"This water is the same as usual, if compared to the one we usually drink," I said while continuing to drink it.
Hime looked at me, seemingly a little confused and curious, but I didn't know why.
"Yukito-san, have you ever seen this bottle before?" asked Hime.
I was immediately a bit surprised to hear her question; I didn't expect her to take my reaction that seriously.
Because I used to drink bottled water like this very often, of course, I wouldn't be surprised to find water like this.
Since that hero and I both came from the same world before, our knowledge isn't that different.
"I-it's... you know, I was summoned to this world, right? Well, in the old world, I drank bottled water like this every day," I said.
Oh no, I just blurted out everything that came to my mind. Did I say something wrong?
"That makes sense. For you, this water must not look unfamiliar," replied Hime.
—
I finished the water and threw the bottle into the trash can.
It's been a while since I've done something like this, but I can still do it.
"Yukito-san, Yuu-chan, come on in," invited Hime.
The two of us followed her direction and entered the guild together.
If I wanted to, I could've just let them go by themselves, and, as usual, stood near the announcement board to look at the missions.
But just this once, I'll accompany them.
While my eyes were wandering around the entire guild, suddenly Hime and Yuu-chan stopped walking.
"What is it again?" I asked.
They didn't answer, but from their expressions, it seemed like they were facing something.
I turned to the front, wondering if there was something we weren't supposed to see.
At the receptionist's desk, there were several men with huge bodies, tattoos all over them.
Their clothes looked intimidating, their expressions seemed to say that this guild belonged entirely to them.
"Yukito-sama, I don't mind that, but I'm worried about Hime..." whispered Yuu-chan to me.
Right, Hime is still a girl two years younger than me, of course, she's still very cautious about herself.
As for Yuu-chan, since she was originally just a status screen, those men only looked like ordinary people to her eyes.
I myself wasn't scared at all if I had to deal with people like them.
Plak.
I placed my right hand on Hime's shoulder, making her look at me.
"How about you and Yuu-chan go sit over there for a bit?" I asked while pointing toward the dining area.
I hope she understands what I mean and doesn't force herself.
Hime sighed softly, then looked at me with a small smile.
"Alright, we'll wait for you over there," said Hime.
Hime immediately took Yuu-chan to accompany her at the dining area. Thank goodness she didn't push herself.
If Hime has a trauma like Rosa-chan, no wonder she'd get scared seeing people like that.
But if it's just a guess that they're bad guys, well, she is a girl, after all.
I walked slowly toward those big men standing in front of the receptionist desk.
"Um... excuse me, may I pass through?" I asked.
The men immediately looked at me with eyes that seemed irritated by my question.
"Of course, go ahead," said one of them while scratching the back of his head.
"Sorry, sorry, we were just getting carried away," said another one.
They moved slightly aside to give me space to approach the receptionist's desk.
"Um, who are these people?" I asked the receptionist. Ah, unlike the one at the inn who was a girl, this one was a guy.
Honestly, it's usually nicer when the receptionist is a girl, but it's not that different if it's a guy.
"Ah, they're a party from the city of Malcro. Their bodies have been trained to be that strong, but they still behave kindly," said the receptionist.
"Because their physique looks big and a bit scary, many people get frightened and mistake them as a threat," he continued.
Oh, a party from Malcro... wait, that's the city we're heading to. I need to find an opportunity.
"Are they planning to go back to their home city?" I asked.
"That's right... but they said they're waiting for something, though that's been scaring other adventurers away from coming to this counter..." he said weakly, lowering his head.
"Thank you for the information," I said.
I left the counter and stood before the men.
"Excuse me, are you guys planning to go to Malcro?" I asked.
One of them looked surprised by my question and immediately grabbed both of my shoulders.
"You want to go there too? We can help you," he said.
"Ah, yes... but it's not just me, there are two of my friends over there," I said while pointing to Yuu-chan and Hime, who were sitting down.
"Don't worry, three people won't be any trouble for us!" he said energetically.
—
The men said they would go fetch their horse carriage.
Meanwhile, only one of them stayed behind to wait here. Well, whatever works for them.
I had also talked this over with Yuu-chan and Hime; although Hime initially didn't want to deal with them, she eventually agreed.
Not long after, the men returned, bringing their own horse carriage.
"Come on, get in," they said.
——
Honestly, this was already the umpteenth time I've ridden a horse carriage like this. Sooner or later, I'll get used to the feeling.
"So, who are you guys?" asked one of the men.
"I'm Yukito, this is Yuu, and that's Hime," I said.
"Ah, then you three must be a party too, right?" he asked again.
"Yeah," I replied.
He chuckled softly, then finally introduced himself.
"You probably have trouble telling us apart, huh? You can look at the color on the front of our shirts," he said.
"I'm Man, the one with the red shirt, the green one is Min, the blue one is Mon, and the yellow one is Mun," he continued.
Am I watching a comedy act right now? Their names all sound almost exactly the same.
"We're all brothers, so our names are almost identical, though we're not twins," ...the one with the green shirt—so he's Min.
——
Ah, whatever, instead of worrying about their names, I'll just enjoy this trip with Yuu-chan and Hime.
Also, the air feels so fresh and comfortable.
Throughout the journey, the bond between the seven of us grew closer.
Hime no longer felt scared of them; in fact, she and Yuu-chan kept chatting with the four of them.
The carriage that was once quiet turned lively with constant laughter echoing in my ears.
Well, I'm glad Hime and Yuu-chan are comfortable with them. I thought Hime would still feel uneasy around them.
——
"Here we are," said Man-san.
All of our eyes widened in awe at what we saw before us.
A city, with walls as large as Ulvur's, but with tighter security than Ulvur.
Dozens of armored soldiers stood guard, holding their weapons firmly. They seemed to be making sure no threats could enter the city.
No wonder this city is called the city of a thousand soldiers.
These four must be one of the strongest parties from this city. I'd better not do anything reckless in front of them.