Summary of the last chapter in three lines
Meals at the inn.
Shy Miri.
Miri’s sorrow.
Satisfied with the meal, the two spend some time relaxing while enjoying after meal tea.
「Hmmm, the main dish, the dessert, and even this black tea are all very satisfying.」
She enjoys the scent of the black tea, the sweetness of the accompanying cookies, as well as the slight bitterness of the tea.
「I’m not that good with tea, so I was worried when I was served tea with different leaves.」
Souta talks about when he mentioned his dislike of black tea when he stayed at the inn before; since then, the tea served to him all are similar to j.a.panese tea.
After the customers settle down, and the seats gradually empty, Gordon comes out to meet Souta and Dina.
「It’s unusual for you, who"s always secluding yourself in the kitchen, to come out.」
He approaches the table without changing his expression, despite what Souta says.
「You are the chef here, right? Today’s meals were very delicious. Thank you very much.」
While staying seated, Dina bows courteously and thanks Gordon.
「A-Ah, no, it’s fine. As this is my job, it’s good as long as you’re satisfied.」
Facing Dina’s frankness, Gordon replies despite being fl.u.s.tered
「It’s great that I can eat this for the first time after a while. I can have peace of mind with your skills. Today’s food was also very delicious.」
「Ou, I added my own flare to the meat-softening technique that Souta taught me, and it went unexpectedly well. Thanks.」
Gordon doesn’t take the credit for himself. He thought from the bottom of his heart that it was due to Souta"s advice instead of his hands, as he wants to tell it to Souta straight from his mouth, he especially came out of the kitchen to meet Souta.
「Well then, I will go back.」
Because that’s all he wants to do, Gordon, whose face has remained the same from beginning to end, leaves.
「Is chef-san angry or something?」
Looking back, Dina mutters anxiously.
「No…… That’s a delighted expression. That he came out here personally is proof. His tail was also swaying slightly.」
「That is, I didn’t notice……. But, if so, then that’s good.」
After Souta says that, Dina shows a relieved expression.
「Now then, our stomachs are filled and we have rested well enough…… Let’s go home.」
As they took their time, it’s already become late. All the shops, other than eating places, have all closed already.
「Right, and the investigation will finally start tomorrow! What kind of information can we find I wonder……」
「When I went to the library before, I was looking into the basics of each countries description and current condition. After that, I found a book about the battle with Demon King a thousand years ago, so I read that.」
「Because the purpose is different this time, you may find something if you look from a different perspective. Besides, I will be with you this time.」
Dina makes a fist and getting fired up.
「I have high expectation on you. After all, you"re the only one that can see eye to eye with me right now, it"d be great if we could find something, but…… Ohh right, Miri, I’m going to pay.」
Souta calls their server, Miri, and pays for the food.
「Yes…… It’s the exact change. Thank you very much.」
While she works, she has been watching the two. Various thoughts come to mind, but she answers Souta with a smile without letting her thoughts show on her face.
「I said it to Gordon earlier, but it was delicious. Thank you, I will come again.」
「It was really tasty.」
They thank Miri with a smile and leave the store.
When they get outside, it’s already dark. They walk while relying on the light from the magical tool installed at regular intervals along the road like a street light and on light from the stores which are still open. They pa.s.s some drunkards occasionally, but it’s an otherwise quiet night, with fresh air and stars shining radiantly in the night sky.
Ed gets up when they come home and welcome them.
The next morning, the two depart from the house just in time for the opening of the library. They have breakfast at a street stall. As they walk slowly, by the time they reach the library, a quarter of the library"s opening hours have pa.s.sed.
In the library, they are welcomed by the same male and female librarians who welcomed Souta last time.
「Welcome…… The personage there has already made use of this facility. Thank you for visiting again.」
The one who says that is the male librarian. After saying that to Souta, he moves his eyes toward Dina.
「As for you, this is your first time using this library, am I right?」
「Yes, this will be my first time using this library. I have used other places, but, if it’s not a ha.s.sle, could you give me a quick introduction?.」
Understanding that Dina wants information, he nods and begins his explanation.
「Dina, I’m going ahead.」
As Souta has already heard the explanation, he pays two gold coins to the female librarian and walks over to the shelves, looking at the memo which the female librarian pa.s.sed to him. The investigation this time is to reconfirm the information about the four tribes, aside from the elven tribe which he"d already investigated. The ones that particularly concerns Souta is the ones that didn’t show up in Dina’s memories when using Pair Connect, the Beastmen tribe, the Gnome tribe, and Dwarven tribe.
The two heroes from Dragonkin and Elven tribes are guaranteed to be dead. Dina said that there might be another person there. Souta thought that, if so, then it’s possible that the other person is one of the other three heroes. Based on that, the possibility of it being the Beastmen tribe’s hero is low, because he was fighting together with them in the same place. Souta takes out the books about the other two races to look for information about them.
After taking out the relevant books, he heads to the reading table. Dina comes chasing him shortly after.
「Those two are quite interesting. They’re incongruous, but somehow match each other well……. a nice combination.」
Dina whispers in the quiet library. Souta is reminded of the time he first met those two, and, listening to Dina’s opinion, he agrees.
「Ah, they’re still the same like before.」
Dina sits across from Souta and picks up a book prepared by him.
「First, I think I"ll investigate the Gnomes and Dwarves, especially the gnomes, because, when I check before, it seemed that they don’t have any territory anymore, and they live scattered in small settlements. Dina, read the story first, and then help me.」
「Understood…… So this is the story about the battle of the heroes and the Demon King a thousand years ago.」
After confirming that, Dina starts to read with a serious expression, and Souta looks through the prepared materials next to him.
The stories written in the book differ in many ways when compared with Dina’s Pair Connect memories. As she continues reading, her expression grows dubious.
「This is……」
Unconsciously, without saying it to anyone in particular, Dina’s voice leaks.
「Then, doesn’t it mean Souta-san is the bad guy in this story! It"s wrong, Souta-san is not such a person!!」
Dina’s agitation bursting forth, she speaks with a loud voice as she stands up.
「Dina… This is a library you know. Keep your voice down.」
Souta understands Dina’s anger, but he decides to calm her down by purposefully asking her to keep her voice down.
「Ahhh … I’m sorry.」
Because there is no one else around besides Souta, they don’t bother anyone, but Dina sits back while feeling discouraged.
「I understand the feeling, because I already read it before. I want to know the person who spread this information and called it the truth. I want to review other information, and, by combining the information we have on hand, we might be able to get closer to the truth.」
「Understood.」
Understanding the original purpose from Souta’s words, Dina goes back to reading the story with a serious expression as if shaking off her sad feeling.
t/n: last chapter this week, the plot starts to move again, after the author takes a detour to prioritize getting the waifu for Souta