Chapter 50
“Don’t worry about Sonya. Before you came, Layla-chan, she was in a party with Stefan and the others for a while. But after they disbanded, she’s been a bit rough around the edges. She’s always had a tendency to get very fixated on things, though… It seems she liked Stefan, so having a cute girl like you join the group has been bothering her.”
Lil-san gave a troubled smile.
“Sonya is quite capable as a mage, but… she has this attitude of, ‘Even if it’s training from the Mages’ Guild, why do I have to do menial work at an Adventurers’ Guild in such a remote country town?’ Because of that, she didn’t really get along with the other adventurers. Stefan is good with people, so when the director paired them up, it actually worked out fairly well. But… it sounds like things got messy when they disbanded.”
“I see.”
I didn’t know how to respond, so I just nodded along and fell silent.
Relationships between people are complicated, huh.
Well, I’ve met all sorts of people since leaving the temple—but Stefan is handsome. And kind. Being handsome has its own share of problems, I guess.
“Up close, you really don’t look like a child.”
I remembered what Sonya-san had said and let out a sigh.
…My feelings are sixteen years old, though.
I’m starting to get a little fed up with being treated like a child wherever I go.
Even back when I was at the temple, I had the sense that my appearance hadn’t quite caught up with my age, but after coming out into the world, I feel that even more strongly.
“Sam-san, if you’re a half like me, do you grow taller and look more like an adult?”
I leaned out from inside the reception counter and asked Sam-san, our resident representative of the smallfolk, who was peeking out.
“You’re asking me that? And do you even need to get big like humans? Being small makes it easier to move around, isn’t that better? Never seen another half besides you, so I wouldn’t know. You worried about it?”
“No… well, a little. …Are mixed couples—humans and smallfolk—really that rare to begin with?”
“Never seen one. …I mean, our body sizes are totally different.”
Sam-san gave a casual grin.
“I don’t really care as long as the other person’s good. From my point of view, Layla looks perfectly norm—”
Just then, a hand shot in from outside the counter and grabbed Sam-san by the collar, lifting him up.
“‘Perfectly’ what, you little old man?”
At the clearly irritated voice, I looked up to see Laiga holding Sam-san in the air.
Sam-san raised a hand. “Yo.”
“It’s you, Laiga. Morning.”
“This isn’t a bar. Don’t start bothering Layla first thing in the morning.”
Laiga clicked his tongue and set Sam-san back down.
“That was rough. You should apologize to Sam-san.”
I leaned in to check on him. “Are you okay?”
When someone grabs you by the collar from above like that, it makes you feel like a kitten being carried by its parent—completely helpless.
“…My bad.”
Laiga scratched his head awkwardly and apologized to Sam-san.
Huh… that was surprisingly straightforward. I found it a little unexpected.
“Nah, I was in the wrong too. Alright, back to work.”
Sam-san chuckled, scratched his head, and sat back down at the counter.
