After entering Livruhiiro, we received an enthusiastic welcome from the residents. Then, instead of resting our tired bodies at an inn... one thing led to another and we ended up heading straight to the Adventurer's Guild.
"..."
"Hm? What's up, Master?"
"...Nah, it's nothing."
I glanced sideways at Reti walking right beside me. She noticed my gaze and tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
You especially wouldn't want that known.Make her quit being a hero right now.
Lucas's words echoed in my head.
I scratched my head roughly, thought for a second, then spoke while keeping my eyes forward.
"Reti. Is there something you... want to tell me? You know. Something you're hiding or whatever. It's fine if you don't want to say it."
Reti tilted her head with a soft thunk, then her face lit up like she'd just gotten an idea.
"Is a request okay?"
"Sure, I guess. What is it?"
"Join my party!"
"Something else."
Is that the only thing this girl has?
At my instant refusal, Reti puffed out her cheeks. Cute.
"Then nothing in particular! I'm a hero, after all!"
"...Hmm. Well, that's fine then. If something comes up, I don't mind listening, so just say it."
I ended the conversation and kept walking. Whether she didn't want to talk or something else, I wasn't going to force it. Everyone's got one or two things they'd rather keep secret. If she ever felt like saying it, I'd just casually ask then.
Anyway, that could wait. More importantly right now...
"Why are you guys still here...?"
I called out to Rafine and Eve, who had been walking right behind us without leaving our side ever since we entered the country. Strictly speaking Reti was the same, but setting that aside.
"Eh? It's only natural for a wife to stay by Jirei-sama's side and support him. Fufu, you're quite the joker."
"That's right. Wherever Rei goes, I go. Also, I'm the wife."
"Fufu, you're quite the joker yourself? I'm the wife, you know?"
"Rafine's jokes are good too. Funny."
"Could you two stop arguing over me like that?"
I cut off the exchange between smiling-but-scary Rafine and expressionless Eve. Neither of them is my wife, so this fight is completely pointless. And Eve saying she'll follow me wherever I go... does that mean even the bathroom and bath? Yeah, no. I'm stopping that for sure.
"But isn't it fine? Having more people is better when taking requests."
"Yeah. Exactly. So we're going too."
"You two really get along, huh?"
The two of them tried to push through with perfect teamwork. Of course they coordinate the second it matters.
Ignoring them, I kept walking toward the guild. Rafine and Eve seemed to take that as permission and happily exchanged looks. Aldi even gave a thumbs-up. This bastard.
"...Well, whatever."
I muttered and convinced myself.
I had been planning to leave them behind. ...But now there was something I had to tell the two of them.
I planned to bring it up when the timing felt right. Honestly I hadn't wanted to, but after seeing those feelings of theirs, I had no choice. ...That's exactly why I'd been running away this whole time.
I shook my head to chase away the weird emotion that had bubbled up. ...Alright, set that aside for now. More important was why I was heading to the guild for work instead of resting at an inn.
After entering the country, Reti and the rest of us (including me by association) got an absurdly warm welcome. Shops pushed their services on us left and right: "Please stay at our inn tonight~" "If you need weapons or armor~" "Looking for a place to eat~" Residents surrounded us like we were in a parade.
Naturally everything was ninety percent off. Basically free. I got treated so well I almost started thinking Wait, was I a hero...?
Of course that was a misunderstanding.
The second they realized I was just some random guy who'd snuck into the hero party's group, the attitude flipped completely and only I got the cold shoulder. I was on the verge of tears. Isn't that too harsh?
Inns, restaurants, weapon shops... only I had to pay full price. On top of that, after running around avoiding work my wallet was basically empty. Reti and the others could stay at the best inns while I couldn't even get into a stable. Reality sucks, doesn't it?
When some brat shot a mud ball at my face I almost lost it, but I held back like the mature adult I am... and threw one right back. Oraaa! Don't underestimate adults!!
Basically, since I was the only one who couldn't get a room, I was heading to the guild to earn some money. Sleeping outside is a no-go. I want a bed.
...And wait, Rafine isn't even part of the hero party. Why am I the only one getting treated like dirt? "She's not in the hero party but she's beautiful so it's fine!" What the hell is that? I'm handsome too, give me the discount already.
Livruhiiro's shops get subsidies from the country if the hero party uses them, but the difference in treatment was still ridiculous. I never want to come back to this country.
Rafine and the others offered to cover the costs for me since I had nothing, but I refused. I'll earn my own money. Making debts over something like this is scary later.
Ahh, but I somehow end up relying on Char... Is it because I think of her like a little sister? Or maybe because she looks like she's about to cry whenever I say I don't need anything. She even refuses when I try to pay her back. I'm definitely paying her back though.
Also, after entering the country Aldi told me... the Magic Library still isn't open. Apparently it'll be usable in a few days. Tell me important stuff like that earlier, damn it.
On top of that, when applying he apparently registered me, Reti, Rafine, and Eve together, so we all have to go as a group or we can't even enter. I'm burying that damn cat deep underground someday.
