Narrator POV 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kazue is preparing to depart for her next adventures. 

This time, she properly said goodbye to her friends. 

She had a good and long talk with Calm and shared her plans with her. 

In a few days, Kazue is planning to leave Vestir and explore north and have her way back to Artesia. 

To do that, she needed to get some things that she would need in her travels. 

By this time, she is now used to adventuring and it has been a while since she traveled alone. 

As she was heading out, she saw Rio. 

She too was going out to gather supplies just like Kazue. 

 

 

"Rio!" <Kazue> 

Kazue called out for Rio. 

"Ah, Kazue." <Rio> 

"Where are you going?" <Kazue> 

"Uh, I am planning to visit Scale atelier to buy some stuff." <Rio> 

"Oh nice, I was going to go there too. Wanna go together?" <Kazue> 

"Sure." <Rio> 

 

 

And just like that, the two decided to shop for supplies together. 

Kazue and Rio walked from the Azurearozi Mansion to the city plaza which is a 30-minute walk from where they could buy supplies. 

While walking to the plaza, the two friends engaged in a friendly conversation. 

Although these two are known to be a person with few words, they talk as if their conversation topic has no end. 

Weirdly enough, their stories seemed to never end when talking to each other. 

Maybe it was because Rio and Kazue have a good relationship and share a lot in common. 

They engaged in casual talks and shared stories about their experiences these past 6 months after being summoned in this world. 

 

 

Due to many reasons, the two never had time to casually talk about pointless friendly topics till now. 

As they walked, they talked about their unique and funny experience while doing "adventurer" works in this world. 

They happily talked about this topic and exchanged words with a light-hearted feeling. 

Somehow, this nonchalant talk brought the two back to the time when they were still in their original world. 

Kazue feels that this nostalgic feeling was happening a lot when she is with Rio, and it was a nice feeling, Rio also feels the same. 

Then, out of nowhere, as the conversation flowed naturally, Rio asked Kazue a question. 

It was a question that came out of nowhere, but also a question that the two should ask each other a long time ago. 

 

 

"Hmnn? Speaking of forming a party, Why don't we adventure together?" <Rio> 

It was an honest question that just came up as they talked. 

Neither Rio nor Kazue intended to ask each other this but as the conversation flowed this question naturally came up. 

Rio asked this with a light heart, it was out of a whim. 

"... you mean we form a party? The two of us?" <Kazue> 

[Come to think of it, why did we not party up anyway?] <Kazue> 

Kazue said this word while thinking about this particular question. 

"Hmnn? Yeah... I guess?" <Rio> 

Rio said with the same thought in mind. 

Rio answered in Kazue's confirmation of her question. 

"Hmmnn..." <Kazue> 

 

 

There was a small pause. 

Both Kazue and Rio thought about the reason why they did not form a party up till now. 

6 months ago, Rio and Kazue could have formed a party together. 

It was just that, they never asked each other to form a party together. 

At that time, if Rio or Kazue had asked the other to travel together, there is no doubt that the two must have traveled together. 

It was just that, Kazue and Rio were both awkward individuals. 

It was just that, traveling "alone" was too natural for them that this thought never crossed their mind at that time. 

In fact, when Kazue and Rio worked together as a part of a party with random adventurers back in Altus, they had fun. 

The idea of partying with Rio was not something Kazue did not want to do. 

Although she had never thought of this idea before, Kazue was tempted to accept this suggestion from Rio. 

Kazue thought about it. 

If she and Rio form a party, there is no doubt that their adventures will be fun. 

She and Rio are close friends and going out on an adventure with each other's company will definitely be delightful. 

There should be no real reason to refuse. 

But... 

 

 

"Hmnn... I think I'll pass." <Kazue> 

Kazue said, still unsure of her answer. 

"Hmnn... Okay~" <Rio> 

Rio felt a bit sad that Kazue refused to party with her. 

Rio felt bad, but she did not feel that she was rejected. 

The idea of her and Kazue forming a party together is great but it is fine if things go as it was. 

It was because Rio knew the reason why Kazue did not want to party with her at the moment by using her (Eyes of the Mind Reader). 

