Things Bound to Happen
"For three whole months my counselor has been helping me with all her heart and soul, and if I make one little slip of the tongue and all that effort goes up in smoke, wouldn't it just be more helpful if I hanged myself? The more I think about it the more that seems right, doesn't it? Doesn't it? Dying would be the right thing to do, wouldn't it?"
"Ch-Charlotte...?"
"Hah, I got it. Just wait a moment."
The little goblin was buzzing like a motor, rattling off words at machine-gun speed all by herself, and even the Team Leader had no idea what to do — she was looking to me for help. The Team Leader had never really been equipped to handle Batori in the first place, so sitting in the back, I had no choice but to go over and take care of the vibrating goblin.
"Batori? Batori?"
"Y-Yes...!"
Fortunately, the moment I tapped her on the shoulder and called her name, she looked up at me and answered. It wasn't that bad, then. If she'd truly, genuinely been in a serious state, she never would have reacted to a touch like that. It was just that the memory of completely losing it during a previous interview had come flooding back and her brain had lagged out, that was all. I'd seen that happen plenty of times since I'd gotten to know Batori, so I could tell.
"The interview or test that lady over there mentioned isn't anything that difficult, so you really don't need to worry. You've already been doing more than well enough. The people conducting the interview will treat you kindly, too."
"I-Is that... is that so...?"
"Yes. Just ordinary questions, you know? They'll ask about your abilities, have you talk a bit about how you've been feeling lately as a hero. And maybe have you share what you plan to do going forward?"
"Even so......"
"It's not hard, is it? When you think about how hard you've been working to get promoted to C-Class, it won't be that difficult."
In the end, Batori was just a bit of a scaredy-cat. She had no fear when it came to living as a hero or standing up to villains... but she was terrified of being evaluated. It was probably her naturally introverted personality that made her think this way.
"That's..."
She finished the rest in a voice so quiet it was barely there. "Something like that, I guess."
If my words had reassured her even a little, that alone would have been a relief. Saran and Baek Eun-hwa had other issues that ran deeper than personality, but our baby goblin's problem was that she was far too introverted and passive. I couldn't help but worry a little more.
"Are you okay now?"
"...Yes."
"Alright then, please focus on what the Team Leader is saying again. After we've heard everything, let's go eat something tasty together."
"...Really?"
"Yes. The Team Leader will be busy after this anyway. She was kind enough to make time for us... so let's have a nice lunch just the two of us. My treat."
"Okay, I understand...!"
I gently patted the head of the little kid who was so much smaller than me, reassuring her like that. In the end, Batori was the type who came through when it counted. Separate from her timid personality, she was a wonderful goblin who fought for real when it was time to fight.
After I'd settled her down, I went back to my seat behind them.
"Haha... Can't I get treated to something tasty too?"
"Team Leader, you have to go back to work after this, don't you? Even if I wanted to treat you to something, there's nothing I can do, so I'm sorry."
"Then how about we go shopping together next time? I was thinking of checking out the new fall collection soon."
"That sounds nice."
After that exchange with the Team Leader, we naturally picked back up the discussion about the C-Class promotion that had been interrupted for a moment. It was a genuinely important conversation for Batori, and it was being conducted far more professionally than anything I could have managed, so I was truly glad she'd focused properly and listened. On top of that, getting someone of the Team Leader's caliber involved wasn't easy at all, which made it even more fortunate. Regardless of our personal friendship, the Team Leader was the Team Leader — she was obviously an impressive person, and getting help from someone like that for a single D-Class hero's affairs was far from a common occurrence.
"Haaah... Coming out of a conference room into the sunlight always feels incredibly hard. Like turning into a vampire?"
"I-I think I know what you mean...!"
"They deliberately design it so you can't see the conference rooms from outside... but that design always makes it uncomfortable when you come out like this."
"Maybe it's worse because it's summer...?"
"Hah, that could be it."
