69 An opportunity
... Nn... Evening... Huh? Did I fall asleep?
"Ah, you're awake."
"Good evening, Mina."
Ah~, I feel great! Stretch...
So, Mina is still doing magic practice, huh? Even though I, after just having lunch, felt a little tired and lied down on the bed for a moment.
Even though I didn't intend to sleep or anything. The bed just feels too comfy, so it's the bed's fault!
Hm... What's her progress so far... Hm?
"Mina, your magic..."
"Eh? Oh! Don't worry, I made sure to take breaks, so I'm perfectly fine!"
Is that so... Well, as long as she understands. Even then, she's never used magic before, so, of course I'm slightly worried!
...
A cat beastkin, using magic, huh? Now that I think about it... The method of forcing magic to enter another person's body, and causing magic capacity to increase. That's not something that the world knows about, right? Ah, whatever, it's too late to think about that now. Whatever Maria does with that information, doesn't concern me.
...
Unless she tells everyone that I'm the one who gave her that information, but I'm sure she won't do something like that... Right?
...
Ah~, what to do... How do people spend their free time here?
----------
(Test, test. Luni, can you hear me?)
(... Mimin?)
Oh, cool. Telepathy works even if we're not in the same room. I guess that's expected, though, since telepathy works over long distances.
(Do you, need something?)
(Ah, no, I'm just bored. And Mina's doing magic practice so I don't want to disturb her.)
(Nn. I see.)
(So, what are you doing now?)
(Nothing, really.)
Huh, so I'm not the only one who has nothing to do. Weird.
(What do people do in their free time, then?)
(Well... The other kids usually spend their time in the backyard. Selena will be there, to watch over them.)
(I see.)
(Arnold, Maria, and Sen... They're downstairs now, I think. Normally, they're outdoors doing adventurer work for the guild, though. As for Daius, I have no idea what he's doing most of the time, but it's all related to food... or something like that.)
(Then, what about you, Luni?)
(Eh? Me? Um... I usually stay in my room?)
(I see.)
(...)
(...)
(Um... Mimin?)
(Yes?)
(If there's nothing else... I'll stop using telepathy now.)
Maybe I should've prepared some conversation topics. It kinda sounds like I'm annoying her for no good reason now.
(I'm sorry.)
(N-No, it's fine! I don't really mind anyway, since-)
"-That doesn't mean it's safe!"
Eh? What? Did something happen? In the middle of our conversation through telepathy, I hear a voice coming from downstairs.
(Ah... Selena's pissed.)
(Do you know what happened, Luni?)
(No, I don't, but I advise you to not talk to her, for now.)
Well, of course, I know that much! I'll stay as far away from her as I need to! Ah, but I'm curious...
Maria: "Of course. I promise."
Selena: "You'd better..."
Huh? Did the conversation end? I hear someone walking away, so I assume that's Selena. I'll just go downstairs and find out what happened.
"Wait, Mimin..."
"Hm? What is it, Mina?"
"May I... follow you?"
Just like that, she holds on to my hand as we walked together. Her cat ears are flattened, and her tail is hanging down, which makes her look like she's trying to hide behind me. Is she afraid of something?
----------
As expected, Maria is seated down on a sofa, in the living room.
"Maria, what happened just now?"
"Ah, you two..."
She's trying to act normal, but her smile and her voice completely gives her away. That expression... That's the face of someone who is hiding something.
"Did you, hear everything?"
"No, that's why we're here."
"Ah, haha..."
Why do people in this place make conversations so difficult!? Just hurry up and say it already!
"So, uh, it's not decided yet, but... You know about adventurers, right?"
"Yes, of course I do. We talked about this before, when we first introduced ourselves to each other."
"Ah, of course..."
Now that I'm reminded of our first meeting, and that she treated me with kindness... Am I being too harsh on her? Somehow, one way or another, I ended up disliking her instead. Even though I should be grateful to her...
Haah, I'll think about it later. Now is not the time for that. With Mina still following behind me, we sit down on the sofa, facing Maria.
"And? What about adventurers?"
"Oh, right, well, basically... If you girls are interested... I'd like to bring you along with me, the next time I go to the guild for adventurer work. That is, the day after tomorrow."
I see. So that's what that's about.
"Of course, I mean that for all the other kids, too! I just haven't told anyone yet, except Arnold, Sen, and Selena. I planned to tell everyone that later, when they're all gathered in the living room before dinner. Ah, but, I'll only be allowed to bring six people along."
Hm? Mina seems surprised. It's like, she finally heard something that she's been wanting to hear, for a long time.
(So, what do you think, Mina?)
(Eh?)
(I mean, do you want to do adventurer work?)
(Um, I... I'm not sure.)
What about me, then? Should I do it? It pays really well, many times more than most jobs in any city, so it's one way to get rich fast. It may be dangerous work, but I can definitely protect myself! So, I might as well accept, right?
"I'll do it."
(Eh!?)
"Understood."
(Wait, Mimin... Are you sure?)
(Well, I'm confident, at least!)
Even though just a moment ago, Mina seems to really want to accept, she's still thinking about it, huh? That's natural, I guess.
...
"Um... Maria?"
"Yes, Mina?"
"I'll d-do it! I want to t-try out adventurer work too!"
"..."
... What's with this tense atmosphere, all of a sudden? A staring contest between them has started before I noticed.
"I know, I'm the one who offered in the first place, but you're still... You know?"
"Yes, I'm aware, but, I've decided!"
"Is that so?"
I never would've imagined, that the shy and timid person sitting beside me, was capable of speaking that way. Her voice calm but firm, it's like she's a different person entirely.
Wait, I just want to check... That's Mina sitting beside me. Phew! Everything is fine!
"I see. I won't stop you, then."
"Thank you very much!"