 

 

Looking into Kazue's mind, Rio saw that Kazue was still a bit salty from the fact that she lost to her during their duel. 

It seemed that this was the main reason why Kazue had reservations about teaming up with her. 

It was not because she hated the idea of forming a party together, but because of something entirely different. 

Yes, the reason was that Kazue was a bit of a sore loser. 

Kazue wanted to train and improve for their next duel. 

If she and Rio party up, she will not catch her by surprise. 

If she and Rio party up, Rio will know her capabilities and might be able to defeat her again. 

Kazue did not want that. 

She wanted to win when that time came. 

 

 

Kazue thought... 

[If I am to travel with Rio, she will see the things I can do. If that is the case, then it would be hard for me to surprise her with a new ability when we fight again... I am planning to learn more skills to defeat her later on... Still, I do want to party with her... I really want to party with her...] 

Kazue thought hard and was still thinking if saying "No" was really the right answer to this question. 

 

 

[If it's with Rio, I think it will be fun, after all, she is one of the few people I am comfortable being with. Hmnnn... What should I do... But I really want to defeat her when we duel again... Right now I am sure she will easily defeat me.] 

Kazue's competitive spirit did not allow her to just say "yes" to the idea of her and Rio forming a party together. 

While contemplating... 

Kazue remembers what happened in the match. 

It was frustrating for her to see that Rio managed to predict all of her moves. 

Rio was able to read all of Kazue's attacks perfectly and thus allowed her to win their match. 

 

 

So... why did Kazue lose to Rio? 

Kazue thought. 

[She must have studied my fighting abilities when we fought that pervert. Yes, that must be the reason.] 

Kazue assumed that the reason why she lost was because of the fight with the Ecclesia Inquisitor. 

Back then Kazue was forced to use all of her skills to defeat that enemy. 

Kazue assumes that it was because she revealed all of her cards back then that Rio was able to predict her so perfectly. 

She knew all of Kazue's moves and skills after observing her during that battle. 

Since she knew what Kazue was capable of doing, Rio was able to read her so easily. 

It did not cross Kazue's mind that Rio was actually "reading" her mind. 

 

 

Following this logic, Kazue decided her answer. 

She finally decided on her final answer. 

"Yep... I'll pass. Maybe next time." <Kazue> 

Thus, Kazue decided to refuse, this time with more resolve. 

Rio expected this reply and could only smile. 

Still, Rio felt good hearing Kazue's answer. 

 

 

"Next time... huh..." <Rio> 

"Yes, next time..." <Kazue> 

"I see... okay..." <Rio> 

Kazue decided to refuse so that one day she could defeat Rio if she ever found a chance. 

Next time. 

That is what Kazue said. 

This means that Kazue was already looking forward to the next time they met again. 

This caused Rio to look forward to their next meeting. 

 

 

Rio felt nice that it was Kazue who was going to look forward to their next meeting this time around. 

In the first place, the reason why Rio was here in Vestir was to show Kazue how strong she had become. 

To show Kazue that compared to that event in Altus 6 months ago, Rio was much stronger compared to back then. 

She wanted to show that she could now fight with Kazue on equal footing. 

Back then, she was useless. 

Thus she decided to chase after Kazue. 

She worked hard to get stronger and show Kazue the result of her hard work. 

Now, she had proved her point. 

She was able to fight Kazue side by side during the fight with Edmon, the Ecclesia's Inquisitor. 

Even more, Rio was strong enough to defeat Kazue in a duel. 

 

 

Rio was happy to show Kazue that. 

This time, Kazue will be the one chasing after Rio next. 

Rio was not only able to close the gap of power between her and Kazue. 

By defeating Kazue, she proved that all the effort she put into getting stronger was not in vain. 

This time, Kazue will be the one chasing after her. 

Rio liked this idea and thought that this might be fun too. 

 

 

Rio still has the advantage over Kazue. 

Kazue still has not discovered her unique skill (Eyes of the Mind Reader), an ability that allowed her to read minds. 

