Episode 68: A Summer Day at the Guild
“An edict from the Lord! First! Anyone feigning illness to see a doctor, when not suffering from heatstroke, is forbidden! This is because it obstructs those who are truly ill from receiving medical attention! …Second! Jumping into the river to cool off is forbidden! Many drown, making it dangerous!”
Yes.
The town crier shouts in the plaza.
This world is like Medieval Europe, so literacy is low, and newspapers and bulletin boards aren’t very useful. That’s why they need someone to proclaim the news aloud like that.
This proclamation is made every day at specific times… in this town, around the second bell in the morning, the second at noon, and the first in the evening.
Listening is optional, but you’re generally not excused for saying you didn’t know the proclamation later. It feels a bit odd, but some oppression is normal. It’s not worth worrying about.
So, with the Lord’s order forbidding feigned illness, only people truly suffering from heatstroke come now.
Peaceful…!
…Too peaceful, and now it’s getting boring.
For now, I’ll pack some Ice Cream in a cooler box (a Magic Item of sorts) and show my face at the free hostess club, the Striders Guild. I haven’t been there lately…
“Ah, Dru-san!”
“Yo, Mirei.”
The Striders Guild.
Opening the Western-style door and stepping inside, Mirei, who was serving, jumps up and hugs me.
Ah, cute.
And the faintly fragrant scent of sweat.
Ah, there’s no air conditioning, so it’s hot inside the Guild.
Even with the windows wide open, it’s still hot.
So, it’s natural that Mirei, young with a good metabolism, is damp with sweat.
It’s a young woman’s fresh scent, so it’s not unpleasant. No, there’s a slightly animalistic, raw smell. Is it because she’s a demi-human after all? It’s a good “accent” at this level, though.
“It’s hot today, Mirei.”
“It is, nyaa! I’m so over it, nyaa~!”
“I brought a souvenir.”
“Eh, what is it, nya?”
“Since it’s hot, it’s Frozen Confection.”
“Frozen… Confection? What is that, nya?”
Ah, she doesn’t know.
Well, Mirei has never left this town since she was born, so it’s normal that she wouldn’t know about sweets popular in distant cities.
I feel the difference in knowledge compared to a modern person in moments like these… but I’m not sad.
Rather, I hate girls from Earth with their weird, half-baked knowledge. Those guys are really crap. They swallow internet information whole and start saying weird things like feminist? Or anti-vaccine? I don’t want to go back to Earth…!
Girls in this world, who are happy with anything and have no knowledge, are cuter. I can teach them what they lack…
“Frozen Confection is a sweet made by freezing sweet water. It’s popular in the north.”
“Wow~! Dru-san knows so much, nyaa!”
Un~!
That innocent praise!
Seriously, girls are cutest when they’re a little dumb! The worst are the crap women who studied gender theory at a low-ranking women’s college! They’ve nibbled at “studies” they can’t even do, so they become half-confident! High school graduates are much better than that!
You must never marry someone like that, whether it’s an introduction from your parents or friends! That’s a promise from your older brother!
For now, I put the Ice Cream in a glass dish, gave Mirei a silver spoon, and sat her down at a table nearby.
“…Nmyamyaa! Delicious, nyaaaa!!!”
And the moment she took a spoonful, Mirei exaggeratedly rejoiced.
Ah, cute.
A girl who’s overjoyed with just Ice Cream is so cute!!!
It’s a far cry from the crap women who want overpriced brand-name goods that don’t suit their age or want to eat French food even though they don’t know the taste!
It’s cheap, but more than being cheap and easy, the feeling of gratitude is so good…!
It’s just the best.
I stroked Mirei all over.
As I was flirting with Mirei at the Guild…
“Oh, Dru-chan? To the Guild in this heat? You’re energetic…”
An old man appeared.
It’s William, the leader of the Strider’s Clan ‘Guiding Hawk’.
And another kid I don’t recognize…
“Who’s that?”
“This kid is our newbie. The kid who joined in the spring has become somewhat useful.”
Ah, that’s right.
I remember a lot of new Striders gathering in the spring. By the way, I was beaten up by Katerina, the leader of the ‘Blue Comet’.
I really thought I was going to die at that time…
“This is Dominique-chan. Dominique-chan? Say hello to Dru-chan, he’s my friend.”
“…Hello.”
The kid called Dominique-chan is…
A young woman, about fifteen years old, yes, a girl.
However… she’s flattening her chest with a sarashi, misrepresenting her waistline with a torso pad and accessory case wrapped around her waist, and disguising the shape of her throat and shoulders with a scarf and short coat.
As for her hairstyle, it’s normal for women in this world to have long hair, unless they’re women from Tribesman or beastmen. Long hair is a symbol of a woman’s beauty.
But this girl has a short, same-layered cut, Earth-style. It’s too short for a human woman.
And her face is androgynous, making her look like a handsome boy.
And she’s not friendly. She has a sullen look.
“Hello. I’m a friend of that old man over there, nice to meet you.”
I waved my hand while holding Vanilla Ice Cream.
“Moo, Dominique-chaan? That’s no good~! I’m not saying you have to make friends, but it’s always better to be friendly~! Come on, smile, smile!”
“Fnyu.”
William pinched Dominique’s cheek.
Didn’t he say he was bad with women?
…Ah?
No, that’s right.
“William.”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“Haven’t you noticed?”
“What?”
“That newbie, Dominique or whatever… she’s a woman, you know?”
“Eh?”
Instantly, William stopped moving…
Ah, I knew it.
He mistook her for a man…