Preparations for Departure
"I'm leaving home."
"???"
"What? Why... why are you looking at me like that?"
With that single sentence uttered mid-meal, the eyes of all three—Mom, Dad, and my older sister—snapped directly to me.
Did I say something weird?
Maybe blurting it out like that without giving a reason was a bit much.
"Wait, why?! Are you short on allowance? Or does Daddy need to buy you something delicious? You didn't elope with some guy, did you?!"
"Ugh, it's nothing like that! I'm an adult now, and I just want to travel a bit."
At my grumbling tone, Dad finally let out a low grunt and quieted down.
It was a much more dramatic reaction than I'd expected, but I could understand his overprotectiveness to some extent.
Our family had run a large restaurant for generations, and above all, Dad was a hopeless doting fool when it came to his daughters.
"I'm twenty-two this year. I've been attending the academy for a long time, I know how to handle a sword well enough, and I want to see the world. I don't plan on doing it forever—though I might stay out longer if I like it—but that's my plan for now."
"She's right, Dad. As for the restaurant, you have me. I like helping you two out here anyway. Just let Syaruen do what she wants. Otherwise, she'll probably end up causing trouble again."
"What do you mean, 'cause trouble again'?"
I couldn't tell if my sister was trying to help me or sabotage me.
Well, there was that time I shoulder-threw a troublesome customer, got caught smoking, and got scolded along with her when the nuns confessed to me... Hmm.
She was all boobs. Every time she gestured even slightly while talking, her breasts—which were easily larger than her head—jiggled wildly.
Even when she was serving customers, I could see all those bastards staring slack-jawed at her chest.
I'd actually gotten into a fight with one particularly creepy bastard over that.
"When do you think you'll be back? Will you be okay? I heard from your instructor that you're pretty good with a sword, but you know there's more to traveling than just being a good fighter, right?"
"I haven't really set a timeline. If it's boring or too hard, I'll come back early. If I like it, I might travel longer. I'll keep in touch often."
You could make a decent living working as an adventurer and exploring various dungeons.
The ranking system went from the lowest, 1st Grade, to the highest, 9th Grade.
A 1st Grade was barely enough to call a profession. 2nd and 3rd Grades were just enough to scrape by if you were single, but they said you needed to reach at least 4th Grade to actually make good money.
Those at the 9th Grade were so rare they were considered legends. However, that was only within the realm of human adventurers. There were plenty of people outside the guild who possessed power equivalent to a 9th Grade, or even beyond.
As far as I knew, some of them could barely even be called human. But hey, being half-human and half-something else sounded pretty cool, didn't it?
I'd be perfectly satisfied reaching 3rd or 4th Grade. 6th and 7th Grade were masters recognized by everyone, so I didn't even dare dream of going that far.
"Alright. You're an adult now, and you're not the type to let people walk all over you, so I won't stop you. We'll help you pack, so let us know if you need anything. But..."
Dad set his fork down, looking uncharacteristically serious.
Ah, so he's giving me his blessing after all.
Still, him setting the mood like this makes me a little uneasy.
"Make sure you use protection."
Oh, for God's sake. What kind of embarrassing nonsense is he spouting now?
"What are you even talking about? I'm not going to... do that with any guys. I'm just traveling!"
"Don't tell me, sweetheart... do you prefer girls—"
"Oh, seriously!!!"
While I was staring at the pile of clothes and gear spread out in front of my bag, wondering if I'd forgotten anything, my sister quietly slipped into my room.
"Got everything packed?"
"Yeah. I'm just worried I'll start my adventure and immediately go, 'Ah, right, I forgot that.'"
"If you run out of anything, just call me. Don't lose your money. What else... Oh, right, just in case—"
"I know, I know. I'll be working as an adventurer. I've been training for nearly eight years, after all. I should at least be able to make enough to get by day-to-day."
Seriously, my sister was more overprotective and naggy than Mom. And this was coming from someone who constantly ended up needing protection herself while working.
Maybe it was because Mom didn't nag at all.
Even though we were only two years apart, she had always treated me like a late-born child twenty years her junior.
"Don't forget to say goodbye at the cathedral."
"Of course. Going there every week was practically a habit."
"Anyway, what suddenly brought on this urge to become an adventurer? Is running the restaurant not your thing? Or did you just really want to do this?"
"It's just a dream, I guess. I've always liked looking around new places, and the adventure stories I heard when I was a kid really stuck with me. Even if I can't pull off heroic feats like defeating Chaos, the dream itself still excites me."
