DAY 22: EVENING

Loner Life in Another World — LNCrawler · All chapters

DAY 22

EVENING

Family troubles at the Fishes.

THE LADY FINGER BOUDOIR

LITERALLY TWENTY PEOPLE lectured me for a full hour. They kept asking me why I decided to involve myself in a war between nobles. You tell me! I couldn’t get emotional at a time like this, but it was important that I wasn’t too clinical. We needed to start from the beginning and understand the chain of events that led to this moment. I had to state it in a blunt, straightforward manner.

Eventually, this was my most coherent, convincing explanation:

“Listen, I’m telling you, I didn’t just leave town. I went to buy some soy sauce, got chased by a soldier, misled by a maid, and got my passport. Then the gatekeeper yelled at me, so I tried to order some books and got ambushed. Then, I burnt the hair off a bunch of old men in armor and found out the courier was the duke all along. That basically explains everything, right? I bought some soy sauce. It just ended up happening like that! I deny all accusations, I think?”

What? Not a single person thought my explanation was reasonable! I related the events in a logical and orderly fashion. What more could they want?

“It’s soy sauce,” I moaned. “Wouldn’t you want some? Wouldn’t you buy as much as you could? Why am I the bad guy here? Why is everyone scolding me? I don’t care about any war. Don’t blame me, blame the nobles. As for me leaving town, the gatekeeper was the one who yelled at me and refused to let me back in. I’m the real victim here! Whose big idea was it to fight a battle in the middle of the road, anyway? I mistook the duke for a delivery driver! I only stopped to order some books, but all my good intentions were betrayed, don’t you see? Oh, but I did get some soy sauce after all—look here!”

How could people so thoroughly misunderstand? Were there really people incapable of accepting the truth no matter how many times it was explained? I’m innocent, I tell ya!

In the end, I had to sit in the corner and think about my actions!

At least these girls had gotten used to me; no one started crying during my pleas, unlike that one girl I met. I was confident that I had proven myself over and over, and that they did trust me; the girls hadn’t tried to take away my independence. They didn’t seem to appreciate my actions, though.

While I sat cross-legged facing the wall, I surreptitiously grilled some fish and drizzled it with soy sauce. As soon as they smelled the delicious aroma, they stopped lecturing me. Fish saves the day, I thought. I wasn’t a troublemaker after all. I had been falsely accused. I was innocent all along. Soy sauce is the greatest defense attorney.

Everyone wept with joy as they devoured the fish. The girls must’ve been homesick. The taste and the smell tugged at everyone’s deepest memories. Fish Girl seemed to love it as much as everyone else. Shouldn’t that alarm her parents? What would they say if they saw her eating her own kind? I was worried about the familial drama that could cause, but she seemed to be enjoying herself, so I let it be. If the Fishes shoved their way in here, shouting bloody murder, I could just grill them, too. Or maybe smoke them? Mmm…

Proven innocent and full of fish, I entered the bath. “Where are you, nerds…? Don’t tell me you died.” Why was I muttering about the nerds to myself? “I hope I find you soon. I’m starting to get worried.”

I left the bath and returned to my room. I had been at this inn for five days now. That meant that I was in town for five days, too. My cave must be lonely. I considered asking the jocks to check on it, but I couldn’t just leave my cave in someone else’s care.

Come to think of it, the meatheads hadn’t ever made it to town. Five long days had passed since I saw them.

I wasn’t worried about the nerds. In all likelihood, they were power-leveling and maxing out their skills. They were practically walking, talking strategy guides for fantasy RPGs.

But the jocks were another matter entirely. Were they still in the forest? Why? Did they have to stay there for some reason?

Even if they reached town, and even if I waited for the nerds to show up, I still needed to go back to my cave at least once.

The nerds would come back to town eventually even if I didn’t look for them. They would definitely come running to a place called the Lady Finger Boudoir, too. That was for sure, especially after seeing all the other inns in town. This was the only inn with a cute girl standing out front, after all!