One day.
　I was walking around the city, not doing anything in particular.

"What's ...... that?

　I spotted Irene on the street.
　Irene was the girl I had met the other day at the Centaur King.

"But what's wrong with you?

　Irene's shoulders were slumped and she was walking with a listless look on her face.
　Her gait was unsteady and she almost hit passersby at times.

Irene, what's wrong? What's wrong with you, Irene?
"Oh, Kurt, .......

　When I called out to Irene, she looked up as if she had just noticed me.

　It's funny.
　Even in a crowded place, she would have noticed me if she had looked up.
　It seems that you have some concerns that prevent you from seeing me.

You don't have to call me "sir". It makes me itchy.
"Yeah, ......, yeah, I know. I'll call you Kurt.

　Eileen seemed unconcerned.
　I'm getting more and more curious.

"So ...... what's going on. What's going on?
"Heh, I guess Kurt can see right through me. But this is my problem. I don't think there's anything I can do about it.
"Mm. ......

　What is Irene talking about?

What are you talking about?　Do you think there's anything I can't do?
Huh?
Don't be afraid to talk about it. Just talk to him. It'll make you feel better.

　And when you said, "Kurt can't help you," a funny switch went off in me.

　When I said that, Irene began to talk about it.

"Let's see, there's the reward money from the Centaur King before ....... We're going to split it with Asil and the others. It wasn't just for me. ......
I think Eileen should have it all to herself. Those guys were just slowing her down.
That's not how it works.
...... Good. So what's the trouble?
Ha, Kurt's got it all figured out. That's right.

　A self-deprecating laugh escaped Irene's lips.

"The rest of the money I split with Assir and the others. That alone was a lot of money for me. But last night, they took it from me.
What?
When we were splitting it, I said, 'What are you talking about?　We fought the bravest! We fought the bravest!" We had some trouble. But I thought they gave up. ......

　Eileen said.
　Yesterday, when she was sleeping in her room at the inn, Asil and his friends snuck in at midnight.
　Irene is an adventurer. She noticed that Asil and the others hadn't done any concealment magic and immediately returned fire.
　But no matter how much Irene tried, it was probably too much for her to take on three men, and she was robbed without a fight. ......

Isn't that complete theft?
Yes, it is.
Why don't you tell the vigilante?　I hear the vigilantes in King's Landing are excellent.
No.

　Eileen shook her head.

Asil and the others were pretty strong adventurers from other cities. The vigilantes are no match for them. There's also the option of going to the guild and having them put out a wanted list. ...... Haha, I'm kind of tired. I'm just going to give up and consider this an expensive lesson. If it weren't for Kurt, I wouldn't have been able to get that money either.

　Although she was saying that, Irene's voice was lacking in energy.

　It was probably Irene's fault that Asil and the others had stolen the money.
　If this had been a thousand years ago, she would have not only been robbed of her money, but she would have been killed to keep her mouth shut.
　If you think about it, Asil and the others are still naive. Irene must think that she is lucky to have her life.

　But...

"That's a disgusting story. I don't have a choice.

　I took Irene's hand and started walking with her.

Let's go.
What, go where?

　It's obvious.


　She didn't understand the situation, so I continued.

"I'm here to give you moxa.

　...

　I used detection magic to find out.
　Asyl and the others were riding in a carriage and were just about to flee the capital.

"Ha-ha-ha!　He's a little sweetie, isn't he?
Yeah, yeah, I didn't think he'd be good enough to hire guards!
I guess we don't have to work for a while with all this!

　Asyl and the others are laughing and trying to get into the carriage.

　They are not adventurers in King's Landing.
　They're not adventurers in King's Landing. They're probably planning to leave this place and live comfortably for a while.
　But...


You look like you're having fun.


　I'm not going to let that happen.
　I said to the three of them as they were about to leave.

"You're ......!

　As soon as Asil saw me, he was shocked.

You've been brutally beaten by the Centaur King, how dare you. Have you already healed your wounds? It's a good thing that the old saying goes, 'The bad guys are only as strong as their life force.
f*ck you!
Hey, it's gonna take all of you!
Three of you should be able to take down a child!

　With a little provocation, Asil and the others drew their swords and attacked at once.

　They still don't understand the difference in strength.
　It seems that they are completely helpless.
　I could have given them a quick twist, but that would have been a bit lame.

"Nightmare.

　I muttered, and activated the illusion spell.

　Then the three of them suddenly stopped moving and started scurrying around.

What's going on?
What's going on?　How can the Centaur King appear in the city?
"And there are one...... five...... ten of them?

　And they scream and panic.
　Now they are dreaming that they are surrounded by Centaur Kings.
　It's a nightmare that won't be easy to wake up from.

"You should reflect on that.

　Asyl and the others were making a lot of noise, which attracted the attention of the people around them.

"What are those people?　What are those people doing making noise in the middle of nowhere?
They're saying there's a demon out there.
"Haha, you idiot. There's no such thing anywhere.

　Everyone laughed and scorned Assil and the others for acting like clowns.

They laughed and scorned Assil and the others for acting like clowns. "If you kill all ten Centaur Kings, you might wake up from this nightmare. Good luck with that.

　I left Asil and the others fighting in the dream and went to the carriage.
　There was the money that I must have taken from Irene.

　I took it back and left the carriage in front of Asil and the others.

　I took it back and left Asil and the others.

There was this thing called "......".

　I returned the money to Irene.
　I returned the money to Eileen and told her about the incident with Asil and the others.

Thank you so much!　But Asil and the others are at .......
"Yeah, they're probably not going to have time for adventuring at that rate. It won't hurt to give them that kind of punishment.
"Uh-huh.

　I answered, but Irene's expression didn't change.

　Is she worried about the safety of Asil and the others?
　No, at this rate, .......

What's the matter, Irene? Have you lost your confidence?

　I asked, and Irene's face lit up.

"...... You know everything, Kurt. That's right. You can't even kill a demon, and to top it all off, you get betrayed by Asil and his friends. I'm not sure if I can make it as an adventurer from now on.
"Hmm.

　I put my hand on Irene's head.

I put my hand on Irene's head. "Sometimes you lose confidence like that. But as far as I can see, Irene has a lot of potential if she keeps working at it.
"But, but ......
It's a good idea to forget about your ...... day job and enjoy the entertainment.

　Then I took out a ticket from my pocket and handed it to Irene.

"What's this?
It's a voucher for crepes. I'm a student at Rosanlea Academy of Magic. I'm setting up a stall at the school festival.


"Yeah, yeah, yeah!　Kurt was a student?　Wasn't he an adventurer?
"Oh, I haven't told you yet.

　I briefly told him where the festival would be held and about the First Class.
　Then Irene's face lit up with a smile.

"Yes!　I'll be there for sure!　I have a sweet tooth, you know!

　I love sweets!" she exclaimed happily.

　It's going to be quite a lively festival.