The girls stopped about 40 minutes after they started walking from the boarding area of the carriage.

(Oh, King's Capital Mulia is so big!)

　It's a city of 300,000 people, indeed.
　I kept walking through the crowds, and I was a bit tired. I didn't know where I was going, so to me, it felt like an extra long walk.

　And now I see a white building in front of me.

'Is this the adventurer's guild of Illtimina-san and the others?'
Yes, sir.

　She nodded.

The Adventurer's Guild 'Moonlight Wind' - our home base.

　He said somewhat proudly.

　The adventurer's guild was located on the outskirts of the royal capital, facing the lake.

　It was a beautiful building with a garden.
　It was built of white marble-like stone, and despite the name 'adventure', it had a refreshing impression. It's like a white tower by the water.

　Right now, since the sun is setting, the light leaking through the windows makes it look somewhat fantastic.

(Hmmm. It's a bit like a medium-sized company, isn't it?

　That's how I feel about it in light of my previous life's knowledge.

Let's go.

　After ducking through a splendid gate and walking down a cobblestone walkway, Mr. Quilt entered the entrance of the building.
　We hurriedly followed him, too.

(Ooh~?)

　As soon as I entered, I scream out in my mind.

　First of all, the building had a vaulted ceiling to the third floor.

　There was a reception desk in the center of the front of the building, with three beautiful women sitting in the middle.

　In front of it, there are a lot of chairs lined up.
　I wondered if this was the waiting area for customers.　There were also some houseplants placed there, making it a bit more relaxed.

　To the right, there was a row of stores.
　Weapons, armor, magic tools, medicines, materials, and many more products are handled.

　On the left was a large quest board.
　Unlike the one in Arsen-san's inn, it was much larger and seemed to be divided into smaller sections.

　On the far side, there's another counter, with three men at it.
　But I don't know what it is.

　There were two spiral staircases leading to the upper floor at the far end of the reception area.

(Is the second floor the cafeteria?)

　A nice smell wafted out of there.
　It took a long time in traffic, so we had to skip lunch. Ugh my stomach is rumbling a bit.

　I couldn't see the third floor from here.

　And in my view, there were a lot of ... really a lot of adventurers walking in this building.

(Wow, they all look so strong!)

　It's a fighting figure, wearing weapons and armor.

　There are humans.
　There are large, bear-like beastmen.
　There are short dwarves and, of course, elves.

Dark skin!　(No way, Mr. Dark Elf!)

　We have even witnessed some of the rarer beings among the elves.

　Currently, there are about forty adventurers in the guild.
　They were scrutinizing quests, buying weapons and armor in the shop, or climbing the spiral staircase to the dining room on the second floor. Some of them were sitting on the floor, healing their wounds, tending to their equipment, or discussing the next quest with their party.

(I'm seeing the adventurer's ecology for the first time, me...)

　Yeah, I'm a little impressed.　

　And so the three of us and I headed straight for the reception desk, with Mr. Quilt in the lead.
　The lady at the reception desk notices us right away and stands up.

"Welcome back, Mr. Quilt.
"Mm.

　Mr. Kilt nodded and held his right hand over the round magic stone on the reception table.
　The golden crest glowed.

Kirt Amandes, Iltimina Wong and Solstice Wong have returned from a mission to defeat the Red Fangled Dragon, Gad.
I'll check the reference. Thank you for your help.
"Mm.

　The lady at the reception desk shows some papers and Mr. Kilt signs them.
　What is he doing?

　Noticing me nodding my head, Illtimina-san smiles gently and gives me an earful.

''It's the signing of the request completion certificate for the guild, the client, the insurance guild, etc. This request was an official request from Adam Reid, the lord of Aldoria region. Because of that, the report is complicated in many ways.
Hmm?

　I don't know what it is, but it seems that the procedures involving the authorities are somehow the same in this world.

　After finishing writing, Kirt-san looks back at me.

'Irna, I'll take your fang. I'll get it appraised and get the certificate.
Yes, sir.

　From the large backpack, the red fang dragon's fangs are removed.

　Dosun.

　It was larger than his height, lowered to the floor, and Mr. Kilt pulled the rope he had tied and lifted it lightly.

'I'll report to the guild leader, and I'll make sure the strawberries are accounted for. As for you, go upstairs and rest.
Are you sure?
Merle is here today. It's a special occasion.

