Chapter 99

Two days after encountering Trent.

Today is finally the day we are scheduled to arrive in Queres.

It’s called a magic city, so I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s like.

“Mr. Ohtsuka! I can see it!”

“Oh, really… Wow!”

After swaying as usual behind Sisha for a while, she suddenly raised her voice.

Drawn by her voice, I peeked out from beside her and looked ahead.

There was a vast, large white wall spread out.

Beyond that, several towers larger than the wall stood, with red and blue lights blinking here and there.

“What a magnificent structure.”

“Indeed, it’s a magic city. I’m looking forward to going inside.”

Just a quick glance from the outside makes it feel like the capital, quite developed.

As expected, being the homeland of magic, they must be using various magical devices in the city, right?

We soon arrived at the entrance of the magic city Queres.

Egon talked to the guard at the gate, and we were smoothly allowed in.

The streets of Queres are not much different from the capital.

Looking towards the back of the city, there are quite large buildings, not as big as the castle in Stetting, but made of white marble-like material, and they are quite beautiful.

Many people walking around are dressed normally, but here and there, people wearing robes can be seen.

Are those the mages of this world?

They glanced at us and then looked back, with surprised faces.

I don’t think we did anything to attract that much attention…

After moving away from the gate to some extent, we stopped the carriage, and Adelberg came out.

Following him, we also stopped and dismounted from the horse.

It seems our escort duty is over here.

“Thank you, thanks to you, we were able to reach Queres safely.”

“No, no, we are relieved to have completed our mission properly.”

We encountered wolves and Trent, but we managed to deliver Adelberg and the others to Queres unharmed.

If we had encountered dangerous monsters that could put us in a pinch, it would have been more like a major extermination mission rather than an escort.

The issue was whether we could protect our charges unharmed, but apart from surprising them a bit, there were no problems.

Annelie seemed happy, so it was fine, but if we receive another escort request, we need to be careful about that.

After getting off the carriage, Adelberg thanked us and handed us a certificate of mission completion.

With this, the mission is officially over.

“I’ve heard that there have been many incidents of carriages being attacked by monsters recently. Usually, I would request C-rank adventurers, but this time I specifically requested B-rank. I’m really grateful you came.”

Hmm, we were attacked by minotaurs on our way to the capital, but it seems the number of attacks has increased since then?

Christoph also mentioned it, and this time Trent was actually blocking the road in a place where it shouldn’t have been.

With the increase in danger, it’s natural that the client would want to hire higher-ranked adventurers.

“Are you going back to Stetting immediately after this?”

“Yes, that’s the plan.”

“I see… I would have liked to request you for the return trip as well, but I guess that’s not possible.”

He wants to request us for the return trip too.

It’s an honor, but we plan to return immediately after this.

That said, we have a beacon set up, so we can come anytime.

“Could you let us know when you plan to return, and we’ll come to Queres and escort you?”

“I see… but I haven’t decided the exact date yet.”

“I understand… If we find a request at the adventurer’s guild here, we’ll prioritize it.”

“I’m sorry to trouble you.”

We can’t guarantee we can come every day, but we’ll try to check the requests at the guild here as much as possible.

Being relied on feels good, and I want to introduce Annelie and Estelle to each other.

“Estelle!”

“Kyaa! W-What’s the matter, Annelie?”

Just as I was thinking that, Annelie jumped out of the carriage and hugged Estelle.

Estelle, who was suddenly hugged, let out a short cry in surprise, but her face relaxed a bit, and she didn’t seem entirely displeased.

Yesterday, Annelie and Estelle had a fun conversation, and they seem to have become good friends.

“Thank you for escorting us!”

“W-Well… it was a request, so it’s only natural.”

“The carriage ride was always boring, but this time it was really fun! It’s all thanks to Estelle!”

“R-Really?”

“Yes!”

Annelie, who was hugging Estelle tightly, pressed closer to her.

Estelle, who usually does the same to me, seemed embarrassed when it was done to her, blushing and turning away.

