A week after selling the Black Knight Greatsword to Kaniel, I planned to take Rex around Orario today.
"If I eat that again, I'm cutting my balls off... Crunch"
It was Sunday again, so sandwiches were lined up in the dining hall—but I absolutely! Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely! Would not touch them. I thought I heard a faint click of someone's tongue from somewhere, but I would not touch them! Even if I had to eat, I would buy a hot dog from some street stall along the way or eat the preserved food in my workshop. Those foodstuffs that deserved to burn in hellfire for eternity would never so much as touch my lips!
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The young man heads to work, huffing and puffing.
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"I'm here!"
"Meow, meow~!"
Rex didn't get upset anymore even when I came late on weekends. Why, you ask?
"All right, since I'm late again today..."
"...Gulp"
"Premium jerky!"
"Meeeeow!"
For the past three weeks, I'd given him premium jerky every time I came home late, haha.
Ah, Pavlov, you were a genius! When I secretly watched him later, if I didn't show up at my usual time, he would actually get happy and drool at the spot where he waited. He was a greedy cat conditioned by premium jerky!
"Once you finish that, let's go explore Orario."
"Meow?"
"I was going to go when Kaniel first came by last time, but I had to get straight to work, so I couldn't. Let's go this time. Not that you understand any of this."
Sometimes, I imagined what it would be like if this guy could really talk to me... But it was only imagination.
"Meeeow~"
"Good grief, you finished already? You're not getting any more."
"Meow!"
"Go ahead and bite me. It won't even tickle, you little punk."
"Grrrrrrrr..."
"Since when was your species a dog?"
"...Meow?"
"...You want us to pretend that never happened?"
"Mya!"
"But I refuse!"
"Meeeeow?!"
"One of the things Smith enjoys most is saying no to cats who think they naturally sit above their servants' heads!"
"Meeeeeeeeow?!"
After teasing Rex for a while, I realized that if I kept going, even premium jerky would not be enough to calm him down. Naturally, I put him on my shoulder and stood up.
"Hup. Shall we begin the NPC shop employees' tour of Orario?"
"Mya?"
"You're an employee of our shop too, so it's an employee tour of Orario. Maybe we'll find a good restaurant too?"
"...Sparkle, sparkle"
I couldn't hear any sound, but I could tell Rex's eyes were shining very brightly. No, how was he looking at me so hard that I could physically feel his gaze?
"We walk around this northeastern industrial district every day, so we know it all already, right? Let's make our way around clockwise."
"Meow!"
"Let's go!"
District One was probably just Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V copies of our own shop anyway, so we skipped straight to District Two!
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The young man and cat are on the move.
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"Man, I see it every day, but it feels tall every single time. You think so too?"
"Meow."
We were now on the northeastern main street, where Babel could be seen. That white tower supposedly built by the gods, [Babel]... Was it not mankind's seal, but the gods' prayer?
Hmm, enough depressing thoughts. We had come out onto the main street in high spirits, but... Hmm, let's visit Limus's place first.
"Let's go see Limus."
"Meeeow~"
"You like Limus that much?"
Strangely enough, this guy liked being petted by Limus more than by me. Well, compared to someone like me who swung a hammer all day, the guy who made potions probably had more delicate hands.
...Urgh, was this the pain of NTR? Netorase play?
'Oho~ How does it feel to have your precious kitty stolen by a blue-haired shota?'
Some weird brainwaves were coming from somewhere... Had I been feeling run-down lately? Maybe I should buy some supplements later.
"Let's see... Turn down this alley, then it was over there... Ah, found it."
It had been quite a while since I last came here, so I nearly got lost. Maybe it had only been twenty chapters... No, twenty-five days... No, not in that timeline! Hmm... It had been roughly four or five months since I had personally visited his home.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang
"Knock knock knock, knock knock. Do you wanna build a snowman!"
"Shut up and get in here!"
"Okay, hi."
"Extremely severe Orario profanity"
"Here, pet Rex and calm down."
