contradictory, yet within the person himself, not a single thing was contradictory.

A human who laid down law within himself and possessed scenery and standards within himself.

He did not force that on others, but if it was violated, he had the cruelty of a beast that bared its fangs.

He understood that others were fundamentally enemies, but also had the rationality of a human who knew there were not only enemies.

But the terrifying part was his softheartedness.

Only this part was unclear. The reason behind his actions of teaming up with the Lizardonian and taking children out of the slums was unclear.

“All of it should only be a risk… How eerie. His measuring stick. I need one more clue—”

“Bishop-sama.”

“…Sorry, Svi. I’m in the middle of thinking just a bit right now.”

A small voice called out. I brushed it aside for the moment and went into the sea of thought. All the trustworthy subordinates around me were a little lacking in brains.

No, from my perspective, every human in this world seemed lacking in brains.

Their lax awareness of money, their lax interpretation of social systems, and above all, their understanding of the higher being called a “dragon.”

All of them made me unable to help seeing them as idiots to a degree that made me want to shake them by the neck and ask, “Do you people seriously have brains?”

“…That person had the same smell as Bishop-sama. He smelled like a kind person.”

“—Ah.”

With Svi’s words, which did not care that she had been brushed aside, everything inside me connected.

“Ah, so that’s it.”

Ah, I see. He is the type who hates the world. A human hated by the world who came to hate the world. But he is the type of human who never gives in to despair.

This world is filthy, people are full of shit, and life has no meaning.

But even so, he has not given up yet. He is that kind of human.

His unfortunate behavior and his rationality are all weapons to cover his weakness.

They are only weapons to resist the world.

His essence, in short, is—

“—The same as me.”

The dragon slayer is me. Our thought patterns are similar.

“Hehe. Bishop-sama, you have a nice expression.”

Thump.

The carriage bounced especially hard.

Brrrrrr! The horses’ voices. Even I understood. They sounded like screams.

The carriage movement had clearly started losing precision.

“B-Bishop-sama! M-my horses are actin’ strange! They’re scared! There’s somethin’ ahead that’s scarin’ the horses!”

A voice like a scream came from the driver’s seat as well. Since he cared for horses, he surely wanted to stop the carriage. Yes, yes, we must be kind to animals.

“Go! Horses! Not for your sake! For the sake of my self-preservation!”

But unfortunately, I am not that type.

Work, economic animals.

“Th-that’s absurd! That line is absolutely one that makes things complicated because you don’t explain it! Eei! No choice but to go now!”

Brrr.

Even so, the carriage advanced entirely due to the skillful reins of this country bumpkin I had discovered in the region.

Though the horses were afraid of something, he skillfully controlled them and moved the carriage forward. Good, okay. I’ll give the horses ginseng later.

“Bishop-sama! There! It’s that person! And that is…”

“Tossle-chan, confirm the situation! You can see from the carriage roof!”

In response to my voice, the nice kitty Tossle gracefully leapt onto the roof of the speeding carriage.

“Understood! That is… a dragon in the open-air market… a bone dragon?”

Her voice was confused, unlike her.

“Report the situation! Tossle!”

I raised my voice. Tossle the cat beastfolk had eyes incomparable to a human’s. She should be able to look over the entire market situation.

“Y-yes! Reporting! In the open-air market, there is a giant bone… dragon! And a black-haired man standing beside it! First Knight Stolu is there as well! They are facing each other and look as though they will begin killing each other at any moment! Eh? A-also, Seventh Knight Cradea has collapsed while foaming at the mouth. H-her eyes are rolled back…”

“Huh?! Sh-she isn’t dead? She isn’t dead, right?!”

“I-I don’t know! And Fourth Knight Clun is caught in the wreckage of a street stall.”

“Ah, he doesn’t matter. I’d rather he be dead.”

Hmm?

Bone? Bone dragon…

Ah, crap. That’s the Lizardonian feed. He’s been pushed so far that he’s using that, and Knight Stolu is still fully willing to fight…

“Tossle-chan, Tossle-chan, Tossle-chan! What about the dragon slayer?! The black-haired man! He’s alive, right?! He’s not heavily injured or anything, right?!”

“N-no, there are many clawed scratches around his neck… The same sort of wounds as the corpses killed by the First Knight can be seen on the dragon slayer too!”

“She went all out to kill hiiiiim!! Wait, so those are Hanging Sword wounds, right? Why is the dragon slayer alive?!”

“Ah, my master! Stolu is heading toward them again—”

Tossle’s voice sounded like a scream.

The carriage raced on, the horses breathed roughly, and the interior shook.

In that extremely dangerous situation, I unconsciously shouted that name.

“Svi!!”

The name of one of the few people I could trust in this world, the name of my strongest and beloved tool.

“Leave it to me.”

Faster even than the movements of a cat beastfolk—

A black shadow was faster than the carriage.

She ran through the city, shattered the stone paving, and flew toward the First Knight.

“Archbishop’s Order activated. Three years of lifespan used. Stop, First Sword.”

A trump card I used unconsciously. Ah, I did not want to believe it, but I chose an option that would prevent even the slightest chance of the First Knight counterattacking Svi.

Now, what do I do?

The carriage advanced, crashing into the market.

The dragon slayer and his partner were fully ready to kill the Church’s forces.

Profit? Logic? Threats? How could I stop the killing?

In the accelerating world, my choice, made while I was high from using my already short lifespan surprisingly easily, was one.

Pride? Come back after it gains the value of a single copper coin.

“Only prostration remainssss!!”

I tumbled out of the carriage, which had barely avoided toppling over.

The dragon slayer and the bone dragon looked at me with their mouths hanging open.

Now then, watch closely. I’ll show you my way of doing things.

Huh?

Was it because I jumped out so suddenly? Or because of tension?

I feel a little nause—

…………

……

…

〜At the underground great bath of the Angel Church Headquarters, the “Cathedral”〜

Clonk.

A bath with a design different from that of the Dragon Embassy.

Hot water drawn from groundwater filled a bath similar to a pool.

The man with a face resembling a Tibetan sand fox had a towel wrapped on top of his head.

The scar-covered lizard man had a towel placed over his large reptilian nose and mouth.

“…This is a good bath.”

“…Yeah.”

The two men plopped into the bath together.

This was the bathhouse of the Angel Church Headquarters, the Cathedral.

The luxurious bath prepared for honored guests was made of chic black stone, and fresh water constantly sprang from somewhere across the floor.

“…When you’re in something like this, everything starts to feel like it doesn’t matter.”

The spring quality was clear and mellow. Perhaps the water source was abundant. According to the white cat beastfolk sister who had guided them, it was all surprisingly free-flowing from the source.

Tooyama entrusted his body to the mellow water and spoke to Lazaar beside him.

“…Yeah.”

Lazaar was becoming a boiled lizard. His body was covered in fresh wounds, but those had already begun closing.

Reptiles are amazing, Tooyama thought carefree as he deeply inhaled the steam.

“…Tired?”

“…I feel like I’m melting.”

“Perfect condition, then.”

A short exchange. If one listened closely, there was the sound of abundant hot water flowing.

It flowed, broke, filled, and flowed.

The sound of a hot spring enriched life.

“…So, what now? We have completely ended up being allowed to soak in their bath.”

Lazaar, otherwise known as the boiled lizard, asked Tooyama briefly while exhaling deeply.

“Ah… Well, seems like there’s room for various talks.”

Yes, after that, due to the impact of that shocking vomit prostration, Tooyama and Lazaar had completely calmed down. They had been put in the carriage and brought to this place.

“Naruhito, you have absolutely no tension at all… What if this is also a Church trap… Ah, being alive is fun.”

The narrow-eyed woman, who was strangely deferential, and the saint he knew had suggested that they first wash off the dirt and fatigue.

The words, “Shouldn’t you wash off your vomit first?” had nearly risen to their throats, but the two somehow endured.

“You’re the last person I want to hear talk about tension right now, boiled lizard.”

It was an incomprehensible situation, but Tooyama could not resist the hot spring desire peculiar to the people of Nihon, and Lazaar too had changed the color of his eyes and nodded when he heard it was a hot spring. Thanks to that, they arrived at this situation.

Leisurely soaking in a hot spring at the stronghold of a power that had nearly killed them.

However, the two, both fairly thick-skinned, did not really care about that. A hot spring before their eyes mattered more than troublesome bargaining.

