“Jeez, you guys could act a little more excited.”
The pouting boy sounded dissatisfied but not angry. He was probably the type to say whatever popped into his head. A smile immediately transformed his face and he spoke again.
“I’m Albert Careggi, fourteen years old! My old man used to be an adventurer and I always looked up to him. He’s still super jacked and strong!”
He patted the sheath of his sword with his hand. It wasn’t at all ostentatious and looked worn by long years of use. Perhaps his father had handed it down to him. From its immaculate condition, I guessed Albert took good care of it. He was obviously more serious and sensitive than I’d initially taken him for.
“I’m Corinne,” said the girl. “The same age as Albert, and I’ve been stuck with him since we were little. I was afraid he’d up and die if I left him alone, so I decided to become an adventurer with him.”
“Hey, they didn’t need to know that!” Albert huffed in annoyance, then they both looked at me simultaneously. The little beast-boy sitting next to me hunched in on himself a little at their synchronized movement. Despite not having said anything to each other yet, he and I exchanged a meaningful glance in response to the pair’s sparkling, expectant eyes that had now turned on us. It was like we were both silently saying, “You first.”
I was technically an amnesiac, so I needed to get my story straight to avoid any contradictions. And while I thought about what to say, the therianthrope spoke first.
“…I’m Montana Marteau,” he said. “I’m the son of a dwarven blacksmith. I fight using a dagger.”
He spoke haltingly, but it sounded less like he wasn’t used to speaking and more like he was choosing his words carefully before saying them. But his eyes glowed with his hopes for the future, maybe because he too was a child who’d always aspired to be an adventurer. At least that was how he looked to me.
And that meant that the only one among us with dull, lackluster eyes was me. I felt awkward going last, like the star headliner finally taking the stage, but there was nothing I could do about it. I should have just gone first and gotten it over with instead of overthinking it like an idiot. Even as the thought flashed through my mind, I knew it was too late for me to just leave without saying a word, so I gave up and spoke.
“My name is Haruka Yamagishi,” I started. “Um… I suppose confrontation is…not my strong suit.”
I contemplated the meaning of my own words. I was the oldest in terms of mental age, but for some reason, my self-introduction felt the most confusing and unhelpful.
“Huh,” said Albert, before quickly recovering. “Then I’ll call you Haruka. You guys can call me Al.”
“I’ll call you Haruka too!”
While I tried to manage my shock at how quickly they had closed the emotional distance between us, their conversation went on without me. Youth is something else. Despite my young body, I was still old on the inside, so I had no way of resisting in the face of such youthful energy. And actually, being there with them made me feel younger and surprisingly comfortable.
When I glanced at Montana next to me, I found him staring at me in a daze. Even while I’d been introducing myself, I’d sensed that he was looking at me exactly the same way. At this rate, the kid was going to bore a hole through me. I couldn’t remember doing anything off, but clearly he was upset about something.
I would have rather he spoke to me directly, because I didn’t enjoy being stared at. But I said nothing, just studiously kept my eyes down. That was when Albert hopped up on his desk and asked Montana a question.
“Sooo, Montana, you’re the son of a dwarf?”
“Yes.”
“Even though you’re a beast-person?”
“Yes.”
“How does that work?”
Wow, he’s digging pretty aggressively into Montana’s private life. I immediately glanced at Montana to see his reaction, but his expression remained basically the same as before. My plan had been to change the subject if he looked upset or uncomfortable, but I also didn’t want to come across as a busybody, so I decided to wait and watch instead.
“A giant bird snatched me away from my birth parents and my dwarf father is the one who found me,” he said calmly. “Now that I’m an adventurer, I’ll be able to look for my blood father and mother. I want to travel everywhere.”
To my surprise, he didn’t seem particularly bothered by the circumstances of his birth. His dwarf parents must have been so amazing and dependable that their lack of a biological connection didn’t matter to him. Warmth unfurled in my heart at the thought.
Albert and Corinne glanced at each other and grinned after Montana said his piece. They look like they’re up to something. I had to admit that my own thoughts made it sound like I didn’t trust those two.
“Hey, hey, hey, I’ve got a brilliant idea,” Albert said excitedly. “Why don’t you team up with us? Then we can go on adventures together all over the world!”
Montana pulled his fluffy tail into his lap and fussed with it absentmindedly for a bit. He looked at the ceiling, then at each of us three in turn, taking his time, before finally giving Albert a simple response.
“All right.”
This is bad. Their goal with this gathering hadn’t been to form a friendship. It was now crystal clear to me that they’d wanted the two of us to join their party all along.
My plan was to find some honest, steady work in town and pay back the debt I owed to Ralf, after which I hoped to be hired by a shop or merchant so I could live a peaceful life. And that was what I thought I had to do. But now the adventurous itch I had wrestled into submission earlier reared its eager head once more.
This anxiety was different from the kind I felt when something bad happened. It was much more like the kind of feeling that throbbed in your chest when you were looking forward to seeing what would happen next in an amazing story, or when your heart raced during a suspenseful fight scene.
“The offer’s on the table for you too, Haruka! You’ll go adventuring with us, right?” Albert pressed.
“Huh? What? Me?”
“You don’t have a weapon, so does that mean you can use magic?” Corinne asked.
“Yes, apparently so, but, wait, that’s not the issue here,” I started, almost getting carried away. “I’d rather live in town doing menial labor and things like that…”
“Oh, gosh, that’s amazing!” Corinne was already saying. “Yay! We have a mage! Mages are so valuable in an adventuring party!”
My words of protest got stuck in my throat at the sight of Corinne, who was now practically shrieking in delight. I hadn’t even agreed to join them, but they were already talking like it was set in stone. And when I imagined turning them down, I got a bad feeling somewhere in my chest or stomach. I couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but I pressed a hand to my abdomen.
I don’t even know how much magic I can use or what level of magic I have in general. I can’t just say yes so easily with things the way they are. I don’t want to cause any trouble.
“May I have the night to think things over?” I asked.
In the end, my answer wasn’t a “no.” I didn’t even think about how I could refuse. Instead, I was worried about not wanting to cause them trouble after joining up with them. In fact, the direction of my thoughts had changed irrevocably the minute the thought of joining them had entered my mind. And I had to ignore that, because I couldn’t afford to get swept up in outlandish dreams.
“I’ll do my best to consider your offer positively,” I said instead. “You have my word.”
With that, I rushed out into the hallway, where I agonized over whether this was really the right decision. Could I surrender to the thrill of excitement buzzing in my chest? Even though I knew I shouldn’t?
I could still turn back and do the proper thing. I would give them my answer after I thought this through carefully and thoroughly. It’ll be fine, I still have time.