GalaxyTL
When I arrived at the guild hall, it was time to say bye to Gil-san and Ronny. Everyone was heading to their respective workplaces for today’s schedule. It’s a bit lonely not being able to see those who work outside the guild until night, unlike those who work inside. But I won’t cry! I’m not at the age where I’d sniffle just because of that anymore.
“Good mooorning!”
After seeing them off, my daily routine is to immediately go to the reception desk and greet everyone. It always makes me happy when everyone who’s already working at the reception returns my greeting with a smile. Then, our executive, Saura-san, came over with a dynamite body, her emerald green ponytail swaying, looking lively and energetic. She’s always so cute.
“Good morning, Meg-chan! You’re as cute as ever today!”
Being called cute by Saura-san makes me blush! As I was laughing shyly, Saura-san put her palm on her head and started sliding it. This has also become a daily ritual, but my feelings about it are mixed.
“Hmm… you haven’t… surpassed me yet… right?”
“Oh, we’re about the same, I think?”
Yes, we were comparing heights. Saura-san is a halfling, so she won’t grow any taller. On the other hand, I’m still growing. It’s inevitable that I’ll eventually surpass her. We’re just about the same now, but I’m already scared of how Saura-san will react when I get taller.
“Haa, I know I can’t stop it, but Meg-chan, don’t get any bigger! You’re just the right size to hug right now!”
Saura-san said this while hugging me, looking so cute. I hug her back for our morning hug time. The people around us are grinning at us, but I don’t care. You’re jealous, aren’t you? But I won’t give up this position. But…
“When I get taller… will you not hug me anymore…?”
The thought of not getting hugs when I’m bigger makes me very sad. Lonely. Maybe I’ve gotten too used to being spoiled and become a crybaby. But I can’t help feeling lonely!
When I said that to Saura-san, she stared at me for a while with wide eyes. Eh, eh, what? Did I say something weird? I was getting nervous, but then Saura-san hugged me tightly again.
“Of course not! No matter how old you get or how big you grow, your cuteness won’t change, Meg-chan! I was just a little sad thinking that you might not hug me anymore when you get bigger!”
What!? Saura-san, you’re too cute! I unconsciously tightened my hug. People around us might think we’re weird, but who cares. Affection should be shared! Let’s be generous with skinship!
—Suddenly, a chill ran through my whole body.
I shuddered involuntarily, and Saura-san, noticing it, pulled away and looked at my face, looking puzzled. She seemed a bit worried.
“What’s wrong? You just shivered…”
I don’t know myself. It was only for a moment, and I’m fine now, so maybe it was just a coincidence? For now, I’ll respond so she doesn’t worry.
“Um, hmm, I don’t know? But I’m fine now… Maybe it’s because I was so happy to hug you, Saura-san!”
I tried to brush it off with a grin. Because I really don’t know the reason. My body doesn’t feel heavy, and it’s not hot or cold, so it’s probably not a fever.
“I’m happy to hear that, but… are you sure? You’re not feeling unwell?”
But it seems like Saura-san isn’t letting me brush it off. Of course—I knew it! Basically, the Ortus members are worrywarts. I expected this reaction. So to show that there’s really no problem, I struck a power pose with both arms!
“I’m sure! I ate all my breakfast and I’m full of energy! See?”
Saura-san said, “Hmm,” and started looking at me from various angles. It’s a bit embarrassing to hold this pose, but I endured it. Then she patted my face and nodded with a smile, giving me the okay. Phew.
“You really do seem fine. But don’t push yourself if you think something’s wrong, okay?”
“Okay! I understand!”
Having gotten permission, I gave an energetic salute. Then she told me to have a good day, and I headed to my reception desk. Even though it’s just a few meters away!
From there, I perform my usual duties as the poster girl. I just have to take the new books to the library when they arrive!
Phew, Ortus is lively as always today. Members coming to look for quests, regular customers coming to request something, business people, people using the cafe. There are people getting checkups at the medical department, people delivering medicine… So many people come here.
