8
“Help! Someone help! This chick is crazy!”
“Who are you calling crazy?! If anyone’s messed up in the head, it’s you!”
This is a new experience for me. I’ve never had a woman chase me around like this before.
“Calm down! I told you I was sorry! I’ll apologize again if you want! Just put down that sword!”
“It’s way too late for apologies! I should’ve sliced you in half the moment I saw you!”
Okay, so when I say “chase me around,” in this case, I mean a wild-haired woman is chasing me around with a drawn sword and murder in her eyes.
“Drawing your sword in response to groping definitely makes you the crazy one!”
“A sane person doesn’t just grab a woman’s breasts without any context or warning, you lunatic!”
So…accidentally groping a woman’s breasts is a pretty common trope in manga. So, too, is getting chased around by an angry woman in response to an accidental grope. But…
“Can’t you at least blush while you’re chasing me? Or swing something less lethal?! There’s nothing pleasant about being chased by a raging berserker! Not even a little bit!!”
“Of course it’s unpleasant! I’m trying to kill you!”
“Someone, heeeeelp!”
What the hell? This is not the clichéd rom-com development I thought it would be.
I continue running through the halls of a castle, turning a corner and hoping against hope for some deliverance.
Wait…is that?
“Tillis! Just the person I wanted to see!”
I catch sight of Tillis walking in our direction.
“Why, Sir Six, what a pleasant surprise. I was just about to… Wh-what are you two doing? Is something the matter?”
“Can we talk about that later? I really could use your help right now.”
“Your Highness, I’ll be lopping off this bastard’s head. Please look away.”
Snow’s eyes glint with murderous intent as I tremble in fear behind Tillis. A woman of Snow’s age shouldn’t be mentioning lopping off heads so casually.
“I…I’m not quite sure what transpired between the two of you, but the use of deadly force within the castle will end with you shackled in the dungeon, Snow! Calm yourself, please!”
Curling her lips in a disappointed scowl, Snow lets out a frustrated grunt and sheathes her sword.
“…You better watch your back on tomorrow’s mission.”
Snow makes clear her intent to murder me tomorrow and storms off toward the barracks. She definitely missed her calling. Rather than being a knight for some Royal Guard, she’d fit in way better at the Kisaragi Corporation.
“Thanks, Tillis… I didn’t expect her to take getting groped that personally.”
“Sir Six…wh-what possessed you to do such a thing? Snow has no sense of humor. Unlike the noble-born members of the Royal Guard, she could never afford one. She rose from a life of poverty in the slums to her position as captain of the Royal Guard by way of honest effort. That’s why she seems so serious…”
Oh…I thought she was of noble birth, given her pride and arrogance…
“By the way, didn’t you mention you wanted to talk to me about something?”
“Yes. It was on the subject of a room for Alice.”
“Well, I guess this is fine. Thinking logistically, it’s better that we share a room anyway. Just don’t get any funny ideas because I’m pretty. I’m not equipped with any reproductive functions, so we couldn’t do anything even if we wanted to.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! I wouldn’t lust after an android! How the hell did we get into this situation anyway?”
Due to our sudden hiring, they could only ready a single room for me and Alice to share. It made sense from the castle’s point of view; after all, we’d been traveling together for some time. Something I hadn’t thought about when coming up with our backstory.
“If you do get any urges, I’ll gladly leave you to your own devices for a bit. I’ll also make sure to knock and wait a few moments before opening the door.”
“Don’t put yourself out! I’m not some horny monkey!”
I glance around the room we’ve been given. Thankfully, they’ve prepared two beds for us. The furniture is rounded out by a simple table with chairs and a single chest of drawers. Aside from that…
“Check that out, Alice; there’s running water. And that’s not an oil lamp, is it? There’s no place to pour the fuel. There’s also something that looks like a cordless TV hanging on the wall. I thought we could just bring some technology over and be worshipped as gods by the primitive locals, but I guess we’ll have to scratch that plan.”
“Best not to underestimate this world’s technology level. That lamp and sort-of TV are probably powered by magic. Add the fact that they can create artificial Chimeras… And then those artifacts. The list of things to investigate is getting longer by the day.”
I spread out the items we’ve brought from Japan and let out a sigh of relief. At least it looks like we’ll be able to sustain ourselves here for the time being. I strip off my power armor and flop down on the bed.
“Say, Six. Snow made it clear that we’ll have a combat mission tomorrow, but don’t forget our main objective. We can support this kingdom so long as it helps us achieve our goals, but if things start to look bad, we should cut our losses and leave. Hiring us as knights, then lumping us in with the social rejects… I don’t know who came up with that, but it’s a decent bit of petty villainy. We shouldn’t underestimate them.”
Alice begins polishing the shotgun I bought her. She seems oddly fond of it now, making a habit of polishing it every chance she gets.
“I know, I know. But think about our audience with the king. They took my knife but left my handgun. That means guns aren’t common knowledge here. They called the busted tank an artifact… If they’re still mostly using swords and bows, then we have plenty of options. We’ve found ourselves some work and a place to live, so why don’t we go make a name for ourselves and establish a proper base of operations…?”
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