Today, for the first time in a while, I visited the Adventurer’s Guild on my own two feet.
The three members of ‘Red Line’ were out on a quest today, while Shiro and Wendy went shopping. They said they’d come pick me up afterward, so once I finished delivering the potions, I had some time to wait.
「Well, well, it’s been a while since you’ve come by, young master. Here, on the house」
「Now that you mention it, it has been a while… much obliged」
After handing over the potions and receiving payment, I also accepted the complimentary ‘Momomo fruit water’ from the guild master. He sat down across from me, and we made small talk.
「So, how is it? Being back at the Adventurer’s Guild after so long. Notice anything different?」
「Hmm… more people, maybe?」
As I sipped the Momomo water, I looked around. There were quite a few young faces, and also a lot of people I didn’t recognize.
「That’s right! A bunch of kids who just came out of the orphanage have started becoming adventurers!」
「Ahh, so that’s why the demand for ‘Minor’ and ‘Lesser’ potions has been crazy lately」
「Exactly! Gwahahahaha!」
「I see」
He looked genuinely pleased, but it was good news for me too. Low-grade healing potions barely took any effort to make now, and as those kids grew stronger, the demand would only increase.
I took another sip of the fruit water and relaxed while chatting with the master. At the same time, more people began to gather at other tables.
It looked like mid-level adventurers were teaching the newcomers various things.
「What’s that about…?」
「Oh, that’s senior adventurers giving guidance. Newbies tend to act recklessly at first, so they’re showing them monster distribution maps in this area and some basic fighting methods. Normally, adventurers start from F-rank, but here, we have a rank below that, G-rank. While they’re in G-rank, they get paired with D-rank or higher adventurers for a short period of instruction」
「I see. And once the instructor decides they’re ready, they graduate to F-rank」
「Exactly. It’s dangerous work, after all… the basics are everything」
「…Yeah, I’ve been learning that the hard way lately…」
「Hm?」
These past few days had been nothing but running, strength training, sparring, and squeezing in only the bare minimum of alchemy. I’d been made painfully aware of just how weak I was, and how naïve my thinking had been.
Even today, it wasn’t so much that I’d ‘entrusted’ the shopping to the others, but rather that my legs were trembling too much to go along with them.
「Because of this system, more and more people from outside towns have been coming here to start their adventuring careers. Einzheil’s great for that, once you leave the city, monsters get stronger, so the difficulty is easy to understand」
「I see. You really care about the newcomers, don’t you, Master」
「Of course… to me, they’re like sons and daughters」
The master watched the newcomers with eyes full of affection.
But in the depths of that gaze, there was a faint trace of sorrow. Most likely… he had lost rookies before, over the course of his long experience.
「…Hmm. Maybe I should make some accessories to give as gifts for when they get promoted to F-rank」
「Oh, seriously? You’d do that!」
We’d had our share of ups and downs, but I knew the master and I would be tied together for a long time to come. I wanted to do something for him.
Still, I hadn’t expected him to lean forward with such enthusiasm.
「I’m talking about something simple and cheap. Nothing fancy enough to stir up complaints from anyone else」
「That’s more than enough! Accessories are usually expensive… rookies always put their money into armor, shields, and weapons first, so they can hardly afford things like that」
「I see… but don’t get your hopes up. At best, it’ll be something like this」
I placed a sheet of paper on the table and activated a known ‘Experience Circle’.
This was the first time I was attempting alchemy outside the workshop since reaching A-rank as an alchemist.
What I pictured was the ‘Twisted Iron Necklace’.
The very first necklace I ever made.
A magic circle formed on the paper, and from it the accessory gradually took shape until it was complete.
‘Twisted Iron Necklace – Defense +10’
…Wait. Didn’t the original only give +2? Why is the performance higher now?
「This thing… even mid-level adventurers would want one of these」
「Hold on, I’ll mass-produce them from here!」
Using this necklace as the base, I switched to ‘Multi-Copy’ to make duplicates.
‘Twisted Iron Necklace – Defense +5’
「…That’s more than enough」
「…Then don’t just give them to the rookies. Hand them out to anyone who wants one」
The master gave a wry smile, thanked me, and tucked the necklaces away into a magic bag before handing them over to the receptionist.
Incidentally, it wasn’t the same receptionist from before. She was currently on leave due to pregnancy, and in her place was the master’s wife.
「We’re backー!」
「We’re back!」
「We’ve returned」
I heard familiar voices, and when I turned toward the entrance, Renge, Sorte, and Aina had just come back.
On their backs and shoulders hung bulging sacks filled with items and monster pelts.
「Looks like they’re back」
「Yeah」
「Not going to meet them?」
「You want me to push into ‘that’ crowd…?」
A small gathering had formed at the entrance, keeping Aina and the others from getting inside. Surrounded by rookies and mid-rank adventurers, if I tried to force my way through, I’d probably get crushed.
「What was today’s quest again?」
「If I recall, it was to defeat a monster from the forest depths that appeared at the entrance. An A- rank threat, the Crazy Blue Angus」
「Ahh, that’s right」
Sometimes, whether they’re strays or not, monsters from the deeper parts of the forest show up near the entrance, in the shallower areas.
Since their rank is usually one or two tiers higher than what’s appropriate there, it’s up to top adventurers like Aina and her team to hunt them down.
When such a high-threat quest is completed, it’s only natural that the fresh rookies want to hear the report.
Just as I thought that, Aina noticed me. With a delighted smile, she slipped smoothly through the gathered adventurers and came straight to me.