"...Give him to me."
Hehehe.
Limus was completely smitten with Rex. Rex had been startled too, but he seemed to like it... Ah, what a nice sight.
'This is just netorase play... Mmph!'
Why did I keep hearing phantom voices...?
"So, what brings you to my house after a whole five months?"
"Nothing much. I was going to look around Orario with Rex. First, I figured I'd stop by your place, go to Babel, then head to the southern main street. Want to come?"
"Hmm... Sure."
"What's gotten into you, workaholic?"
"For now, at least, the ruler of the back alleys has been decided, so I don't need to keep up the volume of supplies."
"You were still doing that?!"
"Well, work piled up to the point where pulling three all-nighters seemed cute, but I made that much money too. I just woke up after sleeping all day. I was wondering whether to go out and get some fresh air when you showed up."
"O... oh..."
...Looking closely, this place was a total mess. Well, he could clean it up himself later. The first rule of men's friendship: you leave a man to clean his own house!
"So, we skip the cemetery and the pleasure district and head straight for the commercial district?"
"Hmm, come to think of it, I've never properly made up my mind to look around the commercial district. I do want to see it once."
"We're not buying alcohol from Soma's or Dionysus's side?"
"I already embedded a wine cask in the workshop floor, so if I want a drink, I can just have that."
"Call me when you drink later."
"Sure."
{Ding! Alchemist Limus has joined the party!}
I thought I heard something strange, but ignored it.
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The party is on the move.
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The southern main street, said to be Orario's greatest commercial district, was extravagant beyond words. Silk clothes caught the eye here, golden statues caught it there, and people packed every direction so densely that the broad avenue looked narrow.
"Was this place always so crowded? I don't think it was this bad when I came here to buy things last time."
"Hmm... Monsterphilia is coming up soon, so maybe people are already arriving for that?"
"Ah, right, it's not far off. About a week left?"
"Meow~"
Come to think of it, I had missed Monsterphilia last year and the year before because I was working in the smithy... Should I go see it this time?
"Oh, what's that? Looks like they're selling something delicious."
"Rock, paper, scissors—if you don't throw, you lose!"
I threw rock, and Limus threw scissors.
"Go buy it. Your big brother's hungry."
"Damn it...!"
"Meow, meow!"
"If it's meat, buy three so Rex can have some too."
"Buy it with your own money!"
"You should've won, then. Pfft."
The winner decides everything...!
We finished looking around the commercial district while eating fried squid tentacles Limus bought. He grumbled that they cost thirty valis each, so I bought the next snack. Then we looked around the southwestern main street and continued on to the western main street. Along the way, I spotted a teahouse called Wyshe packed with elves, spat once, and hurried past. Ah... No matter how I thought about it, I just did not like those elf bastards. I had already told Limus over drinks that I hated elves, so he did not look particularly surprised.
We also took a look at Amor Square, something of a landmark on the southwestern main street, before heading toward the trading post near the southwestern gate, where the entrance toward the sea was located. I usually bought the fish Rex loved so much here, so it was a fairly familiar place.
If the southern commercial district was extravagance at its peak, the southwestern trading post was liveliness at its peak. Merchants called out to customers from all sides, and since this was Orario's only connection to the sea, there was even a designated seafood trading area.
I felt Rex's gaze turning dangerous, so I put him on top of my head and gently stroked his back. I could feel him settle down.
Still, a 185-centimeter giant walking around with a cat perched on his head must have looked pretty strange, because eyes poured in from all around. At this rate, someone would soon ask whether they could pet him.
"Hey, hey, can I pet him?"
"...Alise?"
"Mm-hmm, it's been a while, Smith. Now then, let me pet the cat!"
...They said words became seeds. Why was this woman here again?
"...Go ahead."
"Thanks!"
I grabbed Rex from atop my head between my arms and lifted him down. His warm belly had gotten cold, so he complained loudly.
"Meeeooow~~~"
"There, there. Go get held by your big sister."
