Chapter 11

From the second half, it will be from Narsera's perspective!

"Brother, we got a lot of materials again today, didn't we?"

"Yeah, with this much, they'll be happy for sure."

"Right!"

That day, Raust and I walked towards the town, chatting as we went. A few days had passed since we were expelled from the party, and I had decided to stop operating from the guild and sell the materials at the town's shops instead.

Usually, civilian shops don't directly buy materials from adventurers.

Indeed, buying directly from adventurers would allow the shops to buy at a lower price and the adventurers to sell at a higher price, but the shops generally avoid buying directly from adventurers.

This is because civilians do not trust adventurers at all.

Therefore, when buying materials from adventurers, the shops make the adventurers go through various procedures to ensure that they can immediately file a complaint if any damage occurs.

Otherwise, ordinary civilians would not be able to handle any issues that might arise.

"Oh, you're here again today? Thank you so much."

"No, Miss Mary, don't worry about it."

"That's right! We're the only ones who can skip the procedures!"

However, over the past few days, we had been selling materials to the shops, and the shops had allowed us to skip the procedures out of goodwill.

Not only at the inn where Miss Mary works, but also at various other shops, such as the magic stone store and the butcher's shop.

This was nothing but a sign of absolute trust in us from the shops.

I, who occasionally came to town to sell meat, deeply understood how exceptional this treatment was.

After all, it was once a common occurrence for adventurers to be violent towards the townspeople who couldn't fight back.

Of course, such adventurers were often not very skilled and could be easily defeated.

Nevertheless, it was rare for shops to trust adventurers to this extent.

"Thank you for bringing so much again! And you even brought the magic stones I wanted!"

"No, it's a token of our appreciation for always favoring us. Please don't worry about it and take them for free..."

So, I always secretly gave the shopkeepers the materials they wanted as a token of gratitude for always favoring us.

"Then, I'll give you a discount this time too!"

"Wait, so much!? No, you're always so kind! This magic stone is a token of my gratitude, so you don't need to..."

"Don't be silly, you're being too formal! Just take it, okay?"

...However, in most cases, I would end up getting a significant discount, and the price would be much higher than the market value of the magic stones.

"Wow! Thank you so much!"

By now, Narsera seemed to be used to getting discounts, but I could never get used to it.

"But every time..."

"Then, why don't you play with our Sheila? She's always waiting for you to come."

"But..."

So, this time, I tried to hold out a bit...

"Brother, won't you play with me..."

"Huh, ah, no! Yeah, let's play, Sheila."

"Okay!"

...But the next moment, Sheila, who had appeared right next to me, sounded so dejected that I couldn't say anything more.

"Nice one, Sheila."

"Again, you used Sheila to make things ambiguous, Miss Mary."

"It's a gesture of goodwill from an older person. Besides, Sheila was happy to play with you. ...And you probably find it easier to talk this way."

"!"

At that moment, I felt like Miss Mary and the others were saying something, but I gave up and decided to play with Sheila.

"Then, let's do the usual dinner role-play!"

"Yeah, I'll be the dad, and you'll be the mom in the dinner role-play."

"Okay!"

Sheila blushed slightly and smiled at my words.

Seeing her expression, I suddenly felt a strange emotion.

Until now, I had always been oppressed at the adventurer's guild and avoided by the townspeople because I was an adventurer.

But in just a few days, I was living this kind of life, and a sense of gratitude welled up in my chest.

With that feeling, I smiled at Narsera, who was talking to Miss Mary.

"This is all thanks to Narsera."

The words I whispered were filled with gratitude for Narsera...

◇◆◇

"Then, let's do the usual dinner role-play!"

"Yeah, I'll be the dad, and you'll be the mom in the dinner role-play."

"Okay!"

The brother and Sheila were talking very affectionately.

"Hmm..."

And I, Narsera, watched them with a slightly troubled expression.

After all, it was clear that Sheila had a crush on the brother.

"What kind of face are you making... Are you really going to compete with a little kid like that..."

Seeing me, Miss Mary sighed.

From Miss Mary's perspective, the feelings Sheila had for the brother were more like admiration.

In fact, I also thought that was more likely.

"...When I was Sheila's age, I liked the brother too."

...But because of my own experience, I couldn't accept Miss Mary's words so easily.

The brother is so gentlemanly and cool that it's hard to believe he's an adventurer in this town.

The possibility that Sheila could fall for him is not low at all.

"Um, Miss Mary, can I ask you something again today..."

But I put aside my concerns about Sheila and asked Miss Mary for something.

Indeed, I was worried about Sheila, but there was something more important I needed to do.

That's why Miss Mary was making the brother play with Sheila so he wouldn't hear our conversation.

"Sure, I have a lot of good stories to tell you today!"

Miss Mary smiled happily at my blushing face.

Actually, making the brother go far away and listening to stories from Miss Mary had become a regular thing.

What I was trying to find out...

"By the way, I heard that the butcher's daughter, who was in love with Raust, ran away from home. But she came back after one night."

It was information about the brother's past and potential love rivals.

Miss Mary seemed to be a regular at the town's gossip sessions and was the best source of information in the town.

"Eh, w, we're lovers... E, hehe..."

"Nar, you're so devoted! So, how about it, has Raust noticed your feelings?"

"Eh! I, I don't think so, but he's always so kind to me..."

I couldn't help but smile at the information from Miss Mary, and she showed a typical middle-aged woman's sensitivity to love.

As I talked with Miss Mary, the brother played with Sheila, and time passed quickly.

The town was filled with a warm atmosphere...