He said he was going to take care of some business and wandered off... claimed he'd come find me afterward, but I'd prefer he just doesn't.
"Uhh... I'm pretty sure the guild was this way."
We walked for a few minutes. I tried relying on old memories from the last time I was here, but we never found it. Instead we'd somehow wandered into a quiet area away from the city center.
...Wait, did I get lost? No way. Me? Lost? Impossible.
"Rei, are you lost?"
"What are you saying?! There's no way Jirei-sama would get lost!"
"Yeah! Master doesn't get lost!"
"...Y-Yeah. Me getting lost? As if. No way."
Rafine and Reti's backup made it impossible to admit I was lost.
I should've just used [Detection Magic]. Why did I think vague memories would be enough...?!
While I was standing there thinking—
"Whoa?! What the— Reti, I wasn't thinking anything weird, seriously—"
Something slammed into my waist and clung on. I looked down thinking Reti was messing around. ...But it wasn't Reti.
In a word: a little girl. Around three to five years old.
Of course I didn't know her. It's not like I have zero little girl acquaintances... but it wasn't the one I do know, Luna.
So some random little girl was clinging to my waist. ...Yeah, okay, little girl. This area is a common little-girl encounter zone so these things happen— wait, no they don't.
"Jei!" the young girl said, with a lisp making it sound like Leii (dead guy),
"What! Are you calling me dead?"
The little girl pointed at me energetically and declared me dead. That's harsh as hell.
"Ieii~!"
"Um, earlier I was with Papa, um? There was Ieii, and then, um, he was there~"
"Yeah, yeah... what?"
What?
"Daaa? Ieii, come on, Onii-chan~"
The little girl grabbed the hem of my clothes with her tiny hands and started tugging me somewhere. Wait... kidnapping! I'm being kidnapped by a little girl!
While I was getting pulled along—
"Hina! I told you not to leave Papa's side! We're going back... wait, huh?"
A voice came from behind. I turned around.
"...Jirei?"
Standing there with wide eyes was the big gorilla-faced adventurer I'd taken a request with before—Wedd.
Following Wedd's lead, we arrived at the guild and settled at a five-person table in the attached tavern to talk.
"It's been a while! You disappeared without even accepting my thanks... Right, this is nothing compared to proper thanks, but let me cover the bill here, 'bro'!"
"Aoe~? Papa, Ieii is a good kid, right~?"
"Ahh... can you do something about this first?"
I pointed at the little girl who had climbed onto my shoulder, wrapped her arms around my head, and was happily plucking my hair while giggling.
Wedd said "Oh, sorry, sorry" and tried to lift her off, only to get a "Nooo!" in refusal and retreat with a "I see, you don't like that, huh~." Hey! Don't give up that easily.
"Wedd, I want to ask again."
"Yeah? What?"
"This really isn't a kidnapping, right?"
"Hell no! Look, my daughter! Our round eyes are identical, right?"
"Hmm...?"
From what he said, this little girl was supposedly Wedd's daughter... but they looked nothing alike.
I couldn't believe this cute-faced kid came from the gorilla in front of me. I'd heard before that he had a beautiful wife, but still. This kid has like one percent of Wedd's genes at best.
Well, I'll report it to the knight order on the way back just in case.
"...Please do something about this."
I asked him to get the little girl off me. She was smacking my face and covering my eyes. It didn't hurt, but it was way too distracting.
Also, this kid seemed to know me from the start. Why? Apparently "Ieii" was supposed to be me. That's not even close to my name though?
When I asked about it—
"Hmm... probably because I talked about you when putting Hina to bed. She started calling the husband role in her playhouse 'Ieii.'"
So, it's all your fault.
Now that I knew the cause was the gorilla in front of me, I tried lifting the little girl off, but she had a death grip on my hair. Forcing it would kill my roots.
Seeing that, Rafine stepped forward proudly.
"Then leave it to me! I'll play with her over-'Yaa!'"
A little fist smashed into her face. The girl turned away from Rafine with a hmph and clung even tighter to me.
Rafine smiled brightly, walked over to a corner of the guild, and started looking extremely depressed... ahh, um, yeah.
"Honestly. Rafine's no good. I— 'Yaaah!'"
Eve's outstretched hand got smacked at light speed. She silently moved to the corner and hugged her knees. Great, more casualties.
"Yeah! Master really is amazing!"
For some reason Reti started praising me, smiling brightly without a care.
"...So, Wedd, why are you here anyway? Didn't you say you lived in Uniwelcia before?"
I decided to just leave it. Or rather, I stopped thinking about it.
"Yeah, about that. After that request, my thinking changed a bit... I started making sure I could stay with my family as much as possible. Today was a day off, but I never expected to run into you, bro..."
"Hmm. Also, stop calling me bro."
"What's the harm?! We're close, right? Then let's share a drink here! Hey, a cold ale and... wait, can you even drink, Jirei?"
"I can, I just don't. And don't start drinking in the middle of the day."
Wedd looked dissatisfied. Don't drink while you've got a kid with you.
