“Bwuaaah…” I yawned, before peering over Tasianna’s shoulder at what she was making. “Do you think you’ve gotten used to human society, yet, Tasianna?”
Tasianna’s face contorted into a frown as she thought over my question, however, her hands didn’t stop, continuously applying a sweet soy sauce-like coating on a batch of pre-baked rice crackers. “…I still feel uncomfortable. I still believe we shouldn’t be in here, Lady Hestia. Lady Ellaine is gracious for allowing us to stay here and use her kitchen, but I cannot trust Barathan or Miss Manuela one bit. Not to mention all the impertinent maids acting like you are their mistress, hmph!”
Only able to laugh wryly at her clingy behavior, I rubbed her shoulders in an attempt to cool her down. Despite her anger, the rice crackers she was making looked marvelous, and I couldn’t wait to bake and try them.
During these last three days we’ve spent in Ellaine’s mansion, Saori and Tasianna have been allowed to use the ingredients from her storage for our meals. While a lot of the veggies, fruits, and spices that House Helvas could provide were similar to the ones we had gained from the Belzac forest, a few actually caught our eyes.
Tazloksoy Sauce
A fermented liquid condiment created through a tazlokbean and tazlokwheat paste mixture. This black liquid has a slightly sweet and rich umami taste
Tazlokwheat
A type of wheat found inside the Tazlok mountains, only able to grow underground. Its grains are hard and tough, with a mild sweet taste when eaten. These plants are as hardy as the creatures living under the Tazlok mountains
Sugarcarratas
A carrata whose roots have a high concentration of fructose. The size of the carrata and fructose amount depends on the mana concentration in the ground
A carrata was a Peolyncian carrot, only with longer roots, and this type could produce sugar similar to sugarbeets. I was honestly surprised when I saw these things, in addition to multiple sacks of sugars, telling me sugar wasn’t scarce in this kingdom. Imagine that, yeast was a luxury product but sugar wasn’t?
However, what surprised us the most was the sauce and this tazlokwheat. First, we found rice at Carine village being an integral part of a villager’s diet, and now we found the Peolyncian versions of soy sauce and buckwheat?! When we asked Tasianna why she couldn’t think of them, she simply told us the description didn’t match when we last described them to her.
According to Tasianna, and Barathan after he overheard us speaking about it, tazlokwheat and beans are dwarven commodities originally found under the Tazlok mountain, one of the many mountains within the territory of the dwarves. Today, tazlokwheat and rice were the two national crops within the many dwarven strongholds of this stout realm.
Although it’s now grown on farms all over Artorias, rice was once only grown by the dwarves as famine food since it was easy to store, while the wheat was used to make hard-to-decay bread for dwarven miners during their mining expeditions. It was only until the ascension of the one known as the “Revolution Queen”, who introduced sake, noodles, and many of today’s manatech, did those two crops raise this much in importance.
Saori and I planned to visit the Dwarven territory ‘cause we wanted to learn more about this “Revolution Queen”, a supposed [Otherworldly Reincarnator] according to that Leviathan. However, listening to Barathan’s information made me curious about the dwarves’ culture if it was influenced by a person from Earth. Once we reach Griffonpeak, we’ll make our way to the dwarves.
Also, considering House Helvas had these crops, I could guess they must have a good relationship, or at least, a trading agreement with the dwarves. Compared to the elves, I guess they managed to resolve the bad feelings after the “War for the Fairies.”
Mhmm, delicious.
While Tasianna was making a ton of snacks for us, Saori was making fried tazlokwheat soba, better known as yakisoba, and also a huge batch of experimental curry using some new spices we got from the mansion’s food storage. Funnily enough, we were making all of this before dawn came, as I wasn’t exactly allowed to enter the kitchen.
Well, it’s not that I was forbidden from it, as I could inspect how the meals were made, but the chefs and the other kitchen staff couldn’t feel calm with me around. Svena and Manuela explained to me that the older staff members were used to the previous Count and Countess Helvas, Ellaine’s grandparents, entering and exiting to make sure feast preparations were correct, but the younger staff members hadn’t gotten used to that, yet. Their work would be compromised with me around, especially after Ellaine told everybody to treat me like a Greifnoble, a noble tier above hers.
