Three days have passed since Rin and I left the village of Nihori by carriage. We will arrive at the royal capital soon.

On the way back, as on the way there, I was returning while applying physical strengthening magic to the horse, and I felt that my magic power seemed to have increased.

With that in mind, I check my own status with the “Appraisal Eye”.

[Name] Lark Voltoris

[Age] 12

[Race] Human

[Gender] Male

[Status] Impatience

[Level] 56 (+15)

[SP] 550

[Strength] 5507 (+1200)

[Mana] 6345 (+1440)

[Agility] 5901 (+1320)

[Dexterity] 4188 (+1080)

[Luck] 51

[Skills] Cooking: 4, Useful Box: 3, Daily Life Magic: 1, Appraising Eye: 3, Short Sword Technique: 3, Mana Control: 3, Sewing: 2, Concentration: 5, Faith: 5, Wordless Incantation: 3, Synthesis Magic: 4, Presence Detection: 3, Martial Arts: 3, Swordsmanship: 2, Physical Ability Enhancement: 3, Poison Resistance: 1, Mental Resistance: 3, Hunger Resistance: 1, Fire Magic: 4, Wind Magic: 4, Water Magic: 3, Earth Magic: 2, Light Magic: 1 , Dark Magic: 1, Thunder Magic: 1, Ice Magic: 2, Holy Magic: 1 , Null Magic: 2

[Special Abilities] Enhanced Memory Capacity, World Language, EXP Amplification: 10x, God’s Veil,

[Divine Technique] Miraculous Sacred Light, God Summoning Magic

[Blessings] Samadyla’s Protection, Magilt’s Protection, Goldra’s Protection

[Title] The Reincarnated, The God’s Host, The Blessed, Individual who has Reached the Limit, Believer, Divine One

Thanks to the battle with the ogre, my level had risen by a whopping 15. Along with that, my ability scores had correspondingly increased.

Additionally, my “Concentration” skill level had reached its limit. This was likely due to the unprecedented level of concentration I achieved during the battle with the ogre. The skill levels of the attribute magic I used in the battle had also risen here and there.

While I was reflecting on this, we arrived at the royal capital. It was still before noon.

After delivering the goods to the Dursley Trading Company, I thanked Mr. Boras, who had been our coachman, and parted ways. I then set off walking with Rin.

“Hey, Lark-kun. Where are we headed now? The Adventurer’s Guild?” Rin asked as we were walking.

“No, before we go to the Guild, I thought we’d stop by my house. The village chief, Kent-san, asked me to take care of you, Rin. For the time being, I’d like you to live with me. Paying for lodging at first might be tough.”

“Eh? Live together at your house, Lark-kun?”

“You don’t want to, right? You’re a girl, after all. If so, I can find you an acquaintance’s inn—”

“No, not at all! I’m perfectly fine with it, thank you. I’m just a little surprised, that’s all,” Rin said, her face blushing slightly.

Upon arriving at the house, I pressed the doorbell and waited. After a few dozen seconds, Father peeked out from the front door. Seeing me, his face relaxed into a relieved expression.

“Lark, you’re early. Welcome back.”

“I’m back, Father. There’s someone I’d like to introduce… Rin, come over here,” I called Rin, who had been waiting slightly behind me.

When Rin stood next to me, Father gave us a puzzled look. “Lark, who is this girl?”

“H-hello! I’m Rin Toza.”

“Ah, right. I’m Guldo Voltoris.”

The two awkwardly introduced themselves.

Father approached us, his polite smile fixed on his face, and leaned in to whisper to me, “What’s going on?”

“Um, it’s a bit of a long story. Can I explain inside?”

As Father nodded, we entered the house. Then, in the living room, I explained what had happened in the village.

“…You defeated an ogre all by yourself!?” Father exclaimed in surprise after hearing the story.

“Not by myself. I defeated it with Shafal… Well, I only played a role in holding it off. In reality, the evolved Shafal dealt the finishing blow.”

Shafal, the real hero of the ogre fight, had returned to my body after defeating the ogre and declared, “I’m tired, so I’m going to sleep for a while.” He hadn’t woken up since. No matter how much I call him, he doesn’t respond. He must be fast asleep.

Father said, “I see…” and stared into my eyes. “…So, you want to take care of that girl at our house?”

“Yes.”

When I nodded, Father hummed, “Hmm,” and furrowed his brow in thought. After a while, he turned his gaze to Rin. “Erm, Rin-chan, are you okay with living at our place? As you can see, it’s just me and Lark here, a household of men.”

To Father’s question, Rin answered “Yes” with a straightforward look.

“Well, I see no reason to refuse, and if she doesn’t mind, then I suppose it’s okay…”

“Thank you, Father!”

“Thank you!”

