"Find me a flower called Starblue! Then confess your love to her! Please! Requester: Randy"
A request posted on the bulletin board at the Royal Capital's Adventurer's Guild.
Hmm, sounds kind of interesting.
But the paper is pretty sun-bleached, so it's probably a cold case.
I've never even heard of this flower.
"Ah, this request, is it? According to the requester, it's a flower that's supposed to guarantee a successful confession, but… there's almost no sighting data, and besides…"
When I asked the receptionist about it, she seemed to hesitate a bit.
"Besides? Is there some kind of problem?"
"The person Randy has his heart set on is his childhood friend, and from everyone else's perspective, they've been in love with each other for ages. But he doesn't seem to see it that way, so he put up a request like this."
That's probably why nobody's taking it.
"Everyone knows that, so they all think he should just skip the flower and confess already. And his partner understands how Randy feels, so she's been quietly waiting… which means nobody takes it."
Nobody takes it.
"Some people took it on for a laugh, but in the end they couldn't find the Starblue. Randy will probably give up eventually and confess on his own, is what everyone thinks."
I don't know if this is my time to shine, but it might make a decent story to bring back to Sophia.
"Then I'll take it."
"…Um, were you listening to what I just said?"
"I heard every word. That's exactly why. Please handle the paperwork."
◇◇◇
First things first — I should go meet the requester and say hello.
It's a perfectly ordinary commoner's house, a little ways off from the center of the capital.
"Oh, you're the one who's gonna take it on! You're a lifesaver — nobody's been willing to take it lately. I'm counting on you! Please, you've gotta find it for me!"
Randy rattles off that whole spiel with an unreservedly bright smile.
He's got dull blonde hair and isn't exactly handsome, but he's got a face people naturally warm to.
It's the kind of thing that makes you want to help him out.
"Um, why don't you confess on your own? You might never confess at any rate — it's an mythical flower, right?"
"No way, it's gotta be out there! I believe it. And then I'll confess to her with it!"
Ah, he's the type who doesn't listen to reason.
His energy level is sky-high the whole time, but I can't say I dislike it.
"So please, I'm begging you! Everyone else failed, but this time you've gotta find it! I'm counting on you!"
◇◇◇
"So, Sharl — you know anything about a flower called Starblue?"
"Ah, the mythical flower, right? Supposed to guarantee a successful confession or something. What a joke. You'd be better off picking up a hypnosis skill than wasting time looking for something like that."
What a joyless thing to say.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
The top-tier hypnosis skill is called [Telemesmerism].
Skills: [Reverse] [Divine Eye] [Sword God] [Fist God] [Spear God] [Scorching Magic] [Freezing Ice Magic] [Clear Storm Magic] [Rock Iron Magic] [Sacred Magic] [Dark Magic] [Space-Time Magic] [Thunder God Sword] [Gentleman Thief] [Ninja Master] [Seeker of Truth] [Supernatural Power] [Idaten] [Pain Dampening] [Complete Status Abnormality Resistance] [Dark Spirit's Protection] [Super Intuition] [Heaven's Gate] [Contractee of the Abyss] [Magic Hand] [Treasure Search] [Seduction] [Incitement] [Eloquence] [Strong Luck] [Growth Speed ×10] [Growth Limit Breakthrough]
Rank: Orichalcon