Afterwards, Mark took the envelope containing the documents for the request and decided to make his way to the Guild House in Green Hollow Town.

　As he walked through the town at dusk, nearing sunset, he could see the members of the Silverwing Knights on patrol among the town's residents, adventurers, and travelers.

　Green Hollow Town is located near the front line of the war against the Demon King's Army led by the Dark Elf Demon King Gandalf, and is still recognized as an important base to back up those who pursue the Demon King's Army and explore the dungeons.

　Moreover, with the nearest dungeon being pointed out as being related to an ancient magical civilization, its importance continued to rise steadily.

　For this reason, the Silver Wing Knights have also dispatched a reasonable amount of personnel to maintain the security of the area.

''Well, ......, I believe it was over there?

　The guild house is attached to the town's tavern, and perhaps because it's dinner time, not only adventurers but also ordinary customers are conspicuous.

　Perhaps that's why, when Mark entered the restaurant, the previous guests didn't pay attention to him and continued to enjoy their lively dinner.

　When was the last time he had visited this building?

　I hadn't sent out any personal requests to the guild, and I've had meals elsewhere, including at the Knights' headquarters, so the last time I was given a tour of the town's main facilities right after I arrived might be the last time.

　At any rate, I was about to go to the reception counter for the request, when I came across a scene of a group of women I knew sitting at the counter near it, having dinner.

'Ah, that's Mark. How unusual to see you here.
Erica?　That, and the staff of the White Wolf Store and the rest of the ...... faces that make me want to say that we're the rare ones.

　The first person in the foreground from Mark's point of view was Erica, the medicine man.

　Although there was a difference in age and position between them, they had more or less opened up to each other when they had gone underground on a previous mission, and since then they had come to treat each other in a shattered manner, except for when they were working.

　The man sitting next to him was not a clerk at the White Wolf Store.

　It's Sylvia, the signatory daughter of the Spring Wakaba Tei, the largest inn in town and the one who runs the White Wolf Knights' kitchen and cleaning, etc.

　She was the one that Mark thought, 'It's rare to see her here.

　Since they usually meet at the Knights' headquarters and Spring Wakabatei is also a reputable place to eat, he had a strange feeling that the signatory daughter of such an inn was having a meal at another restaurant.

''Huh?　Mark, are you close with Erica?
'I've had the opportunity to interact with them while I'm working. It's nothing more, nothing less. By the way, do the girls who head up the Wakaba-tei in spring also come to the bar?

　Perhaps because he was also an outsourced contractor who took care of a lot of things at the headquarters, Mark naturally took a business-like tone to Sylvia, who was the same age as Erica.

　As he asked questions, he casually moved his gaze to the seat next to her.

　The one there was Alexia, a mechanical engineer.
　For each of the Knights, she is an opponent who is often asked to work as a skilled technician, more than being an employee of the White Wolf Store.

　Also, he is the only one of the women present here who is over 20 years of age, and he is the only person in a position where he can be called a protection officer.

''Huh?　I don't like it, what's that look? I'm not trying to teach you to play bad games, okay?
...... If I hadn't been so drunk, it would have been more convincing.

　Alexia was blushing with drunkenness and fluttering her hands in a jovial manner.

　The contents of the glass she held in one hand was a high-degree spirit?

　In this Westland Kingdom, people generally begin to enter society from the age of fifteen and are allowed to drink low-degree liquor, but at this stage they are still treated as inexperienced, often somewhere between children and adults.

　Strong liquor, such as distilled spirits, is allowed from the age of 17, and it is around this age that we are gradually recognized as adults.

'No, sir. I was the one who said I wanted to eat over here.

　Sylvia denied Mark's evil guesses with a troubled laugh.

'I'm glad our food has such a good reputation, but if you eat it all day every day, you'll get bored. Sometimes I just want to eat somewhere different.
Oh, I see. So that's what it is.
Besides, the girl who runs this place is a friend of mine. I thought I should contribute to the sales once in a while.

　The woman behind the counter chuckled in response to Sylvia's statement, which was deliberately earnest.

''Haha!　I was told that the business is flourishing. In fact, I've had so many customers it's been a problem.
'Well, yes. More adventurers are coming in, and the tourists are picking up. When the war ended, I thought it was time for things to settle down.
I feel like it's a lie that I wanted it to last as long as possible in the beginning. I heard that dungeons are finding deeper and deeper places.

　It's an exchange that doesn't sound like a conversation between girls who are friends.

　She's a very s*xy woman who has a lot to offer, although this may be just a prejudice, but she's a very s*xy woman.

　I remember when I was invited to join a party by a senior officer of the Purple Jade Joint, this kind of woman was in the service.

''Honestly, it's surprising. I didn't expect Sylvia-san to have such an older friend.''
'......?　Marida is the same age as you, you know?
Yeah?

　Sylvia tilted her head slightly.
　Mark averted his gaze, sensing gibberish and misreading.

　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world," he said.

By the way.

　From a seat further back than Alexia, a calm voice, not even tipsy, is thrown at me.

''What's wrong with Sir Mark of the Purple Jade Order all by himself?

　The owner of the remark was a girl with black hair and characteristic red eyes.

　There are few knights who do not know about these eyes.
　It was a physical feature that was a proof of the family that made up the Dragon King's Knights, the Kings of the Kingsguard - a proof of their blood.

　She is Beatrix Leila Hyndman, I believe.
　There was another female knight named Beatrix with the Hyndman surname, so I guess I'm just using her middle name Leila here.

''I just came to ask her to take care of some miscellaneous tasks at the Knights' headquarters. And while I'm at it, I thought I'd finish my meal as well: ......
Oh, I guess I'll just do it here. It would take too much time to get you to move.
There's a seat available in here. Most of the seats are occupied.

　As soon as I cut out the original business, the requested documents were easily in the hands of Marida, the signatory girl, and Erika urged me to sit next to her.

　He didn't have the courage to mix in with the all-female meal, but that didn't mean he had the courage to refuse the offer to sit with them, even less.

　Mark hesitated for a while, then decided to give up and sit down in the chair next to Erica.

　As they ordered their food and waited for it to be finished, a blatantly inebriated Alexia placed her arm on Erica's shoulder and spoke to her over her head.

'Come to think of it, Sir Mark is your brother, isn't he, Luke?　Is your last name Easton instead of White Wolf because you were anointed separately, after all?

　Erica leaned toward Mark's side as Alexia's weight pushed her, and the three of them all took an odd angle as Mark tried to keep his distance from it.

'...... Yes, sir. A knight from a civilian background is given a new family name, but my brother and myself are treated separately from each other. I myself received my family name from the Knight Commander.
Does this mean you were adopted by the Lord Commander?
'No, I was only given permission to take the same family name, but I wasn't adopted by ...... which is a bit long to explain around here.'

　This is a custom unique to the Purple Jade Order, so it's a bit of a hassle to explain it in detail to an outsider.

　I was trying to get back to normal when the door to the tavern was opened and a new customer came in.

　Mark casually looked in that direction - and guessed.

　The person who came was not a commoner or an adventurer, much less a silver-winged knight stationed in the town, but a member of a knightly order that was not supposed to visit this place.