Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Towards the Mission (Part 2)

After finishing my chores, I sensed an unusual presence while having dinner.

"...Are there people staying at this inn?"

Yes, besides me, I felt the presence of guests staying at the inn, not just those using the dining hall.

As I was looking surprised by the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, Ricardo-san, who came out of the kitchen, looked at me with an exasperated expression.

"What's with that surprised look? I told you before, we have customers here too."

"Well, I heard about it, but until just now, I hadn't seen anyone else staying here... Seriously, there were people."

"You're quite rude..."

As I exchanged words with the owner, the guests who had come to the dining hall approached us, also showing surprised expressions like mine.

"Wait, are there really new guests!? Ricardo-san, you weren't lying!"

All four guests, two men and two women, expressed their surprise and alternately looked at my face and Ricardo-san's face. The man who seemed to be the leader introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, I'm the adventurer Jin."

"Ah, yes, that's right, let's start with greetings! I'm Luke. And the big man behind me is Dolux. The narrow-eyed woman is Eris, and the small one is Anis. Nice to meet you!"

The man I thought was the leader called himself Luke and then introduced his companions.

However, it seemed that the way he introduced them was not very good, especially for the women. In particular, Bell-san was punched and beaten up by them.

"Nice to meet you, Jin-kun. I've heard some rumors about you at the guild."

"Rumors, you say?"

"Yes, they say there's a new adventurer who has been promoted at an incredible speed."

"Well, it's just a little fast, that's all."

I replied to Eris-san's words with a forced smile.

After that, we decided to have dinner together with Luke-san and the others, as a sort of social gathering.

"Oh, Jin-kun, you were a former noble, right? Same as me."

"Huh, Eris-san, are you also a former noble?"

"Yes, although I didn't have as high a status as you, Jin-kun."

Eris-san said that and told me about her past.

It seemed that Eris-san was born into a baron's family, but with an older brother and sister above her, and being the third child and a girl, the chances of inheriting the family's fortune were low.

Thinking that way, when she was 12 years old, Eris-san decided to leave her home and became an adventurer together with her childhood friends, including Luke-san.

"You have amazing initiative."

"Well, I wasn't on good terms with my family to begin with, so I wanted to leave home. I've already cut off contact with my original family, so it doesn't matter even if they try to reach out to me now. I'm enjoying my life to the fullest."

"I see. In my case, it was more like being forced out, so it's different from Eris-san's situation, but I'm also enjoying my life right now. It seems both of us are better suited to living as commoners than as nobles."

"I see. Since the time when I was a noble, it was more enjoyable to talk with Luke and the others than to talk among nobles. I suppose that's how it was."

Unlike me and Ellis, who were different, Ellis, who had been playing with Luke and the others since childhood, who were commoners from the start, seems to have been raised with a commoner's way of thinking.

Because of that, she often clashed with her family, and she said that it was impossible to continue living as a noble, so she became a commoner.

Since then, the social gatherings with Luke and the others continued and didn't end until Ricardo told us to close the dining hall.

After taking a shower and returning to my room, I lay down on the bed.

"I thought I would meet them someday when I decided to stay at this inn, but I never thought it would be today... From that time, those four emitted an amazing aura..."

Luke, Ellis, Dolc, and Anis.

These four also appeared in the game, and they were senior characters who taught various things to the protagonist as adventurers.

In the game, they also became sparring partners for the protagonist and were popular among players as characters who taught useful skills.

"I didn't want to deepen the relationship value with characters deeply involved in other games, but I want to get along with Luke and the others... It's also because of their skills, but I really liked them as characters."

I muttered so and fell asleep, thinking that I should get along with them during the time I would stay in the royal capital, as he had mentioned before.

The next day, Luke seemed to want to continue the conversation from yesterday during breakfast, but he was quickly called by a messenger from the royal castle.

"Eh, Jin, are you working at the royal castle?"

"I'm going to the royal castle now as requested by the princess. I'm allowed to use it as a disguise. So please, don't mention that I work at the royal castle."

"I see, that's how it is. Got it. Take care, my junior!"

"Take care."

With Luke and the others seeing me off like that, I boarded the carriage and headed to the royal castle.