Two days later.
In the morning, I went through my daily routine as usual.
Recently, I'd started running to build stamina and stretch.
I'd also doubled my knife-handling and movement practice.
Building a solid foundation matters.
My current goal was to handle a knife as naturally as my own hand or arm.
When I finished and was folding laundry on top of the tower, a bird came flying in.
It landed neatly by the window.
Spotting me, it dropped the scroll tied to its leg from its beak onto the floor.
It looked at me once more, then took off.
"............"
I picked up the scroll and unrolled it.
It was a letter. There was only one possible sender.
The next day. The witch's house.
"Well, well—how nice of you to come!"
"Your letter arrived."
"Oh good, it sounds like it got there safely."
Sure enough, the sender was this witch.
Correspondence existed as a concept, but postal service did not.
That was why there were no mailboxes in front of homes.
There was also the fact that letters were used by only a select few.
That was because literacy rates were so low.
The era was shifting from scrolls to books.
Even so, it would take considerable time before literacy rates rose.
So there were no established means of correspondence. No set rules, either.
Some people, like the witch, used birds.
I was led to the usual cluttered living room, where a young man was waiting.
Ash-blond hair. Pale brown eyes. White horns. A sharp, striking face.
Of average build, he wore a black tunic over green clothing.
A worn black battle belt at his waist held a pouch and a knife.
A sword was propped up beside the sofa.
A wooden scabbard and grip—now that was unusual.
"You must be Wof."
"Y-yes."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Axe—leader of Thunder Fang."
He gave a slightly awkward smile.
Leader of Thunder Fang. Axe looked like a perfectly ordinary young Fawn.
"Come, come—let's not stand around chatting. Have a seat."
"Y-yes."
A little nervous, I sat down on the sofa across from him.
The witch beamed.
"Well then, I'll go prepare some herbal tea right away."
"No, we're fine—thank you."
"I'll pass as well, thank you."
We gently declined.
"Oh my—how cold. And I was so proud of my blend."
The witch deflated.
Axe gave a wry smile.
"So then... Wof."
"Yes."
"I'm truly sorry!"
He suddenly bowed his head.
"Huh?"
"Hmm, hmm. What's this about, I wonder?"
"Um, why are you apologizing?"
"—Well, for that, I need to tell you about my mother."
"Your mother?"
"Yeah. I'm sure you know, but my mother is a Class II delver."
"Mm, mm. That's right—the Claw Blade of Thunder. Quite famous."
"......"
I had no idea.
Better keep quiet about that.
"And my mother has a disciple."
"Not an employee—a disciple?"
"Rare, right? Anyway, about this disciple—by my mother's orders, she's going to be diving into dungeons with us. She'll be tagging along."
"And that's why you're turning down the errand boy job?"
If that was the case, then so be it.
Can't be helped. Yep. Can't be helped.
"No, that's not it."
Axe slowly shook his head.
I looked at him, puzzled.
"What do you mean?"
"This disciple of hers... is a girl. A ten-year-old delver."
"Oh? A ten-year-old delver."
"Aren't delvers only from age fourteen?"
Wait, hold on.
I was pretty sure I'd heard about a girl who became a delver under special circumstances.
A bad feeling crept over me.
"She had exceptional talent and became a delver through extraordinary circumstances."
"I know. I'd heard the rumors."
"Right. We only knew through rumors too. Never expected she'd be my mother's disciple."
"You didn't know?"
"No—I haven't seen my mother since I came of age."
It was normal to part ways with your parents upon reaching adulthood.
That hadn't been the case in my past life.
"So why did you apologize to me?"
"Thunder Fang has three guys, including me. It's always been just the three of us."
"And?"
"......I'm not trying to brag, but I've been grinding as a delver for nearly nine years. None of us has any experience with girls."
"R-right..."
What was he trying to say?
Seeing me looking troubled, Axe spoke.
"So—would you be willing to carry her things for us?"
"Me?"
"Along with carrying her luggage, we'd want you to help with her various errands and such."
"......Well..."
"Please. You're close in age, and the witch tells me you're used to dealing with girls."
I shot the witch a flat look.
But the witch was completely immune to it.
"No, no—I'm not used to anything like that—"
"Actually, at Cider Hall, I saw it with my own eyes—having a meal with Pakira of Torquetam, and then going upstairs to the VIP room with that Black Devourer, Megadia... I saw all of it."
"That was, um..."
It wasn't wrong, exactly—but the way he put it...
"Oh my, oh my—oh my oh my?"
Stop grinning, witch.
Don't circle around and stare at me with amusement.
"I-It's true, there isn't a single lie or exaggeration in that."
"Ho ho, ho ho."
"What is it? You've been like this the whole time."
This witch was insufferable.
"What what? It's nothing at all, dear~"
"......Right."
What was with that smug smile?
"So please—I'm begging you! Please, I'm really begging you!!"
Axe kept his head bowed and pleaded desperately.
At this rate, he was about to prostrate himself.
Honestly, I was worried this would lead to some kind of misunderstanding.
Haaah, fine.
"All right. If I'll do, I'll take the job."
"Really?! Thank you, thank you!!"
He shot to his feet and gripped my hand firmly.
"You really are desperate, huh."
"......Honestly. We have no idea how to approach girls."
"Wouldn't it just be... normally?"
I tilted my head.
There was nothing complicated about it.
"It's embarrassing, but none of us have ever really talked to the opposite sex."
"......That's a bit much, even for me..."
I said this, but I wasn't exactly one for socializing myself.
"Y-yeah..."
"Well, well—that's what the future is for. You're young yet."
"I hope so."
"Oh, by the way—does Kon not count as the opposite sex?"
The witch was grinning. But her eyes weren't smiling.
"Ah, well, technically he is, but—he's been around since forever, so..."
Axe fumbled for an excuse.
The witch pretended to accept it, but she wasn't convinced. Her eyes still weren't smiling.
"Departure is in three days."
"Understood."
"We'll do a proper meet-and-greet the day before. Midday, roughly. The place will be Cider Hall."
"Understood."
Three days, then.
Axe thanked me once more before heading out.
After a moment, the witch spoke.
"Dear, dear—I'm sorry about this."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, about all this. I didn't think it would turn out this way."
"It can't be helped."
This was a ship I'd already boarded.
And there was also the matter of increased pay.
"Actually, there's something I need to tell you, young Wof."
"What is it?"
"Well, you see—it's about Thunder Fang."
"What about them?"
"The thing is—none of them, including Axe, carry any Relics."
"......What?"
I was stunned.