A few days later, Yuna and the Guildmaster came home safe and sound. When my dad got home, he was so happy telling me about it. Since they’re harvesting the black viper tomorrow, they called me in to help.
I went to the guild with Dad early in the morning, but it looked like Yuna wasn’t there yet. Since she was so tired from going out slaying, she wasn’t going to come in at a specific time. I decided to help out the guild like old times until she came, but then Yuna came to the guild looking really energetic. I couldn’t really tell how strong a black viper was supposed to be anymore.
I waited in cold storage for them to tell me what to do to harvest the black viper, but then they called everyone to come outside. They said it was so big that we couldn’t even harvest it inside cold storage. We ended up harvesting it outside town. When Yuna pulled the viper’s body out of her bear puppet’s mouth, I wondered how she could beat something so huge on her own.
Once I got my directions, I got to butchering. I paired up with Dad. First he would skin it; then I would cut up lumps of meat from where he skinned and put them in a bottomless bag. I wasn’t sure if we could finish it all in one day. Anyway, I decided to work hard.
A lot of hours later, there was no viper left to process. I was so relieved. I let other people carry the materials and brought Yuna back to the guild from her place like the Guildmaster asked. Then I was done with a whole day’s work. I decided I would head home and go to bed early today. I was tired, but I was glad I could help Dad.
Lately, we’ve been on cloud nine.
Mom got better, and Dad tries to make us laugh when we eat. Mom always says, “That’s not funny,” but she’s laughing when she says it. I’m not sure how long it’s been since we’ve cracked up at the dinner table. Maybe it was the first time it was like that for Shuri.
Then, one of those days, my mother said something I didn’t expect.
“Maybe I’ll work as an adventurer.”
We all stopped her. Dad especially wouldn’t allow it.
“Are you planning on dying and leaving your kids behind?! Is that how little you trust me to be the breadwinner?!”
I was scared just imagining Mom going to fight a black viper, but I could imagine Yuna beating it without breaking into a sweat. I wonder why that was? The only time I’d seen her fight was when we first met.
Shuri hugged mom too, and shook her head so hard her whole body trembled. In the end, we reached a compromise so she would get work through the merchant guild.
… I wonder why she ended up working for Yuna instead? Apparently her job was trading bird eggs. What was Yuna doing? Maybe she was going to quit being an adventurer so she could be a merchant?
One day Yuna told me, “Come over to my house with Shuri tomorrow.”
She said she wanted us to sample some food. I was a little worried, but I was excited about it. After I ate breakfast the next morning, I went with Shuri to the bear house and Yuna brought out a sweet called “pudding.” It was yellow. It was supposed to be made out of eggs. Was it really okay for me to eat something that fancy?
But then again, Yuna made it for me. I gratefully scooped up a spoonful. It was soft and sweet. I’d never heard about it before, let alone tasted anything like it. I finished eating the whole thing before I knew it.
Shuri’s cup was empty, too. When we both looked disappointed, Yuna smiled and brought out one more for each of us. This time, I ate it slowly.
Mmhmm, it was so good.
Yuna is already amazing since she’s such a strong adventurer, but being able to make food like this is pretty incredible, too. I was so happy it was scary.
While I was teaching Shuri the alphabet at home during the afternoon that day, Yuna came over. I wondered if she wanted something. When we asked her about it, she said she was escorting someone to the capital. She came to ask my mom to watch the orphanage.
“I wish I could go.”
When I said that, she ended up deciding to bring me too. Is it really okay for me to go? We’ll find out if I can go tomorrow after she checks with her client. I don’t know whether I can go, but I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
Extra Story:
The Rookie Adventurers
Part One
I HEADED OVER to the adventurers’ guild to kill time today. I came to the guild in my bear onesie like usual, but I didn’t hear anybody making fun of me. Inside, I checked the quest boards, hoping for something interesting.
I thought about how I wouldn’t have minded another black viper now that I knew how to defeat them as I perused the D-rank and C-rank boards. What rank would a black viper end up being, anyway? If it was higher than B-rank, I obviously wouldn’t find one on the boards I was looking at. I gave the B-rank boards a quick peek just in case, but I didn’t find any quests with new monsters or that seemed interesting.
Just when I was thinking about taking my business elsewhere, I took a step without looking where I was going.
“Ah!”
I’d knocked the girl in front of me over onto her butt. We seemed to be around the same age. She was taller, though. Why