　Smiling reliably and carrying her fangs, she walked to the back of the first floor.
　That counter at the back may be a place to dismantle defeated demons and turn them into materials or appraise the materials for proof of defeat, apparently.

　I stare at the silver-haired, swaying back, and then I look up at Illtimina-san next to me.

''Leave it all to me, is that okay?''
'The quilt says. Let's just take him at his word this time.

　Illtimina-san smiled and Solstice snapped her fingers, "Lucky...

　Then, Iltimina-san took us by the hand and we headed for the spiral staircase leading to the second floor.
　On the way up, I suddenly look downstairs.

''Oh!　The return of the demon princess?!
Good job, Mr. Kilt!
What took you so long to get to this point?　I was worried about you.
"Oh, come on, this is the Demon Princess Kilt.　You don't have to worry about it.
Welcome back.
Oh, my God, a quilt!

　Many adventurers had noticed the Golden Mark Demon Hunter and called out to him.

(Ooh, as expected of a celebrity)

　Kirt-san smiled and said, "I'm home, everyone," and was friendly.
　After all, he is a member of the Adventurer's Guild, so he seems to have many acquaintances. And he seems to be popular and trusted by everyone.

''.........''

　scurrying about

　I look around.
　But I don't see any adventurers coming near Illtimina or Solstice. There are people who have noticed their sisters' presence, but not a single person who comes to talk to them.

(...Do they have any friends?)

　I am the one who worries unnecessarily.
　But neither of them seemed to be bothered by it.　

(Well, maybe the two of them just didn't know each other on any other quest.)

　Mm-hm.

"What?　What's wrong, Merle?
No, it's nothing.

　Shake your head.

Don't worry. I'm here for you.
?

　When I was convinced by myself, Illtimina shook her beautiful hair and nodded her head.


　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇


　Upstairs, I knew it was a diner.

(No ... a diner or a restaurant, right?)

　Each table is also adorned with lights, and a wall of full-length glass windows offers a view of the lake in the setting sun. From the lake, as vast as the sea, the constant sound of the waves could be heard in a pleasant rhythm.
　There was a door to the outside and a terrace.

　Yes, it was very stylish.

Since we are here, shall we have seats on the terrace?
Yeah!
Wherever you are, let's just eat.

　Leaving us laughing at each other, Solstice goes on ahead, alone.

　Good grief.
　The picky eater girl is the same as ever.

　Laughing bitterly, we head for the terrace - at that moment, a woman who seems to have just finished eating stands up from a table on the way.

　She turns around to leave the restaurant and

'Huh?　Miss Irna?

　He looked surprised.

(Oh, you know him?)

　The woman was a young beastie, about seventeen or eight years old.

　She wore her glossy red hair in a ponytail, and from her head sprouted two beastly ears. From a hole in her skirt, a tail the same color as her hair was curled up in a curl, and now it was flapping and swinging from side to side.
　She was very cute and beautiful.

　But the outfit wasn't that of an adventurer, it was the same uniform as the sisters at the reception desk.
　Probably a guild employee.

　Rolling her jade-colored eyes, the red-haired beastman-san laughed.

''As I thought, it's Irna-san!　Thank goodness you're home!
"Coo.

　Iltimina mutters shortly.

(Coo?)

　As I scowled, the red-haired beastman noticed me.
　He crouched down in front of me, made eye contact with me, pointed to his own face, and smiled.

'I'm Qualina Fasse. That's why everyone calls me 'Coo'.
Oh, nice to meet you. I'm Merle.

　pecking order

　When I bowed my head, Qualina said, "Wow, she's so cute! He reached out and stroked my hair. Wow?

'What's wrong with her?　Are you Irna's brother, by any chance?
No, sir.
That's right. I've never heard of such a thing.......so you're not expecting me to be your lover!
..........

　Qualina-san teases.
　But Illtimina-san falls silent and her cheeks turn red.

　Qualina-san said, ''Huh? and then a look of surprise came over his face.

'What?　Huh?　No way, really!
..........
'Because you're so young... what?　Irna-san likes that kind of younger... no, no, it's fine, but... eh.
Shut up for a minute.

　Illtimina lets out a low voice to a fearful Qualina.
　And then, letting out a loud sigh.

Merle is my benefactor.
'What?　Benefactor?
'It's not about us, Coo. For that matter, I'm sure you've finished your meal break, right?　Then you go back to doing your job.
Ugh.

