Chapter 15

"Good luck finding a good job, Mr.!"

"…Yeah, I hope so."

I had lunch at a nearby stall with Leen and then visited the Adventurers' Guild again.

As soon as we entered the guild, an uncle called out to us.

"Hey, Noll, why are you with Lady Linneburg…? …And why are you calling him 'Mr.'?"

"Master, as an adventurer, I am 'Leen.' And there's no need for the 'Lady' part."

"Ah…right, right. Sorry, Leen."

The uncle apologized to Leen and then leaned in close to me, speaking in a low voice.

"Noll, what happened…? I was looking for you this morning. Did something happen after yesterday…?"

"…It's really hard to explain…"

I thought about how to explain while looking at Leen's face.

When our eyes met, she smiled.

Well, even if she smiles, it doesn't help…

Leen seemed to be giving the uncle some kind of signal, but he scratched his head, which was mixed with white hair, upon seeing it.

"…No, it's not our place to pry into other people's business. Sorry. Forget what I just said."

"It's not like there's anything to hide."

I don't mind if he pries, in fact, I'd like him to give me some advice—but—

"So, what brings you here? I thought you weren't coming today since you said you were going to the forest."

"Plans changed a bit. I thought maybe you could introduce us to a job."

"A job, huh?"

"Yeah, preferably something we can do together."

"Together, huh…"

The uncle glanced at Leen, who had been in a good mood since then, but I still couldn't understand why she was so eager to follow me around.

I tried various things to clear up the misunderstanding, but it seemed to have made things worse, leading her to say she would "follow me anywhere."

…What did I do wrong…?

—To be honest, I'm really troubled.

I had planned to train as usual today, but I couldn't concentrate with Leen's constant gaze. So, I decided to take on a job to pass the time and headed to the Adventurers' Guild, with Leen naturally following me.

…There's no other way.

If we work together for a while, she might eventually realize her misunderstanding.

With that in mind, I came to look for a suitable job.

"Jobs I can introduce… Leen is a 'Silver' rank. If you form a party, you can take on a 'Goblin Extermination' job in the area near the capital."

"…Goblin Extermination…!?"

I couldn't