Published: March 21, 2026
"Please take me as your disciple!"
"Refuse."
The eyes staring at my face shone, like a dog in front of treats.
I could almost see a tail wagging so hard it might come off.
How did it come to this?
I stared up at the ceiling.
Raul, who had been kneeling in a dogeza earlier, remained in that position and now begged me to make him my disciple.
"Why?!"
"I don't take disciples, and I'm not suited to take any. Besides, I don't know anything about you."
If I said that, Keria would butt in and start talking about Raul.
What the hell are these people.
Amelia, stop laughing and intervene.
And Yoru, who's trembling at my shoulder—remember this when we get home.
After Raul prostrated himself before me, the adventurers who had been listening and had been badmouthing Amelia hurriedly left the guild; we took the seats they vacated.
We had no reason to linger, and I planned to leave the Adventurer Guild to avoid the trouble that would arise if we ran into Gram, but before we could, Raul, Keria, and Mamoru—whose slit eyes made him feel somehow shady—blocked us. We ended up being given hospitality by the guild staff, including apologies.
The tea-time entertainment was Raul and Keria's story.
I thought they were lovers, but apparently they were just childhood friends.
"Raul and I have known each other since birth. My legs are bad, so Raul takes care of me. He's also a worrier, so on days he has nothing to do he's at the Adventurer Guild like this."
"What?! It's not for you! I'm just bored, fulfilling my duties as a silver rank adventurer!"
"Yeah yeah, you say that, but you once stopped a drunk adventurer fight, and the ones who were badmouthing me have somehow left town."
"It was coincidence! Coincidence..."
Despite being warned by the deputy guild master earlier, the two of them started bickering again.
They're close, huh.
They're so close that maybe my misunderstanding wasn't so wrong.
There's even more tsundere than Crow.
Keria's leg disability was congenital, and after her parents died young Raul apparently stayed by her side.
Maybe it's my prejudice, but I couldn't imagine Raul being the type to take care of others.
I thought he'd be the one being fussed over.
People aren't what they seem, in looks or personality.
"Raul can cook better than a lot of chefs around here, and he does all the housework. Surprising, right?"
Amelia nodded as Keria bragged as if she were talking about herself.
"Surprising. Very surprising."
"Don't keep repeating that."
Raul bared his teeth and growled.
Keria paled at the way he spoke to Amelia, who is of the royal family.
While talking, I realized that Raul's internal ranking of ability placed me at the top, then gold rank adventurers, then himself and silver rank adventurers, and below them others including Amelia.
Raul's respect seems to be based solely on strength.
In other words, because Amelia doesn't look like a fighter, he thinks she's weak.
I think Amelia is far stronger than me.
By magical power capacity she's probably the only human who surpasses demons, and her life experience is different.
As for me, I came from a peaceful place; despite being an Assassin by trade, I haven't really done anything like it. If anything, I've wiped out a large number of demonic beasts once, and then I was bedridden for several days.
Well, if Amelia doesn't mind Raul's tone, then fine.
"So what are you good at?"
"Um, stewed General Boar meat and potatoes. There are carrots too."
When I asked, Raul scratched his cheek sheepishly and answered.
He looked like a different person from when he was with Amelia.
Kind of like nikujaga—meat and potatoes.
In my family we add konnyaku, burdock, or taro along with meat, potatoes, and carrots.
The General Boar is a mid-tier demonic beast like a wild boar that average adventurers can take down easily.
It's a beast that embodies headlong charging—when it senses a human it charges straight at them, so its movement is predictable and it's easy to defeat.
Its meat tastes kind of like beef and is delicious grilled.
There are regular boars slightly smaller than General Boars; they can't be eaten, but their thick hides sell for a good price.