Indeed, if she travels with Kazue, there is a high chance that Kazue will eventually learn about this ability. 

The very ability that allowed her to defeat Kazue. 

Without it, it would be impossible to defeat Kazue. 

If they two dueled without her unique skill, the result of that duel would have been different, it would have been one-sided in Kazue's favor. 

Kazue is still a lot better than Rio with her pure skills in her swordplay. 

If she wanted to win against Kazue, she might need to keep this ability a secret. 

After all, Kazue is a sore loser and Rio loves to see Kazue's defeated look. 

Rio finds this side of Kazue to be cute and appealing. 

[I guess it would not be bad to keep this ability a secret. I would love to duel with Kazue again.] 

She thought. 

 

 

"I would love to party with you Rio but... I think I have to refuse. Don't get me wrong! I would love to party with you while adventuring but... I also want to duel you again later. Honestly speaking, I really want to get my revenge later and beat you. So..." <Kazue> 

Kazue was worried that Rio might take this the wrong way and tried to explain her thoughts. 

"I get it. I would love to duel with you again later too." <Rio> 

Kazue nods happily, it seems that Rio can take in her intention and understand her feelings. 

And so, Kazue thought of an idea. 

 

 

"How about this! How about we meet up again later and have a duel? Then we'll think about teaming up again after that!" <Kazue> 

"Oh... that would be nice! How about we meet up in Artesia Capital in 1 year?" <Rio> 

"1 year huh... Sure! Let's meet again in a year... okay!" <Kazue> 

"Promise?" <Rio> 

"Promise." <Kazue> 

"Then, let's meet in Artesia Capital 1 year from now." <Rio> 

"If one does not appear it's an automatic loss, OK?" <Kazue> 

"Haha~ sure let's do it that way." <Rio> 

"Nice!" <Kazue> 

"Right..." <Rio> 

There was a nice feeling that enveloped their hearts. 

They both engraved the promise into their heart. 

"Anyway~ where do you plan on going after leaving Vestir---" <Kazue> 

Then after a small pause, they continued to talk about another topic. 

 

 

The promise... 

There was a hidden meaning behind this promise. 

Both of them understood the hidden meaning behind this "promise". 

In a way, it's the two's way of saying "Keep safe till we meet again" to each other. 

They are just too awkward individual, they do not know how to tell these words directly to each other. 

But still, the two knew the true meaning behind this simple promise. 

The promise, "Let's meet again after 1 year." also means this, "Keep safe till we meet again", and "I will take care of myself till then, so you better do the same.". 

Weirdly enough Kazue and Rio had never broken a promise to each other ever. 

This is why they both felt confident that they would definitely meet again in 1 year, in Artesia's capital. 

Neither of them doubted this fact. 

 

 

Without realizing it, 30 minutes had passed. 

They arrived at the scale atelier. 

Like Kazue, Rio was also preparing to buy things for her next adventures. 

Rio was also planning to leave the city around the time Kazue would leave. 

Thus, they decided to look for things to buy in the atelier. 

After some time, Kazue and Rio naturally separated as they were looking for different things. 

Rio went to visit the armor repair shop while Kazue went to buy potions in the potions section of the place. 

 

 

As she was walking inside the Atelier, A female voice called out her name. 

"Ara~ isn't this Kazue-san?" 

Hearing a familiar voice she stopped. 

Kazue looked back and saw a female blonde elf in a witch-like outfit. 

"Ah, Leira-san. You're out of your shop today?" <Kazue> 

 

 

It was Leira. 

Kazue knew this female Elf as the shopkeeper of a certain Potion shop inside the Scale atelier. 

Since Leira's shop was linked with the "Space" magic of the scale atelier Kazue would often buy potions from her shop. 

Kazue is a regular to Leira's potion shop. 

Although Kazue has visited other potion shops before, she prefers to buy potions from Leira's shop as Kazue likes the taste of the potion she makes compared to other potion makers. 

Sure, the potion that Leira sells is a bit on the higher side but Kazue really liked the taste of her potions. 

 

 

To Kazue it was the same as buying drinks of a certain brand. 

