Chapter 14: Emergency Quest

When Kazuya went to the guild as usual to pick up a quest, the receptionist told him to head to the Guildmaster’s office on the second floor.

The two of us entered the room together. The Guildmaster was already seated, waiting, and motioned for us to sit as well.

“There’s been an emergency quest issued directly from the guild headquarters. For Hero Marsh—well, guess I should say Kazuya now, huh? Anyway, it’s addressed to the Hero of Cylindarl himself. This one’s mandatory—no choice in the matter. I’ll ask anyway, though: what do you want to do?”

Being forced to accept a quest without even hearing the details first—it was ridiculous. If it were just me, I’d definitely blow it off and go back to my village.

But if it’s Kazuya...

“I’ll take it. I have a feeling… this is something important.”

...Yeah, I figured he’d say that. That’s just who he is.

He’s got a stronger sense of duty than I do—and unlike me, he has nowhere to run. No, that’s not even the point. It’s not about having a place to escape to.

As I was thinking that, Kazuya turned to me and said:

“Sorry, Miki. I accepted it without asking. But I just feel like this is a quest we have to take. It’s just a hunch, but... well, I’m trying to sound cool, but we really don’t have a choice anyway.”

He said it with his usual smile.

Ahh… he really shines. Maybe this is what it means to be a hero.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just coming along with you, like always.”

When I replied like I always did, Kazuya nodded happily and turned back to the Guildmaster.

“Sorry about this. Orders from HQ are tough to defy. If only this city’s guild had more influence, things might be different...”

The Guildmaster bowed his head apologetically.

“We’ll make the guild proud with this mission. You’ll see—we’ll prove ourselves.”

“That’s good to hear. Thanks.”

If it’s Kazuya—no, if it’s the two of us—I’m sure we could reach S-rank someday. And if we do, this guild’s standing will rise as well.

Kazuya’s growth is just on a whole different level from mine.

After we drank some tea and took a short break, the Guildmaster began explaining the details of the quest.

“The target this time is a demon who claims to be a candidate for Demon Lord General—goes by the name Sweat. He’s occupied a fortress, gathered a force of monsters around him, and seems to be planning an assault on nearby towns. If he were a confirmed general, things would be handled differently, but since he only claims to be one, the closest hero in the area is being dispatched—and that’s you, Kazuya.”

“Kazuya’s still B-rank though—is that okay?”

I asked what was on my mind. Kazuya’s strong, sure, but he’d only just made B-rank. Isn’t this too soon?

The Guildmaster scratched his head roughly before replying.

“He might be B-rank on paper, but he’s already completed A-rank level quests. We’ve judged that his abilities are basically on par with A-rank. Personally, I still think it’s a bit early, though...”

“Is this quest considered A-rank?”

Kazuya asked, and the Guildmaster made a conflicted face.

“Officially, it’s classified as A-rank, but if this Sweat guy really is as strong as a general, it could be closer to S-rank. Honestly, the line between top-tier A-rank and low-tier S-rank is kind of blurry. There aren’t many who can make that call with certainty.”

Among demons and monsters, strength is everything. The weak obey the strong. If this Sweat is able to gather monsters, he’s at least upper A-rank.

And the title of Demon Lord belongs to the strongest of all demons—someone who can organize and rule over their kind.

But that doesn’t mean all demons and monsters follow the Demon Lord.

Especially monsters—they often come from regular animals that mutated. If they’re outside the Demon Lord’s domain, they just act on their own.

The same goes for demons. Fortunately, the area around Cylindarl is far from the Demon Lord’s reach. On a national level, it’s considered relatively peaceful.

Sometimes, wild demons in such areas form small groups on their own.

But this case is different. If someone’s claiming to be a Demon Lord General candidate, that likely means they are under the Demon Lord’s command.

Either way, if we don’t crush him now, the nearby towns will be in danger.

“Then we’ll be fine. As long as he’s not a ridiculously overpowered S-rank, Miki and I can handle it.”

“...I see. If you’re that confident, I’ve got no choice but to trust you. —Wait a sec. Two of you? You’re planning to go with just the two of you? That’s way too dangerous!”

The Guildmaster, relieved for a moment, suddenly leaned forward in alarm.

But Kazuya remained completely calm.

“It’ll be fine. I’m strong—and Miki’s even stronger. As long as she’s with me, I’m not going down that easy.”

...Huh?

Then, just like that, Kazuya pulled me close, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

WHAAAT!?

He did that now!?

Caught so off guard, I completely froze.

“Come on now, don’t show off like that in front of me. Makes me jealous. —Still, if you’re that sure, I’ll trust you two. It’s all yours.”

At first taken aback, the Guildmaster soon laughed it off and entrusted the quest to Kazuya like always.

“Don’t worry. We’ll take care of it, no matter what. Just wait and see!”

With his free hand, Kazuya made a firm fist and promised the Guildmaster.

As for me—well, once I calmed down, I realized I didn’t exactly mind being pulled close like that. And getting mad over it now would be kind of... pointless. So I just let it be and leaned into him a little.

“Oh yeah, Marsh—or rather, Kazuya—about your name. Maybe it’s time to settle on just one? Actually, how about officially changing it to Kazuya? Same goes for you, Claire.”

