Volume 15 Chapter 3 The Missing Juju
As I was cleaning Miss Fuuko's room, my eyes were drawn to a single photograph for some reason.
It seemed to be a photo of some facility.
In the background, there were several adults and... 7 kids.
Most of the faces were too faded to recognize, but... one face was clear. It was a face I knew all too well. There was no mistaking it.
That face was...
"......Juju?"
As soon as I muttered that, my head started throbbing.
"Ugh..."
A strange, unsettling feeling swirled in my head like a storm, making me feel dizzy and nauseous. I couldn't help but groan.
'What are you looking at? Is it something interesting?'
"A..."
Juju snatched the photograph from my hand.
'Hmm, this photo...'
Juju narrowed her eyes, gazing intently at the photograph.
'What's this... it's not interesting at all! Pooh, it's boring!'
"No, why are you throwing it away?"
I picked up the photograph, rubbing my head, and put it back in the album.
Both Miss Fuuko and Juju were a handful, and I didn't want to increase my workload.
But when I realized it, my headache had subsided.
I wonder what that was all about?
Oh well, I'm not one to snoop through people's albums anyway.
I didn't think much of it and continued cleaning.
After about half a day...
"Ah, I'm done..."
I finished cleaning the floor and walls, and the room looked sparkling clean.
I felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. It might be the greatest achievement of the year.
"Sui, we did it." "...We did it!"
Sui and Ram were overjoyed, hugging each other, and Little Mimi let out a triumphant cry, "Ooooh!"
'Heh... we finally did it, didn't we?'
"You were sleeping for about 80% of the time, though."
'But in my dream, I became a dragon slayer!'
"Well, at least we cleaned up."
Ugh, this useless person... Well, even if Juju was there, she wouldn't have been much help.
Anyway, the cleaning was done.
Now, what about Miss Fuuko's evaluation?
"How's it this time?"
"......"
Miss Fuuko gazed silently around the room, then suddenly traced the window frame with her finger.
"There's still dust?"
"Are you talking about the cleaning?"
"But, I give you a passing grade for this time? You can be grateful, can't you?"
"...It's a wonderful blessing."
"Well, it'll probably be messy again by tomorrow, anyway?"
"...I knew that."
"Again, clean up the room, okay?"
"Is this some new kind of torture?"
I let out a sigh.
"So, it seems like we've finally finished our task, so I'll be leaving now..."
As I tried to leave the room.
"Wait? The main issue is just starting, isn't it?"
"The main issue...?"
Then, what was the point of cleaning up until now?
Was it just a trivial task?
"Do you have a request for me?"
"A request?"
"Right now, you're protecting Ravuri, but just being protected won't solve anything, will it?"
"...I suppose so."
The number of monsters in the holy city is endless.
At first, I thought that if we defeated the monsters one by one, the curse would be lifted, but...even after a week, the monsters haven't decreased in number. It's likely that a large number of monsters are flowing into the lake around the holy city.
The Inquisitors, who are in charge of eliminating the monsters, are also exhausted.
The number of ships entering the holy city has decreased, so supplies are running low.
It's a relief that there haven't been any victims yet, but we don't know how long we can maintain this balance.
"It's about time we took the initiative, don't you think?"
"I'll leave it to your imagination?"
Not denying it means it's likely true.
"Do you think the monsters are coming from somewhere?"
"From the sea, of course."
The monsters that appear in the holy city are all from the sea.
It's probably because the lake around here is close to the sea. If you go up the river a bit, you can reach the lake from the sea.
"If we don't destroy the source of the monsters, it's pointless to defeat them, isn't it?"
"Destroy the source...you mean temporarily blocking the river, right?"
"Yes, Lovely?"
"Where did you come up with that, Miss Fuuko?"
However, blocking the river...it's not like it's impossible.
Even if we block it, the monster can still find a way in, so it's not like it's completely useless.
Temporarily, at least, blocking the river would have various bad effects, but... since Miss Fuuko the Holy King has made that decision, it means the threat to the holy city outweighs the demerits of blocking the river.
Or maybe...
"Anyway, I understand."
There's no reason to refuse, after all.
"I'll go crush the monster's source."
* * *
After leaving Miss Fuuko's room.
After exiting the grand holy castle, the sun had already tilted quite far to the west. Seeing the lake dyed red by the evening sun, I couldn't help but feel a sense of emptiness.
"Could it be, the day is ending with just tidying up..."
It was almost a day with nothing happening.
So, I was closing out the day.
"Sir Noroa!"
"Hmm?"
"Ah, Big Sister Cil..." "And Big Sister Rav is here too."
Cirrul and Ravuri arrived, with Miss Miimo accompanying Ravuri as her guard.
"It seems Her Majesty's business is settled, doesn't it?"
"...Miss Miimo, did you run away?"
"That's a bad rumor. Don't you know the phrase 'right person for the right job'?"
"Did you run away?"
"...Sorry, I ran away."
She did run away after all.
"What was the point of calling Sir Noroa, anyway?"
"It was for tidying up."
"Tidying up...?"
"Ram carried a lot of trash." "...The cleaning corner at Sui's rag is amazing."
"I see...? Wait, did you spend the whole day just tidying up?"
"Yeah, I don't know why. It's really strange."
I couldn't help but slump my shoulders.
"More importantly, it's already late... why don't we all go eat somewhere today?"
"That sounds good!"
"Does anyone have a favorite store they want to go to? By the way, I think a cafe with an equipment interaction corner would be nice."
"Ah, I'm fine with anywhere..."
"Ram wants a dessert shop." "...Sui wants a rare delicacy."
"I see. Then, Ravuri..."
"...Huh?"
Ravuri's reaction was a bit slow, as if she was still dazed.
"Huh? What's going on? A lovely conversation?"
"Let's go eat somewhere from now on, that's what we're talking about..."
"Oh, that's right... Rav can happen anywhere, right?"
"...? Is that so?"
This is weird. Normally, we'd be introduced to all sorts of delicious restaurants.
But somehow, Ravuri's been acting strange since morning.
"Ravuri, after all..."
I was about to ask if something was wrong when...
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Cirrul looked at my shoulder and tilted her head.
"Sir Noroa... Miss Juju, is she not here?"
"Huh?"
Come to think of it, it was unusually quiet...
"...It's true."
――When I realized it, Juju was already gone.
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