“If someone asks who I am, well... Do you think I would honestly reveal my identity to someone I’ve just met?”
“That’s a fair point. I might have rushed the conversation a bit.”
Lilith has the bartender pour more drink into her empty glass and takes a sip.
“So, are you two from some noble family? Or perhaps a lineage of knights?”
“Why do you think that?”
“From your gestures and actions, I guess. It's clear from your manners and choice of words that you have received some education. I'm inclined to think you are nobles rather than knights. What do you think?”
Izayoi is genuinely impressed; she’s observant down to the details.
Indeed, both Izayoi and Yuka have received a certain level of education and know the basic manners. Izayoi has also been taught proper demon manners to not disgrace his position as a demon lord. In this world, being mistaken for nobility would not be unnatural.
However, Izayoi feels no obligation to answer Lilith’s confident speculation. Shrugging lightly, he turns the question back to her.
“And what about you? A knight?”
“You have keen insight. I was born into a family of knights.”
Izayoi is taken slightly aback by her straightforward response. Sensing his surprise, Lilith shyly continues.
“I’m actually an A-rank adventurer. I’m quite well-known, so you can find out about me easily.”
A-rank. In the adventurer rank ranging from F to S, A is just a step away from S, indicating significant strength. Izayoi had learned that the higher the adventurer rank, the more attention and expectations from others.
No wonder the gazes towards them increased since Lilith sat next to them. Izayoi lets out a small sigh, realizing the nature of the envious looks directed at him.
“Being famous can be quite troublesome.”
“Indeed. In a way, thanks to them, I’ve become good at hiding my presence.”
Izayoi couldn’t help but feel pity as Lilith laughs weakly. Noticing this, Lilith clears her throat and changes the subject.
“Anyway, I’ve shared my story, how about you share yours?”
“I can’t share something so well-known just for that.”
“You’re stingy. It’s a drinking occasion; a story or two wouldn’t hurt, right?”
“Unfortunately, my life isn’t noble enough to share.”
Indeed, his life isn’t something to be proud of. Rather, it’s something that should be criticized and eliminated. It’s not something he can easily share with others.
“…Hmm. Well, forcing you to talk when you don’t want to is tasteless. Let’s just enjoy the drink purely.”
Accepting Izayoi’s reluctance, Lilith takes a big sip from her glass.
“After all, everyone has a past they don’t want to be known.”
Perhaps unconsciously, she murmurs this. Holding her glass, with sorrow on her handsome face, she seemed somewhat sad.
Izayoi decides not to dig into that and finishes his second drink.
“…Oops, sorry. I shouldn’t make the good drink taste bad.”
Trying to act cheerful, Lilith finishes her drink in one go and turns to Izayoi with a meaningful smile.
“By the way, what exactly is the relationship between you, Izayoi, and Yuka?”
“Again with the unexpected questions,” Izayoi mutters inwardly but decides it’s a good distraction and responds.
“Well… let’s say, a child with charm worth teasing.”
“A child? You don’t seem that far apart in age…”
“Ah, well… it’s more of a feeling.”
In reality, there are hundreds of years difference between them, making her feel like a child, but he can’t say that, so he ambiguously answers.
“I see. But, charm worth teasing… that makes her even more attractive.”
“…Wasn’t that a joke earlier?”
“Hehe, of course, it was a joke. Rest assured.”
Somehow, those were the least reassuring words he’d heard.
“Hmm, so you and Yuka aren’t lovers?”
“No, but… why ask?”
“Well, if you were lovers, it would be better not to intervene. But…”
Lilith seems contemplative, then looks at Izayoi with a serious expression, different from her frivolous atmosphere before.
“I know this is selfish, but… Can I join you on your adventures as adventurers?”
“…Are you aiming for Yuka?”
“No, no! I might have joked too much, and it’s understandable you’d suspect, but no…”
Lilith denies it quite earnestly but soon realizes her own foolishness, coughs to cover it up, and looks at Izayoi seriously again.
“I won’t pry into your background anymore, but I’m personally curious about how skilled you two are. If you are indeed skilled, I’d like to recommend you for a rank-up in the guild.”
