A week has passed since then.
　To be honest, it feels like a long time until about the third day, but after the fourth day, the days passed like a warp.


　So it's not unusual for me to find myself asleep in bed. Or rather, that's exactly what I'm doing right now.
　I don't come home much, and near the window is a room with moss growing in it. Normally it's given to a group of ten people, but I'm the only one given a small room to myself.
　As I recall, Sheila had asked me to do so.


'Jide is being forced to work too hard!　At least a place where he can feel at home by himself. ......


　Or something.
　It was nice to hear that, but I'd rather stay in my old group room because I didn't have time to clean it properly.


　Because if you come to this room, you won't be able to tolerate it well enough. The musty smell, the dust that spreads when you walk around, and the moss growing on the window sills.
　I don't like it either. But I don't have a choice. I don't have the time or energy to clean up.


　And.
　Then a visitor appears in the room.


　No, but it wasn't a regular visitor.
　Because it didn't come through the door, but through the window.


"Who's there?
"Ho. You're good at noticing things even when you're on your stomach. As expected of a warrior, he recognizes it.
It's not just depression. It's also exhaustion from working all week long.
Jesus. It's such a harsh environment.


　I could hear a labored pity from a very young voice.
　It seems that he was not a regular guest after all. --because he didn't know the environment of this Order.
　Curiously, he cocked his head to the side and took a glance with only one eye.


　It's time to sleep, but not necessarily at night, but in the middle of the day.
　The sun is shining in and the halo is dazzling me slightly, and my eyes are about to close slightly, but I manage to open them and get used to it.


　Then the owner of the voice finally comes into view.


　A small shadow sitting on the window.
　It's a cute little girl with long, thin, purple hair that reaches her knees and large, golden eyes that could be mistaken for the sun - a pretty little girl.


'Who are you?'
'The straw is a riff on the guild master. I'm here to scout your master!
............ Right.
It's not very responsive.


　Guild.
　I've heard of it. It's the organization my former group member worked for.
　They would make various requests to the so-called "adventurers" or something like that. It seems to be a system where you get paid when you complete your requests.
　Although I was somewhat curious, I couldn't hear the story because my colleague was also called to heaven the next day or escaped from the knight's group.


''Well, whatever you do, don't join the Order without permission. Your parents might be worried about you, so hurry back home.
Mmm. Maybe you don't believe me?
'How am I supposed to believe the opposite? What kind of organization allows a five-year-old kid to be a guildmaster?
'I'm not five!　Don't judge by appearances!


　A plump, lovely, angry little girl.
　Soft, glutinous, smooth, wrinkle-free skin. The shining eyes that seem to know no stain. ...... Wherever you look, it's a little girl.


The first thing you need to do is to ask them. 'How old do you think I am?' And. Because all but the craziest of them would say they were under ten years old.
'That being said, though, I have to admit that ...... But!　Strawberries are not five years old!
...... Okay. Well, whatever. So you're a grown man.


　I don't even have time to compete with the kids here.
　I close my eyes and fall asleep again.
　It's a waste of time to keep them company. I have to sleep now.


You don't think of me as an adult, do you? Good, just listen to me for now.


　Suddenly, his voice takes on a serious tone.
　If it was the same tension as before, I wouldn't have listened to it at all, but the gap makes me listen to it.


As I said before, Jade. I've come to scout you directly.
......
I've been refused many times, but this is the last time I'm going to meet you. I am sorry for this. But I do not think this is the place for you to spread your wings.
......
"I have a hundred gold coins ready for you as a signing bonus. Of course, if you join the guild, I have an S-ranked roster ready for you.
......
Well, why don't you at least give me one answer?


　He must have come down from the window and come toward me. The little girl, whose voice was getting closer, asked me to cling to her.


'One thing, you say you've been rejected many times, what are you talking about?'
'I drew you out through the Knights of the Order, but I thought you had refused to go to .......　We haven't heard anything from the Order yet, have we?
I've only been to work, leftovers and the Grim Reaper.
"...... I've heard about it for a while, but I knew the Knights of the Realm were rotten.


　She's a little girl with a very, very graphic story.
　I've heard the stories of the working environment outside many times from the group members. There may be a memory correction, but it seems to be quite good. On top of that, the Knights are a pretty vicious environment.


''I'd like to get out of the Order if I could. But I've been captured and left as a member of the Order. I don't even know what to do.


　I'm not going to be that weak and whiny.
　Maybe that kind of inclusion was ...... in the little girl.


I'm not going to be able to say that I'm a good person. I'm doing everything I can. The only other thing I wanted was for Jade to say something.
......?


　I questioned the little girl who said confidently.