“It's not even the same cell,” Ara-san complains about our current accommodation. “I liked the one before better. We should ask if we can be transferred to the other station.”

“So you don't like beds?” Well, more like strawmats on wooden benches, but the cell before didn't even have those. This is a bigger station as well, I guess the one before didn't have the means to hold prisoners for long.

“Also, where is Gunsar-kun? He was arrested as well and I want to poke fun at him.”

“I guess that's the reason we got the whole cell for ourselves.”

“Yes, the people are really racist.”

“I won't deny that. We weren't even properly interrogated this time.” They just read the sentence and asked us to go into the cell. 4,000 Newgold and a night in jail.

“Kenta-kun, let's break out.”

That's sudden! “...why?”

“Because we can.”

“...that's stupid.”

“I agree. It sure is stupid that you and I are put into a cell. Aren't they realizing that we can easily slip out? They're sloppy, and we have the obligation to show that to them.”

“Hey, we let ourselves be caught so that we won't have too much trouble. So let's just sit that one out. I have no idea what consequences it may have, when we break out... maybe another bounty? I don't need that.”

“I'll be bored otherwise. They took my backpack and without it, I can't do my research.”

“Heck, then do something else.”

“Just to be sure: I may be bored, but I won't have sex with you.”

“#+!” That girl!

“Fufu, it becomes more and more difficult to get under your skin. Yet in all seriousness: I won't mind if you masturbate to get your urges under control. I know, you need it, and I accept that.”

“Phew...” I won't entertain her by jumping at that topic. I just lie down on the bed, but before I can close my eyes for a nap, a window pops up.

The Date ends prematurely. You gain 0 WP. Seriously, how can you call this a date? Neither of you have prepared in any way, a date is a special occasion, but you have to make it special for it to work! Of course, spending time together is special in its own right, yet...

Also, these activities!? Reporting at the guard, making recon in case for emergencies, getting arrested—twice—starting a tavern brawl, what part of it is remotely romantic? Even the way you talk with each other... You love each other, right!?

You both have to work on it. Make each other feel important. Have heart-to-heart talks. Just don't say whatever comes into your minds. Please, you have to do it better! In all areas!

Seriously!

Huh... this is rather short. When I had a 'date' with Rine in Goldbrunn, it was more specific. In a way, it seems like the curse doesn't even know where to begin.

Ara-san sounds happy and impressed, as she shares her thoughts: “Kenta-kun, we made an important discovery!”

“What are you talking about?”

“About the curse. We know something new.”

“What do you mean?”

“The curse is incapable of deducting WP, because our outing would have forced it to do so otherwise.”

…

… …

“Pff.... hihi.... hahahahahahahaa!”

“Kenta-kun, you make a strange noise. It sounds like laughing.”

“Hahahahahaha!” Yes, I laugh indeed. It's rather soft, but definitely more than a chuckle. This is the first time since being kidnapped into this fantasy world that I laugh because something is funny.

Ara-san is right, whether the curse is just a program or has an actual personality, it has a very restrictive way of thinking. It can't even understand what is between Ara-san and me for certain. It's not the sappy kind of friendship TV or books are talking about and it's as far removed from romance as humanly possible. We're just two very odd people that somehow get along.

Ah, I needed that. It wasn't even particularly funny at its core, but with everything happening, with all my suffering, not only with the curse, but in general, it hit a chord with me. Even after I stopped laughing, I still keep a grin, unable to wipe it from my face.

You gain 1 WP. Even when in jail, the two of you can cheer up each other.

It's also amusing that the curse doesn't get the joke. “Phew, being imprisoned may suck, but this made my day.”

“So you really laughed?”

“...what were you thinking?”

“As I've never heard that from you, I thought that you going through a seizure was a possibility.”

“...phew... yes, I laughed.”

“I see.” The ears are slowly waving... I guess that's something like having a calm, but still tense face... something along the lines of looking forward to brag about something. I guess something with the other girls... did they make a bet on who can make me laugh? I don't think so, otherwise Rine would have tried to tell jokes...

However, Ara-san is already on to her next thought: “Kenta-kun, let's pass the time by calling the guards repeatedly and asking them unreasonable things.”

“Hell no, I want to be released tomorrow morning!”

“Then I'll go to sleep.” Without any further ado, Ara-san uses her ability to fall asleep whenever and wherever she wants. Half of it may be due to her [Rest Anywhere]-skill, which allows her to rest without any drawbacks on any ground, but the other half is an innate talent. Or just a century of experience in being a sloth.

Well, suits me fine. I lay down myself and try to get some rest. I think about how to explain the whole situation to Kyou-san and Rine tomorrow, then I get angry that I even feel the need to explain myself, then I fall into a fit of blaming Flamebane, and finally I leave it alone only to pick it up again five minutes later.

What a pain.

I spend an hour or two that way, while occasionally looking at Ara-san. Rather than asleep, she looks dead. Her breathing is hard to catch even for my hearing, her heartbeat sounds maybe once every three minutes, her skin is even paler than usual. Yet her ears move a lot. Maybe that's how the primitive alfar adapted to their environment. If I recall correctly, humans haven't genetically changed much since the stone age. Maybe alfar are the same.

