Several days after Shafal woke up, I found myself alone outside the capital. Unlike last time, I didn’t come here to practice flying magic. Simply put, I just wanted to train alone today.

Lately, Rin has been training alone more often to improve her detection skills and scouting abilities. Leticia has also started focusing more on adventuring, gradually reducing her help at the shop. And needless to say, Asura is always keen on training. Seeing the three of them, I felt I too must push myself.

I entered the forest, deciding to use my sword instead of magic to defeat any monsters I encounter.

“Phew… Magic is nice, but fighting with a sword has its own fantasy charm. This is fun…”

While exploring with such thoughts, I spotted a party surrounded by goblins in the distance.

There were three adventurers. The first was a swordsman, fighting with an easily wielded one-handed sword. The second was a warrior holding a large shield, and the third was a magician clad in a robe and holding a staff. ‘They seem to be struggling, surrounded by about ten goblins.’

“Hmm… I’m not sure if it’s best to rush in and help in situations like these.”

One of the rules of being an adventurer is not to snatch away someone else’s prey. If I were to kill the monsters that another adventurer was hunting without permission, I might be penalized. It’s not as simple as handing over the materials from the defeated monsters—it would also mean stealing away their hard-earned experience points.

But then again, if they’re truly in a pinch, hesitating to help might lead to their death.

After a moment’s hesitation, I decided to call out to them from a distance. “Do you need help?”

“Huh! Are you an adventurer?! Please help us!”

The swordsman responded, so I cast “Fire Bullet” and defeated the goblins.

“Are you alright?”

“Was that your voice just now?! Thank you. You saved us!”

As I approached the adventurers I saved, the swordsman thanked me on behalf of his group, deeply bowing his head.

“No, I’m glad you’re not seriously hurt,” I said so while using holy attribute magic to treat the minor wounds on the three of them.

Perhaps because I’ve been using holy magic consistently, I feel like its effects have recently improved. Even so, even if the skill level reaches 5, I don’t think it will become a cheat ability like “Miraculous Sacred Light.”

As I was thinking this, the healed adventurers introduced themselves.

The adventurer with the one-handed sword is Kido. He has brown hair, black eyes, and a sturdy build. At first glance, he appears to be the leader of this party. The adventurer with the shield is Dobru. He is a bald man with a stern gaze, and he strangely reminds me of someone.

I was puzzled when Kido introduced him, but Kido told me, “Sorry, Dobru here kinda shy around strangers.”

And the magician is Miran, a woman with brown hair and black eyes.

I thought she looked a lot like Kido, and she told me, “Kido and I are twins.”

After the three of them finished their greetings, I introduced myself. They were all about three years older than me, but they asked me to refrain from using formal language, saying, “We don’t want our benefactor to be polite.” Hence, we decided to drop the formalities.

Kido and his companions were on a journey towards the royal capital. Since I was going to return there anyway, I decided to accompany them to the capital.

“Speaking of which, where did you guys, Kido and the others, come from?” I asked.

Kido answered my question, “We’re from a remote village within the kingdom of Recommetys. In terms of location, it might be closer to the capital of the Leblanc kingdom than to the capital of Recommetys. We’ve been heading to the capital of Recommetys because Dobru’s brother is there, stopping by towns on the way. We were surrounded by goblins when we were almost there.”

“I see… But didn’t any coaches bound for the capital come out in the towns along the way?”

“Well, after buying equipment and food, we didn’t have enough money left to afford a coach ride,” Kido replied, chuckling wryly, and continued, “In the village, we didn’t use money much, so we didn’t know how much we should save. We ended up squandering our money in the first town we visited.”

“That must have been a tough journey…”

When I said that, Miran joined the conversation. “That’s right. Because Kido was saying stuff like ‘It’s not like an adventurer if I don’t have a sword!’ and bought his own sword, we ran out of money to take the coach.”

“I apologized for that, didn’t I?”

Kido continued to be nagged by Miran after that. Listening to their conversation with a smile, Dobru, who had been quiet all along, murmured, “Kido is weak against Miran.”

We then leisurely walked back to the capital with Kido and the others.

