"You're finally back! My dearest darlings!" Dressed in her usual Guildmarm uniform, Noya practically launched herself out from behind the Quest Counter.
Like a squid wrapping its tentacles around its prey, she locked both arms around Isis's waist as though she never intended to let go again.
Startled, Isis instinctively took two steps back, but Noya held on and was dragged two steps forward with her.
"Meow–!"
Unable to bear seeing anyone else cling to Isis like that, Clawdia bared her fangs and snarled, but Noya completely ignored her.
With Isis's strength, she could have broken free by force if she really wanted to.
With her terrifying and still-growing monstrous strength, she could even have torn the other woman's slender arms from her shoulders if she truly exerted herself.
But the person hanging from her was no Monster. She was Metapetatto's Guildmarm. Isis could hardly use lethal force on her, so she could only look pleadingly at Altaïr.
Altaïr sighed helplessly and offered some fresh "bait."
"Guildmarm Noya, we've brought someone back with us this time too."
Altaïr's voice was quiet, yet Noya's pointed ears instantly pricked up. She lifted her face from Isis's chest and looked around excitedly.
"A newbie? Where? Where?!"
A slightly intimidated Vari, clad head to toe in Cephalos Armor, instinctively shrank back behind Altaïr.
Altaïr turned and pushed him forward. "Vari, a 2★ Gunner, the same age as Lambert and the most outstanding rookie to graduate from the Loc Lac Hunter Training Camp last year.
How's that? Good enough for you?"
"Absolutely wonderful!" Noya finally released Isis, darted over in a few quick steps, and stared at Vari with sparkling eyes for a solid two seconds before turning to Altaïr.
"Esteemed Sir Altaïr, I shall reward you most handsomely!"
"...Don't make me sound like a human trafficker." Altaïr pushed Noya's face away in exasperation as she leaned closer.
He had not expected Boss Joda of the Loc Lac Rangers to ask them to take this young man along before they left Loc Lac.
According to Joda, the Loc Lac Rangers' semi-militarized structure would stifle the young man's growth and might soon leave him mired in mediocrity.
Joda had no intention of foisting Vari on Altaïr and the others. They were not running a daycare, after all. He merely hoped to use the opportunity to "force" Vari to go out and see the world.
From what he knew of Vari, unless someone gave the kid a firm shove, he would be perfectly content to spend the rest of his life as a low-ranking member of the Loc Lac Rangers.
There was nothing wrong with a stable life, but it would be a shame to let the boy's talent go to waste. Better to make him leave his hometown and try his luck; perhaps he would find a new direction or goal.
If things truly did not work out, he could always go back.
"Hello." Vari greeted Guildmarm Noya, a little nervous but unfailingly polite.
Were people from outside the Great Desert always this enthusiastic?
"I'm doing great!" Noya grabbed Vari's hand and pumped it vigorously up and down before launching into her well-worn sales pitch.
Luxury Hunter Cabins, bargain meal plans, and so on.
The whole "talent benefits policy" spiel left the boy, who had never ventured beyond the Great Desert or even Loc Lac, feeling dizzy.
Yet he still listened intently and took meticulous notes.
He had just heard Altaïr address her as "Guildmarm." A city's Guildmarm was an important official! Whatever she said had to matter, so he needed to remember it. When Altaïr saw that Vari had even pulled out his notebook, he helplessly reminded him, "You don't need to write any of this down."
It seemed the kid had picked up the note-taking habit from watching Altaïr.
"Oh, right! Writing is easier to follow! Lillian, bring the price list!" Noya called.
"Coming~!" The familiar young receptionist came running over with the price list and took over the presentation from Noya.
After working with Noya so many times, she had the routine down pat.
Compared with the sometimes intimidating Noya, the innocent and adorable young receptionist was clearly better at putting Hunters new to the area at ease.
Lambert had fallen for the same approach. Her first impression of Noya had been terrible, and everything Noya said put her on high alert, but Lillian ultimately won her over.
Altaïr's group had long since grown accustomed to all this and looked completely unfazed. Soon, however, something unfamiliar appeared.
