I wasn’t the sort of person to say no when I was sitting here letting a slime use up one of the seats. Fortunately it had finished its meal, so I picked it up and put it beside me.
“Thank you! Over here, brother!”
The one that Sharney showed to the seat opposite me was a tall adventurer. His functional and mobility-focused robe was enough to give this impression, but if that wasn’t enough, the Sphere that glittered on the back of his right hand was the cincher.
“Sorry about this, I appreciate it,” he said.
“It’s fine. I’m almost done,” I replied.
“You’re happy with the regular, right, brother? And thank you, mister! I’ll throw in an extra favor later as thanks,” Sharney said before returning to work.
By the way she referred to this man and their appearances—from their hair to their eyes, they were startlingly similar—it was clear they were siblings.
“My name’s Tiesel Kreyon. Sharney’s older brother,” he said.
With him introducing himself unprompted, manners dictated I needed to do the same.
“I’m Hakura,” I said.
It wasn’t very polite to refrain from giving your home name, but many adventurers didn’t want to disclose their personal details and Tiesel didn’t pry at all either.
Tiesel’s ruffled hair was quite striking, but I didn’t think I’d seen him before. Esma was a big place with a number of different guild buildings, so there were many adventurers I’d never encountered. As I was thinking it wasn’t all too weird for neither of us to know one another, Tiesel spoke up.
“I recognize you, though. Your hair’s hard to forget and you go around with that cute girl.”
It seemed like Tiesel knew Leen, and we stood out quite a bit.
“I’m not going around with her; she’s the one who drags me around,” I said.
“Apologies. You always seem to get along so well. Are you two an item?”
“Enough with the terrifying jokes, please...”
It was spine-chilling to even think about. Working with her was all well and good, but if I ever developed feelings for her, it’d be over for me. I glanced over to see, yet again, the slime laughing its ass off at me.
“So then...were you trying to sweet-talk my sister just now?” Tiesel asked. He’d been smiling politely, but with these words, his gaze took on a cold edge.
“No. I wasn’t meaning to, at least.”
“Really? When she’s as cute as she is?!”
Sharney did seem like the type to have tons of admirers, but I doubted she’d feel anything in particular for some guy she had called out to try and stop by the restaurant.
“Then tell her not to work somewhere like this! There must be all sorts of guys who buzz around her.”
Tiesel gave a flat laugh before pulling a terribly bright smile.
“One guy has already come buzzing. She’s getting married soon.”
“Yeah, she literally just told me.”
“He’s a good fellow, I’ll admit it. I can’t think of anyone else I’d let my sister marry. Yeah, I’ll admit it, but still...stiiill...!”
“You don’t look ready to admit it.”
I didn’t care about people’s private lives all that much, and I’d just about finished off my stew, so I was about ready to get up and leave. However, just as I was about to stand up, Tiesel stopped me.
“By the way... You’ve had a little fight with your friend, haven’t you?” he said.
“Where and when did you hear that?”
“From Sharney when she showed me in.”
“Why’s she sharing details about a customer’s personal life...?”
“It’s part of the favor she said she’d give you. I’ve got the perfect thing for a present,” Tiesel said before pulling something out from a pocket and placing it on the table. “How about it? I think anyone would be over the moon to receive it as a gift!”
The item he’d placed before me was unmistakable—a glittering orange Carbuncle Stone. This wasn’t like the one that shady merchant offered me, no, it was set into a silver ring—a proper piece of jewelry. This would cost a hell of a lot if I were to buy it at a proper store. It wasn’t the sort of thing you just plopped on the table.
“Hey... Are these in vogue in Esma right now, or something?” I asked.
Tiesel merely cocked his head. “Whatever could you mean?”
“A shifty merchant grabbed me earlier today. Is this actually the real deal?”
I hadn’t had the money to buy it even if it were a real Carbuncle Stone, but it wasn’t the type of thing you’d just try and sell to a stranger. At this point, I was on high alert, but Tiesel put a hand to his lips.
“That Hallabey... Or wait... Maybe...?”
“Sorry, but I’m going now.”
I scooped up the slime in one hand to hol— Ugh, of course it wanted to ride on my head. What a weird day this was turning out to be. Anyway, I left the seat, and Tiesel didn’t say anything more. I took my takeout for Leen and paid the bill, but just as I was exiting the restaurant someone hurriedly called out to me.
“I’m sorry. Did my brother say anything weird to you?” Sharney said, looking a little worried.
“Not really. I finished my food, so it was time to leave.”
“It seemed a bit awkward, no?”
“You don’t miss anything, huh...”
I couldn’t keep a wry smile from escaping, but I had just turned down his proposal. This wasn’t totally uncommon among adventurers.
“We weren’t talking about anything important, so don’t worry about it,” I said.
“Well, I’m going to! I took advantage of your kindness to get my brother to share your table,” she said.
This Sharney was quite the character, that was for sure.
“Okay, then mind giving me a hint on a present? That’d be the most helpful right now.”
“If you’re happy with that, then sure. But...who is the person in question and what was your fight about?”
I told Sharney about Leen’s general appearance and a very abridged version of what I’d done. Her charming face twisted into quite the incredible expression.
“Wow... You’re terrible... Even I’d be angry at that,” she said.
“Yeah, and I’m trying to create an opportunity to atone for what I did.”
“Ah! Then I know!” Sharney motioned for me to come closer. I did so, and she leaned right up against my ear. This close distance might have been something she did with anyone or maybe it was something she’d learned how to do when trying to get into people’s good books when drawing them to the restaurant.
“How about it?” she said after speaking into my ear.
I was very grateful for the hint, enough for me to slap my thigh in victory. However—today had been a terrible day, but I hadn’t realized just how terrible it could be. I should have known that Leen wasn’t the sort of person to spend half a day cooped up inside at home. I should have known that she would have thought it too awkward to bump into me at one of our regular haunts and would have gone somewhere she didn’t usually go. However, all the same... How was I meant to know that Leen would come to this exact restaurant right at the moment Sharney was whispering into my ear and witness everything?!
Sharney, for her part, looked incredibly embarrassed, sensing what had just gone down. I hadn’t done anything to be guilty of. I was free to do whatever I pleased. So why did it feel like ice was running down my back as panic and awkwardness filled me?
“L-Leen, I can explain...”
Before I could go on, Leen came up to me, grabbed the slime from my head, then glared up at me with a sharp expression. Then she looked over at Sharney and said, “Are there any seats available?”
“U-Um, right now, you’ll have to sit oppos— Ah, no, I think we can get you a seat on your own!”
Some other customers had just come out of the restaurant. They eyed us strangely as they walked away. Having heard what she needed to hear, Leen didn’t cast a second glance at me as she stomped into the restaurant.
I wondered if she hadn’t resorted to violence because people were around or if some other emotion had eclipsed any aggressive urges.
As I wondered what I was going to do with the meat pie now, all I could do was stand stupidly in front of the restaurant.