Seeker 181

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Chapter 181. The Morning Of Departure

Chun-chun, chun-chun. 

The morning sun streamed in through the gaps in the wooden window, gently caressing my face as I slowly woke up with drowsy eyes.

"Mmm... It's morning already... Yawn..."

I stretched as I sat up in bed. 

Above me was the ceiling of an inn in another world. 

Once again, there was no doubt that everything up until now wasn't just a dream upon waking up in the morning.

By the way, there was a sensation of someone clinging to my waist. Something soft, warm, and incredibly pleasant.

"U-nyuu... Daichi-kun, I can't take it anymore..."

"Munya-munya... Senpai~, I can't eat anymore~"

Two girls were still fast asleep, wrapped around me. 

They were both dressed, but their clothes were loosely hanging, and was quite a sight.

Wait, why are we all sleeping in the same bed again...?

Oh, right, last night we were on night duty at the orphanage until it was almost morning. 

By the time we got back to the inn, I was too tired to think straight, and in our groggy state, the 3 of us ended up sleeping together in one bed.

Anyway, I gently woke the two of them up.

Soon, Kazane-san and Yuzuki also woke up, looking still sleepy.

"Ah... Good morning, Daichi-kun. U-nyuu, I'm so tired..."

"Munya... Ah~ Senpai~, good morning~. But just 5 more minutes."

"Hey, hey. We have to escort Esrin-san again today, so wake up properly."

"Kupi, Kupii."

The griffin by the bedside also kicked Yuzuki while she was getting up.

Eventually, the three of us managed to get out of bed.

After getting ready in the morning, we headed downstairs to the dining hall for breakfast and met with Eslyn-san and the others.

"Good morning, Eslyn-san. And everyone else."

"Morning. But why do you all look so sleepy? Were you out partying last night? Or hehe... Did the 3 of you have a lively night together?"

Eslyn-san made a circle with her finger, teasingly moving her index finger in and out of it.

I couldn't help but sigh.

"Eslyn-san, you're quite straightforward with that kind of talk, aren't you?"

"Well, was it more like a night out, or maybe a bit of mischief?"

"A little bit of both, I suppose."

"Haah. I don't really get it, but keep it within the limits, especially since we have our escort duties. Minotaurs can appear on the road ahead, you know?"

"""Yes, ma'am."""

With that exchange, we finished our breakfast and prepared to depart. 

As we left the inn and headed towards the town's north gate, we encountered a scene on the way where military police were raiding a certain merchant's house.

The moneylender merchant Damon was being restrained by the constables, unable to escape. 

Even his prideful stubble drooped weakly.

Gilbert was at the scene of the raid, and upon noticing us, he gave us a thumbs-up.

We returned the gesture with raised thumbs.

Despite staying up late with us last night, Gilbert-san seemed cheerful and ready for work early in the morning. 

Or maybe he had been working without sleep all night.

Last night, we had been in hiding at the orphanage, successfully catching a housebreaker in the act. 

Kazane-san and I had concealed ourselves using the [Stealth] skill in a blind spot in the room where the contract document was stored.

After our evening discussion, Gilbert-san returned to the military office station and consulted with a trustworthy superior. 

They had then staked out the location late into the night and caught the criminals in the act.

The housebreaker, a man named Rodney, quickly started talking once he heard that he could get a reduced sentence if he revealed the mastermind behind the operation.

With Rodney's testimony as a lead, the moneylender Damon's house search was conducted to uncover his various wrongdoings, including his role as the mastermind behind the scheme. 

The results of this search were unfolding right before us.

By the way, we received our rewards for helping out. 

And on top of that, we were given additional rewards.

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Special Mission: Cooperated with the military officers to protect the orphanage from the conspiracy of the moneylender Damon!

All party members gained 5000 experience points!

Current Experience Points:

Musou Daichi... 28,8924/30,3707 (Next Level: 14,783)

Kodachi Kazane... 28,9296/30,3707 (Next Level: 14,411)

Yuzuki Hotaru... 29,7041/30,3707 (Next Level: 6,666)

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When Gilbert asked us for assistance, there was already a special mission on the table.

And the late-night arrest operation had successfully completed that mission.

Honestly, I didn't feel like 5000 experience points were too little for all that. 

Considering the late-night stakeout and sleep deprivation. 

Well, perhaps my expectations were a bit extravagant.

As Eslyn-san's group and we passed by Damon's merchant house, we soon found ourselves in front of the orphanage.

"Oh, it's Hotaru!"

"Daichi-oniisan and Kazane-oneechan are here too!"

"You're leaving already? See you later, Hotaru-oneechan and everyone!"

Voices filled with excitement came from the children who happened to be outside. 

Yuzuki was the most popular among them.

Yuzuki ran over to the children, hugging and patting their heads. 

I could see a hint of tears in her eyes, maybe from hearing the children's voices.

In response to the children's voices, Karen, the orphanage's director, came out. She deeply bowed to us.

At that moment, Kazane-san said, "I'll be right back," after excusing herself to me, she rushed over to Director Karen. 

After Kazane-san whispered something to Director Karen, the Director blushed and seemed flustered. 

Kazane-san patted Director Karen's shoulder and returned to my side with a playful smile.

"When I told 'Be happy with Gilbert-san,' she reacted like that. I wonder if those two are okay."

"Haha, they probably don't talk about that stuff much."

"True, it wasn't that long ago that someone else was like that."

"Yeah."

I have a feeling Kazane-san and Yuzuki will tease me about this for a long time.

After a while, Yuzuki also parted from the children and returned.

She had wiped her eyes with her sleeves a few times, and her eyes were a bit red.

"You guys are quite popular, huh? Were you out with those kids at night? It looked like you were also talking to the military officer's big brother a while ago."

When I heard that from Eslyn-san, I replied "Well, you could say that.", and left it at that.

We left behind the children's voices. We continued our journey through Randelburg city. 

Four days had passed since we left the starting point, the city of Franburg city. 

We had already covered more than half of the distance to the Dwarf City of Dagmahar.