So, before the chefs started work, the three of us had some time for ourselves in here. I hadn’t baked anything in the last five days, so I really needed to satisfy my desire to bake something myself and eat it. And, honestly, the bread that was inside the kitchen’s oven smelled fantastic, and I couldn’t wait to bite in.
Baking is so satisfying.
After a while, alas, Svena came running in and called for me to return to my chambers. But I’d gotten to bake something, and I managed to catch up with Saori and Tasianna on their task for Barathan, so I wasn’t particularly peeved. I returned to my room with Svena and Tasianna, who readied me for the morning, and then I went to eat breakfast with Ellaine.
After filling my stomach, I was about to leave with Saori and Tasianna to the hunters guild to pick up our IDs, but was stopped by Ellaine and Barathan. Barathan wanted to come with me to ensure everything would work out well, but I declined his offer and expressed my dislike of being “followed” whenever I left the mansion. Yes, I know he meant well, but if I allowed him to come every single time he was “worried”, then I’d never be able to enjoy my normal time outside the restraint of a noble.
I wasn’t here for any reason other than to simply enjoy my life. I came to Firwood to help Lorena, but aside from that favor, I just wanted to explore the city without somebody’s bias influencing my party and me. I lived for multiple months in the wilds, so coming back to society, now a full-fledged idol, I wanted to learn more about how people lived their lives here and maybe do a gig or two while I was in town.
I told them my opinion straight, even threatening to leave the mansion if they rejected my wish. I fulfilled my promise to Ellaine by traveling with her to Firwood and also by staying here for an unspecified time. She probably thought I would enjoy the noble district more than the commoner’s after visiting it; believing I would want to stay here instead of moving out.
However, although I was used to wealth and splendor, and while I wished to stay for all the conveniences, I didn’t need them. Knowing she wanted to keep me here for surveillance under her father’s orders, she reluctantly handed over all the needed documents and warned me to stay away from the church, before seeing the three of us off.
We rode the carriage to the entrance to the commoner district, scared the guards with the document from Firwood’s lord, and then continued through on foot. With anticipation in my heart, I rushed through the streets and pathways with Saori and Tasianna frantically following behind me. Luckily for the baffled citizens of Firwood, I was tactful enough to be careful not to break their paved streets.
As the three of us gathered in front of the hunters guild, my ears picked up a multitude of voices and music coming from inside the building. It was a bit after breakfast time, so presumably, adventurers were picking up Quests and mingling with each other. Seeing as how adventurers were constantly entering and exiting the building, it had to be full!
Oooh, I can’t wait! I’m gonna become an adventurer!
Entering through the door, the sounds intensified. Numerous people with varying appearances all carried around different weapons ranging from swords, bows, spears, staves, and so on, were walking and standing around in this crowded building. Compared to the soldiers surrounding the gates and patrolling through the streets, their weapons varied a lot, from shabby-looking to well-maintained killer tools.
Their outfits, on the other hand, made me the most excited. Whether it was thick, padded cloth armor, leather-like armor with scales or carapaces attached to them, or just fine, silky looking robes; I could see “normal” armor and armor made out of monster materials. Heavy metal armor was the rarest, but those who did wear it “felt” the most impressive to me.
I didn’t know the exact terms for the different armor, but I think Saori did. I could tell she was quietly naming each of them gleaming eyes, hidden behind her stoic mask. She never showed her interest, but every time we met a soldier or one of Ellaine’s knights, she would always glance at their armor first. Maybe she was an armor fanatic, in addition to a history nerd?
About the races, all of the adventurers were humans and beastmen, which was disappointing to me as I thought I would at least see a dwarf. Elves, faefolk, and demonkin were out of the question as they hated humans. Thankfully, the variety of beastmen made up for the lack of races.
Wolfkins, katzunes, and foxians comprised the majority of them, which translates into a bunch of wolfdogs, cats, and foxes. There were also a few leonids, lion beastmen; loopridae, rabbit beastmen; and arvisians, bird beastmen. They would range from full animalistic humanoids like Master Kush and the saurians, to human-like with a few animal features like Saori and I.
Cat-girls, rabbit-girls, fox-girls, huh? I have the feeling a boy would go crazy here.
Coming from the medieval European world of Ellaine’s mansion to this fantasy-filled place was exciting. It really was exhilarating to be reminded that I was in such a fantasy-like world with all these adventurers. I do remember that a small minority of Ellaine’s servants were beastmen, but I haven’t seen them.
