Never Done It... You Say?
Following Sera into the Silver Moon Guild's 3rd Workshop, we were greeted by a girl with soft platinum blonde hair standing behind the counter.
There were no other customers in sight.
The girl stood just under 160cm tall. She exchanged a brief conversation with Sera in front of the counter.
She's a pretty kid. That was my impression.
Setting that thought aside, I looked around the workshop. A large silver full-moon emblem was carved into the high ceiling, from which a gentle bluish-white light descended softly. It was quite impressive. The air was filled with a mix of various herbs, ether, and subtle fragrance scents.
On one side were countless glass flasks and what looked like... a distiller? Other alchemy tools I didn't recognize were neatly organized. Behind the girl's reception desk sat a large circular experiment table.
The moment the girl spotted me following right behind Sera, her eyes widened slightly before narrowing at Sera.
"Hmm~? Sera, today you're... with a man? That's an unusual combination."
Her voice was calm yet brimming with curiosity.
"Hmph, it was a coincidence. This kid took a request with me today. I just brought him along to sell some materials."
"Ah, yes! That's right. My name's Rowen. Nice to meet you."
The girl's light blue-gray eyes sparkled as they turned toward me. She leaned slightly over the counter and looked at me.
"Nice to meet you, Rowen. I'm Roanne. I look forward to working with you! If Sera brought you herself, you must have some pretty good materials. Shall I take a look?"
"It's not that impressive..."
Being praised so highly made me feel oddly pressured. I placed the wolf materials I'd hunted earlier, the magic stones, and the remaining red mushrooms on the counter.
Roanne nodded lightly and picked up the materials, examining them with her hands.
"They're low-grade monsters, but some fairly strong specimens were mixed in. The materials are good. The magic stones... the ether concentration isn't bad either. No damage to the hides... and the red mushrooms go without saying. I'll buy the lot for 10 gems. For a novice practitioner, you did quite well."
"Ah, thank you. It's all thanks to Sera's help."
"...Who helped who? We just each did our own part."
Roanne glanced between us, the corners of her eyes curving upward.
"But seeing Sera walking around with someone like this... Rowen must be quite to her liking?"
"What!? Tsk, it's not like that! I just thought his strength was decent enough to tag along. You idiot..."
"Oh? His strength is... decent...?"
Roanne pulled back slightly, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.
"...Hey!"
"Ah. Sorry. I was just happy, that's all..."
While the two chatted, I lightly touched my cheek. "His strength is decent"... that probably meant something else, right?
Contrary to appearances, Roanne seemed to have quite a playful personality. During our short conversation, I learned she was a year younger than us. When Roanne suggested we speak casually, I agreed.
We decided to split the material payment evenly—5 gems each. I waved my hands saying it wasn't necessary, but Sera replied in her usual indifferent tone that she had no hobby of stealing pocket money from kids. Well, this much from Sera was...
"Then I'll be waiting for your next visit. You too, Rowen."
"Ah, yeah, Roanne. I'll come back if I get more materials worth selling."
"Okay."
Roanne bowed her head gently as she saw us off.
Once outside, Sera immediately started grumbling.
"This is a place I come to often. You won't get ripped off here just because you don't know the market rates. She can be annoying sometimes, as you saw, but..."
"Still, I think it'll be fine. She doesn't seem like a bad kid. But... hey, Sera."
"Hm?"
When I carefully called her name, Sera turned around while walking.
Since Sera hadn't brought it up yet, this was the moment I needed to properly ask.
"Honestly, since I started this mercenary life, you're the only person I can rely on, Sera. So... I want to keep working with you and learn as we go. I'll work hard and definitely repay this debt. Okay?"
It wasn't a lie. Even with Priestess Isabel around, I couldn't depend on her forever. It felt like I'd finally found a trustworthy companion.
My heart pounded anxiously, worried she might refuse.
"Someone to rely on... Hmm..."
Sera muttered softly, then brushed her nose once and averted her gaze slightly.
"...Can't be helped. But like I said earlier, if you hold me back, be prepared."
"Yeah! I won't hold you back. I won't disappoint you."
"...You really like that idea, huh. Well, fine. I'll specially take you along with me for a while!"
Sera looked strangely embarrassed. Maybe she was surprisingly soft-hearted after all. At least, among all the expressions I'd seen from her today, this one felt the most natural.
