“Oh, Black Spear’s here!”
“True, I’d love to get a spear lesson from her, even just the once.”
“The little ones are strong, too, but she’s on a whole other level!”
“I’d love to talk about magic with Lady Mia.”
The young adventurers were giving Liza and Mia admiring looks.
“The dolls Nana makes are sooo cute!”
“Oh? Are they? You’ve gotta show me sometime.”
“Lulu, when’s the next self-defense class?”
“Or the cooking one!”
“Arisa, once you get your free grub, come play at the usual spot!”
The housewives were gathering round Lulu, while the naughty kids were trying to get Arisa to come play.
Considering they’d spent the bulk of their time hunting in the labyrinth, they’d sure done a good job getting to know people.
“There you are, Roro!”
A leprechaun girl with a rich snob vibe showed up.
“Oh, Keri!”
“How many times have I told you not to shorten it?! My name is Kerina Gure! Next head of the Ussha Company!”
This was how Roro and Keri always spoke.
“Madam, friendship is a wonderful thing, but take care of work first,” said her secretary and minder, Tomali Toloole. Behind her were some portly merchants of several races.
“I know that! A foreign merchant came looking to carry goods from the Hero’s Rest, so I brought them by to introduce them to you. We went to the store, but the gnome on duty said you’d be here today. You sure gave us the runaround!”
Behind the merchants was the gnome in question, Tovan. The crowds were a bit much for someone his size, and he was really struggling to get to us.
“Thanks, Keri—Kerina Gure.”
Roro started to address her the usual way, but since this was work, she rephrased.
“Don’t worry about it. Once Tomali and I finish our current task, we’ll be off to the Blybrogha Kingdom, so I simply wanted to get these introductions out of the way.”
Sincere gratitude made Keri blush and turn away.
She soon gave way to a parade of merchants, greeting Roro in turn.
Tovan finally caught up, bowed, and stood just behind her. Making it clear that Roro was representing the interests of the Hero’s Rest.
“Micha of the Ussha Company from Latiluti. We would love to strike a deal for some of the Hero’s Rest’s preserved food.”
“Raf of the Mof Company from Chipucha. We’re considering all of your broad array of wares.”
The first was a ratfolk, the second a frog, and on went the line of eager merchants. All from countries bordering the jungle.
Tovan helped organize the race for Roro’s attention, keeping the burden on her to a minimum.
It was still hard work, and thus—
“H-help, Satou!”
She threw in the towel quickly, turning to me.
Not long ago, she’d been eking out a living running a little shop; this was too much for her.
That was fine, but I’d rather she’d turn to the gnome working right there with her. He was a grown-up, so he merely smiled and let this happen, but I bet inside that must have smarted.
“Oh dear, too soon for you, Roro?” Keri said, taking control of the line of appalled merchants.
“Sorry, gentleman,” I said, bowing my head for her. “Coming all at once may have been a bit overwhelming.”
“Every one of these companies can be trusted,” Keri said. “They’re longtime business partners of the Ussha Company.”
And they had her seal of approval.
Naturally, taking her word for it wasn’t ideal, but it was also true that the Hero’s Rest lacked the manpower to do proper background checks. As long as we avoided doing any deal so big they’d end us, any other problems that cropped up would have to go down as a learning experience to help Roro get the skills she needed.
“That’s reassuring. We’ll hash out the details at a later date. Roro, does that work?”
“Yes! If you say so, Satou!”
She was radiating faith.
I appreciated her trust, but perhaps I’d better keep my distance so she’d start trusting Tovan.
Keri led the merchants off to the site of their next deal.
Once I was sure no merchants were in earshot, I chided Roro.
“That was a bad move. The Hero’s Rest is your business. Asking for my opinions or advice is one thing, but you’ve gotta make the final decisions.”
“S-sorry.”
She hung her head.
“I’m not mad or looking for an apology. Listening to what those around you have to say is a good thing. Just don’t pass the final judgment call to anyone else.”
“……Right.”
She looked like a kid getting scolded.
“Satou,” Tovan said. “Roro regrets the error, so I think that’s enough.”
I apologized for saying too much, and the awkward silence was soon broken by a cheery voice.
“Roro!”
The new clerks from the store were coming our way, waving.
“Roro, I lost track of you, and find you flirting with the young master?”
“I-I’m not—”
“Aw, look at her blush!”
She was soon surrounded by girls, and beet red.
“Boss! Young master, Arisa—everyone’s here! This way!”
The rest of the staff were incoming.
Tia had lent a hand during the land grab incident, and the Hero’s Rest had gotten way bigger all at once. She’d had to hire a lot of people, and lots of them had barely spoken to one another yet.
“Master, a moment?” Arisa whispered, one eye on them.
“Sure. What?”
“About Roro’s faux pas.”
“How she passed the buck to me?”
