That night, we gathered in Hime and Yuu-chan's room. They said it would be better to discuss it here.
Fortunately, the inn this time had quite a lot of vacant rooms, so the four of us didn't need to squeeze together in one room.
The beds were not large ones, but regular beds whose number could be increased. Usually, there was only one bed in each room.
However, since we were paired up, we rented two additional beds to be moved into each of our rooms.
"Hah... Even though I haven't told you about that matter yet, you already found a new mission here, huh?" Hime asked with a slight sigh.
"Y-yeah, what can we do... We can't just let this city be controlled by their group, right?" I replied.
"That's true, but how are we going to drive that group out of here? Your acquaintance said that their leader is the eldest son of this city's ruler, right?"
"If we defeat them without any permission, they'll capture us without knowing that we're the hero's party. Have you thought about the next plan?" Hime asked in return.
I immediately crossed my arms in front of my chest while thinking of a way for us to do it.
"That's why I told all of you, right? I know this decision of mine is selfish, but you also don't want the system of slavery to still exist in Nakuso, right?" I said.
"I do agree with you, there's no other choice... We'll start moving after we have a plan again. We can't act hastily, or it will just end in chaos."
"Hime-san, just tell them what we discussed earlier," Luke said.
Hime nodded after Luke asked her to talk about it.
——
(Hime side, while informing them of the results of her discussion with Luke)
Yes, when Yukito-san and Yuu-chan went into that flower shop earlier and obtained some information from there, I discovered something in that magic orb.
Look, the map of Nakuso's territory can be seen more clearly, right? The number of cities and the aerial view can be seen from here.
Because of that, I asked Luke to discuss several things with me, and we decided to go to the largest city on this continent.
If we go there, perhaps we can eradicate the slavery system from its roots, because...
I feel that in that large city, slavery must be greater than in this city, perhaps even spreading more widely to other cities.
Chyvera, the name of the large city that serves as the capital of Nakuso, is located in the center and is ten times larger than this city of Bissura.
There, a royal family governs Nakuso. They rule the city along with the entire territory of Nakuso.
However, their leader is chosen through combat.
Every time a new leader is to be selected, several candidates are brought into an arena, and whoever survives until the end becomes the next leader.
Of course, this system is very favorable for them. Since beast-men generally possess strong physical strength, they enjoy such battles.
If we go there, perhaps we can obtain some assistance, such as from anti-royalist groups that we can cooperate with.
Because the kingdom allows the slave trade and other evil practices, those groups believe that the royal family must be eliminated.
After that, they will consider the leadership seat, proposing two leaders instead. One would possess great physical strength, and the other would have a brilliant mind capable of governing Chyvera at the same time.
That is why they would most likely be willing to cooperate with us, since our goals are the same.
How about we leave the day after tomorrow? I think that would be a good time. While gathering information tomorrow, we might obtain something important while we are still in this city.
We must obtain as much information as possible about the city of Chyvera, and we can formulate our main plan once we arrive there.
——
(Yukito side)
"I don't mind. Besides, I think that's a good step, since we've only just learned a little about Nakuso. We should obtain as much information as possible, or even rumors that are circulating," Luke said.
"That way, our mission will become easier to carry out, right? Alright, I don't mind either," I replied.
"Me too. But I'll go to the flower shop from earlier. I want to discuss a few things with Mona-san. There are still many things I want to talk about with her," Yuu-chan added.
Ah, could it be that she and Mona-san have already become that close? Amazing, I thought Yuu-chan wasn't interested in flowers at all.
"Yosh, you two get out now. Yuu-chan and I want to change clothes, hurry," Hime said while gesturing for us to leave.
Luke and I slowly stood up before leaving the two of them in their room.
If things go like this, I think everything will go smoothly. I don't really want to stay here for too long. I want to quickly complete the hero party's task and live a life of idleness or work as an adventurer.
"Ah, by the way Yukito, do you remember our conversation back in Vannis? You know, the one at the fountain," Luke said as he sat on the bed while looking at me, who was still removing my cloak.
"Oh, the one about our family matters? If I'm not mistaken, I said back then that I wanted a younger sister, right?" I asked.
Luke suddenly stared at me closely with great excitement in his eyes. I was a little startled by his sudden reaction.
"That's exactly what I meant!!" he said.
"W-what are you talking about? What does that small and silly wish of mine have to do with our current situation?" I said while pushing his body slightly away from me.
I couldn't straighten my cloak if he was that close. I also needed space to move, you know.
"We're currently in the homeland of the beast-men, and we've already seen so many of them when we went to the inn earlier."
"At the very least, doesn't that create an opportunity for you to meet someone who might want to join our party as your younger sister?" Luke asked.
"Hah? Come on, I know I do want that. But something like that is almost impossible to happen, so I'd rather focus on our current mission."
"I also want to save the people who are being enslaved by force and make them smile. After that, maybe if I have time, I'll think about what you just said," I replied.
Luke cleared his throat softly before holding his right waist.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll help you if you want. I also want to obtain something in this city, so we have additional desires that are almost the same, right?" he said.
"Yeah, you're right," I replied.
He also has another goal in Nakuso? I'm really curious about what he desires.
—
The next day, just as we had planned the previous night, Yuu-chan and I went again to Ratina-san's flower shop.
Meanwhile, Luke and Hime went to look for an adventurers' guild in this city. They wanted to take on several quests to earn money.
So... does that mean Yuu-chan and I are basically just going for a stroll?
"Yuu-chan, what did you talk about with Mona-san yesterday? You even became that close with her," I said while walking beside her.
She only laughed softly while covering her mouth before answering my question.
"Hihi~ It's a secret~ I can only say that it was girl talk. Basically nothing serious, it just so happened that she and I could connect in the same conversation," she replied.
After a few minutes of walking from the inn, we finally arrived in front of the shop. It was quite far when walking, apparently.
Without thinking, we both entered and saw that there were two other people inside besides Ratina-san and Mona-san.
Those two seemed to be children, but what immediately caught my attention was the ears on top of their heads.
Their ears were almost like cat ears, gray and brown in color. The clothes they wore made me realize that they were young girls with animal ears.
Mona-san noticed that we had just entered the shop and immediately greeted us warmly.
"Ah, welcome back~ Yuu-san, would you like to look at the flowers again? How about buying some now?" she said while standing still and looking at Yuu-chan.
Near the cashier's desk, Ratina-san was arranging the flowers on the shelf in front of her. It seemed like she was checking whether the flowers were still good or not.
"Hero? You came again? Is there still a question you want to ask me?" Ratina-san asked.
I walked toward her, but my steps suddenly stopped because it felt like my cloak was being pulled—
"Big brother... Are you a hero?" "A hero?!"
The two little girls held onto my cloak and looked at me with sparkling eyes. Were they really that excited upon seeing me?
"You two, you're disturbing the hero," Ratina-san said, allowing me to break free from the girls' grip.
The two of them looked slightly sad after being scolded by Ratina-san.
"You two, see that brown-haired girl beside Mona-san? She's the same, a hero like me," I said.
Their eyes sparkled again, and they immediately approached Yuu-chan.
"So, what do you want to ask this time?" Ratina-san said.
Alright, this is the time to dig up more information from her!