After taking Iris to her inn, I go back to mine.
I haven’t gotten a wink of sleep, so I’m sleepy. I fall asleep right away after collapsing on my bed.
When I get up, I take a shower and leave the room. Lela and Mars are already eating in the dining hall.
Breakfast is buffet style like my last dinner, but this time I make sure to watch the quantity.
“Good morning sensei. Nice to have you along today too.”
Mars greets me energetically when he sees me.
Yes yes, it’s great to be full of energy no matter what. He’s kind of looking up at me too. What a nice boy.
“Good morning Mars. And good morning Lela.”
“Good morning Loyd. It’s finally time to start your life as an adventurer. Do some quests, and raise that adventurer rank.”
Lela says with a soft smile.
Her calm demeanor goes very well with her beautiful appearance, and she exudes ‘tranquil elf’ aura while she eats.
A beautiful blonde girl and a fancy breakfast always match. She’s cutting pancakes with a knife, and just that simple, elegant gesture makes me feel wisdom coming off her.
I can’t get near Lela’s solemnity as she eats, so I sit next to Mars. He’s relatively easy to deal with because he’s human like me.
“Elves really are amazing, exuding that air of wisdom by just eating.”
“Lela just excels on the outside, but she’s rotten on the inside, so don’t mind her too much, sensei.”
“I can hear you Mars. I’m a perfectly noble elf on the inside too. But of course, my greatness hasn’t yet been communicated to a child like you, right Mars?”
“See? Isn’t the way she looks down on people irritating? Once we’re all adventurers together, I’ll force Lela to show her true colors. She’s good at putting on airs, but also quick to show her real face.”
She really does just look like a graceful and pure half elf to me.
He says I’ll see her real character soon enough, but what if it’s lewd?
“You’re thinking something really rude, aren’t you Loyd?”
“Of… Course… Not…”
Lela lets out a small sigh, and places her knife and fork on the table.
Then she turns to me with a serious expression.
“By the way Loyd. Do you know what the most important thing is for an adventurer?”
“Most important thing?”
“Apparently not, so I’ll tell you.”
What?
Don’t accept unprofitable quests? Cooperate with your team?
But what she actually says is something I don’t expect.
“The most important thing… Is to not die. You can abandon everything and run if you see an enemy you can’t beat. You’re also prohibited from accepting quests that are too much for you. Always keep in mind that your life comes first.
It’s strange for me to say this to someone who is stronger than me, but as your senior as an adventurer, I figured I should.”
Don’t die? Well, yes. If you die, it’s all over, but you can always try again if you live.
“If you can’t adhere to that, you don’t have what it takes to be an adventurer, and you should go back to the atelier.”
Lela is saying that because she’s familiar with my personality.
I was like that when I was an exclusive mage. There were a lot of times when I went out picking without sleep or rest. And in dangerous areas. Sometimes, because I was pressed for time, I would even charge in without a plan.
“Worry not, you’re my seniors, and I’m the newbie. I’ll make sure to listen to the advice of my magnificent seniors.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I’m sorry for being impertinent.”
“I know you said it out of care for me. Worry not about me.”
“Sensei! Do you like saying worry not?”
Shut up Mars. Keep quiet for a bit.
If you say that in the middle of a serious conversion, I’m going to get embarrassed.
“Also, let your seniors have quests, be mindful of others’ feelings during quests, tell them they did a good job, and cheerfully tell your party ‘good evening, good morning, nice to have you today’. I have so much to teach you as your senior.”
Uwah, this one is the biggest pain. It’s too difficult for me, who had zero friends in my exclusive mage days.
I have no spirit of cooperation, so interpersonal relations are harder for me than fighting monsters.
Just hearing about being mindful of others’ feelings makes me wanna throw up.
“I don’t wanna work. I wanna stay in bed all day.”
I accidentally say how I feel.
“You’re not going to have a fulfilling second life with that weak-hearted attitude. We’re headed to a hell with no overtime pay on top of being dangerous.”
I tremble, as I hear something that sounds a whole lot different from what I heard yesterday.
It’s like a job advert. I got a job because it said it was cozy, but it’s actually a parade of overtime and power harassment.
“By the way, it’s typical for adventurers to work in parties of two people or more, but have you decided what to do?”
Lela asks with the tone of a mother.
“I’ve got no plans. I remember hearing that there was no problem as long as there was a swordsman and a mage, so I guess I’m going to look for a swordsman.”
“I’m right here.”
“Eh? So I can join your party?”
“Of course you can. Why would you think you couldn’t? We have a bond stronger than blood. You’re my life coach!!”
Mars says, but I don’t remember having that bond making event. I guess I see him as a friend, but still… But I guess adventurer parties are chill like that.
“I want to see plenty of your magic too. If you want to, I would be happy to have you in our party.”
Lela is fine with it too.
At least I don’t have to do that whole being mindful of others’ feelings stuff with people I haven’t met. I feel like I can be more natural with these two.
“Thank you for having me. I’m new at being an adventurer, so I hope you can teach me.”
“Yes, gladly. Nice to have you, Loyd.”
“Of course sensei! Just ask if there’s something you don’t get!”
Then we head to the adventurer guild.
I went there last night, so I already know where it is.
I was going to guide them, but it looks like they already know their way around town.
“Do you already know where the adventurer guild is?”
Their shoulders tremble.
“Ah, you wouldn’t wake up, so Mars and I went out for a stroll around town. And we happened to find the adventurer guild.”
I see. That implies they came over to my room this morning. I didn’t notice it at all. I feel bad about that.
“Sorry, I was really sleepy.”
“The receptionist told us you got back really late. Did you pick up some girl late at night and stay with her until morning?”
Gulp.
Now my shoulders are trembling.
Lela has a devilish smile on her face as she asks that.
“Oh? Did Loyd just react to that? Were you really up to something with a girl? Sniff sniff sniff. I feel like I can sense a girl’s cologne on you…”
Lela comes closer and sniffs my clothes, and speaks in a very purpose filled way.
I know she’s joking, but a girl sniffing my clothes is embarrassing. And just the fact that she suspects something makes me not know how to react.
“Hey stop it Lela. You’re troubling him. I’m sure it was tough on sensei too.”
Mars throws me a bone. Thanks. At that rate, she was going to dig up everything about Iris.
I want to avoid getting worked up talking about girls when I’m about to go to work.
It’s not just embarrassment over talking about last night either, I intend to be a real adventurer. And I don’t want to lose focus thinking about Iris, who has no direct relation to adventuring.
I can’t let myself worry too much about her and not focus on work. This is a time where work comes before love. There’s a lot to remember when you start a new job.
Hn? Come to think of it, there was that whole trouble. I should tell Lela first.
“Lela, you should be careful. You might be asked something by people in the guild.”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
Lela looks confused.
“I went to the guild last night, and someone shot an arrow through the window just before I got there. They didn’t notice this, but the arrow was a special one often used by elves. I could tell by the unique arrowhead.”
“So they might suspect a half elf like me?”
“They might not ask anything, but I’m saying it just in case. People tend to get flustered when they’re asked things out of nowhere.”
Mars’ face is turning pale for some reason, not Lela’s.
Lela herself seems pretty serene, and has her hand on her chin as she thinks.
“Is this all right?”
Asks a worried Mars.
“I think so, I’m a good liar.”
“Eh? Liar?”
“No, excuse me, it’s just between us. Yes, it would be bad if I was falsely accused. I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you for the warning.”
“Sensei really is awesome! He really is a model human, worrying about even trash like this!”
I feel like they’re being evasive about something, but oh well.
Soon busted.