“By the way, where is Dobru’s brother?”

When I asked, Kido pondered. “I believe… he was at an inn with the character for ‘bear’ in its name, do you know it?”

Bear, huh… The only one I can think of is “Little Bear Inn”.

“There’s one place that comes to mind, so I’ll take you there for now. If it’s not the right one, we can ask around at the guild or something.”

With that said, we headed to the “Little Bear Inn”. On the way, Kido and the others were looking at the surrounding buildings with curiosity. I too had a similar experience when Father first showed me around, and before I knew it, we had arrived at the inn.

“This is the ‘Little Bear Inn’.”

“Thanks for the guide, Lark. I’ll go in and check.”

Kido said and went into the inn.

While waiting for Kido to come back, Miran started a conversation, “Lark, do you stay at this inn?”

“No, I used to, but not anymore. I’m living with Father in a regular house now.”

“I see. So you’re living with your father. Don’t you have a mother?”

“Ah, um… It would take a long time to tell that story, so can we save it for next time?”

“Oh, sorry. It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it.”

Miran quickly apologized.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk about it, it’s just that it would take a long time, so I decided to skip it for now, but I might have made her feel uncomfortable.

“Miran, you lack decency.”

Dobru, who hadn’t said a word since we arrived in the capital, said curtly, causing Miran to make a hurt noise.

At that moment, Kido poked his head out of the inn entrance and beckoned his team members, “Hey, Miran, Dobru. This is the place.”

Oh, good for them… I thought, and then a surprising person popped up behind Kido.

“Huh? Oh, Dobru! Long time no see!”

“Rubro-niisan!”

It was Rubro, one of the members of Doldos’s party.

Dobru, who had had a sour face until now, suddenly lit up and ran to hug Rubro.

“Huh, Lark. Why are you here?” Rubro, who had just embraced Dobru, asked me.

“Well, I guided Kido and the others here… Dobru-san, your brothers are Rubro and the other one, aren’t they?”

“Ah, that’s right. Dobru is the youngest brother of Robuto and me. We’re three brothers.”

I see… No wonder I felt a sense of déjà vu when I first saw Dobru’s face.

Then we moved into the inn and into the dining hall. After that, Rubro left the table saying, “I’ll go wake up Robuto.”

“Lark, you knew my brothers, didn’t you?”

I nodded at Dobru’s words. “Yeah, they’ve helped me out a lot… But I had no idea Dobru was a brother to Rubro-san and the others. I mean, I did feel like I had seen you somewhere before…”

“Although we’ve met for the first time, but he looks just like Dobru.”

When Miran said this in surprise, Kido responded, “Ah, Miran had been sickly and had not left home before, so she hadn’t met Rubro-san and the others. When I was younger, they used to teach me how to fight a lot, so although I hadn’t seen them in a while, they haven’t changed since those days.”

“My brother… he seems more muscular than before…”

As Dobru finished speaking, Rubro and Robuto entered from the entrance of the dining hall.

“How’ve you been, Dobru?” Robuto wrapped his arm around Dobru’s neck and rubbed his head.

“Robuto-niisan!”

”Haha, looks like you’re doing well. Kido, you’re the same as ever, right?”

“Yes, long time no see, Robuto-san.”

Kido bowed politely to Robuto.

“Now, our adorable younger brothers have come from the village. Anyway, you guys will stay at this inn, right? Prepare yourselves, because we’re going to have a feast tonight.”

At Robuto’s words, Kido and the others joyfully responded, “Yes!”

Well, I shouldn’t stay too long now that fellow villagers have gathered. I should be going.

I then bade farewell to Kido and the others and returned home.

◇

Several days after meeting Kido and the others, the number of people returning from their hometowns increased and the royal city became bustling again. Consequently, the shops were getting busier, and I was helping out more often. However, since Leticia, who has recently been training hard, I told her to continue as she is and leave the shop to me. In reality, if I prepare the goods in advance and store them in the “Useful Box,” it’s not that tough to offer smooth service.

This morning, as I was working at the shop counter, a regular elderly customer came over to chat.

“Ara, Lark-kun. I’ve noticed you’re in the shop more these days.”

