Regardless, this girl pulled a “winner” as far as skills went. With enough practical experience, she’d find more uses for it. Most mages believed that defensive magic was beneath them. They operated under the ill-conceived notion that simplistic protective spells weren’t worth learning and their time was better invested elsewhere.
In actuality, many quests above intermediate level necessitated defensive magic and skills. Considering Ravi’s Force Field could be employed at will, I would’ve liked it if she grew stronger, but…
“Urk, had another close call today…”
“Neal, I think I might’ve experienced some shrinkage.”
“Don’t worry about that, Roger.”
“Wait, does that mean you also…?”
“I’m already pretty large as it is.”
“Neal, I’ll just never compare to you.”
Neal and Roger, the usual duo, returned early.
Evidently, the slaying quest I’d assigned them went much better than anticipated.
“…”
“Something the matter, Roland?”
“Experienced veterans who always come back beaten to a pulp… They’re intermediate in rank…with combat-type skills…”
“Hey, Roland!” Ravi was talking to me, but I was preoccupied with the two returned adventurers.
“Bosssss! We did iiiit!”
Neal held up a scale, proof of victory over an Armored Snake. He and Roger stomped through the crowd in the reception hall.
“When Neal fainted after being flung away by the thing’s tail, I thought we were done for, but somehow, I single-handedly—”
“Hey, don’t make it sound like I didn’t do anything in front of the boss!”
I took the scale and handed it off to an appraiser while the pair bickered.
“Slaying quests sure are exciting.”
“But Neal… We just do what the boss taught us.”
“That’s true, but still…”
Right as the two hit a pause in their conversation, I broke in, “I have a rookie I’d like to entrust to you guys.”
“If it’s coming from you, boss, we can’t say no.”
“You got that right.”
Neither of them hesitated.
I pointed at Neal and Roger. “Ravi, please work with these two for a while.”
“Seriously?”
She looked very unhappy about this. Her mouth twisted, and her eyebrows knit together.
“Oh, I was wondering who you meant. So it’s the little lady then.”
“The one with the defensive skill, right?”
Apparently, Neal and Roger were familiar with her already.
“Ravi,” I continued, “I’d like you to team up with them so you can accrue combat experience during quests.”
“N-no way! They look like oafs, and they reek!”
“Hey, come now. You don’t have to say it out loud.”
The veterans were already giving the rookie a lesson.
“We’d prefer a woman with a full figure over a little brat like you!” said Neal.
“Though I fancy slender gals myself,” Roger added.
I rubbed my temples, trying to hold back a headache.
“Well, I prefer someone like Roland!” Ravi declared.
“Hey! That’s not fair to men! What’s a guy supposed to even say to that?!”
“You guys start shouting the first chance you get, you’re vulgar, and you’ve apparently peed yourselves… Roland has grace. He’s stylish and a gentleman to boot.”
“Listen here, kid! How many times have I got to repeat that it’s unfair to compare anybody to the boss! You little brat!”
While the argument continued, I assembled a row of quest stubs with jobs the trio would likely be able to accomplish.
“Well then. As the three of you will be teaming up…”
“Did you hear a word of what we said?”
“Really now,” I chided Ravi. “These two will be watching over you from now on. So please do something about that attitude.”
“Fiiine…” Ravi pouted. “I don’t actually care. Just make sure to take a bath beforehand. We can talk after.”
“How ’bout I give you a big old hug right here? How’d you like that?!”
“Pervert.”
“I’m glad to see you embracing each other,” I quipped.
“Um, boss, that seems like an awfully loose interpretation of what’s going on. Are you sure you aren’t pushing things in the direction you want?”
Roger had noticed my plan. He did seem like the most clever of the bunch.
“Well, I suppose there’s nothing more to do, then. Let’s revisit this tomorrow. It seems the two of you need some rest. You just came back, after all.”
I handed the quest reward to Roger and Neal, then sent them home.
“Ravi.”
“Hmm?”
“You’ll likely need to work with others often due to the nature of your skill. If you continue acting like this…”
“I know… I’m sorry for being so difficult.”
“Well, as long as you’re aware.” I ruffled her hair, and she squinted contentedly. “Dey has things she needs to do alone. She can’t spend all her time with you, so I think this will be an excellent opportunity for you to forge your own independence as an adventurer.”
To make it, Ravi needed the knowledge and experience to survive.
“I could hardly call those two men refined, but they really aren’t bad people.”
“Okay… But I don’t want to be anywhere near them when they wet their pants.”
She had a point.
The house was already bustling when I arrived home. I picked up Roje’s and Dey’s voices in particular, and occasionally Rila’s. I wondered what they could possibly be discussing, and Rila scurried over.
I’d become used to this—the way she made this seem like a real home.
“Welcome back,” she greeted. After checking that no one would see, she pecked me on the cheek.
“Thanks.”
I peered past Rila, and she realized what I was thinking. “Oh, that. Well, it seems Dey has discerned the collar’s origin, which has riled up Roje for unknown reasons.”
“She probably doesn’t like the idea of your powers being taken again.”
“Mayhap,” Rila said with a chuckle.
Rila hadn’t changed in the slightest since losing the collar. I could feel her demon lord mana, but it wasn’t hostile or ominous like during our battle. It was almost as though it had mellowed from us living together.
When we met, she was still the demon lord, but maybe this was her true nature: Rileyla Diakitep’s nature.
Dey and Roje finally noticed me when I headed into the living room.
“Master Roland, welcome home.”
“Already back, human?”
Dey greeted me with a warm smile, while Roje only spared me a fleeting glance. Polar opposites, those two.
The broken collar was on the table.
Serafin, one of the members of the party of heroes, had originally possessed the collar. I held on to it after learning of its effects. Back then, I wasn’t able to test the item, so I was dubious of its effects. I never discovered how Serafin came by it, either.
She’d mentioned something about old ruins, but I was pretty sure she also talked about buying it at a deep discount from a clueless vendor. Because of that, I never considered the collar’s history, and I hadn’t seen Serafin since our group disbanded.