Winter

I hadn't planned to just sit around doing nothing, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not even lifting a finger from the moment she was hired, but Yen Tie declared today was the day she would demonstrate her abilities and took over all the cooking. She'd acted pretty awkward around Asilie too, but in the end, since there was still some of the stew we'd been eating for days left over, I gave some half-assed sophistry about how we hadn't done nothing either, and Asilie sat down looking half-convinced, half-not.

It wasn't the kind of atmosphere where some impossibly fancy gourmet dish was about to pop out, like in the comics or novels. But seeing how she moved ingredients and her blade without a trace of hesitation, her sheer skill level was clearly terrifying. In fact, not long after she started cooking, a delicious smell began wafting out, and our expectations started climbing right along with it.

"Yen? With skills like that, it seems like you could've found Eldi without Zikmel’s help, so why did you go looking for him?"

So while I was petting Laika and mulling over when to head to the guild, Asilie, who'd been busy marveling at Yen Tie's abilities, picked up on a point I hadn't even considered and asked about it.

Now that I heard it, that was a good question.

"For my people, the order of given name and family name is reversed. I would be grateful if you called me Tie, Asilie. Most of the information links regarding Eldmia and his residence were severed, making it impossible to track him down in a short period."

"...Information links?"

"It is a personal technique for finding information... things like a piece of information that should be properly connected being abruptly cut off and linked to something completely unrelated, or similar yet entirely different pieces of information being deliberately spread around."

I looked over at Asilie, wondering if she knew anything about it, but she also showed a reaction that said she'd never heard of it either, establishing a stable sense of shared understanding. Yeah, we were adventurer types, not information brokers or infiltration specialists.

"Usually, the person who severs the links is the one holding the information, and that was the case this time as well. It was Zikmel's doing."

What a world. That capable bastard Zikmel.

There was a high probability he'd done this because if more people like Yen Tie came looking for him targeting my information, his life could be in danger! But since I ended up reaping the indirect benefits, I didn't give a shit about any of that. Later, I'd have to drop by under the pretext of saying I used the gift well and slip him some compensation for his trouble.

"He was quite a capable individual. If you can maintain a good relationship with him, he will surely prove to be a beneficial contact."

Yen Tie continued cooking after that, bringing up various stories. They weren't attempts to forcibly dig up and reveal secret matters, but rather flowed along everyday topics, like what vegetables were supposedly cheap this winter, and the conversation continued incredibly naturally. Thanks to that, without a single moment of boredom while the food was being prepared, we got to enjoy tasting the dishes she brought out, and I found myself thinking it was a really good thing we hadn't forcibly kicked Yen Tie out.

I'd been wondering what to do while resting at home anyway—I should learn a bit of cooking from her.

◈

On the third day of spending mealtimes learning to cook from Yen Tie like that, I decided to visit the Adventurer's Guild, just as she had advised when she first arrived.

Not because I had some other purpose, but because I was starting to get restless.

"Still, staying home for two whole days... you held out well."

When I announced my outing during breakfast, Asilie, who was barely managing to continue eating with a face full of drowsiness, said it like she was proud of me, and feeling utterly wronged, I had no choice but to shoot back immediately.

"Big Sis? If anyone heard you, they'd think I was running around outside every single day without fail."

"I can’t even remember the last time Eldi stayed home for more than two days."

"That... well..."

Since it was logically sound, I couldn't refute it. After we got our house, there was something to go out for practically every day. Hell, even back when I was staying at the Ogatorf estate, after Asilie joined up with me, I'd been moving around so busily every day that it felt like I'd spent more days outside the house than inside it.

Wait. Wasn't I working my ass off a little too ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠much?

"Well, I'm not sick or anything. Moving around shouldn't be a problem."

While I was belatedly reflecting on my own batshit insane level of activity and feeling impressed, Asilie shrugged lightly, easily convinced, and Laika, who'd naturally been stuck playing only at home because I was cooped up inside, was delighted.

After breakfast wrapped up in that half-assed, leisurely way, I put on my outdoor clothes and gear for the first time in a while and happily opened the door—only to have to close it again immediately.

"Fucking cold."

I couldn't tell if it was because I'd been glued to the heater for two days straight doing nothing but reading Holy Light Cross Order documents, or if winter had properly barged in over those two days, but anyway, it was cold. In the end, I had to dig out and put on a thick winter coat—one I hadn't needed to wear for a while since I'd been going around in the expensive clothes and cape that dwarf artisan made recently—before I could set foot outside the house.

[A walk! So exciting!]

"...Aren't you even cold?"

[Not cold!]

Thanks to Yen Tie swinging a broom every single day without fail, a path leading all the way to the road had been neatly cleared through the yard, but Laika kept jumping off to the side and burying into the snow, showing delight with that whole fluffy body. It would've been cute even if we couldn't communicate, but being able to understand Laika made it twice as cute.

"...Yeah, good for you."