When Rin and I both thanked him at the same time, he relaxed his cheek slightly, but then immediately tightened his expression.

“But remember, it’s not okay to stay cooped up in the house all the time. You’ll need to become self-reliant.”

“Yes! We’re planning to go to the guild with Lark and register as adventurers. I don’t know if we’ll pass, but…”

“So, you’re becoming adventurers… It’s a tough job, indeed. Do your best.” Father said this with a gentle expression.

As the afternoon arrived, Rin and I left home and headed towards the adventurer’s guild. Upon arriving at the guild, I handed over to the receptionist the request form I had received from Mr. Kent, the achievement report, and the horn of the ogre; our target.

The person in charge at the reception desk quickly checked the documents and hurriedly retreated into the back of the counter. Just when I thought she had gone to get the reward, she came back with Lala, the guild’s vice-master.

“Lark, let’s move to another room, it might cause a commotion here.”

Before we could even reply, we were led to another room. After closing the door, Lala turned towards us, “So, Lark, what happened over there?”

I gave her the same explanation that I had given to Father.

“I see… Lark, you’re still a newbie as an adventurer, so please don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Yes, I’ll be careful…”

“Promise me… By the way, is the girl next to you the one you saved in Nihori?”

“Yes.”

As I nodded, Rin stepped forward and introduced herself to Lala.

“Rin will be staying at my place for a while.”

When I reported this, Lala looked a bit surprised before showing a mischievous smile. “Oh… Lia-chan, you’ve got more competition now…”

“Huh? Did you say something?”

“No, nothing. More importantly, is she going to take the adventurer registration exam soon? In that case, I’ll be the examiner,” Lala said this and took a registration form from a shelf. She then handed the form and a pen to Rin and instructed her to fill in the required fields. It reminded me of my first day in this different world.

Rin took the form and filled it out as instructed.

Once everything was filled out, Lala said we would move to the basement. I decided to go along. The test was the same as when I took it, hitting a measuring dummy and scoring the passing grade.

Rin picked up a bow, her preferred weapon, from the ones prepared in the basement, and released a powerful shot. The arrow hit the dummy’s forehead, and the transparent part of its body displayed “458”. The pass mark was over 300, so she clearly passed.

Lala opened her mouth in surprise, “……You’re amazing, Rin-chan. I’ve never seen someone your age handle a bow so well.”

“Thank you. I owe it all to the various teachings of my parents,” Rin replied with a broad smile.

After the test, Lala left the room for some paperwork. While waiting, I asked Rin how many levels of bow skill she had. She told me, “Well, I just recently reached level 4.”

The upper limit of skill level in this world is 5, so 4 is quite high… It seems Rin had undergone quite some training.

Later, I brought Rin, who had received her adventurer’s certificate, home and reported to Father that Rin had safely become an adventurer. He smiled kindly and encouraged Rin, saying, “Keep up the good work.”

In the evening, while I was working in the kitchen to prepare dinner, Rin, who had been unpacking in her room, came over.

“Lark-kun, I’ll help you~”

“Thank you, Rin.”

Rin and I started preparing dinner together. Ever since I was treated to a meal at Rin’s house previously, I’ve thought that Rin is a good cook. She understood quickly with simple instructions, which made the work easier.

Once dinner was ready, we carried it to the living room and ate together.

“Wow… this soup is really delicious.” Father tasted the miso soup Rin had made and expressed his surprise.

“I’m glad it suits your taste,” Rin said, looking very pleased, then broke into a smile.

This communal living seems to be going well.

◇

The next day, leaving Rin to Father, I went back to school after a long time. As I entered the classroom, my friend Roeck, who had arrived at school before me, started a conversation.

“Lark-kun, long time no see. How was the village you said you were going to visit during the break?”

“It was worth skipping school to go. I got to see the faces of the people who make rice.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“And, actually, aside from the portion for the store, I got some rice from Kent-san. I used it to make a test dish last night. Would you like to try it?”

Saying that, I took out the test dish from my “Useful Box”. It’s a rice dish made by heating rice under pressure and then depressurizing it all at once — yes, popcorn. Making it was a lot of work, but I managed to succeed using “Synthetic magic”.

Roeck opened the bag and scrutinized the popcorn inside, “Wow, it’s like the small white grains of rice have become a bit bigger.”

“That’s how it looks. But the taste and texture are quite different.”

Roeck took a few grains of popcorn from the bag and put them in his mouth — and shouted in surprise, “Delicious!”

“Does the texture or anything like that feel strange?”

“Not at all! It’s easy to eat and I can’t stop at just one bite!”

Good, good, looks like it went well. I should bring some to Luck-san after school before serving it at our shop.

I saved half for Mr. Luck and moved the other half to a small dish. We ate and enjoyed it before everyone else arrived.

