Chapter 104 : Lifelong Request

「Eh? Boー I mean, Delica, do you want to go with us? Why?」(Mark)

Delica frowned when I asked her.

「You know there will be Skill Assessment in Sunday School soon, don’t you? My mom said if I didn’t have any combat skills, I wouldn’t be able to pass the exam to become a soldier, so I had no choice but to take over my family business…」(Delica)

Come to think of it, Delica will soon graduate from Sunday School.

Before graduation, the Church will appraise the children’s skills as reference for their future.

I thought Yuuri would be the one to take over their family business for sure since he was the son, but it seems I was wrong.

Well, I understand that Delica’s mom wants her daughter to have a safer job.

「If I go out, I’ll encounter monsters, right? If I experience something like that, I’m sure I’ll be stronger than I’m now.」(Delica)

「Umm… I don’t mind taking you with us, but you need to ask your parents’ permission first.」(Celine)

After Celine answered lightly like that, Delica rejoiced. Her ponytail swayed around as she jumped around.

「Really!? Yaay! I’ll definitely get my parents’ permission! I’ll use my lifelong request!」(Delica)

Delica clasped her first as she declared that.

Is a lifelong request that powerful?

In my previous life, the word “lifelong request” meant nothing. After all, people could just say, “This is my lifelong request!” as many times as they wanted when begging others.

「But this is a reconnaissance type of mission, so even if there are monsters attacking us, Mark and I will just kill them in one shot with magic, so you probably won’t have a chance to fight. Besides, you’re still learning swordsmanship, right?」(Celine)

「Still, I want to do everything I can before the Skill Assessment!」(Delica)

After seeing Delica’s desperate face, Celine and I looked at each other.

I don’t mind if she comes along, but I’ll be lying if I said that I’m not worried…

「Monsters are as scary as the bandits who attacked us last time, you know?」(Mark)

I remember Delica was trembling in fear when the bandits attacked us on our way home from Secard Village.

「Don’t worry! I’ve learned swordsmanship and gained some experience through practice!」(Delica)

Delica is now learning swordsmanship at a dojo in this town. She pays the monthly fee with her salary from working here.

However, fighting monsters for real is totally different from mock combat with a wooden sword.

Ahh… What should I do? Should I let her come along…?

When I was scratching my head while thinking, I heard Nicola’s voice in my head.

『Just let her come along. I’ll be going too, so I don’t think it will be a dangerous trip. Besides, Delica has become more and more mature these days, and I kinda want to see her growth.』(Nicola)

While wiping a nearby table, Nicola said that with telepathy.

『It’s for Delica’s sake too. If we defeat monsters and she levels up, she will get closer to her dream.』(Nicola)

『Level up…? What are you talking about? This is not a game.』(Mark)

『Well, yeah. It’s not something like games after all, but Onii-chan, you know very well that souls exist, don’t you?』(Nicola)

『Of course. I was once a soul when I was in heaven.』(Mark)

『Right. You know, when a monster dies, a small mixture of its soul remnant and its evil nature would be generated before its soul ascended to heaven entirely. The soul of the person who defeated the monster would absorb that mixture and get stronger, and the strength of the soul could affect the strength of the body.』(Nicola)

『So the stronger your soul is, the stronger your body will be?』(Mark)

『Exactly.』(Nicola)

『But when we went to the forest, I didn’t really feel like I had become stronger even though I killed so many goblins and kobolds. Is it because I killed them with range attacks?』(Mark)

『Distance doesn’t matter. You didn’t feel stronger because you were already very strong from the beginning. If you want to get stronger by killing goblins and kobolds, you have to kill all of the goblins and kobolds in this entire territory, you know?』(Nicola)

『Ahh… That seems like a lot of work…』(Mark)

『Moreover, the growth of your magical power is very fast. However, Delica is just an ordinary person, unlike you. She can definitely feel stronger to some extent even by just killing goblins.』(Nicola)

So I’m not normal, huh?

But if that’s the case, I feel like I should support Delica’s dream by letting her come along.

In my previous life, I had no particular dream for my future. I just went to college and worked in a black company until I died.

That’s why I want to support young people with admirable dreams like Delica.

「Alright, very well. I will protect Delica as best as I can. I won’t let her be in danger.」(Mark)

「Mark…」(Delica)

If she can level up by defeating monsters, perhaps I should let her kill the monsters while protecting her.

「Ara ara~ What a gentleman~ Mark is a boy after all. Fufu.」(Celine)

When Celine teased us, Delica turned her face away. Her ears looked somewhat red.

「So Celine, when are we leaving?」(Mark)

「Liza.」(Celine)

When I asked that, Celine turned to Liza who was staring at her empty plate.

「A, Ahh… Well, the sooner the better, so if possible, I’d like you to leave the day after tomorrow. And…」(Liza)

While saying that, Liza gently pushed her empty plate to me.

「Can I get more potato salad…?」(Liza)

「Sure.」(Mark)

After I took the additional potato salad out of my item box, Liza’s face shone.

I feel like feeding a cat or something, and it’s kinda fun actually.

Anyway, we will leave the day after tomorrow, huh?

That means, I have an entire day tomorrow to prepare.

I need to do something with my herbs and vegetables, and then prepare everything for the trip.

Looks like I’ll be very busy.

I should start preparing as soon as I finish helping my parents with the inn.