Time passes and it's late afternoon.
　Everyone takes their turn for a lunch break, and I'm the last one to take a break.

　I had a little trouble deciding where to eat, but I ended up going to the Spring Wakabatei, a place I'm used to going to.

　Fortunately, the daytime peak hours for restaurants had passed, so the dining room at Spring Wakabatei wasn't too crowded, and the air was even a little bit looser than it should have been.

　As I was led to an empty seat and was contemplating my order, Sylvia, who was holding a tray, spoke to me curiously.

''Huh?　I see you're not with Mr. Garnett today. What's going on?
'Garnett's going home. She's on vacation for a while from today.
'I see - ...... It's a bit strange that Luke and Garnett aren't together.

　Sylvia told me that with a carefree smile, and I have a complicated feeling that's hard to put into words.

''Do I really have that much of an impression that I'm one set with that guy?
'What?　It's only natural since he's an escort.
...... sure.

　If you ask me, it was true.
　Originally, Garnett was a knight sent as my guard, and it's only natural that he would not leave me alone and act together, and both Sylvia and Sakura are aware of that fact.

　I'm sure you'll find that the change in our relationship ...... is a distortion of our relationship, which only we can know ourselves.

　I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.

　Then, when you think about people other than Sylvia and Sakura, this is also no different than the two of them.

　Even if Garnett doesn't reveal that he's a knight, many people, both ordinary people and adventurers alike, know for a fact that he's also entrusted with tasks like bodyguarding me, who doesn't have fragile practical skills.

　In particular, the fact that I've been acting as a bodyguard throughout the Demon King's War has helped to make that fact known.

　After all, I'm the only one who feels that Garnett is always next to me as more than a bodyguard.

(...... From the side, that guy's absence is also 'just the escort taking a vacation').

　We ordered our lunch for now and casually looked out the big window.

　Green Hollow is no different today.

　Thanks to the efforts of the Silver Wing Knights, it's so peaceful and safe that the need for an escort is in jeopardy, and the main street is full of activity.

　Maybe it's because my usual bodyguards aren't there, but I've noticed more people than usual calling out to me with strange intentions, but that's just a minor thing.

　Most of the time, it ends up being just a random taunt, and if they are persistent, the patrolling knights will quickly get rid of them, so there's not even room for them to develop into some kind of problem.

　And yet - an inexplicable feeling of emptiness fills my chest.

　It's an exaggerated sentimentality, even though Garnett is just not in the seat across from me.

'Sorry for the delay, enjoy your stay.
"Master Luke. May I sit with you?

　Sakura came to my table just as Sylvia brought her food.

　I urged her to sit across the table from me, since she didn't mind, and Sakura sat down in a chair diagonally in front of me.

　We began to eat our lunch a little late, talking about our jobs, and we were almost finished when Sakura casually changed the subject.

'By the way, I heard that Garnett is back home, where is his home town?
That bothers me, too. Here's your water.

　Sylvia, who happened to come to pour more water, also agrees with the question.

　If you simply think about where Garnett's hometown is, it will probably be either his family's territory or the royal capital, but in this case, you should answer where he's currently heading.

''The destination seems to be the royal capital. So I guess he's still on the move right now?''
"King's Landing!　I've been on a warrior's journey for a long time, but I haven't been to any city yet. ......
''Me too. There's also the headquarters of the Adventurer's Guild over there, and there's the largest number of mithril processors on the continent, so I'd like to go over there at least once.

　The capital of the Westlands, which united most of the continent, King's Landing is at the forefront of every aspect of the city.

　There are, of course, other cities that rival or even surpass it in specific areas, but it is widely believed that King's Landing is undoubtedly the best city in the world in terms of overall assessment.

I'd like to visit the Royal Capital, wouldn't you? Maybe I'll accept my grandmother's invitation.
Dorothea's?
My grandmother's business is headquartered in the capital. I received a letter from her telling me to come visit her once in a while. And I'll pay for your travel expenses.
'Haha. It looks like you're tired of spoiling your grandson. Why don't you take him up on his offer? You should do your filial duty while you can.

　While Sylvia and Sakura exchanged pleasantries, I turned my attention to the empty seat across from me again.

　Normally, I'm sure Garnett would have been making a lot of noise with the topic.

　It's going to be hard to get used to this situation as I think about such things at every turn.










　The day's business is over, and we close the shop after cleaning up.

　As I stand alone in the living room, which doubles as a half office, and look at the quiet room, I feel as if I'm in a strange place.

　In the past, during a battle against the Demon King's army, I cut off one of my arms by myself out of necessity.

　It was a strategy that was based on the assumption that I would [repair] it later, but even so, the sense of loss was so terrible that I swore in my heart that I would never do it again.

　The sense of loss now might even exceed that moment.

　Such meaningless sentimentality was broken by a strong knock on the back door of the house.

　When I opened it, the four people who should have come home earlier - Noir, Alexia, Erica and Leila - were all there.

''I'm sorry. I think I forgot something... ...... It's a mixing recipe, have you seen it?

　It was Erica who got the errand out of the way.

　It's probably that while the four of us were returning home, Erica noticed that she had forgotten something and all of us turned back because it's not safe on the road at night.

　First of all, we sent Erica and her friends home to look for the recipe for mixing potions, but it's hard to find anything like them.

'I think I put them on my work desk in the living room: ......
...... Maybe someone made the mistake of cutting it up and throwing it away along with the unwanted papers. Hang on a minute.

　You put your hand into the waste basket for discarded documents next to the work table and activate the [Repair] skill.

　The remnants of the documents that were torn or cut into small pieces quickly regain their shape in the scrap basket.

　I took them all out and found the handwritten recipe tucked between them.

'There it is,'
'Oh, thank you!　Thank goodness. ......

　I was also relieved that I had found an important recipe, but I tried to [disassemble] the unnecessary documents that I had [repaired] again--

Is that...

　I noticed a letter with a dignified, ornate pattern mixed in with the bundle of papers.

　There was no doubt about it. They were the letters Garnett had received from his parents' house.

　If it were true, it would be the right thing to do as a human being to pretend I hadn't seen it and discard it again.

　But I couldn't resist the urge to push it up from deep within my chest and opened the letter and read through its contents.

'--------'
I'm sorry to bother you. Well, good night.

　Erica and the others, who had finished their business, were about to leave.

　I almost reflexively stopped them - one of them, to be exact - from calling them out.

Leila. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to stay here for a little while. I need to talk to you about something.