We had to turn back and head back to the village to alert the guildmaster that one of the orphanages charges has managed to escape his grasp somehow.

As for the little escapee?

He had at first resisted, insisting they keep going.

There's no reason, they would be fine without him!

The others would do just fine!

He was an orphan, no one would notice!

He's already 11!

Please!

Pretty please!

He promises he'll be good!

We ignored him of course. In spite of his claims, the boy had already left a hole in that village, if the anxious looks shared on that last day were any indication.

Even if they did want to take him along, they couldn't just take him, lest the village go crazy looking for the brat.

The boy settled down eventually, giving up, and instead turning his focus back to the inside of the carriage, and promptly ran crazy.

It was... amusing.

Seeing the more calm, reserved child be dragged around by the loud excitable one. A familiar sight I used to see as I surveyed my own territory.

Why, I even used to be the excitable child, dragging Maria out of her miserable old room.

It's funny to think I was the energetic one, and she, the reserved one.

Could you imagine that?

[Yes. You just infected her.] Stolidus said pointedly.

Infect is not the right word. I merely encouraged her to be more active, and not to be so shut in.

[Yes, infect.]

Whatever.

The kids were limited in what they could do in the carriage. The carriage may have been the size of a small cottage on the inside, but there is only so much one can do with a space of that size.

They were forbidden from playing tag, likely to avoid any incidents of falling out of the carriage as it moved along.

They played multiple games of hide-and-seek, with the rounds ending relatively quickly

----------------------------------------

The villagers were very relieved to see their lost child.

They were so relieved that they even hugged him before smacking him over the head and launching into a good scolding.

Lenore and I got called into the adventurer's guild to talk with the guildmaster.

The rumored A-class elf, occasionally spoken about in the circles of nobles. I'd never really talked to the man before.

This'll certainly be interesting.

----------------------------------------

Tiel was a rather withdrawn man, and a rather similar scenario he had encountered before.

Many guild masters who were retired adventurers were like this.

None of them really wanted to remain in the adventurer business, but were "convinced"

In the case of Tiel, he had been pursued for centuries, and only through great efforts had he managed to fade into obscurity.

I knew him because he was a friend of my grandfather, a story I often heard from the older servants who had stuck around.

And he was just as they had described.

Calm, and collected. He felt less like an adventurer, and more like a nobleman, and apparently, he who always stood in stark contrast to grandfather, that wild bastard.

According to others of course. I only met him when I was really young, don't have many memories of him.

I was currently meeting Tiel alone, as Servante and Lenore had came in first, and I afterwards.

I was curious why they discussed things separately from me, but I assume its classified stuff.

Putting down his teacup, the elven guildmaster spoke.

"I must thank you for looking after Leon for me. I apologize, he can be quite the troublemaker."

'The child was of no problem to me. Leon is excitable, but he is a bundle of joy.'

Tiel nodded as he heard this. "Yes he is.

Chuckle

" We found a note written by him hidden in the kitchen, announcing his plans. By the time we had realized he had snuck on board your carriage, you were already long gone. I was considering sending a message to any upcoming towns on your passage, but thankfully he has returned safely."

'Indeed.'

The guildmaster tapped the chair as he spoke carefully.

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"I do have a favor I'd like to ask of you, sir..."

'Earl'

The elf's eyebrows shot up. "What an interesting name." he commented.

'I was named by an interesting man.'

One of grandfather's jokes apparently.

Tiel chuckled. "It certainly sounds like it."

Tiel said it straight. "I want you to watch over Leon."

Huh, I thought I would have to fight with him to bring a kid with us, but it now seems we'll be doing the opposite.

'That hardly seems safe guild master. You must recognize the danger traveling with a high elf being escorted to the secret kingdom is. To request me to bring a child along is practically inviting danger to the child. The priorities of the knights are-'

"-Not whom I am asking." Tiel interrupted. "I'm asking you to protect the child. I understand you have a contract to assist and protect the high elf child, but between the two of us, I think you understand that your efforts will not be as productive as theirs."

'Perhaps, but I do not believe that bringing another child would be conducive to this issue and may even increase the difficulty of the mission. An extra child is an extra burden. Say nothing of the excess danger to the child'

I deadpan, because there's no reason for me to bring an extra burden, and there's no reason for Tiel to encourage to bring a child with me into a danger zone. I get what he's suggesting, but I want to know why.

I'm already being paid well enough, with the 6 gold, more than enough for a turtle who no longer needs clothes and now has a shop based off of me killing things decreasing the value of money for me.

The elf guildmaster sighed. "Normally, you'd be correct, and that this would be too dangerous for the child, but in his case, this is for his own good."

That causes me to perk my ears.

For his own good?

'What makes you think so? From what I understand, he's an orphan. His whole life is here. There's no good reason for him to leave now, much less his own good.'

He can afford to wait and train until he's reached an appropriate age.

Tiel looks out the window as he uses his stir spoon to mix a little sugar into the tea.

"Leon is a bright energetic child. A little too energetic actually." he murmured as he chuckled.

"Usually, for the orphans, we raise them here for a good few years until they reach 18, whereupon we send a group of adventurers out with the young elves, where they will begin to learn about the outside world under the guidance of the older adventurers, before the old adventurers return home, leaving the orphans in the city with the necessary knowledge to survive."

