Breakthrough with the Forbidden Master

Chapter 261 – Annoying

My head hurts because I don’t know what’s going on.

The mysterious woman who suddenly appeared was Espie, one of the Seven Heroes who seemed to know me, and was a headache who tried to beat me up by forcing some kind of incomprehensible cause on me.

On the other hand, there was a strange man who seemed to have an extraordinary obsession with Curry, bringing the secret ingredient coffee from our first meeting and even trying to cook it with me.

I thought such a woman and such a man would make for an explosive situation, but…

“Are you two lovers!?”

『How… such a relationship…』

I instinctively made a retort, and Tre’ainar sighed in astonishment.

Then, Espie and Slayer looked at me…

“We’re not married. We haven’t had a wedding ceremony. That’s why we have no children. You can only get married and have a wedding if you get permission from each other’s families.”

“No, I haven’t heard anything! I mean, I’m not even interested! Well, until just a little while ago, it looked like you were going to fight, but your every word and action here is in sync!?”

I was certainly surprised to be told that they were lovers. But, it doesn’t really matter.

On the other hand, the fact that they’re so selfish and do their own thing regardless of other people’s circumstances makes them a perfect match.

Well, I wonder if it’s okay for two self-centered people to date each other, but I’m not interested in that, and it’s none of my business.

But, they both blatantly sighed at my words.

“Ha~, did you hear that, Slayer? How could you say such a thing?”

“It’s just awful, isn’t it?”

“I’m already twenty-three for what it’s worth, you know? It’s not uncommon for people to get married in their teens these days, so I wanted you to understand why I’m not married yet, right? I know, silly, right?”

“Marriage shouldn’t be based on mutual feelings alone, you know. Naturally, you can only step out in happiness when you have the blessings of your loved ones. How absurd of you not to understand that.”

It was as if he was calling me a child who didn’t know anything about adult matters, and my irritation grew.

I don’t care. I don’t care if you get married or not!

『Child, do not get caught up in their pace…』

「Tre’ainar… but…」

Then, Tre’ainar whispered in my ear to calm me down.

『Try as you might, these two… do not know any better. Perhaps it is best to wait and see for now…』

「Eh…?」

Unlike me, who was irritated, Tre’ainar was calm. And he had a somewhat questioning expression on his face.

『I do not even know the man named Slayer… this Espie is also… she was an enemy we once fought, now I do not really understand her. Well, tis unavoidable, as I knew her when she was around 7~8 years of age…』

「…… she changed as an adult?」

『Tis a possibility. Besides, this girl has always been intelligent, most of all, she was never the type to put her heart and soul into a righteous cause like Hiro and his ilk… but…』

「But…?」

Tre’ainar still can’t seem to give an answer, and he doesn’t even clearly say that Espy is “the enemy” or that I should “run away”.

Instead, he said to “wait and see” and then…

『But there is one thing I do know… Espie and Slayer… these two… Child, towards you… they do not appear to harbor any ill feelings, do they?』

「No, no, Espie said she was going to beat me up!?」

『Mm-hmm, hence my uncertainty. These two… what is their purpose… and how… does Espie know that the child is in possession of the Master Key…』

「Ah…」

Now that you mention it, that’s right. The Master Key was given to me by Paripi in the first place.

And it was only the other day that Paripi and I made contact.

He’s my subordinate… he forced himself on me, so I got it as a kind of present.

So why does this woman know that I have the Master Key?

I’m certainly curious.

“Come, let’s get the Curry ready first.”

“Then, young man. Let’s chop the vegetables together.”

“No, no, you guys wait a minute! Even if you suddenly say that!? I mean, I’ve never cut vegetables before!”

“Eh!?”

Why do you look so dumbfounded! My bad!

『Child…』

「Even you, Tre’ainar! It can’t be helped! Sadiz told me not to touch the knife because it’s dangerous…」

『…… pompous twat…』

Because I was only about ten years old at the time?