　After being licked, Quarina's shoulders slumped, "Huh," she said.
　Her ears and tail droop, too.

(Kind of cute.)

　But she looked up as if she'd come to her senses.

But I'm so glad you're back in one piece!　I was worried about you because you had Mr. Quilt here and you weren't coming back at the last minute of the deadline?
Quests don't all go as planned, you know.
Haha, yes.

　Qualina chuckles.

'Well then, Irna, I'm going to go, aren't I?　--Marl, if you have any problems with the guild, you can call on me, too. I'll help you.
'Oh, yes. Thank you.
Yeah, see you later!

　Waving her hand cheerfully and fluttering her ponytail, she left.

(Hmm...?)

　The way he walks is a little awkward.
　Illtimina tells me when I notice it.

'Until last year, she was an adventurer.

　Huh?

But during my quest, a water demon called a dragon fish ate my leg off.
..........
I used my recovery magic to regenerate my leg, but I was left with a permanent injury. I can continue to live my life, but I had to stop being an adventurer. So now I'm a guild employee.

　I let out a short breath.

I had a party once. She was a very, very talented girl. I thought we could make it to the white mark and go beyond that, though.
..........

　He was a cheerful person with no sense of such a painful past.

(But how long did it take him to get that smile back?)

　It hurts my heart to think about it.
　I'm sure Illtimina has seen that time with Qualina, too?　

'I'm sorry, that was a weird story,'
Nope.

　I shook my head at Illtimina-san, who smiled apologetically.

　There are many adventurers here.
　And I'm sure there are many people who have lost their lives, and many who have lost their friends.

(After all, it's hard being an adventurer.)

　I'll remind you of that.

　........Huh?
　And I suddenly remember.

"What about Solstice?
Oh, and by the way...?

　Munching and crunching.

You're both late.
..........
..........

　When she finally found it, she had already ordered her food and started eating on the terrace ahead of me....


　◇ ◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇


Well, recovery magic isn't a panacea either, so it's no use.

　The girl eating the giant omelette said, after hearing what I had done with Mr. Qualina.

'Really?'
Of course it is. Recovery magic is just another form of treatment, just like medication and surgery. It has its limits, and it can fail. So there are a lot of things that can be done with the aftereffects.

　I see.
　I finally understand the difference in thinking.

　In fact, I thought that the greatest thing in the fantasy world is recovery magic.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. Even the red-fanged dragon feels like it could be defeated by firing a missile at it.
　So I thought I wasn't defeated.

　But recovery magic is a different story.

(Because it can heal wounds in an instant, or even bring the dead back to life?)

　This couldn't have happened in a previous life.
　I experienced it myself, and this is the only thing I thought was superior to the fantasy world.

　But apparently that's not the norm in my reincarnated world.

(I was lucky, wasn't I?)

　It's like a game, you rush into a bunch of enemies, kill them while reducing their HP, and then get them healed and 'Yes, we're back to normal! What kind of warfare is so risky in this world that it doesn't seem to work very often.

I see.

　I mutter to myself as I bring my own omelet to my mouth.

　These two guys are adventurers too, taking such risks.

　No, it's not just the two of us.
　If I move my gaze, I see adventurers eating in the restaurant in the building as well. I'm sure there are plenty of adventurers on the other floors as well.

(They're all awesome.)

　It was kind of mind-blowing.

　Then it occurred to me.

'Oh, by the way, Illtimina?　How many adventurers are there in this guild?

　The sudden question startles her, then she stops eating and tells me.

''That's right. The 'Moonlight Wind' is still a new adventurer's guild, so I think there were around a hundred registered members.
Are you new here?
Yes, sir. It was founded 15 years ago. So Kilt is one of the few members who has been registered since the founding. --''By the way, a large guild like the Black Iron Finger has chapters in every city and more than 4,000 registered adventurers.''

　Oh, 4,000 people!
　So Clay and the others are five of them, then?

　Solstice shook the spoon from side to side with a tsk tsk instead of a finger.

'More is not always better. We're a select few.

　Hmm.
　I didn't listen, but Illtimina-san added.

''That's right. This guild is of high quality since 90% of the registered members are 'Demon Blood People'.
Ninety percent?

　That's great.

