After finishing preparations, we boarded the carriage Naise had prepared.

I myself had almost nothing to prepare — just the robe Irina picked out for me and my mage’s staff.

"Yabe, you’re really going to the royal capital?"

Kanta, who had been listening the whole time, asked. Chiko-chan already had tears in her eyes.

"Yeah. I don’t know if it’s an honor or not, but apparently the King wants to see me."

I shrugged my shoulders and spread my hands in an exaggerated "what can you do?" gesture.

"That’s a really big deal, right? We should be happier seeing you off..."

Kanta looked down a bit. Chiko-chan was gripping the hem of his clothes.

I ruffled both of their heads.

"I’ll buy you a mountain of souvenirs from the royal capital! Look forward to it~"

I answered as cheerfully as I could.

"Yeah! We’ll be waiting! You better come back!"

"Yep, we’ll wait!"

I ruffled their heads again and hugged them.

"Of course I’ll come back! When I do, we’ll have a barbecue party at my home!"

"We’ll wait! We’ll be waiting!"

"Come back soon!"

The two of them saw us off while wiping their tears.

They’re good kids.

"Alright, let’s go."

When I glanced at Irina, she was carrying an absurdly large backpack. On top of the backpack sat our rolled-up tent.

"Irina, we’ve been summoned to the royal capital by the royal family. Naise has arranged everything, and we’ll be escorted by the Coluna Frontier Count house. So we don’t need the tent."

"Eeeh!? But even by carriage, we won’t reach a town or village in a single day, right?"

"I think Naise has arranged lodging for us too, right?"

"Yes, you don’t need to worry about that at all," Naise explained with a smile.

Irina is surprisingly tough.

"I-I see..."

Saying that, she tried to head back to the second floor still carrying the giant backpack and got stuck in the staircase with the tent.

Fufu, you’re something else, Irina.

"Irina, you should at least bring plenty of spare clothes. How about the ones we bought together in Solenarini town?"

"Oh, right! Those are the important clothes Yabe picked for me. I’ll bring all of them!"

She energetically ran up the stairs.

Irina is always so full of energy.

"Sarina, are you ready?"

"Yes. I have my change of clothes in this bag, and Grandma gave me some spending money."

"I see. You’re fully prepared."

Still... Irina, Luciana, and now Sarina.

Do I have some special connection with girls whose names end in "na"?

I might start paying extra attention to any girl with "na" in her name from now on.

"Yabe, sorry to keep you waiting! I brought all the clothes you bought for me!"

She had packed them into the Boston bag we bought together.

Irina patted the bag proudly.

"Great. Then let’s depart."

"I’ll show you to the carriage."

Following Naise’s guidance, we boarded the carriage: me, Irina, and Sarina.

"We’re off."

I waved from the carriage window.

"Come back soon!"

"Leave the temple to us!"

"We’ll be waiting for souvenirs~!"

I engraved in my heart that I would return as quickly as possible.

After one night on the road, our group arrived in Solenarini town.

Several carriages connected together, accompanied by Logan and the rest of the army.

The tent we stayed in along the way was extremely luxurious.

Irina was overjoyed, but since it would be awkward for me, Irina, and Sarina to sleep together, a separate tent had been prepared.

...I’m not lonely or anything!

We rested for a full day in Solenarini town and would depart the next morning.

For some reason, we were scheduled to rest for three whole days in Fortress City Felbane.

They said they would explain the rest of the route and schedule once we arrived there.

They’re quite thorough.

We were given rooms at the best inn in Solenarini town.

I gave Irina and Sarina some spending money and sent them out to buy clothes and get to know each other better.

Meanwhile, I headed alone to the adventurers’ guild.

To greet Zoria and the vice guild master Sarina...

"Sarinaaaa!?"

Before I even reached the counter after entering the adventurers’ guild, I suddenly remembered.

Grandma Zaida’s granddaughter was also named Sarina.

But I was pretty sure the vice guild master of Solenarini’s adventurers’ guild was also named Sarina.

I’ve hardly ever seen name overlaps in light novels. Of course — it would be confusing if names overlapped. But in the real world, that’s completely normal. Same names are everywhere.