As I watched this pastoral scene the little mutt was putting on with satisfaction and stepped out onto the street, the sight of the capital bustling busily, not giving a damn about the winter cold, caught my eye. I savored the peculiar pleasure that came from the fact I was taking a leisurely walk alone while everyone else was working and moving busily, and as I headed toward the guild, the surrounding scenery, which was gradually changing from my last memory, began to come into view, one detail at a time.

"No matter the world, things change fast all the same."

The scenery wasn't the only thing that had changed. The wary looks directed at me, the atmosphere of people glancing back and forth between Laika and me with suspicious eyes—that had changed too.

In that laughably short amount of time, the infamy of the 'Guillotine' had been watered down like booze mixed with water. Maybe the rumor had spread that I'd left for another city because I was taking a break from adventurer work. Maybe the rumor that I'd died a lonely death somewhere had spread instead.

What was certain was that the gazes directed at me had shifted to something closer to indifference.

"In the end, that's all a rumor flowing through a city amounts to."

It didn't matter ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to me one way or another, but it was a little disappointing that people no longer cleared the way for me on their own like before. It was convenient, though.

So, catching glimpses of Laika's ecstatic antics and taking in the surroundings along the way, I arrived at the Adventurer's Guild to find it already bustling with adventurers from the morning onward.

"Had the movement restrictions already been lifted?"

Perhaps the guild's efforts to prevent adventurers from freezing to death while attempting long-distance travel aiming for a winter score had already begun, because while it wasn't packed to the point of being unable to step foot inside, there were a lot of people for morning. Some of them were already drinking and lazing about, having set up their little drinking sessions from the crack of dawn, and I even saw adventurers who'd laid out a bunch of miscellaneous items on their tables to sell.

The former was a sight always visible, but the latter was a bit different. Cases like that were usually mid-level adventurers who'd built up some experience and sustained their income by taking long-distance requests, selling off leftover consumables they hadn't managed to dispose of before their rest period, or goods with an expiration date, for cheap.

There were various reasons for it—maybe they couldn't be bothered to haggle with merchants to sell secondhand items that weren't worth much anyway, or maybe they just wanted to drink and offer some advice to less experienced adventurers while selling things cheap. Since the goal wasn't to rip anyone off, as long as they ordered food and drinks right like that, the guild didn't particularly raise a fuss about it.

Since the whole point of imposing movement restrictions in the first place was to stop people from dying while doing dumb shit, wasn't there no reason for them to block opportunities for rookie adventurers to get cheap advice and gear either?

"Laika, come here. You're gonna get stepped on."

It was all fine and good picking up Laika, who trotted over without a word of complaint, but now that I was actually here, my justification for talking to the Guild Master was a bit iffy. Barging right up and spouting something like 'You wanted to talk to me?' made me look like an attention whore, and just loitering around looked stupid too. In the end, it was just a rumor Yen Tie had heard, so there was no guarantee he'd even try to talk to me just because I showed up.

"Ah, requests."

There were always simple requests that could be resolved within the city, so I could just grab a suitable one and strike up a conversation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a receptionist, and that'd give me a rough estimate of the situation. If the Guild Master was looking for me, we'd talk, and I could leave the request behind saying it was just an excuse. If he wasn't looking, I'd just earn some spending money.

Admiring my own quick wit, I headed toward the request board, which was just as crowded as ever, and found adventurers raising their voices, full of complaints about each other as they shoved this way and that. Even though there were three boards, it was still that much of a mess. I didn't not understand their drive to sniff out the best requests, but every single time I saw it, it made me wonder if there wasn't a better way.

It was like watching people go batshit insane swarming a discount sale, so I was reluctant to join in, but since the requests were posted in order of urgency and guild staff would come and refill them whenever the request papers started to thin out, waiting around didn't mean people would disperse, either. The first time I came here, I'd spaced out watching, wondering when the hell the crowd would ever die down, and it didn't quiet down until an hour or two had passed.

"Sigh, coming through."

In the end, the only thing I could do was use my body to push through. Just because I was carrying Laika in my arms didn't mean my physical ability was compromised, and if I pushed in with intent, the bastards a head shorter and a shoulder narrower than me had no choice but to get shoved aside.

"Ah! What the hell!"

"Ah, come on! Stop shoving, will ya!"

Of course, complaints and grumbling flew out, but what could you do? It had always been this way and would continue to be—that was the law of the jungle on the request board. Just as I'd shouldered through one after another without much difficulty and was about to reach the board itself, someone grabbed my shoulder.

"You fucker, you think just 'cause you act like the Guillotine, that makes you him?"

The moment I turned my head, wondering what the hell that was about, what greeted me wasn't a disgruntled glare directed at me, but a fist flying in a surprisingly clean parabolic arc right at my face.

In that brief instant, a truly vast number of thoughts shot through my head, but taking the hit was the more advantageous move, so I decided to quietly take it.

With a thwack, I felt the warmth of another person's body heat against my cheekbone—it was quite a bit more unpleasant than I'd expected.