“Did she?” Arisa blinked, then gave me a look. “What is wrong with you? You’re not dense enough to be a rom-com lead.”
“I’m saying she’s still depending on me.”
“She isn’t! That was more…”
“More what?”
“Manipulative,” Mia said, when Arisa couldn’t find the right word.
“Oh?”
“Defensive,” she added, clearly grasping what Arisa was trying to say.
“You get it now?”
“You mean she senses that I’m trying to pull away from the Hero’s Rest, and she’s trying to stop me from leaving?”
I was aware she had a crush on me, but it didn’t occur to me that making me decide things was her way of keeping me around.
“Roro isn’t the kind of girl who’d make calculated romantic gambits, so I’m sure it’s an instinctive response.”
But in that case—
“Me being around is stopping her growth and preventing the new team from coming together?”
That was bad.
“A mean way to put it, but arguably that is the upshot.”
“Mm, agree.”
Arisa and Mia were both nodding gravely.
I considered this a moment, then made up my mind.
“Perhaps it’s time we stepped away from Roro and her shop.”
“Yeah…probably for the best. Who should tell her?”
“I’ll do it.”
I felt it was my job.
“Lost in thought, Satou?”
Roro handed me a goblet of liquor, sitting down next to me. Quite close. Our shoulders were touching.
She must have been drinking; her vibe was noticeably more…beguiling.
“Mm, yeah.” I hesitated a moment, then dropped it on her. “We’ll be leaving the fortress city soon.”
Roro buried her face in my shoulder.
I’m pretty sure I heard a suppressed sob.
I’d said from the beginning we’d leave eventually, but this was pretty abrupt.
“Roro?”
“……Yeah.”
I brushed her hair, and she managed a soft response.
“I know. You were never going to stay at the Hero’s Rest for long.”
Her voice shook. Trying to convince herself.
“But…but I haven’t done anything for you, Satou.”
She wrapped her arms around me.
“Satou…I-I’d like…”
“We can’t, Roro.”
I wasn’t getting swept up in this moment. She had her whole future ahead of her.
“I…know. You have Lulu and the other girls.”
Her head was down, and I could see her face.
But even I could tell this had hurt.
“Thank you for everything.”
Her head came up. There were still tears in her eyes, but she gave me the best smile she could muster.
Unable to watch, Arisa and Lulu burst out of cover.
“It’s okay, Roro. It’s not like you’ll never see him again.”
“Exactly! If you’re in trouble, he’ll come running from the far side of the world!”
“Ruff!”
The wolf pup, Fen, joined their comforting.
Roro scooped him up and held him tightly, nodding once again.
A few days later—
We’d finished passing on our tasks and were all packed up outside the Hero’s Rest.
“Nana, thanks!”
“Nana, hugs?”
“Nana, snacks?”
As the hamsters and Nana were saying good-bye, Roro came out with a bundle of bouquets.
“Lulu, everyone, thank you for everything you’ve done.”
She handed one bouquet to each of us, then looked up at me, clutching the last to her chest.
“Satou, the Hero’s Rest would not be what it is without you.”
Tears welled up, and she choked on her words.
“Boss! Go for it!”
“Give him a hug!”
Encouragement from her staff spurred her forward.
The Arisa/Mia iron wall was giving them such a glare.
“We’ll come back sometime.”
“Promise you will.”
Roro handed me the flowers—then tugged my arm. I felt something soft on my cheek.
“Eh-heh-heh…just a little thank-you.”
With a bashful grin, she wiped her tears before they could flow.
She knelt down, comforted by Lulu and the hamsters.
The regulars took her place, each coming toward us. Ms. Nona and several other girls went to Roro instead.
“Young master, you’re really going?”
“Yeah, that was the plan all along.”
“Leave Roro to us.”
“We’ll keep her safe from anyone shifty!”
The regulars thumped their chests.
And mingling with them were those who had dealings with the Hero’s Rest—and of course, the staff of the shop itself.
“You move so fast. A farewell gift.”
“Thank you, Kerina Gure. You hadn’t left yet?”
“My task proved harder than I thought…making territorial types cooperate is always a tall order.”
It sounded like it. But she’d left that work behind to see us off, and I was grateful for it.
“Big crowd…”
“You’re here, too, Tia?”
“Well, yeah. You bailed me out when Zanzasansa came, so I figured I should.”
In apprentice mode, she handed over some books and potions.
And with that, we left the Hero’s Rest behind. We could hear sobs until we were out of sight. Roro’s—and the veteran staff’s as well. My party wasn’t in high spirits, either.
“Welp, let’s get it together and move out!”
Arisa always knew how to fix a bad mood.
“Master, keep your head high! You’ve got us!”
She was trying to comfort me—I guess I must have looked dejected.
“True. Let’s make a circuit of the countries around the jungle.”
At that distance, we could come running back if anything happened to Roro or the Hero’s Rest.