Semi-retired Adventurer Lives Leisurely

Chapter 14: The Addition to the Party

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Jend: “Hey Henry, welcome back.”

 

Cyril: “Did you catch her—-”

 

Teo and I traveled back outside the forest, and Cyril and Jend were patiently waiting for us.

 

Henry: “Oh, hey.
Sorry, did I make you all wait?”

 

Cyril: “Oh, don’t worry about it.
We didn’t want to leave behind a small child either.”

 

Though Cyril meant well, I could tell that Teo who was standing next to me was annoyed with the comment.

 

Teo: “….I’m not small.
You’re not that much different than I am.”

 

Cyril: “Say wh—!!”

 

Cyril’s shock is deep.
I don’t think anyone ever talked back to her.

 

Cyril: “Wh-what do you mean, we’re no different?! I, I–I—I’m a full grown adult! A lady!”

 

Henry: “Maybe she’s talking about your height and chest?”

Cyril: “Shut it, Henry! And stop checking me out with those lewd eyes!”

 

I meant well as well, but it only fueled the anger raging inside Cyril.

 

….Okay, maybe that was rude.

 

But, I wasn’t really checking her out.

 

Cyril: “Erhmm, *cough.”

 

After Cyril put me in my place, she coughed to clear her throat and recomposed herself.

 

Cyril: “W—well, I’m an adult, so I don’t let childish statements like that get to me.”

 

Teo: “….weren’t you really upset just now?”

 

Cyril: “You were hallucinating.”

 

Wow, she’s totally sticking with her narrative.
She’s got some thick skin.

 

Teo looked pityingly at Cyril, and said, “I understand” and conceded.

 

Jend: “Umm, so Henry, who is she?”

 

Henry: “Yeah, her name is Teo, and she’s a friend of the Inn Keeper’s daughter where I’m staying at.”

 

Teo: “….hello.”

 

Teo bows politely.

 

Henry: “And I wanted to ask you two, but could she join our party?”

 

Cyril/Jend: “WHAT?”

 

・・・

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We set off to go back to Flowtier, and I explained the situation to them as we walked.

 

I explained how Teo’s ability exceeded that of normal adventurers.
She has really high skills and abilities as a scout which we were looking for.
And finally, if we don’t draw her into the party, she’ll continue to go into the forest on her own, so it would be better to do this together.

 

I would talk about her [SPACE EXPANSION] and [INDESTRUCTIBLE] godly equipment will really come in handy, but doing so would sow the misunderstanding that I’m only recruiting her because of it.
So I only mention it briefly and moved on.

 

Jend: “Huh….
well, it’s hard to believe that she’s that good, but if she does have the skills, I don’t mind.”

 

Jend seems skeptical.
Well, I’m sure without seeing Teo in action, it will be hard to believe that she has that much skilla.
But he can confirm this when we get back to the training grounds.

 

And as for Cyril, though they clashed at the beginning, she’s already pivoted and is in a good mood.
She’s all for the idea and is caring and playing around with Teo.
Her ability to switch gears like this is one of her strong suits.

 

Cyril: “I don’t mind at all either.
She’s a little rude, but now that I think about it, I find it cute.
I always wanted a little sister—.”

 

Teo: “Please don’t rub my head.”

 

Cyril: “Don’t be so stingy.
Your hair is so soft and fluffy, and it feels so good.”

 

Cyril is practically hugging her, and patting Teo on the head.
Teo seems really uncomfortable and is cringing away from Cyril, but … if she really didn’t like it, I’m sure she would have gotten away already.
She might just be embarrassed but doesn’t mind deep down.

 

Henry: “How about you, Teo? Do you want to join our party?”

 

Teo: “….It’s not that I didn’t feel the risks of exploring alone.
I’ve seen your skills Mr.
Henry, and I okay with joining.”

 

Teo gives a suspicious glare to Cyril.

 

Teo: “Aside from that other man, is this woman really an adventurer?”

 

Cyril: “Oh, you want to see my skills? Sure thing.
La–la–la—-♪”

 

Teo: “Uh….she just started singing.
Is she okay?”

Well, yeah, I guess when you see Cyril do this the first time, it can take you by surprise, but this is her style.

