In the morning, I read at the Village Chief’s house, had lunch at the Guild, and searched for quests afterward. This is the flow of a day when I don’t take any quests.
“Then my senior said, ‘The rest is up to you!’ They left everything to me! Isn’t that harsh!?”
“Yeah, that’s harsh.
So Nyareko, could you please eat quietly for a bit?”
“Please listen properly, Chrono-san!!”
I think I’ve become quite close with Nyareko, the new staff member at the Guild.
They call me without titles, and while Nyareko uses polite language by default as staff, recently we chat more about trivial matters than work-related talk, by the way, complaints fall under casual conversation.
She has a very talkative personality, and I’m always her listener, today too she disrupts my lunch with her rapid-fire chatter.
Speaking of which, what happened to work?
“I’ll take this, mmm, it’s delicious!”
“Oh, hey!? Don’t eat so much!”
Two pieces of meat disappear from my plate, and of course, they go straight into Nyareko’s mouth.
“Isn’t it fine if I just have a bite?”
“Your bite is too big! Look, the balance of the bread and side dishes has completely fallen apart!”
“How rude~ now it sounds like I’m the one taking big bites, doesn’t it――”
“Hey, don’t slack off, Nyareko!”
In response to my angry shout, a fist descends above Nyareko’s head, it belongs to her senior staff member, the Harpy named Peene.
“Ow!? Senior, that’s harsh― I’m just sitting here for the sake of Chrono-san, an eager adventurer who wants to discuss work even during meals――”
“No, you were just bothering her.”
“Chrono-san!? You’ve betrayed me!”
“I don’t even remember teaming up.”
“Then Chrono-san, I’ll have this one handle the tedious paperwork until we return, so call me if you want to take a quest.”
“Understood.
See you, Nyareko, good luck with your work.”
“Chrono-san! That’s just mean!!”
With a pitiful cry echoing in the lobby, Nyareko is forcibly led away by Peene, who has captured her weak point, her tail.
Now my peaceful lunchtime has returned.
In the now quiet lobby, I sip my tea in peace――
“Hey, you are Chrono, right?”
Suddenly, someone sits heavily in the chair directly across from where Nyareko was just sitting.
I thought I’d finally be able to eat in peace…
“Yes, I’m Chrono, but――”
The man sitting before me is a Cat Beastman, just like Nyareko.
He’s in light armor with a sword strapped to his back, and he looks like an adventurer at first glance; behind him stands a trio that seems to be members of his party.
The Cat Beastman Swordsman in front of me, a Lizardman wielding a spear, a Harpy carrying a bow, and a Lamia holding a long staff.
It’s easy to distinguish each of their races because they have distinct characteristics.
The Cat Beastman has a humanoid shape like Nyareko but fundamentally resembles a cat walking on two legs.
The Lizardman, much like other Beastmen, is based on a lizard, but since he lacks hair, he gives off a more monster-like vibe.
The Harpy has a human face and upper body, with her lower half being bird-like, and the most characteristic feature is that her arms are wings, but she still has hands.
The Lamia has a human upper body and a snake’s lower body, and if you don’t look down, she almost appears fully human.
However, her vertically elongated pupils and split, long tongue are some of the snake traits that occasionally show.
This diverse four-person group hasn’t conversed with me before, but I have seen their party multiple times at the Guild; their name should be…
“What do the Rank 2 adventurer party ‘Irrs Blade’ want with me?”
“Oh, you know about us? We’ve become quite famous.”
“Isn’t it because we’re the only dedicated party in the village?”
“Shut up, don’t say unnecessary things, Aten!”
The male Cat Swordsman, with his ears perked up, barks at the Lamia Mage.
“So, what do you want from me?”
Since they seemed like they were about to begin chatting among themselves if I remained silent, I quickly asked for their purpose.
“Hey, don’t be hitting on Nyareko while you’re interrupting her work! It’s bothersome!”
“…?”
What are they talking about? I was momentarily confused but then realized they were talking about how I was just being bothered by Nyareko earlier.
“That was Nyareko-san’s――”
“Don’t make excuses!!”
I got scolded, wait, did I just say “nya”?
“It’s not an excuse; the fact that I hit on her is completely untrue――”
“Ugh, this is such a hassle, quit your roundabout way of speaking! Adventurers aren’t any such refined beings!”
They really are quite picky.
However, if I don’t have to use polite language, then…
“Alright, I’ll play along. You know my name, but I don’t know yours, so can you start with self-introductions?”
It’s rude to come off as fancy, but I can’t treat adventurers like ordinary people; I need to maintain a certain attitude to avoid being looked down upon.
