The wolf had simply been hungry.
At that exact moment, it happened to catch my scent—smelling delicious after my cooking—and gave chase.
That was the full story behind the incident.
"It doesn't usually give in to its appetite quite like this, but..."
The girl stared intently at me.
"Could it be... are you the 'Cleaning Fairy' everyone in the royal capital has been talking about?"
"Ugh, I'm really not fond of that nickname, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me that."
"Ah, I'm sorry. My mother often calls you that, and, well... I wanted to apologize if I ever ran into you."
"Apologize? Um, have we met somewhere before?"
I tilted my head, puzzled by her apology.
The only girls I knew were Anna-san and Philia.
Other than them, there were the kids around my age back in my village, but naturally, none of them had such gorgeous blonde hair.
"We should start with introductions, shouldn't we? I am Leticia von Fortis. If I mention House Fortis, do you recognize the name?"
At the mention of her family name, Belinda-san's face immediately popped into my head.
"The reason I wanted to apologize is that we ended up dirtying the detached building you went through all the trouble of cleaning. This one saw the spotless room and went wild with excitement..."
"Whimper..."
"Now is hardly the time to be acting cute, is it? Come on, Garm. Apologize."
"Gau..."
Following Leticia-san's instruction, Garm lowered its head toward me.
"So cute..."
"Oh? You're not afraid of Garm?"
"I was at first. But somehow, it's started looking pretty cute to me."
When Philia said that, Leticia gave a soft smile.
"Say, are you two heading outside the city right now?"
"Yes. We're on our way to pick up a request at the Adventurer's Guild."
"You haven't accepted one yet?"
At those words, Leticia-san smiled brightly.
"Since we happen to have crossed paths, would you care to chat for just a little while?"
"A chat, you say...?"
"Yes. You don't need to be so wary; I won't force you to stay."
Hearing that from Leticia-san, I conferred briefly with Philia.
In the end, we decided that a brief conversation wouldn't hurt.
"To think I'd be coming here again..."
"A noble's estate other than the House of Strict..."
To hold our discussion, we made our way to the House Fortis estate.
Instead of heading to the main mansion, however, we walked over to the detached building I had cleaned previously.
Once inside, we gathered in the living room and took our seats.
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Right. To put it bluntly, I would like you to let me join your adventuring party."
"...Join our party?"
"Huh? But I've rarely heard of nobles becoming adventurers."
Both Philia and I voiced our surprise at Leticia-san's proposition.
"It's only natural you'd react that way. Let me explain my circumstances so you understand how this came about."
Leticia-san was thirteen years old, three years older than us.
Normally, this was the time of day she would be attending classes at the Academy for nobles.
However, Leticia-san maintained exceptional grades, which granted her the freedom to use her time as she pleased.
It seemed she wanted to use that spare time to work as an adventurer.
When she broached the subject with her parents at House Fortis, they gave her permission on one condition: she had to find companions they could trust.
"And we're those trustworthy companions?"
"My parents think very highly of you, Erik-kun. That's why I intended to speak with you if our paths ever crossed."
Hearing that from Leticia-san, I pondered what to do.
"To be completely honest, we aren't looking for more members right now. Philia and I are both cautious by nature. Because of that, I doubt we'll ever go on the kinds of daring exploits typical adventurers embark on."
"I don't believe that being an adventurer means you must seek out danger, either. I think you should fight when necessary, and run when it isn't."
"...Our views are quite similar, then."
"One must always act thoughtfully, don't you think? It's the same at the Academy. Rather than pacing myself with everyone else in class, maintaining top marks and doing what I actually want to do makes for a far better life."
Listening to her explain her perspective, Philia and I were left to deliberate together.
To be frank, getting deeply involved with nobility carried a high risk of being dragged into troublesome affairs.
While House Fortis itself was a reputable family, there was no telling what the nobles around them might be like.
"Is it a no after all?"
"It's not that it's completely out of the question. As long as no complications arise, we wouldn't have an issue welcoming you into the party, but..."
"With nobles, one can never say never. What if I concealed my face, or operated under a false identity?"
"Well, that would work, I suppose... but what will you do about Garm?"
I shifted my gaze toward Garm, who had been listening to our conversation while wagging its tail furiously beside Leticia-san.
"...I suppose I'll just have to leave it behind."
"Ga-Gau?!"
Garm let out a shocked yelp at Leticia-san's words.
Then, desperate not to be left behind, it clung tightly to her leg.