My Pet Is a Holy Maiden

Bard, Again

Tatsumi, Calcedonia, Jolt and Yerimao entered their rooms and changed into lighter clothing. As it is dinner time, they decided to eat at the bar and diner on the first floor of the inn.

In a corner of the diner was a bard holding a laraina, singing cheerfully. The four of them headed to occupy an empty table and ordered some food and sake.

After waiting for a while, the food and drinks arrived. Striking their wooden mugs, the four of them made a toast to the first day of their journey passing safely.

“…Eh, this is delicious! It tastes quite different from Elle’s shop.”

“The food prepared by the owner of this inn is quite famous for its deliciousness.”

“Of course, the food that Calce makes every day is delicious, but it’s also fun to enjoy this different taste.”

“That’s right.”

Continuing the friendly conversation, we enjoyed the food in front of us.

Seeing the two of them, Yerimao whispered to Jolt, who was sitting next to him, “…Have these two always been like that? With their reputation, I’d never have expected them to be like this.”

“Yeah, more or less. They have been like this since they built up the world with my father and grandfather.”

“…I-in front of His Majesty and Argent? This must mean that they are very strong, right?” Yerimao asked, partly disappointed yet partly impressed.

Right now, they seem to be having a conversation about the food they ordered.

“Ah, your simmered vegetables look delicious, Calce. Can I have a bite?”

“Of course! Here you go.” Calcedonia placed a piece of simmered vegetable – which looked like pumpkin – on Tatsumi’s plate.

Tatsumi eats it without hesitation.

“Mmm, this is delicious! Should I order a plate too?”

“Then… how about another bite?” Calcedonia said as she offered another piece of her food to Tatsumi.

Once again, Tatsumi consumes it without hesitation.

Watching their exchange, Yerimao said wearily, “… Jolt-kun, I’m moving to another seat. I reeeeeeeally can’t stand being in the same seat as them…”

“W-wait! Professor Yerimao!! If you leave then… I’ll be here alone?! I can’t be here alonee!!” Jolt snuck in a whisper as he desperately pulled on Yerimao’s clothes.

When they finished their food and sake, Tatsumi and the gang decided that it wass time to return to their rooms.

Unexpectedly, however, a mug was placed on their table.

The four of them looked up, only face the shopkeeper, smiling.

“We… did not order this, right?”

“Ah, this is on me. I said something rude to you earlier, so take this as an apology,” The shopkeeper said, winking.

Tatsumi had removed his armour earlier, but as a precaution, he kept “Amaryllis” with him, attached to his right hand. This caught the shopkeeper’s attention.

“Is that the rumoured ‘Heavenly’ weapon that chopped up the flying dragon? Now that I think about it, the husband of the ‘Free Knight’ was not a ‘Heavenly’ wizard. If I recalled earlier, I wouldn’t have jumped to conclusions… When Calcedonia got married, I had assumed that the other party was the ‘Free Knight’,” The shopkeeper uttered, scratching his head.

“I’ve already told you, don’t worry about it. I am thankful to receive this though.”

Raising the mug in front of him, Tatsumi downed the liquid in it quickly.

“Oh, Wasn’t that a good drink, Tatsumi-san. How about another cup?”

“Nah, that was enough. I’m not very good with alcohol, actually.”

Tatsumi have never been strong against alcohol. In fact, he hardly drank any alcohol before coming to this world.

Even after being called to this world by Calcedonia, I still don’t have a great tolerance towards alcohol. Maybe It’s because I’m not used to it, or maybe I’m just constitutionally vulnerable to alcohol, but I still get drunk after drinking only a little.

Even now, I’ve only consumed two mugs in total, yet I’m already starting to feel a little intoxicated.

“Is that so? Well, different people tolerate alcohol differently. Even someone strong enough to beat the flying dragon can be weak against alcohol. Well, I’m actually really glad that you accepted my apology,” The shopkeeper said with a relieved expression. “If Tatsumi-san gets angry, who knows what would happen to my store? Thinking about it gives me chills.”

As though realising something, the shopkeeper lowered his voice.

“Oh yeah, Tatsumi-san, are you aware?” He said, looking around the bar.

Looking around, Tatsumi and his friends noticed that the bar was packed with patrons. According to Calcedonia, this inn has a rather good reputation in the town, so travellers are more likely to come here.