“Why’s that?”
“I’d like to say it’s a senior’s concern… but that’s not the real reason.”
Holding her temple as if enduring a headache, Lilith speaks bitterly.
“The adventurer's guild is currently lacking in personnel… No, there are many people, but there is a shortage of skilled adventurers. To be frank, I am the only A-rank adventurer in this town of Termus.”
This is an abnormal situation, even for a layman. Termus is on the frontline, near the Boundary Forest. Having only Lilith as an A-rank adventurer, especially in such a town, is strange. You might find it odd, right? There's a reason for this. A few days ago, a request was issued from the Adventurers' Guild headquarters in the Royal Capital to all the town guilds, and as a result, many adventurers have gone to the Royal Capital," said Lilith, pulling out a piece of paper from her pocket and spreading it out. The paper seemed to be the aforementioned request form, with details about the task and rewards written on it.
Izayoi quickly glanced through the request form, visibly furrowing his brows.
"How does this even pass as a request form?"
"I wouldn’t know..."
The request form Lilith showed was vague about the actual task. It was hardly recognizable as a request form, with only the ludicrously high reward and what seemed like a royal seal stamped on it.
"This is… too suspicious…"
"I thought so too, that’s why I stayed. But everyone was dazzled by the reward, even the skeptics went to verify it. As a result, Termus’ combat power has significantly decreased. I’ve ended up attracting all the attention and I really wish for a break…"
Being a rank A adventurer would indeed attract attention from other adventurers. Seeing Lilith complaining weakly, Izayoi somewhat envisioned his past self. He had also been in the limelight as a demon lord or such, so he could relate to her feelings.
Both of them sighed.
"So, what do you think? Will you accept my proposal?"
Lilith, slightly flushed, presumably from the alcohol, leaned in and asked again.
After some contemplation, Izayoi spoke.
"...I have one condition."
"What is it?"
"It’s fine for us to accompany you, but even if you deem us capable, please refrain from recommending us for a rank-up in the guild."
"…May I ask why?"
Lilith squinted, trying to grasp Izayoi’s true intentions. To which, Izayoi responded with a rather refreshing smile,
"I don’t want to attract attention and end up like you."
Lilith, left with her mouth slightly open, was taken aback but soon burst into laughter.
"Well, I can’t really say anything to that!"
She tried to conceal her laughter with her hand, but her shaking shoulders gave her away. It seemed to have really struck a chord with Lilith.
It took a few minutes for Lilith to stop laughing.
"Phew, it’s been a while since I laughed so much."
"That’s good to hear."
Seeing Lilith’s cheerful smile, Izayoi also let out a smile.
"Well then, I’m counting on you, Izayoi-kun."
"Yeah, same here."
They reached out their hands and shook on it.
After that, Izayoi and Lilith continued drinking for a while, and they finally left when they started to feel the alcohol.
▼
"Getting connected with a rank A adventurer is quite fortunate."
Izayoi, feeling warm from the alcohol, cooled down as he walked through the sparsely populated town. He had parted ways with Lilith in front of the tavern as they were staying in different inns. At that time, she had made some provocative remarks like, "Aren’t you going to escort me?" which led to a playful exchange where Izayoi lightly tapped her head to wake her up.
At that moment, he felt several hostile gazes around him, but he deliberately ignored them. Probably the work of Lilith’s fans or something.
"I guess I’ll have to accept this as a drawback…"
If they confronted him physically, he could easily retaliate. As long as Lilith was on his side, significant interference was unlikely.
It’s not without problems, but considering the returns, it’s a minor risk. If he continues to build trust this way, he’ll be able to handle any situation.
Sighing lightly, Izayoi felt that he had been sighing more since meeting Yuka.
"For now, I should head back."
Heading towards the inn, he suddenly realized,
"The doors are locked…"
Izayoi had told them to lock the doors, so he couldn’t complain. But now he had nothing to do until morning.
In the end, Izayoi wandered around the town until morning. Thanks to that, he almost memorized the layout of the town.