I hear several footsteps approaching. Wait a minute, I know some of them!

The door gets unlocked and Kyou-san and Rine enter the cell, flanked by two guards. “Don't ask,” says the former in a bad mood, giving me a look as if had thrown a mudcake at her, while crawling into an empty bunk bed.

“Tehehe... we got into a tavern brawl,” explains Rine.

“Ah, we too. Why you?”

“Erm...” Rine becomes beet red and begins to fiddle with her fingers, while her eyes wander to that activity instead of looking at me. “You know... there were some men, then I accidentally broke an arm, and...”

“Enough, Rine-chan.”

“But Kyou, you were rude.”

“It was his fault, not yours!”

“You already said that, but haven't I-”

“Hmph!”

“Ah, I don't understand!”

“...” I think I miss a bit of context, but I guess I don't need to understand that. “Aha.”

Rine calms down a bit, before she hits me with a counter-question: “What about you?”

“Erm...”

Suddenly, Ara-san springs up. “I'll explain it to you.” I guess she's proud to be an 'expert sleeper', so unlike me she doesn't even need a skill to wake up whenever she wants. I'm fine with her explaining it, Ara-san will just sum up the facts and- “It's Kenta-kun's fault.” -and will put all the blame on me, because she's afraid of Kyou-san pulling her ears again.

Though she's still technically correct. “Phew... I picked a fight with a mercenary.”

“Oh, who won?”

That's what you're concerned with, Rine!? Well... I guess, she's the one who actually did the brawling, so we're in the same boat somehow? “Nobody.” Without any skills, weapons, and actual killing intent, it was rather balanced.

Ara-san says in a haughty tone: “We were two against thirteen, so when in doubt, we are the winners indeed.” Is it that important to you?

Finally, Kyou-san also partakes in the conversation: “Why did you even pick up the fight in the first place?”

I look at Ara-san, but all she gives me is a blank look. I guess I'm on my own. “He acted like an asshole, so I punched him.”

Strangely enough, Ara-san is the one who asks more questions: “When did he act like what you call an 'asshole'?”

“Huh?”

“Hm?”

“You... Ara-san, didn't you realize that he spoke down to you?”

“So what?”

“So wha--- … …” So everything was about something Ara-san doesn't even care about!?

“Ken, next time you see that asshole, hit him again.” Why do I get back up from Kyou-san here!?

“Well, let's make the most of the situation, tehehe,” Rine proposes as if this was a field trip.

“I agree,” Ara-san continues. “Now that I think about it, we have rented the room.”

“Phew... because we're paying the fine?”

“Exactly, Kenta-kun.”

“Isn't it for us to get out?”

“No, that is a flawed logic. Usually, you pay people to let you stay in a room, not to get out.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” Rine says.

I hear a giggle, it's Kyou-san. Am I the only one who takes this situation somewhat seriously?

Ah, fuck it. Not worth worrying about that. We'll leave this shitty city tomorrow anyway.

You gain 2 WP. This shows how a happy family can turn even the direst of situations into a valuable experience that enriches all.

Even though the curse annoys me once more, I let it slide this time. I don't want to care right now, and just wait until tomorrow.

In a sense, it's pure luxury that we don't need to worry about anything serious at all.

―○●○―

Correo gives a heavy bag to an old, fat man in a luxurious room. It's Oleau Garcon, the White Mare, once a knight, then a mercenary, who has now made it to the godfather of Winson. While someone else may hold the title of ruler, everyone knows that he controls this city and several more.

The Merchant's League stays on his good side, as he also has taken over all the banditry of this area. Paying protection money is the only way to stay safe from him and his goons. “Business as usual,” Correo says with a smile.

The man, who was once considered the most handsome man of Parvaar, weighs the money in his grip. “You seem to need a lot.”

“Make them as expendable as possible.”

“There is enough. What I find questionable is that you're paying coins in exchange for the lives of my subordinates.”

“You're the one who put a price tag on their lives in the first place.”

“Fair enough. So what are they supposed to do?”

“There are four people they need to attack. If they're victorious, it'll be perfect. But I'm honest, I expect a small delay at most. We're talking about unreasonable people, after all.”

“So why don't you ask for specialists?”

“Because I only need to buy some more time.”

“Tell me what I need to know.”

Correo has made the detour to the oracle and he learned what he needed to do. Divination may be not the most accurate way to obtain information, but it has its perks. Knowing even a piece of the future can be very helpful, though interfering with fate comes with restrictions.

Hiring Garcon's scum may not be enough, however. Correo still considers calling his servant to him, but she's on her way to Uthredt. While he can summon her to him instantly by using the urn, he also wants her to keep her squirrel underlings available for later. They may be the only weapon he has against the alfr magic, after all.

If worse comes to worst, he may need to use the midnight-blue liquid he got from the Lady after all.