Since it’s mostly regulars, I know most of their names. Of course, not everyone, but I at least recognize their faces, so greeting them is easy. Most of them tell me how cute I am as always, so I respond with a smile, savoring how blessed I am to be doted on like this.
“Hello! I’m here to deliver the new books!”
“Ah, thank you for your hard work!”
After a while, the person I was waiting for arrived. It’s Huey-san, another familiar face. He’s always the one who brings the new books, so he’s friendly with me. But he’s also the type to do his job properly and with enthusiasm, so he greets me properly and carefully checks the new books, so I can trust him.
“…And that’s it. It’s always a big help when you read them out for me, Meg-chan.”
This man, with his thick, long brown hair always tied at the back of his neck and wearing round, black-rimmed glasses, always says this line. He told me it saves him time, since he used to check them alone before I started helping.
But at first, when I was still a toddler struggling to speak, we used to read them out together, so it didn’t really make a difference. Recently, he’s been trusting me to read them out on my own, which makes me really happy. Ehen~.
“No, no. Thank you for always bringing such wonderful new books!”
“Haha, this time there’s a particularly recommended one. There’s a story set in the Elven Village, so I thought it might be good for you, Meg-chan.”
“The Elven Village? I’ll read it!”
Huey-san even goes out of his way to choose books he thinks I’ll like. And they’re actually interesting.
Huey-san is a bookworm and reads 20 books a day. That’s not humanly possible. Though he’s not human. And he remembers almost all of them, so I have nothing more to say. I heard he works at the Great Library in the Centrei Kingdom, at the center of the Demon Continent, and people say it’s faster to ask Huey-san than to search for a book you want to read. I’m in awe.
“But that’s normal, you know? My senior reads 50 books a day, so I still have a long way to go.”
And yet he says things like this, so I’ve given up on my own common sense. I sighed, thinking there must be even more amazing people on the Demon Continent.
“Well then, I’ll be going! I’ll bring more recommendations next time!”
“Okay! I’m looking forward to it.”
And with that, Huey-san left. He comes about once a month, right? I’m looking forward to next month too. For now, this recommended book will be my bedtime reading for a while. I’ll take my time and read one book in a week!
I put the recommended book in my storage bracelet so I wouldn’t forget, and then started my next task. I have to take these books to the Ortus library.
It’s only about 10 books, but there are also dictionaries, so it’s quite heavy. You might think I could just put them in my storage bracelet, but there’s an unspoken rule not to put anything that’s not your own in storage magic tools. Apparently, this rule was made because some people would put things in and forget about them, or couldn’t keep track of what they’d stored. But I think the main reason is that it feels rude to treat something that’s not yours as your own property.
But everyone’s kind and trusts me, so they said I could use it to carry them. But I didn’t like that either. So, what do I do instead…
“Fuu-chan, please.”
『Leave it to me, Master!』
I borrow the power of the wind spirit, Fuu-chan. Fuu-chan, a yellow-green bird, circles above the books, and a gentle wind lifts them up. That’s right, I’m using wind magic to carry them! You might think I’m not putting in any effort, but actually, I heard it’s difficult to control the power of this wind magic. Users of nature magic have to accurately convey it to the spirits, not adjust the power themselves. If you can’t do that, the books will be blown away.
…Does it sound like someone else’s problem? Yes, I’m sorry. Actually, I’m not struggling much. Because I have a way to perfectly convey it to the spirits in my mind, in their language. In other words, I can use magic as I wish just by imagining it. …Though I do have to consider the attributes of the spirits.
“Shou-chan, thank you as always. You convey it to the other spirits without me even saying anything.”
『Fufu, of course! After all, I’m Master’s first contracted spirit, you know? It’s only natural that I can do this much!』
The first contracted spirit has a special bond with your soul, so you can bring out more of the spirit’s power than usual. Shou-chan, the voice spirit, has grown into a capable, versatile, and pretty spirit who does its job just by hearing my thoughts. My skill in nature magic is all thanks to Shou-chan!
“Well then, shall we head to the library?”
And so, accompanied by Fuu-chan and Shou-chan, I headed to my destination. They’re both in such a good mood when they have work to do. So cute!