Trailing behind Lillian was an even younger Guild receptionist. Though Lillian was young, she was at least twelve or thirteen and could just barely be called a young girl. The little girl behind her was much younger, seemingly only seven or eight years old.
"No way. You really are a degenerate, aren't you?" Lambert could not help giving Noya a look as though she were something filthy.
"No, no, let me explain!" Noya waved her hands frantically. "That child isn't an employee of our Guild. We're just helping to look after her!
But she's a very sensible child and always wants to help by carrying drinks and so on. Since people kept asking who she was, I used some spare uniforms to make her a little Guildmarm outfit!"
Lambert stared at her stonily. "Is 'we're helping to look after her' some progressive new euphemism for unpaid child labor?"
Noya had no answer.
Put like that, it did sound a little...
Altaïr studied the little girl for a few extra moments. After a pause, he asked tentatively, "Are you... Adie?"
The little girl, who had been clinging timidly to Lillian's clothes, lifted her head in surprise.
"You even know Tina's nickname?" Noya blinked, then realization dawned. "Oh, right, you know Archi. You were the one assigned that Urgent Quest involving the Nerscylla, so of course you'd have met."
Altaïr then recalled that after he had told Noya about running into Archi at the Dundorma Training Camp, she had immediately declared her intention to bring the siblings to Metapetatto and look after them.
Back then, Sajji had even joked that the average age of the Guild's receptionists could finally drop below thirty.
Now that he did the math, as long as Noya was not over forty, the receptionists' average age might even fall below twenty. Come to think of it, just how old was Noya, anyway?
Those idle thoughts flickered through Altaïr's mind and vanished. He looked at Noya with a teasing air. "You really weren't about to let those siblings go, were you?"
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean? I genuinely wanted to take care of them, all right?"
Noya glared at him. "I even suggested that Chia, whose nickname is Archi, give up on becoming a Hunter. I could have found him a safe job so he and his little sister could live a stable life.
He was the one who insisted on becoming a Hunter. Said he wanted to prevent anything like that from ever happening again!"
"For real, meow?" Sajji, sprawled across Altaïr's shoulder, looked at Lambert beside them in shock.
Lambert also wore an astonished expression. She looked Noya up and down several times. "It appears to be true. I can't hear the static of a lie. Unless she's such a consummate liar that she can deceive even her own conscience, she must be telling the truth."
"...Just what sort of person do you all take me for?" Noya crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks.
"By the way, what weapon does Archi use?" Isis asked curiously.
"Sword and Shield and Dual Blades." Lambert rested her chin on her hand. "The Sword and Shield is for training. The Dual Blades seem to be the weapon his father used."
The two of them were not close, but they had trained together at the Dundorma Training Camp and were both leading candidates for Chief Student in their year, so they still knew a little about each other.
"His fighting style is insane. He just puts his head down and hacks away without stopping. He did the same against the training dummy. The Instructors were always criticizing him for it."
Hearing her brother criticized, young Tina fixed Lambert with a displeased stare.
"That was before." Noya smiled. "Archi has changed quite a bit lately. Maybe because he no longer has a target for his hatred and now has an adorable little sister to care for, he has stopped sweating the small stuff.
He passed his assessment here not long ago and became a 1★ Hunter. He's been diligent about taking quests ever since; it shouldn't be long before he reaches 2★.
And he no longer uses Dual Blades. The kid said he wanted to try a shielded weapon. He's fairly strong, so Sword and Shield isn't quite the right fit for him. One of our Hunters recommended the Charge Blade, and he's taken to it quite well."
"Why not give the Gunlance a try..." Isis looked somewhat regretful. "Still, doesn't a Charge Blade make him perfectly suited to the front line?
Maybe the three of you could form a temporary team and give it a try. Hunting is much safer and smoother when you have reliable companions at your side, you know."
Vari nodded readily. He had indeed been considering finding a frontliner as a teammate; operating alone was not his forte.
Lambert, however, turned her head away.
"I'll pass. I'm better off acting alone."
(Translated by yourtl.app)