Torquetum and Woff ②
Come to think of it, it all started when I saved them.
Back then… I remember using [Generous] on that Chimera variant.
I wonder if I could beat that Chimera now without any tricks.
Anyway, Ms. Pachira knew.
So it’s only natural the other two found out as well.
I’d heard from Ms. Lupinus before that she wanted to talk to me.
I had a pretty good idea what it was about, but I never thought it would be now.
“Um, well…”
“It’s best if we start from the beginning, aye. First, how did we realize?”
“Yes.”
They were all unconscious. So it’s hard to imagine they found out then.
“It was Liv who noticed. She said she could smell Elixir on ye.”
“Huh? The smell of Elixir?”
A smell… there isn’t one, right? Is there? Eh? A smell?
“Nn… Even now… there’s a little bit… of Elixir smell…”
“Eh…?”
I instinctively sniffed my clothes and skin. I can’t tell.
Aren’t Elixirs supposed to be tasteless and odorless? Ms. Pachira gave a faint, wry smile.
“Truth be told, we don’t really know either. It’s Liv’s senses.”
“It’s quite something, this ‘Liv Sense’ of hers.”
“Nn… Feels good…”
“Ah… I think I understand somehow.”
So it’s like that ‘Liv’s space’ kind of thing?
Like a sixth sense or something similar. Something people in this world don’t have.
The ‘smell of Elixir’ probably isn’t an actual scent.
It’s just something she can perceive.
“But at first, we thought ye were a Hired Pup.”
“We thought you had an employer, you see.”
“Well, that’s…”
That certainly sounds more plausible.
“Nn… But it was different…”
“…Why did you think it was different?”
“Well, ye see. It’s difficult to say, but…”
Ms. Pachira looked troubled.
“?”
“Woff-san. Do you remember what you gave Pachira?”
“Um, ah… The Elixir…”
“…And that… was strange… That’s what I thought…”
“We considered the possibility that you had an employer and were following their instructions.”
“However, aye. If that were the case, we’d have to consider the reason why.”
“The objective, that is.”
“Nn… Torquetum… Reason to help… Don’t understand…”
Right. It’s hard to say what the objective would be.
“We thought perhaps we were the objective, but…”
“Honestly, aye. Whether we balance out the value of an Elixir…”
“Nn… We… aren’t… that… conceited…”
“Indeed.”
I-I see.
So they were thinking about whether they were worth using an Elixir on… is that it?
I’d rather not comment on that.
Life is precious and important above all else. But in this world, life is fleeting and holds little value.
I understand this much, but it’s something I just can’t accept.
“And then, ye… well, ye confessed, aye.”
“Well, yes.”
“Allow me to express our gratitude once more.”
Ms. Lupinus bowed her head again in thanks.
I felt embarrassed.
“No, it’s, uh…”
“Nn… Liv also says thanks.”
“And I, as Torquetum, offer my thanks as well.”
“Thank you very much.”
“…Thank you…”
“Thank you.”
Faced with their three expressions of gratitude, I didn’t know how to respond.
It’s not like I did it because I wanted to be thanked.
It just felt wrong not to save a life that could be saved.
“……”
“Now then, this may be impolite, but there’s something I’d like to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Why did you save us?”
“Huh? Why?”
I tilted my head slightly. Ms. Lupinus looked at me suspiciously.
“An Elixir’s value does not equate to ours. You are aware of that, are you not?”
“…Seeing someone about to die and not helping them… wasn’t an option for me. It’s strange not to help when you have the means to do so.”
“No. It is not strange.”
“Indeed, it ain’t.”
“Nn…”
Torquetum flatly denied it. I couldn’t help but give a wry smile.
“Hmm. Anyway, that’s the kind of person I am. But I do choose who I help. I don’t just go around saving anyone and everyone.”
I certainly wouldn’t save someone showing hostility or murderous intent.
I do have some discretion. And I need to add something important.
“I don’t need any reward or anything. That’s not why I helped.”
A strange silence fell over the room.
“…”
“…Nn.”
“Understood.”
Ms. Lupinus nodded. But her expression was somewhat stiff.
Does that mean she doesn’t agree but accepts it?
“Good grief. How very like Woff, aye.”
“Nn… Don’t… dislike… that kind… of thing…”
The other two finally spoke up.
Well, maybe it is typical of me.
“Now then, next.”
“Next?”
Um, are we done with this part?
Aren’t they going to ask why I had an Elixir or anything like that?
Not that I’d welcome it, but then Ms. Lupinus stood up.
“Um?”
She moved away from the sofa, sat directly on the floor, and suddenly performed a dogeza.
“Thank you very much for the large sum of money!!”
“Eeeeehhh?!”
I shot to my feet. It was a magnificent dogeza.
Her hands were placed in front of her in a triangle shape, her forehead pressed firmly against the floor.
A large sum of money…
“Thank you very much for the sixty million Oro!!”
Ms. Lupinus declared grandly as she prostrated herself.
Uh, her level of gratitude seems different from when I saved her life.
Troubled, I looked at Ms. Pachira and Liv. They also looked stunned.
“Wh-What are ye doing, Lupinus!”
“Expressing my gratitude.”
“Nn… Seriously… dogeza… is… really… intense…”
“This is Soil Under Ockerra. The highest form of respect.”
Ms. Lupinus stated this plainly with a serious face.
Her level of seriousness was different. And what is Soil Under Ockerra?
The highest form of respect… If you put it that way, maybe, but it feels somehow wrong.
Ms. Pachira apologized to me.
“Apologies, aye. This one, she dislikes her family home, ye see. She’s overjoyed that she no longer needs to secure their support.”
“Nn… Enough to make her rejoice.”
I guess she doesn’t get along with her family.
“Hah… I understand. Ms. Lupinus. Please raise your head and stand up.”
“Has my sincerity been conveyed?”
“Y-Yes. It has been conveyed sufficiently.”
“Excellent.”
She stood up gracefully, swept her hair back, and offered a faint smile.
She didn’t look at all like the Elf who had just been performing a dogeza moments ago.
“Well, it still wasn’t quite enough, though, aye.”
“Is that so?”
“We just managed thanks to Tasan’s support. Oh, that’s right. There’s something I wanted to show ye.”
“Something you want to show me?”
“Lupinus. Yer business is concluded, aye?”
“Yes, I am quite finished. I even performed Soil Under Ockerra.”
Seriously, what is Soil Under Ockerra?
“Then let me show ye. This way.”
We left the living room, passed through the entrance hall, and followed the corridor until we reached a service entrance.
The service entrance faced inwards. Towards the inside of the mansion, that is.
“This mansion has a courtyard in the middle, ye see.”
“It has a courtyard too?”
I see. But first the overhang, and now this. What a strangely structured mansion.
Ms. Pachira opened the service entrance.
A square patch of green ground lay before us. On the opposite side, I could see the windows of the mansion.
And in the middle of this courtyard stood a tower. It was a stone tower, not particularly large.
Hmm?
“Somehow, it looks familiar… Eh, this tower!”
It’s the watchtower back home where Mineha-san is illegally squatting!?