"But didn't you say almost none of the people who defeated those things were human?"
That was true.
According to the records, they were entirely non-human entities—vampires, dragons, nine-tailed foxes. There were barely any humans who had ever climbed to those heights to face them.
But whatever. As long as the world didn't end while I was still alive, I didn't care.
"I told you, I don't expect that much. And it's not that the restaurant business isn't my thing. I just want to try adventuring. If it suits me, I'll keep doing it. If not, I'll just come back and help you run the place."
My sister looked up at me, let out a playful sigh, and thoroughly ruffled my hair.
"Ah, seriously! I'm not a kid anymore."
"When did our little kid grow up so much? If you ever run out of money, just seduce some rich guy. You've already received plenty of confessions from both guys and girls, haven't you? Ah, I wonder if you'll finally quit smoking once you get a lover~"
I'd gotten scolded to within an inch of my life when I first got caught smoking. But because I usually behaved myself, I managed to get away with a compromise that allowed me to smoke occasionally.
Now that I was an adult, I smoked whenever I wanted, but back then, I only shared a rare cigarette with my sole smoking buddy at the academy.
Oh, right. I forgot to pack my cigarettes.
"I'd rather stay single for the rest of my life than quit smoking."
"You have to cut back on smoking, okay? Promise me? And please, stay safe."
"Yes, yes, of course."
Eral was as cute as ever today.
A faint smile crept onto my face at the tiny nun's earnest encouragement.
"Once you leave for your journey... I won't be able to see you every week anymore."
"I'll be back before you know it. Don't worry."
Even though we were only two years apart, I had always treated Eral like a late-born sibling ten years my junior.
...Wait, I'm doing the exact same thing my sister does to me. I hope she doesn't find it annoying.
"If it were up to me, I'd want to go with you, but..."
Eral was a nun, so she could use recovery magic. Having her along would undoubtedly be helpful in many ways.
The only problem was that her healing ability was barely enough to fade a scar from a fall. Even curing a minor cut from a kitchen knife drained her holy power so much that she had to lie in bed all day.
But that was cute in its own way.
She probably knew her own limits and was hesitant to offer, worried she'd only drag me down.
Besides, it wasn't easy for a nun to just pack up and leave on an indefinite journey.
Once she grew a bit more, became an amazing nun, and increased her holy power, I'd definitely take her with me next time.
Looking into her pure, upturned eyes, I smiled and pulled a glass marble ornament from my breast pocket. Inside it, a miniature cosmos seemed to swirl.
"This is a precious ornament I've kept since I was a kid. I used to look at it every night before going to sleep. Keep it for me while I'm gone."
"C-Can I really accept something like this?"
"In all the years we've known each other, nothing has been more precious to me than you, Eral."
It wasn't just empty lip service, either.
"......"
Eral immediately cupped the glass marble in her tiny hands and pressed it to her chest.
We had first met when I tagged along with a friend to the cathedral as a child. Since then, I had volunteered at the convent every week, which was how we grew close.
By nature, I wasn't really the type to take care of others.
I wasn't even a believer, nor did I ever go there to pray.
But perhaps because I'd been going there for so long, more and more kids started following me around, calling me "big sister." Regardless of my actual personality, I eventually got used to it and became quite good with children.
I helped out with chores, and since I came from a family of restaurateurs, I knew how to cook. The older nuns thought highly of me because of that.
I never mentioned it to anyone, but maybe because it was an environment with only women, I had actually been confessed to by a few of the nuns. That was the only real headache.
Once while cleaning the storage room together, and once again this year. I could probably exclude the times the little kids told me they'd marry me when they grew up.
Though, in reality, I had never kissed anyone, let alone dated.
Things had been a bit awkward after those confessions, but thankfully, we managed to patch things up quickly.
Thanks to that, even at my age, my count for kisses, relationships, and sexual experience was a flat zero.
Besides, dating is just a pain in the ass.
"Syaruen... big sister."
She used to call me that when we were kids, but I didn't think she'd called me "big sister" since we grew up...
Eral looked around anxiously, then gestured for me to lean down. As I bent my waist to bring myself to her level, she glanced around one more time, and then—
Smooch.
"You have to come back safe, okay...?"
Feeling the soft touch on my cheek, I smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead in return.
If the one who confessed to me had been Eral, maybe dating wouldn't have been so bad.