Chapter 38 Towards A New Beginning
"Oh, Adel-san."
"Hey, Marie. You came."
"Yes, I brought flowers again this week!"
After finishing the job I received from the client, I returned to the tavern, the Silver Apple Inn, and found Marie from the flower shop waiting there.
It seemed she had come to deliver the reward for the previous request I had completed.
Marie visited once a week like this, bringing flowers with her.
She said, "I still haven't repaid the favor I received."
While I appreciated her sentiment...
"Hello, Marie-san. Thank you for the flowers as always. They make me so happy."
"Hehe, I'm glad Maia-san likes them too. I'll bring even more flowers next time."
"..."
It seems the day when the tavern will be filled with flowers is not far off.
I let out a sigh and watched Maia and Marie, who seemed excited about the new flowers Marie had brought.
"Hey, is that beastman kid over there new to you?"
"Oh... um, I'm Teti. Nice to meet you."
When Marie called out to Teti, Teti politely bowed.
"Yes, nice to meet you. I'm Marie. I'm the one whose life was saved by Adel-san before."
"Saved your life? Isn't that a bit exaggerated?"
"No, not at all. The shop where Adel-san saved me is a very important place to me, and without that shop, I wouldn't have been able to survive. So, Adel-san is my savior."
"I see."
"I also had my life saved by Adel."
As Teti continued, Marie muttered, "Adel-san is really amazing."
Being praised so much was a bit embarrassing.
"By the way, about the last job. Thanks to Marie, I was saved."
"My...? What do you mean?"
Marie looked puzzled as she asked a question.
The previous job - a request from adventurers to find the thief who stole their money.
This incident led to Teti following the scent of the perfume Reisha was wearing, which ultimately led to saving the children at the orphanage. The key to this was the Iris Rosen flower that Marie delivered to the tavern.
I explained the whole story to Marie.
"I see, that's interesting... But it's amazing to find someone just by the scent of Iris Rosen perfume, Teti-san."
"Well... thank you. I'm glad if I could help Adel too."
Teti said that while wagging her tail.
After that, the two of them seemed to hit it off and chatted for a while, but Marie started explaining the flowers placed in the tavern.
Somehow, I felt like I had seen this scene before, so I took out the apple from the basket on the counter.
"Well, well."
"Adel-sama, another apple?"
As I take a bite of the apple I pulled out, Maia seems to have gotten bored and comes over to my side.
"Oh, this one is definitely the tastiest."
"Well then, I'll have one too."
Maia also takes an apple out of the basket and takes a cute bite.
As I fill my mouth with the sweet and sour fruit, memories of when I first met Maia come flooding back.
"Maia, I'm always grateful to you."
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"No, I just always feel thankful. I can run this tavern and still do my other job thanks to you, Maia."
"Adel-sama..."
Maia's silver hair sways as she smiles softly.
While I carry out my revenge missions, there are quite a few people like Marie earlier who express their gratitude.
But ultimately, it's all thanks to the girl smiling next to me.
"At that time, I said it before, but I will always serve Adel-sama."
"..."
"And, like Marie-san and Teti-chan, Adel-sama saved my life as well."
"Well, I don't mind you saying that."
With slightly embarrassed straightforward words, I averted my gaze from Maia.
"...?"
While Teti was talking to Marie, I noticed her ears twitching.
* * *
Marie had left, and it was already closing time at the tavern.
That day, unusually, no other customers came for the second job.
After finishing cleaning up the tavern together, Teti asked with a serious expression,
"Hey... I have something I want to ask Adel and Maia."
"What is it, Teti-chan?"
"You see, I've been curious about this for a while. Adel and Maia seem to be running this tavern while also doing another job, but why is that?"
"Oh..."
At Teti's sudden question, Maia and I exchanged glances.
"Also, earlier Maia mentioned that her life was saved. So, I'm curious about the relationship between the two of you..."
"..."
――Come to think of it, it's been two years since then...
Teti's question made me recall the time when I first met Maia.
Turning to Maia, she gently smiled and nodded.
It seems like it's okay to talk about it.
"Maia and I met two years ago."
"Two years ago...?"
I took out an apple from the basket on the counter and said,
"Yeah. It was a snowy day. It all started when I received an apple from Maia..."
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)