The Strongest Onmyoji and the Shikigami With AI are Unparalleled in Another World ~ A Second Life Properly Enjoyed Using Artificial Intelligence ~ - Chapter 145

The day after passing through the forest we decided was a day off, so I was relaxing in my room, lazing around.

In the room, besides the usual AI-chan, Annie, and Alice, Natalia was there as well, reading a book.

“Master, what will you do tomorrow?” AI-chan asked.

“Natalia, what do you think?”

The decision for our day off was up to Natalia.

“We might as well go, don’t you think? We’re bored anyway.”

Yeah, true.

“…I’ll go,” Alice said, sitting up.

“What’s wrong? You’re suddenly motivated.”

“…I have to go. Right now, everyone thinks I’m a useless, selfish little chibi. I can hear the voice in their minds telling me to give up my B-rank.”

That sounds like a problem—paranoia, maybe.

“No one’s thinking that.”

“…That’s what Yuuma says. But Annie thinks so.”

Alice glanced over at Annie.

“I don’t think that. I’m busy with processing the materials we collected, so you can go.”

Since morning, Annie had been busy drying and processing the materials she’d gathered.

“…Alright, Annie’s safe. And I’m sure Natalia, my childhood friend and heart’s companion, is fine too. But AI-chan, you think that, don’t you?”

Does she have a self-destructive streak or something?

“I don’t think that at all. Alice-san is very important,” AI-chan replied with a gentle smile.

“…Ahh, this AI only gives out evaluations like that, huh. I can almost hear her saying, ‘Why don’t you just have Master’s children?’”

She’s definitely being paranoid.

“Whatever the case, that means you’re coming tomorrow, right? Now, who else should go?”

“Annie-san seems busy,” AI-chan said, looking at her.

“I’m very busy. This will bring in dozens of gold coins,” Annie replied.

Alchemy sure is profitable.

“I’ll go. Lately, Lily’s been overworked.”

Natalia volunteered.

“Yeah, we’ve had her do hunting and all sorts of things. So, let’s go with that plan.”

“Alright. By the way, how far is that ‘whatever’ town?”

“It’s a few days’ walk to that ‘whatever’ town, apparently. Right now, Leanne is experimenting to see if she can teleport the carriage. If we had it, it’d be a day’s trip.”

Apparently, she’d never tried it before.

“So it’s not that far away, then. There’s no sign of the dragon—maybe it’s already flown to another country?”

“Who knows? I don’t understand what dragons think.”

It would be better if it just stayed quietly in some mountain.

“Yuuma—realistically, what would you do if you actually encountered a dragon?” Annie asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You can defeat dragons, right? If you killed one, you’d have enough money to live in luxury for the rest of your life.”

“I already live in luxury, so I don’t need that.”

No offerings are needed, and I have a place to live.

It’s enough.

“Alright… well, that’s fine. But there’s one thing I’ve been wondering—doesn’t Lily’s hometown, the Elven Village, lie to the west? Should we stop by?”

So her family’s place is to the west, huh?

“I don’t know exactly where, but if we finish our work quickly or have extra time, it might be nice to stop by.”

Even though Lily just returned recently, she might still want to visit.

“That’s true.”

As we settled on plans for tomorrow and relaxed, Leanne suddenly appeared.

“At first, that startled me, but I’ve gotten used to it. Well, go ahead and sit.”

“Thank you,” Leanne said, taking off her shoes and joining me under the kotatsu.

Then, Natalia prepared tea and placed it in front of Leanne.

“Thank you… hm? Something feels… off.”

Leanne tilted her head.

“Isn’t it Alice?”

“Hm? Oh, she’s awake. The lazy, selfish little chibi is actually awake. Hey, if you’re a B-rank, you should be working.”

“…See?”

Well, that’s just how Leanne is…

That’s her way.

“She says she’ll try hard starting tomorrow.”

“Well, we did make it out of the forest…”

“So? How did it go with the carriage?”

Let’s drop this topic; poor Alice has suffered enough.

“Ah, right. Both the carriage and the horse transferred without issue, so we’ll take the carriage tomorrow.”

“Got it. So, we’ll arrive in one day, right?”

“Yes. If we leave early in the morning, we’ll reach Ibru Town by evening. Once we arrive, we’ll book an inn and then return here. Oh, but feel free to stay overnight if you’d like.”

Ah, right—the town’s name was Ibru or something.

“I’d rather come back. I prefer relaxing in my own room.”

“Yes, it’s certainly more comfortable here,” Leanne said with a wry smile, glancing over at the women lounging around.

“And the Earl is the day after?”

“Yes. Even for a noble from an allied faction, visiting without an appointment at that hour would be impolite. I plan to meet Earl Foal around noon the next day. Yuuma, may I ask you to accompany me?”

“Of course. I’m your guard, after all.”

“Well, the Earl isn’t a dangerous man,” Leanne replied.

“I don’t care. It doesn’t change what I have to do.”

At that, Leanne grabbed Alice by the scruff of her neck, pulling her close.

“…Isn’t he so cool? Isn’t he?”

“…Yeah, he is. Good for you. But, if you’re going to flail around, at least put that hot cup of tea down on the table. It’s scary,” Alice protested.

Leanne let go, took a sip of her tea, and continued.

“So, let’s ask Earl Foal to check if there are any sightings. We can also consult the guild if needed.”

Leanne regained her composure and resumed speaking.

“Understood. Tomorrow, Alice and Natalia will go, so please come pick them up.”

“Alright. It’ll be early, so make sure you’re up… Wake up, will you?” Leanne said, giving Alice a glare.

“…I’ll wake up. The one who doesn’t get up is that ‘cool guy’ over there,” Alice said, pointing at me.

“I’ll get up too. AI-chan, make sure to wake me up.”

“Leave it to me!” AI-chan said proudly.

“…Looks like that little fox over there doesn’t wake up either.”

“I’ll wake her up…” Natalia volunteered, apparently ready to handle it.