Lucia
"Carlos! Are you crazy? I mean, why would you bring a spiritist?!"
"Exactly! Right now, our party has two swordsmen and one healer. We should at least bring a mage, or a ranger at the very least. How are we supposed to make up for the lack of firepower?"
Leaving the Arzen Kingdom behind amidst Edwin's worries, I had slipped into the Horon Kingdom under the guise of an ordinary adventurer to begin recruiting party members.
Jack and Jenny were the first adventurers to join me. Ever since I entered the Horon Kingdom, we had taken on various minor requests together, growing close enough to reach this point.
"Come on, what's the big deal? I'll just focus more on offense to make up for it."
"Carlos, if you're focusing on offense, then who's going to defend? Anyway, I can't go with a spiritist. I mean, they don't even do anything, yet we still have to split the rewards equally!"
Jenny, our healer, was clearly displeased with a spiritist joining the group, even going so far as to threaten to leave the party.
Jack, a fellow swordsman, chimed in to pressure me as well.
"It's hard to find a mage right now. Everyone is scrambling to recruit one, and elf rangers are even rarer. We can't just wait around here forever until the perfect party member shows up."
"Well, that's true, but..."
"I'll take a smaller cut of the rewards, so let's just bring her along."
"...Well... if you're going that far..."
I guess that's what happens when you deal with adventurers who live and die by their commission fees...
Since I was the party leader and the one who contributed the most, they didn't push any further once I offered to take a smaller cut.
Having reached an agreement, we walked back into the tavern where Lucia was waiting.
Unlike when we had stepped outside, she was no longer smiling. She sat anxiously in her seat, her eyes brimming with unshed tears as she looked toward us.
She looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment if someone said the wrong thing.
"Alright, let's all meet here tomorrow morning at six. And don't drink too much tonight."
"Don't worry, Carlos. We'll only have a little."
Jack and Jenny, both notorious heavy drinkers, answered enthusiastically, but I didn't believe them for a second.
"Lucia, don't forget. Six tomorrow morning."
"Pardon?! S-so... you're letting me join the party?"
"Yeah."
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much! I'll work really, really hard!"
Her previous anxiety vanished instantly. Tears of joy welled in her eyes as she bowed repeatedly, first to me, and then to Jack and Jenny.
"Make sure to get some rest, Lucia. It's going to be tough starting tomorrow."
"Yes!"
Leaving the beaming Lucia behind, I headed up to my room on the second floor. Jack followed me, as if he had something more to say. Once he made sure no one was around, he spoke.
"Carlos, be honest with me. You brought Lucia along because of her looks, didn't you?"
"What?"
"Oh, come on~ You know it's true~ Stop pretending~"
"Do you think I'm like you?"
"Otherwise, there's no way you'd take a loss just to bring a spiritist along. Right? Am I right or am I right?"
"Go downstairs and drink instead of wasting your breath on nonsense."
"Hahaha! Caught red-handed! Carlos, you really are a guy after all!"
Jack kept teasing me all the way back down the stairs. Once I confirmed he was gone, I entered my room and lay down on the bed.
Lucia...
Even though she was a half-elf, she was easily one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen in my life.
However, the reason I recruited her wasn't her looks. It was the sheer number of spirits gathered around her.
No matter how high a spiritist's affinity was, I had never in my life seen so many spirits crowding around a single person.
The next day.
When I went down to the first floor ten minutes before our meeting time, the tavern's dining area was completely empty—except for a single blue-haired woman sitting alone.
"Lucia?"
"Yes!"
"How long have you been waiting?"
"About... an hour...?"
"Why did you come out so early? It'll be at least another thirty minutes before those two show up."
True to their adventurer nature, Jack and Jenny loved their alcohol and had never once been on time.
I'll be lucky if I don't have to go up to their rooms and drag them out of bed myself.
"Well... I was worried I might be late..."
"Still, you should have slept in. If you were late, I could have just gone to wake you."
"O-oh, no! I couldn't possibly let you do that..."
Lucia sat stiffly, her back straight as a board, clearly uncomfortable around me. She was so tense that I could hear her gulping nervously.
"Is this your first time in a party?"
"Yes..."
"I suppose... adventurer parties don't usually welcome spiritists, do they?"
"No..."
"Cheer up. Once your rank goes up, there will be plenty of parties looking for you."
"Yes."
I had a lot of things I wanted to ask her, but since she kept giving short answers and looked so nervous, I was starting to feel bad about pressing further. Just then...
