I glanced toward her, purely out of reflex. That was my mistake.
Our eyes met.
So when she’d said there were kids even smaller than her, she’d been talking about me. For a brief moment, I wondered if maybe she’d meant Chikka instead. But halflings were naturally small, so that wouldn’t count.
Chikka, meanwhile, just flicked her pointed ears. There was something smug about that gesture, like she was telling everyone she wasn’t involved. The fiery-haired girl was focused on me now.
Why? I hadn’t done anything wrong. I had noticed the commotion at the entrance, decided not to get involved on the spot, and even went out of my way to avoid Waine.
Unlike the other adventurers, I hadn’t been gawking at them like it was some kind of entertaining spectacle. I was just eating my breakfast. I just wanted to hurry and go gather herbs. This was definitely Waine’s fault.
“A-Ah.” Waine fumbled for a response. “That kid’s okay.”
I could guess what had happened. He had said something to her about her height, and now that she had found someone even smaller, she was throwing it right back at him.
Waine, you idiot, I thought. You need to try harder. Maybe act more like some villain from the first chapter of a story, the kind of goon who exists just to get beaten early on. Draw everyone’s focus onto yourself. Because right now, as someone who wasn’t even supposed to be involved, being the center of attention felt really uncomfortable.
“What do you mean he’s okay?! You’re telling me that short, wimpy-looking kid is fine, but I, a trained mage, am not?! I want a proper explanation!” the girl demanded.
“No, it’s just, y’know...” Waine hesitated and stumbled over his words. “He may not be able to do much, but he does what he can...”
“That makes no sense!” she yelled.
The girl had a point. Waine’s explanation was nonsense. No one would be satisfied with that vague reasoning. If he didn’t give a proper answer, nothing would be resolved.
“Tiny’s different. His eyes aren’t the same,” Chikka chimed in.
“My eyes?” I asked.
“Yeah. You and that girl have different eyes.”
I tilted my head in confusion. What kind of difference could she mean? Obviously, our eye colors were different, but that didn’t seem relevant.
“Your eyes don’t sparkle,” Chikka added.
“Are you insulting me?”
“Of course not. I’m saying you have the perfect qualities to be an adventurer. Basically, you have the potential to be a failure of a human being.”
“That definitely sounds like an insult!”
While Chikka and I were having this ridiculous conversation, Waine and the girl were still loudly arguing in the background. Meanwhile, Sheya, who didn’t care about either of them, finished eating her fish and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief.
“Sleepy,” Sheya murmured.
That’s all she has to say?
“Mornings are a formidable foe,” she explained.
Sheya did look genuinely exhausted. Well, not that it mattered. It wouldn’t be a problem if she decided to just pass out here. Adventurers lived freely. If she was that sleepy, then she might as well sleep. That probably wasn’t the point she was trying to make, but it was close enough.
I sighed. This entire situation was meaningless from start to finish. Waine had brought this on himself by stepping on a metaphorical cat’s tail. Chikka was just amusing herself with idle chatter. Sheya had long since lost interest.
Yeah. Time to hurry up and finish eating so I can get to herb gathering.
“All right, fine! I get it already!” At last, Waine gave in to the girl’s relentless persistence. And then, of course, he said something unnecessary. “Then why don’t you team up with him and follow him around?”
How did it come to that? I thought about this for a second and figured it out right away: Waine was trying to shove the problem onto me. I was not happy about that. This whole mess was his fault, but he was just tossing it aside like it was someone else’s problem. And now I felt like I had to prove myself somehow, which made everything worse.
“Are you mocking me?!” The girl’s fury exploded like an inferno. “Why would I ever team up with someone who looks that weak?! Are you saying we’re on the same level?!”
Honestly? I couldn’t blame her for being angry. Saying we were on the same level was like calling her one of the weakest adventurers in this entire guild.
“What are you talking about?” Waine asked. “I’m saying you’re below him.”
Waine.
Stop.
Please, just stop. I don’t care about who’s stronger or weaker. Just stop talking.
I focused on finishing my meal as fast as possible because I needed to escape this nonsense. I shoveled oatmeal into my mouth, gulped water to wash it down, and kept going. Adventurers’ meals were known for their massive portions. I had never eaten anywhere else in town, but I knew that for a fact. No matter how fast I tried to eat, there was still so much left.
“Two unregistered kids who haven’t even gone on a single quest yet—there’s no way you’re above him. He’s already been on multiple adventures and made it back alive. You’re underestimating both adventurers and him way too much,” said Waine.
The girl’s expression darkened, and her face contorted with anger. She was about to shout again. But before she could, a voice cut in.
“O-Oh, my lady! Please, let’s not do this!” The girl in the oversized hat—the one who had been fidgeting behind her companion this whole time—suddenly stepped forward and grabbed the smaller girl’s shoulder, holding her back. She’d looked younger at first glance, but she was probably the older of the two. Her demeanor made her seem far more timid, though. Her long, wavy, chestnut-colored hair rustled as she turned to look at me. Her eyes were slightly teary, like she was pleading for help. “This man is right. Let’s just follow that boy today and see how it goes.”
“Yune! Are you seriously siding with him?!”
“E-Even if you don’t like it, he is more experienced. Didn’t we learn that new recruits should at least pretend to listen to the advice and warnings given to them, even if they’re completely ridiculous?”
Wow. I thought she was timid, but she has a sharp tongue.
A few of the nearby adventurers watching the scene burst into laughter. Waine’s face twisted like he had just swallowed something extremely bitter.
The smaller girl, meanwhile, still looked very unhappy. But she seemed to acknowledge Yune’s reasoning, as much as she hated it. She shut her mouth for a moment then crossed her arms and glared at Waine. Finally, with an exaggerated air of reluctance, she spoke.
“Fine. I’ll do as you suggest. But if I find out you were just spewing nonsense, there will be hell to pay.”
“That’s your idea of how a newbie should act?” Waine pressed a hand against his forehead and shook his head like he was trying to ward off a headache.
I, too, held my head in my hands. Even though I’d really tried to finish my meal as fast as I could, there was still a little oatmeal left in my bowl.