"Uhm, if you could point me in the direction of the capital, I can go there myself." Being surrounded by people I can't show my true self to is too tiring. If they could just show me a damn map already, I could make my way there alone...

"No, we can't let a young lady fend for herself in the harsh wilderness. She was lucky to survive a bandit encounter, and you want to send her out there without protection?" My argument was ignored by the bard, who stood up against Luna in my stead. I'll keep quiet and watch this unfold.

"So are you telling us we should babysit her?" Why does she hate me so much? What did I ever do to her? I guess because I'm female and got a lot of attention from her beloved Rolan.

"You're being harsh, Runa." That Rolan finally speaks up, and it earns him a glare. Yep, he's the dense type. "We found her, so we will have to see things through to the end."

"You found her. I didn't want anything to do with it. In the first place, you always..." I stop listening. This is a lover's quarrel if I've ever seen one. Both Gram and the bard are staying out of it and look to me with apologetic expressions. I don't really mind; I just would have liked not to be the spark that ignited this argument between the two. I'm sure it was a long time coming, too.

"Just do as you like!" Luna stands up abruptly and slams her hands on the table. The tower of bowls I stacked up topples but Gram and I barely catch the ones that nearly drop to the floor. Storming off, the mage leaves Rolan speechless.

"What's with her?" He actually dares to ask that. Ugh, I can't watch this.

"Follow her! You don't understand a woman's heart at all!" I know I'm meddling, but I'm a girl, too. I can understand her frustration. Confused, the leader is taken aback by me raising my voice. He's still not moving, though.

"What-"

"GO!" I shout, and he finally reacts. Jumping up, he runs after Luna. I sigh. One good deed a day, huh?

"There they go again... let's go drinking tonight." The bard suggests to Gram. It seems they know something I don't. What?

"Yeah, I don't want to be anywhere near their room tonight." Gram responds with a knowing nod. What what?

Don't tell me these two are already a couple and I was really just pointlessly meddling? Even I'm not dense enough to not understand what these two mean. They're going to have make-up sex tonight, and it's going to be loud. Ugh, I didn't want to know that. How much of this was an act on his part to make her jealous, how much was it an act on her part of being jealous for no good reason? Ahhh, normies should just explode...

Ok, I'm not that socially inept and had my fair share of confessions (from girls though), so I shouldn't be one to talk about normies. But those who get all lovey-dovey in a way that bothers people are so annoying. I would never make it a public thing. Well, I haven't had a relationship yet, so I can't make a definite statement about that. Now that I've become a monster, I don't think my chances will improve in that regard.

In either case, I will not be anywhere near them tonight, either. Maybe I should go drinking with these two. I never had alcohol before, since it's for twenty and up in Japan, but this isn't Japan anymore. Well, I'm also not a human anymore, so those rules don't apply to me either way. I'll drown my sorrows in drinks tonight.

"Let me join you..." Huh, why do you look so surprised? Ah, the image of me being an aristocrat's daughter is crumbling already, I guess? How do I save this? Nothing good comes to mind. Then, understanding creeps onto the bard's face. What? What did you understand?

"Alright. But before then, there is a task we have to complete." The bard stands up with a determined expression. What are you going to do?

"Miss Marcott, please remain here until we return. You'll be safe here." Gram is trying to reassure me, but I feel like I'll be missing out on something if I don't go along with them now.

"Where are you going?"

"We're out to fulfill the request we came here to do. Recently a rogue Wulfar has been attacking livestock in this area, and the people fear that it'll attract more of its kind that way." That name... sounds like a wolf? Maybe it's similar to the Vularen. Well, if this is a starter area, it can't be something at a similar degree of danger.

"I want to come along." I know I'm being selfish, but I'm really curious. If it's actually a Vularen, just called differently in another country, I want to assess the capabilities of this party of adventurers. From that, I may be able to gauge the strength of humans in this world. Especially Luna's powers as a mage is a big mystery to me. I've only seen Maou-mama's and Mithra's magic so far, but they must be on an exceptionally high level.

"Now look here... this is a dangerous beast that requires all four of us to fight. We won't be able to protect you, Miss Marcott." Scratching his head, Gram seems to be at a loss. I don't need protection!

"I won't get in your way, I promise!" I look at the bard with upturned eyes. I know he's the type to fall for that. And surely enough, his expression changes as he turns to the big man.

"It should be alright if she stays near me. Your protection is flawless either way, big man."

Gotcha! I can see the large man's resistance fading at the flattery. I see, weak to flattery. This should be useful in the future. Ah, damn, I'm doing it again. Why am I being so calculating? Is this body affecting my mental state? I'm not such a cold-hearted person normally... Well, I don't think I even have a heart at all with this body.

"Let's go find the quarreling lovers..." Gram sighs. I don't want to, but well, the whole party is needed after all.

- Chaos has joined the party -