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After that, I became Sera's official party member and began working with her. As we completed various requests together, I gradually earned her trust. In the process, I learned a lot about monster characteristics, how to handle them, and various other tips.
We were still only taking same-day requests, but as we gradually increased the difficulty, the amount of ether gems we earned per request also grew. With that, I bought my first cultivation elixir and drank it, feeling the energy in my ether core slowly increase.
So this is what it feels like. I wondered how many elixirs I'd need to consume to reach 1st Realm Middle Stage. Of course, seeing the difference between Kant and Sera, I realized realms weren't everything.
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[16 days before the incident]
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"So you should've just taken those 100 gems from that Alex guy back then."
"I told you, Sera. I just... haa. I couldn't take it."
"Tsk. If you'd taken it, you could've bought one while my artifact was being repaired."
"...I guess my pride wouldn't allow it."
"Hmm— surprising. When you were begging me in front of everyone at first, I thought, 'What kind of guy is this?'"
Right now, Sera and I were on a rather upscale street in the city. While her buckler was being repaired, we'd stepped outside the shop to get some air. Sera said this was an artifact shop she frequented—sometimes for purchases, often for repairs. It was in a fancy area, but she claimed their skill was reliable.
The atmosphere definitely felt like... if you went in a little deeper, a pleasure district might appear. As if to dispel my suspicions, a woman happened to enter the small alley where we stood.
She wore a strong perfume and a red dress. Her outfit was cut so low her chest was almost fully exposed, and her skirt was short enough to show her thighs completely.
"Oh my, it's been a while since I've seen such a handsome young man in a place like this. Got some time? I'll give you special service...?"
The woman whispered while lightly clinging to my arm.
'The perfume smell...'
Instantly, Sera's expression turned ice-cold. Her golden eyes narrowed sharply as she glared at the woman.
"Hey, take your hand off—"
"Ah, no thank you. Such indecent acts are—"
Before Sera could finish, I panicked and immediately pushed the woman away. Then I pointed a finger at her and scolded.
"Listen. You shouldn't casually engage in such... lewd things. Probably... And Lady Asteria is always watching over us! It's blasphemous...!"
Was my reaction amusing? The woman's somewhat dead eyes suddenly sparkled brightly as she tried to say something. Then she glanced at my side, flinched as if confirming something, and walked away as if fleeing.
With a "Tch..." of displeasure, the woman disappeared.
Whew, that startled me. That woman was clearly a bit higher realm than me. Do practitioners really do that kind of thing...?
Letting out a small sigh to calm myself, I felt Sera staring at me from the side. What could I call that expression... slightly dumbfounded?
"This guy is surprisingly fascinating..."
"What's wrong, Sera?"
"No, um... Are you, like, an official member of the Asteros Order or something?"
"I'm not. Why do you ask?"
At my answer, Sera pressed her lips together several times with a strange expression before speaking in an oddly calm voice.
"No, well, yeah. It's just... from your reaction, I wondered if you had zero interest in that kind of stuff."
"...I know about that stuff theoretically. Are you treating me like an idiot?"
"What do you even mean by 'theoretically'...?"
Sera made an even stranger face and her tone grew increasingly sulky.
"Then... you know, doing it alone or whatever, you at least know that much, right...?"
"I'm not an idiot. You're talking about... self-comfort, right? I know. ...I've just never done it."
"Never done it... you say?"
"Yeah, why? Is there a problem?"
Rarely, Sera blinked several times, then lowered her head at a peculiar angle with a faint blush on her cheeks. She asked back.
"No, I'm just saying in case you don't know, but... you know, with your thing... hand, ngh. Rub, rubbing it... Ah, seriously! W-we are talking about the same thing, right?"
"I know. I said I know. That's why I've never done it. How many times are you going to ask?"
Was it okay to talk about this so casually between a man and a woman? It felt strangely ticklish even to me...
"Haa, let's stop. ...I do have a sense of shame, you know."
"...!! Who decided on their own to treat me like some dirty old man! In the first place, I...! ...Forget it, you idiot! That's enough!"
And so we waited for the artifact repair in an awkward atmosphere. On the way back, Sera kept glancing at me strangely, but in the end, she said nothing.
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"...That's what we talked about. Priestess Isabel... what do you think?"
"Yes...?"
The moment I brought it up, the priestess sitting across from me widened her eyes and looked at me.