Reborn as A Holy Knight (Remake) Volume 2 Chapter 1 (Patreon)

Chapter 1 – Meeting Again the Gatekeeper Girl

The next morning, Karina and I woke up a bit earlier than usual and left the room together.

“Meoowwhh… As expected, no matter how much you assign work tempowarily, thewe are still those you need to deal pewsonawwy, or else the work would pile up.”

“…”

Hearing her stretching and complaining these words, I walked this catgirl hostess to the reception desk on the first floor and then left the inn.

My feet naturally turned toward the direction of the temple of the fertility goddess.

Yesterday, when I spent time feeling Kalina’s warmth, I suddenly thought about Alma.

I wonder if she’s feeling lonely? After all, she’s all by herself.

Walking through the town, which was still dimly lit early in the morning, I arrived at the Temple of the Fertility Goddess.

“Oh my. Good morning.”

A few ladies with brooms were in front of the temple, happily chatting and sweeping the gate.

“Ah, good morning.”

I passed through the open gate and entered the chapel, passing through the curious gazes of the ladies.

Several aunties were inside, and they were cleaning the benches and walls while chatting.

They were not talking very loudly, but there were nearly ten of them, so it was quite lively.

“Alma?” I called out to her.

Walking down the chapel aisle, I found Alma surrounded by a group of ladies chatting near the statue of the goddess.

“Sir Alfred!”

Alma noticed and ran up to me with a happy, light gait.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, I just woke up early in the morning and thought I’d drop by for a visit.”

“I see. Thank you for taking the trouble.”

“Uhm, the morning around here is quite lively, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Are you perhaps worried about me?”

Oops, I guess it showed on my face.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to be alone and lonely.”

“Ufufufu. I told you, the believers are taking good care of me.”

“It seems so. I am relieved.”

“But I am very happy that you came either way, so… this is not bad…”

Alma, with lightly dyed cheeks, put her hand on her chest and turned her slightly moist eyes upward to me.

“Is that so? Then I’ll try to show up as much as possible when I have time.”

“R-really? Thank you so much!”

After saying that and smiling, the priestess kissed me lightly on the lips.

“Oh, my! Alma, you are so bold.”

“My, showing off, are we?”

“It’s wonderful to be young.”

The ladies watching us commented these.

“Ah. What I did just now, that was-”

(She kissed me! I can’t believe she kissed me in public as if she didn’t care about it! Oh, how I am glad I was born male!)

Because it came out of the blue, I went into a daze.

“Hello? Yoohoo~ How long are you going to stand there?”

“I already wiped the chairs clean, so you can sit wherever you like.”

“I’ll go get you some tea.”

“Didn’t we also find tea cakes in the cupboard? I’ll bring some if you like.”

Surrounded by the ladies, we were asked a lot of questions.

But it was quite a fun time, and before we knew it, it was just before noon.

The ladies broke up, saying they had to make preparations for lunch.

“Then, this is farewell. But I’ll come again.”

“Yes, but don’t overdo it. As a Holy Knight, Sir Alfred’s love should be poured out to more people.”

Alma looked somewhat proud as she said that.

I took a glance at the statue of the goddess beyond her.

I wanted to ask Xaneela something, but I didn’t feel this was the proper time time, so I just left the temple as I was.

○●○●

Once I returned to the inn, I found Karina surrounded by women who seemed to be residents, happily chatting with them.

“Meow? Aru, wewcome back. What’s wrong?”

She seemed to have noticed me as she called out to me in a very natural manner, as if we were back in our previous relationship.

“Ah, yeah. It’s just… I’m a little hungry right now.”

“Then you can head to the dining hall. I’ll tell them to give fwee meal for Aru.”

“Oh, you don’t mind?”

“Yes. To begin with, Aru wowked a lot and pwovided us with a lot of meat. You can owder whatever you like.”

“Oh, thanks!”

“But in retuwn, I’ww ask you to do my laundwy again.”

The hostess smiled mischievously as she said that and winked at me.

When I reached the dining hall, the place was almost full, probably because it was lunchtime.

Karina told me to order whatever I wanted, but it seemed to be a single menu at lunchtime, and on this day, the menu consisted of what’s like ginger porkshogayaki made from orc meat, vegetable soup, what looked like macaroni salad, and bread.

There were several trays with these items on them, and customers were supposed to pick them up and take them to their seats.

“Uhm, my name is Alfred. Karina brought me here.”

“Alfred?”

“Sorry. Should I call myself Aru instead?”

