Named Request (Complete)
“This is the full payment from selling everything. We were lucky enough to find people who needed the goods right away, so it worked out—but next time, please don’t make a mistake like this. Understood, Miss Noah?”
“Haa… You’re right. We really got lucky.”
“Th-thank you. Miss Hermila… and Lady Aileen, thank you too…!”
With my body completely lacking any social skills, Aileen had taken the lead and sold off the items for me. Along the way, Hermila—who had somehow caught wind of my situation—stepped in to help as well. Thanks to them, everything we didn’t need was sold!
We didn’t recoup the original cost, but still—what a relief!
“Now that we’ve got the horses, we can finally set out for real. Miss Noah.”
“Y-yes…!”
Oh, right. We’d managed to get the horses for an absurdly low price too. Hermila had handled all of that as well!
Hermila is the best!
“Um, so… then…”
I tucked the now-considerably heavier coin pouch into my clothes and bowed my head deeply to Hermila.
“Once your journey is over, make sure you come back here—to Alrba Village. Understood?”
Yes. I’ll be back, Miss Hermila. Want me to pick up some souvenirs on the way?
“Y-yes…! Hic… I-I’ll be… hic… back…”
Damn it…
I’m not sad at all. Not even a little.
This body is crying. Really. It’s not me.
“Yes. Come back safely, Miss Noah. I’ll be waiting, all right?”
“U-uhh… hic… sniff… I-I’ll be… hic…”
My throat locked up tight; the words wouldn’t come out…
“Hey… Miss Noah? We’re not going off to die, you know…? Could you hurry it up a little?”
Aileen, already six steps ahead, was hounding me.
You absolute T-F-C?!
Show a little empathy!
I’m trying to say goodbye to Hermila—basically my life savior!
“Pfft—! Ahem! Th-that’s right, Miss Noah. It’s not as if we’re parting forever. There, there.”
As always, Hermila’s warm hand gently stroked my head.
“Ugh… Y-yes…!”
I bowed once more, then coolly turned my back.
“L-let’s go, Lady Aileen.”
“Haa… Fine. Let’s go.”
Aileen glanced back at me for a moment, shook her head with a sigh, and walked out of the guild.
I followed her footsteps, carefully storing away the lively, bustling noise I wouldn’t hear again for a while.
I hadn’t made a single friend here, yet Alrba Village had still grown dear to me. This was the place where I’d first opened my eyes in a woman’s body—my hometown, in a way.
I’ll definitely come back.
“Miss Noah. What are you doing standing there? Hurry up. The sun’s going to set.”
Oh, for real.
“Y-yes…!”
Cursing Aileen inwardly for having zero sense of sentiment, I finished taking my steps.
Clop—clop— The horse that had been walking came to a stop.
“The sun’s starting to go down, so we should find a place to camp.”
“We’re… sleeping here tonight…?”
I scanned the surroundings with Qi Sensing. Trees, trees, and more trees. We were deep in a forest packed with them on every side.
On the way here we’d run into a snake and an absurdly huge dragonfly… and we were sleeping here!?
Not even a cave—just camping out on bare ground like this?
Give me back my romance…
“Yes. Someone made a truly trivial mistake and delayed us a bit past the plan. Originally we were supposed to clear this forest and camp beyond it, but… it can’t be helped.”
“S-sorry…”
“Miss Noah? What did I say I’d do to your little butt if you said that?”
“Hup…! I-I’m sorryyy…!”
Aileen’s sigh brushed past my ear.
H-hey, that tickles.
“Ha, no, seriously. Do you think ‘sorry’ and ‘I’m sorry’ are different things? For real?”
“Th-then what am I supposed to say…?”
“Talking back now?”
“Ugh… uuu…!”
What do you want from me!
You’re the one who said I messed up!
Fine! I messed up! But come on, it happens!
You never said we’d be riding horses!
Granted, you never said we’d be taking a carriage either…!
Anyway!
“Pfft… Just kidding. In times like that, you just say thank you. Like… thank you for selling the things. Or thank you for understanding. You know?”
Aileen spoke to me in a light laugh and a soft voice.
I can’t keep up with her at all…
It’s not even manic. Ugh.