The moment we'd finished talking through the C-Class promotion, the Team Leader went straight up to the Welfare Bureau office... and the two of us headed outside the Association. We'd already covered more than enough about the C-Class promotion, and after talking continuously for about two hours, we needed a break. There's a limit to how long a person can concentrate, and in Batori's case and mine, time was the one thing we had to spare.
"What should we have for lunch?"
"Anything's fine...!"
"Hehe, don't say that. You've done well enough to be preparing for a C-Class promotion. I want to treat you."
"Y-You don't have to go that far... I'm going to keep doing well from now on too...?"
"Then that just makes me want to treat you even more, since you're being so good?"
"Ah......"
We walked down the street discussing lunch menus, and the place we settled on... was just a little snack shop. She could have picked something more expensive. But my offer to treat her must have felt a bit burdensome, because Batori said she'd be happy just eating tteokbokki or sundae at a snack shop.
"It's been a while since I've ordered tteokbokki at an actual snack shop like this. The last time I came to a place like this was... high school, maybe?"
"I don't think I've really come to one since I was a student either..."
"Hehe, these days there are plenty of tteokbokki franchise chains. We tend to order from those more often, don't we?"
"Yes...! Th-there are so many super spicy tteokbokki these days that they're hard to eat, but when I have them once in a while, it relieves the stress... hehe..."
Sitting in a corner of the snack shop, chatting pleasantly with Batori while we waited for our orders, I found her looking a bit brighter than usual, which was somehow fascinating. There had been quite a lot of praise for Batori mixed into today's conversation. Was she happy because of that? Or was she just happy to be enjoying free snack food? Either way... her bright smile was so cute it was fun to watch.
"You listened well to everything today, right? If you get a text from the Association, you have to contact me right away, okay?"
"Yes, yes...!"
Batori nodded vigorously at Charlotte's question. And she really was in a much better mood than usual today. She'd been incredibly nervous during the serious conversation at the Association, and even more so during the briefing from a former veteran hero — but setting all of that aside, it was a situation she couldn't help but be happy about.
She was right on the verge of reaching C-Class — the goal she and her counselor Charlotte had set together. C-Class...!
Charlotte didn't think that much of it. But unlike her, Batori had poured a tremendous amount of effort into reaching that C-Class, and she'd lived through every step of that process herself, so of course it meant the world to her.
But the real reason Batori was happy wasn't that. It was Charlotte.
Once I become a C-Class hero this time.... she'll definitely praise me so much......
Batori believed that every reason she'd gone from a bottom-tier E-Class hero to D-Class, and now arrived right at the doorstep of C-Class, came down to just one person. The reason she'd been able to work hard until now, and the direction of that effort — all of it had been possible because of Charlotte alone.
Before meeting Charlotte, Batori had been just one of many ordinary rookie heroes, and rather than carrying out any real work, she'd been at the level of occasionally subduing the petty criminals she happened to run into.
"Batori, is it tasty?"
"Yes...!"
The fact that a girl like that now sat right on the threshold of becoming a C-Class hero was all because of one person. The platinum-blonde girl sitting across from her had helped with everything, and thanks to her, Batori had grown into who she was now. It was only natural that the little Eodeokshini would come to hold all sorts of feelings for Charlotte, starting with respect and branching out from there.
"Hehe..."
A wonderful person. A beautiful person. A kind person. A good person. A mature person. For Batori, who could now describe Charlotte with so many words, her counselor was a truly amazing person. And in the end, she was also someone whose faith Batori wanted to repay.
"Counselor, this time I......"
"Yes, yes, that should be fine. And now......"
Batori had always wanted to repay Charlotte — who'd helped her not just with career planning but in every possible way — by showing her a wonderful version of herself. Now she had the C-Class hero achievement she'd promised Charlotte right before her eyes, so of course her mood would soar.
Coming across much brighter than usual even during ordinary conversation. Being the one to start talking to Charlotte first. Every last one of those things was only natural.
Even the things that were bound to happen someday.