My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's

I-it’s past midnight...

I'm home! Sorry I'm late!

"Alright then, one room for Lady Amelia and party, yes? How would you like breakfast?"

"Ah, we'll eat at the food stalls, so no need."

"Understood. We will show you to your room, please wait a moment."

Right now we're standing at the front desk of an inn.

It looked like a respectable place, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

Earlier, Amelia said she was a bit hungry, so we had wandered into a nearby café-like place on a whim.

The owner was a cat-type Beastman — maybe a calico.

It was a stylish, English-style coffee shop. Aside from Beastman fare like matatabi, they had normal food, and there were Human adventurers among the customers.

Business seemed decent.

Amelia, who eats more than me, ordered a bunch of things and got friendly with the owner. When we asked for his recommended inn, this was the place he suggested.

The owner probably knew about the rumors I’d been spreading around town, so he must have realized Amelia was a High Elf and recommended this place with that in mind. Like the Adventurer Guild, Beastman establishments often have interiors that contradict their exteriors — the outside might look fine but the interior or service can be terrible... that's common.

Still, there are decent places. The owner’s recommendation, "Tori-Man.", was a clean inn with an izakaya on the first floor, and the soft-shouldered bird-type Beastman innkeeper was a good person.

He wasn’t overly afraid of the beasts that frighten other Beastmen at night, and Amelia received appropriate hospitality.

"Nice to meet you, I’m Haru. I’ll show you to your room."

Stepping out from behind the soft-shouldered innkeeper as the guide was a Human girl with cute fangs.

Her hair was black, and if her eyes were black instead of green she’d look exactly Japanese.

Her name sounded Japanese too.

"Hey, she’s an elf princess, you know!?"

The innkeeper hurriedly scolded Haru, who greeted us cheerily. Amelia stopped the innkeeper as he tried to bow.

"We haven’t even greeted the Beastman king yet; we're completely incognito. We can’t have that level of reception."

"But..."

The innkeeper looked puzzled, so Amelia made a suggestion.

"Then just tell us the restaurants you recommend. That’ll do."

"Alright, I’ll list a few places and bring it to your room."

Amelia nodded and signaled Haru.

Haru, who had been lively before, suddenly wore a serious expression as she led us.

"Here we are."

She guided us through the dining halls and stopped before an obviously specially prepared large room.

"...This is Lady Amelia’s room. In case of emergency, the exit is here. If you need anything, ring that bell."

They showed us probably the safest, cleanest room in the inn.

"Oh, the walls are fully soundproofed, so you can enjoy yourselves at night without worry."

With that last remark, Haru left.

She’d been polite in front of the innkeeper, but already she’d reverted to her normal self. No sign of remorse.

'Master, I’m a creature that can read the room, so I’ll go out properly at night. And I won’t do the rude thing of secretly listening via telepathy.'

"Do you think I’d do something like that to Amelia at night?"

'I don’t, but there’s a saying: a man shouldn’t decline a set meal brought to him.'

"Where did you learn a saying like that?"

'The demon king said it!'

"My opinion of a demon king I haven’t even met just plummeted."

While Night and I were fluffing and talking, Amelia suddenly popped up in front of us.

"What are you two whispering about?"

"'Nothing.'"

We answered in perfect unison, synchronized enough to make synchronized swimmers jealous. Amelia made a dissatisfied "hmm" face but let it go.

Night and I exhaled.

From now on we'll use telepathy for this kind of conversation.

Resolved, we started unpacking the relatively small amount of luggage; I organized my things while Amelia did the same beside me.

"...I wouldn’t mind if Akira ate me."

I didn’t know Amelia had murmured that next to me.

"Is it good, Amelia?"

"Mm!"

I felt the corner of my mouth lift as she stuffed her mouth full.