Chapter 13 - Glasses-kun Makes Plans to Go Out

Chapter 13 - Glasses-kun Makes Plans to Go Out

So, in other words—

"I want to take on monster-hunting jobs as part of my voluntary training. But the skill gap between me and the rest of my team is too big, so I feel awkward asking them. That’s why I’m looking for someone else to go adventuring with."

Summarizing Laila’s explanation while she loiters in my room, that’s basically the gist of it.

Well, I get it, but—

Judging by her presence, Laila is weak.
To put it bluntly, she’s probably still just "a normal person who happens to use magic."
She was likely welcomed into the team with the expectation that she’d grow stronger through experience and training.

"Just the two of us?"

"That’s what I’m struggling with."

Ah, so no one else is set in stone yet.

"You use a bow, right? So you don’t fight up close? I’m the same type, so I’d feel uneasy without someone to hold the front line."

I’m a little worried that Laila is talking as if I’ve already agreed to go with her.
Honestly, I have zero desire to go.
Even after hearing her reasoning, nothing about it appeals to me.

If there were humanitarian or moral reasons—like helping people or something—I might still consider it. But as things stand, I’m not interested.
Besides, training is something you should fundamentally do alone.

"What do you think?"

"The exit is that way."

"Don’t you think we need at least one more person?"

"The exit is that way."

"Having someone like Lorobel-san would be reassuring, but that person’s a Two-Star. They probably wouldn’t bother with no-star beginners like us."

"I said, the exit is that way."

"I’m sick of hearing that. Try kicking me out with different words."

Hmm, I see.
But in my mind, Laila isn’t someone I need to choose my words carefully for.

"Then I’ll file a formal complaint with your team leader. Something like, ‘Your member is barging into my room and causing trouble.’"

"Hey, wait! S-seriously, stop that!"

"Or maybe I’ll complain to the Adventurer’s Guild. ‘Your member is forcing their way into my room, trying to get me alone, and I’m so scared of being attacked any moment that I’m on the verge of tears.’ Right now."

"What part of your deadpan face looks like it’s on the verge of tears?! …Wait, no!? In this case, wouldn’t I be the one in the vulnerable position!?"

"You wanted me to use different words."

"There’s a limit, you know! That’s not something you can just pass off as a joke!"

Not like I care if it’s a joke or not.

"Like I said at the beginning, I’m not an adventurer. That’s why I registered with the Hunting Guild. If you want to go on an adventure, do it with other adventurers—leave me out of it."

"...You really don’t want to?"

"As things stand, there’s not a single reason for me to go with you. If you really want me to come, give me a reason that’ll make me want to move.
I’ll say it again—I’m not an adventurer."

And more importantly—

"Why me? There must be other people, right? Dozens come and go from the guild every day. There’s gotta be plenty of no-star beginners. Why not ask them?"

"I can’t."

"Team policy? Is there some rule against pairing up with outsiders? Oh, if so, then I’d be off-limits too."

"—Mages get targeted, you know."

...Huh?

Laila’s words meant exactly what they sounded like.

Mages are in high demand.
Even in the royal capital’s Adventurer’s Guild, only a few are registered, and all of them belong to some team.
And apparently, those mages get recruitment offers from all kinds of teams.

Join our team, and we’ll give you preferential treatment, a bigger cut of the rewards, the right to pick jobs... and so on.
They apparently lay out all kinds of sweet temptations.

Then, rookie mage Laila showed up at the royal capital’s Adventurer’s Guild.

If she were just some weak little girl, she’d be easy to manipulate—and apparently, some guys get really pushy about it.

It’s bad enough in the capital, but if some troublesome guy started harassing or targeting her in the field, where real threats lurk, it’d be a nightmare.
So, unless she’s inviting someone from her own team, Lila makes sure to carefully choose her companions.

And this time, she set her sights on me.

"Then the answer’s obvious, isn’t it?"

"Huh?"

"Ask your teammates to come with you. You’re going to a dangerous place—the safest option is to go with people you trust."

I wouldn’t want to go hunting with some stranger either. Who knows what kind of danger their incompetence could land me in?
At the same time, I wouldn’t want to burden whoever I’m with either.

In that sense, I probably caused my master a lot of trouble. I’ve been injured badly enough to be bedridden, and I’ve even gotten caught in accidents caused by the malicious gas my master naturally emits.

"...That’s not the point!"

Oh, Lila suddenly got angry.

"It’s awkward asking people on a team full of ranked adventurers to babysit a useless rookie who can’t do much and isn’t even worth much reward! And when I try to find someone else, there’s barely anyone! Even when I do find someone perfect, they’re usually already teamed up with someone! There’s no one suitable!"

O-oh. ...Yeah. Got it.
So she did put some thought into it before asking me.

...Adventuring, huh. Monster hunting.

"By the way, what are you planning to hunt?"

Monsters are strong.
It’s similar to hunting, but only superficially. Most animals don’t attack you, and even if you provoke them, they usually don’t fight back.

"I heard Red Bears have been appearing in the southern forest lately. I want to go after one of those."

Red Bears, huh? Those are tough.

...I see. Red Bears.

Alright.

"I’ll take four-fifths of the total reward and loot. If those are the terms, I don’t mind."

I’ve been wanting to hunt something other than birds for a while now, and a Red Bear is worth about thirty pheasants. It fits my goal of making money.

"Four-fifths... Isn’t that too much?"

"The exit is that way."

"...Fine! But if I end up being deadweight, you can deduct it from my share!"