Chapter 572 – To Leni’S Family Home!
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Leni and I immediately went downstairs, passed through the checkpoint, and entered.
Eschal, the country where Pledan is located.
Its capital, Hurridge, felt like a capital city, much like Caramel, Sol, and Bendina.
Numerous people strolled along the streets, and carriages clattered by.
The vibrant energy of the people strongly conveyed the feeling of a capital city.
While Pledan had a slightly wild vibrancy with adventurers swarming about, the capital, Hurridge, felt bustling with ordinary citizens and carriages carrying nobles.
“So, this is where you were born and raised, Leni. Did you become a receptionist here first?”
“Yes, after passing the exam in the royal capital, I was assigned to Pledan.”
“Are assignments automatically determined?”
“That can happen if you don’t make a choice. But in my case, I applied myself.”
“Really?”
“When I was little, I often followed my father to the Adventurer’s Guild to meet his old friends. There… I admired the guild receptionists, my mother’s former profession, and wanted to become one myself. And if I was going to become one, I wanted to be the best.”
“The best receptionist?”
Leni lowered her head slightly, looking a bit shy.
“It was a childish thought from when I was little. I thought that the best receptionist would be the one in Pledan, where there were the most adventurers and the strongest ones. Now… I think it was silly of me.”
I shook my head at Leni, who was blaming herself.
“That’s not true. To me, Leni, you’re the best receptionist and the person I love.”
“…Thank you, Rent♡”
“Besides, you work so diligently and almost never take a break. If you asked any adventurer in Pledan, they’d say you’re the best receptionist.”
I could say that with confidence.
Leni put her hand to her mouth, giggled, and nodded.
“Yes, I hope so.”
Hmm~ She doesn’t seem to believe it much, but since Leni usually has low self-esteem, even if I keep insisting, she’ll probably just brush it off.
Let’s tackle this issue gradually.
First, today’s top priority.
Meeting Leni’s mother and father comes first.
“Where is your house, Leni?”
“It’s just a little further down the road.”
After walking for a while, Leni stopped in front of a general store.
Looking at the sign, the name of the store was Leni’s General Store.
“It’s obvious that this is your house, Leni.”
Leni shuddered.
“It was originally a general store named after my father. But after I passed the receptionist exam, he changed the sign right away.”
“I can tell your father loves you very much.”
“Thank you for saying that…”
But as a daughter, she was very embarrassed, and Leni blushed bright red while thanking me.
She’s so cute.
Good job, Father.
Leni and I went inside the store.
The bell on the door jingled, and a middle-aged man was sitting idly at the counter, reading a newspaper.
Hearing the bell, the man folded the newspaper in half and looked up.
“Welcome, what can I… help… you… with.”
The man’s eyes and mouth widened as he stared blankly at us, or rather, at Leni.
“It’s been a while, Father.”
“Le, Le, Leni…?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“J-Just wait here a moment! Honey, honey!”
Leni’s father, presumably, quickly opened the door behind him and went inside.
And a moment later.
“Lenini?!”
A middle-aged woman who resembled Leni came out of the door with her father.
“It’s been a while, Mother.”
“It really is our Leni!”
Her mother approached Leni and hugged her tightly.
“Welcome home.”
“Yes, I’m back.”
“Come inside first.”
After the long-awaited family reunion, I went inside the general store with Leni.
I sat at the dining table next to Leni, facing her mother and father.
But her mother and father spoke to Leni first, not me.
“It hasn’t been long since we sent the letter, but you came so quickly. Oh, did you not receive the letter?”
“No, I received the letter and took a vacation to come here.”
“Is that so? It takes more than a week by carriage to get here from Pledan. It’s only been 13 days since we sent the letter?”
“That’s…”
As Leni was about to answer, her father spoke first.
“Leni, that outfit…”
“Yes, Father. It’s the receptionist uniform I wear in Pledan. I wanted to show it to you at least once.”
“Oh my. Our pretty Leni, you look just like your mother when she was young. Your mother was so beautiful when she was a receptionist… Of course, she’s still beautiful now.”
“You’re being silly. There are other people here, not just us. And Leni hasn’t answered my question yet. So, Leni, how did you get here so fast? And who is this person next to you?”
At her mother’s question, Leni smiled brightly and said,
“I’ll introduce you, Mother, Father. This is Rent. Thanks to Rent, I was able to come here so quickly.”
“Rent…? I’ve heard that name somewhere…”
As her father tilted his head, her mother slammed the table and spoke loudly.
“Wait a minute! Rent, isn’t that the Dungeon Crasher? The S-Rank adventurer who stopped the flood!”
“Yes, that’s right. Thanks to Rent’s skill, I was able to get here so quickly.”
“S, S-Rank adventurer?! Why is someone like that with our Leni… Could it be!”
Her father covered his mouth with both hands and looked at me.
It seems her father realized that I was dating Leni…
“Did our Leni ask him to come here so she could see her mom and dad quickly!”
…or not.
“It’s true that I wanted to see you quickly, but it’s a little different.”
“Different? What do you mean?”
“That’s…”
The moment Leni was about to answer, I held out my hand in front of Leni.
“Rent?”
“I’ll speak from here.”
I bowed my head and said to her mother and father.