"W-What’s wrong!?"

The door in the back burst open and Vice Guild Master Sarina and Guild Master Zoria came rushing out.

Makes sense. I suddenly screamed the vice guild master’s name inside the guild.

Of course they’d be surprised.

"Yabe-san!?"

Sarina came closer once she realized it was me who had shouted.

"It’s Yabe, huh. Been a while. You keep doing the most insane things."

Zoria laughed and slapped my shoulder repeatedly.

"Yabe-san, you were shouting my name. Is something wrong?"

Vice Guild Master Sarina asked.

"Ah, sorry Sarina. Right now I’m traveling to the royal capital with a companion named Irina and another girl also named Sarina."

"Oh my, someone with the same name as me?"

"Yeah. When I remembered that the vice guild master was also named Sarina, I got surprised and accidentally shouted."

I scratched my head with a sheepish "tehe" expression.

"So you forgot my name and only remembered it after arriving at the guild."

Sarina puffed out her cheeks a little. It was pretty charming.

"No, I didn’t mean anything bad by it. For some reason, a lot of the girls who are interested in me have names ending in ’na,’ so I got curious."

"Oh dear. Does that mean I’m also in your sights?"

Sarina smiled mischievously.

"Hey, hey! Don’t hit on my guild staff. I’m not giving you Sarina! I’d be in trouble if Sarina left."

Zoria suddenly stepped in front of Sarina and complained.

"Leaving me aside, you should report this power-harassing boss who interferes with Sarina’s love life."

"Fufu! You’re right. If it gets too bad, maybe I should?"

Sarina replied with a laugh.

"Who’s power-harassing!? Anyway, what did you come here for? You’re on your way to the royal capital, right?"

"So that information has already spread, huh."

"Of course it has. The ’Miracle of Fortress City Felbane’ is the hot topic right now. You really went all out. I’m impressed you can recover the injured in addition to annihilating enemies."

"It was just a coincidence."

"And now you’ve been summoned by the King? You’re well on your way to becoming a hero. Whether you like it or not."

"Please spare me... seriously."

"Just give up and accept it. Go become an S-rank adventurer already. So, when are you leaving this town?"

"Who’s becoming one!? We depart tomorrow morning. I came to collect the money for the magical beasts I asked you to buy last time. While I’m at it, please buy the new ones too."

"I don’t mind buying them, but please stop bringing stuff like manticores again? Their rank is too high and it’s a pain to process. Even though we’re in the frontier, reporting the payment all the way to Felbane is annoying, you know?"

"Ah, so that’s how it is. Fine then. I’ll just take them directly to Felbane for buying. I don’t mind if Solenarini’s guild doesn’t get the achievement points~"

"Hey, you’re playing dirty!"

"That was the guild master’s fault! Telling Yabe-san not to bring high-rank magical beasts because the paperwork is annoying is a statement that would make anyone lose interest!"

Sarina puffed up angrily. She’s right. If you turn down someone who brings you high-grade monsters, the guild loses out on achievement points.

"Ram, prepare the payment for Yabe-dono’s previous sale. Also open the warehouse and accept the new magical beasts."

"Understood."

The receptionist Ram-chan prepared the money.

I received a jingling bag full of gold coins.

Now I had the funds for royal capital souvenirs.

I can’t betray Kanta and Chiko-chan’s expectations.

We moved to the warehouse and handed over the magical beasts.

"You brought a ton again, huh."

Zoria said, looking exasperated.

"Thanks to Yabe-sama, we’ve been able to supply Felbane with plenty of materials as well. We look forward to working with you in the future."

Vice Guild Master Sarina bowed politely.

Her courteous attitude makes me want to come back to this guild.

If it was just Zoria, it would have gone bankrupt by now.

"Buy me souvenirs from the royal capital!"

"Please tell us what happened there when you return."

I left the adventurers’ guild after being seen off by the two of them.

I’ll ignore Zoria’s souvenir request, but maybe on the way back I’ll bring a gift for Sarina-san and introduce her to the other Sarina who’s traveling with us.

Thinking about such things, I returned to the inn.