“Well then, that’s how it is, so we’re going to wait for Phonia at the inn.”

“...Huh?”

The man who had been angry just moments ago turned serious, seemingly not expecting to actually be ignored.

“Wait, hey!?”

He called out to us as we passed him, but we ignored him.

“A little kid like that couldn’t possibly make it back alone!?”

Sure, she’s small, but she’s still a five-tailed fox spirit. And with Nir by her side, she might just be the strongest one around, including all the adventurers here.

“Ah, Ivan-nii!”

As we were shrugging it off and heading toward the inn, Phonia’s voice came from behind us, even further back than the man. Looks like she had already come outside.

When I turned around, the man also turned to face her, visibly surprised.

I thought she’d be held up and not come out so quickly, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Those guys... what the hell are they doing!?”

He muttered under his breath in irritation. Looks like he’s upset that Phonia came out on her own—maybe because his buddies failed to delay her?

With arms spread wide, the man slowly approached Phonia.

“...It’s dangerous to come out alone. Didn’t I say I’d bring someone to pick you up?”

Well, the person who came to pick her up is standing right here, but I guess he’s saying that on purpose. I glance at Ivan, but he doesn’t seem interested in pointing that out.

“Muu... I can get back all by myself!”

Phonia protested with puffed cheeks while hugging Nir in her arms in front of her chest. Looking at her like this, she really does just look like a kid holding a stuffed animal.

And perhaps because a child like Phonia appeared, a few onlookers had gathered to see what was going on.

“It’s dangerous outside, so let’s go back inside for now.”

“No! ...Mister, are you trying to get in my way too?”

For a brief moment, a dangerous gleam flashed in Phonia’s eyes. The man didn’t notice it at all as he reached out to her. But Phonia dodged swiftly, then slammed into him with a shoulder tackle.

“GUHOHHHHHH!!”

With a strange cry, the man was blown back about three meters. Seeing the small-bodied Phonia knock him flying drew murmurs from the surrounding crowd.

“I told you it was none of your business, didn’t I?”

“...!”

I said this to the man, who had rolled to my feet, but he couldn’t speak as he clutched his chest. Phonia’s hit must’ve packed quite a punch. Maybe he’s just not trained enough.

“Onii-chan!”

Noticing me, Phonia happily wagged her tail and came running over.

“Wafuu!”

Nir looked like he wanted to be praised too, but I’m sure he had been watching over Phonia properly.

“Welcome back, Phonia.”

“Dessert!”

Ignoring Ivan’s words, the first thing out of Phonia’s mouth as she ran straight to me was that. I’m glad dessert got her motivated, but it does make normal conversation difficult.

“Ahahaha! Welcome back, Phonia-chan.”

While Ivan groaned in frustration, Rio patted Phonia’s head. I reached out and gave Nir’s neck a thorough fluffing.

“Haha. Well then, shall we head back for dinner and dessert?”

“Yeah! I didn’t get caught by anyone!”

“Ohh, I see, I see. That’s impressive.”

Phonia puffed out her chest proudly and told us how she had escaped. Though none of us had thought she’d get caught in the first place, we all listened with indulgent smiles.

Summing up her story: as soon as she left the guild, that guy approached her. Since he was someone she’d seen before and offered her food, she followed him to a cheap tavern.

“From now on, if someone you know talks to you, make sure to check in with us.”

“Right. We can always talk through telepathy.”

“Okay... got it!”

“Telepathy’s seriously amazing...”

Ivan sounded exasperated, and I totally agreed. It doesn’t work across great distances, but several kilometers was no problem. And if you combine it with spatial magic, it can cover even more. By marking a person instead of coordinates, you could communicate across space regardless of distance. Actually, we still don’t even know if there’s a limit when used like that.

“Welcome back.”

Before we knew it, Miss Lyla was already waiting in front of the inn.

“We’re back.”

“Your meal is ready. What would you like to do?”

“Food!”

Before I could think about it, Phonia’s voice rang out. Lyla looked to me for confirmation, so I nodded.

“Ufufu, understood. I’ll bring your meals to your room.”

With that, Lyla silently returned inside the inn.

“I’m starving—food, food.”

“Harahetta~”

We did eat lunch, but since we’d been working in the mines all day, we were plenty hungry. Thanks to Ivan and Phonia being around, I didn’t get so immersed I forgot to eat or sleep, but we had still spent quite a bit of time down there.

...Still, maybe I should be more careful from now on, at least for Phonia’s sake, if not Ivan’s.