“Then… thank youuu…”
I bowed my head and offered my thanks. Aileen was behind me, but turning around to greet her properly would mean… well…
My face would probably end up buried in Aileen’s monstrous chest, so I just bowed into empty air.
“Aigoo. Good job. Now that you’re done, get down.”
There wasn’t a single scrap of soul in that praise.
If you’re gonna do it like that, don’t bother…
I pouted and flung the greatsword I’d been holding in my arms. Then—jump!
Thud— Soft grass cushioned my shoes with a rustling crunch.
Thud—thud—
Stepping on things when I can’t see a thing actually feels pretty nice. Hehe.
Thud—thud—thud—
Thuuud—
A slightly different sound told me Aileen had dismounted as well. I immediately crouched and groped around the ground.
The greatsword should be around here… huh.
It ought to be nearby…
Rustle—rustle—
W-where’d it go…?
“Here.”
After I’d been fumbling for a while, Aileen slid the greatsword over toward me.
“Ah, thank youuu…”
I gripped the hilt tightly and checked the surroundings. The flattened grass marks said this was definitely the spot… weird.
And… why was Aileen crouching right next to me, staring this way?
“W-why…?”
“Nothing. I was just watching because you’re cute. Shall we get dinner ready?”
A strangely offhand answer came back.
That’s definitely not the real reason…
“…Yes.”
I answered vaguely and fixed the greatsword at my waist.
“Since it’s the first day, how about something tasty? Let’s start with the food that won’t keep long.”
“Y-yes, sounds good… What are we eating?”
“This looks perfect.”
Rummaging through the food bag hanging at the horse’s side, Aileen pulled out a paper-wrapped package of meat.
“Barbecue. How about it?”
“B-barbecue…!”
I nodded vigorously.
Wait, though… is it really okay to cook something like that out here in the middle of the forest?
My enthusiastic nodding gradually slowed to a stop.
Yeah, this is probably a bad idea…
Is she testing me?
If I say yes to eating it here, she’ll treat me like a total idiot and tease me for the entire commission…!
Ugh… as much as it hurts, barbecue can wait for next time.
“Ah, n-no… I don’t want any. Just… bread is fine.”
“Why?”
Hah, asking something so obvious.
I knew it—she’s testing me.
This terrifying woman…!
“Because of the smell… beasts or bandits might come…”
“Aha. That’s fine.”
As she spoke, something warm quietly rose from Aileen’s body.
“Huh…? W-what is this? Wha…?”
An unfamiliar energy spread out in a circle around us.
It wasn’t mana. And it wasn’t an artifact either…?
“I’ve got all sorts of little tricks. But… you can see this?”
I nodded, watching the gently rippling energy.
That feels familiar somehow.
“What is it? Please tell me…!”
Ugh, this is driving me crazy.
I’m sure I’ve seen it somewhere before, but the memory’s just out of reach.
It’s like that feeling when something itches and you can’t find the spot!
Just tell me already!
“You’ll figure it out on your own when you grow up. Kids like you, Miss Noah, don’t need to know yet. Come on, sit down for now. Eat well and go to bed early if you want to become a grown-up, okay?”
“K-kids…?!”
Hah, wow. No… hey!
I’m an adult!
I’m twenty-five!
“…No. I’m a grown-up.”
I looked straight at Aileen and spoke as firmly and confidently as I could.
“Miss Noah is a grown-up—pfft… a ‘grown-up,’ you say? My, my… so that’s how it is.”
I couldn’t see her face, but I could feel the thoroughly smug expression on it. Her tone said the same.
Aileen, are you seriously doing this?! Huh?!
Anyone can tell I’m older…!
“N-no… it’s true…!”
“Yes, yes. I get it, so come sit over here. I’ve made sure the smell won’t escape, so don’t worry.”
“S-so… what is that thing…”
“Hmm… Miss Noah is a grooown-up, so you already know, don’t you?”
Wow… wow… WAAAH!!!
This is so annoying!
“Ugh…”
“Keep it in.”
“…I didn’t say anything.”
“Tsk. Don’t you want the meat?”
I snapped my mouth shut.
“That’s better.”
“‘That’s better’ my… whatever.”
I muttered as quietly as I could so it wouldn’t reach Aileen’s ears.
“Talking back?”
“S-sorryyy…”
Whether I apologized or not, Aileen rummaged through the bag. A moment later she pulled out a flint and asked me,
“Do you know how to start a fire?”
