SWNOVELXO Chapter 172 - Divine Cat Mii-chan and Nero Meet Someone from Their Homeland
172 Divine Cat Mii-chan and Nero Meet Someone from Their Homeland
The tea we’re drinking is delicious, with a pleasant aroma, so it’s clear it’s of high quality. I finished the pudding in no time, so now I’m enjoying tea while eating muffins that Ms. Mistleticia had prepared.
The flavor is excellent, rich with the taste of butter, and it’s fluffy—probably thanks to the baking powder. If it were baking soda, it would take a very precise measurement to achieve such balanced taste. I should look for baking powder next time.
“Don’t you want to start a business with this pudding, Nero?”
“Getting the ingredients in large quantities is difficult, so I’m not interested.”
“That’s a shame. It would sell well, you know.”
“It’s too much of a hassle. Besides, it’s better to have someone else make it taste good rather than doing it myself. I’ve already given the recipe to a few chefs I know, so I’m looking forward to what they come up with.”
“You don’t want to monopolize it and make a profit?”
“Recipes evolve and improve with each chef. If I monopolize it, I’ll miss out on new flavors. But if it’s widely shared, the flavors will change and become even more enjoyable. I want to enjoy many different tastes.”
“You really don’t act like a typical merchant, do you?”
“Is that what they say?”
“They’re saying things like you picked a fight with the Pharmacist Guild, sold fresh rare fish at a low price, and most notably, attacked a branch of the dark finance guild and challenged the Hunter Guild. Fufufu…”
Jin is glaring at her. It’s intimidating. Meanwhile, Mii-chan is just minding her own business, crunching on her Mii-chan cookies.
“It’s about time we got to the point.”
“The point? I just want to deepen our friendship with Nero, the merchant everyone’s talking about, and Sigmund, the royal dragon claw.”
“Which side is your Thieves Guild on?”
“We aren’t on any side at the moment. The Empress has no interest in power struggles but is concerned that the weak will suffer because of them.”
“That sounds insincere. Once something happens, you’ll take the opportunity to make a profit, right?”
“I won’t deny it. That’s how we make our living. But this time, it’s different. With the Kingdom of Rotalingia backing the nobles and a false hero in play, the Empress believes this is more than just a power struggle.”
“Oh? So you’ve investigated that much… What do you want, then?”
“We’d like to side with His Majesty.”
“Why?”
“We have our reasons. Most of the dark guilds have allied with Duke Wittelsbach. They can’t afford to lose since their connections with the nobles run deep. But we, the Thieves Guild, have no such ties. We focus on helping the weak, so we wouldn’t mind if the nobles were gone.”
“That’s a weak reason.”
“Then how about this: we’ve handled the slaying of fallen heroes in the past. Would that convince you?”
“!?!!”
I’d heard that if a hero fell into darkness, they became a target for elimination, with bounties placed on them by the Hunter Guild or dark guilds. It seems the Thieves Guild handles such requests.
It makes sense that if a false hero is involved this time, the Thieves Guild would want to team up with someone. But why was I called here?
“Mii?”
Mii-chan doesn’t know either. Neither do I…
“Very well. I’ll connect you with the Prime Minister. We can’t make that decision ourselves.”
“Thank you.”
“But why bring Nero into this? I don’t get it.”
“Nero will meet the Empress after this and hear her out. We guarantee his safety. We need him to meet her.”
“You expect us to trust you on that?”
“Nero is on good terms with His Majesty and the Queen. It wouldn’t make sense for us to harm him if we’re siding with His Majesty. You’ll have to trust us.”
“Why only Nero?”
“It’s by the Empress’ order. I can’t say more.”
“What do you think, Nero?”
“Looks like I don’t have much choice but to go…”
So now, I’m being led blindfolded. Mii-chan isn’t blindfolded, though. She’s clinging tightly to me. We’ve gone down and up several staircases, passed through some cool underground tunnels, and finally entered what seems like a mansion. They took off my blindfold, and I was led into a room.
In front of me, lying in bed, is a woman. It seems it’s just the woman, Mii-chan, and me in the room.
“I’m sorry to meet you like this. Could you come closer?”
I move with Mii-chan to the bedside. The woman lying there is frail but carries an air of elegance.
“My name is Ayane Kanzaki. I come from the same place as you—Japan.”
Oh, she’s from my homeland.
Though coughing occasionally, Ayane Kanzaki lifts herself slightly to look at Mii-chan and me.
“Please drink this. It should help you feel a bit better.”
I pour Mii-chan’s mineral water into a cup by the bed and hand it to her.
Ayane Kanzaki slowly, but surely, drinks it all.
“This is divine water, isn’t it? I feel much better now. We can have a proper conversation. Thank you.”
Mii-chan, sensing her condition, jumps onto the bed and starts licking Ayane Kanzaki’s hand gently.
“So, this little one is a divine familiar. How adorable.”
“Mii~”
It seems like this Ayane Kanzaki knows a lot. This might be worth hearing out.
“Mii~”