"The founder of 'Moonlight Wind' and the current head of the guild, Mumpa Vina, created this guild as a place for the persecuted 'demon blood people'. In the early days of the guild's establishment, there was some harassment, but nowadays, the guild has gained a reputation for its strong military strength, and requests from the kingdom have begun to come in.
"Huh?

　Mumpa, you're a great guy.
　I've never met you, but I have a little respect for you.

(Huh?)

　I suddenly realized.

''Wait a minute. If you're 90% of the guild, could it be that the beastly Qualina-san is also a 'Demon Blood People'?
Yes, sir.
...There's more than just humans as 'demon blood people'?

　To my surprise, Solstice laughed in dismay, "You are an idiot.


Oh, really?
Well, about one in a thousand people are 'demon blood people'.

　Her sister's words were supplemented by her sister.

''However, the 'demon blood people' are most likely to be humans and beastmen. There aren't many elves and dwarves around.
I see.
''Especially since elves are quick to kill demon blood babies as soon as they are born.

　..........
　That's just cruel, Mr. Elf. I'm a bit shocked.

But.........it's hard to tell what a 'Devil's Blood People' looks like, isn't it?

　The two people in front of me and Ms. Qualia are no different from the average person.
　No, they're all beautiful.
　Maybe that's the difference!

Those who can sense the magic power will understand it right away. The magical power of the blood is about ten times greater.
..........

　Excuse me?

So, if you can't feel it, you don't understand?
Yes, sir.
Are there that many people in the world who can sense magic?
No, I think it's rather small.

　Huh?
　Then, for many people like me who can't feel magic power, it doesn't matter whether they have demon blood or not.

''I'm sorry, but there are still many shops in King's Capital that hang magic power measuring devices in front of their stores and don't allow the 'Demon Blood People' to enter their stores.
You're going to do that?

How could you...?

　As I was stunned, Illtimina-san laughed in annoyance.

''Four hundred years ago, in the Divine Demon War, the devil gave humanity that much fear.
..........
'And the gods fought their demons and saved such humanity.

　I said, "I'm going to be honest.

"Those people are idiots.
...What?
Devil's blood is just blood. It's not a sin or a thing. And God does not approve of acts that hurt innocent people. --In fact, those people are God's enemies.

　I was angry.
　No, maybe I was more angry at "Marl's Body".

　--Don't use God's name for your evil deeds.　

　The two sisters looked at me with a pout.
　Then they laughed.

'Thank you, Merle.'
Huh... it's a nice thing to say once in a while, isn't it?　You're a rag.

　They both looked happy.

　No, if you look closely, you'll notice that the adventurers at a nearby table were also laughing.
　They could hear me talking.

"Well said.
You know what I'm talking about, kid.
You're absolutely right.

　It's something of a compliment.
　Some of them even applauded me.

(I'm starting to get a little embarrassed when people pay attention to me, okay?)

　Contrary to my blushing face, Illtimina was a bit proud of herself.　　
　But Solstice giggled and

But you don't have to be so angry, you know?
What?
Because unlike us, Marle isn't a People of Demon Blood. You don't have to bear any unnecessary suffering.

　...........
　It was her own way of saying she cared.

　But I was a bit hurt.

(I feel like I'm the only one left out........)

　Hmmm.
　As I watch the sunset, I think about it.

''Well........is this guild only allowed to enter if one is a 'Demon Blood People'?'''
No, I don't think so.

　Illtimina denied it curiously.

''Ten percent of the registered adventurers are not 'Demon Blood People' and there is no such requirement.
Okay.
Oh, Merle you can't be serious.

　That's when she opened her mouth, looking a little uneasy.

'Oh, there you are.'

　Huh?

　I turned at the unexpected voice and saw a beautiful silver-haired woman in the doorway to the terrace.

'Miss Kilt,'
Welcome back, Kilt.
Good night.

　We laughed and tried to welcome them.
　Finally the report was over, and Mr. Kilt thought he was back, too.

(?)　(Mr. Kilt?)

　But she doesn't come to us.
　She looks a little apologetic and looks at us - or just at me - with her golden eyes.

I'm sorry to interrupt the meal. But I'm going to need Merle to keep you company for a little while longer.

　Well...?

　Mr. Illtimina and Solstice look at me in confusion.
　Then Kilt-san said.

'Our adventurer's guild, Mumpa Vina, the head of the Moonlight Wind, wishes to see you, Marle.