Honestly, if it weren’t for our races, the three of us would stand out considering how “unadventurous” our outfits looked.
“Huh? Look. A saurian lass just came in.”
“Saurian? Hey, pal, there is a difference between a saurian and lizardman, and that girl is a lizard. Jeez, you humans…”
“An elf? Huh, never thought I would see one around town.”
“Just go to the capital. All the half-elves live in the north part of the kingdom anyway.”
There were so many voices that I had trouble identifying who exactly was speaking.
While taking in the atmosphere of the guild, our party went over to the counter and lined up before it, as there were three massive lines of rambunctious people occupying all three counters.
While we were waiting, I focused on listening to the music. When we first visited the guild, it was devoid of music, being populated by the sounds of people speaking. However, now, I could see some bards playing lyres and harps over at the tables next to the kitchen-bar counter manned by two identical-looking rabbit-girls.
I did notice this bar the last time I came, but back then, there wasn’t anybody working at it, so I thought it was deserted. As today was a “normal day at work”, the vibrancy and life filled not only the eatery but this whole building, contrasting the lukewarm welcome I received three days ago.
“Welcome to the hunters guild, how may we-Oh! Lady Hestia, Saori, Tasianna!” Once it was our turn at the counter, a familiar katzune woman greeted us with a brilliant smile.
“You still remember our names?” Saori asked with a brow raised.
“Of course, as an employee of the hunters guild, it is my duty to remember adventurers with renown or with the potential to become powerful one day inside our town. My name is Melia, in case, you three forgot,” she responded before calling over a receptionist working on papers behind the counter. “You must be here for your IDs, yes? Before I am allowed to issue you them, the guild leader of this branch of the hunters guild wishes to speak with you three.”
He wants to speak with us? Why do I have the feeling we’re gonna get interrogated again?
After her colleague took over for her at the counter, Melia guided us behind the counter and up a set of stairs to the first floor. After announcing us to the guild master’s wolfkin secretary, she rang a bell behind a large door similar to how a noble would be announced, and a deep, rough voice escaped from behind the door, welcoming us in with a “you may enter.”
We entered the room to see a bulky flare-red-haired human man sitting behind a document-covered desk. The room had a pair of sofas situated in the middle with the desk in between them, probably to serve as a place for discussion and negotiations instead of for lazing around.
To the left, three bookshelves filled with a handful of books and a vast assortment of scrolls lined the wall in a tidy fashion. Did the guild master organize them himself or was it his secretary? Regardless, it gave the impression the guild master valued neatness. In contrast, the right side of the room looked more fitting of an adventurer guild’s room, decorated with two standing suits of plate armor and three shields mounted on the wall with two swords in an x shape placed behind them. While one part of the room gave a respectable and business-like atmosphere, the other side would remind any visitors they were in a guild responsible for the management of numerous monster hunters. Considering this wasn’t inside the noble district, it was very well decorated.
Without turning his eyes away from the documents, he gestured with his left arm for us to sit on one of the couches, while he kept on working in silence.
Kyaah! You look soooo the part, Sir! I silently thought to myself, but Saori still gave me a “I know what you thought” glance when she noticed my tail swinging around joyously. Verdammt nochmal, tail! How could you expose me!
Once the secretary closed the door, the man stood up, gave us a deep bow from the hip, before speaking to me with a polite but aloof look, “I, Farron Nordor, the current guild master of Firwood branch of the Hunters Guild, welcome you, Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor of the Dragon Empire Kargryx. Please, let us sit and speak.”
[Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko] true name has been revealed. Individual’s name has changed to [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor] due to association to the true dragon, Kargryxmor
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!
“Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!” I screamed out from the top of my lung the moment that System notification appeared in my head. As my befuddlement receded, I felt my face heating up as everybody in the room stared at me, overwhelming me with the realization I just fucked up. “…Sorry,” I could only utter, rushing towards the sofa and sitting down on it before anybody else could respond, hiding my face behind my hands.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
“Hie hie.”
“He he ha.”
“Hie hie meow.”
Three female voices laughed. Two came over to the sofa and began consoling me, while another tried to suppress her laugh from the other side of the room.
“Ahem,” a man cleared his voice, probably the guild master as he was the only man in the room right now. “I apologize for surprising you.”
