## Chapter 446 – 446 – Fanatic
◈-Rant SIDE
The next day.
We went to the lodgings to report to High Priest Maren and to have breakfast with Lelia before that.
However.
“The Commander is not here.”
“What? She clearly said she was returning to the lodgings yesterday…”
“She did return, but she left immediately. I think she might be at the bar, so try going there.”
We moved to the place the Holy Knight at the lodgings had directed us to.
And inside, there was…
“Mmm… ehehe… kooool…”
Lelia was slumped over the bar counter, dozing off.
“Lelia?”
As I approached Lelia, Noah wrinkled her nose and frowned.
“Ugh, the smell of alcohol is intense!”
*Chuckles*
“It seems like she drank all night?”
Tikya took out her staff and poked Lelia, but Lelia didn’t even flinch.
“T-Tikya, you shouldn’t poke her with your staff.”
“Ah, sorry. She was so obviously passed out that I just… did it like I do to our master.”
If we stayed like this, we wouldn’t be able to report properly.
Let’s wake Lelia up first.
“Lelia, Lelia.”
I reached out and grabbed Lelia’s shoulder, shaking her.
“Ugh, uhm… huh…? Ah, Rant~ Oh? Ugh, it’s too bright… Rant~ Assess the surroundings! And make it dark~.”
Even I can’t do that, but I can make it less dazzling.
I created a barrier with my mana weapon to block some of the light.
“Aww~ That’s no fun~ More importantly, why are you here? *Hiccup!*”
“We came to have breakfast together. And we need to go report to High Priest Maren.”
“Ah~ That’s right~ There was a report… Mmm…”
“Lelia, you can’t go back to sleep.”
“Ugh, ugh…”
Suddenly, Lelia started to make a crying face.
“L-Lelia?”
“No! No! No! No! I hate everything!”
*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Lelia started banging on the counter roughly and throwing a tantrum.
“Lelia… but the report…”
“I’m going to sleep! I’m going to sleep all day! Mmm…”
And then, Lelia tried to close her eyes again.
“Get a grip, Lelia.”
I know that saying this to someone who’s drunk is useless, but I said it anyway.
Then…
*Thud!*
“Ugh. Ughhhhh! I don’t wannaaaaa, I wanna sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep!”
“Wow…”
Noah’s mouth was agape in surprise.
That’s because Lelia was lying on the floor, flailing her arms and legs like a baby throwing a tantrum.
This is serious.
If this goes on, it’ll never end, so let’s take her back to the lodgings by force and have another Holy Knight give her a cure.
“Excuse me, Lelia.”
I somehow managed to hug and lift up the struggling Lelia.
Then.
“Hic! Hic, waaaaaah… I’m lonely… I’m lonely, Rant! Waaaaah!!!”
Lelia burst into tears.
“If I go back to the lodgings, I’ll be alone! Rant is spending happy times with his other lovers! Everyone else in Solario is having a good time! But I’m all alone!
It’s so upsetting… so sad… hic… hic! How can I not drink?! Waaaaah!! I want to get married!!!”
It was a desperate cry filled with Lelia’s heart.
I sincerely hoped that someone kind would make Lelia happy.
I patted Lelia’s back as if soothing a child.
“I’m sure a good partner will come along for Lelia.”
“Hic… *sniffle*! Really?”
“Yes, really, right?”
When I signaled with my eyes, everyone hurriedly praised Lelia.
“Y-yes! Lelia is so sincere and beautiful! You’ll definitely find a good partner!”
“That’s right, Lelia, you have a great figure. There are probably many men who would fall for you if you made the first move♪”
“Maybe your destined partner is closer than you think? You can’t give up on finding love!”
“You’re so strong and pretty, you’ll definitely find someone! Yeah, yeah!”
“Hic, hic! Waaaaah!!! Thank you, everyone!!! Waaaaah!!! B-but if I’m going to meet someone, I’d rather have them come to me like a prince on a white horse…”
Lelia, drunk, was shamelessly expressing her girlish desires.
Okay, let’s take this opportunity to quickly get her back to the lodgings.
“Let’s go to the lodgings! I’ll go ahead!”
After telling my lovers in advance, I dashed out and ran towards the lodgings.
“Waaaaah! I don’t wanna! I don’t want to sober up! You’re not taking me to a prince on a white horse, you’re taking me to the lodgings! I don’t wanna!!! People of the townnnnnn!! Save meeeeee!! An S-rank adventurer is kidnapping meeeee!!!”
People really say whatever comes to mind when they’re drunk.
◈
As soon as we brought her to the lodgings, the Holy Knight who grasped the situation immediately cast a cure on Lelia.
Lelia, who had been yelling and throwing a tantrum just moments ago, became quiet as soon as she sobered up.
“…I’m so ashamed. I’m really… s-sorry…”
And Lelia, too embarrassed to apologize loudly, trembled and bowed to me again.
“I’m so glad you’re sober.”
“Every time… I’m really… sorry…”
“Commander, it’s one thing for you to act drunk around us, but you shouldn’t cause trouble for the people who are cooperating with us from the outside.”
“I really… have nothing to say… ah… I want to die…”
“Lelia.”
“Eep!? Yes… Rant… sir.”
“Please get up, we need to report to High Priest Maren.”
“Yes…”
And a little while later, when everyone had arrived at the lodgings, Lelia changed into her Holy Knight armor and came outside.
Her expression was still dejected.
“I’m really sorry, everyone. I showed you such an awful sight again and caused you trouble, I’m really…”
“Hehe, don’t worry about it too much, Lelia. We’re fine. Right?”
Everyone nodded at Ninya’s words.
“Ugh…”
Lelia’s eyes were filled with tears as if her emotions were welling up, even though she wasn’t drunk.
