Chapter 37
So, this is what they mean by having your mood deflate in an instant.
Watching Shara, her face slightly flushed as if she'd been running around, approach our table, I pondered such thoughts.
"What's with that donation!?"
That was her opening line.
"Was it too little after all?"
Erika's apologetic tone made both of us—Shara and me—jolt in surprise.
"N-No, that's not—"
Erika's expression told us she was dead serious.
Realizing this, Shara stumbled over her words.
Yeah, I get it, the confusion of dealing with someone whose common sense doesn't align with yours.
"No! I'm saying it's too much!"
Shara, almost instinctively, slapped the table with her hand.
Then she clutched her head and looked up at the ceiling.
What a busy person.
"Why does it look like I'm the one who's angry!?"
Don't ask me that.
Still, she might be unexpectedly interesting.
Well, my first impression of her was when she was on the brink of death, so no matter how she changes, she might end up seeming interesting.
"If it's too much, then that's a relief."
"It's not a relief!?"
Shara looked like she wanted to say, "What is this person even talking about?"
"Do you know how I felt going all the way to the orphanage!? Even as a sister, everyone around me looked like robbers!"
That's a trauma-level experience.
"You're entrusted with delivering donations to the orphanage; you should be prepared for at least that much."
Erika nodded in admiration at this, which made me feel a bit sorry for Shara.
Though it is amusing.
"We're not getting through to each other!"
"How rude, we are communicating."
Erika responded, visibly displeased.
"Anyway, why must I be criticized for it being 'too much'? If it were too little, I could understand, but what does 'too much' even mean?"
"Think about the feelings of the person carrying it! Consider that!"
"So, despite being a sister, you went to the orphanage with the resolve to see every townsfolk as a potential robber and responsibly delivered it, right? My choice of person was not mistaken in the slightest."
Shara looked up at the ceiling again.
It's not right, but feeling a little happy about it is kind of frustrating!
I understand the urge to shout that, but could you please quiet down soon?
I thought about such things while sipping my water.
*
Since it seemed like we might get kicked out of the diner soon, I had Shara sit down and calm herself.
Well, as expected of a diner that does business with adventurers, they're used to a bit of commotion, so they just frowned and let it slide.
"So, why were you looking for us? Surely you didn't search for us from early morning just because the donation amount was too large?"
Though, with this girl, I wouldn't be surprised if she did.
Even when we first met, despite being gravely injured, she tried to stand up to the Golden Ogre.
She's definitely not the quiet type.
"Well, that's certainly part of it, but..."
Shara took a sip of the diner's water to moisten her lips.
"Since the amount was what it was, I thought I should report it to the bishop after delivering it to the orphanage..."
To summarize Shara's story, it went like this.
When she reported the donation to the orphanage to the bishop, she ended up explaining that she was saved by a pair of adventurer spouses.
Hearing this, the bishop was deeply impressed and told her to assist this benevolent adventurer couple.
That's the gist of it.
What a troublesome matter.
From Shara's perspective, we must have seemed like the ideal adventurers favored by the Church—taking a little girl's request for free, defeating the Golden Ogre that threatened a village, and donating most of the money from selling its magic stones to the orphanage.
I was worried that gaining favor with the Church would lead to specific requests being directed at us.
As a result, I never expected they'd skip straight to dispatching a sister.
The Church sometimes sends priests or sisters to adventurers they approve of.
This stems from a faction within the Church that believes supporting adventurers who hunt monsters is a way to help the weak.
It seems Shara belongs to that faction.
From an adventurer's perspective, Church affiliates are specialists in magic, particularly healing magic.
Normally, this would be something to be grateful for, not something to dislike.
But I absolutely hate it, especially with their condescending attitude of "we're dispatching someone to help you."
So, Shara had apparently been searching for us since early morning, checking diners and other places where adventurers gather.
"That's a generous offer."
I jolted and looked at Erika.
"We were just discussing raising our rank."
Right? Her gaze seemed to ask, and I couldn't help but nod.
"If Shara joins us, it would be a great help."
"Just call me Shara, ma'am."
"Then please call me Erika as well."
How can you get along so well with Church folks?
To me, the Church people are among those who stole your bright future.
"My disposition matches well with the Church's ideals."
She smiled brightly.
They're the same people who told you to die, you know.
"Um, Erika? Your husband is making a really scary face. Did I do something wrong?"
Shara whispered to Erika.
"Don't worry about it. He's probably just thinking about something complicated again. Shin."
Erika's voice pulled me out of the mire of my thoughts.
"You don't need to think so hard that your face looks like that. After all, my best friend owes a lot to the Church. They are the guardians of someone very dear to me. So there's no need to worry."
The worry she speaks of must be about her own feelings, right?
Even so, ah, it's no use. If she says it's fine, then that's that.
I took a deep breath.
Alright, I've calmed down.
"If you say so, I'll stop overthinking it."
I said with a smile.
"I'm Shin Longdagger. Nice to work with you, Shara."
I said that to Shara, who still looked like she didn't quite understand.