A party was visiting the branch of the guild in Parnam. The party consisted of the hot-blooded and handsome swordsman Dece, the baby-faced, slender female thief Juno, the brawny, macho brawler Augus, the gentle, affable young priest Febral, and the quiet, shapely mage Julia.
“Dece’s party, right?” the receptionist asked. “Your reward for the villager escort quest is here.”
The girl at the reception gave them a perfunctory greeting and a bag full of silver coins. The bag bulged slightly, making Juno and Augus’s eyes glimmer.
“We’ve got more than a couple months worth of earnings here, don’t you think?!” Juno asked excitedly.
“Even split five ways, it’ll be a lot, won’t it?!” Augus exclaimed. “Now I can get some new knuckle dusters… No, maybe something even higher quality!”
Standing beside the two who were blinded by the prize money, Febral tilted his head to the side questioningly. “Even if we’re being paid on an individual basis, not as a party, this reward seems too high for the quest. Was there some sort of special bonus applied?”
The receptionist grinned and nodded. “Yes. This quest was issued by the royal castle. It said, ‘What is believed to be a new breed of monster, the flame pierrot, has appeared to the south. We would like to request your assistance in escorting the residents of nearby villages as we evacuate them.’ But, with the untimely invasion by the Principality of Amidonia, we received reports that many of our people had encountered forces from the principality.”
“Oh, that,” said Juno. “I encountered them, too.”
The receptionist nodded. “Fortunately, because the people of the villages were evacuated, they were able to minimize the harm to citizens of the kingdom from principality troops. However, because of the unexpected trouble this meant for the adventurers, the castle has issued a special hazard bonus. That would be the extra amount you see there.”
“I see,” she said. “That makes sense…”
Dece and the others accepted their reward money, heading over to a table in the cafe and bar that was set up inside the guild.
Once the money was evenly split five ways, Dece asked Febral, “So, about what she just told us… What do you think?”
“You mean about the unexpected hazard pay?” Febral asked him back, to which Dece nodded.
“The towns and villages that just happened to be being attacked by the flame pierrots just happened to be on the route the principality’s forces took, and because we just happened to be evacuating the residents human loses were kept to a minimum… I mean, isn’t that all a little too convenient?” Dece said.
“…You’re right,” said Febral. “Perhaps what the kingdom was on guard against was the principality’s army all along. Could they have hurried to have us evacuate the residents because they were anticipating an attack?”
When Febral presented that theory, Juno tilted her head to the side. “Hm? But, I saw the flame pierrots myself when I was with Mr. Little Musashibo, remember?”
“They looked like mannequin torsos with torches for heads, right?” Febral said. “That sounds pretty easy to make, doesn’t it?”
“Were they made-up, thennnn?” Julia asked in a relaxed tone, to which Febral nodded.
“Yes. That sounds highly likely. The king must have had some reason for it.”
“Heh. Not like it matters to us.” Augus wrapped his thick arm around Febral’s neck. “The intrigues of countries are no business for adventurers. What’s important for us is that we complete the quest, and that we make good money for it. Am I right?”
Dece smiled wryly. “You’re right. Rather than fret over it, let’s think about what we’re going to do with all this money.”
“For tonight, how does a feast sound, hmmmm?” Julia said gently… and then it happened.
A roly-poly something-or-other came in through the guild’s entrance. In its hands was a naginata, over its back a wicker basket, over its face a silk covering from under which peeked two adorable acorn-like eyes and bushy eyebrows. Who was it?! Was it a big moth cocoon?! Was it an egg monster?!
“Wait, that’s Mr. Kigurumi!” exclaimed Juno the moment she realized it.
When Little Musashibo entered the guild, he tottered over to the receptionist and handed her something. It was… a letter?
“Oh! A delivery, I see,” said the receptionist. “Thank you for your service.”
“…” (Little Musashibo gave a thumbs up.)
Having delivered the letter, Little Musashibo turned to go, his job done, but Juno wasn’t going to let that happen.
She leaned on the top of his head. “Hey, long time no see. You’re back from down south, too, I see.”
“…” (“J-Juno?” Little Musashibo reacted with surprise.)
Little Musashibo, who had shrunken slightly under Juno’s weight, flailed his arms around.
Juno stayed on top of Little Musashibo, rubbing his cheeks teasingly. “Thanks for the save back there. The principality almost got me.”
“…” (“No, I’m just glad you were okay,” he said, clapping her on the back.)
“Ahaha! But, now I think about it, weren’t you in more trouble than me, walking around all alone like that? I’ll bet you were there on the same quest, so you could have relied on us for help, you know.”
“…” (“I–I’m honored to hear it,” he said, bowing his head repeatedly.)
The rest of the part watched this exchange unfold with rolled eyes.
“How do they even make a conversation work like that…?” Dece wondered aloud.
“Could it be… love?” suggested Febral.
“Oh! You’re starting to believe Julia’s theory now, too, huh, Febral?” said Augus.
“Hee hee,” giggled Julia.
While the four of them were talking about it, the receptionist, who had been reading the letter, called them over. “Oh. You over there. You took the villager escort quest, didn’t you?”
“Hm? Yes, we did… Did something happen?” Dece asked.
The receptionist grinned. “It looks like there’s another additional reward for you from the castle. It was in the letter that just arrived. ‘The work of adventurers saved the lives of many of the people of this country, and so, to reward their hard work, a small banquet will be held at the castle, which they are most welcome to attend.’ That’s what this says.”
“A banquet at the royal castle?” Dece furrowed his brow. When they had already received hazard pay, a banquet seemed lavish.
“I don’t wanna go,” Juno said, clearly uninterested, as she continued to lean on Little Musashibo. “The castle sounds like a stuffy place. We’d look so out of place there.”
“Heh heh heh. Are you sure you want to say that?” the receptionist chuckled and said in a confident tone. “The banquet is being held at Ishizuka’s Place, you know?”
““Did you just say Ishizuka’s Place?!”” Augus and Febral gasped.
“You’ve heard of it? Augus, Febral?” Dece asked.
The two of them nodded eagerly.
“We haven’t just heard of it — it’s the talk of the town,” said Augus. “There’s a restaurant with amazingly delicious food in the castle, they say.”
“From what I’ve heard, it’s a restaurant that King Souma and the Minister for the Food Crisis, Mr. Poncho Panacotta, set up inside the castle,” said Febral. “I hear it was made to see if people in this country would be able to accept the dishes eaten back in King Souma’s old world.”
“Yes, yes, yes, that’s right!” For some reason, the receptionist was getting very excited as she spoke. “There are various dishes there, but all of them are quick, cheap, and tasty. It’s the best. However, with it being inside the castle, and only open at night, you can’t eat at it unless you work there. Just once, when I accompanied the guild chief to the castle, I had the opportunity to eat there… Slurp, the taste was unforgettable.”