I’d had an inkling that might be the case, but it seemed she seriously was doing this solo. They were sending her on her own, despite knowing it was clearly dangerous. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be hearing this, but another doubt came to mind first.
“On your own...?”
“I’ll have logistical support, of course. It’s also possible that I could end up linking up with someone on-site. However...it’s generally easier for me to move when I’m solo. I’m sure you can understand this, Master.”
“Well, yeah...”
I nodded along with her explanation, even if I didn’t really like it. Surena was strong. She was far beyond any amateur. Even compared to trained soldiers, knights, and high-ranking adventurers, her abilities were clearly a step above.
People of her strength were at their weakest when they had to protect someone else. To put it bluntly, anyone who was just a little strong would be nothing but a hindrance to her. They simply wouldn’t be able to keep up with her mobility and fighting abilities.
In terms of individual combat strength, I was somehow able to keep up with her. However, this mission involved an investigation of a vast area. It demanded investigative abilities, stamina, adaptability, and survival skills.
I was clearly lacking in those areas. Even when I’d gone along to supervise Porta’s party of new adventurers, I hadn’t been of any use except in the battle against Zeno Grable. I simply didn’t possess the skills required to be an adventurer. If anything, bringing along Randrid—who was now teaching swordplay back at my dojo—would be far more helpful.
In contrast, if it had been more of a “There’s a big monster over there—go kill it,” then I would’ve been confident that I could help. As long as the enemy and its whereabouts were known, it was only a matter of defeating it.
At any rate, that wasn’t the case this time around. I could only sit back and pray for Surena’s safety.
“I suppose I can’t say much more than ‘Be careful,’” I told her. “Still, while it was a bit imprudent to include me among the people you told of the danger beforehand, I’m glad you came to me.”
“By all rights, I shouldn’t be talking about it...but I’m at the highest rank. I can be selfish every now and then.”
“Ha ha ha, I won’t tell anyone. Not even Mewi.”
“Please don’t. That girl still needs time to grow without worrying about anything else.”
“No doubt about it.”
It wasn’t particularly praiseworthy for her to discuss the details of a commission with others. Surena surely understood this. In all likelihood, she hadn’t even told her adoptive parents.
Adventurers seemed like they would have far laxer regulations than knights, but that didn’t mean a black rank was exempt from everything. There were rules, or common courtesy, or a tacit understanding of some kind. I didn’t know exactly, but I was honestly happy she would twist whatever it was to come and tell me. Naturally, it would be best if she didn’t encounter any danger, or if she did, that she returned safely in spite of it.
“Still, an investigation even you would find dangerous...” I muttered. “Does it have to do with a named monster or something?”
“Who knows? At any rate, if it looks too risky, I’ll run away. The investigation is meaningless if I don’t survive.”
“That’s true.”
This brought me back to my initial question. What could possibly be so dangerous that a swordsman of Surena’s level would feel at risk? I figured it might be a named monster, but Surena dodged the question. This could be interpreted as me being correct, or maybe I was completely off, and she simply couldn’t tell me.
Either way, if it were a named monster, then a lot of things made sense. Say there were eyewitness accounts of a monster like Zeno Grable—those couldn’t be ignored. After all, it would imply that civilians had witnessed a calamity from close enough to be able to identify it.
However, the goal wasn’t to subjugate a threat or anything. If Surena was to be believed, she was only going to investigate. There was just far too little information. The general synopsis of what was going on seemed to be “We got intel on something crazy around this area, so we’re sending our strongest adventurer to check it out.” I didn’t know if that was actually the case, though.
“Let me just say this again,” I told her. “Be careful. Your base is Baltrain. The adventurer’s guild is where you can kick back and relax. Your parents’ place is somewhere for you to go home to. To add to that, this is somewhere you can come to play every now and then. I’ll be happy if you drop by—for both me and Mewi.”
“Understood. Thank you very much. Suddenly, I feel like I really have to survive now.”
“Mm. That’s the spirit.”
I wasn’t trying to light a fire under her or anything—I just wanted to tell her once more that she had to come back alive. Surena was both dear to me and a good mentor for Mewi. The girl had disliked Surena at first, but after she’d met her a few times, that impression seemed to have improved somewhat.
I didn’t really know why, but Mewi was putting in effort to get stronger. Surena’s presence likely played a large role in this. Above all else, it would be very sad for her to be unable to see someone she’d become acquainted with. I didn’t want Mewi to experience that. Even Randrid had retired from being an adventurer upon having a child—that was simply how dangerous a profession it was.
“I don’t want to overstay my welcome,” Surena said. “I’ll excuse myself here.”
“Right, thanks for letting me know. I’ll pray for your safety.”
“Thank you. Until next time.”
It would be difficult for me to ask for more details, so Surena brought the conversation to an end. I decided to settle on knowing roughly where she was going. Besides, she was a busy woman, so I couldn’t exactly keep her here with idle chatter.
“I’ll report to you again once the mission is over,” she added.
“Sure. You can come after things have calmed down. I’ll be waiting.”
“You got it.”
After giving me a neat bow at the door, Surena left. I was somewhat worried about her mission, but there wasn’t much I could do to help. I was an instructor at the order, a temporary teacher at the institute, and Mewi’s foster father, so even in my waning years, I still had many things to do. If anything, I felt like I had more to do as time went on.
That said, it was definitely healthier than having nothing to do. For the time being, my most important duty was being Mewi’s foster father. I had to get dinner ready for when she came back from school with an empty stomach.
“Okay... Guess I should get to work.”
Incidentally, my cooking repertoire hadn’t really expanded much.
I’ll just take my time with that part.