--For now, since I've settled on my opinion on strengthening Garnett's strength, I'll share it with Garnett during the time I'm working.

　I'll continue with the normal training and skill acquisition as before, but I'm of the opinion that if we're aiming for a reliable enhancement in a short period of time, the best thing to do would be to improve our armament.

'Garnett, what do you think?'

　While waiting for the next customer at the checkout counter, he casually converses with Garnett, who sits next to him.

'...... Hmmm, I guess that's about as realistic as it gets after all.
'That's crisp. If there's anything else you'd like to try, feel free to tell me.
I know that. You don't have to say anything. You can say it for free.

　It's a good idea to have a small smile on your face as you poke your cheekbones at the checkout counter.

It's a good thing that you're not going to be the only one who's going to be able to get it right.

　Just at this moment, a customer brings the goods, so he quickly breaks off the conversation and pays the bill.

　He's a young adventurer with a hint of a boy's face.
　He appears to have purchased a decent weapon for the first time and happily ties his sword to his waist.

　After leaving his hometown, joining a guild, and working to raise his rank and earn money in Green Hollow's Sundial Forest, he's finally taking his first real steps.

　I can't help but feel indescribably nostalgic, but I wonder how Garnett sees it.

"It's okay to call it selfish. I'm aware of that. You can't achieve your goal by yourself, you don't want to rely on your friends all the time, you want to be strong as well as a weapon, you want to talk in your sleep, right?

　Garnett said with a self-deprecating smile as he threw his gaze somewhere far away.

　I looked over at Garnett's profile as he sat down next to me, making sure the next customer wasn't approaching, with a sideways glance.

'Well, if you'd said the same thing to anyone but me, it would have been a terrible selfish thing to do.
...... What does that mean?

　Garnet's pale cheeks blush slightly.

　There are a lot of strangers around who can't reveal the situation - and I wanted to phrase it a little nastily - so I dare to supplement the main point of the statement with a far-fetched expression.

'One, of course, is for the very reason you imagined. It's between you and me, so a little greed doesn't count as selfishness.

　Under the accounting counter, Garnett's foot lightly kicks me in the calf.

　I continued to speak further, receiving the expected reaction.

'And the other thing is that I'm not in a position to say it.
'What?　What's your position?

　I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm talking about.

I've been obsessed with the 'dream' of making it big as an adventurer for fifteen years, and during that time, no matter how many times the people around me advised me to choose a different path, I didn't listen to them: ...... As you know, that's the kind of guy I was.

　I didn't look away and continued to stare back into Garnett's blue eyes.

It's your 'dream' to take out the enemy with your own hands as much as possible, isn't it?　If that's the case, I'm not in a position to say anything great about it, and I'd even rather support it.
"I'm sure there's a pattern of people giving up on you ...... to make sure you don't make the same mistakes you did.
For some people, maybe. But I'm not. I'm not talking about which one is right: ......
'That's just the way I am.'

　Garnett beat me to what I was going to say, so I deliberately lifted the corners of my mouth to indicate that I was right out of words.

　Garnett laughed back as well, then leaned his weight as hard as he could on the back of the chair and looked up at the ceiling.

'The first reason is enough. I don't need the second half. Let Erica have that one.
Hmm?　What was I supposed to do?

　Erica peeked out from the shadows.

　Garnett kept her posture and waved her slack hand in the air to indicate that she didn't have any particular business to attend to.

'Nothing. It's just that my name came up a bit in the course of the conversation.
Okay, but we've got a visitor.
Oops. ......!

　Garnett hurriedly regained her poise.

　The appearance of the man, who was quickly serving customers in his usual tone, was full of boyish cheerfulness and ease, without a trace of the languid atmosphere he had been in until a moment ago.

　This quick changeover may be Garnett's strength, but it doesn't mean that the worries she carries have disappeared, she just pushes them away instead of showing them to the public.

　You need to understand that and support them like an adult - or at least I want to support them.

　I have to understand that and support them like an older person, because we're in the same boat.

　After I've taken care of my customers, I try to get back to the main topic of the conversation, taking advantage of the timing of the quietness around the accounting counter.

I think it's a good idea to go through the process of procuring new equipment, rather than trying to do it on our own.
"For now, it's just a matter of getting it and then having White Wolf's [synthesize] it with Mithril. But what exactly are we going to do: ......
'Can't you ask the Silverwing Knights or House of Argentia for help?

　When I asked, thinking I should check it out, Garnett's mouth twisted in thought.

It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for. It's a good thing that the White Wolf Knights have been established and I'm officially treated as a secondment, so it doesn't seem to be a problem for me to procure equipment from the silver wing.

　Until relatively recently, Garnett had to hide the fact that he was a Knight of the Silverwing, but now he can now proudly reveal his identity as an official secondment.

　So he can also expect to receive backup from the Silverwing Knights, which he couldn't receive on a large scale before.

　If the Silver Winged Knights provide a great deal of support to the White Wolf Knights ......, it could be troublesome due to the balance of power between the knights and other things, but if it's just a matter of improving the equipment of the individual knights (Garnett) who belong to it, there will be no problem.

It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're going to be doing.　Take the story and you'll find something: ......

　As soon as Valentine's name was mentioned, Garnett's face looked like he'd bitten down on a bitter bug.

'Oh, that guy, ...... I don't want to owe him too much, or rather ......
If it's ......, let's just call it a last resort.

　I don't know much about Valentine Argentia's character.

　So I should defer to my sister, Garnett, to make a decision in this area.

　After concluding that for now, I decided to switch my attention to dealing with the new customer who brought me the goods.