Until our food arrived, I passed the time chatting with Reina-san.
"How are you finding the royal capital, Erik-kun? Are you having a good time?"
"I am. I've met all kinds of people, and everyone's been so kind. I'm really glad I came here. Adventurer work is fun, too, and I'm earning good money, which makes me happy."
"Adventuring is dangerous work, but as long as you assess requests carefully, it pays well. Of course, plenty of adventurers have misjudged a job and lost their lives."
Reina-san said this with a sorrowful look.
"Did you lose someone you knew, Reina-san?"
"Among the adventurers I looked after, there was someone who took on a difficult request and died. At first, he was careful about choosing safe jobs, but at some point, he grew overconfident in his abilities and started tackling things beyond his level."
Not long after, he found a high-paying request and took it.
Reina-san had judged it too dangerous and hadn't mentioned it to him.
Even so, he decided he could handle it on his own.
He traveled to the town next to the royal capital and accepted the quest there.
In the end, though, he was slain by monsters, and his body was devoured.
"I didn't manage many adventurers back then, so I always tried to match requests to each person. But after that, I became even more selective about who I'd take on. I never want to hear a report like that again."
"I'm sorry for making you bring up such painful memories..."
"It's all right. I was the one who brought it up."
The mood grew somber, leaving me at a loss for how to steer the conversation.
As I hesitated, Reina-san changed the subject herself.
"Say, Erik-kun, what made you want to become an adventurer in the first place?"
Prompted by her question, I told her about my life back in the village.
I explained how my family had treated me as if I didn't exist, and how I had come to the royal capital to become an adventurer simply to survive.
"...I'm so sorry. To think you had such a painful past... You're always smiling, Erik-kun, so I never imagined you'd gone through something like that. I shouldn't have pried out of idle curiosity."
"You really don't need to apologize. I've already made peace with how things were with my family and moved on."
"Even so... But hearing that really explains a lot. Why you're so thoughtful and mature about how you live at your age—it's because you've had to live like that for years, hasn't it?"
"I had to think that way just to stay alive, after all."
As we finished talking about the past, our food was brought to the table.
I could identify the grilled fish and soup at a glance.
However, the last dish—a bowl filled with small, white grains—was completely unfamiliar to me.
"Reina-san, what is this dish?"
"That's called rice. It's a cooked grain, and it goes wonderfully with grilled fish and meat."
Following Reina-san's explanation, I took a tentative bite.
A subtle sweetness spread across my tongue, and the texture was so pleasant that I swallowed it before I even realized it.
"It's delicious. Do you like this rice, Reina-san?"
"Yes, I could eat rice every single day and never get tired of it. I used to love bread, but ever since I discovered rice, I've been firmly on team rice."
With a bright smile, Reina-san happily began her meal.
Following her lead, I started in on my own portion.
Just as she'd said, it paired wonderfully with the grilled fish.
The soup was light and refreshing, packed with plenty of vegetables.
As I ate, I felt deeply grateful to Reina-san for introducing me to such a delicious meal.
"Thank you for the meal."
Eating at my usual, relaxed pace, Reina-san finished ahead of me.
I finished shortly after, murmuring my thanks before taking a sip of water.
"That was wonderful. I can completely understand why you're so hooked on it, Reina-san."
"Hehe, I'm glad you appreciate the wonders of rice, too. I brought the Guildmaster here once before, but... he said he prefers bread over rice, so I swore I'd never bring him again. If you like it that much, Erik-kun, let's come back together sometime."
"I'd love that. But next time, please let me treat you, okay?"
Though I offered to pay, Reina-san merely gave me a knowing smile without saying a word.
With lunch finished, we headed back to the Adventurer's Guild.
From there, for the first time in a while, I accepted a request that took me outside the city walls.
Heading out of the city after so long stirred a quiet thrill of excitement in my chest.
"...No, if I let myself get carried away, I'll end up just like that adventurer from lunch."
I tamped down the excitement and gave myself a firm warning.
Reining in my focus, I stepped outside the royal capital.
My destination was the usual forest.
I traveled empty-handed until I drew near the trees, only drawing my weapon right before stepping beneath the canopy.
"All right, let's give it my all today, too."
Steeling my resolve aloud, I stepped into the forest.