 

She sang for about 10 seconds when she pointed at the sky and yelled…

 

Cyril: “[EXPLOSION]!”

 

From her fingertips, a small fireball the size of her pinky flew into the sky.

 

It flew so high that we lost sight of it and then…

 

Cyril: “BOOM!”

 

And just as Cyril spoke, a huge explosion occurred above us, and we felt the impact of the explosion from where we stood.

 

Teo’s mouth kept opening and closing a few times from the shock.

 

Cyril: “How was my magic? Aren’t I great?”

 

Teo: “Y–you’re a soceress?”

 

Henry: “Yup, she’s not just a feather-brained woman, but she’s a feather-brained woman that can use magic.”

 

Cyril: “Henry! You shouldn’t bad mouth people like that! Those kinds of things lead to bullying! I’m going to report you!”

 

But anyone who knows you would feel the same way.

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Teo: “O–Okay.
I understand.”

 

Henry: “Now that that’s settled, we’ll need to get permission from your folks last.”

 

We’re recruiting a girl who hasn’t reached adult age.
Permission from the parents is a must.

 

Teo: “….I think my mother and father will object to the decision.
They told me that grandfather is not well enough to go hunting anymore, so I can’t go to the forest.”

 

Henry: “Well, yeah, I would think so too.”

 

If I was the parent, I would make the same decision.

 

Teo: “?”

 

Henry: “But you just leave the talking to me.
You’ll probably never have a party as good as ours come along ever again.”

 

・・・

 

Teo: “…….they gave me permission.”

 

Henry: “I told you so—-”

 

I went to go talk with Teo’s parents first thing in the morning.

 

As a result, they asked me to look after their daughter, so we all met up at the training grounds of the Grandes Church.
I’m doing the same thing I did with Cyril and Jend, and we’re just sharing information about ourselves before going on an expedition.

 

But Teo was still stuck on why her parents said yes.

 

Teo: “But why did they do it?”

 

Henry: “Why? Um, well, first off, they weren’t against you going into the woods with your grandfather, so they’re not completely against you becoming an adventurer.”

 

As someone from a different country, it feels strange to me, but this country has a more hands-off approach to parenting.

 

Henry: “So that means that their biggest concern was you going alone.
If we’re talking about our party, I don’t think it’s an understatement to say that we’re the most trustworthy party among all the rest here.”

 

Jend: “Well, besides Henry, Cyril and I only started as adventurers 6 months ago… I mean, it’s not like I don’t have confidence in my skills but…”

 

We’re not talking just about skills here.

 

Henry: “First off, Jend is a son of one of Flowtier’s most prominent merchant groups.
They would trust that.”

 

Jend: “…ohhh, that’s right.
Teo’s father is one of our trading partners.”

 

They also knew about Jend’s personality and character, so that also added to their trust of us.

 

Henry: “And we have me who’s a Heroic Warrior-class.”

 

This blue line on your Adventurer’s tag is a bit of a status marker.
You have to first be acknowledged for your skills and be trustworthy prior to accomplishing something that gets you the recognition to become a Heroic Warrior.
You’ll also have some say when you need to speak to the Grandes Church.

 

Henry: “And lastly, having Cyril with us was a huge plus.”

 

Cyril: “What?! I knew it! So my overwhelming strength helped convince the parents to let Teo come with us?”

 

Henry: “No, that’s not it.”

 

Jend is enough to just take a glance and know that Teo will be safe.

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Henry: “It’s because you’re a girl.
In most cases, all the members of an adventurer’s party will be male.”

 

Cyril: “Ohhhhh…”

 

No matter how you look at it, being an adventurer is a combat occupation.
And of course, in general, men have higher physical strength and stamina, so naturally, a lot of adventurers turn out to be men.

 

And there’s no parent who’ll want their 14 year old girl to join a party that is just men.

 

And when it comes to magic, usually, women are more adept at it than men.
If you’re talking about mid-tier class, it’s still even between men and women, but if you go above into the higher skill tiers, the women dominate this arena.

 

That’s why if you go up into the highest tier groups of adventurers, you’ll actually see the ratio of men and women get restored to half and half.

 

Teo: “I see.
I understand now.”

