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「I’ve got the general gist of it. Those idiots……」

Coming inside our waiting room, the Guild Master falls heavily on the sofa while saying so.

「We still haven’t told you anything though?」
「Hmm?…… Ah, that’s just for formalities’ sake. It’s a bit problematic if I don’t act like I asked both sides, you see.」

Isn’t saying that in front of us also a bit problematic? Well, I don’t particularly feel like telling it to other people, though. Anyways, if it’s understood that it wasn’t our fault and they were the problem, then there’s no problem at all.

「Then it’s fine for us to leave now, right?」
「Ahh, about that. You two, for now, party up with each other.」
「Hah?」
「Eh?」

Does the Guild usually have people party with each other? I took a glance at Urania and she shakes her head. Hmmm, so that means they don’t usually do this, huh. Hm? Isn’t Urania’s tail, wagging quite a bit…?

「This time’s incident is an example, too. In the end, excellent adventurers not being in a party causes problems in itself. Urania, you’ve been solicited a lot too, right? When it goes too far, troubles like this will occur. That’s why I’ll just simply have you two solo adventurers form a party.」

「Is this an order?」
「No, barring a state of emergency, the Guild doesn’t hold any authority to order adventurers. For that reason, this is just a suggestion.」

A state of emergency, in cases where the civilian’s lives are in danger or when the city falls in a crisis, it seems like the Guild can have adventurers take a 『Compulsory Request』, a request that they can’t refuse. Since the guild can request by Rank, it also means that they can request for specific parties in some cases, it seems.

It seems like this time it’s simply just a suggestion from the Guild Master. Up until yesterday, I would’ve wanted to refuse, but thinking about this morning’s events, being a solo adventurer would be difficult for me. It’s because I’m absolutely lacking in knowledge. It may be selfish of me after declining Grim March’s invitation, but I think that I really need to join someone’s party.

「I don’t really mind, but what about Urania……!?」

While replying, I look towards Urania and she looks at me with really sparkling eyes. Rather, you’re close, too close. If your face comes any closer, various things are going to touch each other, you know!? And geez, your tail’s going to get torn off wagging that much.

「Ahh… No, well. As expected, a forming party isn’t really something that people force you to do, you know.」
「……」

Saying so, her tail suddenly stopped moving and slowly lowered down. Other than her eyes, her facial expression is still the same, only her teary eyes and her tail is expressing her sadness with all their might. What’s with this cute thing?

「I’m just kidding. If you’re fine with it then I don’t really mind, Urania.」

nod nod nod

Her head and tail shook with amazing force. Ah, somehow, I suddenly feel happy too. Rather, what’s this? My body’s strangely hot…. Her teary eyes, cute little nose, red, moist lips… Her smooth white nape, dyed with a faint blush of red. Ahh… looks delicious…….

「Ehem, So I take it that there’s no objections?」
「Hyaha!?」
「Hyaha? Well, never mind. The Party’s formation will be processed on our end. So, uh, take care of her.」

Saying so, the Guild Master taps my shoulder and leaves the room. What was that about? I feel like it’s a bit unnatural. Well, never mind. There’s probably not much point worrying about it. Rather, for some reason I ended up forgetting my surroundings and raised an unexpectedly weird voice. It’s really embarrassing.

「Rather, are you fine with it? Partying up with me, I mean.」
「I don’t mind. To begin with, that was my intent.」

Hmm? So from the start, she talked to me because she wanted to form a party with me? She doesn’t look like someone that assertive, but having a cute girl feel that way doesn’t feel bad at all.
By the way, even now her tail is still wagging really fast. Her being this happy makes me feel happy too.

「Well then, let’s re-introduce ourselves. I’m Lily. I think that my Magecraft’s so-so, but I was raised in the mountains, so I know pretty much nothing at all. I might become a burden, but best regards.」
「If you can use Magecraft and Storage, then there’s no problem. I’m Urania. As you can see, a Dog Ear-kin. Scout. I can handle medical herbs too.」

Urania’s a Dog Ear-kin, something like a dog version of the Cat Ear-kin. The dog ears on top of her head are gold like a golden retriever’s. Her tail’s quite fluffy too, but her body’s a bit small. It feels like she’s a bit smaller than me. Her expression doesn’t really change much, she sounds a bit indifferent, and doesn’t speak a lot. But her eyes and tail express her emotions with all their might, so she doesn’t give you a cold impression. Instead, she’s really adorable.

She’s equipped with a Scout-like leather chest protector and boots, and equipment you can describe as leather guards for protecting the joints. It seems like she can more or less act like vanguard, having with her two knives. Still, as you may expect, since her defensive power is pretty much none, it’s a bit hard for her to act as a tank, she said. Hmm? Isn’t a party of a Scout and a Mage really bad balance-wise? Well, since I have Magic for attack and defense, we can probably manage somehow. Rather, what’s really needed was the ability to search for enemies and the vital knowledge, so it’s just fine.

By the way, as one may expect of a Dog Ear-kin, it seems like Urania’s sense of smell is quite good. For example, even if she can’t see them, if she knows the other party’s smell, then she can find their location. She can also differentiate smells, so she knows if the one approaching her is someone she’s met before.

「Well then, It’s a bit late and all, but should we go and take a request?」
「Nh, I saw requests that look good. Since it required two people. Let’s go together.」
「Yeah, let’s go together!」

I ended up reflexively patting Urania’s head, but since it seems like she doesn’t hate it at all, after enjoying her fluffiness for a few more seconds, we headed to the guild’s Request Board. I’m a bit worried about what’ll happen next, but well, it doesn’t seem to be going in a bad direction. So there’s no problem at all.