Chapter 24: Premonition of Trouble

This is turning into a problem. Ever since I nearly drowned, Master hasn’t let go of me. It must have been quite a shock—he’s still clutching me tightly in his lap.

It’s annoying, but since he saved me, I can’t exactly push him away. I feel kind of guilty, too.

We’re just sitting under the shade on a sheet laid out on the sand. He’s not doing anything weird, so I guess it’s fine... but something about it still feels slightly gross.

“Milady, would you like a drink?”

Yuria’s ample chest sways as she pulls out a bottle of fruit juice from Master’s personally prepared cooler box. It’s homemade—juice with water and honey added to taste, stored in potion bottles.

The three of us slaves usually make a batch to keep in stock.

“I’ll have lemon, please.”

“Of course.”

It’s my recent favorite—honey lemon water with a bit of carbonation. As I sip it slowly, I gaze absentmindedly at the bustling beach.

It’s a crowded seaside resort. Girls from the human race are running around in colorful swimsuits, laughing and playing at the water’s edge.

It’s hard to believe that just outside town, monsters and bandits are killing people, and in the cities, women and children are kidnapped and sold into slavery. This place is so peaceful, it almost feels like a scene out of Japan.

For the record, everyone on this beach falls into the category of the upper class. I guess this is what a society of disparity looks like.

The world really is unfair...

---

While deliberately ignoring that unfairness and enjoying a peaceful moment, I spot a strange movement in the shadows of the rocks. I tap Master’s arm and point.

“Hey, that over there...”

“Hm? …What is that?”

Master’s expression instantly hardens as he turns to look. The figures in the shadows seem to be holding something down. At first glance it could be an animal, but the men’s silhouettes scream “thugs” no matter how you slice it.

Sticking our noses in might not be wise, but pretending not to see it would probably leave a bad taste. Maybe it’s hypocritical, but I guess it’s just how I am. Ever since that thing with Yuria, I’ve been letting things slide more than usual.

“Master.”

I look up at him. He notices my gaze and silently furrows his brow. I keep pleading with my eyes until he finally gives in, letting out a quiet sigh as he pats my head.

“That’s my Master!”

When I cheerfully praise him as he gets to his feet, he shoots me a half-glare. M-Maybe I overdid it a little?

“I’m just going to check it out. Yuria, stay with Sora. Lulu, you’re with me.”

“Understood… Haah, Senpai, you’re way too kind.”

Grumbling under her breath, Lulu fastens a belt for her dagger around her waist and heads toward the rocks with Master. That she’s still willing to act, even when grumbling, is something I really do admire about Master.

Since I was the one who insisted, I’ll behave myself and won’t do anything else.

I’ll just quietly wait for him to come back. I’d only get in the way anyway. After watching the two disappear behind the rocks, I wait nearby with Yuria, ready to move at any moment.

---

...Some time has passed, and Master still hasn’t returned. Normally, he’d be back by now—it’s strange.

I don’t have a watch, so I can’t say for sure, but it feels like it’s been about an hour. I know it’s unlikely with Master, but... did something happen? I’m starting to get worried.

“Huh? Where’s Shuya?”

Just as we were debating whether to go check, Kasai-san walked over. Perfect timing—we had just made up our minds to go search.

“Actually, we saw some suspicious figures over by the rocks, so Master went to check it out…”

“He’s been gone almost half an hour now. We were just about to go look—starting to get worried.”

Kasai-san gives us a slightly troubled look, then nods.

“In that case, I’ll come too. I’m worried.”

He might not be the type who handles everything effortlessly like Master, but he does seem like a serious powerhouse. A textbook protagonist type.

I mean, you don’t survive this world alone for this long unless you’ve got some serious skill. Honestly, I’d love to have just a sliver of that.

In any case, a strong ally is always welcome.

"I beg of you."

"Please……"

Fortunately—if you could call it that—I at least seem fine with walking normally, never mind jumping or running. Stepping onto the sun-scorched sand, we follow Kasai-san, with Yuria holding my hand as we head toward the cover of the rocks.

Raising a hand to stop us, Kasai-san grips the sword at his waist and peers around the rocks.

But almost immediately, he lets out a disappointed sigh and waves us over. Yuria and I exchange puzzled glances before moving as quietly as possible to look past Kasai-san’s shoulder.

There was nothing there. Just an empty stretch of rocky shore leading to the sea.

After the three of us searched the area for a while, we only found traces that someone had been there—nothing more. I doubt our master would just abandon us and wander off on his own, so it’s only reasonable to assume something happened.