"Um..."
Lucia opened her mouth, her soft, melodic voice breaking the silence.
"Thank you!"
"Huh? For what?"
"Yesterday... I heard everything."
"Heard what?"
"That you offered to take a smaller cut of the rewards just to let me join... I'll make sure to pay you back when we split the earnings! And... I'll fight as hard as I can so I won't be a burden!"
"Hahaha. Don't push yourself too hard. Safety always comes first."
"Yes!"
Perhaps she was naturally shy, but she blushed every time she spoke to me, turning her head away to hide it. It was rather cute.
More than anything, her eyes seemed even brighter in the morning light than they had yesterday. I found myself staring at them, momentarily dazed.
"What element do you use, Lucia?"
"My primary element is water, but I can also use a bit of wind."
"Huh? You're water-aligned, but you can use wind too? Does that mean you can use two elements?"
"Yes..."
No wonder... So that was why so many spirits were gathered around her.
None of the elves I had met so far possessed more than one elemental affinity.
And there was no reason for Lucia to lie about something that would be easily exposed in battle anyway.
"Even with a high affinity for spirits, is it really possible to have two elements?"
"Well... that's..."
"Hmm?"
"There are... circumstances..."
"What kind of..."
I wanted to press her further, but Jack and Jenny chose that moment to come downstairs, yawning loudly.
"Yaaawn~ You two are already here?"
Uncharacteristically, the two of them—who would normally be at least thirty minutes late—had actually shown up on time. Because of that, I couldn't ask Lucia any more questions.
"What's this? Why are you two looking so cozy? Oho~ Carlos, were you hitting on her first thing in the morning?"
"Stop talking nonsense and get ready to leave. The other parties set out at the crack of dawn."
"Got it."
I had no choice but to postpone my conversation with Lucia. Leaving a teasing Jack behind, I walked out of the tavern.
The town, which had been so quiet at dawn that not a single soul could be seen, was now bustling with activity as morning broke, preparing for the battle against the Demon King's army.
The knights and soldiers sent by the Horon Kingdom and neighboring nations would face the main force of the Demon King's army, while the monsters under their command would be handled by the adventurers.
While fighting monsters alongside the adventurers, I kept my ears to the ground for any news. If the Horon Kingdom fell into danger, I planned to rush to their aid.
Even though Edwin told me not to worry about it, it seems my body just won't let me sit idle.
"Whoa... this is insane."
Jack stared in awe at the knights from various kingdoms marching through the town. I quickly turned my head away, avoiding their gaze in case any of them recognized me.
"Carlos! Look over there! I think the former Hero's party is participating too!"
"What?"
I turned my head at Jack's words. At the rear of the marching knights, I saw a small unit of elf knights, and among them was a very familiar face. Illuen...
I had heard she kept submitting applications to join the Hero's party in the Arzen Kingdom, but now she was marching in the middle of the knights, looking around and checking the face of every single passing soldier. It looked as if she was searching for me.
"Carlos, look. Wow... they really look strong, probably because they're from the former Hero's party. Carlos? Carlos?"
Seeing Illuen's face for the first time in years triggered memories of the past that had lain dormant. A familiar anxiety began to creep up on me.
"Hey, Carlos. Are you feeling sick? Why do you look so pale?"
"I-I'm fine... Just... need to rest a bit... and I'll be okay... Let's... leave in thirty minutes."
Terrified that Illuen might approach me while I was paralyzed by anxiety, I retreated back into the tavern. Jack and Jenny watched me with puzzled expressions, but Lucia followed me inside.
"Are you alright, Carlos? You're breaking out in a cold sweat..."
Seeing me trembling and sweating, Lucia gently wiped my forehead with her sleeve. She then placed her hand against my brow to check if I had a fever.
"I-I'm fine, Lucia... It just... happens sometimes..."
"Please wait here for a moment."
Barely listening to my reply, Lucia quickly asked the tavern keeper for permission and hurried into the kitchen.
A short while later, she returned carrying a teacup and set it down on the table in front of me.
"Please, drink this."
"What is this?"
"It's lavender tea. It has a calming effect. If you take slow sips while breathing in the aroma, it will help you calm down."
Her tone and actions made it seem as though she knew exactly what I was going through.
Following her instructions, I slowly sipped the lavender tea she had brewed. Like magic, my racing heart began to quiet down, my body relaxed, and the suffocating anxiety slowly faded away.