A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation

Eleven was walking through the streets of Astarnia, humming happily to himself.

The expression on his face was neither the usual mocking grin he wore nor a superficial, polite smile he showed only when necessary. It wasn’t the sly, twisted smirk he reserved for those involved either. The closest comparison would be a smile filled with superiority, sweetness, and reliance, the kind he directed at Rizel—but even that wasn’t quite right.

His eyes brimmed with genuine sweetness and joy, his mouth relaxed into an irresistible smile, and a voice sweeter than any attempt to woo a woman slipped from his lips. His presence effortlessly drew the gaze of everyone around.

“Big Brother, are we heading to the guild?”

But the reason for all the attention wasn’t Eleven alone.

It was also the being cradled in his arms—a presence whose voice, rarely heard in public, was now poured out without hesitation.

When adventurers form a party to accept a quest, they naturally take it on together.

Whether one accepts a quest solo or in a group, the guild’s evaluation remains the same. The consensus is that quests achievable alone barely reach rank D difficulty. The guild has never explicitly insisted on parties, but due to the difficulty, adventurers naturally form groups.

Of course, many adventurers don’t have fixed parties but team up with whoever is available each time to complete quests. Solo quest acceptance is something most adventurers only try when they are beginners, unable to find partners, and tackling rank F quests.

“When I first saw that party, I thought I’d get some leftovers from Ittou, and it’d be sweet.”

“Anyone would think that.”

Inside the guild, a few adventurers were casually chatting while scanning the quest board, just like always. Their eyes were searching for manageable quests as if by habit.

“But you realize it’s not like that eventually, right?”

“Oh, that’s what you mean?”

“Yeah... you just realize.”

Nodding in agreement, they secretly glanced at Jill standing a few meters away.

Next to him were no traces of Rizel, whose presence as an adventurer was always somewhat incongruous, nor Eleven, who had gained a reputation for being the most dangerous when picking fights. Usually, the three would be together, discussing various things, but here Jill was alone, quickly grabbing a quest sheet and heading to the counter.

Watching his long legs from behind—legs enviably long enough to spark jealousy among men—the adventurers spoke aloud about the doubts they’d previously dismissed.

“Why do those guys accept quests solo?”

The trio’s solitary quest acceptance was so natural they’d never brought it up before. At first, the idea was impossible; they assumed one of them came solo to accept the quest and joined the others later.

But that wasn’t the case. They came to accept quests fully on their own terms.

They weren’t at odds, either. Sometimes they met by chance at the guild and went together. If so, why not come together from the start? But it’s strange to expect them to keep track of each other’s schedules daily.

No, that’s not it. It’d be odd not to coordinate when accepting quests as a party. The three behaved so naturally and confidently that the adventurers almost got swept along.

“When that calm one first came alone, everyone was jittery.”

“Thought it was a mistake.”

Rizel was called “calm one” by some adventurers.

“We get that one with the red hair and Ittou, right? They only accept high-ranking quests, so it’s like, seriously? But yeah, we get it.”

“Accepting quests alone makes you wonder ‘why?’ but it doesn’t feel off. Ittou solo clears quests, heck, even the red one does it solo.”

“But the calm one... it’s just unsettling. Like, ‘Is that really okay?’”

When Rizel first came to Astarnia alone, everyone was puzzled, unsure of what she was doing. She entered calmly, went straight to the crowded quest board, and since no one knew how she’d get close to it, they hovered curiously behind.