Carius takes the wooden box, places it on a nearby table, and opens the lid.
「It is money. And what is this?」
He takes out some slightly thick paper from the box and checks the contents, then Carius’s eyes widen.
「These are the deed to this house and the deed to the mountain that Mother inherited」
Carius looks around the house and gives a bitter smile.
「So this is what Father and the others were looking for」
Carius grips the deeds tightly. Next to him, Taguas, who was looking into the box, is crying.
「This is the present onii-chan and I gave Mother for her birthday」
What Taguas takes out of the box is a wooden pendant.
『I can no longer hug my crying child, can I?』
Philia looks at Carius and Taguas sadly.
「Taguas, let us hurry. We must not stay here」
「Yes」
Taguas roughly wipes his eyes with his clothes and nods at Carius.
『Rina, it is better to put the floor back as it was. If they realize something was taken, they might chase us desperately』
Since they ransacked the house this much, it is possible. I put the floor where the wooden box was back in place, and when I try to push the fallen shelf, onii-chan immediately helps me.
「Thank you, onii-chan」
「If you need strength, tell me immediately. I am stronger than Rina」
「Yes. Understood」
I have little stamina and weak strength. But is this normal for a five-year-old child?
「We are ready. Let us go」
After packing the money and deeds into his bag, Carius looks at us.
「Carius. Did you put the money in as it is?」
「Eh? Yes」
Carius looks at onii-chan curiously.
「It was a considerable amount, right? It is better to divide it. If it is discovered that you are carrying a large sum, you might be targeted」
We plan to have adventurers protect us, but is it dangerous?
「I see. Understood」
「Onii-chan. Mother made small bags, so let us use those」
「Yes」
Carius takes the large bag containing the money out of his backpack and divides the money into five parts. Taguas puts them into five small bags.
「Onii-chan. Can we hire adventurers with that money?」
There were gold and silver coins, so I think they are gold and silver currency. But how much does it cost to hire an adventurer?
「I think we can probably hire them」
『It is okay. I saved it carefully for the sake of those children』
Philia looks at me and nods.
「We are ready」
Carius and Taguas put on their bags. onii-chan looks at the two of them and nods, then puts hats that were hanging on a nearby wall on each of their heads.
「Let us hide our faces too」
「Yes」
When we leave the house, Carius locks the door firmly. Then, while being alert to his surroundings, he glances at me.
「Where can we meet the adventurers?」
「Um—」
『The tavern 「Gou」』
When I hesitate, Philia immediately tells me. While thanking her, I convey it to Carius and onii-chan.
「It is a shop called the tavern 「Gou」, but do you know the location?」
「I do not know. Carius?」
「I know. It is a shop next to the town hall」
Good, Carius knew.
While being alert to our surroundings, the four of us run to the tavern 「Gou」.
「It is over there」
Carius points out the shop, but I did not have the luxury to look. My breathing was heavy, and my feet felt like they were tangling.
「Are you okay? You can go slowly now」
Supported by onii-chan, I enter the shop.
「Welco…me?」
Perhaps we looked like strange customers. The man in the shop showed a confused expression.
『They are here. In the seats at the back』
While catching my breath, I look in the direction Philia pointed, and I see a man and a woman with surprised expressions.
「Ah, I have met those people a few times」
Since Carius knew the two of them, he bowed his head toward them.
「As expected, they are Philia’s children!」
When the woman happily comes to Carius and Taguas, she hugs them tightly.
「「Whoa」」
Not noticing the surprise of the two, the woman continues to hug them while saying, 「They are real」.
「You idiot. They are in trouble, you know」
When the man comes over, he pulls the woman away from Carius and the others.
「Oh～ They have Philia’s resemblance, so I couldn’t help it. Sorry～」
I look at the woman laughing cheerfully and the man apologizing with a slightly troubled expression.
『We met here once a month. I wanted to see Carius and the others too, but after they started going to school, our schedules did not match』
「I was surprised to come to Lanca Village for the first time in a month. I heard that Philia died」
「Minari!」
The man panics at the woman’s words.
「Ah, sorry. Um…」
Carius and Taguas shake their heads at the woman, who apologizes with a sorry expression.
「Um, we have a request」
Onii-chan calls out to the two adventurers.
「Sorry for interrupting your conversation, but we are in a bit of a hurry. Could you accept a request?」
「A request?」
The man looks at onii-chan suspiciously.
「We also request it」
When Carius and Taguas bow their heads, the man and woman look at each other.
「Understood. Let us hear it. Is it okay if we go to the back?」
「That is…」
Onii-chan glances at the people inside the shop.
「It is okay. I will use magic to soundproof it」
When the woman says this with a smile, Carius shows a relieved expression. When everyone sits on chairs, the woman mutters something, and then the man, who now has a serious expression, looks at us.
「First, let us introduce ourselves. I am the adventurer Litton」
「I am his partner, Minari. We form a team together」
Litton’s expression is slightly stern. But Minari shows us a gentle smile.
「I am Philia’s son, Carius」
「I am his younger brother, Taguas」
「I am Carius’s friend, Agus」
「I am his younger sister, Rina. Nice to meet you」
「So, what is the request?」
「We want you to take us to the neighboring village」
「Eh? The neighboring village? What about your father?」
Litton tilts his head at Carius’s request.
「That is…」
『You can tell them everything. They are trustworthy』
『Really? If they find out it is just children, it might be dangerous』
Yuu objects to Philia’s words.
『It is okay. Our first meeting with them was when they were helping some children. Moreover, they did it for free』
If that is the case, I might be able to trust them.
「It is possible that Carius and Taguas’s father is the culprit」
That was close. If I had stated it as a fact without evidence, they might have questioned me on how I 「knew」.
「What did you say?」
Litton looks at me with a sharp gaze. My body jerks in response.
「Hey, Litton. Do not scare her」
「Ah, sorry」
Litton apologizes and his expression softens slightly.
「Father brought a woman home immediately after Mother passed away. And then, Mother asked Rina to deliver a message before she died. 『If anything happens, escape』」
「That is very suspicious. So, you want to escape to the neighboring village? But if you are escaping, the neighboring village is too close. You must escape further away」
When Minari looks at Litton, he also nods.
「I also think it is better to escape further away. If you leave it to us, we will choose the location」
「Um, there is a friend of my mother in the neighboring village. Mother said to rely on her」
「Ah, I see. In that case, let us first visit that friend and tell her what has happened. Then, let us consult with that friend about what to do next」
「Yes, thank you very much. We count on you」
When Carius bows his head to Litton and Minari, Taguas also hurriedly bows.
「Um, how much is the request fee?」
At Carius’s words, Litton and Minari look at each other.
「We do not need it」
Minari smiles at Carius.
「Eh?」
「Philia is our precious friend. Therefore, protecting Philia’s loved ones is only natural」
「But…」
Carius is confused by Minari’s explanation. Seeing this, Minari thinks for a moment.
「Actually, we will take the request fee」
「Minari?」
Litton looks puzzled. But Carius shows a relieved expression at those words.
「Five silver coins」
「Yes」
Carius opens the lid of his bag, takes out five silver coins from a small bag, and hands them to Minari.
『Hehe, it is very cheap』
『Is that so?』
Yuu tilts his head looking at Philia.
『Yes, if you request protection from adventurers, you need at least one gold coin. Since going to the neighboring village will definitely take more than a day, normally it would be five gold coins or more. Also, requests usually need to go through the Adventurer’s Guild, and there should be a handling fee, but it seems they do not intend to go through the guild this time』
Requesting adventurers seems quite troublesome.
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