"Cough, cough!"
"Esteemed guests..."
"The inn you're looking for is right there. We've arrived."
Since the Water Gate City of Priestella was divided into four equal quarters by four enormous waterways running straight through it, and its smaller waterways crisscrossed the city, it didn't take long for Annie, Emilia, Ram, and Rem to reach their destination aboard the dragon boat—before they'd had their fill of sightseeing and fun. The disdainful boatman hurried them there at a fairly brisk pace and announced that it was time for them to get off.
By then, Emilia and the twin maid sisters, Ram and Rem, were all soaking wet, like drowned rats caught in a rainstorm. They looked both pitiful and alluring.
The boatman piloting the water dragon was no exception!
But he wasn't in the mood to look at the young women. He was past that age, and as a lowly boatman, all he wanted now was to earn enough money to support his family.
Once the boat had stopped and everyone stood up, only one person—the troublesome culprit, that troublesome little girl—had just a few scattered water spots on her skirt. As for how she'd managed to stay unscathed after the other three fought back, that was a matter of perspective.
"Here!"
"This is the inn you're looking for, the Water Robe Pavilion. Please take your belongings with you, and be careful when getting off, all right?"
Pointing at the simple yet striking wooden building, the water-dragon boatman could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Honestly, halfway through the trip, he'd been terrified that the four little girls aboard his boat would end up capsizing it!
If not for them—if not for the little girl who'd chartered the boat paying him a generous amount of gold—and if the guests hadn't been so