That's nice of you to say so. Well, we worked our asses off to get it right, didn't we?
'Ah!　Grandma!

　Beyond Sylvia's smile, an old man with a shapely back and vigorous appearance was smiling in a guarded manner.

　The old woman received Sylvia, who jumped up and down with joy, from the front and patted her head affectionately.

You've grown up a lot after not seeing it for a while, haven't you, Sylvia? Are those the people from the store called the White Wolf Store?
Well, let me introduce you.

　Sylvia briefly introduced us to her grandmother and us to her grandmother.

　She said the old woman's name was Dorothea.

　I've been using the expression 'old woman' in my head for a while now, but Dorothea's appearance is different from the impression I get from that word.

　The wrinkles on her face are certainly deep, but her back is straight and her complexion is good, and you can see the vitality in her expression.

　He is a robust man who makes you think that retirement is still a long way off and that he might even be active for life.

I've heard of the White Wolf Store. I've been wanting to talk to you at length, but are you free now?
'Excuse me. I have to look around the room I'm planning to rent, so can I wait until I'm done with that?
Of course I will. I'll see you at your convenience. But I have to leave here around noon tomorrow, so I'd appreciate it if you could do it today.

　They promised to meet again tonight at the Wakaba-Tei in Spring, and said goodbye to Dorothea for now.

　They have a business meeting with the Adventurer's Guild over there, too.

　Once again, on the way to our next destination, Garnett spoke frankly.

It's not a bad connection. I'm sure that if you have a merchant like that in your family, you could have introduced him or her to the white wolf earlier.
As much as I would have liked to do so: ......

　Sylvia scratched her cheeks with a troubled laugh.

'Before I met Luke-san, I was asking all of Green Hollow to do too much work for this and that. I can't do any more because I'm a punk! The board members on the other side were crying,
'Before you met me, I'd say that's when 'Sundial Forest' got dungeon status and the number of adventurers started to increase.
Yes. In addition, they had another big job at another location, and I was told I might have to wait six months for the next order: ......

　Well, that makes sense.

　Every profession has a certain amount of work capacity.

　There is a limit to the amount of work that can be accepted at one time and no more than that, since time and manpower are not inexhaustible.

　It's the worst possible outcome for both the client and the recipient of an order, when you confidently accept an order and it's not done in time.

　...... Even adventurers who are adventurers regularly get their act together, and each time they do, they receive a harsh scolding from the guild.
　It can even become a credibility issue for the adventurer's guild, which is the intermediary for the work.

　In order to prevent this from happening, it is natural for them to declare that they will not be able to accept new work for the time being, and it is also a normal idea to avoid introducing a contractor who has made such a declaration.

　For example, if they say, 'Not so long ago, we could have ordered from one of our relatives, but now we're too busy, unfortunately we can't,' it won't do anything to help solve the current problem.

'If you've been busy, it's no use. I just don't want to be referred to a contractor that I can't ask for.
''Maybe the Golden Fang job came just in time to free up your hand, or maybe you screwed it up with Knight's Privilege: ...... Whatever it was, it was the wrong person to deal with, White Wolf.
There's no comparison between the Order and a mere armorer.

　While chatting with each other, we're going to go through the remaining two places that Spring's Wakaba-tei is planning to rent and one place that we're planning to rent for the White Wolf Store in order.

　The former two places are for soldiers and knights, respectively.

　According to Garnett, each knight group treats it differently, but it's not uncommon for knights and soldiers to be divided into eating and sleeping spaces.

　The knights are the lords and the rulers, while the soldiers are the people and the ruled.

　It's a bit outdated, but the tendency to want to make a clear distinction between these areas is still strong.

Of course I don't mind, though.
Yeah, I'm familiar with it.

　Otherwise, even if it's a mission, you wouldn't be able to sleep and eat with a civilian like me.

'' (Speaking of which, ...... this guy is here on a mission for the Silverwing Knights ......)

　The story reminds me of a fact that I've taken Garnett's presence next to me so much for granted that I almost forget about it.

　I was ordered by the royal palace to scout out the Demon King's army and investigate the reason why the party of the brave Falcon, who challenged the A-ranked dungeon 'The Thousand Year Corridor of the Abyss', ended up not returning - that was the mission of the Silver Winged Knights.

　As a scullery maid hired by the brave man, I was considered an important witness, and in order to avoid any eventuality, Garnett, a member of the Knights, was sent as an escort.

''(The Demon King's army has retreated. We were able to secure the Falcon alive as well. My role as a witness should be over by now. If that's the case,......, how long will this guy be able to stay here?

　A rough sensation runs down my neck.

　It's as if they found the fatal oversight only after it was too late.

　The fact that the guy you even took for granted that he was next to you could actually be gone at any time.

　Didn't I even think of such a simple thing - no, I'm sure I was subconsciously avoiding thinking about it.

(...... No, if they're planning to end the escort in the near future, they'll give you some leeway to tell them. At least I think Felix would. If they haven't told us anything yet, that means that for the time being, ......)

　It's an excuse for optimism, but it should make sense in theory.

　The man in charge of the mission, the XO Felix, is one of the most thoughtful and fair-minded people I've ever met.

　It's hard to believe that such a knight would decide to end the escort with little time to spare, and send his team into a panic.

　But I didn't dare to ask the garnet in front of me ...... of the person himself if that was really the case.

I'm sure a few years ago I would have checked it out right away. What the hell is wrong with me?)

　Letting out a sigh of self-mockery, I stepped into the space I was going to borrow from the Adventurer's Guild.

''Oh, it's pretty spacious. Hey, white wolf. I'm sure you can put more goods in this one than in the store of O-Real.
...... Yeah, yeah.

　I could only return the awkward smile to Garnett, who was smiling at me with his arms spread wide open, and I could only return the awkward smile now.