“And that’s how I think the adventure would go!” Guild Girl said, holding up an index finger and smiling.

“Hmmm…” Cow Girl tilted her head, not quite sure how to respond.

It was just before noon at the Adventurers Guild—the people who had gone out weren’t back yet, and the people who hadn’t were still sleeping. The formerly crowded front desk was devoid of people now, and Guild Girl had time to spare. And so she engaged Cow Girl, who was afraid she might be intruding, in idle chatter over tea.

Flying carpets, spirits in lamps, burning water, star-sand…

The desert country, which Cow Girl had heard of but never seen, seemed fantastical, full of so many impossible things that a thousand and one nights wouldn’t have been time enough to tell them all. She decided that when he got home, she would probably ask him about it. She had all kinds of questions—and perhaps he would have things he wanted to talk about as well.

This was what she had wanted to do once, long, long ago.

“Well, in any case…as long as everyone gets home safely, that’s what matters.” She smiled with a hint of difficulty. New lands meant unknown dangers and monsters.

This was an adventure unlike his others, in a place unlike any he had ever been. Sometimes adventurers left in high spirits and with high expectations and never came back. Adventuring was always dangerous. If it was completely safe, if you could be totally sure you’d come home, then it couldn’t be called an adventure.

“They’re all seasoned veterans now, and I’m sure they know what they’re doing. But…” Even so, it was hard to be the one who had to wait and worry. Guild Girl played with the quill pen she was holding, looking despondent.

Cow Girl understood those feelings very well. She didn’t know much about this occupation called adventuring. She saw adventurers from time to time when she stopped off at the Guild to deliver provisions. There was the one who carried the huge sword on his back and the one who was never far from his spear. Then there was the witch with the wide-brimmed hat. Cow Girl herself had relied on them before, and she had every reason to hope they would come home safely. And if Guild Girl shared those same feelings, then…

“I think he’s just fine,” Cow Girl informed her with a smile.

“Hmm?” Guild Girl said, blinking. “How’s that again?”

“Yesterday. A lumpy donkey arrived, supposedly sent by him.”

In other words, that was the reason for Cow Girl’s good mood. He had remembered the simple conversation they’d shared before he left. And at least until the moment he had requested that thing, he had been safe.

…Would it have killed him to include a letter or something, though?

He did have his own strange sense of how to be considerate: He had included a manual detailing the care and feeding of the creature.

“Oh, a…camel, was it?”

“Camel?”

Ah, that’s right, camel, Cow Girl remembered now. She thought it was such a strange name. The “lumpy donkey” was a camel. Something she had always thought belonged only to fairy tales, which she had now seen with her own eyes. When he got home, she would tell him what she had named it—although she thought he might know.

Could that “camel” possibly be his idea of a souvenir?

Well…with him, it’s hard to say. She giggled at the thought, waving a hand when Guild Girl gave her a strange look. “Anyway…,” Cow Girl said, keen to change the subject, “…is it okay that we got so caught up in our little chat?”

“No, it isn’t,” Guild Girl replied with a smile. “I’m on the clock.”

Cow Girl strived to keep her expression ambiguous so as not to draw attention to herself. She was thinking about her surprise to discover this side of this young woman.

I thought she was supposed to be a pampered young noble. And yet here Guild Girl was, having a pleasant conversation with her. Several years ago, she would never have imagined it of herself.

“Here I’d planned to do some paperwork today,” Guild Girl lamented. “Our little secret, okay? Hee-hee.” Then she discreetly showed Cow Girl some of the papers. Cow Girl couldn’t help looking even as she asked herself whether this was really all right, and on the sheet she saw a familiar name. It was the cleric girl who worked with him.

“This is…what do you call it? For a promotion interview, right?”

She knew he had undergone several of those himself, such that he was now Silver-ranked. But she had never seen the paperwork before, and all she could do was exclaim in astonishment at it.

“She herself may not really realize it yet, but she has more than enough experience and ability…” Guild Girl straightened the papers with a quick rap on the desk and put them back in their place. “The realization will come naturally, as she works.”

“True enough. It can be hard to really know what you can do or how well.” Maybe people wouldn’t fret so much about it if they could write out all their skills and abilities and qualities like labels on a product. Cow Girl briefly considered what her “stats” would be if she could quantify them and laughed aloud at how meaningless they would be. “I wonder if she’s out there, sweating whether she’ll be promoted or not.”

“I doubt it. She’s probably got her hands full with her adventure.”

Maybe. Then again, maybe not.

I wonder what expression this woman will have on her face as she welcomes that girl home.

First, no doubt, she’d congratulate the group on its efforts. Then she would ask about the adventure. It would all be about goblins, no doubt. And then…then, she would certainly take great pleasure in changing the subject of the conversation to the promotion interview. The girl would flinch, then looked panicked, worried, and nervous one by one.

Ah…I see it.

Even Cow Girl was starting to get excited just imagining it. So much so that any anxiety all but disappeared.

“Is that how you survive the wait?” Cow Girl asked.

“Hmm,” Guild Girl muttered, putting a finger to her lips thoughtfully. Then she nodded. “Yes…I suppose this is how I get through it.”

Trusting they’ll come home. Preparing the paperwork for when they do. Getting ready.

“Huh,” Cow Girl said softly. She agreed completely. “Then…maybe I’ll do the same thing.”

She rose slowly from her chair. It would be lunchtime soon, and there would be more adventurers around.

She didn’t know if it would be tonight, or tomorrow. So—well, she felt bad for Uncle, but…

“Oh, leaving already?”

“Yeah. Got to get dinner ready, you know?”

…tonight she would make plenty of stew and wait.