There Was a Cute Girl in the Hero's Party, So I Tried Confessing to Her (勇者パーティーにかわいい子がいたので、告白してみた。)

A quest from the merchants' guild?

Yeah. Cargo keeps getting stolen

from merchant ships over in the port town of Frimeille.

The quest is to investigate the thefts,

and if possible, to capture the thieves and find the stolen cargo.

Hmm... A port town, huh?

The ocean!

Yoki!

That quest is mine!

I'm here.

Hey.

What?! You can't go?!

I have important work to do.

I really can't leave Minerva for several days straight right now.

Stupid.

I know, okay?!

Failing to check Cecilia's schedule in advance was my mistake!

What's that at your waist?

Weapon.

Wait, are those your feathers?

Yes.

My body.

Cut it out! You'll give people the wrong idea!

Roger.

You're unusually obedient today.

Sorry for keeping you.

Happiness? Why are you here?

Morning.

Th-That... hair accessory...

Now departing for Frimeille.

Roger.

Why is Happiness here? This isn't a pleasure trip.

I asked her to come because she could be valuable in battle.

She's pretty skilled with magic.

Really?

I didn't even know that about her.

Of course not. You pretty much just met her.

You have plenty of time to get to know her.

C'mon, let's go.

Dude, you should be sitting next to Happiness!

We're finally here.

I'm gonna go meet the client.

You guys start asking around.

Got it.

I-I...

Okay, I'm counting on you.

Since they're both here, I'll give them time alone.

Information.

Huh?

You need something, miss?

Quest.

Quest? What does that mean?

"We're here to do a quest for the merchants' guild.

We'd like you to tell us what you know about the thefts on the ships.

Do you have any idea who might have done it?"

If I knew that, I wouldn't be having such a hard time here.

Even when I post guards, stuff still gets stolen.

Mysterious.

I guess so.

And the guys upstairs treat us sailors like we're the thieves.

Innocent?

Of course! Men of the sea never steal!

We'll investigate.

You believe me?

Thanks.

Men of the sea don't keep secrets.

You can ask me anything.

Hey, boys! Gather up!

You wanna know about the thefts?

We're innocent, ya know!

Want some candy, miss?

What a sausage fest.

Hey, hard at work, huh? How's it going?

No one has any information about the thief at all.

All the ships have had guards posted at all times,

but no one remembers the moment the thefts happen.

That sounds weird.

Yes, it's weird.

If the sailors were behind it, I'd think they'd come up with a better lie.

So you think it was someone else?

Some said that right before their memories cut off,

they could hear a beautiful singing voice.

Singing?

I suspect demons are involved.

Probably mermaids.

Mermaids...

I'd love to meet one.

Hey, Happiness! I hear there's a mermaid around here?

Don't!

So it really was a mermaid?

Masa, this is real bad!

We're all gonna get eaten!

Hey, you guys are adventurers, aren't you?

So get rid of that mermaid!

Yeah, that's right!

Please!

Huh? Are mermaids that scary?

You really don't know?

Tons of sailors have ended up shipwrecked

or even killed by mermaids.

And the sea around here was so safe...

Now we're too scared to get on our boats!

"I am Raven, captain of the knights of Clariness.

It is a knight's duty to protect the people.

I will defeat the mermaid without fail."

You're the knight captain from the hero's party?!

I'm so glad you're here!

You gotta take out those demons for us!

I guess, from the humans' perspective,

demons and monsters are things to be feared, huh?

Recluse.

Where'd that come from?!

Truth. Demon King's army. Conquer humans.

I know. I just forgot for a second.

Sorry to keep you.

Done with what you needed to do?

Yeah.

I got more paper and pens.

Good work.

Th-Thank you.

Eat.

Right...

It's sweet.

What's sweet here is the mood you guys are setting.

Yoki, I found someone who claims he saw a mermaid.

Huh?

When I was shopping, a man came up and talked to me.

Um... Captain?

WHAT?

Y-Yes, sir! The thing is...

I saw those sailors hiding the cargo in a cove just outside town.

And there was...

a mermaid in there!

That sounds kinda shady.

But I think we need to make sure.

Happiness, you can wait here.

No.

Fighting demons is dangerous.

Why?

There was once a village where demons ran rampant.

At the time...

there were so many lives I failed to protect.

I'm a knight. It's my job to protect the people.

I'll be sure to defeat the mermaid.

So don't worry. I'll be back.

Absolutely not.

Huh?

Come on.

H-Happiness?!

Hey, she'll be fine.

She's a hundred times stronger than she looks.

Er... but...

This must be it.

Wooden box.

Yep, no doubt about it.

It all matches the descriptions of the stolen cargo.

Ocean.

This cove's too small to dock a boat in.

Raven?