“It can’t be helped. Warm water and rich steam are favorites of the ‘Tooth,’ our ancestor. According to the words of the Tooth, everything dwells in baths…”

With the rough conclusion that this itself was what it meant to live, they deceived themselves and ended up here.

“So being bath lovers at the species level goes for both of us, huh. Ah, I don’t want to do talks or bargaining after this. What a pain.”

“Can I just leave that part to you? I want to stay here for the rest of my life.”

“Idiot. You’re coming too, Lazaar.”

“…Yeah, I know, Naruhito.”

Only the sound of hot water spread.

A short silence. However, the sound of abundant flowing water would not let stillness approach.

“If they have such a good bathhouse, it’d be nice if they had a sauna too.”

“Sauna? What is that?”

“…Eh? Wait, they have this much hot spring infrastructure, but maybe they don’t have saunas?”

“That is the first time I have heard the name… No, wait. I remember seeing it in a Kingdom history book. Was it a warm room that warmed the body with heat instead of hot water?”

“Hmm, that’s slightly off, but something like that. Eh? Wait, if it was in a history book, does that mean they don’t have them now?”

“Hmm. If I recall correctly, there was a legend that during the Great War, a human called a ‘Daimyo’ suddenly appeared and traveled around building strange warm rooms in various places… They supposedly came from a ruined nation on the now-destroyed northern continent… or something like that.”

“No way. With this cultural system, saunas weren’t born? Don’t tell me, Lazaar, is the Empire a country with tons of groundwater and volcanoes?”

“Yes. What a strange thing to ask. But that is correct. Perhaps because the land is strongly influenced by the Dragon Realm, according to magicians, there are also many volcanoes on the seabed near the Empire. Well, it is a country founded by the Flame Dragon together with the first Emperor. Its abundance of hot springs may be thanks to that too.”

“Water is so abundant that there was no need for saunas? Like, it’s easier to run hot spring water than make a steam bath? Seriously… Could it be that the Empire doesn’t get snow?”

“Hmm? That is not the case. In the Central and Northern Regions, roads freeze and snow falls once the Month of Early Frost comes.”

“Are there places where you can see auroras?”

“Auroras? What are those?”

“So there isn’t a stupidly cold land. Yeah, that makes sense. Even if the atmosphere is similar, the exact same culture wouldn’t exist…”

“Well, I do not know why you are feeling down, but enjoy the hot water, Naruhito.”

They repeated meaningless conversation along with the sound of hot water springing forth.

Tooyama narrowed his eyes at the stinging sensation from the scratches on his throat and breathed out.

“…Lazaar, well, how do I put it? Did I worry you?”

“…Yeah. Enough that I used a trump card I had sworn never to use again. …I was thinking of destroying this entire city, but, well, Church Knights are terrifying. If it had continued like that, I definitely would have died.”

The two exchanged only words without meeting each other’s eyes.

Both of them continued gazing blankly at the black ceiling while soaking up to their shoulders.

“You having some dragon transformation like that is unfair.”

“A good man transforms, Naruhito.”

“By that logic, I feel like I ought to be able to transform too.”

“………………?”

Blinking, Lazaar tilted his head.

“Don’t tilt your head with that expressionless lizard-like face, damn you.”

“I am a lizard man, after all.”

“Octopus, no, right?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re a Lizardonian, aren’t you?”

Clonk.

Lazaar blinked. He placed the towel back on top of his pointed nose and mouth, then pulled his large mouth into a grin.

“Hmph. That is true. Exactly right. Hey, Naruhito.”

“What?”

“This is a good bath.”

“Yeah, it really is.”

Two men. Soaking in a bath leisurely in enemy territory. Taking warm steam into their lungs.

Feeling the flowing hot water on their skin.

Ah, the two of them were certainly alive. They had faced Church Knights, overcome justice, dodged death, bitten through pursuit, and survived.

Ping.

A message emerged amid the steam. Tooyama rose from the bath with an empty face resembling a Tibetan sand fox.

“…All right, then let’s give it one more push.”

“Your work ethic brings tears to my eyes, Naruhito.”

The boiled lizard joked and wiped away tears.

“Shut up.”

They exchanged light banter. Ah, the two of them had certainly somehow survived their first day as adventurers.