251 The Errand Quest

"Lilith, are you really sure about this?"

We had moved on to a different shop. It was a small, cozy place, but it was a broom shop that felt incredibly clean and well-maintained.

The item Lilith had picked out was what you’d call a standard beginner’s staff. It was easy to handle, and Mana flowed through it with minimal resistance.

"Yes! I’m still not used to using one, and it’s not like my Mana capacity is particularly huge anyway," she replied.

"I see. What about you, Cynthia?"

"I shall be fine with just a few additional accessories. Which one will you be taking, Weiss?"

"Ah, right. Honestly, I feel a bit bad about this."

"Think nothing of it. Please, choose whichever one you like."

Lilith was already in her "smiling and happy" mode, quietly watching our exchange. Cynthia had mentioned she only needed a few decorative parts for the tip of her current weapon. Since she was already used to her gear, there wasn't much point in forcing a replacement, but I still felt a little awkward being the only one getting a whole new setup.

Then again, I knew she wouldn't be happy if I just stood there being humble.

"In that case... could I get this one?"

"Certainly. But... are you sure you want this staff?"

"Yeah. It has to be this one."

The staff I pointed to was a considerably old-fashioned model. However, back in the Original Story, this specific type was a sleeper hit—it was specialized entirely for movement. It was perfect for traveling to the practice grounds in the city district of the Noblesse Magic Academy, or just for getting around town.

Besides, if I rely too much on high-end equipment, there’ll be a nasty Bound to deal with if I ever lose it. I wanted to rely on my own strength as much as possible for now.

We each took our items and headed toward the shopkeeper. She was a very, very elderly woman. When I called out to her, she shuffled over slowly and took the items into her hands.

"Three items, then. How will you be paying?"

"I'll pay for these two, and she'll pay for this broom."

"Weiss-sama, thank you so much!"

"Yeah, don't mention it."

Come to think of it, it had been a while since I'd gone shopping like this. She started to wrap them up in bags for us, but I told her we planned on using them immediately. Our plan was to head straight to the forest to find the Hot Spring of Mana Enhancement—otherwise known as the Spring of the Strong.

But just as we were about to leave, the old woman let out a heavy, sorrowful sigh. "Oh, dear..."

Cynthia, being the person she is, noticed immediately and asked what was wrong. The old woman explained that she had completely forgotten about her herb collection request for the day.

"My back is just aching so much, you see. Forgive me... I shouldn't be grumbling like this to customers."

"In that case, why don't we take on the personal request for you? Weiss, would that be alright?"

A personal request was a job you could take without going through the Guild. Well, technically you had to submit the paperwork after the fact, but it was the same thing. It was on our way anyway, so I told her I didn't mind. The old woman looked absolutely delighted.

"Well then, let’s get going, Weiss. I really want to find that spring."

"Right."

"I can't wait! I want to soak in the water and just relax!" Lilith added.

It was then that the old woman chimed in. "A hot spring? Ah, how nostalgic..."

My ears practically twitched.

Noblesse Oblige was a massively popular game. Its biggest selling point was the sheer density of the world—the idea that even the most trivial interaction could trigger a sub-episode, leading to unexpected encounters, treasures, or lore. Therefore, the ironclad rule was to never miss a single word an NPC said. The strategy guides were so thick they were practically encyclopedias, and there were dozens of them.

Right now, I would have given my right arm for one of those books. As much as I knew about this world, even I didn't remember every single detail.

More importantly...

"Ma'am, what do you mean by 'nostalgic'?"

"Oh, I used to go there all the time when I was young. Since soaking in the spring recovers your Mana, my husband and I used to go there to hunt all the time."

"And where... exactly is it?"

"Let me see... Hmm. Oh, what was it? I can't quite remember. I feel like if I had those herbs, I might just happen to remember."

Hearing that, Cynthia and Lilith both turned to look at me. The logic was completely non-existent—why would holding some herbs suddenly fix her memory?

But I knew. Oh, I knew exactly what was happening.

There’s no doubt about it. This old lady... she’s the Errand Quest Old Woman.

She was the Allen you had to fulfill if you wanted to get anything done. Sometimes I found myself snapping back to reality and wondering, What the hell am I even doing? But honestly, that was part of the fun.

Buying three or more items at Wizard... so that was the trigger to start the quest.

Cynthia and Lilith, however, were just confused.

"If she has the herbs, her memory will return? What does that even mean, Cynthia-san?"

"Could it be a Herb of Memory Regression? I’ve never heard of such a thing, though..."

"Don't think too hard about it," I interrupted. "Don't think. Feel."

There probably wasn't some grand, deep meaning behind it. The old lady was just saying it because the game script told her to.

"I feel like if I had those herbs, I'd remember..."

"Ma'am, just leave it to me."

"Oh? You'll really do it for me? I feel like if I had those herbs, I'd remember..."

Yep. No mistake. This specific brand of repetition is the smoking gun.

I pumped a fist in my heart.

"Um... is the old lady going to be okay?" Lilith asked.

"I wonder. I’m starting to get a little worried about her," Cynthia added.

"Don't worry about it."

I mean, I did check on her for a second, but Cynthia used her healing magic to determine there was nothing physically wrong. Leaving the two of them looking utterly baffled, we headed out and started searching for the herbs.

There was no request easier than this. Or so I thought, until—

"GUOOAAAA!"

Suddenly, a massive spider leaped out from the thicket.

I see. So this is the quest boss.

"Small fry."

"—GUOOOAA!?"

I snuffed its life out in a literal second. This is basically like playing a New Game Plus. I didn't have time to mess around with trash mobs like this.

When we returned, the old woman looked overjoyed. "Oh, thank you so much. My back would have been in tatters without these."

"Yeah, great. So, about the hot spring—"

"Now that I think about it, I completely forgot I had a delivery for Verdi-san over in the 2nd District. Oh, whatever shall I do?"

Cynthia and Lilith both wore expressions that said: Wait, what? What about the hot spring?

But for me, I was basking in an indescribable sense of nostalgia.

"Let's go. We've got a delivery for Verdi-san in the 2nd District."

"Wait, Weiss-sama, what are you saying?! You don't even know who that is, do you?!"

"Don't worry about the details. Just feel it."

"Weiss is so kind," Cynthia sighed. "Let us all head to Verdi-san's place together."

"Wait... is it me? Am I the weird one here?!" Lilith cried out.

For the record, after that, we ended up having to go buy ingredients for the old woman’s dinner, too, but we did eventually get the location of the hot spring out of her.

"Alright, let's move out, Cynthia, Lilith."

"Yes! I didn't really understand what was happening, but a kind Weiss-sama is a wonderful Weiss-sama!"

"I'll give you a 'good boy' pat before we go to sleep tonight."

Man, I’m glad these two are so nice.