It's been two days since we encountered Trent.
　Today we're finally going to arrive in Queres.
　It's said to be a magic city, and I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of place it is.

''Okura-san!　I can see it!

Oh, let's see...

　After swaying behind Sisha for a while as usual, she suddenly screamed.
　With that, I looked out from her side and looked ahead.

　There was a large white wall spread out.
　Further back, there were several towers larger than the wall, flickering red and blue everywhere.

''It's a very fine structure,''

"So it's like a magic city. I can't wait to get inside.

　Just from a quick glance at the outside, there is not much difference from the royal capital, and it seems to be developing quite well.
　After all, it is the home of magic, I wonder if they are using magic tools in the city in various ways?

　Soon after that, they arrived at the entrance to the magical city of Queles.
　Egon-san spoke to the guard at the gate and easily let us in.

　The streets of Queles were not much different from the royal capital.
　If you look at the far side of the city, there are some pretty big buildings, though not as big as the royal castle of Sting.
　Built of what looks like white marble, it is quite a beautiful building.

　Many of the people walking around town are dressed normally, but there were also a few people wearing robes here and there.
　Is that the mage of this world?
　He glanced at us and turned forward, then looked at us once more and made a surprised face.
　It shouldn't have attracted that much attention, but........

　After moving away from the gate to some extent, we stopped the carriage and Arderbel-san came out.
　Along with that, we stop and get off our horses too.
　It seems that the escort is over here.

Thank you, thanks to you guys I was able to get to Queles safely.

No, no, no, it's a relief to know we did the job right.

　We encountered wolves and Trent, but we were able to send Arderbel and her friends back to Queles unscathed.
　Well, if we encountered a demon out there that we could pinch ourselves against, it would already be as good as a big defeat, not just an escort.
　The problem was whether or not we could protect the target of our escort intact, but other than overdoing it and surprising them, there was no problem.
　It seems that this time it was fine because Annelie-chan was happy, but if I ever get another request for an escort, I'll have to be careful about that.

　Arderbelle-san got down from the carriage and after thanking us, she handed us a certificate for the accomplishment of the request.
　With this, this request is completely done.

''I've heard that there have been a lot of damage to carriages being attacked by demons lately. We usually request C-ranked people, but this time we were able to appoint B-ranked people. You guys really helped me out a lot by coming.

　Hmmm, we were attacked by minotaurs too when we were going to King's Landing, does that mean there have been more since then?
　Kristoff said, and this time he was blocking the way to Trent in a place where he wasn't actually there.
　With the increased danger, it would be tempting for the requesting party to ask for a higher-ranked adventurer.

''You guys are going to go back to Sting soon after this?''

Yes, I will.

'Well I would have asked you to return if I could, but then I had no choice.

　You want us to do the job for you, huh?
　That would be an honor, but soon after this we'll be leaving.
　But we've got a beacon in place so we can come back whenever we want.

'If you can tell me how long you'll be back, I'll come to Queles to escort you accordingly?

'Oh, that helps. But I haven't decided exactly when I'll be back yet.

''Well then, if we find a request here at the Adventurer's Association, we'll take it on a priority basis.

I'm sorry to make you feel uncomfortable.

　I don't know if you'll be able to come every day, but I'll check the request with the Adventurer's Association here whenever possible.
　I don't feel bad about being asked to do this, and I want to let you meet Annelie and Estelle.

''Esther!''

'Yikes!　Um, what's up, Annelie?

　As I was thinking about this, Annelie-chan jumped out of the carriage this time and hugged Esther.
　Esther, who was suddenly hugged, is surprised to hear a short voice.
　But her face is a little loose, and she doesn't look unconcerned.
　Annelie and Esther seemed to be having a good conversation yesterday, and they're already good friends.

''Thank you for escorting us around!

Well, yeah it's a request, of course.

Carriage rides are always boring, but this one was a lot of fun!　It's all thanks to Esther!

Oh, yeah?

Yeah!

　Annelie-chan is closing in on Estelle with a gigantic hug.
　Estelle always comes on to me in the same way, but perhaps embarrassed when she's done, she turns her face away with her cheeks red.

''Oh, I'm sorry ... did I bother you?''

No, it's not like that...