「My liege, I’m back!」
「Ah, welcome back. How was it?」
「Perfectly done! No injuries, no problems at all」
「I see, I see. That’s good to hear」
Aina’s team was the only A-rank party in this city.
That was why they constantly received dangerous requests like this one.
…Well, I’ve recently gotten to experience their strength first-hand, so I knew they wouldn’t go down easily. Still, I couldn’t help but worry a little.
「So… I have a request for you, my liege. Could you make some accessories for the rookies? They don’t have to be anything fancy, really simple would do…」
What she held out uncertainly was a lump of iron ore.
Seeing it, the master and I looked at each other.
「Lately, there’ve been more and more rookies, but they’re hot-blooded and keep getting hurt, or so I’ve heard. We can’t really teach them ourselves, but I wondered if there was something we could do. So… would you? Of course, I’ll properly repay you…」
「Ahh…」
「How sweet…」
「Hm? Sweet? What do you mean?」
「Nothing. It’s just, I was talking with the master earlier and I already made some accessories from iron ore to hand out to the rookies」
I never expected Aina to say the exact same thing…
The master’s smug grin wasn’t making this any easier either.
「I-I see… so you were thinking the same thing. Thank you, my liege!」
「O-Oh…」
「Hot in here, hot in here. Well then, young master, I’ll get back to work. See you」
「Yeah, see you. Uh… well then, shall we sit?」
「Yes. I’ll take you up on that」
And so Aina sat down, right beside me. She even dragged the chair closer until she was practically pressed up against me.
「Fufu… you truly are kind, my liege」
「No, it’s just coincidence. You’re the kind one, Aina, worrying about your juniors like that」
「Those kids are the ones I taught back at the orphanage. I just wanted to give them a little help」
「I see… then maybe I’ll include a set of healing potions as well…」
「Fufu. You really are kind after all」
I knew that Aina donated much of her quest rewards to the orphanage.
Since she had no parents herself, she always said she wanted to save as many orphans as she could, to help the weak and strike down the strong.
It was probably because of that side of her that I fell for her.
「What is it? You’re staring at me. Do I have something on my face?」
「Mm… I was just thinking you’re beautiful, Aina」
「I-Is that so? Hearing it said straight like that makes me embarrassed… Please, don’t look at me so much…」
「No. I want to look」
「Uuuh… T-Then I’ll look at you too!」
Neither of us blinked as we stared intently at one another.
Watching Aina’s face gradually turn red was amusing in itself.
Her wide eyes, soft lips, well-shaped nose, and those cute ears burning bright red.
I could have kept watching forever, but in the end, Aina gave up and turned her face away.
「Haa… haa… I can’t breathe…」
「You don’t have to hold your breath, you know」
「But… uuuh… you’re mean…」
When I gently patted her head and pulled her closer, Aina leaned against me, resting her head on my shoulder.
「…Womanizer」
「I only womanize Aina. You’re cute even when you pout」
「Uuu… I feel like I’ll never win against my liege in words…」
It wasn’t that she was weak, it was just that Aina was so easy to read.
Her face turned red immediately, and her expressions always gave her away. It made me want to tease her.
「Uuuh…」
「Sorry, did I tease you too much? Will you forgive me?」
「…If you let me stay like this a little longer, I’ll forgive you…」
「Sure. As long as you want. That is, if you don’t mind the others watching…」
「Eh… what!?」
At some point the noise in the tavern had quieted down. All around us, adventurers were watching silently, along with Renge and Sorte.
「All done now? Then can I take the other sidessu?」
「Wait, that’s supposed to be my spot!」
「Sorte-chan can just sit on his lap, right? Shiro’s not around this time anywayssu!」
「T-There’s no way I could do that in front of everyone!?」
「Aw, come on! Aina’s all lovey-dovey with him like that, so it’s not like anyone would care if Sorte-chan, who’s already lovey-dovey with master, sat on his lap now!」
「Ah… a-auu…」
Aah, Renge-san, Sorte-san?
If you keep pushing, Aina’s face is going to turn as red as her hair, you know?
「Uuuuuu! I won’t hand him over! Not his lap, not his sides, none of it! My liege is mine!」
With that, Aina sat on my lap, facing me, and hugged me tightly.
I had expected to feel the softness of her ample chest, but since she was still wearing her armor, all I got was a hard, crushing pressure… my ribs…
「She’s given up on holding backssu! W-Wait, why are you sitting on his lap!? If you keep your armor on, master’s going to get squashed, you know!?」
「Then I’ll just take it off right here! My liege, could you undo the clasp here?」
「O-Oh, sure… got it…」
「Hold it, Aina! We should be sharing properly among the three of us!」
「As if! You two are always flirting with my liege anyway! That’s why this time I absolutely won’t back down!」
The three of them squabbled noisily, while the surrounding adventurers stared on in stunned silence.
Well, of course. No one could have imagined that their admired senior would end up in a scene like this…
「So even someone we admire… is just a girl after all…」
「Still, she looks happy. Isn’t that enough?」
「That’s right. Even adventurers are girls too. To gain a woman’s happiness on top of everything else… I’m jealous…」
「Ah, Aina-sama… her face looks so maidenly…」
「Sorte-san… so she’ll never look at me with those cold eyes again…」
「Or rather… stop flirting in public already… I’m gonna cry, I swear… we’re all gonna cry soon…」
The deep, dull voices of male adventurers crying out 「Aaaghhh!!」 echoed throughout the Adventurer’s Guild, but as if they couldn’t hear it at all, the three girls continued their noisy struggle.
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