“Hello, Mother, Father. I’m Rent, and I’m dating Leni.”
“Huh?”
At my words, both her mother and father tilted their heads at the same time.
“W-Wait a minute, dating? You’re dating our Leni?”
“Yes.”
“You’re… going out with her?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“H-Honey, is this really true? Our Leni… Our Leni, who is beautiful like you and never dated anyone… is dating an S-Rank adventurer.”
“I, I heard it too, so it seems to be true? No, no. I thought she was feeling down because she didn’t have any news about men and didn’t contact us…”
Her mother turned her head towards Leni with a sly smile.
“You, you, Leni. You were so busy spending time with a man that you forgot to send a letter?”
“Ugh…”
Leni looked embarrassed and turned her head away.
“Oh my, oh my, oh my, look at her. She can make that face too. But it’s been more than three months since you sent a letter. How deeply are you in love?”
“O-Our Leni is so deeply in love with a man!? Our pretty daughter!?”
Her mother turned her head towards me.
Her eyes were sparkling with curiosity.
“How old are you?”
“I’m 20 years old.”
“20 years old!? You’re 8 years younger than our daughter! No, more than that, you’re an S-Rank and only 20 years old!? Leni, you’ve really caught a big young one!”
“M-Mother! That’s rude to Rent!”
“What do you mean Rent? You’re dating him, so why are you so formal? When your father and I were dating, we called each other ‘honey’.”
“T-That’s… Even if we’re dating, Rent and I are still an adventurer and a receptionist, so it’s not easy to drop the formalities…”
“Honey, how were we when we were dating?”
“Huh? You called me ‘honey’ even when you were working.”
“See, our daughter, I thought she was so smart that we didn’t have anything to teach her, but it seems we still have things to teach her about dating.”
“U-Ugh…”
Leni lowered her head, not knowing what to do.
I’ve never seen Leni make such an expression before.
I want to see more of this cute Leni, but as her lover, I should take her side here.
Along with taking Leni’s side, let’s give her mother and father a greeting gift.
“Excuse me, Mother…”
Just as I was about to say “Father,” her mother’s movement stopped.
“Wait a minute… According to rumors, the Dungeon Crasher has many women… Rent… no, Rent, right? Can I drop the formalities?”
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
“As the rumors say… do you have many women?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Whew, I see. That’s a relief, it’s just a false rumor that comes with fame…”
“I don’t look down on the people I love.”
“Huh?”
“They are all my equal, beloved lovers. Of course, that includes Leni. We will all be happy together, and I plan to make everyone happy.”
“Rent♡”
“Huh? Uh-huh?”
“U-Um, R-Rent?”
“Yes, Father.”
“A-Are you really dating our Leni?”
“Yes.”
“Then, how many women are you dating besides Leni…”
“There are 9, excluding Leni.”
“S-So, including our Leni, t-t-ten. T-This is the level of an S-Rank adventurer…”
“L-Leni! Our daughter! Are you satisfied with that?!”
“Yes, Mother. In the first place… I’m Rent’s eighth woman.”
“E-E-Eighth…”
I held Leni’s hands tightly and said with my usual sincerity.
“Leni, even if the order of dating is eighth, it doesn’t mean I love you eighth. I love you the most in the world, along with everyone else.”
“Yes, Rent♡ I know♡ I love you the most in the world too♡”
Her mother and father looked flustered at our lovey-dovey display.
“T-The atmosphere is good, but the conversation… No, more than that, our daughter is making that face…”
“E-Excuse me, Rent!”
Suddenly, her mother shouted loudly and called out to me.
“Yes, Mother.”
“I can tell that you and our Leni are getting along well. If our Leni is happy, then that’s good. But a parent’s heart doesn’t work that way, does it?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“You understand? Well, that’s good then. No matter how well you get along, if you have 10 women, can you handle it? Even if you’re an S-Rank adventurer. I’ve worked as a receptionist, so I know. In Pledan, if your rank goes up and you reach a higher floor, you need the right equipment.
The money to get that equipment is also enormous. You’re an adventurer like that… Rent, can you take responsibility for our Leni and all the other women? When I was a receptionist, I saw more than one adventurer who abandoned their lovers or family to buy equipment.”
Abandoning family to save money for equipment.
That was something I couldn’t imagine.
But her mother, with her experience as a receptionist, must be telling the truth.
Then, let’s show them proof that I can take responsibility for Leni with peace of mind.
“Mother, Father. Please accept my greeting gift first.”
Thump!
I took out a large money pouch from my inventory and placed it on the table.
“W-What is this?”
“It’s a gift to apologize for not greeting you sooner and to show my gratitude for your future kindness.”
“Judging by the sound, it seems to be money. Well, it’s better than a random gift. I guess that’s what you’d expect from an S-Rank? 50 gold converted into silver…”
Her mother opened the money pouch while speaking.
“Gasp!”
She closed her mouth at the sight of the countless gold coins inside the pouch.
“Honey, why are you… Gasp! Th-This is…!?”
“R-R-R-Rent… No, Rent? H-How much is all of this?”
“It’s 1000 gold.”
“O-O-One thousand gold!?!?”
“Rent!?”
Her mother, father, and Leni all looked at me in surprise.
I put in a lot since I haven’t been able to visit until now!
