59 - a brief rest

The large bar was located just off the central square of the outer city on South Avenue.

The name of the establishment, with its green-painted sake cup sign, was Green Oak Grove Pavilion.

As the easy-to-understand name suggests, it is a popular eatery with prices that even adventurers of the Midori-kashi class can afford to visit.

It is late afternoon, and Thor has invited four customers to a table in a corner of the crowded restaurant.

"I'm sorry to take up so much of your time," he says.

No, I'm fine!　Right?"

"If you want to buy me a meal, I'm always up for it, old man."

You should have a little bit of fun with that. Oh, thanks a lot.

"Hello, Mr. Toll. Is Sora not here today?"

"Yeah, I had a prior engagement."

"Um, so what can I do for you today?

Sisang, her cheeks flushed, asks Thor in a slightly forward tone.

Hinck and Alethea looked at each other with a puzzled look on their faces at the leader's unusually high-spiritedness.

Beside them, Riccardo is ordering something from the waitress whom he has stopped.

The four young adventurers were as energetic as ever.

Their carefree expressions made Thor's cheeks relax a little.

The three of them, except for the red-haired boy, blinked, rolling their eyes, as if their laughter was unusual.

Thor, who had covered it up with a small nod, brought up the subject of today's business.

"Actually, I'm in a bit of a bind. I need some help."

To Sisang and the others who were still surprised, Thor summarized the current situation of the hunting ground.

At first they listened with interest, but as the story progressed, their expressions became more and more tense.

When they had grasped the general situation, they all exhaled loudly as if in unison.

"......This place is a lot tougher than I expected."

"Ugh, now I can picture Riccar and Hink arguing all the time."

"What?　Well, I guess I will."

"That's true. I'm sure that's what's going to happen.

At present, the four of them are finally able to hunt five goblin herds a day on a steady basis.

However, with the cost of lodging, daily meals, repairs to weapons and armor, and many other necessary expenses, they have very little money left over.

The only big improvement is that he no longer has to work a day job as a night guard on the outer wall, as he did before.

Thor continued to speak to the four gloomy faces as if to comfort them.

Wait, wait, wait, I'm just telling you what I've experienced, not that it's all true. It may be a bit complicated and it may be too early to make any definite statements.

"I see. But ......"

"Oh, and by the way, as far as I'm concerned, you guys are doing great. If you keep this up, you should be getting the right to challenge the kobolds in their caves soon. If you take the challenge there as carefully and unhurriedly as we did, I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Oh, old man, you know what I mean. You know you're safe with me.

"Well, I'm sure you can handle the vanguard here."

Hey, you should have put that in there. You're going to get a chill."

Sissan and Alethea smile again at their usual conversation.

When the mood had returned to normal, the boy who had united them opened his mouth.

"So, Thor, what is your problem?　There are so many things I can think of: ......"

"There was only one place where we could be of any help."

Thor nodded his head at the sharp point made by the archer boy.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you could help me out a bit with some magic stones."

Thor's proposal was to give up some of the magic stones that Sisan and his group had acquired.

In return, he would help them in their adventures.

It is strictly forbidden to sell the materials you have acquired privately without going through the Adventurers' Bureau.

The exception to this rule was the use of the materials for one's own use or the transfer of materials among adventurers.

However, the practice of buying and selling is still common among factions of adventurers, and it is difficult to control and almost completely neglected.

Yes, with pleasure. How much do you need?"

"Hey, wait a minute. Don't make up your mind so quickly, Sissan."

"Yes. We need to listen to everyone's opinions more carefully.

"Hey, old man, can I have some more meat?"

Unlike the leader, who made an immediate decision, the remaining three seemed calm.

Thor's cheeks relaxed again at this rather good combination.

Thor chose them as his business partners partly because of their tight-lippedness, of course, knowing the effects of and keeping quiet about it.

But more than that, it was also because he wanted to help these honest and promising boys and girls.

"In return, all I can offer in return is, well, a little advice and information, and maybe buy them a meal like this.

"I'm fine with that. I can sell a tenth-grade magic stone for ten coppers. If I eat a full meal here, I'll be gone in a few minutes.

"I think what Thor said is very good for us going forward. So I agree."