As his footsteps stopped, Saori told me to stand up and uncover my face. Once I did, I saw Saori and Tasianna standing beside me, while Melia stood behind the sofa opposite of ours with the guild master in front of it, stretching his arm out with his tanned hand open. As I believed he wanted a handshake, I shook his first, then Saori, lastly Tasianna, although reluctantly under Saori’s scrutiny.
We sat down on the sofa afterward. The guild master, Farron, adjusted his coat as he sat down, revealing his amulet of Aurena from underneath his vest. The guild master looked to be in his early forties or so, and while I’d expected him to appear rougher considering he was the guild master, he actually had the air of a respectable and diligent man.
“Clothes make the man,” and he just oozed leadership and charisma from the way he dressed himself, despite his lack of a smile. He was stoic and had a sorta sharp focus behind his eyes that reminded me of the saurians, suggesting he was not only calm and confident in the situation, but that he knew not to drop his guard.
Although outer appearances are a bit deceiving to gauge a person’s strength, with the three of us being good examples, I trusted the draconic instincts I’d been training since my birth, and it told me I should be wary of him. He wasn’t activating any aura skills right now, but his presence alone made my tail restless.
I wasn’t sure if he was stronger than the saurians, but I knew he was at least at their level. His muscles, barely held back by his clothes, lead me to believe he was a close combatant like Krim-Slak and Grazlahta. I couldn’t feel that much mana from him compared to Countess Helvas and Master Kush, so he couldn’t be a mage. Urgh, my strength evaluation isn’t quite there yet. I must use [Identify] to get an accurate assessment but I’m still wary of those [Ring of Identification] like Ellaine showed me.
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“No need to be so wary, Princess Hestia. As someone blessed by the Goddess of Light, Aurena, and also a daughter of the royal family of Kargryx, the Guilds of Hunters and Mercenaries have no intention of harming you,” Farron told us with a matter of fact tone. “I am here to confirm certain information with you and also give you a rundown on how your guild membership will work. Normally, Melia or one of the other receptionists would do it but I wish to have a little talk with you and your companions.”
“Pardon my rudeness, but why is Melia here exactly? When you casually revealed Lady Hestia’s true status, she did not seem very surprised,” Saori replied with a hint of caution.
“The walls are fortified with a soundproof enchantment. No sound will come in or out, so a leak of information won’t happen the moment all doors and windows are closed,” Farron responded, pointing at one of the mounted shields and revealing the enchantments were hidden behind them. “As for Melia, she is here as your official handler while you stay and work with us in the Firwood branch. To fulfill her job correctly, I’ve revealed to her your IDs, and I also made all the other receptionists sign a magic contract to not reveal your profile or identity to anybody not privy to it. If she is available, Melia will act as your sole handler to smoothen your time at the guild.”
Magic contracts? Enchantments? I can sorta guess from their names, but no way can I say what they actually did.
“What’s a magic contract? And what exactly did you make them sign?” I asked, not wanting to be so ignorant about everything.
Farron raised a brow to my question. “A contract connected to the contract department of the mages guild. Once you sign it, the magic within it forbids you from breaking the contract’s conditions while in its effective range. In this specific contract, nobody is allowed to speak about you without Melia’s or my permission. As you do not wish this information to spread, we have made the appropriate arrangements to prevent leaks.”
Seeing me confirm with a nod that I understood him, he then took out three black cards and white bracelets from inside his coat and placed them on the table. “Now…A dragon, a fenrir, and…I presume a fairy? A rather interesting and diverse party, honestly. Kargryxmor’s descendant, a spawn of Belzac the [Three-Eyed Fenrir], and a fairy in the form of a wind elf…”
The three of us already accepted that our secrets would be exposed the moment we issued our IDs, but it kinda felt weird to have somebody just lay it out like that.
The guild master pinched the bridge of his nose as he leaned forward. “However, what made these past three days a nightmare for me and presumably for everybody involved in it was the fact that we have two world reincarnators among us. The last and only recorded otherworlder was the Ankoran Queen, or High Queen to non-dwarves, called the ‘Revolution Queen’. Now, we have Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor and Madam Saori Segawa in our world.”
I tilted my head as I responded, feeling a bit sympathetic to the plight from the tone of his voice. “Sorry, I guess? We really needed those IDs to start living properly, and with memories of our past life, living in the wilderness was a no go. If you want to blame somebody, blame it on Count Helvas for accepting our heartfelt plea.”
