It Was Just Because She Liked Him A Bit.

What Kikori ended up obtaining were three goblin magic stones, a knife, and a sword.

He already had a club, and it wouldn’t sell anyway, so he left it behind.

“You made quite a bit, didn’t you?”

“That’s thanks to you, Aria-san.”

In truth, if he hadn’t learned War Cry, there was no telling whether he would have earned anything even by nightfall.

And more than that, even with War Cry, if Aria hadn’t been there, Kikori might have been attacked from behind by a horned rabbit during that last fight and suffered a fatal wound.

Depending on the timing, it might not have been just a fatal wound—he could have died outright.

When he thought about that, a chill ran down Kikori’s spine.

“…Yeah, it really is thanks to you, Aria-san. Because of you, I got magic stones, and even a sword and a knife.”

“A sword, huh… are you going to use it?”

Asked that, Kikori looked down at the sword in his hand.

It was probably taken from some rookie adventurer who’d been attacked somewhere; the sword had no real decoration, a simple, plain thing.

There was no way Kikori could judge swords properly, but…

‘It kind of looks cheap…’

That was what he thought.

“If it sells, I was thinking of selling it. I’m more used to an axe.”

“I think that’s the right call. That sword isn’t a very good one anyway.”

“…Do you think it’ll sell for money?”

“If you sell it to a regular weapon shop, they’d probably buy it for around five hundred yen.”

At that price, Kikori wondered if he’d be better off using it himself, but as if seeing right through that thought, Aria told him,

“You should probably not use it. It probably hasn’t been maintained properly, and trusting your life to it as a weapon feels risky.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

“As long as they’re not malicious junk, weapons that are sold properly are maintained, you know.”

“Ah, like those holy swords sold at street stalls.”

“Unless you’re fighting undead, holy swords don’t really mean anything.”

I see, Kikori thought, accepting that explanation, and Aria smiled.

“Honestly, Kikori, you’re refreshingly straightforward. To be blunt, I don’t think you have much talent as an adventurer, but being able to listen honestly to what people tell you is a kind of aptitude too.”

“No talent…?”

“Kikori, did any of the receptionists tell you their names?”

“Huh? No.”

“If they think someone has talent, they tell you their name the first time they meet you. The fact that didn’t happen means…”

“First time or not, I haven’t even…”

“They probably think you’ll be dead before long.”

As Aria laughed it off, Kikori felt his mood grow heavy—but then, as if something suddenly occurred to him, he voiced the question that had been bothering him.

“Then why are you, Aria-san, taking such an interest in someone like me?”

“I told you, didn’t I? It’s just because I like you a bit.”

“Um… that’s a joke, right?”

You said that earlier too, Kikori said, and Aria let out a suppressed laugh.

“Yeah. Alright, let’s head back, okay? If you stay in the Contaminated Region at night, Kikori-san, you’ll probably turn into a corpse in no time.”