But the moment someone appeared to hold him, he happily snuggled into her arms... Beautiful women and cats are always the truth!
'As expected, you really do have a netorase preference, so—Thud!'
What was that now...?
"But what brings you here? Hunting Evilus, drug enforcement, tracking down criminals?"
"No, no, no. Today is just a day off for the members. We worked our asses off catching them over the past week, though."
"...Were you the ones causing havoc in Daedalus Street?"
Limus, who had been quiet until now, spoke first for once.
"Hmm... Are you a Daedalus resident?"
"Yeah, damn it! I'm the alchemist whose two weeks' worth of research data got ruined when I spilled reagents I was working on because of you people!"
"Uh... um... IguessIsorrythecatwassoreallycuteandthanksforthegingerale lasttimeokaybyeIreallymeanitsee youlater!"
Apparently she had a guilty conscience about something. She spoke faster than a rapper from a past life, put Rex back on top of my head in an instant, and ran faaaar away.
"Tch..."
After grumbling about his research data for a while, Limus asked me what organization she belonged to. Naturally, I told him. Why? Because it looked fun! He gave a suspiciously evil grin and left just like that...?
What the hell?
Anyway, with one party member gone, I went to the warehouse district and bought a red metal said to have come from the Far East. They called it hihiirokane... The merchant was obviously a novice, so I bargained him down to half price. Heh, as if it could be genuine? Before heading to the western main street, I took one last look at the magnificent crotch of the Ganesha Familia and nodded without thinking. What a true man!
It was dinnertime. We had made do with street snacks for lunch, but for dinner, we went to the nearby Hostess of Fertility.
"Mama Mia, one big grilled fish and one small one. Anything is fine!"
"One big salmon and one small salmon!"
Looks like some good salmon had come in today. Come to think of it, I had not had sashimi since coming here. Was there anywhere that served it?
"Mama Mia."
"What?"
"Do you know how to make sashimi?"
"That Far Eastern food where they slice up live fish and eat it? I don't make that. I can tell you a place that does, so go eat there later. I don't know if he's still alive, though. The place is run by a retired adventurer who's half dead."
"Oh, so there is a place in Orario. Where is it?"
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The young man and cat are having dinner.
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After finishing our meal and hearing the sashimi restaurant's address and location, we headed to the northern main street, commonly called Adventurers' Street. Even though it was dinnertime, the place overflowed with adventurers. No, perhaps there were so many because it was dinnertime. They would be coming out of the Dungeon around then.
After watching adventurers covered head to toe in blood and dust from the Dungeon, or in potions, I turned and headed for the city wall. It was the place that led up onto the northern wall, Ais Wallenstein's secret base in the original story. But in this world, I had found it first. For a month after arriving in Orario, I wandered beneath the city wall whenever I had time and barely managed to find it.
Just as in the original story, there was living space inside the wall, stone chambers, and even water facilities. Every now and then, there were blatantly obvious traces that someone had visited. It was probably Ais Wallenstein. Ever since I left a note telling her to eat only a reasonable amount of the preserved food in the storage room, she must have felt guilty, because preserved food I had not bought was gradually appearing there.
I went up the stairs to the top of the city wall.
The sun was just about to sink beneath the distant horizon, and the sky already belonged to the stars and moon. I gazed up, picking out the constellations I had learned since coming to this world one by one.
"The Argonaut constellation, the Elf Queen constellation, the Black Dragon constellation... What was the Behemoth constellation again?"
"Meow, meow..."
"What, are you sleepy?"
Well, he had been overflowing with energy all day while we toured Orario. There was no way he could not be tired.
"Go to sleep. I'm the one carrying you around anyway."
"Meow..."
For a moment, it sounded as though he had said thank you. Good grief... Had I gained the servant Skill of cat translation now?
"Let's go."
And so, our tour of Orario came to a somewhat anticlimactic end.
Ah, I heard later that Limus was delighted after going to the Astraea Familia and extorting compensation from them. And they all lived happily ever after~