In the afternoon, I immediately went to Dursley Trading Company and introduced the popcorn to Mr. Luck. The response was great, and we decided to try selling it as a new product in my shop. That being said, making popcorn is terribly complicated compared to explaining it in words, so figuring out how to mass-produce it will be a challenge for the future.

After discussing with Mr. Luck for a while, I left the trading company.

…Oh, I should stop by the shop I run before I go home. I haven’t shown my face there in a few days.

Thinking this, I head to the store, where my party member Leticia is working as a saleswoman.

Thinking it a good opportunity, I approach her and greet her.

“Hello, Leticia-san. How’s the store doing?”

“Oh, Lark-kun! The store is doing as well as always. It’s definitely calmed down compared to when we first opened, but now we have regular customers who buy a lot from us.”

“I’m glad to hear that… By the way, Leticia-san, tomorrow is a holiday, would you like to do some adventuring for a change? That is, if you can leave the store unattended.”

“Huh? …Wait a moment.” Leticia retreated to the back kitchen. It seemed she was checking with the cook, Naraba, if it was okay for her to leave the store.

After a short while, Leticia returned and said, “Looks like it will be fine. But why all of a sudden?”

Her questioning was natural, so I explained about Rin. We’re planning on accepting a simple request with Rin added to the party tomorrow, and I wanted to invite Leticia as well.

“What, Lark-kun, you’re living with a girl!?”

When I finished telling her, that’s the part she was surprised about first.

“Well, there’s also my father…”

“Well, there is that… Hmm.” Leticia made a slightly uncertain face.

Later, after Leticia agreed to join us, I thanked her and left the store.

After returning home, I told Rin about tomorrow.

“Thank you for doing all this for me.”

“No problem. While I was asked by Kent, more than that, I want to be there for you, Rin.”

Saying this, Rin gave a happy smile.

◇

The next day, I woke up early and was making lunch boxes for breakfast and lunch when a sleepy-looking Rin came into the kitchen.

“Lark, you’re always up early~”

“I’m just an early riser. More importantly Rin, if you’re that sleepy, it’s dangerous. Go wash your face in the bathroom and wake up.”

“Oka~y”

Saying this to Rin in an oddly mother-like tone, she replied leisurely and unsteadily walked towards the bathroom.

Rin returned from washing her face at the same time Father came to the living room. Everyone gathered, so we sat down and began eating breakfast.

“Well then, Father. We’ll be heading to the guild first.”

“Alright, I’ll be heading out a little later too, see you there.”

After breakfast, we prepared ourselves and left the house with Rin.

When we arrived at the guild, Leticia was not there yet. Perhaps we came a bit too early. While sitting at a dining table and talking with Rin as we waited for Leticia, a voice called out from behind.

“Oh, Lark. It’s been a while.”

Turning around, it was Doldos, an A-rank adventurer. The members of his party, “Bear’s Family”, were also there.

“Doldos-san, everyone, long time no see. Are you about to take a request?”

“No, we just got back. We had gone a bit far off. Speaking of which, I hadn’t seen you around for a few days, Lark… Were you out somewhere?”

“Yes, I had to visit the place where the ingredients I use at my store are produced.”

“Huh, the place where that rice is grown, huh? Is it near here? …Wait a second, Lark, who’s this girl?” Doldos finally noticed Rin and made a puzzled face.

“Ah, this is Rin. I’m about to take on a request with her and Leticia-san.”

“You’re bringing along another girl, not just Leticia… Man, what a luxurious life you lead. Me, I’m stuck surrounded by these gruff guys…”

Mr. Doldos grumbled, prompting the party members behind him to jeer, saying things like, “Wow, he sure is talking big,” “Impressive you can say that, given your own circumstances, Doldos,” and “What’s the most gruff guy here even talking about?”

“Shut up! I wanted to form a party with a girl too…”

“Ahaha… uh, I’m sure you’ll have a great encounter someday.” Not sure how else to respond, I decided to say that.

Mr. Doldos shouted, “Damn it, I’m jealous of Lark!” and ran off towards the counter.

After the members of “Bear’s Family” had chased after Mr. Doldos and disappeared, Rin asked a question, “Are those people adventurers who are acquainted with you, Lark?”

“Yes, they’re an especially famous adventurer party in this royal capital. They’re all kind people, so I think you’ll get along with them quickly.”

A few minutes later, Leticia arrived at the cafeteria.

“Good morning, Lark-san.”

“Good morning, Leticia-san.”

Returning her greeting, Leticia stared intently at Rin. “You’re the girl that Lark brought along?”

“Y-Yes! I’m Rin.”

“Rin, huh. I’m Leticia, nice to meet you!”

Leticia greeted Rin with a warm smile and a handshake. It looked like they would become close quickly.