　At the appearance of being a little troubled, Annelie-chan asked anxiously as she pulled away and raised her eyebrows.
　After being released from Annelie-chan, Esther looked a little disappointed.
　Then, both of them were silent and looked at each other for a while, before Annelie-chan broke the silence from her.

''Well you know what, Esther. If you'd like, when you get back to Sting, would you like to come to my house to visit me?

What?

I'd like to see Esther work her magic again and have a chat with her.

'Well...'

　Esther made a distracted sound at the sudden invitation.
　She moved her body in a soothing manner, scurrying from side to side and acting suspiciously.
　Then she looked at me and pleaded with me with her eyes to know what to do.

　I don't affirm or deny it, I just stare back at him.
　What I want to do, that's for Esther to decide for herself.
　Well, I'm sure I already know the answer.

'No, I guess?'

''Fine. I've had a lot of fun chatting with Annelie, too.

'Yay!　I love Estelle!

Hey, you're hurting me...

　Estelle gasped and seemed to have made up her mind before she opened her mouth.
　When Annelie-chan heard that, she hugged Estelle again and was very excited.

''Ufufu, Estelle is so cute!''

'It's kind of embarrassing to hear a girl your age say that...'

　Estelle is being patted on the head by Annelie-chan as she hugs me.
　She doesn't have her usual spare attitude towards us at all, and she's blushing and doing what she's told.
　I've never really seen her like this.
　Hmmm, she's really cute. She's not the same Esther that's always coming on to me.

Do you want to come to my house, Annelie?　There's a Fortuna Rabbit in there.

What, Fo, the Fortuna Rabbit?

　When Annelie-chan heard that Fortuna Rabbit was in the house, she was bitten by a glint in her eye.
　It was so unusual for Moffitt to be so surprised, even though she was the daughter of a rich man.
　I don't feel like it's unusual anymore because she's always bouncing around the house or Noll is holding her.

'Come on, come on!　I'll be there for sure!

Mmmm, Moffoot is a cute little thing. You can count on me!

'Then Lu-go!　Gogo!

Okay, I'll just be quiet for a second.

　As soon as the topic of Moffoot came up, Noor was a little proud of himself.
　I covered Sisha's mouth with my hand as she started to say, "Le after that.
　You just tried to run your mouth, Luna, didn't you?　That's not how we compete!
　I was going to go out of control if I didn't, so I just kept my mouth shut and let Sisha be quiet.

''Ah........I have to go now. When I return to Sting, I'll ask the Adventurer's Association to contact you. Then, Esther, see you later!　Thank you, Okura-san and the others for this one!

　Annelie-chan felt that the goodbye greeting was too long, and she moved away from Esther.
　She shook Estelle's hand with both hands, thanked us and bowed to us before getting into the carriage.
　Mr. Arderbel also bowed to us and then got into the carriage as well.

　The carriage departs and moves away from us, but Annelie is waving at us from the back window.
　Estelle gives a small, one-handed wave back at it and keeps waving at it until the carriage is completely out of sight.

''He's gone...''

Yes, well...

　I muttered somewhat after I couldn't see and Estelle dropped her hand.
　Estelle replied shortly and stood looking towards the direction of the carriage.
　I knew I was going to miss saying goodbye to Annelie-chan.

''I'm glad we got along,''

Yes.

　Somehow I couldn't leave it at that, and when I called out to her further, Esther nodded after a short pause.
　It's not the usual mature atmosphere, but a girlish one.
　I guess that means that Estelle is still a girl after all. This time, it must have been a good experience for her.
　I hope she will continue to get along with Annelie-chan in the future and have fun in a girlish way.

''Oh, Okura-dono!　Sisgah is about to faint!

'Oh, shit!　Nah, you're okay!

'Geez, geez.......Hugh, Hugh......how could I do this to myself.......'

　He was so engrossed in Esther that he forgot that he had been covering Sisha's mouth with his hand the whole time.
　His nose was also blocked, he went limp and lowered his hands brusquely, and he felt like his consciousness was about to fly away at any moment.
　When I let go of my hands in a hurry, Sisha collapsed off her buttocks as it was, leaning against me and coughing and looking distressed.

'....Annelie, I'll see you again.

　As me and Noor were caring for the downed Sisha, I suddenly heard Esther muttering to herself about it.