I wanted to be an adventurer.
But I had heard adventurers were rude, unruly troublemakers who spent their days drinking and refused to get normal jobs. I never wanted to end up like that. Quite frankly, the very idea disgusted me... That was what I had thought at first, anyway. After a while, I started to realize how incredibly free their lives seemed.
I was born the daughter of a prestigious merchant house that also oversaw the sea salt guild: the Magnan Trading Company. My life was comfortable and never lacked for anything, but I had no freedom to choose what I wanted to do. From the day I was born, I was bound to this town and destined to live out the rest of my life here.
Perhaps I might be allowed to visit the capital, or maybe even the royal city, but that was it. Traveling the world was an impossible luxury. That was why I admired adventurers. I longed for their freedom and believed that becoming one would grant me the liberty I craved.
Yet here I was, not the least bit free.
Nothing had gone right. Everything about this adventure was physically exhausting, and I constantly dragged everyone down. The worst part was, once you stripped away the Magnan name and my magia, I had no value as just Liluetta. I had even lectured him in an arrogant attempt to make myself seem important.
Discovering goblins nearby should have been my chance to prove my worth, but he had decided to run away. And then it had all ended with such an awful goodbye, right when I’d thought I could finally show him what I was capable of.
Yune and I walked along the mountain trail after that, brushing branches and foliage aside as we went. To reach the harvesting spot, we climbed until we were near the summit before looping around to the opposite side of the mountain. The path remained difficult and uneven with roots, rocks, and jutting branches in our way. Each step was arduous, but the steepness eventually eased until it gave way to a gentle downhill slope and a broad, flat clearing. Areas like this were known as a mountain’s shoulder, if I remembered correctly.
Yune stopped and peered down at the path. “The footprints are still here,” she murmured uneasily.
I followed her gaze. Among the tracks we’d left yesterday and the day before, smaller footprints stood out. They were roughly the size of a child’s, with ragged claw marks clearly visible at their tips. Goblins, undoubtedly.
Even though he had spotted them first, proving he was at least somewhat capable as an adventurer, I still found it hard to take the threat seriously. Goblins were small, weak, and dull-witted creatures. They were among the weakest of all monsters.
I suppose that’s why he’s a mere herbalist, not a fighter, I thought.
“It looks like goblins are up ahead, after all.” I straightened my posture. “Let’s stay alert.”
We adjusted our formation. Yune took the vanguard, as her armor was slightly sturdier, and I stayed behind her. Ideally, our healer would remain protected at the back. But under these circumstances, it made sense for her to go first. If we were attacked, I could at least cover her with magia.
“Still, if those goblins really are trying to ambush us like he said, they’re not very bright.” I shook my head. “They didn’t even consider the possibility that we’d notice their tracks first.”
Yune nodded. “Ah, yes... I suppose you’re right. Because our guard is up.”
Yes. Yes, exactly. We knew there were enemies ahead, so we could proceed with caution. That meant there was no way we would be caught off guard. He really was too much of a coward. Danger was an unavoidable part of adventuring, yet he was so desperate to avoid it. Maybe he just wasn’t cut out for this job.
“But isn’t Kiri-o better at moving cautiously than us?” Yune mumbled.
“Don’t talk about him. He’s not even here,” I snapped. Hearing his name made an irritated tone I couldn’t suppress leak into my voice.
Yune flinched. “Uh, y-yes, my lady.”
I sighed. I knew our situation wasn’t good, and what Yune had said was true. He looked small and unreliable at first glance, but he was constantly aware of his surroundings and always ready to grip his spear at a moment’s notice. He was experienced enough in the mountains to do that naturally. In contrast, Yune and I were completely unfamiliar with places like this. We hadn’t even climbed a mountain before this one. I had to admit it: That warrior from the adventurer’s guild had been right. Compared to Kir—him, we were inexperienced and weak.
“But that’s just for now.” My reaction to that unpleasant conclusion slipped out before I could stop myself.
I lifted my gaze to look at Yune. She glanced around nervously, gripping her weapon as she took hesitant steps forward. It didn’t seem like she had heard me.