This is just a cover, though; I really just want to act cool.
“…”
“I’m Aten, nice to meet you as fellow Mages.”
Ignoring the meaningful silence from the Cat Swordsman, the Lamia girl quickly introduces herself.
“Aten!? You’re just acting on your own again――”
“Come on, Leader, it’s only proper to introduce ourselves. Rude people don’t get attention.”
“Ugh…”
“I’m Harry.”
“I’m Cradle.”
Following suit, the Harpy introduces herself as Harry, and the Lizardman introduces himself as Cradle.
“…I’m Nino, the Leader of Irrs Blade.”
“Nice to meet you.
You seem to know about me already; I’m Chrono, the new Black Mage adventurer.”
There’s an ambiguous atmosphere, it’s unclear whether I’m being harassed or if they are being friendly.
I’ve learned their names, but I still don’t know what they want from me.
“So, you mentioned something about Nyareko?”
“Exactly! You’re way too familiar with Nyareko! Don’t just call her by her name!”
“Isn’t it more that Nyareko is the one being too familiar?”
“Stop making excuses――”
“Do you have a crush on Nyareko or something?”
“W-What!? How do you know!?”
Oh, crap, did I hit the nail on the head by saying that randomly?
So that’s why they keep bringing up Nyareko, I see… It all makes sense now.
Moreover, the other members also give off a vibe of, “Ah, so it came out, huh?”
“Ah, well… I’m sorry about that.”
“Shut up!”
Despite saying that, Nino buries his face on the table.
“For now, my preference is for human girls, so you can relax; I have no intention of pestering Nyareko.”
“See? That’s what we’ve been hearing all along, yet this idiot didn’t get it.”
“Stop saying more than that!”
With a mischievous smile, Aten teases Nino, who is still slumped on the table looking dejected.
“Forget about Nino. Chrono-san, could we get your help?”
“What do you mean by that?
Ah, let’s not stand and talk, how about sitting down?”
With a serious expression, Harry seems to want to get to the point.
In any case, this is my first time sharing a table with another adventurer party.
“Do you know that we are requesting a baggage carrier?”
“Ah, come to think of it, there was a quest like that.
Are you asking me to take it?”
“To put it simply, yes.”
“Please, Chrono, carry our luggage for us!”
“Aten, I’m trying to negotiate seriously, and that’s how you ask――”
“That’s fine.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve also been wanting to interact with other parties for a while.
Plus, I wanted to see how parties actually operate and other things.”
“I see, that makes things easy, thank you; let’s definitely do this.”
“My pleasure.”
I shake hands firmly with Harry, and the contract is established.
“Wait a minute, Chrono is human, right? Wouldn’t it be better to have a Beastman or Orc carry heavy things instead?”
Nino, now revived, suddenly chimes in.
His point is somewhat valid.
Even if I’m a well-built man, as a human, a Beastman or an Orc, or even a Lizardman, would be overwhelmingly superior in raw strength.
That said, due to my physical enhancements, I can exert power comparable to that of a Beastman without magic, but only Lily knows about that.
“Don’t worry about that, Leader, Chrono-san can use Space Magic.”
“You know quite a bit; did you ask Kish the old man?”
“Yes.”
I expected that; the only ones who see me frequently using ‘Shadow Space’ to take things in and out are the Tool Shop.
Calling him “the old man” already indicates we’ve become quite familiar, and that guy is indeed a clever trader, always trying to sell items of dubious origin.
“Is that true?”
Nino looks at me suspiciously; do they dislike me?
Is his attitude this way because I might be a rival for her affection? Beastmen often seem to have very straightforward personalities, both good and bad.
“Just look at my feet――”
In situations like this, showing the truth is best.
I open a Shadow Space from the shadow extending from my feet and casually summon a potion.
“「Oh!」”
The shadow ripples like water, and a potion bottle rises to the surface.
“I’ve never seen Space Magic before~”
Being a Mage, Aten’s eyes shine with interest.
“How much can you store?”
Harry asks calmly.
“The weight doesn’t matter much, but in terms of size, I can create a space that accommodates all five of us here.”
“That’s amazing!”
“Right? It’s convenient.”
I smirk a little out of pride.
Lily didn’t seem impressed as she can also use it, but it’s nice to get this kind of reaction.
“Now, the leader can’t complain.”
“I’m not complaining or anything, if you can do it, there’s no problem.”
“Then I’ll quickly go take the quest.”
“Please do, we’ll wait here, and we’ll discuss the details later.”
“Understood.”
Closing the Shadow Space, I stand up and head towards the reception where Peene is waiting.