After a brief discussion, we decided to start with a standing request for herb gathering. Even for Rin, who was a new adventurer, this should be manageable.

We quickly left the royal capital and headed for a place known for its herb growth. On the way, we spotted several goblins.

“Oh wow, I haven’t seen goblins in a long time…” Leticia muttered to herself.

It had been a while since we had gone adventuring together…

“I’ve been keeping you busy helping out at the shop, haven’t I, Leticia-san? I’m sorry.” Feeling guilty, I apologized, but Leticia shook her head, “No, not at all! I enjoy helping out at the shop. Plus, I’ve been learning how to cook from Naraba-san lately, so it’s been a lot of fun.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Then, Rin, who had been listening to our conversation, spoke up, “By the way, Lark, you said you own a shop, right? What kind of shop is it?”

“Well… it’s a shop where I sell a dish called ‘grilled rice ball.’ It’s quite popular, and Leticia-san also helps me out.”

When I answered, Rin’s eyes widened. “Grilled rice balls are popular in the royal capital?”

Ah, she knows about grilled rice balls. Well, it makes sense considering she lived in a village that grew rice. She’s bound to be familiar with rice dishes.

“Yeah, rice isn’t a common ingredient here, so its novelty brings in a lot of customers.”

“Huh, something I’ve always eaten being a popular product in the royal capital… It feels strange…”

As we were having a leisurely conversation, a goblin spotted us and charged. From my perspective, having defeated an ogre, this was no big deal, so I knocked it away with magic in an instant.

After collecting the goblin’s materials with the “Useful Box”, we arrived at the herb growth area.

Once we had gathered the intended amount of herbs, we moved to the forest. I planned to teach Rin how to navigate in the forest. However, due to Rin’s past experiences hunting in the forest, there was nothing for us to teach. In fact, Rin ended up teaching us how to spot prey.

After a good amount of training, we started talking about heading back home.

“Phew~ I’m tired from going out for the first time in a long while~”

“It’s been a long time for me too, walking this much in the forest.”

When Leticia and Rin said that, adorable sounds of ‘grrr~’ came from their stomachs. They quickly covered their bellies, and simultaneously looked at me as if to ask, “Did you hear that?”

“Hahaha… it’s about time for lunch. How about we leave the forest and have a picnic in the meadow?” With a wry smile, I proposed this, and both of them brightened up at once.

We left the forest and moved to the meadow. After checking the surroundings for safety, I took out the lunch I had put in the “Useful Box”. Inside the lunchbox was a meat sandwich with meat and vegetables in between the bread.

“It’s delicious~”

“There’s more, so eat as much as you want.”

While watching their delighted faces, I continued eating my meat sandwich, popping the last slice into my mouth and washing it down with a drink. Just as I was taking a breather with a ‘phew’, Rin started a conversation.

“Hey, Lark-kun, how did you get so good at cooking?”

“Oh, I want to know that too!” Leticia also leaned in curiously.

“Well, as for how… just by normally cooking and occasionally trying out recipes I thought of myself, I guess?”

“Eh, I wouldn’t normally think of that. I wonder what’s going on in Lark-kun’s head.”

It was hard to tell whether Rin was praising me or not.

After lunch, the revitalized us decided to practice coordination by engaging some goblins nearby.

Our roles were: me supporting with magic from the rear, Leticia in close combat, and Rin disrupting the enemy and supporting Leticia. With her natural agility and ability to sense the enemy’s presence, Rin showed movement that you wouldn’t expect from a novice adventurer.

Within five minutes from the start of the battle, we were able to easily defeat four goblins.

Leticia spoke with a satisfied smile, “Yeah, this feels good. Thanks to Rin-chan disrupting the enemy’s movements, it became much easier to fight.”

Next, Rin said, “Thanks to Lark-kun’s support, I was able to move more freely and enjoyed it.”

“From the rear, I could watch the fight carefully, so it was a good learning experience for me.”

Everyone felt a sense of accomplishment. Our compatibility may be really good.

We quickly collected materials from the goblins and returned to the guild. We finished the reports on herb collection and goblin subjugation at Father’s counter, and after parting with Leticia, Rin and I went home.

‘Now, what should we do until dinner…,’ just as I was thinking, Rin came over with a notebook and pen.

“I’m not good at arithmetic. Lark-kun, would you teach me?”

“Of course, if I’m good enough for you.”

So, I started teaching Rin the basics of arithmetic. It reminded me of my tutoring days.

During the lesson, Rin asked in surprise, “You’re really good at explaining! Lark-kun, are you good at studying too?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m bad. In my case, I’m just good at subjects that require memorization. I can manage the basics of arithmetic.”

“Only subjects that require memorization… From my perspective, who can’t even do that, it’s enviable.”

“Is it really?”

After that, I continued teaching Rin arithmetic.