Who Is the World’s Strongest Appraiser? ~Living in Another World With Satisfying Meals~

The Reason The Female Trainees Are Here

“Me? My parents told me to come here.”

“As for myself, Mother instructed me to come as well.”

In response to Yuuri’s question, Aroru and Ireissia both gave similarly straightforward answers. By the way, the question was, “What made you two join Scarlet Lynx?” Having previously asked the apprentice group, Kurresh and Lerei, as well as Jake and Tifaana, Yuuri had grown somewhat curious about the other members’ reasons.

In contrast to those two, Hermine hadn’t answered. Yuuri glanced at her briefly. The golden-haired beauty with pristine white wings—who could be called a top-tier ornamental angel when silent—pouted her lips in annoyance. Incidentally, Hermine was ornamental. The moment she opened her mouth, she turned into a mischievous little devil, which was problematic.

“I got dragged here by Frau, y’know?”

“Huh? Frau did? Why?”

Faced with Yuuri’s blank stare, Hermine flippantly waved her hand, as if to say explaining would be too much trouble. It wasn’t entirely impossible for an instructor to personally bring someone in. Yakk had directly negotiated with Ali and been accepted, while Magg had been “captured” (not wrong) by Brook. Considering that, Hermine being brought in by Frau wasn’t all that strange.

What bothered Yuuri was Hermine’s phrasing. It almost sounded like she hadn’t intended to come at all, and the way she said “dragged” was a little odd.

“I mean—I was just picking up random quests at the Adventurer’s Guild when Frau showed up next to me. When I said I wasn’t in a party, she just told me to follow her for the time being.”

“…Uh, Frau-san? I don’t really get Hermine’s explanation.”

“Well, the gist of it isn’t wrong.”

“It’s not?”

“Yeah.”

The scene in the hideout’s living room—Yuuri surrounded by two beauties and a ten-year-old tomboy—was already pretty normal, but today, Frau joined them in casual clothes since it was her day off. She usually wore pants, so seeing her in a skirt was rare. Though it was a tight, body-hugging skirt, she moved with such sharpness that it still made you want to call her “big sis”—she looked cool.

Sitting in an empty spot, Frau took over explaining the situation from Hermine. Her reasoning was very much what you’d expect from a big sis.

“You think it’s safe for a delicate, pretty girl like this to wander around alone?”

“Uh—”

“I could’ve handled myself just fine!”

“Your archery’s solid, but as an adventurer, there’s still a lot you don’t know. Winged folk are easy targets. You should at least learn the basics before going solo.”

“Ugh, fine.”

“Wow…”

The fact that she’d been allowed in for that reason was kind of impressive. Scarlet Lynx was a clan meant to teach rookie adventurers the basics and train treasure hunters. Normally, you couldn’t join unless you met the standards of Ali, the second leader. Hermine, brought in by Frau, was probably an exception.

Was there another reason, or had Ali just accepted Frau’s explanation? …Yuuri had a feeling it was the latter. Despite his intimidating looks and rough demeanor, Ali was actually pretty softhearted. Not that he’d ever admit it if you said so.

“Um, what do you mean winged folk are easy targets?”

“Hm? Well, look at them—they’ve got refined features. There are always creeps with ulterior motives.”

“Any guy who tries anything shady’s getting shot!”

“Uh, yeah. Hermine would mercilessly skewer them…”

“Damn right!”

The radiant smile on the beauty’s face as she declared this made Yuuri feel like something was off. Aroru was side-eyeing her too. Ireissia remained demurely silent, her usual gentle smile in place, but her gaze was pointed in a completely different direction. …Meanwhile, Frau nodded approvingly. Big sis was just too cool.

That said, while they were joking about it, this was a long-standing issue. Young, good-looking adventurers were already at risk just for their appearance—and it wasn’t limited to winged folk. The Adventurer’s Guild warned about it, but there were always unsavory types lurking around.

Thinking that far, Yuuri turned his gaze to Ireissia. If Hermine was like the sun, Ireissia was the moon—a quiet, graceful beauty. Her serene smile made her the picture of a pure, lovely maiden. As a bard, she wasn’t exactly combat-oriented, so wasn’t she in danger too?

“Ireissia, are you okay? You seem even more of a target than Hermine.”

“Hold up, Yuuri, what’s that supposed to mean? Sure, Ireissia’s pretty, but—!”

“Huh? Well, wouldn’t someone quiet like her seem less likely to fight back?”

“Mm… I guess. She doesn’t look like she’d be good in a fight.”

As Yuuri and Hermine nodded in mutual understanding, Ireissia smiled awkwardly. Their concern made sense given her delicate looks. But in reality, Ireissia had nothing to worry about.

“People don’t recklessly lay hands on merfolk.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. …Don’t know if it’s true, but they say touching a mermaid curses you.”

“”A curse…?””

Frau’s amused remark made not just Yuuri and Hermine but even Aroru pause. A curse? That sounded serious—and completely at odds with Ireissia’s gentle demeanor.

“It’s not as though we do anything ourselves. But we merfolk are all children of the Sea God.”

“Right.”

“To land-dwellers, incurring the Sea God’s wrath is said to be… terrifying.”

“Uh-huh…?”