It was Sadiz’s birthday and I thought I’d do my best to cook for her as a way to show my gratitude.

When I sneaked into the kitchen and tried to cook.

――I will make a delicious meal for Sadiz’s birthday… erm, the knife is…

――Oh? Little man, why are you in the kitchen… Huh!? Little man, what are you doing? That’s dangerous!

――Ah, Sadiz… I, I’m, cooking for Sadiz…

――I appreciate the sentiment, but you’re too young to use a knife, Little man. No, you don’t have to cook. Cooking for Little man is my purpose in life, so please don’t take away my purpose in life.

――Sadiz …

―― Little man’s meals are always, and will always, be made by Sadiz ♡.

――No, it’s not for me, it’s for Sadiz!? For your Birthday …… so……

―― Still no good ♪.

Sadiz wouldn’t let me have a knife… So, Tre’ainar! Don’t give me that look!

“Huh~… Is that right… you’re a big brother who was raised in an overprotective way… was it because of little Sadiz?”

“I see… you still can’t cook… that’s a bit of a problem…”

And, this stupid couple too, as if to mock me… stay out of it!

“Well then… what are we going to do? If you can’t make Curry… first…”

“That’s right. I’d love to have Curry, but… if you’ve come this far… well…… okay. For now, this coffee is for you. With this, you can train yourself to make proper curry.”

Hmm…?

『Child…』

Oh, and Tre’ainar seemed to understand.

Suddenly, when they came here, the atmosphere between the two of them changed.

What? What are you trying to do?

“Hey… I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it…”

“Me and Slayer… I want you to help us.”

No. You don’t want to do something to me, you want to ask me a favor?

And help you?

“Hey, this is all too sudden, isn’t it?”

And then I raised my voice, I was at my limit again.

“Ahahaha, as expected… is that so?”

“No! In the first place, there’s so much I don’t get, from the moment you first appeared to this very moment! The only thing I know about you is that you are one of the seven heroes, you are the manager’s girlfriend, and you are kind of a pain in the ass! And you’re asking me to do you a favor? To help you out? I don’t get it!”

“Hmm, you don’t understand, hmm……. hmm…… well…… how to explain it~…… but, I can’t tell you every single detail… just this…”

“Hmm?”

At that moment, Espie held something out to me with a somewhat sad expression on her face.

Something in a cloth bag that fits in the palm of your hand.

“I want you to take this… and go to the ruins of Shiznautmy. Together with me and Slayer.”

“Huh? I don’t want to.”

“…… Oh? That’s terrible~, I’d like you to at least listen to me…”

“Is that the attitude of someone who wants others to listen to them? For the most part, YOU are the one who selfishly doesn’t even listen to me and wants to beat me up!”

“Huh~? Hmm~, even though you’re a man, you’re whining about minor details~. Really, you want me to beat you up?”

I don’t know what they want me to do.

But, if the request was to take these two to the ruins, I firmly refused.

“Huh? The last few days have been a parade of legendary residents… not to disrespect you, but do you think I’ll be intimidated by the threat of just one of the Seven Heroes?”

“…… I feel… somewhat…annoyed”

If this woman was up to something, depending on the situation, she might try to force me to participate… Normally, I wouldn’t want a serious battle with the Seven Heroes, but depending on the situation, I wouldn’t hesitate.

With this in mind, I also changed the atmosphere that I exuded.

But……

“Espie, stop it.”

“…… Hmm…”

Slayer stepped in between us and glared at Espie.

Then Espie puffed out her cheeks like she was sulking, but she didn’t do anything to me.

“Bu~, I know, but~, but~, he doesn’t even know what’s going on~”

“Your fault”

“Oh! Slayer’s just pretending to be cute and innocent! Ah ~, so annoying. OK. Fine. Just accept this for now.”

Saying that, Espie threw me the cloth bag, which I accepted reflexively.