A Small Idea

With the collected items piling up, they avoided combat on the way back.

It wasn't difficult with Finn leading and Alexia's magic.

They handled unavoidable battles safely and escaped the Crystal Grotto.

"Cold…"

After exiting the Crystal Grotto, Finn, who had been lightly dressed, shivered from the outside chill.

She turned her tool bag upside down and dumped its contents onto the ground.

Along with items and food, clothing also tumbled out.

She put them on and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew, we made it out safely for now."

"Thank you. That helped a lot."

"It's fine. We're comrades right now after all."

Finn said this and crossed her arms.

Then she repacked the scattered items into her tool bag.

The tool bag wasn't particularly large.

Its size clearly didn't match the sheer volume of items that had come out.

It was a magic tool that could hold more than its appearance suggested.

It had many uses, and the greater its capacity, the higher its price jumped.

The ones Azu's group carried were reasonably priced and of reasonable quality.

Even so, with four people's worth, the total capacity was considerable.

This was also a reason porters' value never increased.

Wealthy adventurers preferred to spend money on these bags rather than add a porter to their party, which would reduce everyone's share.

Thinking about it that way, the innkeeper position that had been entrusted to her friend Kazusa had more staying power.

Azu was once again grateful for her generous Master.

Their bodies had been heated in the Crystal Grotto, making them sweat, then suddenly cooled when they went outside.

At this rate they would catch cold, so Alexia boiled water to make instant soup, soaking hard bread in it to eat.

"So, what was that thing anyway?"

"I don't know. I had a bad feeling about it so I turned back, but…"

Azu replied to Alexia, who had muttered the question while tearing apart her bread.

A sphere that emitted heat.

Like a small sun.

Combined with how easily crystal conducted heat, just standing there was draining.

She didn't even know if it was a monster or a magic tool.

Her intuition had refused to let her approach.

"What are you going to do? He won't complain as long as you make money."

"I feel the same way. He'd be more troubled if we got hurt by trying something reckless… But."

"If we can manage it somehow, we'll definitely get something good. That's what being an adventurer is about, right?"

"You've gotten good at making that kind of face, Azu."

They had faced many difficulties before, but had overcome them and received rewards as compensation.

Alexia laughed at Azu's words.

It was a pleasant proposition for someone as competitive as her.

"That said, let's rest for today. We need to prepare as well."

"Yeah. I used up quite a few bombs so I have no complaints."

They wolfed down the bread and soup, then headed to Spartia as previously discussed.

It was about an hour's walk, so they naturally talked as they went.

"It's been a while since we've seen this scenery."

It was a road they had traveled with Yohane as a group of four before.

Finn hadn't been with them then, and they had been immature in various ways.

It was also a time when the party's bonds weren't that strong yet.

"That's true. I think Alexia-san was holding back quite a bit back then."

"… Was that so? I'm being given a decent life now, so I'm just doing my work properly."

"You were complaining all the time. You were a bit cheeky and it was kind of cute."

"Elza!"

Alexia protested in form only at the teasing words.

As the party leader, dealing with Alexia back then had given Azu stomach pains.

A noble had been betrayed by her country and become a slave.

While she understood that wasn't something one could easily accept, the days until they could open up to each other had been difficult.

Now she could look back on it fondly.

Because she believed they had become comrades who could talk to each other without reservation.

She and Finn weren't quite that close yet, but considering their hostile first meeting, they had become quite friendly.

"Sorry to interrupt your fun chat, but we've arrived."

Time passed as they shared old stories and Finn's tales from the road, and they arrived at Spartia.

Since it wasn't tournament season, the foot traffic was calmer compared to their previous visit.

But it was still an active city.

She saw Spartian warriors for the first time in a while.

Now she understood.

The strength of these robust, trained warriors.

"Ah."

"What is it?"

After completing the entry procedures, Azu stopped upon seeing the vendor-lined street.

Elza bumped into her and asked why she had stopped.

"If we buy various things here, we can make a good profit, right? Let's buy some on the way back."

"Ah… he did say something like that."

She remembered Yohane's excited face as he bought up as many gems as he could carry.

She had even suspected that this had been his real purpose and the tournament was just an excuse.

In fact, he had gotten bored partway through and, using Azu's loss to Finn as an excuse, decided to head back quickly.

"You'd probably do better now."

"You think so? I'm sure I could get through the preliminaries, but…"

Improving her skills would be useful to Master, which Azu wanted, but she honestly didn't care much about placing well in the tournament.

If Master ordered her to win, that would be a different story.

More than that, the gem souvenirs she had just thought of would surely make him happier.

"Gems are cheap to buy here, and magic stones are also cheap in Spartia."

"That's true. Both come from monsters after all."

She considered exchanging the magic stones obtained at the Crystal Grotto for gems.

That should still turn a good profit.

She wouldn't touch the crystals since she'd been told to bring them back.

"Do whatever you want. I don't care as long as my share increases."

Finn seemed uninterested in such matters and left it to Azu.

Elza and Alexia also agreed, so they decided to do that on the way back.

They secured lodging and deposited the magic stones and crystals at Spartia's Adventurer's Guild.

Alexia kept the spear with her.

Somehow, it suited her just as well as holding an axe.