A Gold Rank adventurer had taken on the request.
When I shared the news with Henry-san after he woke up for dinner, he broke down in tears of relief all over again.
Had it been a Silver Rank, some lingering worry might have been justified.
A Gold Rank, however, operated on an entirely different level.
Even living out in the countryside, Henry-san knew that much as basic common sense.
At this point, worrying was downright presumptuous.
Henry-san ate his fill at dinner and experienced a bath at the inn for the very first time.
After changing into fresh sleepwear for the first time in ages, he drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, Erik."
The next morning, I was eating breakfast after wrapping up my usual daily routine.
Before long, Henry-san woke up, walked over, and joined me at the table.
"You're heading out from the royal capital today, right?"
"That's the plan. There's no point in lingering, after all. I got to see you looking healthy and strong, Erik, and the request was properly taken care of. I'm truly grateful to you."
"No, I'm the one who owes you for everything you did for me while I lived in the village."
With that, I set a small hemp pouch on the table.
"What's this?"
"A donation for the village. Please put it toward procuring food and provisions."
That pouch contained every last coin I owned, save for what I had deposited at the Adventurer's Guild.
Inside were only a dozen or so silver coins, with the rest made up entirely of copper coins.
It certainly wasn't an exorbitant sum.
"Wait, didn't you already put up all that money for the request yesterday?"
"I did. But hasn't work ground to a halt and securing food grown difficult ever since that wyvern appeared? I don't want anyone in the village starving to death."
Hearing my words, Henry-san lapsed into thoughtful silence.
"Just take it. Erik put that together specifically for the folks who looked after him, after all."
"M-Ma'am?"
As Henry-san and I spoke, Amanda-san chimed in from nearby.
"I've heard a bit from Erik about his time back in the village. Thanks to pure-hearted people like you, Erik was able to grow into the fine boy he is today. He prepared that out of a desire to give back to the people who took care of him."
"...I see. Erik... I'll gratefully accept it."
"Yes. Please take it. Just let the villagers know I'm doing well, without letting those people find out. And please, make sure you never mention the money to anyone."
"I understand. I'm not a fool, after all... I'm really glad you're here making a living as an adventurer in the royal capital, Erik."
Henry-san offered a warm, relieved smile.
Once we finished breakfast, I showed Henry-san around the commercial district.
After finishing a fair amount of shopping, he gathered his belongings and prepared to set off from the royal capital.
When I asked if he planned to take a carriage, he told me he had far more faith in his own two legs even with the extra luggage, and dashed off into the distance.
"Have a safe trip, Henry-san."
I said a quiet prayer that his journey back to the village would be safe and swift.
"Good morning, Reina-san."
"Good morning, Erik-kun. How is your guest from the village?"
"He set off from the royal capital just a little while ago. A full day of rest seems to have completely restored his energy."
At my response, Reina-san laid out the day's available requests.
"Oh, that's right! I have good news for you, Erik-kun. The ecosystem around the dungeon is finally returning to normal, and people have started spotting stray slimes again."
"Wait, really?!"
"Yes, though their numbers are definitely down compared to before. You know, with all the adventurers clearing them out on their way to the dungeon."
"Well, that can't be helped."
Other adventurers hunting along the path was only natural.
Even so, knowing the ecosystem had recovered enough for me to resume monster hunting brought a genuine smile to my face.
"Come to think of it, how is the dungeon turning out?"
"It's still being investigated, but it seems to be quite a promising one. The Master's even slipped in several times under the guise of 'conducting surveys.'"
Ryan-san was never the type to sit on his hands and wait around.
Hearing Reina-san's exasperated tone, I couldn't help but chuckle internally.
Though forest exploration was an option again, I stuck to my original plan and decided to prioritize high-paying chore requests for the day.
My remaining savings consisted solely of the fifty silver coins deposited with the guild.
While that was more than enough to live on for the time being with no need to rush, rebuilding my cushion was important.
"Good to see you again, Hannah-san. I've arrived for the request."
My first job of the day came from the Starsia Company.
The location was a warehouse building, but the task didn't involve the storage floor itself.
Instead, they needed a hand tidying up and rearranging the office space.
"I'm so glad. I heard you've been taking on plenty of town requests lately, Erik-kun, so I put one in hoping for you. Having you here is such a relief."
"Thank you very much for thinking so highly of me."
I bowed gratefully to Hannah-san.
Stepping into the office, the staff members who recognized me offered warm, cheerful greetings.
After receiving a rundown of the specifics, I got right to work helping them rearrange the office.