After finally sending Dust away, his soul practically having left his body and even a suspicious wet patch left behind on the floor, Kōichi Hayashi and Kazuma carefully escorted Iris-san to an empty table right in the center of the Adventurers Guild hall, where the view was widest, and sat her down.
Just then, Luna, the Adventurers Guild receptionist, came over carrying a tray full of wooden cups.
Luna-san, who normally wore a professional smile and handled every bizarre adventurer with perfect composure, now looked as if she had been frozen for three days and three nights in the depths of an icy hell.
Her whole body was shaking violently. With every step she took, the wooden cups on the tray clattered together in a frantic rhythm, and the juice and ale inside sloshed out from the trembling.
As one of the best-informed people in Axel, Luna had clearly already learned the true identity of the little girl in the shabby cloak through some internal channel.
"H-here... th-these are the... d-drinks you ordered..."
Luna's voice shook so badly she could barely form a sentence. Stiffly, she placed the cups on the table one by one.
When she set a specially prepared, absolutely fresh and hygienic glass of pure fruit juice in front of Iris, her hand trembled so hard she nearly poured it straight onto Iris's cloak.
While Iris curiously examined the rough wooden cup, Luna suddenly raised her head and stared hard at Kōichi Hayashi and Kazuma.
Her normally gentle eyes were bloodshot now, filled with despair, pleading, and the fear of death.
She kept desperately making signals at Kōichi Hayashi, her face almost twisting from the effort.
Her eyes seemed to be silently screaming,
"Please!! Hurry up and get this little girl out of here!! This is the Adventurers Guild, where fights break out at any moment, there's vomit on the floor, and dirty jokes in the air!! If Her Highness loses even one strand of hair here, or hears a word she shouldn't, the entire city of Axel will be flattened by the Royal Mage Corps using Explosion Magic tomorrow!! I'm begging you, Kōichi-san! Kazuma-san! Spare this poor working stiff!!"
Kōichi Hayashi picked up the ale in front of him, took a tactical sip, then gave Luna a calm look that said, "Relax, everything is under control."
"Relax, my ass! You two almost physically sent Dust to the afterlife just now!"
Luna roared in despair inside her heart, tears already gathering in the corners of her eyes.
Kazuma completely ignored Luna's distress signals. He deliberately struck a deep, thoughtful sitting pose, rested his chin on one hand, and spoke in a voice he clearly thought was cool.
"Thanks for your hard work, Luna-san. The Adventurers Guild is as lively as ever today. Oh, right, could you bring us one of Axel's local specialties? Let this newcomer, Iris, see what we usually eat."
"Wow! Big sister, you look so tired!"
Iris suddenly looked up, holding her glass of juice in both hands. She gazed at Luna with those pure, flawless sapphire eyes, her voice full of sincere concern.
"Your hands are shaking so badly. Is it because you have to carry so many heavy trays every day and your muscles are worn out? Commoner life really is full of hardship... Please take good care of yourself!"
"Thud!"
Luna's knees suddenly buckled, and she nearly dropped straight to the floor.
Being cared for so gently by the kingdom's noblest princess made her feel as if her lifespan was visibly shrinking.
"N-n-n-not at all! It is my honor to serve Adventurers! I-I'll go hurry the kitchen along now!!"
Luna practically fled from the table on all fours, her retreating back radiating the sorrow of someone who had narrowly survived a catastrophe.
"She really works hard."
Deeply moved, Iris took a small sip of her juice.
"By the way, Kazuma-sama, Kōichi-sama, what is the Axel specialty you mentioned? Is it meat from some powerful monster?"
"Heh heh, great question!"
Kazuma snapped his fingers smugly.
"It's the very first trial that all rookie Adventurers must overcome! Its name is Fried Giant Toad Cutlet! A supreme delicacy with tender meat and a wild, untamed flavor!"
"G-Giant Toad?!"
Iris's eyes instantly lit up like two little stars.
"You mean the huge monster that can swallow a person whole? Wow! I've only ever seen it in illustrated guides in the Royal Library! So heroes usually eat things like that to recover their strength? Amazing!"
The moment Aqua, who was sitting across from her, heard the words "Giant Toad," her face went deathly pale.
But when Luna brought over the plate of fried toad cutlets, which were delicious enough to give Iris the illusion that commoner food was always this good, Iris's reaction completely shattered Kazuma's plan.
"Mmph! Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, with delicious juices bursting out when I bite into it... Is this the skill commoners have honed in order to survive?!"
Iris had even forgotten her princessly elegance. Her little cheeks were stuffed round, and her eyes curved into lovely crescents.
"This is ten thousand times more interesting than the palace meals that only chase refinement but have no soul! I can feel it. This is the taste of struggle!"
Watching Iris completely fall for Axel's cuisine, Kazuma's entire body seemed to turn gray.
He had been counting on the princess looking disgusted, then crying and begging to go back to the palace for foie gras.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, and even Aqua had let out a satisfied burp after freeloading some premium marbled beef, Iris-san's overflowing desire for adventure finally turned toward the Adventurers Guild's core area.
"Now that I've experienced commoner etiquette and food, next..."
Iris suddenly stood, her cloak swaying lightly with the movement.
Her eager eyes fixed straight on the Adventurers Guild's huge quest board, which was covered in requests of every color.
"I want to see with my own eyes how heroes bravely fight for the peace of the people! I want to see all of you in battle!"
Before Kōichi Hayashi and Kazuma could react, Iris had already slipped nimbly through the drunken crowd like a cheerful little deer and rushed to the quest board.
Her delicate hands moved over requests for cleaning sewers, finding lost cats, and harvesting cabbages. Finally, her gaze stopped on a piece of parchment that was slightly reddish and even marked with dried blood.
Riiip!
With the crisp sound of paper tearing free, Iris raised the quest slip high, turned around, and called out to Kōichi Hayashi and Kazuma.
"Everyone! I've decided! Let's go defeat this monster that looks incredibly powerful!"
Kōichi Hayashi narrowed his eyes to read the contents of the slip, and the corner of his eye twitched hard.
[Urgent Quest: Defeat the Enraged One-Punch Bear]
Target: One-Punch Bear. Possesses extremely high attack power and is currently in a state of extreme frenzy due to the influence of unknown magical power.
Danger Level: High. Recommended for Parties of Level 30 or higher.
Description: It has already attacked multiple lumberjacks outside the village. Its movements are extremely fast, and almost no one struck by it has survived.
"O-One-Punch Bear?!"
Kazuma's voice shot up eight octaves, and he sprang out of his chair.
"W-wait a second! Iris! That thing is no joke! It's called a One-Punch Bear because it can turn us into meat patties with one swing! It's on a completely different level from that dead toad on the plate!"
"Huh? But isn't Kazuma-sama Axel's number one hero?"
Iris tilted her head, her eyes filled with such pure admiration that it was impossible to refuse her.
"If it's a bear Kazuma-sama can defeat with one punch, then isn't that what One-Punch Bear means? I trust everyone's abilities one hundred percent!"
"..."
Kazuma's expression began rapidly switching back and forth between terror and the vanity of being admired by a beautiful girl.
"Iris-san, you certainly have an excellent eye."
Kōichi Hayashi kept his perfect bodyguard smile in place.
"However, prey on the level of a One-Punch Bear is rare even in Axel. If you want to see us in action, then you'd better be ready to have your eyes wide open today. After all..."
Kōichi Hayashi glanced at Aqua, who had already started shutting down in fear and was trying to pretend she was drunk in the corner, then at Darkness, whose face was flushing with excitement as she prepared to thrust out her chest and welcome the attack.
"...Our fighting style really is quite special."