It's winter.
The entirety of this Magic City Sharia in the Kingdom of Ranoa is covered in snow.
Although the Magic University is currently being cleared, it is still dyed in pure white.
The roads between buildings are clear, but to get to places such as the back of the school building you have to clear it yourself.
It's that kind of season.
At that time, I received a letter.
The sender was [Soldat Heckler].
He's an S-ranked adventurer and the leader of the [Stepped Ladder] party.
During my time as an adventurer, I would join them from time to time.
He's a capable adventurer.
I'll take a look at the contents.
"Hmm."
According to the letter, Soldat and his party are coming to this town.
It seems that there is a clan meeting.
It seems that the clan [Thunderbolt], which [Stepped Ladder] is attached to, gathers in this town every few years.
The purpose of the meeting seems to be to plan the clan's future course of action.
For 2-3 months during winter, they decide their future plans after careful discussion.
It's a necessary event for a clan of this size.
Since Soldat's party is S-rank, he is one of the executives.
Thus, his absence wouldn't be permissible, and he had to come all the way to Ranoa.
Soldat and the clan leader have a bad relationship, so honestly he didn't want to come.
The next few months will be quite tedious.
While thinking that, he suddenly remembered me.
"Come to think of it, [Quagmire] is in this city as well," he thought.
No time like the present.
Soldat decided to take this opportunity to meet me for the first time in a while and get a bite to eat, so he sent me the letter.
Certainly, I had a decent relationship with Soldat.
However, it was not to the extent which after separating he would go out of his way and send a letter just for meeting and eating out.
I've always tried to be generous and good-natured, but I'm probably not the type of person that one would go to such lengths to meet.
If that's the case, his goal is probably Elinalise-san.
No choice, I'll have to bring her with me.
And then I'll show her being all lovey-dovey with Cliff, and make him have mixed feelings.
Thinking that, I told Nanahoshi that I'll be taking a break from assisting her experiments on next month's day off.
I tried inviting Fitts-senpai as well, but he said with a sad face that he can’t come on that day.
"Well, that day I must go out in the afternoon… as Ariel-sama’s bodyguard."
It's part of being a bodyguard.
Even when the rest of the world has a day off, he can't always take one himself.
Rather, when everyone has a day off he is extra busy.
It's like he is a corporate slave.[1]
Oh wait, saying he is a corporate slave is rude to Fitts-senpai.
Let me rephrase it as hard working.
Anyway, since our plans do not match, there’s nothing to be done.
I decided to take Cliff and Elinalise, and go to the Adventurer's guild.