Inside the Golden Pavilion Tavern.

  Hulim Heyerar sat with the four members of the Silver Party, waiting for their food to be served from the kitchen. All the while, for some reason, her gaze kept drifting to Eileen.

  “Um... Is there something on my face?”

  Noticing Hulim’s stare, Eileen touched her cheek, looking confused.

  “......”

  Hulim hesitated for a moment, then decided to ask, “Miss Eileen, have we met somewhere before?”

  “Hm?”

  Eileen blinked in surprise, then leaned in to study Hulim’s face carefully. “Now that you mention it... you do look familiar to me too...”

  “You know, Hulim looks just like—”

  “Familiar? Hey hey! Eileen, are you and this... ahem! Miss Hulim from the same hometown or something?”

  Russell cut in abruptly, and Frots, who had been interrupted mid-sentence, fell silent again without a word.

  “No, I don’t think I have any hometown kin like you,” Eileen shook her head. “But I really do feel like I’ve seen you somewhere.”

  “Hm... Where on earth could we have crossed paths...”

  As Eileen wracked her brain, a spark of recognition suddenly lit up in Hulim’s mind, a fragment of memory surfacing clearly.

  “Ah... I remember now.”

  It was years ago,

  on a journey where they had ridden the same stagecoach. This mage girl had fought alongside her against a goblin ambush—and her skills had left a faint impression, one that Hulim had never quite forgotten.

  “Miss Eileen, are you from the Pasara Empire?”

  “Huh? Yes! I am!”

  “From the Leicester County?”

  “That’s right! How did you know? Could it be... we really are from the same place?”

  “No, Miss Eileen. You’ve probably forgotten, but we did ride the same coach once. We fought off a goblin attack together that day.”

  “Ah——!”

  Eileen shot to her feet in shock.

  “I remember now! You were that impossibly strong little girl back then!”

  “?”

  Impossibly strong... Was I?

  Hulim thought to herself. I’m pretty sure the adventurers on the coach did most of the work, didn’t they?

  Just as Hulim wondered if their memories of that day differed wildly, Eileen’s face lit up with delight.

  “What a coincidence! I’ve always regretted not asking for your name back then. I never dreamed we’d meet again like this~!”

  “It truly is the bond shared by all adventurers, isn’t it?” Lucien smiled warmly.

  “What? You two are old friends then?!” Russell gaped in surprise.

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  “Old friends? I suppose we are, in a way!” Eileen nodded, then turned to Hulim. “By the way, Hulim—tell us about yourself! Did you come to Bongisto all alone?”

  “I did come alone...” Hulim replied. “What exactly would you like to hear about, Miss Eileen?”

  “Just call me Eileen! No need for formalities.”

  “Hm......”

  “Eeee—ileen——!” Eileen whined playfully.

  “......Very well then, Eileen.”

  “Mmm! That sounds so much better! First, tell us about your trip to Bongisto! Then we’ll share our stories with you too!”

  “Hey! You two can’t just hit it off and forget all about me! I’m the one paying for this meal, y’know! Show some respect to the person footing the bill!”

  “Russell, really now......”

  “Your order is ready, ladies and gentlemen!”

  A tavern server approached their table, balancing several trays in his hands.

  “Ah! Thank you!”

  Once the food was set before them, Hulim stared at the gleaming golden platter in front of her—and finally understood why it was called the Golden Feast Set.

  It really did shimmer like liquid gold.

  She wondered what the Golden Bee Honey tasted like......

  With that thought, she picked up her fork, speared a piece of food from the plate, and took a bite.

  The moment the food touched her tongue,

  a soft, sweet, and tender flavor burst across her palate.

  It was meat, yet it tasted as if it had been soaked thoroughly in honey—retaining its original savor while adding a fresh, natural sweetness. Most importantly, the meat, which would normally be tough and chewy, had become incredibly tender after soaking, falling apart at the lightest bite......

  Watching Hulim’s expression, Eileen smiled and said, “See? It’s absolutely delicious, isn’t it~!”

  “The cooking technique here is masterful,” Hulim nodded in admiration.

  “That’s why this place is so popular~! It’s a bit pricey, but after a long, exhausting quest, eating something this good makes all the weariness fade away in an instant!”

  “And besides that, this tavern has an amazing selection of drinks. Would you like a glass?” Lucien held up his wineglass, gesturing to the drink inside. The beverage, called Shooting Star Nectar, had a rainbow hue, with tiny bubbles popping constantly on its surface, turning into glowing specks that drifted back down into the glass—just like a miniature shooting star, a drink whose name perfectly matched its appearance.

  “Thank you, but I don’t drink alcohol.”

  “Lucien, don’t try to get an underage girl to drink......” Eileen sighed, exasperated.

  “Ah! My apologies, my apologies!”

  “It’s quite all right, Mr. Lucien. No need to apologize.”

  “Hulim, you’re far too kind. But like Eileen said, just call us by our first names. We’re all adventurers—we prefer to keep things casual.”

  “I understand. I’ll do that from now on.”

  “Good.”

  Lucien smiled, then added, “By the way, our conversation got cut off earlier. Could you tell us again about your journey to Bongisto?”

  “I could, but there really isn’t much to say. I traveled here via a fast means of transportation.”

  “Fast transportation? Is it some kind of rare vehicle?”

  “You could say that. It’s indeed very uncommon......”

  “Also, I don’t plan to stay in Bongisto for long. I’m here mainly to take the High-Rank Adventurer certification exam.”

  “Eh——!?! ”

  “High-Rank certification?! ”

  Both Eileen and Lucien stared at her in shock.

  Frots’s expression didn’t change at all, while Russell’s eyes darted away nervously.

  “Is this for real? You’re not even an adult yet—wait a minute?”

  Eileen frowned, her brow creasing with thought.

  “......Hulim? Why does that name sound so familiar......”

  After a brief pause,

  “Ah——!”

  Eileen finally realized where she had heard that name before.

  “You’re Hulim Heyerar! The prodigy who’s the youngest High-Rank powerhouse in the world?!”

  “That’s her? Right! I remember now too! The youngest champion in the history of the Royal Martial Tournament!”

  Prompted by Eileen, Lucien also recalled Hulim’s true identity.

  “Actually, I was going to remind you two earlier......” Frots said quietly from the side.

  “Huh? Frots, you knew this whole time?! Why didn’t you say something sooner? Now we’re all embarrassed!”

  “......”

  “Never mind that——”

  Eileen turned to glare at Russell, who was sitting off to the side.

  “Russell, don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”

  Russell’s eyes darted around, avoiding Eileen’s gaze, and muttered under his breath, “How was I supposed to know she was that strong? Who’d have thought some random kid I ran into would be such a big shot......”

  “Russell, honestly......”

  Eileen sighed in exasperation.

  “Can’t you spend more time doing what an adventurer should do instead of stirring up trouble everywhere? Why do you always end up picking fights with people you shouldn’t? Can’t you at least bother to learn who you’re messing with before you start? Do you even care about the news circulating among adventurers?”

  “Don’t talk nonsense! Of course I care about adventurer gossip!” Russell retorted loudly, indignant. “No one in the entire Bongisto knows more gossip than I do! Which party members are secretly dating? Who’s stuck in a love triangle? I know it all!”

  “......”

  A deathly silence fell over the table at once.

  And not just their table—it seemed like the volume of the entire tavern dropped a notch or two in an instant......