"Alan?"
I spotted Alan walking into the shop first, and Philia turned around to look at the entrance as well.
Meeting his eyes, she too called out his name.
Hearing us, Alan gave a wave, placed an order for food with Sara-san, and walked over to our table.
"Are you slacking off today too?" Philia asked as he approached.
"Today's an actual scheduled day off, so I just came by to grab a normal meal. Why are you two hanging out together anyway?"
"Hm? You didn't know? Philia and I formed a party."
At my words, Alan's eyes went wide, his gaze darting back and forth between us.
"Y-You two formed a party and left me out?!"
"What do you mean 'left you out'? It's your own fault for not taking your training seriously."
"Besides, I never said I was going to party up with you in the first place."
"Leave that aside for now! It's totally unfair that you two are doing party activities together..." Alan grumbled in despair.
Just then, his food was delivered to the table, and he began eating along with us.
"Look, it's not like I don't want to train. It's just... I can't really get myself into it..."
"I don't know if it's my place to ask, but do you know what's causing that? It doesn't seem like you're sick or anything."
"Well, I guess it's fine to tell you two... My brother did mention before that it'd be okay to talk to you guys about it."
With that, Alan began explaining why he couldn't get into the right mindset.
The exact cause wasn't entirely clear.
However, Alan seemed convinced that this was the culprit.
He possessed a special skill.
Its name was [Knight of the Covenant].
"That special skill doesn't suit you at all, Alan."
"I know that! I have no idea why something like that manifested for me either. When I told my brother, he just gave me this bewildered look, wondering why of all people it went to me..."
Unlike my own, this special skill wasn't completely without precedent.
Alan explained that its mechanics had been partially deciphered.
The skill would only activate once its bearer swore an oath to a chosen master.
Since Alan had no such master, the skill remained dormant.
He had discussed with Roan-san whether this inactive state might be why his tendency to slack off had surfaced.
Yet no matter how much they researched, nothing of the sort was documented about the ability.
In the first place, while precedents existed, there were fewer than a hundred recorded accounts in total.
As a result, very little was known about it.
"All my other skills are completely ordinary, so my brother and I figured this ability might be to blame... Or, well, we also considered that maybe I've always been a slacker deep down and just let myself go after leaving home."
"If that's the only issue, though, why don't you just hurry up and find someone to swear an oath to?"
"...Well, it's a pretty tricky skill. I have to be really careful about who I pick as my master."
Once someone was chosen as a master through [Knight of the Covenant], it apparently became exceedingly difficult to disobey their orders.
On top of that, the effect wouldn't even activate unless the skill holder genuinely intended to serve them from the bottom of their heart.
And if the bearer grew distrustful of their master or found it difficult to maintain their loyalty, the bond between master and knight would break.
If that happened, the person with [Knight of the Covenant] would suffer a temporary drop in their abilities.
"Sounds like a real pain of a skill..."
"...Yeah, seriously."
"There really are all kinds of special skills out there. I've been giving you grief this whole time for slacking off, but you were actually carrying all this stress on your own. I'm sorry."
"I never told you anything, so I don't blame you for getting mad, Philia. It took me too long to speak up, so I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry."
Though the two had been bickering earlier, understanding the full story allowed them to exchange apologies and clear the air.
"Still, a skill that requires a master, huh... What are you going to do now?"
"My brother and I thought activating the skill might cure my slacking habit, so right now I'm looking for someone to serve."
"When you say looking for a master, do you mean a noble?"
"Yeah, my brother said that'd probably be the safest route. The pay's supposedly better that way, too..."
Alan said so, but his expression remained subdued.
"Are you not keen on the idea?"
"...I just figured that if I serve a noble, my adventurer activities will get restricted."
Alan had traveled all the way from the countryside to the royal capital to become an adventurer.
The thought that his own ability might stand in the way of that dream was clearly weighing on him.
"It'd be one thing if I found a master who let me work as an adventurer, but my brother told me most nobles would just treat me like their personal soldier."
"Well, going by the skill's name, it does say 'Knight.'"
"I hope you find someone decent, but I've heard there are plenty of awful people among the nobility too. You need to be careful not to end up with someone like that, Alan."
"I know. That's why my brother is taking his time with the search. He also said that if I just naturally run into someone I feel like serving, that's fine too. That's why I go on walks around the royal capital like this once in a while, but it's not like they're easy to find..."
Special skills were supposed to bring fortune to those who possessed them.
Or so I had thought, but watching Alan made me realize that wasn't necessarily true for everyone.