I let out a quiet breath of relief as I scanned our surroundings. As expected of a mountain, the trees and undergrowth created numerous blind spots and made it difficult to see. Now that we were so close to our destination where the mana pool lay, the already thick vegetation was even more overgrown. In a place like this, small monsters like goblins could hide as much as they pleased. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were lurking in this very area.
“Yikes. This is way scarier than I thought it would be.” Yune whimpered.
“Pull yourself together. It’s just goblins,” I scolded her.
I did understand how she felt. We were heading straight into enemy territory, moving through an area full of blind spots and places to hide. At any moment, something could leap out at us. The tension and anxiety slowed our steps. If we weren’t careful, fear could make us freeze in place.
That would be unacceptable. If we let ourselves falter over something like this, we would never move forward. I wanted to go higher. I had to go higher. I had become an adventurer under the guise of doing it for the Magnan family, but in truth, it was for my own freedom. To stay free, I had to prove I was strong enough.
I had to show them I didn’t need to be pulled back under the sea salt guild’s protection. I had to make them believe—no, make it an undeniable fact—that leaving me to my own devices was in their best interest as well as mine. If I couldn’t do that, the miracle that let me spread my wings as an adventurer would be plucked away in an instant.
“Hmph. He and I were never meant to be connected in the first place,” I said.
Now that I really thought about it, there was no possible future where we would continue working together. If he was the kind of person who would run from something as insignificant as goblins, then he wasn’t even worth my consideration. If that coward wanted to move slowly and cautiously, then fine. Let him. I was in a hurry, so I would push forward and overtake him. I had to.
“Honestly, I never thought he’d be the kind of guy who doesn’t even listen to his party members and just barks out orders like that,” I grumbled.
Ah, I’m thinking about him again. The memory of our argument resurfaced, stoking my irritation. Sure, we didn’t have as much stamina as he did, but that hardly mattered when I had magia that could more than make up for it. I was a mage, after all, and Yune was a healer.
Yes, he was more experienced as an adventurer. He was above us in that regard. But still, how dare he say that we were weaker than goblins? Goblins, of all things—the weakest of monsters! Belittling us like that, without even seeing a fraction of our true abilities, was beyond insulting.
“Well, I can kind of understand how Kiri-o feels, though,” Yune said, without turning to face me.
“Wha?” I blurted.
Yune tightened her grip on her long-handled mace with both hands. She was tense and trembling as she carefully kept watch on our surroundings, but she had said those words so casually that I couldn’t help but show my surprise.
Doesn’t she feel angry about his attitude at all? I fumed. Okay, Yune is soft-spoken, and she’s an apprentice cleric, but surely even she has to be upset about this.
“Remember what Kiri-o said? About not being able to protect us if something dangerous happened. He said that scared him. Yes, he looks weak, and I’m sure he really was scared. But maybe he was even more scared because you and I were with him.”
Probably true... But still.
“That in itself is an insult,” I retorted. “We’re adventurers, and we’re party members. We’re supposed to trust each other, rely on each other, and face hardships together. Him thinking he has to protect us is just offensive.”
I was seriously ticked off. Just how much did he plan to irritate me before he was satisfied? He was smaller than me—much too scrawny for that spear and armor—and he had only ever seen me use a detection spell. Someone like him had the nerve to act like that?
“That’s exactly why Kiri-o never saw us as real party members,” Yune said. She still didn’t turn around. “Because isn’t it true? We treated our first adventure as a trial run, we tagged along without contributing much, we got in the way more than anything, and then we shamelessly asked him to introduce us to other adventurers. On top of that, we acted like we were planning to leave soon. We were the ones who treated Kiri-o like a mere stepping stone for the next opportunity.”
Her words struck me hard, and I couldn’t respond.
“If you want to earn trust, show results. If you want to gain credibility, show sincerity. That’s what Grandfather Magnan always says, isn’t it?” Yune’s voice was as light and airy as always, and she spoke at her usual leisurely pace, but her anger was unmistakable.
Just then, the scenery opened up and revealed a clearing filled with blooming purple flowers.
“Oh, how wonderful. Look, my lady, we’ve finally reached the gathering site.” Yune sounded more lively all of a sudden. Perhaps she was excited or even relieved to have reached our destination after struggling through the overgrown mountain path... Yet she still refused to turn back and look at me.