Chapter 53

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"It's a scream!"

Amber, who had been diligently dissecting a monster while looking down, suddenly perked up her furry ears and jumped to her feet.

I followed her gaze, but I couldn't see anything within the visible range. There was no abnormality within the detectable range, so it must be even farther away.

Her hearing must be incredibly sharp, beyond my imagination. Or perhaps it's some special ability unique to her race. I don't know, but...

"Scream...? Did something happen? Amber, can you go ahead and check it out?"

"Of course! Amber is not only strong but also incredibly fast!"

The direction Amber was looking at wasn't the road. It was the boundary between the shallow part of the forest where ordinary people might venture and the deeper side where only adventurers go.

Perhaps they were attacked by a weak monster... or, in the worst case, it could be a conflict between adventurers.

Since we are adventurers, some people might say that injuries and worst-case scenarios are our own responsibility. But now that I know, I want to do what I can. It's not out of a sense of charity to help someone in trouble, but rather because I don't want to carry the guilt of turning a blind eye.

"Then, Amber... go ahead and if you see someone who might get hurt, take down the monster for them. Prioritize making sure no one gets hurt."

"Got it!"

If I give Amber clear instructions, she will follow them as she says. Otherwise, if I just say "take it down," she will only think about achieving the result in the shortest possible way, which means she will go all out to defeat the monster. It took a while to get her to consistently follow clear instructions, and there were quite a few problematic situations before that.

I marked Amber's body with magic and let her go ahead. I wouldn't lose sight of her, and she disappeared in a flash. I followed her, narrowing the precision of the detection magic I had spread around and focusing on my own magic to catch up. She seemed to see paths I couldn't, weaving through the gaps in the bushes, leaving a trail of her run.

"Amber, what's the problem?"

"Riana, you're slow! I've already taken care of everything."

By the time I arrived, everything was over.

There were children there. The oldest one, who seemed to be in charge, and three others hiding behind him. A little further away, two small monsters lay charred from Amber's attack.

It was indeed a monster. Wild animals are timid and wouldn't attack unless provoked. It's not like it's the end of hibernation; it's just the beginning of winter.

The situation seemed to be that they were attacked by a monster they encountered, but Amber took it down before anyone got hurt.

While chasing after her, I thought, "Wait, what if they were adventurers? Even if it looks like we're helping from our perspective, what if they think we're stealing their prey?" But it seems there's no need to worry, which is a relief. No, it's not a good thing that it almost turned into a situation where someone could get hurt.

Why were these children so deep in the forest? I directed a probing gaze at them, and the oldest boy shuddered as if he felt guilty.

"Hey, are you all okay? Are you hurt?"

"...Yes."

He looked about ten years old, but he seemed malnourished and underdeveloped. He might be older than he looks. I decided to ask for the details.

"Why were you here?"

"Um..."

He glanced at something. They must have been running away from it. A basket was lying under the bushes, spilling herbs, wild vegetables, and nuts. They must have gotten too deep while gathering. I decided to move them to a safer place rather than press for details here.

There shouldn't be any strong monsters in this shallow part of the forest, but anything could happen. I needed to get these children to a safe place first and ask for details there.

"Did you come to get the contents of that basket? Let's pick them up and move to a safe place without monsters first."

I gathered the scattered items and put them back in the basket. They must have been holding it while running, and there were more scattered further in, but I decided not to go back for them all.

I handed the basket to the oldest boy, who said, "Thank you," but kept looking at it. I couldn't let him go back, so I ignored it and continued.

"Amber, let's head back to town."

"Aww, Amber hasn't even warmed up yet!"

"Today's work is done. As a top-notch adventurer, you might encounter such situations suddenly."

"Alright, if that's the case, I can't help it."

I chuckled at Amber's smug expression. ...We left the monster's body that was being dissected, but it's safer to leave it since it's not a strong monster that leaves miasma after death. Helping these children is more important than the loot.

I put Amber at the back of the group to keep an eye on any stragglers and headed towards town. Once we reached the well-trodden path in the forest, I finally had a chance to catch my breath and speak to the oldest boy.

"I'm Riana, an adventurer. What's your name?"

"...Nero."

"Okay. Nero, were you here to gather wild vegetables, herbs, and nuts?"

"Ah, we didn't mean to go so deep! Chika said she saw Yupsil flowers deeper in, so..."

A younger girl, probably a few years younger than Nero, quickly looked down. They shouldn't have gone so deep, but Nero is too young to make such judgments. I thought about what to advise them.

There are simple requests for social welfare that children can take on, like "cleaning in front of a store" or "picking up trash in town."

These are called "non-ranked" requests and are strictly reviewed for any potential danger. They shouldn't be in the forest, even in a shallow part. In a town where the adventurer's guild functions properly, they wouldn't allow these children to take such requests.

"...Do your parents... or the adults around you know you were coming here today?"

"Stop! Please, don't tell Sister Miel!"

The name "Sister Miel" rang a bell. I searched my memory. ...The orphanage near our apartment. Wasn't she the nun in charge?

So, these children must be from that orphanage.