If he were a mage, he’d have all sorts of detection spells at his disposal, but unfortunately, I’m the only magic-oriented one in this group—and even then, I specialize in little things like lockpicking.

In our household, only our master can wield complex magic. In fact, he’s such an expert that just recently, after being promoted to the advanced rank, he was even granted the esteemed title of Sword Saint Archmage by the guild headquarters.

Though that title’s a bit of a taboo in our house. The day he got it, we teased him so much he got genuinely mad and made us pay for it—honestly, he’s so childish.

"Milady… Do you think Master will be alright?"

"He’ll be fine. If something happened to him, our collars would show some kind of change. Neither mine nor Yuria’s collar has reacted, so Master must be unharmed."

Let me backtrack a little. I reassure Yuria, who sounds anxious. Meeting her eyes, I tap the choker around my neck with a fingertip. It’s equipped with all sorts of functions—lost-child prevention, security measures, things like that—but it’s also a slave collar, impossible to remove without our master’s permission.

And our master had long since made preparations with these collars. Just in case something happened to him, so we wouldn’t be left stranded.

For example, in an emergency, they’d change color from black to white to alert us—among other little modifications. When I first heard about it, I panicked at the implication of death and ended up clinging to him in tears—a memory I’d rather forget.

But back to the point—since the choker around Yuria’s neck shows no abnormalities, our master should be safe for now. The bigger problem is…

"Lulu is with Master, after all. The real issue is us."

We’ve been completely separated from the two who actually have high combat ability, and what’s left is a pair of high-class species.

Who knows how far my label as a "dwarf" will get me, and Yuria alone is valuable enough to be targeted. I’m still not entirely sure if we can fully rely on Kasai-san either. What should we do…?

"Right… For now, let’s organize our supplies so we can move quickly. Kasai-san, could you help us?"

"Yeah, leave it to me."

"Yuria's slightly upturned, pleading gaze got an immediate response from Kasai-san. No surprise there—given how close he is with Master, his reactions are refreshingly honest. Well, at least he’s easy to handle."

---

"Oh my, if it isn’t the succubus from Kisaragi’s place. Fancy running into you here of all spots."

Just as we finished packing and were about to head back to the inn, another unexpected encounter came our way.

I turned my head slowly—so slowly it felt like my neck might creak—and there she was: a woman with crimson hair tousled by the sea breeze, her modest chest barely contained by a wine-red bikini.

Unless I was mistaken, this was the infamous "Archmage Stalker" Clarice. Honestly, I wished I was mistaken.

Lately, she’d been so wrapped up in doting on her victim—er, boyfriend—that she’d ignore us in the city, probably thinking "I shouldn’t intrude." But who’d have thought we’d bump into her at a resort? Judging by that outfit, she was on vacation too.

"And you? …Where’s Kisaragi?"

She seemed to be making a conscious effort to refer to Master by his last name now—maybe trying to be considerate? Despite the occasional chilling undertones in her words, she wasn’t fundamentally a bad person.

Plus, she was a magic specialist, albeit the "destructive" kind… Maybe she could help?

"This is Kasai-san, a friend of Master’s. Actually, you see…"

As I explained the situation, Clarice’s expression grew increasingly serious. Finally, she stood up, puffing out her (admittedly flat) chest.

"In that case, leave it to me! Collins will definitely help too—he’s such a sweetheart."

Ah, so her "victim—" no, boyfriend Collins was here too. He had mellowed out a bit since they got together, but this kind of topic could still bring out that side of her. Better tread carefully.

Still, it was a relief to have strong allies on our side. Collins was undeniably a good person, and as long as we avoided setting off Clarice’s landmines (especially around him), she’d stay firmly in the "well-behaved good guy" category.

"First, let’s pick up Collins, then head to the scene."

"Yes!"

"Please."

"Alright then… Let’s go find Master."

---

◇◆ADVENTURE RESULT◆◇

【EXP】

NO BATTLE
◆【Sora Lv.50】
◆【Yuria Lv.15】
◇―
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Sora Lv.47[509]
Yuria Lv.15[157]

【RECORD】
[MAX COMBO]>>33
[MAX BATTLE]>>33

【PARTY】

[Sora][Lv50]HP30/50 MP220/420[Light Fatigue]
[Yuria][Lv15]HP1040/1040 MP60/60[Fine]
[Clarice][Lv40]HP230/230 MP732/732[Fine]
[Collins][Lv42]HP640/640 MP40/40[Fine]
[Makoto][Lv20]HP450/450 MP102/102[Fine]
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
【Comment】

"We're going to find Master, okay~?"

"...Milady, you really shouldn't worry yourself so much."