The Guildmaster brought it up casually.

To be honest, I’ve started to feel weird hearing myself called Claire. Ever since I met Kazuya and regained my memories of my past life, I’ve always been with him—and he’s always called me Miki. Even though I was called Claire for 400 years... it’s strange.

“I’ve actually been thinking about that. We can just merge the names. I’ll be Kazuya=Marsh, and she’ll be Miki=Claire. Not a first name and last name like nobles—but a single name. Kazuya=Marsh.”

“I see. So officially it’s Kazuya=Marsh, but we can still call you Kazuya, or Marsh, or the full Kazuya=Marsh. Clever.”

That makes sense. Unlike a nickname, it can be properly registered as an official name. Shouldn’t be a problem.

“Miki, are you okay with that?”

Still holding me, he gently whispered into my ear.

It tickled—and, well, it wasn’t a bad feeling.

“Mm? Ah… yeah, that’s fine…”

That was all I could manage in reply.

And just like that, Hero Marsh became Hero Kazuya=Marsh. And I became Miki=Claire.

And I… stayed in his arms the whole time until he stood up.

Departure was set for tomorrow. Today, we were to rest up and get ourselves mentally and physically ready.

And so, for the first time in a few days, we returned to the inn.

With A-rank quests, it was rare for the destination to be anywhere nearby. Most of them took over a day just to reach.
This Sweat extermination quest we accepted would take more than a day just to reach the fortress. And since we planned to infiltrate instead of going in head-on, the time needed for scouting and such would delay the actual subjugation even further.

Now that I think about it...

Ever since we stayed at this new inn, every morning without fail, Kazuya would be the one to wake me up—just like always. But after I opened my eyes, he would wrap his arms around me and hold me tight.

That never happened when we camped out in the wild, but every single morning after sleeping in a proper inn, it did.

Granted, we’d only stayed at inns a handful of times so far—still within a count you could make on one hand—so it could be coincidence. Still, it bothered me.

"Good night."

"Good night, Miki."

Was it payback for my bad sleeping habits or something? …No, that doesn’t make sense.
With thoughts like that running through my head, I lay down in the king-sized bed, keeping a bit of distance between myself and Kazuya, and slowly drifted off.

I woke up.
Unusually early. Probably because of what I’d been thinking about before falling asleep last night.

The haze of drowsiness cleared, and my awareness sharpened—I started to understand the state I was in.

It felt like I was holding onto something.
No, more accurately… I was being held.

...Huh!?

There was only one thing—no, one person—who could be holding me like this on the bed.

Thick and strong, warm, steady… The rhythmic thump, thump of a heartbeat gave off a sense of peace, like being rocked in a cradle.
My arms, my legs, even my head were leaning into Kazuya’s body, practically wrapped around him like a hug.

Ah—yeah, I get it now.
Makes sense. It has been getting colder lately.

I was afraid to open my eyes. Maybe I should just pretend to be asleep and wait for Kazuya to move first.
That’s what I was thinking, when—

"Miki, you’re awake, aren’t you?"

I flinched on reflex.
No doubt about it—he knew. He definitely knew.
Still, I decided to keep pretending.

I’m asleep! That was just a reflex, I swear!

"Yeah, no. Totally obvious. Don’t fake it—come on, give it up already."

…Ugh, no good!

Okay, okay, time to give up.
Cautiously, I opened my eyes and looked up at Kazuya, still in the same position.

"...Good morning, Kazuya."

"Good morning, Miki. You're up early today."

"Ah—yeah. I was thinking about why you always hold me like that after we sleep in an inn, and I guess that made me wake up early."

"Hmm? And? Figure it out?"

Yeah. I did. It was completely my fault—my sleeping habits were the culprit.
If a girl clings to you like this when you wake up, a boy Kazuya’s age wouldn’t be able to hold back.

If anything, the fact that he does hold back and waits until I wake up is honestly amazing.
I mean, we did make a promise—not to touch each other while one of us is asleep.
Still, I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.

Since I was a guy in my past life, I understood how rough that could be.

"Yeah… Sorry. I didn’t think I was doing anything like that. I’m really, really sorry!"

When I apologized, Kazuya gently patted my head.

"Nah, don’t worry about it. To be honest, I kind of look forward to waking up with you clinging to me. If that suddenly stopped, I’d be a little sad."

He said it with a bit of an embarrassed look on his face.
Seeing that expression, I couldn’t help but think—kind of cute.

…Whoops. Not good.

I’m starting to think that way because I keep getting too comfortable hugging him like this.
I pulled away and sat up.

"Alrighty, guess it’s time to start getting ready to take down that so-called executive candidate or whatever."

Just as I stretched, Kazuya hugged me from behind.

...Well, can’t be helped. This is kind of my fault, too.
Just for a bit, then.

"Okay, that’s enough! We’re stopping here!"

I said it after about ten seconds.

"Ehh—!? That’s it!? That’s so short!"

"Ten seconds is plenty! I’m serious. I said no more!"

"...Don’t you think it’s about time you started being honest with yourself?"

What the heck are you talking about? I am being honest with myself—that’s why I let you hug me for ten seconds.

I kind of wish he’d pick up on that, though.

And with that, we left the town of Cylindarl and set off on our mission to defeat the demon known as Sweat.