"Is it because you don't want to get scolded? You know it was wrong, right?"

"..."

He looked down, unable to argue with my words. But just because no one was hurt doesn't mean it should be kept a secret.

"Or do you not want to worry Sister Miel?"

"Getting scolded and worrying her... But Sister Miel has been so troubled because of the lack of money...! What else could we have done?"

I could tell they weren't bad kids. They were trying to help Sister Miel and the orphanage. They must really care about her. But... I couldn't overlook this. This time, it was just luck that Amber noticed. It could have resulted in serious injuries or even death.

"But if you had gotten hurt... Sister Miel would have been devastated..."

I couldn't come up with an easy solution, but I had to make it clear that they shouldn't do this again, especially since they care about someone important.

The children started crying, and we were looked at strangely by the townspeople as we headed to the orphanage.

"Hey, Nero! Where did you go, leaving your dinner shift... Oh, an adventurer?"

We entered the orphanage through the back door, and an elderly woman who had just come out of the kitchen called out.

She looked worried when she saw me behind the children.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Riana, a silver-ranked adventurer in this town. This is my companion, Amber."

I introduced myself and showed her the guild tag hanging from my neck. She visibly relaxed. She sighed in relief and then straightened up, looking at me with a probing gaze.

"I'm Sister Miel, the nun in charge here. ...Did something happen to these children?"

"Actually... They were almost attacked by a monster in the forest, and I rescued them."

"Really?!"

Sister Miel was shocked. It's understandable. For children without any means of defense to enter an area where monsters appear, anything could have happened.

Nero tried to explain, "We thought we could get food" and "We found herbs," but Sister Miel's anger didn't subside.

"Idiots!! If Riana and her companion hadn't saved you, what do you think would have happened?! If... if someone had been seriously hurt...!!"

"I'm sorry~"

Sister Miel, who was crying, made the children cry as well. Seeing this, I felt a lump in my throat.

It was indeed because of the lack of money. Their intentions were noble, but I was relieved that nothing happened.

"Riana, thank you so much... really, thank you...!"

"You're welcome. It wasn't me who helped; it was this child. She noticed the children's screams and rushed to take down the monster."

"Really? ...Amber, thank you. Thank you for protecting these children before they got hurt or worse...!"

Sister Miel grabbed Amber's hand firmly, and Amber looked flustered. Ah, right. She grew up in an environment where she was unconditionally praised and pampered... but because of that, she had never been truly thanked for her actions.

She was hugged tightly and turned bright red, unable to respond.

"U-uh... I did it because Riana told me to... I just did what she said..."

"But you actually saved them, didn't you? The reason is just a trigger; I'm incredibly grateful for what you did."

Encouraged by Sister Miel, the children bowed their heads in gratitude, but Amber's reaction was slow. It was clear that she was overwhelmed with joy.

Sister Miel looked at her with a mix of gratitude and amusement, and I felt the same way.

"Excuse me, but since you saved their lives, could we discuss the proper way to thank you later...?"

"No, no, that's fine! There's no need for thanks. Amber didn't help for the sake of thanks... right, Amber?"

"Huh? Oh... yeah..."

Amber was still fidgeting. Being thanked for the first time in such a serious and life-saving situation must have been a shock beyond my imagination.

It was already dinner time at the orphanage, and staying longer would be a bother. I might have been invited to stay for dinner as a token of gratitude, but I wanted to avoid that. Anna was waiting with dinner, and adding two more people would be a burden on the orphanage, which seemed to be struggling financially.

Sister Miel said she would like to thank us properly another day. It would be good for Amber's heart, so I decided to accept the invitation, but I would avoid meal times.

I even thought about offering food aid, but I didn't want to make them feel obligated after Amber had saved their lives. I needed to think of a good plan and consult with Anna and Fred.

"Amber, it's great that those children were saved before they got hurt. You did a great job."

"Great job..."

Maybe because it was me praising her, Amber's mouth finally curved into a smile.

"Really... that great?"

"Yes. Monsters are very scary to ordinary people. The children were wrong to go into the forest alone, but thanks to Amber, they were saved before anyone got hurt. I couldn't have detected such a distant scream, and I wouldn't have made it in time. So... Amber is a lifesaver and a hero to those children."

Sister Miel was also very grateful. In Delor, this child, who used to act recklessly without listening, had become someone who could help strangers.

Even if it was a coincidence and she did it because she was told to, I praised her as much as I could for her proud expression.

"Will Anna praise me too?"

"Of course. Anna and Fred will praise you a lot."

"Hmm, so even he has to praise me!"

Amber seems to see Fred as a rival from the start...

But it's more like they have a friendly rivalry, and Fred doesn't get truly angry when Amber steals his dessert, which I find endearing. (By the way, I gave half of my pudding to Fred that time.)

"Riana... I've decided. Amber will become even stronger and be thanked and admired by many people, becoming a great presence!"

"Even if the motivation is impure... I think the goal itself is a good one."

Even if the goal is to be thanked, it doesn't matter. The fact that she wants to be someone who can help others on her own is a good thing.