“Yo!”


  “Hello.”


  “Eh!? Wait a moment! Ehh? Seriously, wait!”


  While exploring the ship, I spotted Evan-san and Scott-san.

  “That’s it! I wanted to see Takumi’s reaction to this!”


  “No, why are you here!?”


  “We were offered an escort request, so we took it.”


  “What?”


  “The merchant ships are usually manned by the Merchant Guild’s own guards, but the Adventurer’s Guild was suddenly asked to provide an escort. The guild was short on manpower this time, so the Guild Master asked us if we were interested.”


  I couldn’t quite understand Evan-san’s story, so I turned to Scott-san, and he explained the details to me.

  “They are short on guards? Did something happen?”


  “Looters, probably.”


  “””Looters?”””


  “”Buh!””


  When we heard the reason for the shortage, the kids and I asked the same question. Then Evan-san and Scott-san bursted out laughing.

  “Th, three people tilting their heads at the same time!”


  “It’s a sign that they are on the same page.”


  …… Apparently, the kids and I were not only saying the same thing, but also making the same gesture.

  What a coincidence.

  “What do you mean by looters?”


  “You guys really do get along, huh~ By looters we mean just that. Plunderers. Pirates.”


  “Ah, I see. That kind of looters.”


  Oh, that reminds me, there was something about pirates in the travel warnings. It was only a faint mention, though.

  “”Bad guys?””


  “Indeed.”


  “”Will beat them up~!””


  “I’d rather they didn’t appear, but if they do, it’s Evan-san’s and Scott-san’s job to deal with them.”


  “What about Allen~?”


  “And Elena~?”


  “You will be obediently waiting on standby?”


  “”Ehh~~~””


  I’ll have to stop the kids from trying to beat the pirates to death.

  “So, what’s the actual situation?”


  “It seems that they have been attacked frequently lately, but only by small and medium-sized ships. This ship is large, so it’s unlikely to be targeted. Oh, this is behind the scenes stuff, so don’t spread it around.”


  “Yes, sir.”


  Even if the possibility of being attacked is low, the Company must be very wary, because they have requested the Adventurer’s Guild to increase the number of guards.

  “So, you guys are working now?”


  “That’s right. I mean, if the voyage is peaceful, we will just be patrolling.”


  “Is that so?”


  “Yeah, it’s also part of our job to deal with customers.”


  “… That sounds like a stretch, though~ But if you guys are okay with it, can you give us a tour of the ship?”


  “Ou, leave it to us.”


  So we resumed our exploration of the ship, with Evan-san and Scott-san showing us around.

  “”This place~?””


  “The dining hall.”


  “”Meal~?””


  “Yeah, if you’re in first or second class, you should be able to come here and get three meals a day.”


  “Huh? There are no meals for the third class?”


  “No, if you order it in advance, it will be served. However, the ship’s meals are a bit more expensive than regular meals, so many of those who take third-class cabins resort to eating portable meals.”


  “Oh, I see.”


  The food in the special-class rooms was brought straight to the customers, so we hadn’t received any explanation about this. Therefore, it was all new information to us.

  “Oi, it feels like you’ve never heard of about this before. Didn’t they explain it to you when you got on the ship? Is this a dereliction of duty on the part of the crew? Where your guys’ room at?”


  Evan-san’s expression turned grim as he sensed that we hadn’t been briefed.

  “Our room? It’s a special-class room.”


  “Whoah, a special-class room?”


  “Oh my, that’s very fancy.”


  But when Evan-san heard that we were renting a special room, his expression changed to one of surprise. Scott-san was also surprised.

  “The only rooms available at that time were the special-class rooms and third-class rooms.”


  “Oh well, I guess you would choose the special-class then. Takumi-san seems to have a lot of money, after all.”


  “Now that you mention it, you’re right.”


  The two of them, who knew more than a little about how much money we were making, looked convinced.

  “The room.”


  “Was amazing.”


  “It’s that incredible? I would like to see it.”


  “”Sure.””


  “Oh, you will show me? I will take your word for it.”


  “”Yeah, come.””


  Evan-san and the kids are really good friends, aren’t they?

  While thinking that——


  “I wonder if they’re close in mental age?”


  “……”


  I’m not sure if Scott-san was thinking the same thing I did, but he muttered some harsh words toward Evan-san.

  Evan-san didn’t seem to hear him, so he didn’t raise his voice in rebuttal.

  “If you are serious, we have a break in the evening. We will intrude then.”


  “”Evening~?””


  “Yeah.”


  “”Okay~ will be waiting!””


  “Oh, in that case, would you like to join us for dinner?”


  I have no problem inviting Evan-san and Scott-san to our room. The room is very big, after all.

  I invited them to have dinner with us.

  “It’s nice of you to invite us, but our food is for the employees, so it would be a little… difficult to eat alongside the food served in the special-class rooms.”


  “I wouldn’t be so mean as to eat different meals in the same place.”


  The food in the special-class room and the employee’s food would definitely be different in terms of luxury. I’m aware of that.

  “I’m sure we can order more. Even if we can’t, I’ll serve you the food I have on hand, and you can have the employees’ meals for a midnight snack.”


  “As tempting as it is to eat the special-class room’s food, I’d rather eat your food, Takumi!”


  “Is that so? If you are fine with my food, I won’t be ordering more than?”


  “Ou!”


  It doesn’t feel bad when people say that my food is better than the food served in the special-class room.

  “Takumi-san, are you really sure about this?”


  “Of course I am. The more, the merrier.”


  “”Yeah, more fun!””


  “So if you don’t mind, please come by all means, Scott-san.”


  Scott-san seemed hesitant, so I asked him again, and he seemed to be happy.

  “”Will be waiting~””


  Even though it was part of their job to show the guests around, we couldn’t keep them in custody, so we decided to split up.

  Then, in the evening. As promised, Evan-san and Scott-san came to visit our room… but seeing the interior of the room, Evan-san was excited together with the kids like a child.