“Legends say a nation that angered him once sank overnight. So, touching a mermaid is taboo. Not that some fools ignore that.”

The Sea God’s scary, Yuuri thought. Well, gods were scary. Their sense of morality was different—what seemed kind might not be at all. That kind of thing was probably common worldwide.

Still, as long as Ireissia was safe, that was good enough for Yuuri. The fewer risks his friends faced, the better. Especially someone as seemingly defenseless as Ireissia. …For some reason, he trusted that if Hermine got attacked, she’d either scream for help or fight back herself. Must’ve been a personality thing.

“So, Ireissia, what about you? Does your mom know Ali-san?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but Mother said she’d been helped by him before. When I said I wanted to travel as a bard, she told me to learn under Ali-san.”

“Huh. …Ali-san’s got some serious connections, huh?”

“I agree. My homeland is quite far from here.”

“Yeah. It’s the ocean, right?”

“Indeed.”

Yuuri nodded solemnly at Ireissia’s wistful words. The merfolk’s home was the sea, and here they were in the inland capital, Drahein. It was strange they’d even know each other with such distance between them.

Then again, Ali had probably met her during his active adventuring days. That wasn’t far off. Ali, Brook, and Leopold had once formed a party, and with three high-spec members, their range had been vast. As a result, their network was extensive—even if it wasn’t obvious now.

“I’m here to learn the bare minimum to protect myself and what it means to live as an adventurer.”

“Good luck.”

“Thank you.”

Ireissia smiled sweetly, and Yuuri responded with a soft grin. Their wholesome, carefree auras blended into something oddly soothing—the kind of space that made you want to smile along.

Meanwhile, Aroru, noticing her own expression softening, lightly pinched her cheeks. As a tomboy in that complicated preteen phase, grinning mindlessly went against her principles. She was a mature, cool kid, after all—she must’ve had her own standards.

“Speaking of, Aroru, you seem like you’ve got the basics down, since you take solo quests.”

“…I’m working on the social side.”

“Really?”

Yuuri looked surprised at Aroru’s muttered reply. She was a sharp-tongued tomboy, but compared to kids her age, she was mature and capable. That made it hard to believe she needed to learn social skills. Especially since she could hold her own against adults.

But that was precisely the problem. Aroru was still a ten-year-old girl. Talent aside, her age couldn’t be changed. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down—sometimes, acting your age was necessary.

And more than anything—

“I’ve never spent time with anyone outside my kin.”

“Your kin?”

“My clan. Everyone’s either a beast tamer or supports them, plus the familiars they control. My whole world was like that before I came here.”

That’s why, Aroru said matter-of-factly. Her clan was renowned for beast tamers, and she’d shown talent early. Raised by familiars since infancy, she’d never been good with people.

Not that she was bad at it—she could hold conversations with adults just fine. But with kids her age or younger, she became awkward. Maybe it was her bluntness, or how mature she seemed. Either way, she never fit in.

Worried, her parents had sent her to Scarlet Lynx to learn both adventuring basics and how to interact with “outsiders”. Lately, she’d been bantering with the apprentice group, but when she first arrived, she’d barely spoken—apparently unsure what to even say.

“So that’s why you’re a trainee, not an apprentice?”

“Yep. I’ve got the skills as a beast tamer. I can work fine.”

“I see. Everyone’s got their own story, huh?”

“Pretty sure you’re the exception to all exceptions.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Yuuri nodded solemnly at Aroru’s deadpan remark. He knew he was irregular by Scarlet Lynx’s standards. Not that he felt out of place or mismatched—even if his role was basically “housewife”, he was a member. Everyone knew that.

But objectively, his joining had been… unusual. Officially, he was a stray. Ali had taken him in as a lost child. Then, when his absurd skills came to light, he’d reluctantly stepped up as his guardian despite the headaches.

(…Since he picked him up, the chaos was his own fault. No one sympathized with his scoldings and complaints.)

“Well, whatever the reason, we’re all comrades now, right?”

“Quite right, Hermine.”

“Hermine, you do say sensible things sometimes.”

“Aroru, what’s that supposed to mean?! I always make sense!”

“Nah, you’re impulsive. And kinda spoiled.”

“Excuse me?!”

Though Hermine had said something reasonable, Aroru bluntly cut in while Ireissia nodded along. The sharp-tongued tomboy was in usual form, and Hermine’s outburst was equally typical. Less a real fight, more playful bickering—another form of socializing.

“You guys get along well, huh?”

“You calling that ‘getting along’ is kinda amazing.”

“Huh? But if you hated each other, you wouldn’t even talk, right?”

“…I see. Fighting means you acknowledge each other.”

“Yep.”

Frau chuckled at Yuuri’s cheerful declaration. She nodded, her usual cool expression in place—though she might’ve been thinking, Some people can’t even fight, they’re so estranged. To quarrel, you had to see the other person first.

Meanwhile, Hermine and Aroru’s lively argument continued, with Ireissia stuck between them, smiling helplessly but not interfering. She knew they weren’t really fighting.

Scarlet Lynx was, as always, perfectly peaceful.

Later, when Yuuri asked Ali why he’d let Hermine join, he said, “Seemed like she’d cause trouble if left alone”—making him realize how similar Ali and Brook were. Magg’s “capture” had been the same.