“Thank… you…”
I placed my hand on Lelia’s shoulder and said,
“Let’s eat first.”
“Yes…”
After breakfast, Lelia seemed much better than before.
“I’m really sorry again for causing you trouble.”
We told Lelia, who kept apologizing, that it was okay again.
Lelia, knowing that we would be troubled if she apologized any more, set off with us to the Great Cathedral.
And we entered High Priest Maren’s room inside the Great Cathedral.
“Welcome, everyone. Have you completed your investigation mission?”
High Priest Maren, not surprised by our quick return, asked with a kind smile.
“Yes, High Priest Maren! We found solid evidence in the suspected area. They are an extremist group called the ‘God’s Mercy Eradication Society,’ and they were developing and manufacturing a drug that eliminates sexual desire using a plant called the Holy Festival Grass.”
High Priest Maren looked very sad at Lelia’s report.
“That is… a very act that goes against the teachings of Solishin.”
“Yes. So, I request the dispatch of a suppression force right now. It’s just the initial development stage of the drug. I believe it’s okay for the suppression force to depart.”
“I understand. Then, I will approve the request for the suppression force to be dispatched. Lelia, you will lead the suppression force and subdue them.”
“Yes!”
“Lelia, did you cooperate well with Rant when you infiltrated the village?”
“I received a lot of help from Rant. Without Rant’s help, it would have taken much longer to find the evidence.”
“I see.”
High Priest Maren bowed to me.
“Thank you very much for your cooperation in this mission, Rant. And to your lovers as well.”
“It’s nothing, we were just fulfilling a request.”
“Even so, I thank you again. Then, I will give you your reward.”
High Priest Maren got up from his seat and took out a pouch of money from a desk drawer in the room and handed it to me.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
I put the pouch of money into my inventory.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect things to end so quickly. I would like to give Rant more reward for completing the mission so quickly. …Ah, that’s right! Rant! Perhaps you would like to sell in our Sol…”
Before High Priest Maren could say anything, Lelia coughed loudly.
“Ahem! Ahem! High Priest Maren! As someone from Escal, I must say. The values of other regions and Sol are very different! And Rant clearly has lovers, so I think that reward is inappropriate!”
“Oh my, is that so? That’s a shame.”
“I understand High Priest Maren’s intentions, but I think it would be best to end it with the regular reward here.”
“I understand, Lelia. If you say so, then it must be so.”
I could feel the bond between High Priest Maren and Lelia.
But what was it that she was going to offer as an additional reward?
Since Lelia was so openly blocking it, I guessed it was something that would be troublesome to receive.
After the report, we left the Great Cathedral.
In front of the Great Cathedral, Lelia said to us,
“Then, I will immediately organize the suppression force and head to that village. I hope you all will enjoy sightseeing in Sol a little more before returning.”
If the suppression force was to depart, it would take quite some time to get to that village.
Since we had helped with the request and received the reward properly, how about helping a little more as a service?
“Well, if it’s okay, I could move with the suppression force…”
But before I could even finish speaking, Lelia, understanding my intentions, shook her head.
“No, it’s okay, Rant. Rant’s request is already over. I can’t cause you any more trouble. Of course, if this was a very urgent situation, I would have asked you, but there is still time.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Then, I’ll be on my way. Everyone… I hope you have a good time.”
With those words, Lelia headed towards the lodgings.
Looking at Lelia’s retreating figure, Tikya said,
“She probably feels really awkward being with us after showing us how drunk she gets.”
Ah… is that the biggest reason after all?
“It’s a shame~ I wanted to get closer to Lelia.”
“I also wanted to spar with her one more time if possible. And even though her drunken antics were a bit pitiful, it was kind of fun talking to her.”
“I didn’t even get to bring up the topic of Magical Girl Marin…”
“Lelia… I really… hope she finds a good person. Seeing her sad while drinking was really… heartbreaking.”
Everyone was sad to part with Lelia.
But even if we insisted on helping Lelia’s mission, it would definitely cause her trouble.
“What should we do now? Should we do some more sightseeing in Sol?”
Everyone looked like they weren’t very keen on my words.
Then, Tikya floated up with her levitation magic and said, riding on my shoulders as usual,
“Why don’t we just go back to Pltan? Let’s do the sightseeing next time when Leni and Melissa are on vacation… with Lelia as our guide.”
Everyone nodded in agreement to Tikya’s suggestion.
“Okay. Then… let’s go back to Pltan.”
And we left Sol and returned to Pltan.
On the way back, as if regretting the parting with Lelia, most of our conversations were about her.
Ninya and Noah talked about Lelia’s skills and how fun it was to talk to her.
Elsie talked about the culture shock she felt in Sol as a fellow religious person from Escal.
Tikya talked about her regret of not even being able to try to spread the word about Magical Girl Marin and her regret that she hadn’t been able to talk to her much.
And I…
“I wonder when the man who is more than Lelia desires will appear…”
I was worried about whether a man who was exactly what Lelia wanted would appear.
Honestly, it’s not a problem that I can solve by worrying about it.
But I strongly wished that Lelia would be happy.
『How about Rant making her his own woman?』
Is it that again?
Hmm… well…
Honestly, Lelia is a very attractive woman.
She gets very drunk, but that’s just a cute… cute?
Anyway, I can accept it as one of her charms.
And I don’t think my other lovers would dislike Lelia either.
If… just if.
If Lelia were to give up on herself or beg me to take her…
I probably wouldn’t be able to refuse, would I?
Even if it wasn’t a romantic situation, I feel like I would end up accepting her…
That’s the kind of charm I feel from Lelia.
…Of course, let’s earnestly pray that a man who is ideal for Lelia appears before such a desperate situation arises.
