After giving her name, Kiriko's group departed.
The couple invited Kiriko again and again to visit their territory. They felt that no matter what they did, they could never repay such a great debt—but they also couldn't bear doing nothing at all.
With nothing better to do, Kiriko agreed. Together, they left the town and headed for the couple's domain.
What puzzled Kiriko was this: by the couple's account, Itsuki Kawasumi's group should've been ahead of them.
Yet even after she'd wrapped everything up, she still hadn't run into the Bow Hero's party.
Of course, it was also possible that the "adventurers" the couple had met weren't the Bow Hero at all.
Still, just as they were about to reach the outskirts of the couple's little town, Kiriko ran into Naofumi Iwatani.
...
Behind a patch of tall grass, Filo—a blonde girl with little wings on her back—hovered anxiously beside Melty, who was crouched low in the grass.
"Melty-chan, are you okay?"
Melty forced a smile, but anyone could tell her thoughts were a tangled mess.
"I'm fine, Filo-chan."
Naofumi Iwatani glanced at her.
"Melty, don't worry. I won't let your sister hurt you."
Melty lowered her head, guilt flickering across her face.
"Thank you, Shield Hero-sama. And… I'm sorry. I dragged you into this."
"It's fine. This isn't your fault," Naofumi said. "If anything, it's your sister's fault."
Filo suddenly cut in, sharp-tongued.
"You don't need to apologize, Melty-chan. Master's just weird sometimes, you know? Don't let the face fool you—he acts all tough, but he's totally soft on the inside."
Melty's eyes went wide. Very carefully, she edged a step away from Naofumi.
"I-is that true? Shield Hero-sama is… that kind of person?"
"Yup! One time Filo even saw Master doing something really weird in the bath!"
"Shut it, Filo!"
"And at night, Master specifically told me not to do certain things, and he even used the Slave Crest to make sure I listened—ah! Master told me to shut up, so I'll shut up."
As she spoke, Filo made an exaggerated gesture of zipping her lips shut.
Melty's gaze turned icy.
And the other companions—silent up until now—also looked at Naofumi with the same cold eyes.
Naofumi shivered, then snapped at Filo.
"Don't make me sound like some kind of creep! All I told you was not to suddenly turn into your Filolial form at night! Otherwise it's not just me who can't take it—the bed can't take it either!"
"Shield Hero-sama," Melty said flatly, "that explanation somehow makes it sound even worse."
"…Forget it. Think what you want."
In the end, Naofumi gave up.
"But after running for this long, I really want to find somewhere we can actually rest… We can't go to an inn, though. That'd leave a trail for them to track."
Naofumi stared at a large house beyond the grass.
"If only the owner of that place would invite us in—and not leak our location…"
A familiar female voice answered him.
"Don't worry. If I speak to the owners, they'll be happy to help."
"Really? That's great!"
Naofumi felt something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it. A few seconds later, he finally reacted and whipped his head around.
"K-Kiriko-san?! W-what are you doing here? N-no—since when were you even here?!"
Crouched in the grass beside them, Kiriko wore a warm, amused smile.
"Mm. Probably since the moment the Shield Hero got put on trial by a small bird."
Then Kiriko clasped a hand to her chest and mimicked Naofumi's tone—only with an extra dash of theatrical exaggeration.
"'All I told you was not to suddenly turn into your Filolial form at night! Otherwise it's not just me who can't take it—the bed can't take it either!'"
"Hahahahaha—!"
Filo and Melty both burst into laughter, swaying with it, and even the others couldn't help smiling.
"Listen, Kiriko-san, it's not that—this is absolutely not what you think…"
Naofumi scrambled to explain.
"Relax. I get it. I really do."
Kiriko set both hands on Naofumi's shoulders, dead serious.
"Motoyasu always says he's not a weirdo too, so I understand. No need to explain."
"But I feel like you not only don't understand—you've misunderstood even harder."
For a moment, the air was full of cheer.
...
Afterward, just as Kiriko had promised, she went and spoke to the couple. When they heard it was Kiriko's friends, they happily agreed to let Naofumi's party rest at their home.
Naofumi's group was truly exhausted. The moment they got inside, they asked where they could sleep—and went straight to bed.
But Melty and Filo were both full of energy. Not only were they not tired, they clamored about exploring the house.
Naofumi tried to tell the two little troublemakers to behave, but the couple, as the hosts, only smiled and said it was fine.
So they let the girls roam.
One look at Filo was enough for Kiriko to tell—just like Gabriel, she was a Filolial Queen too.
If so, then monsters raised by Heroes really were different.
Naofumi, meanwhile, was visibly surprised by Gabriel, Tohru, and Kanna at Kiriko's side.
At dinner, the couple had planned to handle the cooking, but Kiriko "shooed" them out of the kitchen and showed them how it was done.
She laid out every ingredient she needed, then used the [Cooking] skill on the prepared foodstuffs.
A flash of light—and the ingredients automatically transformed into fragrant, steaming dishes.
"It's so good!"
Filo ate in huge bites.
"Even the royal… I mean, my family's chefs can't compare…"
Melty realized she'd misspoken the moment the words left her mouth and hurried to cover it up.
"I never imagined Kiriko-sama possessed such skill. We nearly made fools of ourselves trying to cook for you."
The couple couldn't help praising her as well.
Everyone ate happily that night.
After resting at the couple's home for one night, the next day the group prepared to leave.
The couple insisted Kiriko stay longer, but Kiriko could tell that although they were nobles, they didn't have much spare food.
One extra person wasn't just one extra pair of chopsticks.
And it wasn't just one extra person, either.
At dinner the night before, Filo alone ate like ten people. And on Kiriko's side, Gabriel, Tohru, and Kanna weren't exactly light eaters either.
You could say that aside from the couple and Rishia—who ate a little less—and Kiriko, who as usual didn't eat much, everyone else had stomachs like they'd been mass-produced.
The couple were poor nobles to begin with, and they still needed to rebuild the facilities that had been sabotaged by the neighboring noble's men. That would cost a fortune. Kiriko didn't think she should add any more burden.
But just as Kiriko was about to leave, Lute approached with a grim expression.
After hearing what he said, Kiriko's face changed. She stared at him in shock.
"What? Are you serious?"
Naofumi, who had also been preparing to depart, saw the change in Kiriko's expression and asked instinctively.
"Kiriko-san—what happened?"
Even the couple and Rishia looked over, confused.
Kiriko turned to Naofumi.
"We've got trouble… more precisely, you do."
---
T/N: WHAT??????? FILO IS STILL HERE???