PMZ 042 – Party matchmaking.

 

The next person I met is Betty.  

I saw her walking alone toward the guild with her shoulders slumped, and I called out to her.  

“Betty?”  

“……? Oh! Alice! Hayato-sama too! I’m so happy to see you!”  

“I’m glad to see you too! I wanted to see Betty … Are you alone today? What happened to Alex and the others?”   

“I don’t know them anymore! I have enough!”  

Something is wrong.  

I send an eye signal to Hayato, and the three of us decided to go to a nearby open cafe for a cup of tea.  

“I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be able to drink tea with the two of you. …… I’m…happy!”  

“You know, Betty, I’ve been meaning to tell you this …you can be a little more informal with me.”  

“Using my normal speech? Are you seriously saying that? I use pretty rough language when I’m talking normally.”   

I know.  

I’ll never forget how crude you are when we first met.  

Betty smiled wickedly and slumped her posture.  

“I’m sorry about that time. I was upset.”   

“Yeah, I know. That was mostly Alex’s fault, though.”  

“Damn right! That son of a bitch can go to hell with his… girl.”  

“I can imagine it, but what actually happened?”  

“a healer named Maria wanted to join our party. I have a lot to say about it, but let’s set it aside for now.  

We already have a healer, and Maria’s rank was E, which is low, so we asked her to be our porter instead.  

Then you know what? The luggage! The men would carry it for her!  

When I warned her, she said [I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t be spoiled, but the men insisted on…]  

What a bull! If you know that, then carry it properly!”  

Betty slammed her fist to the table, she looks very frustrated, but I understand her feeling.  

“The men said ‘Maria is a girl, please show some kindness to newcomers’   

What kindness! If she cannot carry our luggage, then why recruit her as a porter!   

Am I the wrong one? Tell me!”  

“I don’t think you’re wrong.”   

“Right! The original healer was a very experienced adventurer, but she was forced to quit when Alex insisted on making Maria an official member…  

She had a sick parent, and Alex knew about it. …… I was so upset that I quit with her.”  

“I see, something like that happened…”  

Betty nodded and took a sip of her tea.  

“So, now I on my way to the guild to see if there were any party looking for members. It’s hard to find a new party, but … I hope I can find a good one this time.”  

Hayato leaned forward to talk to Betty, who was looking at him cautiously.  

“Betty is a mage, right? B rank.”  

“Th-that’s right, I-I’m B-ranked wizard.”  

Betty’s face was turning red as soon as she saw Hayato’s face up close.  

It could be said that she never had a proper conversation with Hayato, her conversation is limited to greetings between parties, so this is her first time talking face to face with Hayato.  

“Alice, what should I do? …He called my name. I’m going to faint.”  

“Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.”  

“and your healer? Also, B?”   

“Yes, she is.”  

“… In that case, could you wait here for a while? I know a party that has a vacancy on those roles. I’ll ask them if they willing to accept you.”  

“What?”  

She’s stunned while looking at Hayato’s back as he stood up and leaving, and a moment later, she regained her calm and noticed the barrier Hayato cast on her.   

“eh… This is…”  

“He always put one up when he was leaving my side.”   

“The [Chameleon] ‘s barrier on my body… I-I think I’m going to faint…”   

Betty plops down on the table, her eyes watering.  

“I cannot believe how gentle he is… am I the stupid one to be stuck with Alex? this barrier is… warm, I’m happy~~”   

“It’s warm, isn’t it? I thought so too.”  

“You must be happy to be enveloped in this kind of magic barrier when Alex, the one who cast it, always feels… sticky.”  

“What?”  

Sticky.   

I’m not sure if there was ever a holy attribute that could be described as sticky. { ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ) }  

“That’s… unique.”   

I had no other way to describe it, so I used a vague, all-purpose word in my reply.  

I think it’s a good thing that Betty is separated from Alex, somehow.  

“Alice, did you always get this kind of treatment? How nice~~   

…eh, that’s right, I heard you’re getting married, is that true?”  

“It’s true…”  

“AAAaaa! Really!? I knew it! I knew that wasn’t a relationship between an escort and his employer!”  

“I’m sorry, … but at that time, that was true. We are just an employer and employee.”   

“Then, when did it start? When did you start dating each other!”   

“Just the other day.”  

“…and now you getting married? …  

Oh, but I understand, since that would be the case with Alice’s background…   

Wait, Hayato-sama as noble… dance party at night, that would mean he will wear a tailcoat suit, and his hair would turn silver, right?   

That’s dangerous… I want to see it.”    

“That would be definitely dangerous!”  

We unconsciously brought our faces to close.   

“Say, Alice… would it be inconvenient to you to attend a congratulation party hosted a commoner like us?”  

“No, at all! On the contrary, I’m delighted!”   

“Really? Then I’ll contact everyone and make preparations! I’ll send a letter when the date is set!”  

“Thank you very much. But I think I’ll organize a tea party to thank you all too.”  

“Really? A real tea party for nobles? I definitely want to go! do it!”  

“Okay, I’ll definitely do it. But the place is a problem. …… It’s too small for our house, so let’s rent a training ground for half a day and have it there. There’s no rule that says we can’t have a tea party, right?”  

“What do you need? A table and chairs? In that case, won’t store like this will do?”  

“oh, that’s right! We can use that, and it will be easier to set up, then, shall we?”  

“E? But I kinda want to see how it would be if Alice is going all out, and tea party at training ground sounds more interesting.”  

Just like that, the story about Alex was blown away, replaced by our girlish talk.  

Not long after that, I heard a dog barking in the distance.  

Isn’t that Ted’s dog? Oh… Hayato is with them.   

“Hmm? Isn’t that Ted from [15th avenue]? He’s an A-ranked adventurer! it can’t be…”  

When Betty’s eyes caught sight of the wandering poodles, she muttered, “It really is Ted. ……” I was a little worried that she might think the poodle was Ted.  

Pulling a strong, burly man along, Hayato waved us over a little ways from the store.  

“Here you go. His party had a vacancy. Do you mind to join?”  

“Yes, very much!”  

Betty made a small gut pose with her hands and whispered, ‘I’m joining the A-rank ……!’  

TL note :  

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ) sticky holy attribute, holy water.. probably? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )  

And [15 avenue] is Hayato’s former party; I thought I need to make this clear.