"Ohh...? Aren't those adventurers...?"
I turn to see where the coachman was pointing at and saw a group of adventurers. There were three of them, and they all seem to be waving at our direction.
Hm? I'm sure I've seen them before...
"Puhaa... haa...!"
They enthusiastically run towards us when we got closer. When I finally got a closer look at their faces, I realized that they were the same group of young adventurers who invited me to join their party before.
"Please, take us as well! We'll pay!"
"Sure, lads! Well, get on!"
The three of them got on the wagon as soon as they got the coachman's permission.
"Ah...!"
The black-haired boy, who seems to be their leader, made a strange noise as soon as he saw me. It looks like he recognizes me too, and the same goes for the other two.
"It's you..."
"The elf girl from the guild..."
They all addresses me as soon as they sat down on their seats in the wagon. Somehow, they chose to fit themselves on one side of the wagon, instead of having one of them share a seat with me.
"U-umm... Hello...! The weather is nice, isn't it?" the girl spoke to me first.
"Fufu... it is..." I smiled genuinely, seeing her try her best to talk. "Mm... did the three of you go out on a quest too?"
"Yes...! We did! Right guys?"
"Ye-yes! We did some goblin slaying!"
"We're still beginners, so it's really the only thing we can do..."
The three of them were all awkwardly speaking. It was the same as when I first met them back at the guild.
"I see... it must've been rough..."
From what I can see from their appearance, they really must have had a tough time completing their quest. Unlike when I first saw them, their equipment and clothing are now all dirty and scratched up.
"No-not at all! We defeated those goblins easily!"
"Umu...! They were so weak!"
They forcefully tried to conjure up a different story, but it's so obvious that they struggled against them.
"I see... well, even if they are goblins, they can still be tough to handle sometimes."
Goblins are as strong as human children, but with number, they can be troublesome. They can't be underestimated. Most people who have fallen into their clutches were the ones who let their guards down while fighting them.
"H-how about you... um..." the boy with black hair asked, stopping when he realized he didn't know my name yet.
"It's Eria..." I smiled and told them my name.
"Eria... san..." he shyly repeated, before asking again, "How about you, Eria-san... did you go out on a quest too?"
"Umu... I just defeated it this morning," I nodded.
"It?"
"What monster did you defeat, um... Eria-san?" this time, it was the girl who asked again.
"Mm? Wanna see?"
"Huh...?"
"See...?"
The three of them looked confused, obviously not understanding what I mean. Well, it's not like I can blame them...
"Here..."
I placed the box I'm holding further on my lap and presented it to them.
"That is?"
"A box? What's that got to do with..."
Now they're staring rudely at me. They must be thinking I'm stupid or something. "There's no way a monster can fit in a small box like that," I can see on their faces that it's what they're thinking.
To be honest, I really only wanted to show them the box, and not reveal to them what's inside it... but after seeing them act like that...
Feeling a bit disrespected, I decided to open the box and show them its contents. I know, it's childish...
"Huh...? Isn't that a... a lizard?"
"No... that is! Th-that's a Basilisk!"
While the boy with black hair failed on guessing what it was, the other boy in their group successfully did.
"Oh...! Bingo! You're good!" I complimented him.
"Eh...? Hehe... is that so?" he shyly replied. "I've seen it in a picture book before..."
"Umu... this one is a Basilisk."
The large lizard, which can grow in unimaginable length, is now only about a few inches long. It's also encased in a sphere of ice, allowing it to be preserved and not deteriorate.
"But... but how come it's so small?"
"Mm... can you give me your sword?"
"Sure...!"
The black-haired boy did not even hesitate to hand his sword over to me. Well, for that, I'll give him a good show...
"Eh...?"
"Ehh!?"
With some sort of crazy sound effects, the sword suddenly shrinked down. It was now just about the size of my fingers, and I'm able to hold it on top of my palm.
"A-Amazing...!"
"So there's magic like this...!?"
The group of youngsters exclaimed their thoughts cheerfully. I felt proud of myself after seeing their reactions. Although I don't really like showing off, I think it's not too bad to do it every now and then as well.
"It's a spell called Mass Morph. You see, the fairies taught it to me before... and I've been using it like this ever since."
"The fairies...?"
"Can you shrink anything you want with it?"
The girl widened her eyes as soon as she heard about the fairies. She seems to be interested in them. The two boys, on the other hand, were only interested in questioning me more about the spell's capabilities.
"Can it?" they enthusiastically asked again.
"Fufu... Not at all... I can only use it on objects with a certain amount of mass... If it's any bigger or heavier than a house, I won't be able to shrink it. Of course, I also can't shrink any living things as well."
I can't use it to shrink any living creatures, with the exception of myself. With that possibily, it could have been even more useful, but... being small is actually not an as easy thing to get used to. You will need to spend a lot of time to adjust your senses at the first time, and it's another thing to completely master it to consistently do so every time.
"This is amazing... look, Kai! Your sword is so small now...!"
"Fufu... it's about that same size as your wiener now...!"
"O-oi!" the black-haired boy shouted, flustered red from the teasing of his female companion.
So that's his name? Kai? I forgot... I haven't even asked them what their names were...
"Pl-please forget you heard that, Eria-san...! It's not like that at all!"
"Mm? Are you worried? Don't worry, you're still young, I'm sure it'll grow still," I innocently smiled at him. "If it didn't... it's still average..."
"Fufufu..."
"Tha-that's harsh..."
"To hear those words from such a pretty elf who looks just a bit older than me is..." I can hear the black-haired boy, Kai, mumble in defeat.