CH 8

08 - The Meet

I woke up with the sun.

I think I was done with the requests around the evening yesterday.

After Riff said ’There’s no way Cuena can close up this gap anymore’ I found an inn and slept.

It was the most I could go without any sleep.

The birds started chirping as I was washing my face.

It was beautiful.

I had a refreshing sleep for once.

It felt as if — I had done something wrong somehow though.

’Do I really deserve this?’ I thought as I headed out.

Then, following the direction Riff gave me, I got to Cuena’s house.

It wasn’t far form the Guild. A fancy house in the center of the Capital.

I rang the bell.

“……. What’s wrong with you, waking people at this hour?”

Cuena said rubbing her half-open eyes still in her nightgown.

“What are you talking about? It’s morning. It’s common sense you wake up in the morning even if you haven’t winked a sleep the whole night.”

“For what kind of slave? Plus, it’s not weird for us, Adventurers, to wake up even at noon. Common sense or not.”

Cuena couldn’t be more shocked.

So, even this behavior is tolerated because it’s the Knight Order…… Unbelievable!

“Wait, what are you here for?”

“I was going to ask you to show me around.”

“…… At this hour?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t remember agreeing to be a slave though….”

“I’d like to thank you for your cooperation again.”

I don’t think she’s whining because she still wants to go back to sleep.

It’s just that there are still too few people on streets. All the time I was standing here, I only saw one or two people passing by.

“So, everything is fine with this guiding? Even if we just go around the Capital?”

“Yes! And I also want to know about the ”request rolling” you mentioned before.”

“*Sigh* Guiding you around the capital is an easy task. As for the request rolling, you already know that.”

“I do?”

“Yes. I heard from Riff that you ”finished requests in one area at once”. And that you even picked up medicinal herbs.”

“Ah~, I see!”

I saw the other requests but since medicinal herbs can be stored, I thought it couldn’t hurt.

But I was told “Only Adventurers up to D rank pick up medicinal herbs. You’ll never see Adventurers of C rank or higher do something like that.”.

“Alright! Come back at noon.”

“Why?”

“If you want to go sightseeing, it’s best to do it when there’s people. It’d be a waste otherwise.

Plus, I’m still sleepy….. *yawn*”

Her thin nightgown wonderfully sticks to her body line as she stretches and yawns.

“Then, I’ll be relying on you this noon.”

“Su~re! ‘Night!”

Saying that, Cuena went back to her house.

I envy how she can still go back to sleep.

I guess I can’t because of years of habits.

I’d probably won’t get any sleep even if I were wrapped in a warm blanket on a soft bed. Under a quiet gloomy sky.

I’d be scared to close my eyes.

’…Huh? Why don’t I do some more works until noon?’

“………You’re kidding, right?”

Cuena looked at me with reproachful eyes.

“I’m sorry!”

“Wait…. Why are you doing requests until dusk? And did I have to go and look for you in this forest?”

Cuena’s voice echoed throughout the forest.

The birds nearby all fled in panic.

“What do you even know….. Why are you here so late? You should’ve realized how late it is, right?”

“I thought I’d take care of all the leftover works.”

“It’s request, not work. Re-quest. It’s up to you to do it or not.”

Cuena stressed with her index finger up.

“Don’t say that. If I don’t do it, the contract money Riff gave me wouldn’t mean anything.”

“…Do you even know what that is? It’s just money given to you when you’re newly hired.”

“Actually, they said ’Do your best’ when I received my S rank card.”

“Uh!? Everyone says that but you don’t have to take to the letter.”

Cuena said while holding her head.

Then thought ’I’m not even a staff member. So why am I bothering with this?’.

“Listen! Because you did most of the A to C rank requests, almost all Adventurers had to move out of the Capital. If the mighty S rank keeps this up, us of lower ranks won’t have works anymore.

Please, think of the consequences.

Oh! She must have a different view in this. Not as a Guild staff but an Adventurer.

If I keep this pace, I’ll end up finishing all the requests. And, as an Adventurer, she’ll have to move somewhere else.

But since she already has a house in the Capital, it’ll be hard for her. That’s even more reason for her to want me to restrain myself.

“I’m sorry for my inconsideration!”

“Huh?…… That’s it?”

Cuena said with a disappointed face.

“Well, as promised, I’ll now guide you around the Capital.”

“Are you sure? It’s pretty late already.”

“Of course! Noon isn’t the only time the Capital is fun.”

Cuena said quite enthusiastically.

Is this….. like some kind of a reception?

“I see! But let’s meet the client and report to the Guild first.”

“…………….. Alright!”

I dragged the pile of tied up Goblin corpses and followed Cuena.

I gave a wry smile because my initial plan changed a little bit but it’s not that important anyway.