“…No.”
For some reason it just never catches.
“What about a tent?”
“I d-don’t know…”
For some reason it always collapses.
“What can you do, then?”
“Hunting…!”
I’m amazing at hunting!
“My, my… You know how to hunt? As expected of a grooown-up.”
“Nooo…!”
“Just watch carefully and learn for now. A grooown-up needs to know how to start a fire too.”
“J-just stop…”
“Why? Aren’t you a grooown-up? Kid or grown-up—pick one.”
“Not ‘grooown-up’—grown-up…”
“Right. Let’s do the grooown-up thing. Grooown-up Miss Noah. Go gather some dry grass from around here. You can do that, since you’re a grooown-up, right?”
I didn’t even answer. I just stood up and left to collect grass. I deliberately made my footsteps loud.
Aileen, your teasing really went too far this time.
Stomp stomp—stomp stomp—
“Heinzel. You hear the news?”
“I heard…”
“Figured…”
Silence hung over the usually noisy adventurer’s guild.
“She’s gone.”
“Yeah…”
“Haa… Never even got a proper goodbye…”
“She never so much as glanced my way.”
“Think about your face, Heinzel. That mug plus a shaved head? Even a full-grown adult would start bawling at the sight of you.”
“Luci. You’re no prize yourself, are you? That eye of yours—did you trade it for booze or something? Keep it closed once in a while. Sometimes when I see it at night, even I flinch.”
“That bad, huh…? Heh… So that’s why.”
“…Maybe I should’ve grown my hair out a little. Dyed it too…”
Sighs from Luci, Heinzel, and the other rough-looking adventurers filled the guild.
Some had forced themselves to buy the girl’s luggage. Some had sold a top-quality horse for a pittance. Some kept seeing the image of the girl crying. And most of them simply couldn’t forget the girl who had been like the guild’s mascot.
“She was cute…”
Luci thought of his little sister, who had met with an “accident” long ago.
“Very. Reminded me of my late daughter.”
Heinzel, too, thought of the daughter he had lost to an “accident” years past.
“Every time I joked, ‘Hey, Heinzel. You hear that rumor?’ and she flinched—that was adorable.”
“Heh. True enough. Kept acting like it wasn’t her till the end, even though the whole world knew. Kahahaha!”
“How could anyone not know? Walking around with a greatsword that looked twice her size. Worryingly pure, that one.”
“Right. Pure, innocent, clueless about the world—but living harder than anyone… So, Luci. What are you going to do?”
“What’s there to think about?”
“Exactly? Kahahaha!”
Heinzel and Luci downed the last of their beer and grinned.
Then Hermila’s voice cut through their laughter.
“Both of you. You’ve confirmed what I told you earlier, correct?”
“Of course.”
“Though I’m a bit worried about how we’re supposed to go without being noticed.”
Heinzel answered; Luci muttered.
“I’m a little concerned because of Aileen… no, Lady Rubia the Priestess. For now… nothing’s happened, but.”
Hermila’s eyes turned toward wherever Noah might be.
“I still can’t figure out why such a precious priestess would run all the way out to a backwater like this. Almost like she ran away from home.”
Heinzel slung his halberd onto his back as he spoke.
“For a search for a runaway priestess, those bastards’ atmosphere was pretty murderous, though.”
Luci pulled his sword free from where it had been stuck in the floor.
“Indeed. Well then—before it gets any later, allow me to state it formally.”
Inside the guild, where imperial knights lay sprawled about, Hermila’s voice rang out clearly.
Assignees: Platinum-rank Heinzel and Platinum-rank Luci
Objective: Escort of Lady Rubia the Priestess and Miss Shin Noah
Condition: Remain undetected. Covert operation.
“So as long as we don’t kill any of those imperial knight lords, we can do whatever we want, right?”
Heinzel hauled a knocked-out knight up by the collar.
“No problem for me—but can you manage that, Heinzel?”
Luci took the knight from him and set the man back down on the floor.
“Well, a hand can always slip, can’t it? Kahaha!”
“True enough. The weather’s been damn hot lately.”
The two adventurers tossed out jokes that weren’t entirely jokes and left the guild with light steps.
In the silent guild hall, only Hermila’s sigh remained.