 

Henry: “Yup! That about sums it up.
Alright, Teo, can you show us some of your skills?”

 

Let’s get into the main objective of the day.

 

Cyril: “Yaaaay, clap clap clap.”

 

Henry: “Why are you clapping with words…”

 

This girl… oh, Teo completely ignored her.

 

Teo: “What I’ve been taught is called Cloudy Plains Style.
I know it’s not well known around these parts, but it studies martial arts, magecrafting, and outdoor survival techniques all in one.

 

…..I’ve heard of this…

 

Henry: “I’ve heard of it.
It originated from Rishu.”

 

The Island Country of Rishu.
It is separated from the main continent by sea and has developed its own unique culture.
It has good relations with the Alvenia Kingdom, and there are many people who moved here from there.

 

That’s right.
Teo’s father’s business handles imports and exports of Rishu products.

 

Teo: “Oh, you know of our Style?”

Henry: “I know one person who uses it.”

 

…..I’m sure there are very few people who use the Rishu Style martial arts.
It should be almost impossible to find another person who uses the exact same style.

 

I hate to derail the conversation at the beginning like this but…

 

Henry: “….her name was Ageha.
Do you know her?”

 

Teo: “She’s my cousin.
Her family is the main family line, and her name is in the Rishu style.”

 

It’s really a small world.
She’s the Decapitator Ageha’s cousin.
Now that I recall, she said something about being from the northern Alvenia Kingdom.

 

Henry: “Your cousin is a Hero of Legend fighting on the frontlines.”

 

Teo: “Yes, I know.
I became an adventurer because I wanted to be like her.”

 

I don’t think any woman would ever want to turn out like her but…

 

She’s a woman who snuck past an army of 10,000 demonic creatures and brought back the Demonic Army’s General’s head.
I remember her saying how she was going to make a mug out of the skull.

 

It would have pissed off the Demonic Army if word ever got out, so we ganged up on her to stop her.

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Jend: “You’re a relative of a Hero of Legend?” Teo: “Oh, but sister Ageha’s is amazing, but I’m not even close to her level.”

 

Henry: “Well, go ahead and show them what you can do.”

 

Jend seemed interested, but we’ll be here all day if we don’t get going.
If you want to hear the stories about Ageha, I have PLENTY of stories that will make you cringe.

 

Teo: “Well, in that case… I’ll target that.”

 

Teo points to the wooden doll in the training grounds and draws her bow and arrow.

 

She shoots two arrows that seemed to have gotten sucked into the head and heart of the doll, and there was not even a half-second between shots.

 

She was able to smoothly transfer magic into each shot.
Unlike swords, it’s much harder to do so with long-range weapons, but she successfully did it with each arrow.

 

And Teo dashes forward.

 

Her running style is very unique.
Her upper bodies wavers unexpectedly, and it’s a very hard to predict.

.

…..If she’s coming directly at me, maybe it’ll be different, but from the side, it’s hard to tell.

 

Even so, overall, she’s super fast.

 

And once she’s one step from being in range of the wooden doll.

 

Henry: “Oh?”

 

Jend: “She’s very light on her feet.”

 

Cyril: “Woooooow! She’s amazing!”

 

She made a frontal feint, and jumped over the doll and cut the back of the head as she rotated.

 

Teo: “[Erupt]!”

 

To finish it off, she stuck a paper charm from her bag, and the wooden dummy exploded.

 

It’s like a one-time use Spellcall Stone, but the Cloudy Plains Style focuses on speed and efficiency, and it matches that style well.

 

Teo lets out a deep breath and walks back over to us.

 

Teo: “This is about it.”

 

Cyril: “Wooooow! Teo, you are so amazing! Here, come over here, and I’ll tell you how much of a good job you did!”

 

Teo: “Please don’t”

 

Teo doesn’t mind the compliment, but Cyril’s physical affection is a bit much for her.

 

But they look like they’re getting along so I’ll just leave them be.

 

Henry: “Alright, then Jend, I guess it’s our turn to show off what we can do.”

 

Jend: “Yeah, let’s do it.

 

As part of this training, Jend and I will do a mock battle, and let Teo understand our skills and abilities.

 

And like this, our party welcomed one new member.