Chapter 8

“—Sniff, sniff, thank you so much…!”

“There, there.”

After hunting the deer.

Komori-chan, her face a mess of tears, clung to me.

“I thought it was all over…”

By the way, my legs are still trembling. I guess I’ll have to escort her to town.

“We’ll talk later. If we stay here, more monsters will come, you know?”

“Eek!?”

Did she just say ‘eek’?

“But my legs, I still can’t…!”

“I know, I know. Alright then, here, climb on.”

I lowered my back in front of her. Come on, hop on.

“Whaaat!? No, no, it’s too sudden, I mean, isn’t it too much…!?”

“Don’t worry about it. You can’t walk anyway, right?”

“Ah!? Then, excuse me…!”

Finally, Komori-chan climbed onto my back.

She’s light. Thanks to my dragon power, most things feel light, but she’s especially so. Well, she does look petite.

‘Chirp!’

“What!? A chick just popped out of your head!?”

“That’s a stowaway. Alright, let’s go.”

I stood up and started heading towards the town. I’ve been coming to this ‘Forest of Evil’ for nearly ten years, so I know the shortcuts and the easy paths to walk.

“I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Jade. I’m a Rank 3 adventurer operating in the ‘Frontier City of Tristain.'”

“Rank 3!? I thought you were Rank 1 or something…”

“Nope, not at all.”

There are very few Rank 1 adventurers, and those who are active work in places where there are swarms of monsters much deeper in the forest.

“And you’re Komori-chan, right?”

“Y-Yes!”

She trembled on my back. This personality…

“I’ll ask you straight. Why did you become an adventurer? To be honest, you don’t seem suited for it.”

When I asked that, she mumbled, “Ugh…”

“If there’s something you don’t want to talk about, that’s fine.”

“No, no, I’ll tell you. You’re my savior, Jade-san…”

Komori-chan prefaced her story with, “It’s a boring tale,” and began to talk.

“I’m from a small village, and I have a big family. So…”

“They sent you to the ‘Frontier City of Tristain’ with just a little money to reduce the number of mouths to feed?”

“Yes—How did you know!?”

“It’s a common story…”

There’s no such thing as child welfare laws in this world.

By the way, in the Tristein territory, they exist. Only for children born in our territory, I made sure to push the lord to create strict protection laws until they turn fifteen.

“But Komori-chan, you didn’t have to become an adventurer.”

It’s a job with high earnings but also high danger. Given the current situation in Tristein territory, there should be other jobs available.

“Adventurers risk their lives daily. Because of that, there are a lot of perverts and rough characters.”

“R-Right… When I registered, a blonde guy approached me with a creepy smile, saying, ‘I’m Lua! You want to be an adventurer, missy? I’ll teach you everything, step by step!’…”

“What the heck is he doing?”

Embarrassingly, I know him.

Previously, he was reported by the gatekeeper for trying to make a love doll move by inserting a goblin into it.

“But you understand now, right? You should quit being an adventurer. I can introduce you to other jobs.”

“Ugh…”

Though I tried to persuade her, Komori-chan didn’t nod. Despite her timid personality.

“Could it be that you have something you want to achieve as an adventurer? Or do you have some amazing combat skills?”

“Neither… I don’t have any dreams, and as for skills, I have ‘zero.’ Isn’t that rare?”

“Seriously?”

That’s a rare case. Not impossible, but most people are born with at least one skill.

“That’s why I’m the most ridiculed among my siblings. Even my mother said she wished she hadn’t given birth to such a useless child…”

“That’s…”

I didn’t know how to comfort her.

But then, she suddenly continued, “But…”

“That’s why I wanted to accomplish something. To prove that even someone like me can hunt great monsters or help others…!”

My back felt wet.

Komori-chan, now crying, revealed her determination.

“So, that’s why you chose to be an adventurer.”

“Yes… But as you can see, I ended up screaming, collapsing, and being carried by you, Jade-san.”

She laughed bitterly on my back, saying it was like being babied.

“I’ll quit being an adventurer. I’ll take you up on your job offer, even though it means indebting myself to you more.”

Saying that, she let go of her pride.

I see.

“Not yet.”

“What?”

I straightened my back and set her down.

“Whoa!?”

“Komori-chan.”

I held her shoulder as she wobbled. Her eyes behind her bangs wavered.

“J-Jade-san…?”

“It’s too early to give up, Komori-chan.”

Skill activation: Storage Space Item Box, open.

I took out a pouch filled with money from it.

“This is a substantial amount. Take it.”

“W-What!?”

“Use it to buy equipment and weapons once we get back to town. The store I recommend will sell you quality goods at a reasonable price. If you treat them kindly, they’ll even help you choose.”

I wrote down the names and locations of several stores on a note and handed it to her along with the money pouch.

“Hey!?”

Not yet.

“After you’re equipped, talk to the party called ‘Fairy’s Mischief.’ If you say you’re introduced by Jade, they should take care of you for a few days. It’s an all-female party, so you won’t have to worry about harassment.”

I’ll owe Nisha and Kusha for this.

I’ll make it up to them later.

“Jade-san, I’ve already decided to give up…”

“Is that your true feeling?”

“!”

I lifted her chin to make her look up. Brushed her long bangs aside and locked eyes with her.

“Don’t you really want to keep going? Aren’t you frustrated? Don’t you want to succeed as an adventurer and prove your family wrong?”

“That, I…”

“Then don’t give up yet. Get equipped, take advice, and train. Fight in less dangerous places first. Many skills awaken through experience and wisdom.”

Look, there’s so much you can do.

“So, Komori-chan.”

I lifted the adventurer tag around her neck and smiled.

“Giving up now is a waste. Your determination is cooler and more impressive than anyone else’s.”

“J-Jade-san…!”

I gently stroked her as she cried again.

Seriously, always crying, huh?

“Hey, future ace adventurer Komori-chan. Don’t rely on a third-rank adventurer like me forever.”

“But you’re the first one to be so kind to me…!”

“I’m just a kind-hearted fool. Come on, leave before you catch my third-rank germs.”

She laughed through her tears and stepped back.

Tears still lingered at the corners of her eyes, but she was smiling. She’s strong.

“I guarantee it. You’ll make it big someday.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Absolutely. Believe in yourself, Komori-chan.”

After all, you have the endorsement of the mightiest dragon, right?

**Characters in this story:**

Me: A dragon who wants a house. Ended up giving some of my saved construction funds to Komori-chan.

Chick: The stowaway.

Komori-chan: “Senpai is so kind…!”

Silver-haired sisters: “There he goes again—!”