“Ah, sorry… Did I bother you?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Seeing her slightly troubled expression, Annelie let go and frowned, looking anxious.

Estelle, freed from Annelie, had a slightly disappointed look on her face.

They stared at each other in silence for a while, but Annelie broke the silence.

“…Hey, Estelle. If it’s okay, would you like to come to my house when we return to Stetting?”

“Huh?”

“I want to see Estelle’s magic again and chat more.”

“Um…”

Surprised by the sudden invitation, Estelle let out a deflated voice.

She fidgeted, looked around nervously, and then looked at me, silently asking what to do.

I didn’t nod or shake my head, just looked back at her.

It’s up to Estelle to decide what she wants to do.

Well, the answer is probably already decided.

“Is it okay?”

“…Sure. I enjoyed chatting with Annelie too.”

“Yay! I love Estelle!”

“Nn… W-Wait, it’s suffocating…”

Estelle, who took a deep breath and seemed to make a decision, spoke.

Hearing this, Annelie hugged Estelle again and was overjoyed.

“Hehe, Estelle is so cute.”

“It’s embarrassing to be called cute by someone my age…”

Estelle, who was being hugged by Annelie, had her head petted.

She had none of her usual composed attitude, blushing and going along with it.

I’ve never seen her like this.

Hmm, she’s really adorable. She seems like a completely different person from the one who always comes at me.

“Would you like to come to my house too, Annelie? I have a Fortuna Rabbit.”

“Huh, a Fortuna Rabbit!?”

Hearing that she had a Fortuna Rabbit at home, Annelie’s eyes lit up.

Despite being the daughter of a wealthy family, she seemed so surprised. Fortuna Rabbits must be quite rare.

I’m used to seeing Muffet hopping around the house or being held by Noire, so I don’t find them that special anymore.

“I’ll come, I’ll definitely come!”

“Hehe, Muffet is very cute. You can look forward to it!”

“Then L――gah!?”

“Okay, Sisha, be quiet for a bit.”

As soon as the topic of Muffet came up, Noire seemed a bit proud.

I quickly covered Sisha’s mouth as she was about to say “Luna.”

You were about to say Luna, right? Don’t compete over this!

I covered her mouth to prevent her from going off on a tangent.

“Ah… we should go soon. When we return to Stetting, I’ll ask the adventurer’s guild to contact you. See you, Estelle! Thank you, Mr. Ohtsuka and the others!”

Feeling that the farewell was taking too long, Annelie let go of Estelle.

She shook hands with Estelle with both hands, thanked us, and bowed before getting into the carriage.

Adelberg also bowed to us and got into the carriage.

The carriage started moving away from us, but Annelie was waving from the back window.

Estelle waved back with one hand, continuing to wave until the carriage was completely out of sight.

“She’s gone…”

“Yes, that’s right…”

After the carriage was no longer visible and Estelle lowered her hand, I muttered.

Estelle gave a short answer and stood there, looking in the direction the carriage had gone.

She must be feeling a bit nostalgic about parting with Annelie.

“It’s good that you became friends.”

“…Yeah.”

I couldn’t just leave it at that, so I spoke again, and after a moment, Estelle nodded.

She wasn’t her usual mature self, but more like a girl.

Estelle is still a girl, after all. This experience should have been good for her.

I hope she continues to be friends with Annelie and enjoys the things a girl should.

“Hey, Mr. Ohtsuka!? Sisha is about to faint!”

“What? Oh no!? Are you okay!?”

“Cough, cough… Whee, whee… W-Why am I in this situation…”

I was so focused on Estelle that I forgot I had been covering Sisha’s mouth the whole time.

Her nose was probably blocked too, and she was swaying, about to lose consciousness.

I quickly let go, and Sisha collapsed, leaning on me, coughing and looking uncomfortable.

“…I’ll see you again, Annelie.”

While Noire and I were tending to the collapsed Sisha, I suddenly heard Estelle’s whisper.