NOVEL NEXT Chapter 25 - Episode 025: Headhunter, Welcoming the Cool Female Knight
Episode 025: Headhunter, Welcoming the Cool Female Knight
“Oh, Yes.”
Upon Ack’s response, Maria, maintaining a serene demeanor despite swinging her sword and shedding blood, placed her hand over her chest and greeted with a respectful salute-like pose.
“Nice to meet you. I am Maria, the leader of the Third Division of the Farmrest Knights. I look forward to working with you.”
“I’ve heard of you, but I’m Ack. I’m the owner of this café. Nice to meet you. So, what brings you here to see me?”
Without any reaction to Maria’s appearance or attitude, Ack responded to her.
Her eyebrows twitched.
“Yes. It seems you’ve been managing the occurrences of Elder Treant, Goblin attacks, and the abnormal increases of Formaboar and Kenaibird. That’s why I came to inquire.”
“I remember Elder Treant, but I have no recollection of the other incidents. There might have been a few goblins attacking a village and something about gathering ingredients…”
While placing his hand on his chin, Ack responded as if trying to recall.
He had heard of Elder Treant, but nothing was said about the other incidents, so he didn’t remember them.
To Ack, dealing with a few hundred monsters was nothing. It was as insignificant as kicking a stone on the road. It was only natural not to remember.
“Several hundred goblins, Formaboars, and Kenaibirds are a little more than just a few…”
Maria was astonished by Ack’s nonchalant mutterings.
And it was understandable. Several hundred monsters were a force that could easily destroy a village. Even for Maria, the strongest knight in Farmrest, it was a bit challenging to defeat them all. Achieving the feat of defeating every single one without letting any escape was beyond human capability.
To be told that such a large number of creatures were treated as if they were just a handful of them was indeed shocking.
“Welcome.”
Maria regained her composure at Tina’s greeting.
For the sake of investigation, it was rude to come to the shop and not order anything.
“Well, excuse me… Who is this?”
“She’s Tina, my family.”
Maria apologized, then sat at the counter and looked at Tina again.
Maria trembled.
She seemed to be desperately suppressing something.
“Are you alright?”
“Uh, y-yes, I’m fine. Can I have an iced tea, please?”
“Sure.”
When Ack addressed Maria, who seemed unusually tense, she snapped out of it, composed herself, and ordered her drink.
After being served the iced tea, Maria began to ask Ack for more details.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
“This is nothing.”
After finishing her inquiries, Maria bowed her head without changing her expression. Ack didn’t seem to mind and just nodded.
In fact, he was happy that there were more customers, as he often had some spare time.
However, when the conversation ended, Maria began to act fidgety and suspicious.
And then, as if she had made up her mind, she spoke up.
“S-So, um, I’d like to ask you something… What kind of café is the Fluffy Café?”
“As you can see, there are monsters I’ve tamed inside the shop.”
Although Ack was taken aback by the sudden question, he moved his head around as if looking around, and Maria turned back to look inside the shop.
There weren’t many, but a few monsters were freely roaming around, and there were figures of the glasses-wearing youth and Clauf playing with them.
“As long as you don’t mistreat them or handle them roughly, you can pet them or pick them up.”
Ack picked up Shiln, who was at his feet, and placed her in front of Maria.
“Kyuuru?”
Shiln tilted her head with a “Kyuuru?”
“Ah…”
Maria let out a bewildered sound.
She seemed to be restraining something, just like the glasses-wearing youth.
“Kruu”
“Kyaah”
When Shiln purified as usual, Maria let out a cute scream.
“Could it be… a Puribear?”
“Yeah. This is Shiln, a Puribear. Nice to meet you.”
“I can’t believe there’s a Puribear here… (Ah, it’s so cute!)”
Upon hearing the answer, Maria trembled as she faced Shiln.
“Kruuru”
“She’s asking you to pet her, you know?”
Ack interpreted Shiln’s plea with her round eyes.
“N-No, I didn’t come here with that intention… but if it’s really necessary, I suppose I could consider it…”
Trembling and blushing with embarrassment, Maria crossed her arms and turned away.
Ack was familiar with this kind of reaction. It resembled the behavior of mercenaries who couldn’t easily express themselves when teasing their crush.
“Shiln really wants Maria to pet her.”
Although Shiln didn’t say anything like that, Ack threw her a lifeline, sensing Maria’s inner turmoil.
“W-Well, if it’s really necessary, then I suppose it can’t be helped.”
Maria responded with a face that didn’t seem entirely unwilling.
“Yeah. Be gentle.”
“T-Then, if you’ll excuse me… Ah…”
Then, Maria, placing her hand on Shiln’s head, was filled with a sense of bliss at the indescribable sensation.
The texture of Shiln and the other fluffy monsters in Ack’s shop was exquisite, so it was only natural.
“This can’t be helped… it can’t be helped…”
With a disheveled expression, Maria continued to pet Shiln, muttering to herself.
“Thank you for your visit. Feel free to come back anytime.”
After enjoying the sensation of Shiln, Maria regained her composure and briskly left.
Ack and Tina exchanged smiles without saying a word.
“May I hear another story?”
“Yeah.”
From the next day onwards, Maria began to visit the Fluffy Café every day.