Chapter 6

“Still, are you sure about this? Are you really okay with helping us with our request?”

“You’re not normally allowed to accept monster subjugation requests, right?”

Belze and Esteria asked me that, seemingly out of concern for me.

I appreciated their consideration, but I had to make a living, too.

“Yeah. I’ll find some way to keep the townspeople from finding out. Besides, you two were in a bit of a bind, weren’t you?”

“…Sorry for having to rely on you.”

“It’s fine. Helping each other out is what friends are for, right?”

“…Ugh… Rex…”

“All right, all right. If you’re done showing off your touching male friendship, let’s get going. Time is limited, you know.”

“Whoa!? Hey, Esteria! Don’t interrupt when two men are having a heartfelt conversation!”

“Shut up, you idiot of a big brother. Come on, let’s go!”

Watching Esteria forcefully push Belze forward by the back, I couldn’t help but chuckle as I followed them.

The siblings, Belze and Esteria, were somewhat famous in this town.

That was only natural. After all, the two of them were formidable adventurers who had once defeated a dragon together.

We had first met after I helped them out when they were having trouble at the tavern. That was how we had gotten to know each other, and we’d stayed in touch ever since.

They were also my seniors, occasionally teaching me combat techniques. I owed them a lot.

“Hey, Miss Lilina! I’d like you to accept this request!”

“Oh, yes! Just a moment, please!”

…Of all people, it had to be Miss Lilina.

I moved behind the two of them as discreetly as possible, trying not to let her notice me.

“Thank you for waiting. Oh, Mr. Belze and Miss Esteria! You’re back in town!”

“Yeah. We’d been away for a while on a noble’s escort assignment.”

“We just got back. And right after returning, we got stuck with this request. It’s going to be quite a challenge…”

“Thank you for all your hard work, as always. Let me check the details…”

…Looks like she hadn’t noticed me.

She was acting just like she always did. I didn’t want to make things awkward for the two of them because of me, either.

“…A request to subjugate multiple Red Bears, is it? Understood. There seem to be more than usual, so please be careful.”

“Yeah, we know. But we’ve got a secret weapon on our side, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“A secret weapon…?”

“It’s nothing, Lilina. Come on, let’s get going.”

“Whoa! H-Hey, wait a second, Esteria! I still need to talk to Rex—”

“Hurry up!”

“Ugh!?”

It seemed Esteria had been considerate of me.

I glanced at her to make sure she wouldn’t let Lilina notice me. In response, she gave me a wink.

I really couldn’t thank her enough…

Thinking that, I left the guild to complete the subjugation request.

“…Rex isn’t coming…”

Around noon, Lilina was waiting for the black-haired boy who usually came to see her, Rex. But today, not only had he failed to come to the reception desk, he hadn’t even shown up at the guild.

“Ugh… Uuu… Waaaaah…!”

Meanwhile, Lilina quietly shed tears, doing her best not to make a sound.

However, everyone around her could clearly sense the overwhelming sadness she was giving off.

“…Maybe another woman stole him away from you?”

“Ah! T-That’s not true!! Rex would never be stolen away by some other vixen!!”

“A v-vixen…?”

Imilia’s eyebrow twitched at Lilina’s words. But deciding there was no point getting worked up over that, she sat down beside her as usual.

“Maybe Rex didn’t come because you’re always so cold toward him? He seemed pretty busy, too…”

“T-That’s… But Rex seems to be having a hard time making ends meet, so I don’t think that’s the reason…”

“…Maybe he took on another job while you weren’t looking?”

“…Uuuh… Sniff…”

“…I-I’m sorry. It was just a joke, a joke… Good grief, why are you so fragile?”

Imilia gently stroked Lilina’s head, trying to comfort her.

“…But I could smell Rex.”

“…Have you finally lost your sense of smell?”

“T-That’s not true! I’d never mistake Rex’s scent! I definitely, absolutely smelled him!!”

“…Even if that’s true, when exactly did you smell him?”

“U-Um… Let’s see… I think it was when Mr. Belze and Miss Esteria were here…”

“…What’s wrong? Why did you suddenly go quiet?”

“…N-No way!?”

BANG!

Lilina slammed her hands against the table. Her face gradually turned pale.

That’s right. She had finally realized…

That he had gone off on a monster subjugation request.