Eventually the day's work was over and we all went to the Spring Wakaba-Tei, where we finished our dinner for the day.

　After the meal, we rented a private bathroom to wash off the sweat and fatigue of the day, and then went home to sleep in bed.

...... and. It's going up too fast again.

　There is no sign of Garnett in the hallway or the entrance.

　This is rather usual.
　It's not that much of a stretch, and Garnett is the type of person who enjoys taking a bath to his heart's content, so if we go to the bath at the same time, I'm often the one who has to wait.

　But I don't think it's unpleasant to be made to wait, and I don't want to be made better.

'Hm?　Is that Sylvia?

　I spotted a figure walking towards the entrance of the inn and casually turned my attention to it.

　The reason why I couldn't determine that it was Sylvia was quite simple.

　The reason is that I couldn't see his face or his height because he was walking around in a hurry with a pile of boxes in his arms.

　At any rate, when I approached it, it was Sylvia at work as I expected, but she didn't seem to have noticed our presence yet.

''It sounds like you're having a hard time, do you want me to help you?''
'Luke, I'm so glad you're here. It's this much better: ...... oops!
Oh, well, let me have one of those, for God's sake.

　I walked next to Sylvia, carrying one of the boxes that had a good amount of weight to it.

'Thank you. Jack-san, who I always leave the heavy lifting to, has been off due to a sudden illness.''
'When you say "Jack", you mean, oh, you're a very gangly old man. Where do you want me to take it?
There is a scrap yard near the inn, so please go there. These are empty containers for alcohol and condiments, so please be careful.

　As I was told, I could hear the sound of bottles and pottery scraping against each other as I took a step forward.
　If we dropped them by mistake, we'd be in trouble.

　Then we make it to our destination without any problems and pile the boxes into the junkyard waiting to be collected.

　At the largest inn in town, the amount of goods coming in and out of the inn is extremely high.

　Conspicuous and easy-to-understand customer service and cooking are not the only jobs Sylvia does, and she probably does this kind of behind-the-scenes work on a daily basis as well.

　It's really a big deal for someone half as young as I am - and I felt uncharacteristically old.

'Speaking of which, Luke. Is it normal for adventurers to travel from place to place?
'I suppose it depends on who you are, but ...... you don't think it's something to do with adventurers?　If you want, talk to the guild and resolve the issue at .......
'Ew, no!　It really just kind of bothered me.

　Sylvia waved her hands in front of her chest and dismissed the concerns.

　Apparently, I was merely offering to chat with her, and the trouble thing was just a thought on my part.
　That was good, then. I'm sorry if I was inconvenienced by a competitor.

It's a good thing that the adventurers who come to our inn and guild house are all from other lands. I wondered if that was normal everywhere, and now I'm curious.

　As we walked down the short evening path from the junkyard to the Springtime Wakaba Tei, we engaged in the chatter Sylvia had brought up.

''It's going to change between the city and the rural areas. I'm sure you'll find a lot of people in the city who want to be adventurers, and half of them are from other parts of the world who want to make a name for themselves in the city where there are a lot of requests.
What's it like to live in a country like ours?
If the dungeon is close enough, more than 90% of them are from outside, and if it's not, it's the other way around, most of them are from the area.
'I see, so in Green Hollow, there are a lot of people out there because of The Sundial Forest?

　Sylvia looked satisfied and nodded her head in agreement a few times.

''Everyone usually flies around the country or something, right?
'It depends on the person too. Some of the guys who actively take on dungeons travel all year long, but others make money in one city for years to save up for their goals.

　After fifteen years of being an adventurer, I've had the opportunity to meet adventurers who really have a lot of different courses of action.

　There are people like Alexia who registered to help with her day job, and others who never dove into dungeons, but just thought of it as a way to earn a little extra money.

　Others brag about the number of dungeons they've dived into across the Westlands, while others stick to a particular high difficulty dungeon and attack it repeatedly over the years.

　As I told him such stories briefly and let him listen to them, I noticed a hint of envy mixed in Sylvia's eyes at some point.

' ...... Sylvia. You don't go out that far?
'Hmm, yes. The lodgings are busy, and I think the best way out is to go to the town at the foot of the mountain.

　Sylvia had a smile on her face, but she still seemed somewhat pensive.

''I hear a lot of stories from customers about places I don't know, so I just have a lot of knowledge. Sometimes I get jealous.''
'Well, if you're ......, then we can all go on a little trip together after this mess is over.
What?

　Hearing my abrupt proposal, Sylvia rolled her eyes with a snap.

''When the war with the Demon King's army is over, the Knights will probably pull a percentage of their personnel, and some of the adventurers who came here for that will change their earning power.
Well, that means: ......
''Of course, there's still the 'Demon King's Castle Realm' and the search further back, so the town won't be deserted, but at least it will stop being as busy as it is now. Both our shop and the Spring Wakaba-Tei.

　The current excessive busyness is some sort of war specials due to the Demon King's War being waged in the immediate vicinity.

　Once the war is over, there will be some calm, even if it's unlikely that we'll ever get back to where we were before I came to town.

Then you and I will have a decent break, won't we?　I think it's a good idea to invite everyone to come out and go away.
Soooo ...... I think it's really good!

　Sylvia bounced a few small bounces on the spot, as if she couldn't contain her growing excitement.

'To Erica, to Sakura, to Garnett, to Miss Noir!　You're all traveling together!　Um, but there's still someone I could ask out: ......
It's going to be a big family. Well, we don't know when this mess is going to end, so we'll just have to take it slow.

　Of course, if all of us could get through the Demon King's War safely - but....

　I didn't tell Sylvia about it, nor did I want to.

　There's no way I can imitate the death of one of us when she looks so happy.

　Eventually, when we returned to the front door of the Spring Young Leaf Pavilion, we met a young knight wearing the emblem of the Silverwing Knights.

''This is Lord Luke of the White Wolf Forest!　And you are the daughter of the proprietress of the Spring Wakabatei!

　Me and Sylvia looked at each other, and I decided to ask what was going on on behalf of them.

'What's wrong?'
"My apologies for this evening. Assistant Chief Felix has asked me to deliver this letter to the White Wolf Store and the Spring Wakaba Tei.
...... What's this?

　Just by looking at the letter wrapped in an ostentatious sealed envelope, the premonition of an unusual situation going on rises at once.

　In order not to frighten the anxious Sylvia further, I wait for the young knight to explain to me while preparing my mind to avoid revealing my agitation as much as possible.

''This is a summons to an emergency meeting to be held in the joint name of the Silverwing Knights and the Golden Fang Knights. In addition to you, several other influential organizations in Green Hollow Town have also been summoned.

　It was exactly the right word to signal the end of a peaceful life.