Chapter 81 – Mission Start

<Your Level has increased>

<You earned Skill Points>

<Your Karma has dropped significantly>

<The level of existing skills has increased>

<The level of your servants has risen>

After burning the maid’s corpse, I left the back alley and reunited with Yuu and Maria, “I’m back.” I told them.

“Ah, Re… Na?” Yuu said. His tone was a bit weird.

“Are you alright?” Maria asked with a concerned tone.

“What are you talking about?” I asked them. Why are those two suddenly showing worry for me? Was my annoyance showing on my face? “Well, whatever. The princess escaped safely, right?” I asked them.

“Princess!?” Both of them asked me at the same time.

“The ice cream girl.” I told them.

“Princess!?” They said once more. Seems like they don’t use <Detection> too often? They should make a habit of it. It’s better to be sure of other people’s identity, even if they sometimes use means of protecting themselves from this kind of skill.

“In any case, I’ve tied a thread to her, so let’s follow her trail.” I said.

“Sure…” Yuu said half-heartedly.

“Ah, I guess I’m getting used to this already…” Maria said.

Coming to think of it though, those two have high karma. It would be a waste to make them accompany me and lower it down, they have better uses than that.

“Actually, please get in my way instead.” I told them.

“What do you mean?” Yuu asked. I’ve come up with a fun plan, so let’s go with that.

“It would be a shame if you two lowered your karma by helping me out. Your karmas are pretty high after all.” I started explaining. They both tilted their heads in unison as I said that, which was a bit interesting, they seem to be quite in sync. “Think of it as a game of tag. If you are able to stop me, then I’ll hear one request of-“

“I’m in!” They both said instantly, without even letting me finish my phrase.

“I see… Though I’ll only hear one request, alright?” I clarified. It was surprising how fast they bit into it, I wondered if they just liked playing tag… Let me be the one chasing next time then.

“It’s alright, you’ll definitely hear my request!” Yuu said.

“What!? Differently from you, I’m a pure person, so I should be the one asking her!” Maria told him.

“A pure stalker…” He murmured.

“I’m a guardian, not a stalker!” She exclaimed.

“You wanna give it a go!?” They both said in unison.

I wondered what those two were talking about. Will someone die if I don’t do anything?

“I have been with Rena for longer!” Yuu said.

“But it’s not even been a whole year!” Maria told him.

“Moreover, you two haven’t even added each other as friends yet, so the gap between you and me is unsurmountable!” Yuu continued.

“Kii!” Maria made a weird noise.

I wonder what should I do. I have no clue what they are talking about, but maybe I should stop them? Though this is interesting, and a good opportunity to understand what a ‘normal friend’ is…

“Give it up, you blockhead!” Yuu told her.

“Your mother is obese!” Maria suddenly said.

“What!? She’s thin!” Yuu replied.

“And I saw your father at a brothel!” Maria continued.

“So that’s the kind of lie you’re gonna spout!? You lewd girl that keeps looking at the covers of adult books each time you go to Comiket, even though you aren’t even allowed in that section!” Yuu suddenly said something mysterious.

“I can go! I’m an adult lady!” She told him… Is this what a quarrel between ‘normal friends’ is supposed to look like? The level of the discussion seems to be going lower and lower though…

“You say that even though you blush even from normal kissing scenes in anime!?” Yuu said.

“As if you’re one to talk when your eyes get bloodshot as soon as some panties are shown in an anime, you pervert!” Maria exclaimed.

“Just what are you saying in front of Rena!?” Yuu suddenly mentioned my name.

“I’ve told you before, haven’t I-!?“ Maria replied with a confusing statement.

It seems they both like anime… I wonder if I should see some myself. Mom did say that it would be hard to get friends with the same hobbies I have, so perhaps I should try getting into theirs.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” They both called one another, “Blockhead!”, “Birdbrain”, they kept exchanging this kind of statement… “Kii!” They said in unison.

… I suppose I should stop them now, I can’t keep looking at this. “Are we in agreement then?” I asked.

“Y-yes!” They both replied. At the same time, they also straightened their posture for some reason. Let’s just ignore that and move on.

“I’ll be doing big things from now on.” I told them.

“Big…” Yuu said something I couldn’t quite hear.

“Hey, just where are you looking at, Oda?” Maria murmured something while hitting Yuu with her elbow…

“Nowhere…” Yuu replied in a tone that I couldn’t hear either… I wonder if this kind of aggressive behavior is normal between friends.

“Please stop it, you two.” I told them, so that they could properly focus on our game, “As soon as we split up, I’ll start following the princess inside the castle. The two of you can use whatever means you can think of in order to stop me.”

“Got it… How are even supposed to stop you though?” Maria asked.

“Since our Karma is high, maybe we can convince the gatekeepers to help us out?

“… That would be tough.” Yuu commented.

“This should help you out a bit, make good use of it.” I said, and then gave them an expensive dagger.

“What’s that?” Maria asked.

“A thing I stole from the temple of the Beginner’s City.” I explained. They both went silent after I said that.

I couldn’t see much worth on it at first, but as my <Detection> level went up, I found out that this is a special dagger that is only given to church members of a rank of bishop or higher. Its power should be directly proportional to how high the Karma of the wielder is.

“It’s something given only to high clergy members, but you two should be able to use it as well.” I told them.

“That’s definitely a rare relic…” Yuu whispered something I couldn’t hear.

“Is it really alright? Won’t we be cursed for using that?” Maria replied in a whisper too.

Well, it’s fine like this. “Let’s start!” I told them and ran off.

“W-wait!” Yuu shouted.

“We’re screwed!” Maria exclaimed.

Ignoring them both, I rushed after the princess… Please do entertain me.