Chapter Three Hundred and Fifty-One: Someone to Look Up To
“Tereeesa. Having a hard time finding a party?”
“Shut up.”
When Karen showed up at the Adventurers’ Guild, Teresa, who had been looking at the quest board, shot her an unpleasant look. She didn’t try to run, though.
“What are you here for?”
“I came to bring you a new potion item today, Teresa.”
“Now that’s more like it.”
Learning it was a new delivery from Karen, Teresa grinned and settled into a chair at one of the round tables in the guild. But when she saw what Karen pulled out after sitting down diagonally across from her, Teresa wrinkled her nose thoroughly.
“…What is that?”
“A super cute stuffed animal! That also doubles as a monster-repelling sachet.”
“So it is technically an alchemy item…?”
Teresa accepted the rabbit-shaped stuffed animal from Karen. It had just enough monster-repelling power to count as a good-luck charm, and Teresa held it dangling by one ear as though it were something foul-smelling.
“Listen, is there some kind of alchemical… reason… why it has to be this shape?”
“It’s cute and wildly popular with children, that’s all.”
“Don’t treat me like a kid! …Tch! It’s a B-rank alchemist’s item, so I can’t exactly throw it away!”
“You might be better off not throwing it away.”
“Huh!?”
“Anyway—”
Karen changed the subject in the face of Teresa’s warning glare.
“You seemed to be looking for a party at first, but apparently you’ve been going in solo again lately?”
“…Obviously. The moment they find out I have no magical power, I’m dead weight. The moment they find out I’m connected to you, I’m a cash cow. There’s no way I can form a party.”
“But if you want to go deeper, you’ll need companions eventually.”
“Mind your own—”
Teresa snapped at Karen as though to bite her, but something—some wild instinct—made her fall silent before she’d finished.
In the next instant, Thor grabbed her by the head and ruffled her hair enthusiastically.
“Hey. Thanks for the letter.”
The letter Teresa had sent Thor about the equipment made from the scraps of materials the Crimson Thunder had given Karen had apparently reached him properly. Thor gave Teresa’s frozen head a rough ruffle and sat down next to her.
Until just a short while ago, Thor had been at Karen’s alchemy workshop manor, looking over the potions Karen had made. He’d been so absorbed in examining them that Karen had quietly slipped away to avoid disturbing him and come here.
“Your potions had all kinds of effects I’d never seen before, Sis. They were seriously interesting! I don’t really understand how that monster repellent works, especially, but there’ll definitely be times when we’ll want to lower the odds even by one percent, so I think it’ll come in really handy.”
“Really?”
Karen had made that potion specifically to help Teresa, given that she had no magical power. She hadn’t imagined for a moment that it might be useful for Thor’s party—and yet she’d lined it up alongside the other potions just in case, and now she blinked in surprise.
“The others are still scattered all over the kingdom picking up gear, weapons maintenance, and magical tools, so I can’t give you exact numbers without checking with them—”
Thor took out a piece of paper and jotted notes with a pocket quill.
“We’ll narrow down the load together as a team, so we can’t bring everything—but I’m pretty sure we’ll bring almost all of your potions. There are also a few I’d like to have resupplied through dungeon caravans.”
“I’d love to say leave it to me—but would a dungeon caravan agree to transport my potions?”
“These are potions from a B-rank alchemist, requested by an A-rank adventurer. The Merchants’ Guild isn’t going to say no. I’ll send word from my end too.”
Whether Karen and Thor’s thoroughly serious work talk had made Teresa feel out of place, or whether she was trying to behave herself in front of Thor—she began to quietly edge out of her seat. Karen grabbed her firmly by the shoulder.
“Putting the work talk aside, there’s something I’d like you to tell this girl, Thor.”
“—!”
Teresa bristled like a cat. She probably thought Karen was going to expose her bad behavior or the things she’d said. According to Karen’s observations, Teresa had been trying repeatedly to accomplish the trial of forming a party, and had been right on the verge of giving up.
In the end, though, with Thor there, Teresa remained as meek as a cat that had been brought into an unfamiliar home, and she couldn’t stop Karen from speaking.
“Tell her why it’s important for an adventurer to have a party. This one’s going solo.”
The tension visibly drained from Teresa’s body. An expression like “oh, is that all?” crossed her face. But her color changed almost immediately.
“Are you saying you don’t have any intention of becoming an adventurer?”
Thor’s sudden assumption that she wasn’t serious about being an adventurer left Teresa staring at him in disbelief.
“I—I do!”
“Then why aren’t you forming a party? I mean, if you’re trying and just can’t manage it, that’s a different story—”
“—There are… quite a lot of people who are after Lady Karen.”
“That’s a perfectly good reason to turn them down.”
Teresa started to look relieved—but Thor continued:
“Still, a party is absolutely necessary.”
“—It’s necessary.”
Teresa didn’t ask for the reason. She simply stared at Thor, and with nothing more than that, she accepted what he said.
“I’ve been saying the same thing as Thor, though. You listen when he says it, hm.”
Karen made a show of looking dejected, and Teresa panicked and glanced at Thor.
“W-Wait! It’s not like I don’t respect Lady Karen or anything!”
“Well, I am a high-ranking adventurer. Makes sense that when it comes to things specific to adventuring, my words would land easier.”
“Right! Exactly! That’s all it is!”
Karen was doing her best not to laugh at Teresa’s flustered state. Teresa caught on and shot her a glare. Thor watched the exchange out of the corner of his eye and said:
“Listen to what Sis tells you properly, and you could make it to A-rank, Teresa.”
Teresa flinched. Even in front of Thor, she couldn’t completely hide her inner conflict, and she fell silent as though struggling to swallow something back. Even so, she eventually nodded.
“…Yes.”
“That was the most reluctant yes I’ve ever heard!”
Thor clutched his stomach and burst into loud laughter, while Teresa, for the first time, allowed herself to pout in front of him. Still, there was a trace of happiness about her as she settled neatly into the seat next to Thor, clutching her rabbit stuffed animal sachet.
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