Inn Overlord: Reincarnated with Enhancement Magic, Now Worshipped as a Divine Messenger! - Chapter 20

Seraph’s Perspective

“One mushroom soup for Table 1!”

“Orc ginger sauté and mushroom soup, coming up!♪”

“More ale and bread, please!”

“A glass of red wine over here, please!”

After returning from the Demon Forest, we started today’s business.

Jeanne, wearing my mother’s casual clothes and an apron, repeated the customers’ orders.

“One mushroom soup and one orc ginger sauté, plus four skewers with sauce and two ales. Please wait a moment.”

My mother, Abigail, and Laura were very surprised by Jeanne and the wolf monster, Vilkasys’ Orma. Laura, in particular, was cautious around Orma since she used to be an adventurer.

However, once we explained everything, they quickly accepted Jeanne and Orma. Jeanne quickly learned how to serve customers and became one of us employees.

Our regular, Hazan, spoke to me.

“Wow, another real beauty joined your place!”

Rubens, who runs the ranch next door to this inn, reacted to Hazan’s comment while holding a mug of ale.

“Where is Jeanne from? She seems smart. Is she from the royal capital?”

I answered,

“No, she’s Luka’s older cousin…”

“Oh! That means she’s Marie’s sister’s daughter!!”

When Rubens said that, Hazan nudged me while munching on his skewers.

“Seraph, you sure are lucky to have such beautiful cousins!”

Now that I think about it, if Jeanne and Luka are my mother’s sister’s children, that makes them my cousins. I glanced at the two as they worked.

From an outsider’s perspective, they were both really beautiful.

Just as I was idly chatting, Abigail gave me a chop on the head.

“Hey! Stop talking and get to work!”

Sorry. You’re beautiful too, Abby.

I poured red wine into a glass from the barrel and took a bowl of mushroom soup from the serving counter in the kitchen.

The soup had an aroma similar to mushrooms, making me hungry.

Actually, these mushrooms were grown by the Army Ants. I had a vague memory from my previous life that ants cultivate mushrooms. Of course, those weren’t meant for human consumption, but in this world, the mushrooms cultivated by Army Ants were large enough for us to eat and were commonly distributed.

Thanks to the Army Ants becoming my subordinates, they provided these mushrooms, hunted monsters hostile to humans, and supplied materials. They also helped guard the village and provided information about the Demon Forest as far as they could go—which was up to the middle section. Additionally, they would report any news about Lydia Kreil, one of the Three Great Harmonian Sacred Books.

“Thank you for waiting! Here’s your mushroom soup.”

“Hazan, how many bowls is that now?”

In response to Rubens’ question, Hazan answered,

“This is my third! It goes great with these skewers, and the skewers go great with ale—absolute perfection! Hahaha!”

By the way, I kept it a secret from my mother and the others that I collapsed covered in bl00d. I also didn’t tell them about the Army Ants or the Harmonian Sacred Nation’s activities in the Demon Forest. When I told David I didn’t want to worry them, he readily agreed.

Once the day’s business ended, we had dinner together with our new companions. While eating bread, skewers, and mushroom soup, Abigail spoke up.

“I was surprised when Jeanne came back with you from the forest. She turned from an eagle into a human like Luka, right?”

“Yes, I was injured and collapsed, but Seraph-sama saved me.”

Jeanne explained to everyone that she was originally a wild eagle, just like Luka. According to David, it would be better to say she turned into a human from an eagle rather than a griffon since it would be less frightening for everyone. Jeanne was fine with that explanation, but I wondered if such precautions were really necessary. However, considering how cautious Laura was around Orma, I realized David’s concern wasn’t entirely misplaced.

Laura then spoke up.

“I was more surprised by that huge Vilkasys. I almost lost my footing.”

Thanks to my enhancement magic, its body had grown significantly larger than a normal Vilkasys.

Then, my mother asked us,

“So, what exactly happened in the Demon Forest?”

We explained, keeping out the scarier details. We left out the part about the Harmonian Sacred Nation and told them that the Army Ants had wiped out the minions of an Orc General, which caused the general to come closer to the village.

We also said that David and Luka defeated the Army Ant Queen, preventing further trouble.

During the explanation, Luka got up three times for refills.

—Luka, were you even listening?

As David finished explaining, Abigail relaxed her shoulders in relief.

“Phew, now I don’t have to worry anymore!”

David flexed his biceps and gave a thumbs-up.

“That’s right! Everything’s fine now!”

The women looked relieved. After finishing our meal, we all returned to our rooms to sleep. Luka slept in the same bed as Abigail, and Jeanne…

…was in my bed.

“Seraph-sama, let’s sleep together.”

“No way!”

We had completely forgotten to arrange a place for Jeanne to sleep.

Then, my mother calmly said,

“Seraph, why don’t you sleep with your mother for the first time in a while?”

“Uh…”

That didn’t sound appealing either.

“What’s with that dissatisfied look? You’re making me sad…”

“Ugh…”

Jeanne then spoke up.

“I’m sorry, Seraph-sama, Lady Marie. I’d like to stay in the same room as Seraph-sama as his guard, but I’ll sleep on the roof instead.”

That didn’t seem right either. In the end, I decided to endure it for just one night and sleep with my mother. Tomorrow morning, I would wake David up early and consult him about this situation.