To Kazue, buying a potion from Leira's shop is equivalent to picking a certain brand of fruit juice over another because she likes the taste. 

It was as simple as that. 

Normally, other adventurers would rather buy cheaper potions as the only difference was the taste. 

Plus, potions from other shops have other distinct tastes that are also not bad. 

Most adventurers don't even care about who and where the potion was sold, as long as it works it is fine. 

In the end, it is just a matter of preference. 

 

 

Leira who had seen Kazue's face many times in the span of 6 months recognized her face. 

As a loyal customer who buys her product, she is quite fond of Kazue who prefers her potion over other potions just because the taste of her potion is to her liking. 

Leira thought of Kazue as a very odd yet interesting female adventurer. 

 

 

"It feels weird seeing you outside of your shop." <Kazue> 

"Really? Fufu... That is true, I don't remember the time I last left my shop for some business." <Leira> 

Leira looked down and continued to talk in a noticeably exhausted tone. 

"-sigh- I did not expect to get caught in such trouble." <Leira> 

"Hmnn~ is that so? Were you here when Ecclesia attacked the city miss Leira?" <Kazue> 

"I was, I only wanted to attend the noble summit and I got caught in something troublesome." <Leira> 

"Oh... that's too bad. But I am glad you're okay." <Kazue> 

"Are you perhaps going to my shop to buy potions?" <Leira> 

"Yes, I am actually." <Kazue> 

"Really? My, that's too bad, I can't keep you company as always since I still have many things to do." <Leira> 

Leira thought of something. 

She snapped her finger and brought out something from her ring. 

Similar to Kazue's Iron Adventurer ring, it seems that Leira's ring also had such a feature. 

 

 

Looking at the ring, Kazue had a small thought. 

[What a nice ring... It's like it shines in rainbow colors. ??? is it just me or does Leira's ring resemble an adventurer's ring? Oh well...] <Kazue> 

Leira handed Kazue a piece of paper. 

"Here, a coupon for 5 free low-tier potions." <Leira> 

"Oh... thanks a lot Leira-san." <Kazue> 

"No problem, This is nothing for one of my loyal customers. Oh my look at the time... I have to go. See you later Kazue." " <Leira> 

"You too Leira-san." <Kazue> 

 

 

Kazue looked at the free potion coupon and headed to Leira's potion shop. 

Kazue happily skipped her way to buy potions. 

 

 

Meanwhile... 

"Did you see that? It seems that, that adventurer is close with Leira-sama." <Atelier Worker 1> 

"I also saw her close with Shaina-sama too." <Atelier Worker 2> 

"Really?! Just who is that adventurer, she must be someone important." <Atelier Worker 1> 

Without Kazue realizing it, the people of the Scale Atelier saw her being casual with Leira. 

They seemed shocked to see that a simple-looking D-rank adventurer was talking with Leira, a super influential S-rank Adventurer in such a casual tone. 

Yes, despite being a shop owner of a popular potion shop, Leira is also an adventurer.  

On top of that, Leira is not just any adventurer, she is one of the few S-rank adventurers in the world. 

She is an elite over the elites. 

Thus, without Kazue realizing this, she caught the eyes of the Atelier workers, and thereon, the workers treated her with care. 

They gave Kazue discounts and freebies as she bought things in the Atelier. 

Kazue who was oblivious to this fact, only thought that this was related to the victory celebration in Vestir. 

 

 

After buying all the things she needed and more, Kazue met up with Rio who was in some Armor-repair shop within the Atelier. 

Unfortunately, it seemed that Shaina's Armor shop was not linked to the Atelier's space magic today. 

Unlike Kazue's equipment which has a (Self-Repair) feature, Rio's equipment has none. 

Therefore, she had to visit Armor Shops for repairs and maintenance of her equipment like any other adventurer. 

 

 

Kazue once again appreciated Shaina's work. 

Kazue already realized that Shaina was not just a simple blacksmith. 

It seems that people see her in a special light. 

Kazue could still not believe that Shaina really is an amazing individual. 