There seem to even be monster hunters and mercenaries among the guests. Although they are not wearing armour, their unique vibe and well trained body distinguishes them from the other patrons. Some of them also have chains wrapped around their right hands.

“They seem to be taking part in a trial. It’s obvious how it originated, isn’t it?”

They may have decided to take part in such an experiment as they wish to be able to defeat the flying dragon like the “Tensho”. Those mercenaries and monster hunters probably believe in jinxes, hoping that their wishes of “becoming strong enough to defeat the flying dragon” or “earning lots of money by defeating the flying dragon” would come true by carrying around a chain on their right hands.

Even in Tatsumi’s old world, “fortune telling” and “luck” have been known to be able to boost someone’s social status, whether it be in the east or the west, or even throughout time. Of course, not everyone believed that such things exist, but there were enough believers that the profession “fortune teller” never disappeared from history.

“…It seems that I’m still kind of lucky in this world huh…” Tatsumi muttered under his breath, bringing “Amaryllis” on his right hand under the table to hide it from view.

It was coming from the sky,

A dragon black as night.

Its evil like a flood

That bathed the world in blood.

It breathed out flames that burnt the skies,

It’s sharp fangs pierce the earth.

It’s wings so huge it’s shadow cast

A shadow in our hearts.

We lived in fear, all hope was lost,

We didn’t know what to do.

We were only terrorised.

We had lived by its rules.

Then a light comes in,

Golden like the dawn,

It lit the darkness in our hearts

And brought us back our hope.

With only a chain he cut off the dragon

But the dragon flew and flew.

He couldn’t fight what was too high

But he knew just what to do.

Golden light gathered on his wingless back.

He flew up in the sky.

Shining golden, he used his chains

And brought the dragon down.

《Tensho》

He flies freely across the heavens

Saving people from the dragon.

Which legend did the hero from this song come from?

Tatsumi momentarily escapes from reality, involuntarily holding his head.

“How was it? It’s the most popular song these days. Bards are even considered second-rate if they can’t sing it,” The shopkeeper said, smiling.

The bard’s serenading voice and the tone of his laraina continued to echo through the bar.

Needless to say, the song was about the defeat of the flying dragon, and the hero was Tatsumi himself.

“…I learnt for the first time today that shame is a weapon that can kill people…” Tatsumi said, trying his best to hide his weapon while holding his head in shame. At that moment, Tatsumi wished that he could just roll on the floor and out of the bar.

Eventually, the bard finished his song and the bar was filled with cheers and applause. For some reasons, the lady by Tatsumi applauded louder than anyone else.

“…It seems that Calce is more impressed by the contents of the song rather than the bard’s skill.”

“Jolt’s right, the contents of the song was not a lie.”

“It’s a little exaggerated, but it can’t be helped, right?”

Tatsumi understood Jolt’s words. If one wanted to retell actual events as a song or a play, directing is needed. This makes the piece more engaging for the audience and can even liven up the atmosphere. However, it seemed to have an opposite effect on Tatsumi, who was so embarrassed he couldn’t even show his face.

Embarrassment kills the Tensho just as curiosity kills the cat.

While Tatsumi was trying to recover, the audience threw silver coins at the bard while he went around to greet the guests at the tables. Perhaps if there was an encore request, he will comply.

Eventually, the bard came to Tatsumi’s table.

“Thank the Yoizuki God, Gravavi for this wonderful encounter tonight!” The bard bowed playfully.

“The lyrics were wonderful! Please keep spreading this song to the world!” Calcedonia, who was impressed in a different way, said, offering several silver coins. The bard gratefully took the silver coins, happily thanking her, wrapping his hands around hers.

“Oh, you are…!!” the bard exclaimed suddenly. “No way… No way! To meet you again in a place like this… This must be the will of the god Gravivi!”

Tatsumi, still hiding his face in agonising embarrassment, finally raised his head to face the voice.

“Ah……”

He recognised the bard. It was the same bard he met at Elle’s shop [Elf’s Rest House]. The same bard who relentlessly approached Elle and Calcedonia, and was stripped naked by Tatsumi before being thrown out of the store.

“This Taland, there has never been a day where I was not thinking of your beauty.”

Yeah, it definitely was that name.