One morning after returning from Aslopolis some time ago, I was continuing to enjoy a peaceful time.

　As I was getting ready to open the store as usual, two men, who I knew well, visited me from the doorway of the store.

'Yo!　You're doing it, General!
Hey, hey, you should think about how you talk to me. We're not in a bar.

　A brown-skinned, blood-red and well-built southern young man with a brown complexion, and a sallow-tanned, lethargic, slender western middle-aged man.

　Both were members of the White Wolf Order, sent by other knights.

''It's unusual for both Chandler and Ulysses to come to the store (here). Are the two of you going somewhere to play?
You're kidding me. By chance. By chance. I thought I'd go to a lake deep in the forest and do a little morning fishing before work. I thought I'd have a little energy potion first.
'I'm off-duty, so I thought I'd do some gutsy training after a while. I want the same thing as the old man over here, though.

　I see, it's a response that has its own personality.

　Ulysses is on loan from the Indigo Shark Knights, who guard the westward trade route, and has the skill to summon ships that move with water current manipulation magic.

　It wasn't uncomfortable for him to have fishing as a hobby due to his profession, or rather, it even matched his image.

　And the Knights of Akabane, who sent Chandler, were tasked with guarding the south of the continent against foreign countries and protecting the southbound routes, and he himself had acquired specialized skills and excellent combat skills in combat.

　Probably due to the influence of training his body and honing his skills on a daily basis, he has made it a habit to train whenever he has free time.

　Looking closely at their belongings, Chandler's was carrying a uniquely shaped long-handled weapon, while Ulysses was carrying a folded fishing rod, which had a different purpose from their possessions.

'It's before the store opens, so I'm not really selling it ...... Well, okay, it's special.'
'Oh no, thank God. How many large copper coins were there?
Three normal size pieces. 'Garnett!　Bring me two bottles of the vitality restoration potion!

　I ask Garnett in the store to do my chores while answering the two of them in the shop.

　Ulysses is a knight older than me, but he was warned by the man himself to treat me like a commander before, so he consciously continues to use this kind of language.

The best thing about this shop is that it's not just a store. This shop is a weapon shop, isn't it? And for that matter, it has a wide range of products, or something like that.

　As Chandler looked around the store in preparation, he let out a simple question that anyone would have.

'How long will it be before I add more goods to my inventory each time I get more friends? Well, all I can procure are weapons and armor.''
What do you mean by procurement?
I've been buying cheaply from the Adventurer's Guild, restoring scrap metal and synthesizing mithril into armor bought from an artisan I know. After that, I'll also buy some dragon type materials from the A-rank who are based in this town: ......

　As soon as I lightly touched the dragon and the A-rank adventurer, Chandler said, "Oh! I shouted loudly.

'I know that guy. 'You're Theodore Beaufort, right?　He's a trueborn son of a northern frontier count who enjoys hunting dragons or something.
What, you knew him?
That's what you call a rumor. It's not unusual for a nobleman to enjoy hunting, but dragons are the only target.

　Chandler's perception of Theodore was about as accurate as it could be.

　He was an eccentric who became an adventurer because he wanted to hunt dragons, even though he was the heir of a frontier count facing the truce-ridden Northern Tree Sea Union.

　While the high-ranking adventurers gathered in Green Hollow are all focusing on the second level of the deepest layer rather than the Demon King's Castle, I've heard that Theodore is the only one who is trying to close in on the mystery of the dragon dwelling with a completely different approach.

''Then old man at least knows the name. The Commander's face is really quite large. Is he a friend of yours by any chance?
'In his case, he's very ...... with his friends, rather than a position where we owe him one way or the other and he hasn't paid it back yet.
Owe?　...... I feel like I've heard something bad, maybe?

　As they were slurring their words, wondering how to answer, Garnett stepped in between them and shoved the potion of their order at them.

'Ora. Our potion works pretty well.
Wow. Well, I'll order a whole box next time. See you later, chief!

　Chandler quickly went to work out with the vitality potion in hand.

　Garnett looked off his back with an indescribable gaze, then turned to Ulysses, who was still in the storefront, and smirked, the corners of his mouth fishing up.

''What a debt the White Wolf's made. It's the guy who asked Theodore to write a letter of introduction in order to get into a nobleman's night party in the royal capital.

　...... Without having time to stop him for a moment, Garnett began to tell the interested Ulysses the rest of the story.

'Not long ago, my sister had to find a fiancé at your father's behest, didn't she?　You were in love with him, and the white wolf ate his bubbles and flew to King's Landing, got a letter of introduction from Theodore, and then kidnapped your sister right in front of your father.
Oh, yeah?　I heard that you had a fiancée in King's Landing, but there's no such backstory.

　The questions I want to ask him grow more and more with every second.

　I'm sure he hadn't told Ulysses that he had a fiancé yet, but where in the world did he hear about it?

　Well ...... in front of many invited guests, you took the hand of Alma (this guy), who kept rejecting the invitations of the men, so it's not surprising that the rumor spread by any route.

It's quite a long way from here to the royal capital, isn't it? You're lucky that your sister is willing to do that much for you.
Oh, yeah. He doesn't deserve it.

　Due to the inability to say that it was you, it has been talked about as Garnett likes from earlier.

　As I was about to withdraw into the store due to the embarrassment, Ulysses, as expected, thought that I was in the way of his preparations for the opening of the store, and voluntarily started to cut off the conversation.

' ...... oops. If you stay too long, you'll miss a good time to fish. I'll take my leave then. Say hello to your sister for me.

　Ulysses waved his hand in a flutter and walked away.

　I turned my gaze to Garnett with the intention of telling him that he shouldn't suddenly start talking about something like that, but for some reason his profile looked like he was seriously thinking about it, so I couldn't help but choke on my words.

　And beyond the point where I averted my gaze - I saw Erica and Leila, who were looking at me from the shadows with a curious look on their faces.

　Both of them clearly seemed to be listening to Garnett's story with great interest.

'...... See, see, see!　Scattered and scattered!

　By the time I sent them back to prepare for the opening of the store, Garnett had long since returned to his usual expression, and I failed to ask him what on earth was bothering him.