She remained as downcast as ever, but the other two and I turned our faces toward the cheers.

At some point, a crowd had formed, blocking our view from here.

I slightly increased my altitude to get a better look…

“Oh, it’s Alec.”

Not just Alec—members of the Second Squad, who had been stationed in the dungeon, had also returned.

There were about twenty of them in total.

And they weren’t empty-handed; they were dragging heavy-looking containers.

Those were used to transport supplies for the Knight Order stationed inside the dungeon. When squads rotated out, they would bring the containers back, but since they were supposed to be empty, they shouldn’t be that heavy.

Which means… did they bring back defeated monsters without destroying their cores, transporting the corpses inside the containers?

That would explain the excitement.

As I floated there watching, Alec gave some sort of instructions to his subordinates.

They followed his orders and headed toward the dismantling area in the back, while Alec himself walked toward us.

On his way, the adventurers around him patted his head and back enthusiastically… They haven’t been drinking, right?

They’re this hyped up while sober?

“Yo, Sera. Working hard?”

I was a bit overwhelmed by the unnecessary excitement around us, but Alec spoke to me as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Oh… yeah. I’m doing my job properly. That was quite the excitement just now.”

“We brought back what we took down. You need the right equipment and enough people to transport that kind of volume. The squad rotation just happened to coincide with a monster surge, so it wasn’t planned… but it worked out.”

Alec grinned, seemingly pleased with the results.

As he said, transporting dungeon monsters was hard labor.

Dungeon monsters were supposedly better suited for use in magical tools, but the difference wasn’t drastic. In a place like this, where hunting grounds were nearby, most people opted for the easier method.

Even if the number of monsters transported in one trip was small, the sheer number of adventurers hunting them meant that, on a daily basis, the total yield was significant.

Thinking about it that way, it made sense why everyone got so excited when they saw that much being brought back.

Before I knew it, a crowd had gathered, and questions about what kind of monsters they had transported flew back and forth. But after a while, that excitement settled down.

Most of the people here had planned to head into the dungeon anyway, and seeing the haul in person must have fired up their motivation.

When one person started running toward the dungeon, others followed suit.

Alec chuckled at the sight, but he soon left, saying he had reports and other work to take care of.

Before long, the lobby emptied out, leaving only a few groups, including the three-woman party from earlier.

With most adventurers gone and work settling down, I was thinking about calling it a day when the woman who had been slumped over finally lifted her head and spoke.

“Hey, Sera, Vice Captain.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Isn’tCaptain Alexio’s wife a noble?”

“Elena? Yeah, she is. …You’re not thinking of having an affair, are you?”

Back when he was single, maybe, but he’s married now.

If she tried anything, it wouldn’t just be Elena—Seriana would probably get involved too.

“No, that’s not it…”

She sighed deeply and dropped her head back onto the table.

I glanced at the other two. They weren’t slumped over like she was, but their expressions were just as troubled.

…What’s going on?

◇

That night.

I was reporting to Seriana about what happened at the Adventurer’s Guild during the day, and I ended up mentioning that female adventurer party.

I couldn’t figure out why they had suddenly lost their enthusiasm at the end… Maybe they had something on their minds?

That’s what I was thinking.

Though, I wasn’t sure if Seriana—a purebred noblewoman—would be able to understand an adventurer’s worries.

“…A female adventurer party, huh? Their names were on the list of notable adventurers. Well, I can think of a few reasons for their concerns.”

“Really!?”

“They asked about Elena, didn’t they? Male adventurers, if they have enough skill, can marry noblewomen and become nobles themselves. Just like Alec and Luban. But for female adventurers, that’s almost impossible.”

“…Oh.”

That did make sense.

Alec and Luban were both skilled, dependable, and—more simply—handsome.

There were plenty of beautiful female adventurers, too, but the women from earlier… They weren’t ugly, and they were certainly above average, but were they the kind of women a noble heir would defy social barriers to propose to…?

“They cut their hair short because it gets in the way, right?”

Seriana reached out and ran her fingers through my hair as she spoke.

“Ah… yeah, now that you mention it.”

All three of them had short hair.

It suited them, in my opinion, but… given noble standards in this world, that might be enough to disqualify them outright.

Long hair was cumbersome, and short hair was more practical, but still…

“Maybe they’re starting to have doubts about their future as adventurers? So, even a small thing could make them feel discouraged. Their future is their choice, but… female adventurers skilled enough to meet our standards are rare. Maybe I should think of something.”

With a sigh, Seriana fell into deep thought.

For male adventurers, there were several clear paths to success.

But what about female adventurers?

Women’s social advancement… It wasn’t easy in this world.

It’s not like women were treated as inferior, but there was still a strong expectation that they should take care of the household.

Becoming an adventurer was the most straightforward option for independence, but it came with its own issues.

As the highest-ranking woman in this territory, Seriana had to consider things like this too.

What a tough job…

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Sera ・【Hideout】+1 【Prayer】 【Mira’s Blessing】 【Wind’s Garment】 ・【Floating Orb】+1 【Shadow Sword】 【Scarlet Bee Needle】 【Fairy’s Eye】 【Dragon’s Lung】 【Amber Sword】 【Danrem’s Thread】 【Serpent’s Tail】 【Ankle Bracelet】 【Amber Shield】 【Purple Wings】 ・15 cards

Seriana ・【Area Identification】 ・【】 ・28 cards

Elena ・【】 ・【Green Fang】 【Amber Sword】 ・4 cards

Alec ・【Power Strike】 ・【Red Shield】 【Fierce Horned Trumpet】 ・8 cards