“Yes, it’s been getting busier.”

“Is that so? Don’t overwork yourself.”

With words of encouragement from the elderly lady, I was reinvigorated and continued to serve customers when three adventurers walked in around noon.

“So this is that popular place.”

The voice sounded familiar. Upon taking a closer look at the adventurers, I recognized Kido and his friends. They had slightly changed their equipment since the last time I saw them a few days ago, so I didn’t recognize them at first.

“Kido, Miran, Dobru. It’s been a few days.”

“Ah, Lark… wait, aren’t you an adventurer, Lark? Do you work at this shop too?”

“Well, more like… this shop is mine.”

“What!?”

Surprised, Kido and his friends froze at the entrance. I ushered them to their seats and explained the situation.

“…So that’s why when I told Doldos-san and the others that we wanted to visit this shop, they were smirking. This was the reason.”

“Well, it’s certainly surprising.””Of course it is! Why are you running a shop?”

“Hmm, it’s the result of wanting to try out various things. Anyway, you came to eat, right? Today’s on me, so feel free to order whatever you want.”

At my words, Kido and his friends all expressed joy, and each ordered a set meal with fried rice, grilled rice balls, and rusk. I went back to the kitchen for a while, quickly made three sets, and took them to Kido and his friends. They said, “Let’s eat,” and started their meal.

“This is delicious!”

“…It’s good.”

Kido and Miran exclaimed in joy after their first bite of the fried rice, and Dobru, with slightly widened eyes, murmured softly. I was glad they enjoyed it. After their meal, I saw Kido and his friends off at the entrance and got back to work.

When it was time to close the shop, I headed home, but on my way, I noticed some suspicious people wearing all-white uniforms. Upon closer look, the flag of the Holy Kingdom was embroidered on their clothes.

Then, all of a sudden, I heard Samady’s voice in my head.

(Lark… Lark-kun, put your hood on for a bit)

(Whoa! Wh-what’s going on all of a sudden?)

(W-well, I’ll explain later, but for now, just hide your face from those people in white.)

I didn’t understand the meaning behind his words, but I wore the hood that I don’t usually wear and went home. Upon arriving at my house, I went to the prayer room, closed my eyes, and concentrated on wanting to talk to Samady-san to understand the situation. When I opened my eyes next, I had moved from the prayer room to the realm of the gods. Samady was standing in front of me.

“Hey, Lark-kun.”

“Hello, Samady-san. Um, what was that strange instruction earlier?”

As I asked, Samady adopted a serious expression. “Well… It seems that the god worshipped by the citizens of the Holy Kingdom has taken an interest in you recently.”

“The God of the Holy Kingdom? What does that mean…”

“Before we get into that, let me explain a bit about the Holy Kingdom. There is a certain god that is worshipped there. Of course, it’s not a fictitious god, but a real one residing in the realm of the gods. That god amusingly takes an active interest in humans, and has fun by issuing oracles.”

I see… At any rate, I understood it was a very unique country.

Samady continued his explanation. “And here’s the troublesome part… that god has a bit of a bad personality, and it seems that she wants to make you, Lark-kun, who stands out in various ways, her pawn. And now, she’s issuing oracles to the priests of the Holy Kingdom, commanding them to ‘capture the silver-haired boy named Lark.'”

Trouble had come flying from an unexpected place. I couldn’t believe a country was targeting me…

“Do I… have a constitution that’s easily targeted by gods?”

When I muttered this, Samady gave a wry smile and said, “That might be the case. Well, jokes aside, be careful not to act alone in the future. The group in white we saw earlier are among the top soldiers of the Holy Kingdom. If they come as a group, it could be troublesome even for you, Lark-kun.”

“I understand. I’ll make sure to act with someone when I go out.”

“We’re going to have a meeting here to ensure that the god cannot harm you, Lark-kun, so please wait a little longer.”

The moment Samady said this, my body began to glow. I closed my eyes against the dazzling light, and when I opened them again, I was back in my room.

Well, well, just when I thought things were peaceful… I guess I need to be careful not to be found by the Holy Kingdom’s pawns.