Chapter 2: I’m Giving Up on Being an Adventurer
“Gyahahahaha! Home Gardening!? What even is that!? That’s hilarious!”
Worst day ever.
Not only did I fail to receive the gift I’d been hoping for—but right afterward, she found out about it too.
The vulgar girl laughing her lungs out without a hint of restraint was my childhood friend, Anii.
A red-haired woman with a short crop, and—just as you can see—the kind of rotten personality who takes delight in other people’s misfortunes.
We were born only a few months apart, but since the Divine Descent Festival fell between our birthdays, she received her blessing a year before I did.
When I told Sena about my newly granted Gift just now, Anii happened to be nearby and overheard everything. Apparently, she had noticed us and was just about to call out when she caught the whole thing.
“You shouldn’t say that, Anii. It’s blasphemous to mock the gods’ blessings,”
The one who gently scolded her was not a goddess—though she might as well have been—but a silver-haired beauty.
That was Shifa-san.
She was three years older than me—eighteen—and lived in the same neighborhood as Anii, so we had known each other for a long time.
“And it’s disrespectful to Geo, too,”
She rarely showed emotion, but as always, she spoke with the calm authority of an older sister, reprimanding Anii properly.
I should’ve felt grateful for that… yet instead, I found myself sinking deeper into embarrassment.
Because—well—Shifa-san was the very reason I’d wanted to become an adventurer in the first place.
In short, I had feelings for her—
“Too bad, huh? Looks like you won’t be going on any adventures with Shifa~”
Anii leaned in close, whispering into my ear with a snicker.
“W-What!? How do you—!?”
“Oh, please. It’s so obvious if you just watch you two for five seconds.
“~~~~~!!”
Of all the people in the world, she was the last one I wanted to find out!
Shifa-san was already an adventurer.
She apparently possessed a rare Gift called [Empress’s Radiance], and even at her age, she was respected among other adventurers.
Anii was also an adventurer, part of the same party as Shifa-san.
Her Gift was [Hunter’s Instinct]—not especially rare, but extremely useful for adventuring.
Well, I didn’t really care about her.
I just thought… if I became an adventurer too, maybe I could be with Shifa-san more often.
It was a selfish, impure reason—but it was enough to drive me forward.
And yet… [Home Gardening]?
No matter how you looked at it, that was not a Gift suited for an adventurer.
As I slumped in despair, Shifa-san offered me a few comforting words.
“Don’t worry. If you use it well, it’ll surely be useful. A Gift’s worth depends on how you wield it.”
“Y-Yes…”
What really depressed me wasn’t the strange Gift I’d received—it was knowing that I probably wouldn’t get to fight or adventure alongside you.
…Not that I could ever say that out loud.
In fact, it might have been easier if Anii had just kept laughing her head off.
“…Onii-chan.”
A small hand tapped my shoulder. Sena’s expression was solemn—unusual for her. She was clearly trying to cheer me up.
“Sena…”
“Think you can actually feed me with that Gift?”
“What the hell are you even worried about, you brat?”
“I’m not a brat~”
I should’ve known better than to expect anything from you.
“So, Sena-chan,” Anii turned to her, “what kind of Gift did you get?”
Of course, the three of us had known each other since childhood.
“Me? It’s something called [Blessing of the Sword God], or whatever.”
“Wha—”
Anii froze.
“T-That’s amazing! That’s a super rare Gift!”
“I’m astonished. It’s the same one the legendary Sword Saint had.”
Even the usually expressionless Shifa-san widened her eyes.
“Sena-chan, you have to become an adventurer! No, really—you should join our party!”
“M-Me…?”
Sena blinked, clearly taken aback by the sudden invitation.
“C’mon, Shifa, you think so too, right!?”
“I do. With Sena, we’d be unstoppable.”
Even Shifa-san’s cool composure cracked—her voice tinged with genuine excitement.
As the two of them looked at Sena with shining eyes, filled with anticipation, my heart sank lower and lower.
…If only I’d been given a Gift like hers—a Gift useful for adventure and battle.
Pathetic, I know.
But even knowing that, I couldn’t stop the jealousy bubbling up inside me.
“O-Onii-chan…”
Sena looked at me, clearly torn, as if begging me for guidance.
I said—
“They clearly need you. There’s nothing to hesitate over, right?”
“But…”
“You’re an adult now. Stop thinking about relying on me to provide for you—it’s time to stand on your own. …Besides, with my kind of Gift, I doubt I could ever earn enough to feed us both anyway.”
“…”
She fell silent for a moment, then, as if making up her mind, gave a firm nod.
“…Alright. I’ll become an adventurer.”
“Well then, Onii-chan—I’m off!”
“Yeah. Take care.”
“Time to make a fortune while I’m young and laze around for the rest of my life!”
“That’s your motivation? Seriously…”
I watched my sister set out on her adventure with a grin that was so typically her.
Of course, she’d return once her expedition ended—but since she’d practically lived at home until now, the house suddenly felt very empty.
I’d always imagined things the other way around—me becoming an adventurer, with Sena seeing me off.
Now that the roles were reversed, I couldn’t help but feel a little sentimental.
But I couldn’t stay down forever.
“…Alright. Time to figure out what this weird Gift actually does.”
Muttering to myself, I stepped out into the yard.
The house our father left us wasn’t large, but it had a small garden.
Not that I’d taken care of it—by now, it was wild and overgrown.
“Home Gardening… I think that means growing vegetables or something, right?”
Just then—
‹Would you like to designate this area as your garden?›
A voice echoed in my head, and part of the yard began to flicker faintly.
“Huh? What the…?”