“Lady Hestia- Actually, do I need to keep up our pretense here?” Saori wondered as she realized this was the same situation we had with the saurians. She shook her head and looked straight at Farron. “Hestia and I do apologize for giving you trouble with the process, Mr. Farron. However, with how much we’ve heard, living in society without an ID would be impossible and our goal to live a relatively peaceful life would be impossible without them. You should understand our position, without IDs we cannot even take on a job.”
Saori wasn’t exaggerating here. When we even needed to show our IDs at the village gates to enter Carine village, when they didn’t even have a [Crystal of the Divine System] to authenticate it, it was clear to me how important they were. Master Kush and Tasianna both explained how you couldn’t accept Quests and get a proper working position at an establishment.
I understand the revelation of our profiles was an information nightmare but what were we supposed to do when making IDs required revealing our information? The reason why we did it with the help of a noble in the first place was to keep this nightmare hidden from the majority of the people around us.
The guild master massaged his temple for a moment, but then opened up his eyes, having had his chance to complain. “Sorry, had to get that out of me, and call me Farron. I would rather avoid formalities if possible, and you two are already being causal so let’s stick with it. Let’s get back to the topic, I wish to know your monster ranks,” he demanded. “I can guess from your stats what you are, but I need confirmation for when I send this report back to the nobles. As one of the hunters guild’s branch managers, I also have a responsibility to protect our clients and Quest givers, the town’s populace, so excuse me if I sound cautious. Count Helvas’s and Lady Ellaine’s report stated your behavior was fine, but I must assume the worst when a dragon, a fenrir, and an angry fairy are among us.”
Gesturing over to Tasianna, I could understand from her sour expression that she wasn’t enjoying her time here. After speaking it over with Saori and Tasianna through telepathy, we decided to inform him of our races and ranks, but nothing else.
Farron nodded when we told him our ranks, noting he guessed correctly but that he didn’t expect us to have races he’d never heard of before. Melia even commented she’d never heard of [Young Sunfang Dragon] or [Young Shadowstalker Cadejo], nor their adult versions from the bestiary before. She eyed us with curiosity and even prodded for more information, but we refused to tell her anything more, as we wanted to keep the finer details a secret, for example my solar core.
Apparently, [Identity Blocker] worked even inside our IDs. It could protect the card from being inspected with [Identify] if its level was high enough, and it seems Farron couldn’t get all the information from our cards. He could see the names of our skills and title, but he couldn’t understand what they did. He wanted to know what our unique skills did, as he couldn’t read up on them, but we refused to tell him when he admitted he didn’t need the information.
Another point for investing in this skill, yes!
“…Hold on, I think I overlook something here,” he muttered after he finished explaining, widening his eyes upon realization. “You two still possess the ‘young’ prefix in your race name? Impossible…Lady Hestia, this isn’t your ‘Adulthood Ceremonial Pilgrimage?’ You haven’t reached dragon maturity yet?”
…Ok, more words I’ve never heard about. My whole stay in Firwood has revolved around information, information, and, oh guess what, more information! Ahhh, I feel so dumb...
“No idea what you’re talking about but the System told me I would lose ‘young’ once I reach five. I’m only nine months old and Saori is five months old,” I said nonchalantly.
“What, you two aren’t even a year old yet?!” Melia blurted out in surprise.
“…I see, the headaches won’t stop this early, huh?” Farron complained once again as he massaged his temple and leaned back on the couch, trying to relax.
“We were both born inside the Belzac forest and the three of us met there, if you want to know the truth. Imagine it, you wake up one day and somebody tells you you’re the princess of some unknown empire you’ve never heard of, and you’re a dragon to boot. The world we came from only had dragons in fables and myth, and now you’re telling me I’m a dragon princess?! What the hell?” I continued, shrugging over this information as a joke. “Although, I guess you could call my previous lifestyle ‘noble-like’, so that helped me fit into the role a bit. But nothing could have prepared me to aid a goddess in her goals.”
“That is pretty fascinating, Princess Hestia! I joined the hunters guild to listen to interesting tales from wandering adventurers, but yours and Saori’s might actually be the most outlandish ones. I’m happy to have the honor to meet two otherworlders,” Melia commented.