Tiel paused.

"That was the plan for Leon."

He sighed, as exhaustion could be heard, practically pouring out of every word.

"This is the tenth time he's attempted to leave the village early."

Tenth!

Seeing my surprised expression, Tiel laughed. "Yes, ten." he affirmed. "He's gotten better at hiding and escaping each time, getting further and further away from the village. It just so happened that this time you were the perfect escape in his eyes."

Yes, it would've been the perfect escape, given the carriage is pulled by monsters, it's faster than the average. He probably went farther than he did than any of the last 9 times.

Still.

'He couldn't have thought he'd escape the eyes of the royal guard did he? They are B-rank, regardless of their own individual faults. There's no way he thought he could escape a group of B-ranks, much less A-ranks!'

To this, Tiel gave a pinched sour smile.

No.

'Has he perhaps...?'

"Yes, he's managed to avoid my eyes more than once before. It's been something of a small miracle really."

Ah.

So he wasn't let on, he just genuinely managed to escape onto the carriage.

Wow.

We found him eventually of course, but that's likely due to the fact that he was locked inside the carriage, unlike the forest, with less space to maneuver.

Tiel continued to talk.

"Unfortunately, it's become quite clear that Leon desires to leave, and at this point, I don't know how much longer we'll be able to keep him here, much less until the day he reaches 18. The only thing more dangerous than him going with you would be for the child to escape on his own and ending up in a bigger city without guidance. I'm sure you understand that the real danger in cities doesn't involve escaping monsters."

Indeed, it's true that in big cities, the real danger is stranger danger, especially for elves, much less ones who were children.

I could see where he's going.

'Could you not just have an adventurer leave early and take Leon with them?'

Tiel shrugged. "We considered that," he admitted "but that idea was shut down once we realized how difficult it would be to keep track of him. I'm better at keeping an eye on such a child, but I'm an A-rank. How many elves could we send to keep an eye on one child before it becomes crippling for this village? This village is mostly comprised of retired elven adventurers and young ones training to head to bigger cities. "

He indicated outside.

"You have two very educated B-rank elven knights who can keep an eye on Leon. And you." he said as he indicated towards me.

"You're quite observant for a low rank turtle monster. While others have a hard time keeping an eye on the kid, you've been better than most."

I can agree with that.

As a noble who personally went to clear out the bandits on my own, I often had A-ranks under my command, and even fought a few on my own; as a result I've gotten good at keeping an eye on those who like to slink away.

Tiel's not wrong. However...

'You haven't acknowledged the danger the child would face.'

"Of course not. After all, you're there." he said simply, much to my confusion.

'What does that mean?'

tap

The clinking of ceramic could be heard as he put down the teacup.

His eyes bore into me.

"Cannonball." he said, as unease rose in me as I figured out what he meant.

'hmm?'

I play dumb.

It's ineffective.

"You were the one who's been disrupting the forest recently in the last few weeks, haven't you?" he said, with such assurance that I cannot help but agree.

'Yes.'

Damn adventurer intuition.

He nodded.

"You're not very old from what I can tell, nor very strong currently, but you've grown exceptionally fast. I couldn't find any particular monster that matches your two heads or the two vines that protrude from that little sapling on your back, but I can think of a certain turtle monster that grows here: moss turtles. And those have only begun hatching in the last 2-3 months. In that time you've managed to reach the point of being able to fight multiple C-ranked adventurers and communicating with humans."

He narrowed his eyes.

"It's very suspicious, I must admit; but if you had any negative intent you wouldn't have helped the child in the first place. The plan of those rogue elves would've went that much smoother, especially with your aid."

This one is smart. A little too smart.

Well, considering how he's managed to avoid nobility troubles, I suppose that fits.

'Is that enough for you to bet on?'

I ask, making sure he is sure of his choice.

Tiel nodded without hesitation.

"It benefits you too you know."

Hmm?

'And how is that?'

"When the high elf is escorted back to the secret kingdom of the elves I doubt they'll let you in. You'll likely be turned away at the boat, alongside Leon. Monsters without collars aren't allowed to run rampant in most cities, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to have Leon act as your faux master. With the many misconceptions about elven lifespan, they'll be more wary of him and you, and the two of you could enjoy exploring the empire for a long time. You are both long lived after all."

That's not a bad plan actually. Quite convincing actually, and quite cunning to seal the deal with that.

'Very well then, as long as you have gained permission from the other two, I agree.'

I extend my vine, shaking Tiel's hand to indicate my consent.

Money would be valuable, but truthfully, the ability to use the child as a cover for my existence in cities was far more useful than any piece of gold they could offer me.

Tiel smiled as he sipped his tea.

"Wonderful. Then, before we talk about payment, I wanted to give you a weapon."

'A weapon?'

What's this about a weapon.

"Yes, I couldn't help but notice the closest thing you have to a weapon are those vines and spells, however, if you're going to assist in the protection of the high-elf child, I think it be appropriate if I give you an appropriate weapon, yes? It would be useful in protecting Leon as well."

I'll admit, a bit beyond my expectation.

'Sure, I suppose.'

It went even further beyond my expectations when I saw...

"This belonged to an old adventurer friend of mine..."

Grandfather's spear!?