On the evening of the second day of rest after the joint subjugation, I was enjoying a board game with Lily.
It was a game using black and white pieces and a die, somewhat like Othello with an element of luck. The win rate was balanced, intentionally adjusted to be that way.
If I started losing, I would switch to the game of Gomoku, where I excel, to ensure victory. The win rate was also balanced. I hadn't lost.
While dominating Lily, who had just learned the basics, the communication magic stone for messaging began to glow.
"Lily, do you know what the glow means?"
"Um... it says… Markus here, want to express gratitude for the other day. Also, tell me, convenient date and place. …Is that correct?"
"Ooh! That's correct!"
I gently patted Lily's head and was amazed at how quickly she was growing.
Lily seemed to have quite a bit of free time while I was away. I had invested money in magical tools for cleaning and laundry, so household chores didn't take up much of her time. She seemed to be using her spare time to study various things besides communication signals.
She had asked me not to inquire about what she was studying. She wanted to show me in practice rather than explain verbally.
She seemed to be taking her studies seriously, even asking for money from me to hire a tutor.
I was looking forward to the day when she would reveal what she had been studying.
"Lily, please reply to Markus that tomorrow is good, and as for the location..."
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The next evening, Markus visited my house. I had assumed Sophie would be with him, but he came alone.
I had planned to choose a suitable restaurant for our meeting, but at Lily's request, we decided to have it at my house.
Today was already the day for exploration, and I didn't have much time to spend with Lily. She didn't want to have even less time with me, it seemed.
During the exploration days when I was away all day, Lily's desire for physical contact became intense. As soon as Markus left, I intended to indulge in some affectionate moments.
I invited Markus into the living room, and after some small talk, I received words of gratitude and a token of appreciation. The token was a set of assorted potions. Since we both considered supporting each other as part of our job, I hadn't expected to receive anything, but apparently giving tokens of appreciation was customary in situations like this.
Sophie was planning to come to thank me on a different day, and Markus apologized for it becoming a bit redundant.
That was fine, but...
"Um, is something the matter?"
Markus seemed different. He wasn't his usual cheerful self.
At first, I thought it might be because I had saved Sophie's life and he now regarded me as a benefactor. However, it seemed to be something else. He appeared nervous or even downcast.
Markus didn't answer immediately, and an awkward silence followed. After a while, he seemed to gather his courage and spoke.
"Haruki, what do you think of Sophie?"
"Um, that's quite a sudden question..."
I was taken aback by the unexpected question.
However, I understood the general situation. Apparently, after saving Sophie from the twin-tailed wolf, she had started taking an interest in me. Markus, who had sensed Sophie's romantic feelings, had come alone today to confirm if there was any chance.
It was a pleasant surprise, as I had previously believed there was no chance whatsoever.
And it was awkward. After all, he might become my future brother-in-law.
Surely, Markus would feel awkward too. I didn't know how to respond either.
"Haruki, just give me an honest answer. Don't worry about me."
"Alright..."
Setting aside Markus for the moment, I focused on giving a straightforward answer.
In the past, it might have been difficult for the old me to answer such a question directly. I would have found it embarrassing and might have added something like "I think she's cute, and everyone agrees," as a cushion.
But for the current me, who had been showering Lily with sweet words every night, it was a natural thing.
"I think she's cute. Her lively and cheerful personality is very attractive."
I looked straight into Markus' eyes as I answered.
Sophie had never shown that side of herself to me. She interacted with other adventurers in that way, and I couldn't help but envy them. I was looking forward to the next time we would meet.
"...No, I mean as an adventurer."
"Ah, you mean that? ...I was just kidding."
It seems I had misunderstood quite a bit. My overly optimistic thoughts embarrassed me.
However, Markus appeared slightly exasperated but his expression brightened a bit. ...Good, just as intended. Let's leave it at that.
"I see, thanks. I'm feeling a bit better now."
"That's good to hear."
"...I think you probably already know, but Sophie and I are siblings. I'm 26 and she's 17. Our parents passed away when I was 15, so she's like a half-daughter to me in a way. Our sibling relationship is quite good... or at least, that's what I'd like to say, but recently we've been having arguments about Sophie's future. I want to hear an honest assessment of Sophie as an adventurer from you."
"Understood... I don't know much about archery, but I think her skills are decent. Her subjugation count was among the top. ...But I believe her decision-making ability is lacking. There were a few precarious situations, like during the last twin-tailed wolf incident and a few others."
"I see, so you think so too..."
It's quite a negative evaluation, but it seemed to be what Markus expected, so he didn't appear particularly surprised. And then he started sharing the details.
Sophie began aspiring to be a professional adventurer at the age of 9. Despite Markus' strong opposition, he had put her through rigorous training to discourage her from pursuing it.
However, Sophie overcame the tough training and became a master archer.
Recognizing that it was only a matter of time before she'd be scouted by other parties, Markus had closely trained her for a while and eventually added her to his own party.
Sophie entered the field for the first time a year ago and was promoted to C-rank half a year later. Leaving aside my own situation, it was an extremely rapid progression.
However, as she started participating in field explorations and accepting requests, it became clear that Sophie's ability to make quick situational judgments was low. In simpler terms, she was easily flustered.
She lacked the essential skills required for adventurers, which was the ability to quickly respond to irregular situations.
"That girl has always admired the glamorous accomplishments of adventurers... It might have been because I showed off and bragged a lot."
With this major mistake as a trigger, there was an ongoing clash between Markus, who wanted to make Sophie quit being an adventurer, and Sophie, who wanted to continue adventuring.
While Sophie was becoming aware of her own lack of talent, her dream from childhood made it hard for her to give up.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I can be of much help..."
"Oh, don't worry about it. Thanks for listening. I feel a bit relieved now."
The path Sophie and I were pursuing as adventurers were similar yet quite different.
While Sophie dreamed of becoming an adventurer, for me, being an adventurer was merely a means to an end, not the end goal itself. I had become an adventurer solely to protect all of my women from danger, and I would retire and choose a safer path immediately if I found one. The true me was a coward.
However, from Sophie's perspective, I was someone who had climbed to C-rank in less than two months, a daredevil greater than herself. Even if I told her to stop because I was in danger, she would retort with "Don't tell me what to do," and that would be the end of it.
Anything I'll say would just be futile.
"Um, if there's anything I can do, please let me know."
"Sorry, I might end up relying on you."
I sent Markus words of encouragement that lacked specifics. That's all I could do for now.
He seemed more downcast than I had thought, so at one point, Lily popped her head into the living room and we tried to cheer him up together, but it didn't seem to have much effect.
I felt bad for Markus, but I couldn't let Lily's special technique of patting him continue. While it would instantly boost his spirits, that technique was for me only.
Markus would have to find a way to recover on his own.
