When we returned to the swamp village with the lizardman warrior Tooge, the village chief and villagers greeted us with smiles.

「Ooh, Alec-san, we've been waiting for you!」

「Thank you, thank you very much!」

A mother holding a young child cried and thanked us.

「Oh, well, I'm glad she's okay. Chief, about the reward for the request...」

「Y-yes.」

「Alec, this is a poor village. Don't make too much of it.」

「That's right! This is the time to show righteousness, Master.」

「That's right」

Serina, Noel and Yulia are going to say something unnecessary.

「You guys should keep your mouth shut. I, the leader, will handle the negotiations.」

「「「Wha! 」」」

The three of them widen their eyes and look dissatisfied, but do you really think I'm going to take a dump on a poor village with no young women?

The others seem to understand, smiling and looking at me calmly.

「As for rewards, let me introduce you to Tooge first. This is Tooge, the lizardman warrior. There's a their village south of here.」

He nodded and didn't say a word, probably to avoid frightening the young child.

「He's going to help us get rid of the lizards, so if you see him, you have to promise not to attack him.」

「Oh, if that's the case, it's a small price to pay. I'll be sure to tell the adventurers who come here.」

「Very well. Well then, Tooge, our meeting is over. You may leave.」

「Yes. But from the sound of it, you're not getting paid. You can have this.」

Tooge pulled out a bag of dried meat and handed it to me.

「It's good quality lizard meat.」

Tooge's mouth twisted in a grin, but it was not a happy reward at all.

「Then, Jouga, Lily, I'll give it to you.」

I'll give a couple of large pieces of dried meat to the person in charge of the "Foodie, I can go ghetto!".

「Oohh! Thank you! Hmmm!」

「I prefer dumplings, but yeah, it doesn't taste bad.」

「「Give me some. I think I can go for lizards!」」

Misha and Sasha also started to eat, but well, do as you please. I've already confirmed that it's not poisonous through a proper [Appraisal].

「Oh, in that case, hey, hurry up and bring me the lizard meat!」

「「Yes! 」」

The village chief instructs the villagers, so stop. That's not what I'm saying.

「No, that's fine. Then we're leaving」

I didn't want to take it, but I ended up getting a lot of dried meat and handed it out to the second team who's wanted it.

「I'm sorry, Alec, but I've changed my mind about you.」

After we departed, though, Serina would say to me in the carriage with a radiant smile.

「You don't have to apologize, Serina. Because if there was a young and beautiful woman there, I wouldn't hesitate to demand her virginity. So it's just a coincidence.」

「Ehh? I'd rather you not do that. I feel sorry for the villagers.」

「And poor me, not getting paid.」

「You are really...」

「Master, ...... that's a bit ...... you're joking, right?」

「Noel, does this look like a face that makes jokes?」

「N-no ...... hmm.」

The knight Noel, whose beautiful face is distorted, seems to be disillusioned with me, but it's not because I don't like men.

「That's my master for you.」

「As expected of brother!」

「You guys, I don't care about Meena anymore, but Jouga, stop going down that weird path!」

The carriage carrying the clan "Black Cat of the Wind" proceeded at its usual pace.

◇　◆　◇　◆　◇

When I was sleeping on Meena's lap pillow, I felt the touch of soft lips on my cheek.

「Meena?」

「Master, I'm sorry to wake you, but we have arrived at the magical kingdom of Austin.」

「Finally. ......」

I twist my head to wake up my body, which makes a cracking sound.

As expected, after a month of riding in a carriage, I was sick and tired of aching all over my body.

I'll ask Nick to find us a better carriage for the return trip. I'll pay for it.

When I peeked behind the wagon, I saw that the buildings outside were quite tall. It's not unusual to see ten-story buildings. Some of the buildings are so bizarre that they seem to ignore gravity, so I guess this is the Magic Kingdom.

Many of the people on the street were wearing wands and robes. There were many people on the streets, and the place was as lively as Grandsword.

Our carriage came to a stop in front of a large inn on a square tiled main street.

As expected, a convoy of ten cars seemed to stand out here, and passersby were glancing at us.

「In that case, I'll go look for an room.」

「Yeah, I'll leave it to you.」

Saki, who seemed to have already found a place to stay, walked straight into the inn in front of us.

But she soon came back with a sullen face.

「What's wrong, Saki?」

「It seems that we can't stay at the inn unless we get an ID card from the magic guild or the adventurer's guild.」

「Isn't this card enough?」

I'll get Vernia's adventurer card.

「It's no good. Austin will only accept cards issued by Austin.」

I don't know if it's because of their control or their exclusivity, but it looks like I'll have to make my own card here.

「Then, let's go to the Adventurers Guild.」

「Ah, wait a minute, Alec.」

Letty took out a black card from her item storage.

「I'm a member of the magic guild here, so let's go to the magic guild. If you're introduced by a graduate(s) of the Austin(a) Royal Academy of Magic, you'll get a blue card from the start.」

「I see. .................. Well, first things first, let's go to magic guild.」

「Alec, you didn't trust me a bit while I was saying that, did you?」

「Who know?」

Because it's Letty.

「I'm a B-rank Magician, but I've graduated from the Royal Academy.」

「I-I know, don't lose your temper, you're annoying.」

It seems that her usual seizure has started again. I've got to do something to make her an A-rank Magician. She's too loud for me.

「Oi, did you hear that?」

「She's a graduate of the Royal Academy?」

「She's the elite of the elite!」

「Look, there's a blue ring on her right ring finger. It's real.」

「Oooh. she looks so stupid, but it's real. Incredible.」

「And it's engraved, a limited edition given only to the top students.」

The onlookers around me started whispering, but when I looked, I saw that Letty was wearing a thick blue ring on the ring finger of her right hand.

She seems to have a pretty impressive position.

Well, she has a difficult personality, but she's very good at magic.

「All right, Letty, take me to the magic guild.」

「Okay, fine」