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Chapter 284: Conspicuous Appearance
For the time being, we managed to conclude the matter by handing the Devil summoners to the officials. After all, the turmoil this time happened completely unplanned from our side. Besides, we couldnât separate from Michelleâs group for too long.
They were currently camping in a dangerous location, and guarding them were people who once targeted Cortinaâs life.
The possibility of betrayal was minuscule due to Maxwellâs Geass, but we couldnât completely scratch it out.
I didnât think Mateus would become an enemy this late in the game, but I still wanted to return as quickly as I could.
Maxwell seemed to have sensed my impatience and looked at me while brushing his long beard. I currently looked like an adult woman, so it might have looked quite questionable from the outside perspective.
âAre Mateus and others on your mind?â âYeah. At the very least, they were our enemies at one point. They donât seem to be biting back at the moment, butâŚâ âLooking at how he works in my mansion, I could say that his rebellious spirit has gone completely.â âEither way, Michelle and Finia are there. I canât let go of my worry⌠Oh, and Cloud too.â âHohoh, well wellâŚâ
Maxwell suddenly stopped speaking as if he decided to swallow the rest of the sentence. That irritated me a bit.
âWhat is it? If you wanna say something, say it.â âWell, I was just thinking that the unapproachable Reid I knew has mellowed down quite a bit.â âHey, I used to worry about you guys too, you know?â âYour way of expressing it was too difficult to figure out.â
That was quite a rude thing for him to say, but even I wasnât some insensitive rock. I worried about my comrades.
In fact, I ran frantically with a pale face at Cortinaâs side when she was in danger, and I took part in Maxwellâs pranks even in this life.
Those who didnât know me simply saw me as a hard-to-approach guy due to the mood around me.
âWell, those people might indeed pull something. I agree that we should return at once.â âThen bring out your Portal Gate already.â âDo not be so hasty. There are people around us.â
Maxwell was under disguise as well, but Portal Gate was the top-rank magic of the Interference system. There werenât many people in the world who had mastered it to this degree. If luck wasnât on our side, someone could figure out it was Maxwell just from that.
âLetâs go over there then.â
We were aware of every nook and cranny of this town. That was in preparation for the worst scare scenario where we had to flee and the Evil Dragonâs wrath was directed at this town.
In that situation, we would have to evacuate the citizens as fast as possible. Then we would either intercept the Dragon here, or lure it somewhere else.
Considering all that, we had carefully inspected all escape and evacuation routes.
We went towards the back alley as I pulled on Maxwellâs hand. But before we got there, two people showed up to block our way.
I suddenly became vigilant and thought they were a separate group of the Devil summoners, but Maxwell put a hand on my shoulder and I managed to hold back on instinctively throwing my threads at them.
âHey there, old man. Nice woman you have there, ehh? Hicc!â âHey, youâre gonna scare her if you talk like that. How about it, missy, come drink with us for a bit.â
Yeah, they were just bad drunks. Given their appearance, they werenât even Adventurers. It felt like they just got too drunk after drinking on some good occasion. It would have escalated into a big incident if I ended up slashing at them.
âIâm sorry, but I have some business I have to take care of fast. Please move aside.â âAww donât be like that. What business could it be?â
He tried to touch my shoulder over-familiarly. But before I even had time to avoid it, his hand lost power and dangled downâfollowed by both men collapsing on the spot and raising snores.
ââŚThey fell asleep?â âI cast the Sleep spell on them. It was easy to do it behind your back.â âYou act fast as always. Actually, is that really alright? Throwing spells at normal people, I mean.â âIt is not that serious a spell. They will wake up even with a simple shock. And it would be bothersome to try persuading them. This way, they just look like ordinary sleeping drunkards.â âWell, you have a point.â
Still⌠Taking this appearance sure invited indiscriminate attraction from the guys. Maybe I made myself a little too pretty. Besides, there was no guarantee that I would become like this in the future. There always was a big wall between ideals and reality.
âHey, Maxwell. About my appearanceâŚâ âIt suits you really well.â âNo, I donât mean that.â âCome now, I am opening the Portal Gate.â âO-OkayâŚâ
Maxwell rattled his way into the back alley, making me miss the chance to address my conspicuous appearance.
Actually, I think he dodged it intentionally, didnât he? Oh well, I wouldnât take on this appearance that often. If I did it often, Elliot might come running at every opportunity. With all that considered, I suppose it was fine to stand out a bit. I should just consider it as a distractor.
After we returned with Maxwellâs Portal Gate, Mateus greeted us as if nothing had happened.
âHey, welcome back, lady Nicole?â âDrop that, it feels disgusting. Did anything happen?â âAllâs right with the world, or however it goes.â âGood then.â âHow about on your side?â âWellâŚâ
Mateus was already aware of our night operations. In that case, he would only get suspicious if we kept our mouths sealed. đŻđđŚđŚđ¤âŻđŤđđ¸đŁđŽđ.đ¸đ°đś
Thus, I told him about the cave and the Half-Demon that was trying to summon a Devil there. Hearing that, Mateus sighed while scratching his head.
âGood grief, what a helpless bunch. They should know that how youâre treated depends on how you act.â âOh, youâre saying something proper for once.â âWell, I was one such case too. You are like an insect when weak, but everyone starts fearing you when you grow stronger. I experienced it myself.â âWell, thatâs what an Adventurerâs life is like.â
If it was an ability-based Adventurer, they could force their way through everything. It was a world where might made right.
If that guy had enough power as a Half-Demon to summon a Devil, they couldâve used his talent to improve his life instead.
âWell, everyone is different. How about you sleep already, missy, itâs quite late, you know?â âYeah, I really should⌠Keep your hands to yourself, you hear?â âLike Iâd do something so scary!?â
Mateus paled, probably remembering getting trashed by Lyell. Still, it sounded like I was unattractive, so it was a little hard to swallowâŚ
Well, compared to Finia and Michelle, I was indeed plain looking.
âAh, well.â
With that mutter, I pulled out a blanket, wrapped myself in it and spent the night like that.