“True. The tales of Lady Hestia’s and Miss Saori’s world are wonderful, although I sometimes get confused by them,” Tasianna added, looking cheerful, as she was now speaking with a katzune. “Did you know, on their world, ‘Earth’, most of their technology works using controlled lightning and fuel, and it is completely devoid of mana. The descriptions felt nostalgic for our fairy tales.”
So the reason why you believed us so quickly was ‘cause of your previous experience with the ‘fables’ of those wandering fairy adventures?! Tasianna! I thought dumbfounded, remembering when she commented about it during one of her history lessons.
Farron clapped his hands to catch everybody’s attention, aware the discussion would diverge if he didn’t. “You can all talk about it when you four are free. Let’s return to my questions before we forget everything; there are only a few left so hear me out.” He leaned forward as he said that. “Princess Hestia, I need a proper answer here. Your royalty status and the fact you’re a descendant is indisputable thanks to your titles, so were you actually born in the Belzac forest? Have you never visited Kargryx, yet, your homeland?”
“Kargryx isn’t my homeland. As far as I am concerned, the Belzac forest is more my homeland, as that is where I was born,” I told him bluntly, not even hesitating when I replied. “I don’t know my dragon parents, and I’ve never been to either Kargryx or Loatryx. I also don’t know what you mean with this ‘Adulthood Ceremonial Pilgrimage’, and I also just recently became a rank B, for your information.”
“I can attest to that,” Saori chimed in. “You seem to know about Belzac and his descendant so you can take my word, for whatever it is worth, that I met Hestia inside it when she was only a rank D. She evolved into a rank C in front of me and then into a rank B inside the kingdom.”
“So, can I. I made my vow to become her retainer when she was only a C rank,” Tasianna added too.
Farron was decently surprised that we were this willing to give him this information, but Saori believed there weren’t any consequences to telling him. If none of the information leaked, and he didn’t have any ill intentions, then nothing bad would happen to us. Actually, she sounded so confident that nothing bad would happen when she told me to not worry through telepathy.
“We will become adventurers, no? As the guild master of one of the two adventurer guild branches, I presume you wish to have us work as proper guild members. Intentionally sabotaging us would give you no benefit, while the guild could use two willing hunters,” Saori asserted her position with a confident smile. Farron noticed the intent behind her words and nodded, telling us he would suffer if he were to anger me.
“Actually, Farron, you can help me elucidate something while we're on the topic of my dragon heritage. When you called me ‘Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor’, the System randomly changed my full name to it. You should’ve seen my full name on the ID, so why did the System just change it? I didn’t even accept it!” I asked with genuine confusion as I remembered I’d only received my current name “Hestia Atsuko” when I accepted Saori’s suggestion to name me.
Farron scratched the back of his neck as he sighed. “I guess I do owe you some answers when I’m dumping information on you. Seems like you have it rough too as an otherworlder, huh?” Farron said with a hint of pity in his eyes. “True dragons born into a lineage, and not through a random monster spawning, usually take up the name of their ancestor as their last name as a sign of respect and to honor their deeds. Elder dragons might be powerful due to their advanced age, but getting to that age in the first place when other mighty predators and challengers prowl the skies, lands, and sea; is a feat worth celebrating.”
He paused a second to point at me and then continued, “You were reborn as a princess of the Dragon Empire, Kargryx, Princess Hestia. This means your lineage flows back to its origin with the Black Tyrant of the Skies, Kargryxmor, when he was still a mortal. Now, he rules over us as the God of Dragons and Oaths, which makes your heritage even more prestigious. The System accepted this change so easily, presumably because of this tradition… Do me a favor and don’t speak about where you got this information. Melia, you, too. I did not tell you this, you learned it from your fairy companion, understood?”
With the stern gaze he was giving everybody inside the room, the four of us could only nod in confirmation. He nodded fiercely in response and then mellowed out again. “Good. I appreciate it. Now for the last question, which might be the most important. I need to know if you three are a threat, especially you two.” He announced and squinted his eyes, looking between Saori and Tasianna, the two targets of his question.
“Huh, what do you mean by that? Didn’t we just answer that question before when we told you about our ranks? I thought our good behavior was good enough of a sign,” I complained earnestly, feeling like our discussion from before was redundant.