"Well, that was a joke. I'm not actually drinking in the daytime. Getting back to it... after that, I decided to treasure my time with family more. Being an adventurer means you never know when you'll die. I just wanted to be with them even a little longer."
"I see. Well, not that I care."
"Harsh?! Then don't ask!"
Wedd laughed loudly for some reason and slapped my back. Ow.
While I was getting fed up, a recovered Eve came over.
"...Rei is popular with kids. The students at the Magic Academy were attached to him too."
"...Now that you mention it, yeah."
Thinking back, kids had always been saying this and that to me. Whether they actually liked me was unclear, but they stuck around a lot. Not that I'm a kid person. It's annoying.
"That's true... You even won over Ryoma before. It must be because they can sense Jirei-sama's pure heart."
Rafine and the others nodded along. If that's the case, their eyesight is way too bad.
"Come to think of it, Jirei-sama is kind to small children and animals... In other words, if I become a child, I can receive Jirei-sama's affection...?"
"I see, that's a good idea."
"I'm not doing that."
What the hell are these people talking about?
"Jirei, you..."
"Hey, stop looking at me like that. It's not what you're thinking."
"Yes, that's right. Looking back, it started that night. Jirei-sama and I spent a passionate night alone together..."
"Could you please shut up for a bit?"
That version is massively exaggerated. We were together at night, sure, but the way she says it makes it sound like something happened. Seriously stop. Look, Eve is saying "...Tell me more about that" with a completely blank face but dead serious eyes.
After a bit more noisy conversation, Wedd, who had been watching warmly, spoke to the little girl.
"Hina, I've got something to talk about with Jirei. Can you go play over there?"
"No!"
"Even if I buy you candy?"
"Okay! Neta, come play!"
"Eh? ...Yes! Let's play!" Rafine said, cheerfully with a fist pump.
The little girl climbed off me and dragged the previously rejected Rafine and the others over to the guild's toy area... wait, they have that here?
Wedd watched the kids leave with a gentle expression, then turned back to me.
"So. There's something I've wanted to say for a while."
His face turned serious. The atmosphere got to me and I sat up a little straighter.
I braced myself for whatever he was about to say...
"Thanks."
"...Huh?"
I suddenly got thanked. Why?
"I never properly thanked you for saving me before, right? So I decided I'd say it if we met again. I didn't want to be the kind of guy who doesn't even say thanks after being saved."
"...You don't have to do that."
I looked away, feeling awkward as Wedd bowed his head.
It wasn't like I'd intended to save him. He just happened to be there. It was coincidence. Nothing to thank me for.
"Back then I really thought I was gonna die. I was acting tough, saying 'I've got family in Uniwelcia so I can't run,' but... honestly I was scared enough to want to run. I wasn't any different from that B-rank punk who wanted to flee."
"...That's not true. You were... brave back then, I think."
"Hehe, thanks. But the truth is, after that request I was planning to retire from being an adventurer."
"Huh? Then why are you still doing it?"
And you didn't act like you're going to quit at all.
"Just listen, there's more. After that monster appeared, even the [Attack] Hero couldn't move, and when everyone thought it was over—you stood up."
"...Yeah."
"And then, and then. You were impossibly strong. You toyed with that monster like it was on the palm of your hand. In the end... you won without a single scratch."
Wedd excitedly gestured and exaggerated as he continued.
"Watching that, I thought, 'Damn, that's cool.' Hero-like Jirei was so cool I wanted to be like that too."
Wedd laughed and added, "Well, of course I can't actually become that."
"I'm getting old. I'm past the age for rootless adventurer work. ...But seeing you back then made that passionate feeling come back, even at my age. That dream from when I first started—'I want to travel to worlds I've never seen.' Pretty embarrassing for someone my age, right?"
"...Age doesn't matter for the things you want to do."
"Ohhh! Nice line! You're still cool as hell, Jirei!"
Wedd laughed loudly and threw an arm around my shoulders in that overbearing way.
His face was genuinely happy, completely trusting, as he downed the cold ale he'd ordered in one go. I thought You're drinking after all! but it turned out to be non-alcoholic.
"...I'm not the kind of person you think I am."
"Hm? Did you say something?"
I answered "No, nothing" and stood up, heading toward the request board for my original purpose.
...Seriously, why is everyone around me always misunderstanding? I keep saying I'm not that nice of a guy.
"Also, Jirei! I heard a rumor that the heroes are gathering in this town soon."
"Huh? Ahh, that explains a lot..."
Right, that might be why the [Talent] Hero Lucas was here. I'd been wondering what he was doing in a place like this.
"Apparently they're looking for someone or something... I don't know the details. Not me, but if you want to get hired by a hero party—wait, you're already in one."
"If I was, I wouldn't have gotten a mud ball thrown at me."
Other heroes, huh. Now that I think about it, when I talked to the [Hardness] Hero Rod before, he mentioned something about the other heroes...
Well, heroes shouldn't have anything to do with a D-rank like me. Reti's more than enough. Yeah, nothing to do with me. Nothing at all.
...Right?