Maybe it was because of her first impression of the self-proclaimed genius blacksmith that she could not see her as an amazing individual. 

She could only see Shaina as a cunning fox who loves taking advantage of people for the sake of gaining money.  

Still, her work is indeed amazing. 

After all, Kazue is using one of Shaina's works. 

Her gear which is mostly from Shaina's workshop was one of a kind. 

Not only did the set of equipment Shaina made for her have quality defensive capabilities, but it also had a "self-repairing" feature. 

Thanks to this, Kazue never had to ask for her armor to be repaired. 

To that she was thankful, but still... 

Thanks to this set of equipment, Kazue has a huge debt to pay to Shaina. 

Kazue has barely paid for 1/10 of her debt in the past 6 months. 

This is why she often does the highest-paying quest during her adventures as an adventurer. 

 

 

Kazue is thankful that now that she is a D-rank adventurer she can take up a C-rank adventurer quest that pays more than her usual quota. 

Although C-rank quests are harder than D-rank quests the rewards are a lot higher. 

If not for the strict rule that adventurers could only take on quest 1 rank higher than their current rank, Kazue might even look for a B-rank quest despite its difficulty just for the money. 

Despite being a D-rank adventurer, Kazue's ability matches that of the strongest veteran C-ranked adventurers. 

Kazue knew the depth of her abilities and was quite confident to work on C-rank quests without much trouble. 

Now, she can freely take on C-rank quests, earn larger amounts of money, and thus pay her debt quickly. 

 

 

Later. 

Kazue and Rio returned to the Azurearozi Mansion later that day. 

Their dimensional bags were full and they are now prepared for more adventuring for later. 

They have all they need to embark on their next adventures. 

Tomorrow they will relax and take it easy and leave Vestir the day after that. 

 

 

. 

. 

. 

 

 

 

Many things happened in Vestir. 

The past 3 weeks in Vestir were so eventful that it felt that they had only been there for a short time. 

Kazue spent 2 weeks stressed as she needed to protect the saint for 15 days straight. 

After those 15 days, she spent her time lazing around visiting the festivities in the city, and having a good time. 

Now, she is prepared to leave Vestir and continue with her adventuring activities. 

This was also the same with Rio and Kazue's former classmates who were staying in the mansion with her. 

They too are preparing to leave. 

 

 

While relaxing, Kazue reminisced all of the things that happened in Vestir. 

It was exhausting, yet she does not regret anything that happened there. 

She was proud that she was able to protect Calm despite all of the dangers lurking all around them. 

She was amazed to think that it was almost time for her to leave. 

Now, she only has one last thing to do. 

 

 

Kazue got up from where she was passing the time. 

She walked to the mansion and asked for directions. 

Now, she found herself standing in front of a door within the mansion. 

[I guess it's time for me to say thanks and say goodbye to the miss.] 

 

 

 

-knock- -knock- -knock- 

"It's open, you can enter." 

 

 

The sweet prideful voice of the lady of the mansion replied to the knocks on the door. 

The door opened and the one behind was the lady of the mansion. 

The Blue Rose Duchess, Alicia Cliffe Azurearozi. 

Kazue went to visit Alicia to say her goodbyes and thank her for everything she did for her. 

 

 

Upon entering, Kazue immediately saw Alicia doing paperwork on her desk. 

She was in her casual clothes, not in her blue knight armor. 

Kazue remained silent and waited for Alicia to speak to her first. 

Alicia was still writing something on a paper she was working on. 

Seeing Alicia like this almost made Kazue think that Alicia was just a simple young noble lady. 

Her hands were smooth and beautiful, nothing about her hands tells that she is someone who wields a giant lance to fight and destroy her enemies. 

Her noble lady-like physique will not show how much of a monster of an adventurer she really is. 

Alicia is a legit, A-rank adventurer, she is strong and popular enough to gain herself her signature name as the "Blue Rose Duchess". 

If Kazue had not experienced having to train with Alicia, she would have had to forget how strong she was. 

 

 

Looking at Alicia, Kazue thought about how young Alicia looked. 

Then she remembers a certain detail about Alicia from the guild receptionist rambling from a while back. 