“My previous question was to assess the danger and what I need to prepare in the worst case, but now I want to know if you will become a threat or not,” Farron asked, now completely serious. “Goddess Aurena is the patron goddess of the human race, so I believe you, Princess Hestia, won’t become a threat to the town, despite how whimsical the mood of a Kargryxmor is.”
“Actually,” I interrupted him. “While I don’t think I’ll do it intentionally, I do have an annoying flaw where I can gain [Battle Frenzy] if I don’t fight seriously for at least a week. While my mood does worsen tremendously at the minor stage, I can still control it somewhat. Anything above that and I run the risk of losing myself. Wah! Now that I mention it, I forgot this was the sixth day!”
Saori and Tasianna have taken it upon themselves to monitor and supervise my mood as I can easily lose myself in whatever I do, whether it’s magic, idol training, or simply lazing around. Although they have been helping Barathan with whatever he was asking them, they have been around me every single day. They even told Svena to watch out if I ever become moody.
While I haven’t felt any serious irritation in the last six days, I do think it might be risky to leave this hanging while we’re in town. I wonder why they haven’t said anything yet.
Farron snapped his tongue and then began to scold me, “That is what I mean with the mood of the Kargryxmors! It is the blood of the Black Tyrant compelling you, so you better keep it well monitored in the future, Princess Hestia… Ahem, you may use the guild’s training ground if you need to fight. Reinforce it with earth and ice magic, and don’t go overboard. That said — that leaves your two companions.”
Farron first faced Saori. “Saori, you might be an otherworlder and were born after the entirety of this event, but that doesn’t excuse you of the possibility of seeking revenge. At least, in the eyes of a hunter’s guild master. Just to be clear, the extermination of the Belzac forest’s garms, fenrirs, and the A rank alpha male we dubbed ‘Grim Messenger’ seven years ago. Through a pyrrhic victory we paid with heavy casualties and the lives of two A rank hunters, we presumably eradicated all garms and fenrirs eligible for [Belzac’s Successor]…Apparently, we didn’t.”
…Oh no. No, no, no, no! D-Did I just-!
While my eyes widened in horror, I couldn’t help but turn my head in Saori’s direction as I wasn’t sure how she would feel by this revelation, but against my fears, she kept a calm, albeit, troubled expression. “…What were the reason and goals for this Quest?” She asked in her usual tone when we were in public.
Snapping his fingers and directing his fingers towards the bookshelves, Farron ordered Melia to look for a scroll among the pile. She returned with it, and Farron handed it over to Saori. “More details are inside the scroll. The gist is that our Quest giver wished to expand into the Belzac forest and set up an advance camp to collect valuable alchemical resources for the alchemist guild. In fact, while I could guess who the true sponsor was, the client on paper was the alchemist guild. Exterminate Belzac’s spawn and gain control over the forest. While we cannot completely take it over due to its value if it stays ‘free’, setting up a small camp for hunters to collect herbs and kill monsters would be ideal.”
“Did the plan work?”
Farron shook his head to Saori’s continued questioning, “No, we underestimated the environmental repercussions the extermination of ‘Grim Messenger’ would have on the forest’s ecosystem. Numerous monsters from various places of the Belzac forest looked at this power vacuum as an opportunity to migrate, and with our dwindling manpower and the abandonment of the quest by all the A and B rankers, the Quest was marked as canceled by me. Thankfully, the guild didn’t face any repercussions thanks to Lord Marquis Sirius, but it still did a blow to this branch’s reputation.”
“Huh, no wonder you are the only strong person I noticed inside the guild, guild master,” Tasianna scoffed, having looked displeased the moment this discussion started.
“…I see,” Saori nodded, gave it a few moments of thought and then responded. “Well, I thank you very much for this helpful information. I will take care to not reveal my origins to any hunters to avoid causing trouble. In addition, you have nothing to fear from me as I feel no familial bond to my garm parents and siblings. When I met Hestia, she had just battled my ‘family’ and bested them. To me, the two people sitting with me on this couch are my family.”
“S-Saori…” I uttered with a mix of guilt and happiness. I felt bad for killing possibly the few last Belzac wolves, but also joy from Saori’s continued enforcement of our relationship. Noticing it, Saori patted my head for a moment.
