...nyah....

　Kanade, sitting across the table from me, looked like the end of the world had come, and let out a somber sigh.

　He had forgotten about it because of the incident with the bandit group, but he had also completed the request to collect medicinal herbs.
　Remembering that, I reported it to the guild just a few minutes ago.
　The reward for securing a large amount of medicinal herbs was tripled.
　He was able to obtain a single silver coin.
　It's an unbeatable reward for just collecting medicinal herbs.

　In addition to that, the reward for defeating the bandits was three gold coins.
　I won't have any trouble finding a place to stay for the time being.

　However, there's still a long way to go if you want a stable life.
　It's not so much to get pumped up, but since it's the first reward, I thought I'd have something delicious to eat in a hurry....

"....no fish.......no.......no......no.......nyahhhh......

　That's right.

　This "Horizon" is a city located deep inland, so there is no seafood.
　Occasionally, a merchant from the ocean is said to be able to obtain marine products by trading with them, but this is rare.
　In Horizon, fish are highly valued as a high-class foodstuff, and are rarely seen, and even when they do appear on the market, they are quickly bought up by the nobility.

　It is impossible to find fish in a restaurant frequented by ordinary adventurers.
　Kanade, who was completely ready to eat fish, couldn't have been more disheartened.

''My fish........fish........''
'Well the meat looks good, too, doesn't it?　Look, doesn't this herb-grilled chicken look great?
'I want fish I'm not in the mood for meat...'

　This is serious.
　I'd like to take care of it, but ... hmmm.

Yeah.

　I suddenly remembered and rifled through my luggage bag.
　I stopped by the beach once when I was at a brave party...
　As I recall, that's when....

There it is.
"Yeah?
I can't do grilled fish but you know what, I'll make a fish preserves.
Meow!

　Kanade jumped up and grabbed the preserves in a frenzy.

It's a good idea to have a few of these in your hand.　Can I eat it?
'Okay. That's what I put out there for.
Well thank you Rayne for the fish.
That's kind of a funny word. Also, I waited a minute to eat. I'll order something else. You're right, it's bad manners to just rent a seat.
Yes, sir.



----------



　By the time we finished eating, the sun had set.
　I'm not going to push myself from the first day, so I move to the inn.
　For now, I got a room for the week.

''Ooooh, a bed! I'm so glad I've been out in the field for so long these days!
...how did this happen?

　Kanade, who was in the room with me, was quickly getting on the bed and frolicking like a child.
　I, on the other hand, was in the mood to hold my head up.

　Me and Kanade had one room each.
　That was the plan for the week.

　Getting two rooms would increase the expense of that, but it can't be helped.
　Even though the other party is a cat spirit race, she's still a girl around her age.
　It's not normal to sleep in the same room as her.

　And yet.....

　There was no other room available, so me and Kanade were squeezed into a double room.

'What's wrong?'　Lane's not sleeping?　The bed is so soft.
'Uh I'm good. I mean, I'm going to camp out today.
What? Why?
You can't sleep in the same room as a girl, can you?
Uh....

　For some reason, he was disappointed.

'I wouldn't mind having Rain with me, would you?
Never mind that. I'm a man.

　Could it be that he's not considered to be the opposite s*x at all, or is that the punchline?
　That's a very subtle feeling.

'Nya, I know that much. Rain is a boy. I'm a girl.
Then you know why it's not okay to sleep in the same room, right?
I know, but I don't understand.

　It's a bit confusing to me, because it's like a zen question.

That's a little embarrassing, right?　No.................It might be quite embarrassing. Sleeping in the same room as a boy like Rayne........nyah, I'm going to blush.
Then....
But I believe in Lane.
....
'Rain would never do anything weird... I'm fine with it because I believe that. If he didn't, we wouldn't be sleeping in the same room!

　Is he a softie or is he naive...
　Oh dear.
　It's going to take a lot of work to convince Kanade.

"Are you ready?　Don't trust people so easily. We just met the other day.　You're crazy to trust someone like that.
Mmm, I feel like an idiot.
'I'm not trying to be silly, but I'm telling you to have more of a sense of urgency. Kanade's a sweet little girl, you know.

I'm not going to hurt Kanade but I'm a man myself. It could have been an accident.
I'll be fine.
How can you be so sure?
Because I believe in Lane.

　The story was going in circles.

'Huh ... how can you trust people so easily?'
'I don't believe in people, okay?　I believe in Rain.
I'm not sure I understand the difference.
'If it were anyone else, I wouldn't believe it, would I?　But not Rain. Because we're ... we're friends, right?
....

　Those words pierce deep into my heart.

　Friends......

　I remember when I was at a brave party.
　The people I thought were my friends weren't my friends or anything.
　It was a selfish assumption on my part.

　Then what about Kanade?
　Can't believe it?
　Doesn't that sound like we're on the same side?

　...that's not true.

　Kanade is ... a friend.
　We've only just met, we don't know each other very well yet, and our outlandish behavior can be startling at times, but it's not the same.
　But you're my friend.
　And you're my friend.

Lane's my friend. That's why I believe in him.
I see.

　Oh no.
　I was going to convince Kanade, but on the contrary, he convinced me.

'All right. I'll stop sleeping in the field. I'll sleep here.
Nyaah, it's the best thing to do.

　A smile returned to Kanade's face.
　Maybe I was smiling too.

'Oh, but I wish you'd look over there when you're getting dressed. As expected, it's embarrassing and........nyah.
I know what I'm doing!　In that case, don't be shy, as you would expect.
Yeah.

　Kanade smiles at me.
　It's a smile like the sun.

　Looking at that smile, I can get a very warm feeling.
　If I could.....
　I want to be with Kanade all the time.

　It's pretty embarrassing to think about, but...
　That was my unmistakable truth.

　The first time I made a 'real' friend, my 'real' friend.
　I didn't want to let it go.