51. What Exactly Does "Rare" Mean?

"By the way, you mentioned that 'various things happened.' If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind telling me about it?"

"I don’t mind, but..."

Naturally, he was curious. It wasn't as if I were trying to hide anything, so I gave him a brief summary of our time in Cygnil.

It seemed word of the incident had reached the Royal Capital, but Lowell didn't know the details. I explained how an ancient magic beast called a Black Wolf had been unleashed by evil cultists, how we’d been lucky enough to find items to counter it, and how we’d managed to defeat the beast by making use of several other tools.

"So, that’s really all there was to it. We just had a bit of luck; our actual skills are still lacking."

"Just 'a bit,' huh?"

『That’s not true at all! Tort’s luck has to be among the highest of any human!』

Halfa and Shiroru both chimed in to poke fun at my modesty.

Yeah, I should probably correct myself. It certainly wasn't just "a bit" of luck. In fact, it wasn't even about being lucky—the Destiny God’s support system had been absolutely flawless.

However, if I said something like that out loud, it would probably sound like a wild exaggeration, so I kept it to myself. After all, the Guild Master of the Cygnil Adventurer's Guild looked like he was on the verge of worshiping me as an Apostle of the Destiny God. Honestly, how did things even end up this way?

Lowell listened to our exchange with a gentle expression. Then, he spoke with the tone of a mentor.

"You may indeed have been lucky. Even so, ranks aren’t awarded for achievements alone. As you move up, a certain level of capability is expected. The guild likely promoted you because they judged you were ready to handle the responsibilities of a C-Rank."

Is that so?

To be honest, I’d been feeling anxious about whether such a rapid promotion was actually okay, but hearing Lowell say that made me feel a lot better.

I figured that was enough about us. I had a question of my own for Lowell.

"We’re currently on our way to the Royal Capital, but what brings you out here, Lowell?"

Even though we were on the main highway, monsters still appeared. It was hardly a safe area. Traveling by carriage was one thing, but I felt the risk of traveling on foot with Spira was quite high. I couldn't fathom his objective—I doubted he’d be out hunting monsters with a child in tow.

"Ah, yeah. I'm heading to a village further ahead for personal business. As for Spira, I didn't intend to bring her, but she insisted on following me."

Even if she did follow him, one would usually turn back halfway.

The word "kidnapping" briefly crossed my mind, but looking at the two of them, that seemed impossible. He probably just had a reason that was difficult to talk about.

"By 'further ahead,' do you mean the Clover Village?"

『Oh! That is where we found the shiny clovers!』

"Found...? You found Goldidilla!?"

Lowell reacted explosively to the exchange between Halfa and Shiroru.

Goldidilla was another name for the Golden Four-Leaf Clover—or rather, its name when used as a medicinal material. Could it be that Lowell's business also involved the clover?

"Tort and Shiroru did. I was the only one who couldn't find any..." Halfa grumbled.

"What!? Does that mean you found two plants!?"

『It wasn't just two plants! This is Tort we are talking about!』

"...What does that mean?"

Lowell looked utterly bewildered.

Well, normally you’d assume it was one plant each for a total of two. In reality, we had one hundred and one!

Since he said it was personal business, that meant it wasn't for a guild commission. Because Goldidilla had the effect of greatly enhancing medicinal properties, it was widely used in treatments for rare or difficult diseases. Considering that, he might have a friend or relative with a serious illness.

"Are you looking for Goldidilla? As a medicinal ingredient?"

"Yeah. For Spira. She looks healthy, but her constitution is weak. Apparently, she needs medicine to stabilize her condition."

"For Spira..."

So that was it. In that case, I didn't mind parting with some of the Golden Four-Leaf Clovers. I’d gathered them in a fit of excitement, but looking back, a hundred plants really was overkill.

Even putting that aside, Lowell seemed like a good person, and I couldn't just ignore Spira’s situation. While I had my doubts about winning people over with material gifts, I figured it was a solid investment in a new friendship.

When I glanced at Halfa, she smiled and nodded. It seemed she wanted to give them some, too.

"In that case, I'll give you some. I have plenty, after all."

"Wh—? Ah, no, those are incredibly precious."

"So I've heard. But I really do have plenty."

Since words alone clearly weren't enough to convince him, I reached into my storage and pulled them out. Suddenly, the area was filled with the glitter of golden clovers. Goldidilla were truly brilliant; they weren't made of metal, but their reflectivity was so high they seemed to glow.

"Wait... what?"

"Wow! Big Brother! They’re so shiny and pretty!"

Lowell’s eyes went wide with shock, while Spira was overjoyed.

"See? Plenty, right?"

"Y-Yeah. But didn't you harvest them for a specific purpose?"

A purpose, huh? That made sense. They were precious medicinal materials, after all; one wouldn't normally harvest them without a reason. Then again, when you hear something is rare, you just want to grab it while you can. It couldn't be helped.

"I didn't really have a purpose. I just took them because they were rare."

"I... I see."

Lowell wore a complicated expression. I suppose telling him they were "rare" while holding a stack of a hundred was a bit of a contradiction.

In the end, Lowell accepted the Goldidilla. It seemed that seeing a hundred of them at once had warped his sense of value, because I was able to persuade him surprisingly easily. He seemed to think one plant was enough, but since I had so many, I gave him three just to be safe. He looked slightly exasperated by the gesture—I might have been a bit too pushy.

"I will definitely repay this favor. Since you are also heading to the Royal Capital, why don't we travel together?"

Now that he had obtained what he was looking for, it seemed Lowell and Spira had decided to head back. Since we had managed to hit it off, I had no reason to refuse.

However, I didn't really need a reward—especially not a monetary one. Between the rewards for the Black Wolf subjugation and my lucky constitution, we had more money than was appropriate for our rank. While money wasn't something that caused trouble by its presence, I felt awkward taking it after essentially forcing the clovers on him. To be honest, it wasn't as if I’d gone through great pains to harvest them, so I didn't feel a reward was necessary.

Instead, I made a different proposal.

"In that case, whenever our schedules align, would you be willing to take on requests with us? We were promoted to C-Rank so suddenly that we don't really know the ropes of the work yet."

Halfa had done almost nothing but dungeon exploration, so her Adventurer Rank had started at F. I had modestly climbed to E-Rank by gathering medicinal herbs, but even so, we had jumped up two ranks to C. Outside of dungeons, we would have to earn a living by taking on standard requests, and I was a little anxious about that.

Actually, while we were nervous, I suspected the guild staff would be the most anxious of all. Even if we held C-Rank Adventurer's Plates, it would be difficult for them to feel at ease entrusting important work to a pair of unknown children. In that regard, Lowell had an established track record in the capital. If we worked with him, the guild would likely feel much more relieved. It would be a huge help to us as well, allowing us to build a reputation while getting used to the job.

When I explained my reasoning, Lowell nodded understandingly.

"I see. If that's enough to return the favor, then I'll gladly cooperate. That said, a debt for Goldidilla isn't something that can be repaid so easily. If there is anything else you need, just let me know. If it's within my power, I'll lend you my strength."

"I'll be sure to ask, then."

With the agreement settled, we set off to return to the Royal Capital together.