"Well, from what's already been said I can sort of tell."

"Then you know what I wanted to say right?"

"...That this might be our last adventure, right?"

"Please don't say such phrases that might jinx us." Roberdyck laughed bitterly. "Although it looks to be that way. If Arche-san says she will take her sisters under her care, it looks like our adventures in the future won't be as easy anymore."

"Just as you said. Although one would still need to work, but it doesn't need to be only from adventuring."

"It'll be easy for her to find another job. She's a third tier magic caster after all. Family—although we don't know how many sisters she has, she should be fine if she only needs to look after three or four people."

"Ah, I think so too. That's why she probably made this decision."

"And now the problem is at our end. In case our wizard Arche leaves the team, what shall we do about our next member?"

"If only a third tier magic caster would suddenly fall from the sky."

"Please try and separate your dreams from reality... If we were adventurers, then the Guild would help solving our problem... We'll need to rely on luck if we need to search for one ourselves."

The two of them looked at each other and sighed.

Losing a comrade. Being unable to keep up. Or being the only person in the team with powers that stand out. These were the typical reasons for an adventurer or worker to leave their team. These situations weren't uncommon. It was rare for a team to have kept the same members from the beginning to the end. In typical cases, a team would have had changed its members at least two to three times.

It was the same for Hekkeran, Roberdyck and Imina.

Although having said this, arcane magic casters were hard to find—especially those capable of using 3^rd tier magic. For workers that were currently companionless, the quality of their character was an entirely separate issue that also needed to be addressed.

"How about training a 2^nd tier magic caster?"

"Let's make that our last resort. I’d wish to avoid that if possible."

"It's also really troublesome when choosing new members. The majority of those who become workers tend to have messed up personalities. If we chose wrong, things could get very messy, such as accidentally picking up a battle maniac."

"...Thinking back on this, we've been quite lucky haven't we?"

"It's quite a rare case for the whole team to be composed of only those who desire money. Well, Arche's case is a bit different."

"Back when Arche-san first approached us, we were just thinking about how to fill in the vacancy for the last member."

Roberdyck stared at the distance reminiscing about the past. Hekkeran felt he was thinking the same thing.

"I can still remember what I was drinking at that time... The timing of Arche-san's arrival was so great that I started to think the formation of our team was brought on by God's will."

"Heh, that's amazing. I can only remember vaguely. What were you drinking?"

"Water."

"Isn't that the same as usual then? ... Looks like you really don't drink alcohol at all. Although it'll be annoying if you also start drinking like Imina."

"It can't be helped. I'm a non-drinker… Though I have to admit Imina-san's drinking habit really is a bit scary."

"Well, Rob, a single cup is enough to turn your face red, then blue and then finally white. I'm still wondering what would have happened at that time if we didn't use magic to remove the poison."

"Someone else would probably be standing here instead. It's not like people haven't died from alcohol poisoning before." Roberdyck shrugged as he said. "Getting back on topic, what do we do about Arche-san's situation? Are we going to end up disbanding?"

"... If we really can't find a replacement then that will have to happen. It's simply too dangerous for three people to go adventuring... maybe we'll have to go back to being adventurers again?"

"I just can't go along with the regulations set by the Temples. If it has to be that way then I'd rather retire."

"Retire, huh... That's not a bad thought."

"I still have the savings we earned, I'll look for a job where I can help other people or protect the weak. It's also not bad to just be a farmer in some flourishing village while studying the teachings of God. What about you Hekkeran?"

"Hmm, just what should I do?"

Roberdyck's mouth twitched.

"...Is that something you can just decide on your own?"

It took some time for Hekkeran to fully process what Roberdyck had said. After finally comprehending, he raised his head.

"—Naa!"

"Kuku..." It was a wicked laugh, "you thought I hadn't noticed?"

"Aah. Aah. Aah! Aah! No, it wasn't something that I was trying to hide. You see, the timing... Is that what you were talking about? The gift."

"Who's giving it to who?"

"Hey, Rob! Look over there!"

In the direction that Hekkeran pointed, two people were currently viewing merchandise that was on display beneath a pretty pavilion.

One of them was a warrior clad in pure black armor, with a crimson cape behind his back and carrying a gigantic sword.

"Such an abrupt change of topic... well, it doesn't matter. I'll just have to find out more later on. Hmm, such stunning equipment. If the wearer has matching skills, then he would be quite a remarkable warrior. Is it someone that we know, who managed to upgrade their equipment?"

"I'm not too sure, but at least I don't think they're from the capital. For example, see that woman hiding over there? I've never seen her face before."

"The angle from where I'm at is bad. How does she compare against Imina-san?"

"—Please don't ask me that. I can't possibly answer that! ... Honestly speaking, the woman over there is really pretty."

"Imina-san is quite a beauty too. For even her lover to be saying this... So that's how it is, these two are either travelers or travelling adventurers. Perhaps they've decided to relocate to the capital."

"However, they're looking at magic household items, isn't that rather weird?"

Underneath the pretty pavilion, rows of magic items were neatly arranged. However, unlike the magic items used by adventurers and workers, the ones on display were for everyday usage. Examples were containers that kept their inside temperature cold, basically acting like a refrigerator that prevents food from deteriorating. Or fan-like items, capable of blowing wind.

These types of magic items had largely been proposed by a minotaur hailed as "The Boastful Sage" two hundred years ago.

Even though he had proposed the creation of many items, he had been unable to explain why these items needed to be in this particular shape or how they worked, so in the end this warrior was unable to create them and ended up with such a title.

However, his skills as a warrior had been beyond first-class, and left behind the legend that one swing of his axe was capable of creating tornados and splitting the earth. He was also well known for raising the status of humans within the Great Minotaur Nation from a species that was treated as food to slaves used for labor.

It was quite a rare sight to see adventurers, who tended to live in inns, looking at magic household items that were thought up by this demi-human, and had no uses for adventuring.