Kazue remembers that Alicia was only 19 years old. 

Kazue who was 17 was just 2 years younger than Alicia. 

She was reminded that Alicia was 2 years older than herself. 

Because Alicia acts like a mature lady, it does not register to her that Alicia herself is just a little bit older than herself. 

Alicia was so much more powerful than Kazue that Kazue could only look at Alicia with awe and respect. 

[Uwah... Now that I think about it, Miss Alicia is really amazing...] 

 

 

After a few moments, Alicia finally dropped her quill pen. 

"Kazue-san what can I help you with today?" <Alicia> 

"I was just going to inform you that I will be leaving the mansion by tomorrow." <Kazue> 

"Hmnn~ I see..." <Alicia> 

"I wanted to thank you for backing me up with many things while I was here. Thank you very much!" <Kazue> 

Kazue bowed her head toward the lady looking at her with her prideful gaze. 

Alicia smiled at Kazue, seemingly satisfied with her actions. 

 

 

"Ohohohoho~ of course you should be thankful." <Alicia> 

Again, Alicia let out her high-pitched annoying ojou-sama laughter. 

And again, Kazue could not help but think that Alicia was pushing herself to act this way. 

Also, it is because her naturally adorable face does not suit this attitude of hers. 

Kazue could only laugh dryly at Alicia's laughter. 

"Aha ha ha..." <Kazue> 

"Kazue-chan, I want to hire you for a quest." <Alicia> 

"Eh? Hire me? Quest? Why all of a sudden?" <Kazue> 

 

 

It was a sudden request from Alicia that Kazue could not understand her words at first. 

 

 

"Hire... me?" <Kazue> 

"Yes..." <Alicia> 

"Why..." <Kazue> 

"fufu" <Alicia> 

Alicia only showed Kazue a meaningful smile. 

For some reason Kazue had goosebumps. 

 

 

"Oh, Don't worry. This quest is not all bad for you at all, fufu." <Alicia> 

Kazue had goosebumps for some reason. 

Alicia picked up her quill pen and pointed it at Kazue. 

As always Alicia's movements were so appealing that a simple gesture such as that made it look as if it was a well-practiced motion. 

As expected of a lady, she must have trained in such a way in her younger days. 

The way she carries herself is a perfect mirror of her noble origins. 

Kazue thought after watching Alicia. 

[As expected of the revered lady of the Noble House of a dukedom in the great Empire of Artesia, Alicia Cliffe Azurearozi.] 

She nods as if trying to convince herself of such reasoning. 

 

 

"I'll be honest with you Kazue-chan, I've looked over at your background..." <Alicia> 

"Eh?" <Kazue> 

Alicia pulled something out of the drawer of her working table. 

It was an envelope. 

She tossed the envelope to Kazue it spun as it flew in the air for Kazue to catch in her hand. 

Alicia gestures a small nod at Kazue, a nod that means for her to open the envelope. 

Kazue took out the piece of paper inside it. 

She then reads the thing written on that paper. 

 

 

"Mizusawa Kazue. One of the 28 heroes that was summoned about 7 months ago by the Artesia empire. According to my sources, it seems that unlike most of the 28 heroes who have undergone training under Artesia Empire soldiers, you left the castle 3 days after being summoned with those boys." <Alicia> 

 

 

Alicia showed Kazue a meaningful smile. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author note: 

 

 

Hi~ it's been a while~ 

I was not able to update this story for about 3 weeks now but I am back. 

Well, I was too distracted that I was unable to edit the chapters, thus the delay. 

Anyway, we're back to schedule. 

I am still busy and have to go out of town, I Already scheduled this chapter in advance so it's OK.

I will not be able to draw sketches for this chapter, unfortunately.

 

 

Also... 

It's about Leira,  

Since it's been a while so I might as well remind you guys. 

Leira, the S-rank adventurer appeared a long way back then, this was around chapter 50'ish? 

Anyway, it was then that Kazue met Leira for the first time. 

I remember this as I was really planning to reveal that that random potion maker was actually an S-rank.