“Look, I’m telling you, just drop it.” Waine looked troubled, and his voice carried an exasperated edge. “I’m saying this for your own good.”
Well, I could pretty much guess what was happening. He had probably said something unnecessary again. The girl had gotten mad and started shouting. That seemed like the most likely scenario.
I brought a hand to my chin and considered the situation for a moment. Then I took a wide detour around the commotion and went straight to the dining counter to order breakfast.
“Excuse me, could I get some oatmeal and some cooled water?”
Even though I hadn’t been coming to the guild for long, I’d already seen plenty of scenes like this. It wasn’t anything special. The people around them weren’t trying to break it up either. They were just watching, amused. There was no reason to get involved. If anything, butting in would only delay my own plans for the day. Besides, Waine had probably brought this on himself.
Breakfast arrived quickly, and I thanked the staff before picking up my bowl and cup. I looked around and spotted two familiar faces. There were still open seats at their table.
“Morning, you two. Mind if I sit here?” I asked.
“Morning, tiny. Go ahead.” The first to reply was Chikka, the halfling scout with fiery-red hair and dandelion-colored eyes.
Beside her sat Sheya, the mage with shimmering, bluish-silver hair. “Please, join us,” she added.
The three of them, Waine, Chikka, and Sheya, had formed a peculiar morning routine. Ever since our goblin hunt, they would meet here every day, laze around for a bit, then part ways without taking on any new quests. Apparently, they had made a decent amount of money from a sewer-cleaning job a while back, so they were now on an extended break.
“Oh yeah, tiny! Wanna go fishing today?” Chikka asked. “I found a great spot.”
“Sorry,” I told her. “I’m heading out to gather herbs.”
“So serious...” Chikka groaned, slumping against the table. She popped a roughly peeled piece of fruit into her mouth.
I mean, I am broke... Sure, fishing could provide food, and I could even sell some if I caught a lot. But gathering herbs was the more reliable way to make money. Besides, I was looking for something specific.
“Being diligent is a good thing,” Sheya commented as she ate her grilled fish. She was always sparing with her words. Apparently, everything was too much effort for her, including talking, so she only spoke when necessary.
At first, it had thrown me off, but I eventually realized she wasn’t being cold or unfriendly. She would always communicate what was important. When she felt like it, she’d even make small talk, like now. Though sometimes, her brevity could be really confusing.
“Oh yeah, I heard your adventurer rank is going up, Sheya. Congrats,” I said.
“Thanks,” Sheya replied.
“I heard Waine’s rank is rising too. What about you, Chikka?”
“I’ve been Rank C from the start. I’m not quite ready for Rank B yet.”
If I remembered correctly, Waine was also Rank C, and Sheya was moving up to Rank D. The three of them had taken on multiple guild quests together, and since their performance met a certain threshold, they had applied for rank promotions.
As for me...
“Tiny, you still don’t have your license, right? Keep at it.”
“Yeah, I will.”
I was still stuck at Rank F.
To reach Rank E, you had to make a meaningful contribution to a successful quest involving monsters at least as dangerous as goblins. But I hadn’t been in the guild for long, and I had relied entirely on Waine, Sheya, and Chikka during my last adventure. So I didn’t qualify for a promotion.
Not that it really mattered. Even if my rank went up, all I could really do was gather herbs. It wasn’t like I would become a powerful adventurer all of a sudden.
“I don’t accept this! I won’t!” The angry voice from earlier cut through the background noise. “You think you’re so superior just because you’re taller!”
I turned toward the source. Yep, that same girl was still arguing with Waine.
“What’s going on with them?” I asked out of curiosity.
“Apparently, Waine thought she came in looking to hire someone for a quest, so he treated her as a potential client. Turns out she’s actually here to join the guild,” Chikka answered while casually tying the stem of her fruit into a knot using only her tongue. It was a useless trick, but it was impressive too.
That actually looks kind of fun, I thought. I’ll have to try it later.
“Looks like he gave some unnecessary advice,” Sheya added, clarifying the situation.
Ah. Yeah, that wasn’t going to end well. I could fill in the blanks from the bits of their conversation I overheard. Waine had noticed how small the girl was and, out of concern, told her not to become an adventurer. To be fair, that made sense. Adventuring was dangerous. But judging by how she was still loudly arguing with him in front of everyone, it had clearly not gone over well.
“Even a little girl like that wants to be an adventurer, huh?” I muttered, glancing at the commotion while spooning oatmeal into my mouth. Oatmeal had become my go-to breakfast lately. It was cheaper than bread and kept me full longer.
“You’re one to talk.”
“You’re even shorter than her.”
I grumbled in protest at Chikka’s and Sheya’s remarks. I mean, they weren’t wrong. But I was pretty sure that girl and I were completely different.
“Both of those girls are wearing nice clothes,” I pointed out. “Doesn’t seem like they’re struggling for money.”
“That’s probably why Waine told them to quit while they’re ahead.” Chikka nodded before taking a small sip of water. “Those two aren’t cut out for this. It’s obvious,” she added, like she couldn’t care less.
“Aren’t cut out for this,” Chikka had said. Could seasoned adventurers really tell someone’s potential just by looking at them? Had Waine given that unnecessary advice because he’d already judged that she wasn’t a good fit for this life?
I looked at the two girls again, but I still had no clue whether they were cut out for adventuring or not.
“Huh...” Something nagged at me. If experienced adventurers could tell whether someone had potential at a glance, then what about me? Since the day I arrived at the guild, not a single person had told me to give up. Not even once.
Sheya’s quiet voice cut through my thoughts. “Everyone has their own circumstances.”
Right. Different people had different reasons for becoming adventurers. There were even rumors that Sheya had joined just to get out of magic training.
“Adventurers live freely. Just leave them be,” she added.
I understood what Sheya was trying to say. Even if those two weren’t cut out for adventuring, it wasn’t our place to stop them. At most, we could offer a warning. But we couldn’t interfere. It was their decision, and we couldn’t get in the way. If we didn’t let them choose their own path, adventuring would no longer be about freedom. Even I could understand that much.
“Besides! There are even smaller kids than me! What about him?!” The girl’s voice rang out louder than before.