In the end, they spent their time in the bar three times busier than when they’d been on the job as adventurers. But after closing time, even such a lively bar became quiet.
“I’m so tired... More tired than I was after the string of jobs the boss took...” one of Uld’s party members said.
“Us too...” the others agreed in unison.
As a result of how incredibly busy the bar had been, they’d worked their muscles to the extreme and their bodies had reached their limits. In other words, they could no longer move a muscle. But the tables were finally empty, so they were able to slump over one together.
“You guys...worked so hard,” said Uld. “Well done getting through it, seriously.”
Even he, as the party leader, was exhausted. He was still standing but only barely. Hey might have been on his feet, but he was wobbling back and forth. He must have been really concerned about his dignity as a Rank A adventurer, since his friends kept going on about it, so he was squeezing out all his willpower and determination not to go down.
“Whew. I’m tired after today too,” said Clare. “My word, the Kel-chan boom is so intense! I think that was three times the amount of customers we normally get! I’m so glad you came to help, Efil-chan.”
“Oh no, I simply studied by your side as usual, Clare-san,” said Efil humbly.
Unlike the half dead men, the women looked refreshed and satisfied with a job well done. They also seemed tired, but they were still smiling and chatting like normal, so the extent of their exhaustion was not comparable to the men’s.
“So this is the level of Rank S...”
“Terrifying...”
“Well, technically, Efil is still Rank A. She’d pass immediately if she were to take the test, though.”
“And yet, your wife acts like she’s Efil’s equal, boss. What is she?”
Once again, Uld and party were made to realize how large the gap between Rank A and Rank S was. But they didn’t despair, since this wasn’t news to them. All they wanted to do was hurry on home and dive into bed.
But no matter how deep their exhaustion was, their stomachs would not be denied. All four of their guts were in sync in letting their owners know that they were empty with loud growls.
“Oh, sounds like you four are really hungry. Hm... I was planning to do this after the cleanup was done, but...okay, let’s serve the staff meal now,” said Clare. “Sorry, Efil-chan, but could you handle the preparations?”
“Please leave it to me,” said Efil.
“Huh? What? Today’s meal... Could it be?”
“Heh heh! It can! Everything today will be cooked personally by Efil,” said Clare. “Not only that, but it’ll all be your favorites!”
“YEEESSS!” The three members of Uld’s party shouted in unison.
They instantly shot up, revived, and raised their fists into the air. They were so happy they were even crying.
“Good, good. An honest reaction like that will make Efil-chan happy she spent the time. You should learn from them,” said Clare to Uld.
“They keep telling me how I should act as their leader, though...” Uld said defensively. “Also, I like your cooking best.”
“Heh. You sure can talk!” Clare said happily.
“Ow! I’ve asked you so many times to stop hitting me on the back full force! If you keep doing that, you’ll break my back! It hurts!”
Clare’s back slap went right through Uld’s armor, dealing a fair amount of damage to him. That was how Clare liked to hide her embarrassment. Probably.
“That reminds me, why is Efil-chan here?” one of Uld’s party members asked. “Wasn’t she going to be staying in her homeland for a while because of her wedding?”
“Of course it’s because her preparations are finally done that she’s back in Parth,” Clare replied. “In fact, she’s been here a week now and has helped out here more than once.”
“What?! Really?!”
“A week... Gah! So we just missed her! We’ve been stuck away from Parth this entire time!”
“Boss...”
“Come on, don’t point your sad looks my way!”
The party was crying. Crying so much that they would probably need to hydrate soon.
“But it looks like Kel-chan is still going to be busy for a while yet,” said Clare. “He’s traveling the world as usual.”
“With how many girls he’s marrying, that’s gotta be a lot of preparation that needs to get done.”
“Yeah. Ah, right! Efil-chan’s baby is back at their estate right now. Have you guys seen her?” Clare asked. “Her name’s Lalanoah-chan, and she’s so gosh-darned cute! Like, mind-blowingly cute!”
“Efil-chan’s...”
“Baby...”
“You say?!”
“Come on, guys... Crying, being surprised, or being enchanted? Just pick one! So, Clare, how did Lalanoah-chan look?” Uld asked. “Did she look like Kelvin or Efil more?”
Uld had softly chided his party members, but he also hadn’t seen Lalanoah yet. In other words, he was very interested.
“I think her face resembled Efil-chan’s more,” Clare answered. “And she gave me such an adorable smile when I held her. Just looking at that smile made me feel like I was in heaven.”
“That’s great news!” Uld’s three party members said in unison.
“You guys...” Uld muttered.
One of them added afterward that it was a good thing her smile didn’t resemble Kelvin’s. Everyone agreed from the bottom of their heart.
“Also, she can already crawl. And my word, that crawl is incredible,” said Clare.
“The crawl is incredible? Uh...like it was so cute you were entranced or something?” one of Uld’s party members asked.
“Ah...well, that too, but Lalanoah’s crawl isn’t normal. How should I describe it? I thought I was seeing things at first. Like, it was aerial,” Clare replied.
Uld and the rest of his party replied with confused noises. Their faces were totally blank. An aerial...crawl? They turned that phrase over and over in their heads, trying to digest it.
And still, that didn’t help. They just let out more confused noises. Understanding the meaning of that phrase was a bit too much for the four of them, trapped by common sense as they were.
“Yeah, I totally get that reaction,” said Clare. “Well, don’t worry. Just go visit her tomorrow and you’ll see. I’m telling the truth.”
“Oh...okay?” Uld ventured.
“Hee hee! What are you all talking about?” Efil asked. She had popped back out of the kitchen, her cooking done.
“Ah, Efil-chan! We were just talking about Lalanoah-chan— Wait, waaghh! Those are all my favorites!”
“My favorites are there too!”
“Mine too!”
The tray Efil was carrying was piled high with the party’s favorite foods.
So, she memorized little old me’s favorite foods? all three of Uld’s party members thought, moved. They cried for the fourth time that night.
“Sorry about this, Efil. You had to go through so much effort just for these guys,” Uld apologized.
“Oh no, think nothing of it. They worked very hard, so of course I’m happy to,” replied Efil.
“Urgh...Kelvin’s such a lucky guy, getting to marry such a good girl! I’m digging in!”
“Yeah, yeah! We can only pray for Efil-chan’s happiness, so just know that we’re praying seriously! I’m tucking in too!”
“I agree totally! But Molotoy, you’re a lucky guy too! I’m gonna eat!”
The guys started eating while still crying. And, moved all over again by how delicious the food was, the flow of tears only increased.
Uld sighed. “I’ll have to make sure they rehydrate later... Ah, right. There’s something I want to ask you, Efil. Where’s Kelvin right now? I want to see him and give him my well-wishes before the weddings start.”
“Master? Erm...I believe his schedule has him...attending Lumiest’s graduation ceremony along with Mel-sama and Sera’s father, Gustav-sama,” Efil replied.
“He’s in Lumiest? Wait...which means...” Uld said.
“Yes. Rion-sama is graduating today,” Efil confirmed.