When
the archive room is closed, Shinji and his friends stop their research. There
is no way that they can find useful information in just an hour, so they put
the books back on the shelf, intending to look into it again tomorrow.
This
is because the information is a bundle of adventure reports of earlier
generations, and not all of them are about the <Breath Plant>. Although
it takes time to extract necessary information, it is too much of a waste to
skip the reports of adventurers who actually climbed <Hateyama>. And
although everything in the book is not necessarily true, they are worth reading
carefully because some of them may be useful.
As
Shinji has determined to drag Alvin and Milis to the archive room tomorrow, he
borrows a book that can be checked out in return for the important information,
and after thanking Iren, Shinji and his friends return to Shinji's room.
After
arrived, Shinji and Renka sit down on the bed, shoulder to shoulder, and start
reading quietly, while Freri lies face down behind them. As they begin to read
in comfortable silence, Freri buries her face in her pillow and uses magic.
Before
come to the room, when Freri put the book back on the bookshelf, she hid some
plant seeds to eavesdrop. The small magical response of listening to sound is
lost in the anti-theft spell.
Unaware
that Freri is listening in, Iren goes about her business of closing the room.
↓ Continue to Read ↓
↓ Continue to Read ↓
◇ ◇ ◇
As
usual, Iren does not think that she is being tapped, and after a simple
cleaning of the archive room, she takes her seat and reads a book. As she
waited for a while, Meiser came to the arhive room. It has become a routine for
the two of them to meet in the archive room after work, and today is no
different as he takes a seat in front of Iren.
「Good
work, Iren」
「Good
work too, Mizer-san. I'll make you a drink」
「Oh,
thank you」
In a
room scented with tea, the main topic of conversation is the events of the day.
The topic of today's conversation naturally turned to the <Running
Wolves>. Iren learns by chance that Shinji and the others are searching for
the <Breath Plant>, and tells Mizer that she would like to help them,
depending on the reason.
Mizer
knows about Iren's past and how she became an employee of the Adventurer's
Guild. Because of this, he understands her strong feelings. That's why Mizer,
who had heard from Gildeo why the <Running Wolves> wanted the <Breath
Plant>, said in a gentle voice.
「It's
not that they're looking for <Breath Plant> to cure someone」
「Is
that so...? That's good, but...」
「Yes.
But you might want to help them with other reason」
「...?
What do you mean by that?」
Iren's
relief is short-lived, and she makes a strange sound at Mizer's words. The tone
of voice in which she speaks with Mizer is full of emotion and is comparable to
that of a normal girl. Her facial expression does not change much, but that is
also an after-effect of her illness, and her mouth is slightly changed.
「Alvin,
the leader of the group... his parents went to get the <Breath Plant> and
died leaving him with the herb. As for that reason, he has set himself the goal
of becoming a better adventurer than his parents. That's why he's taking on
Hateyama」
「...That...is...」
After
Iren became a guild employee and came to the Hateyama branch, she found out
that there was only one couple of adventurers who had died in response to a
request from the <Breath Plant>, the couple who saved Iren's life. A
voice that sounded as if it was being squeezed out of her mouth, which was half
open as if she was stunned by surprise, leaked out.
「He's
the son of my benefactor's...?」
「That's
right. I wasn't sure if I should tell you, but I thought I should」
「...Thank
you very much ...But he's really great. I failed to become a strong
adventurer...」
「Iren,
you can't use magic anymore. And that's because of your illness. ....Even so,
you're still trying to help adventurers as a staff member. Fighting is not
everything, you know」
Compared
to his own failed attempt to become an adventurer, the son of a benefactor (Alvin)
has become an adventurer who can challenge Hateyama, at the same high rank as
his parents. The situation in which her dream hasn't come true is depressing,
and Mizer can only comfort her. Iren, who is being comforted by him, clutched
at Mizer's chest and looked down.
「...If
they hadn't randomly encountered a "Dragon" that only lives in the
<Upper Layer>, they would have been able to come back...」
The
benefactor couple also said, "We have children too and we know how you
feel about your child". They were really trustworthy adventurers with a
good track record. But fate was cruel, and Alvin's parents had an encounter
with a "Dragon" and never returned.
「They
were unlucky.... So don't tell <Running Wolves> about this. Alvin, he's
got a straightforward temperament. If he finds out his parents were killed by a
dragon, he might say he's going to challenge the dragon」
Iren looked
up involuntarily at these words. Then she stepped back from her clinging
position and looked at Mizer with a serious gaze.
↓ Continue to Read ↓
↓ Continue to Read ↓
「That
would mislead him. He's not the kind of people who would die in the <Middle
Layer> but I think we should tell him about his parents' background」
「The
Upper Layer is too dangerous. Moreover, it's too dangerous to go out looking
for a dragon. So, I think they should stay out of the <Upper Layer>
unless they really need to because that's what the kingdom says」
「I understand
the logic, but...」
Losing
the <Running Wolves>, an excellent party of adventurers, and Alvin, an
honorary knight, would be a great loss, Mizer thinks. Even Iren can't help but
agree when she hears the reason. Still, her emotions are not fully convinced.
But Mizer pats her lightly on the head.
「I'm
sorry, but please keep this to yourself」
「...Yes.
I understand. Branch Leader Mizer」
She
replies, but Mizer smiles at Iren's frustrated mouth.
「Well,
we'd better get out of here. If we don't go get some dinner, we'll have to skip
dinner」
「R-Right.
Let's have dinner」
With
that said, Mizer leaves his seat, followed by Iren. When walking, the distance
between them is like that between a branch leader and his staff. However,
before leaving the room, Mizer turns around and puts his face close to Iren's
ear.
「See
you later. I'll be waiting for you in my room」
「...Yes
♡」
Freri's
eavesdropping ended when Iren's voice sounded happy. Of course, the
conversation is shared with Shinji.
「...Coincidences
are scary...」
「?
What? Did someone say something to you?」
Renka
reacts to Shinji's muttered words at the unexpected connection between Alvin
and Iren. Shinji ponders for a few moments whether or not to tell Renka what he
has found out.
「Freri's
been gathering information and she's come across a great coincidence. It's
about Alvin's parents...」
Shinji
decided to talk to Renka. He wanted Renka to be a stopper in case Alvin found
out about the connection between his parents' death and the dragon. And when
Renka heard what he said...
「Ehh!?」
A
surprised voice echoed in Shinji's room.
- Sometimes people just happen to be related!
- There was a bit about Alvin's parents. They seem to have been good and clever adventurers. Random encounters are scary.
