"But are Freddy and Silas okay?　They've been hanging out with us for days.

Ugh. Actually, I'm about to get sick. Thanks to Haruka, I don't have any extra expenses like medical bills, but ......

You need money for living, too.

　In the event that you've got a lot of money to spend, you'll be able to take advantage of it.

　Toya and I would be healed up once we got back to the inn, but that wasn't going to be the case for Silas and Freddy.

　When Freddy and the others were badly injured, I would take them to the inn and have Haruka heal them.

　After that, Freddy called Haruka "san" for some reason.
　He called me and Toya by our names.
　No, I'm not asking you to call me "sir".

I have no problem with that.　It's almost like I'm retired.

You're not?　You were the branch manager's bodyguard, right?

That's part of my job now. I'm kind of the guild's errand boy. Without that, I'm pretty bored. I've worked my way up to this age, and I've got some money saved up.

"So Cyrus is a winning adventurer.

　Silas smiled and waved his hand at Toya, who looked a little amused.

It's not that good. It's not that good. It's just that he was wise enough to know when to retire, if I do say so myself.

　Even so, considering that most adventurers die before they can retire, Silas was wise and capable enough to build up his reserves and bring himself into semi-retirement, as he said.

And by the way, it's still half my job.
"Hmm?　Work ......?　You mean training with us?
That's one thing, but it's more like measuring your skills.
...... What the hell is that?　It's disturbing, isn't it?



　I'm not sure if you've ever heard of this, but I'm sure you've heard of it.

"Don't be so picky. I heard you guys were bored. When I heard that you guys seemed to be bored, I thought we could work together, if your skills are up to it.

"Oh, I see. So you didn't just hear about it, you checked it out for yourself?

That's what I meant. And even if you're good, there's always chemistry when you work together.

　Come to think of it, Cyrus had never seen us fight before.

　He must have heard about the place where we got Satomi and our track record through the guild, but if we're going to work together, it's understandable that he would be cautious not to believe them.

　And it's probably because of this caution that we've been able to survive until now.
　It would be too scary to suddenly form a wild party in a real life-threatening situation.

So, did we pass?

"Passed, too. Needless to say. And Freddy, since you're here, why don't you join us?　It's a direct order from the guild, so the pay is not bad.

If Silas-san asks me, I won't refuse!

Oh, I see. Hey, Toya, what about you guys?

Well, I can't answer that without asking you what you want. You know?

　I nodded to him as he looked at me.

You're right. I'll take the job after considering the risks. It's only natural.

　Freddy may trust Silas, but we've only been in contact with him for a few days.

　I think he's trustworthy, but we don't know each other well enough to trust him.

Well, you're right. This has something to do with the fact that I've been out of town for a while now, but there's been a bit of a problem--

　Silas began to speak.




　There are two rivers flowing near the town of Kergu.
　The one to the east is the relatively large Noria River, which flows from Sarstat to Mijara.

　To the west is the Petras River, which is said to originate far west of Rafan, further west than our "summer dungeon".

　Even though it's "close", the distance from Kergu to the Noria River is farther than the distance from Laffan to Sarstat, and the Petras River, which is somewhat closer, is not close enough to be seen directly from Kergu.

　And it is the closer one, the western Petras River, that is causing the problem.

　Some of the agriculture in the area around Kergu uses the canal water from the Petras River. The person who maintains the canal water reported that there is a huge creature in the Petras River.

　It was unconfirmed information, but demons usually exist in this world, so we can't easily judge it as a mistake.

　This season is spring.
　If the canal is destroyed, agriculture will be greatly affected.

　The town's representative immediately sent a request to the Adventurer's Guild, and Silas was sent to investigate.



So, did you find anything?
Not sure, but something that looks like it.
What?　If you're not sure, then you didn't see it?
Just a shadow. I saw something big swimming in the river, didn't I?
What? You better check it out.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find something that can help you.

"Don't be silly!　What if I get too close and get attacked? When I'm alone.

"That's right. We're here to investigate.

I'm kidding. I don't think you should go that far by yourself. There's no point if you can't come back.

Right?　What a good adventurer needs is discretion.

Of course. --Maybe it's an unidentified creature. ......



　Mmmm," said Toya with a serious expression as he began to worry.
　All eyes were focused on him, wondering what he was going to say, but...

"If it's a UMA from the Petrus River, should it be Petosee or Peto-chan?

　What came out of Toya's mouth was something unimportant.

　Silas raised his eyebrows in disgust at the words that only his classmates could understand.

"What's that?

No, I just thought we should name the giant creature.

...... do what you want. Well, I need a name for my report, so if you want to name it, I'll leave it to you.

　Cyrus sighed and reached for his ale, but Toya snorted again and turned her gaze to me.

　I had no choice but to think for a moment.

"Well, it's a river, so it's more like Peto-chan, isn't it?

No, doesn't that naming convention only apply to cute girls?

I see. You have a point. Petosey, then?

It's not a lake, that's what's bothering me. ....... But I've always wondered, what's a 'she'?

It's probably a suffix for a nickname or something. It's a suffix for a nickname or something like that. "It's 'shee' because it's after Loch Ness, but it's originally 'ie', so if you're applying it to the Petras River, it should be 'Petty' or 'Petrasi'.

"I see, so--

"Petey's not good. It's probably not so pretty.

　Before Toya could say which one she would choose, a serious Mitya came in with a plea.

　Before Toya could say, "Which one?

I'm not sure I understand what Nao and the others are saying, but Petraeus is hard to say, so Petosee is fine.　...... If you try too hard to give it a name and get attached to it, it will be harder to die.

　It's hard to say, but it's hard to say.
　But I agree with Mary that it's hard to say.

"Okay, I'll take that. The unidentified creature is Petosy. And, Cyrus. Are you sure this is an invitation to take down the Petosi?



　To be honest, I didn't really care either, so I quickly adopted Mary's idea and looked at Silas, who had already emptied his several cups of ale and looked back at me with slightly reddened eyes.