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「There really are fewer people around this time, huh.」
「There’s little reason to eat dinner here, after all.」
「Right, the students still need to go back to the dorm.」

It’s after class at the academy cafeteria; time-wise, it’s still early for dinner but a bit too late for tea time. In this awkward midpoint, the number of students in the cafeteria didn’t even reach double digits.

Just as Palra said, you’ll need to go back to the dorm after eating dinner, and while the buildings are on the same premises, the distance between the cafeteria and the dorm is fairly large. Students who would prefer to lounge around and relax in their room after dinner would probably never choose to eat at the school cafeteria. Well, Ciel and I barely use the dormitory dining hall either, though.

Anyhow, we bought dinner and sat at a fair distance from the other students eating.
Just on a whim, I tried looking if there’s someone under the table, but there wasn’t. It was just on a whim, so I’d honestly be shocked if there was.

That aside, the meal Palra purchased has clearly leveled up compared to her previous choices.
She seems to be doing hunter work whenever she finds time, so it must be the fruits of her labor.

「So, what did you want to talk about?」

As we sat down, Ciel questioned Palra. Palra was just about to eat her meal, and this caused her to lower her cutlery and look around restlessly. Moments after, mustering her resolve, Palra stared straight at Ciel.

「Ailneige, you’re skilled with sorcery, right?」
「Enough to make a living as a hunter, yes.」
「Is performing sorcery difficult?」
「There are individual differences, but it may be difficult for you to do sorcery.」

Commoners have less magic power, and her Job doesn’t particularly provide her with the ability to use sorcery. Palra might be able to use sorcery if she gains a deeper understanding of her Job, but it’s certainly not a path normally recommended.

Hearing Ciel’s answer, Palra didn’t appear discouraged but instead had a pensive look.

「Umm… Ailneige, over the course of your hunter career, were there any sorcerers who had difficulty with sorcery?」
「There have been some, but why do you ask?」

Hearing Palra’s question, Ciel tilted her head in puzzlement. I can vaguely guess Palra’s intent, but I want to entrust Ciel with matters relating to Palra and Belltina as much as possible, so I’ll keep to myself. It’s not as if we’d immediately switch if I speak up, so it’s not really a big issue.

「Do you know how that person stayed a hunter despite that?」
「I see… Give me a moment to think.」

Ciel paused the conversation and asked, 『Can I answer this?』

Honestly, it’s a bit complicated. While sharing another hunter’s abilities is a breach of etiquette, it’s not as if you absolutely can’t talk about it. After all, information gathering is a necessary part of a hunter’s repertoire, and the feats of famous hunters are included in the said information. It’s important when you’re searching for party members or collaborators, and if you have hostilities with someone for whatever reason. If you don’t have information about what weapons or sorceries people are proficient with, it’s hard to plan the next move.

Besides, telling others that someone who generally uses a broadsword is a front-liner that uses a broadsword doesn’t count as a breach of etiquette. On the other hand, that’s basically as much as you’re allowed to tell.

Information that anyone can get, or that is easily inferred if you work with that hunter, like one’s general fighting style, should be fine to share. For example, people knowing that I’m proficient at barrier sorcery isn’t really a problem.

『Let’s see… Sharing that the said sorcerer was skilled at consecutively shooting attack spells should be fine enough. Viviana didn’t seem to particularly hide that.』
『I see. I’ll try that then.』
「Alright. Let’s see, what I can say is that she was skilled at performing sorcery quickly.」

With our discussion over, Ciel looked up and relayed the information. For some reason, Palra had an uneasy look on her face before sheepishly responding.

「*U-um*, was I wrong to ask that question, maybe?」
「It concerned a hunter’s tool set, so I was just contemplating how much of it I can speak about. We don’t really share much about things like this, you see.」
「I see, that’s a good point. I’m sorry.」
「Well, it’s not a problem. What I said was just general information, after all.」
「Okay, thank you.」

Ciel was confused about why Palra thanked her, probably because she thinks the thanks is about the sorcery discussion.
That said, Palra should have gained the information she wanted, so this should be good enough. If Ciel asks about this later, I’ll share my opinion.

「So, I’ve been doing more hunter activities recently.」
「Is that so? Please take care to not die.」
「It’s mostly errands done within the neighborhood, so I’m still alright for now. But thank you.」

Achieving her goal, Palra changed to a more casual topic. Since she plans to live as a hunter, there’s nothing to lose from being as active as she can. Even without leaving the walls, she can learn about the Hunter Guild’s framework and general workflow, and the guild branch here is very accommodating to students.

Still, I can’t say that there aren’t any troubles at all, but if we’re nitpicking, it’s not as if there aren’t any troubles between students within the academy either.

「There are some requests that require going outside the walls, but students aren’t allowed to do it alone. Only parties consisting of at least 3, preferably 4, students can do it.」
「Do you plan on taking requests like those?」
「Right now, nope. I’d probably start panicking if I encountered any monsters.」
「That does seem likely. It’s best you avoid it until you gain enough confidence.」
「Though even if I had enough confidence, I don’t really have anyone to go with.」

Palra sheepishly smiled. If it’s only 3 students, then we could go as long as Belltina is on board with it. In the first place, if the active hunter Ailneige is with her, then 2 people should be fine. If not, we could just invite Mia to fill the numbers.

Palra doesn’t seem eager to go outside yet, so we’ll start thinking about it when she starts mentioning the idea.

「Ailneige, you’re also active as a hunter, right?」
「I generally only gather herbs, though. I barely deal with monsters; it’s mostly just me accompanying my party member.」
「Party member?」
「She’s a maidservant that came with me to the capital.」
「… So you do have one.」