“Ah! So you are Aru! Karina has told me a lot about you. Take whatever you like.”

“Thanks.”

She says that, but each tray only has the same food in it.

After such an exchange with the employee lady, I got my meal and decided to request to share a table, since all the tables were occupied.

“Um, can I sit here?”

I felt a little embarrassed to ask for a seat at a table where a woman was sitting, but since most of the customers were women, it couldn’t be helped.

“Huh? Ah, yes, go ahead… ah!”

The woman, who was seated facing me at a table for two, raised her voice loudly when she saw my face.

“Hm? Is something wrong?”

“Ah, no, um, that… you see…”

She suddenly started freaking out.

But now that I see her up close, she looks familiar.

(This slightly quirky blonde hair… pale blue eyes… and on top of that, this fidgety look…)

“Uh, are you perhaps the gatekeeper?’

“Oh, yes, I am! Um, my name is Emmy.”

“N-nice to meet you. My name is Alfred.”

“Alfred? I see.”

“Well, if you don’t like it, you can also call me Alf.”

“Alf… okay. So, how’s the city?”

“How, you say… well, so far, I’ve only been to the temple of the fertility goddess and the inn.”

And more importantly, all I’ve done is have sex.

“I see.”

Emmy seemed to have just started to eat, so we talked a bit while we mainly ate.

But this ginger orc, it should be like ginger-breaded pork (shogayaki), right? But when I tried it, I found that it was seasoned only with ginger, salt, and pepper and then fried with nothing else.

Maybe they don’t have soy sauce around here.

Shogayaki 生姜焼き (Thinly-sliced Pork Fried in Japanese soy sauce, sake, mirin and ginger.)

It was tasty because the meat had quite a bit of flavor, but I was a little unsure whether or not to take out the small bottle of soy sauce from the [Storage Unit].

In the end, I didn’t have the courage to take it out in such a crowded place.

“――back then, I was about to stay the night at an inn, but I didn’t have any money. The peddlers had left in the morning, so I couldn’t even exchange my materials for cash.”

“Ahaha, that must have been a disaster.”

“Then Karina, the owner of the inn, started working me hard――.”

I don’t know why, but I really enjoy talking with Emmy.

The time I spent with Alma and Karina was wonderful, but this girl had a different vibe around her.

“Phew… I’m so full.”

Emmy exhaled loudly as she said this, and there was still a little ginger orc meat left on her tray.

“Oh, in that case, is it fine if I have the leftover?”

“What? Um, you see… I’ve already taken several bites of it…”

“Ah, Sorry. It’s okay if you don’t like it. I just thought it might be a waste.”

As a former Japanese, I still seem to have the “don’t waste food” spirit ingrained in me at the soul level, so I have a bit of a resistance to leaving food behind.

Or rather, to me, seeing food not eaten like this is already a sacrilege.

But that doesn’t mean I’m going to force people to not leave leftovers on the table.

I don’t think forcing others to eat when they are already full is good either.

“Oh, no… if you don’t mind, Alf, you can go ahead.”

“Is it okay? I’ll take it then.”

I tried to look nonchalant, but seeing Emmy’s embarrassment made me a little uncomfortable too.

How can I say, isn’t it kind of sweetheart-like for a woman to give leftover food to a man? Or was I being too overly conscious here?

“Uhm… here. Let me put it back for you.”

“Ah, y-you don’t need to… still, thank you.”

I took Emmy’s tray after our meal and went to the dish return slot to cover up the awkwardness of the situation.

Even in another world, there is still the self-service concept, like in Japan, where you must return the trays to the return slots for easy dishwashing.

I left the dining hall with Emmy, who toddled behind me a little apologetically.

This dining hall is attached to the inn, but it also has a doorway facing the street, so one could go outside without needing to pass through the inn.

“Nnn… Now then, what shall I do?”

After stretching out on the street, I muttered to myself without thinking.

What am I supposed to do, me?

“Um, Mr. Alf?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?”

“Oh. None at all. Actually, I am thinking about what to do right now.”

“Then, would you like to go shopping? I can also be your guide.”

“Shopping? Me and Emmy?”

“Yes!”

“Together?”

“That’s right.”

Could it be?

“Well, if you’re okay with me, I can hang out with you as much as you want.”

“Really? Yay!”

Emmy was so happy that she almost jumped up and down.

“Then, let’s get going!”

The smile on her face was so dazzling that I couldn’t help but squint.

But shopping, huh… with me and just Emmy.

Isn’t this… a date?

Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter