Iris approached while I handled some of my usual work at the office.
“Your lecture was well received.”
“Oh, really?”
All I did was explain my usual practices, like Tallow asked. I didn’t know if it went well, so I was pleased to hear it had.
“The guild master would like to ask you to do it again.”
“I’m no teacher. I’m a humble guild worker… And I’m not very… Um…”
“Rila told me. You’re not great with crowds, right?”
I couldn’t believe she blabbed about that…
“No. I’m just not used to it, and I don’t intend to do it again.”
“Hmm. Then I’ll make sure you don’t have to.”
Iris laughed and returned to her office, evidently in good humor.
I gave two lectures, each about an hour long. At most, they’d send a small ripple through the guild. Serafin joining Tallow would have a far greater impact by comparison.
When Almelia eventually took the throne, Serafin would likely step up to help her from the shadows.
“Mr. Roland, it’s break time. Let’s go out to lunch. Please?” Milia stood, looking practically overjoyed to invite me.
“I’m sorry. Rila asked me to come home today.”
She’d intended to prepare a boxed lunch for me but made so many mistakes she gave up. In the end, she yelled, “Argh! I shall make you lunch here, so come back later!” Her expression seemed half fraught with despair.
“Oh… That’s too bad.”
Milia’s shoulders slumped.
“Another time, though,” I said, then I left the office through the back door.
To my surprise, there was a woman crouched on the ground by the exit, clutching her knees to her chest.
Her shoulders trembled. She was crying.
“…”
If I remember right, she’s…
“Is something wrong?”
“Oh… Mr. Argan…” She raised her head, and I recognized her as Miu Lorl. She was an intermediate adventurer in her midtwenties. Milia was close with Miu and often helped her out.
“This isn’t the entrance for adventurers,” I told her.
“I know…”
Milia had asked me for advice about Miu once before, so I had an idea why she was brooding here. She had been a mage learning magic in the capital, but quit to become an adventurer.
“Miss Milia told me about what happened. You shouldn’t let it bother you too much.”
“You really think so?”
One of Miu’s quests, one that Milia believed her friend could handle easily, went awry.
In times of failure, there was nothing to do but learn and move on. That’s how I saw it anyway, but Miu took things very seriously.
Despite taking lower-rank quests, she often overthought situations and froze up while out on the job. This caused the failures to pile up.
Her first botched quest became a traumatic sticking point, and it left her afraid to repeat the same mistake. That, on top of the pressure to succeed at easier quests, formed a vicious cycle of repeat losses.
“You might try questing alongside a friend or slowly working your way up from some F-rank quests.”
Miu shook her head. “That’s not the issue… I’ve thought about doing that, but… As soon as I enter the guild, I feel nauseous… I can’t even use my magic properly anymore…”
Her voice quivered as she spoke. Tears threatened to run down her cheeks at any moment.
Apparently, this had really taken a toll on her mentally. Miu’s distress over her failures had robbed her of her ability to cast magic.
“Shall I call Miss Milia over?”
Miu shook her head again. “She’s been so nice to me. I can’t let her see me like this… I’d be mortified…”
It was undoubtedly the guilt of messing up multiple quests Milia had picked out specifically to help fix Miu’s predicament. I wondered how suddenly being unable to use one of my abilities would feel. I was perfectly happy with one arm, my skill worked fine, and I still remembered the art of assassination. Losing a limb didn’t hinder my work, but if it did…
…I might be no different than Miu.
“May I have some of your time?” I asked her.
“Huh?”
I offered her my left arm, which she accepted, and I pulled her up.
“I’d like you to accompany me somewhere.”
I whisked Miu away through a Gate while the tears were still wet on her face.
“This place…” Miu looked all around, stunned by the abrupt change of scenery.
“I used a type of transportation magic to bring us here. This is an orphanage.”
Children could be heard from inside.
“An orphanage…?”
“Yes, and the staff needs help, so they’re currently looking to recruit. Do you like children?”
“Yes…”
“That’s good to hear.”
I still didn’t, though.
I took Miu inside, and we ran into Almelia in the hallway.
“Oh, Roland.”
Miu looked between the two of us several times.
“What? Huh? Y-Your Highness…? Wh-What are you doing here…?”
I decided to save explaining the details for later.
“Almelia, have you solved your worker shortage yet?”
“No, not at all,” she said with a sigh. Then she narrowed her eyes at Miu. “Who’s this?”
“Miss Miu Lorl. Her current situation prevents her from adventuring at the moment. I thought she could help out here.”
I assumed Almelia would be fine with it, and although she looked bewildered, she didn’t refuse the idea.
“Miss Miu, is that something you’d be okay with?” I asked.
“Y-yes. Since I can’t adventure, I can’t make a living.”
“Good.”
A smile formed on Almelia’s face as she listened, and she clapped her hands. “I understand. Miss Miu, I can explain how we do things here, so please follow me.”
“All right.”
I tagged along after the two women. Almelia led us to the orphanage director’s office—her office. It was a cluttered mess and documents were spread all over her desk.
“Almelia, why is your office so messy?”
“I already know you’re going to say it’s a reflection of my disorderly mind, right? I get it. But I’m just so busy…”
Almelia cleared off part of a table and a sofa, then offered the seats to us so we could discuss business.
“Miss Miu, this job can be frighteningly hard, so make sure you’ve prepared yourself.”
“I—I will. I was an adventurer, so I think I should be able to manage.”
Thunk, thunk. There was a loud knock at the door.
“Director!”
“Heeero!”
Children’s excited voices came from the other side.
“Urk?! They’re here! Roland, tell them I’m out. C’mon, please! As soon as I give them any attention, they all hang around in my office, and I can’t get any work done.”
Miu laughed quietly.
With no other option, I opened the door.
“Direc… Huh?”
“Hero… Wait, who’re who?”
The kids looked me up and down with serious expressions, and tears formed in their eyes. They’d expected Almelia, but instead, there were met by an unfamiliar man. They shrieked and made a break for it.
I heard Almelia laugh behind me.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha. Pfft. Nice work, Roland…”
“Yes, I’m a riot with the kids,” I said sarcastically, which got a smile from Miu.
We returned to talking business and discussed the salary Miu would need to get by.
“I need to go back and forth between here and the orphanage, but I’d like you to stay here and live with the kids, Miss Miu.”
“That would be fine with me.”
“I can’t promise incredible pay, though… Does two hundred and fifty thousand rins sound all right?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“That much?”
“That’s quite a bit.”
“Huh? It’s only two hundred fifty thousand. Is that really a lot…?”
A salary like that on top of free lodging…
It was more than what I made at the guild.
“It seems the princess doesn’t know the value of money,” I remarked.
“O-of course I do. Don’t rub your experience in my face just because you know a little bit about living as a civilian,” Almelia snapped.
“I don’t just know a little about civilians—I live as one.” I looked to Miu, who nodded at me. “How many more staffers do you need?” I inquired.
“Right… I think I could support three more. The castle officials say I have additional personnel funds.”
“We can never be sure when an adventurer will be put out of commission, like how I lost my arm. There’s plenty of potential causes—loss of an ability, physical or mental ailments, and even natural aging. I can introduce you to some adventurers, Almelia. After I vet them, of course.”
“If you’re the one selecting them, then sure.”
“Great. I’m sure they’ll be glad for the work.”
“Mr. Argan, are you certain about letting me have this job?”
“I am. You’ll do well in this role. That you feel so much pressure proves that you’re kind, hardworking, and carry a strong sense of responsibility. You also know magic and have experience as an adventurer. As it happens, one of the kids, a genius mage, intends to teach the other children magic…”
Almelia shook her head in exasperation. “Those lessons haven’t been going well. She explains things in sound effects and no one’s been able to follow along. Even I have trouble keeping up with Lina’s lessons.”
I suspected that might be the case.
“And there you have it. If you have some time, please teach them as well.”
“Okay.”
Miu would probably do well in that role.
“I’d like to introduce you to the children, Miss Miu.”
“Oh, all right.”
The two women stood and left the office to head to the yard. I bid them farewell.
“I’ll be returning to my own job.”
“Okay. See you later, Roland.”
“Thank you, Mr. Argan.”
I shook my head.
“Please don’t thank me. I simply saw talent and couldn’t bear to let it go to waste.”
Miu bowed her head.
“There is no expiration date on your adventurer permit, so don’t feel like you have to take quests. I’m sure Miss Milia will miss you, but she’ll be glad knowing you’re happy.”
“I sure hope so.” Miu laughed, undoubtedly thinking of her friend at the guild office.
“We’ll be waiting if you ever decide to try adventuring again,” I said.
I’d retired from being an assassin and found my calling as a guild worker, and adventurers could find second lives, too.
The wisdom, abilities, and experience one accrued were good for more than a single career.