"If you can teach me some of those amazing healing magic tricks and stuff, too, I'd love to ....... Besides, if you're in trouble, I'd like to help you."

"Well, from what I've heard, we might run out of magic stones in the future. Can we afford to give them away?"　

Thor gives his thoughts in response to a plausible mutter from a boy with long hair.

"We'll probably be all right in that area. Once we get past the current hunting grounds, I hear that the next wilderness is full of subhumans. Then we'll be able to return the magic stone. If there's no time frame for that, then don't worry, I'll turn you down right away.

"If it's ......, that's fine with me."

When the four of us nodded to each other and had reached a consensus, the food arrived in a timely manner.

A platter of fried round potatoes was served with plenty of sliced garlic and melted butter.

A palm-sized, half-moon-shaped pie crust was filled with hot minced meat and fried onions.

The sausages are charred with red pepper and served in a clear broth made from the bones of a sharp-toothed beak.　

A cup of water with apple juice squeezed into it is also distributed to everyone.

Just as he is about to call out to them to eat, a voice suddenly rings out from behind Thor.

"What's that?　It's Alethea, isn't it?"

"Wow, that's really weird. What are you doing here?"

"What's with the food, food. What else are you gonna do?"

"No, you might be able to do it if you try hard enough. You know, in the bathroom or something."

Suddenly, three men spoke to me.

Two with red hair and one with black hair.

All of them were wearing F-rank blue-bordered adventurer tags.

Their conversation seemed to have been well received, and the men all burst into a vulgar laugh.

One of them notices Riccar, who turns his head away in disgust, and squints at him.

"Hey, long time no see, Rickal. You never show your face."

"We went to a lot of trouble to talk to you. What?　You're not going to do it?"

"......Um, I've told you before, I'm not interested in joining the senior members."

"Huh?　Are you kidding me?"

"Have you come to the end of your Hanko period now?　You want me to train you again, hey?"

"Oh, come on, don't struggle. Bring Alethea and show up next time. I'll give you a break."

The redhead started to say something unsettling, and the key defender of the party opened his mouth.

"I'm sorry, but Alethea and Riccar are both important members of our group. Will you please stop messing with them?

"Oh, who are you?　What's with the bugeye guy all of a sudden?"　

You've got to get your head out of the clouds. This is not the time to be cool.

"Enough, your food is getting cold!"

The three men who had been involved finally seemed to have noticed the presence of Thor, who turned around with a disgusted look on his face.

The red-rimmed adventurer's card on his chest causes them to flinch for a moment.

But then, perhaps unable to retract, they raised their voices in a forceful tone.

"Oh, what are you looking at?

"Hey, wait, stop!　This guy is an old mud fisherman."

"...... Really. ...... Oh shit. I heard he beat up Mr. Raszel in a one-sided fight.

"...... the other day during the monster fiasco, he said he killed a hundred hobgoblins all by himself..."

A dark-haired man glares at Riccar, his face turning blue in a flash.

"You're getting all hot and bothered all of a sudden, is that what you're saying?

"Are these guys mud-fishing nakamas? ......"

"Oh, really?　I'm your girlfriend?　Seriously?"

"Is that so?　Mr. Toll."

While Thor hesitated over how to respond, others around him proceeded to talk on their own.

"d*mn, this is a tough one to deal with. What should we do?"

"Hey, hey, hey?"

"What's the matter with you?　Your face is turning a bad color."

"No, I saw the old man's face and suddenly I felt nauseous. ......

"Hey, hey, don't make me clean up your puke again. d*mn it, remember that!"

"No, it's not good to be remembered. Forget it!"

The men left as quickly as they had appeared, leaving behind a haphazard discard.

The four remaining young people do not pay attention to this and start talking excitedly.

"Oh, so we're finally going to join Habatu, huh?

"Yeah, I think I'll feel safe at Thor's place, too."

"Yes, I guess so. Hey, Sisan, are you crying?

"Ugh, I'm a little touched. I'm sorry, Thor.

With tears in the corners of his eyes, Thor is unable to say a word of denial, and instead responds in a safe manner.

Look, it's getting cold. Eat it quickly.

"Yes, thank you."

"But first, let's have a toast, old man."

Well, it's great to have you as a new friend!

"Cheers!"

Somehow, that's what happened.