“Good enough for me,” Farron responded, shrugging his shoulders. “And you, Madam Fairy? You are the only Peolyncian native among your party, and from the moment you sent that chilly aura towards me, I knew your hostility towards the human race. I won’t deny nor excuse the actions of our past kinsmen as it was a terrible and cruel act from humankind — which makes you the largest threat, right now.”
Tasianna stayed silent, glaring at the guild master with icy fury. Farron barely responded to it but reciprocated with his own stern gaze. The two battled in a staring contest for seconds until Tasianna finally opened her mouth in contempt.
“…I hate you humans, I admit it, I really do. I’m sorry, Lady Hestia and Miss Saori, but I can’t simply turn my feelings off at this moment. These humans have done something unforgivable to us faefolk and killed many innocents to sate their greed, and they took something precious away from me. The majority of fairies might make-believe and ignore the truth, but I will stand tall and display my disdain like my neighbors, the long-living elves of Saelariel,” she declared with derision. “However, I don’t care about you if you leave me and my party alone. I am a retainer and friend first, before my hatred. Firwood, as a town, has done nothing I personally felt a grudge to because humans aren’t the only ones living here.” She then glanced at Melia for a moment with softer eyes, before returning them to Farron. “I hope my answer was pleasing.”
“If it helps, she’s my retainer,” I figuratively stepped forwards in support. “I have ordered her to behave and we’ve been doing our best to help her adapt to human society. Please, we don’t want to cause any trouble, honestly.”
Farron then sighed in exasperation but still showed us a thumbs up, signaling we passed. He then went on to explain our privileges as hunters, as the three of us let out a relieving chuckle at the dispersing tension.
First, as members of the hunters guild, we are legally allowed to accept monster-hunting Quests commissioned to the guild. Second, concerning monster hunts, we will possess the protection of the guild when it comes to those matters, but that also means we are representatives of the guild and need to respect the laws of the towns and cities we work in. Third, we can use all resources and functions of the hunters guild, which includes Job changing. Lastly, hunters have a responsibility to report on their Quest fulfillment and also any potential monster infestations or attacks.
“Melia, take care of their registration with these three cards. Help them set up the bracelets, and, well, do your job, really,” Farron said before handing the three blank IDs and party bracelets to Melia. “I’ve heard you have two Quest commissions from House Helvas, but they are related to the mercenary guild. The hunters guild only deals with monsters. I’ll inform the guild master at the mercenary guild about everything so simply hand over those documents to the receptionist there and show your IDs.”
We stood up, and Farron gave us one last bow to wish us luck as newly appointed guild members. “May Themestra, the Goddess of Hunting, bless you on every Quest.”
He knew quite a lot about Kargryx, didn’t he? Why does he want me to stay quiet about it, then? Weird…
We then went back down to the rowdy ground floor with Melia and she began our registration process at an unoccupied fourth counter. “Oh, before I begin to surprise you. The guild master has ordered me to directly promote you three up to Rank D hunters.”
“Rank D? Why rank D all of a sudden? We haven’t even done anything yet” I asked.
Shouldn’t we start at the bottom like everybody else?
“The adventurer guilds measure their members similarly to the monster ranking system, which means rank D is around the average of a hunter. Although it is rare, a guild is allowed to directly give a new member a higher rank than rank G if they show us their skills. However, we are not legally allowed to give you anything higher than rank D, as you must show us you can work by fulfilling Quests and accumulating quest points,” Melia explained. “Concerning why we are doing this, it is because the materials you handed over was plenty enough in points and because of your true power. We wish to not restrict our members.”
“Miss Melia, I have a feeling there is a hidden intention behind this,” Tasianna stated.
I clapped Tasianna’s shoulders after she said it. “Ahhh, come on, Tasianna. Who cares? Getting rank D now just speeds everything up and we can start taking on higher Quests earlier. Uhm, I believe we’re only allowed to take on Quests either one rank higher than our current one or anything below it, right, Melia?” I remembered one of the things Farron told us.
“Yes, that is correct, Lady Hestia,” She responded with a nod. “Now, please put your hand on the crystal and I will officially welcome you to the guild as D rankers!”
“Will we also be able to gain and change Jobs with your help once we join, correct?” Saori asked.
“Ah, that reminds me, you two do not have a Job yet. Which now makes sense after I heard your background,” Melia replied, her cat ears moving around in excitement as she recounted what we said in her head. “But, yes, you may change your Jobs immediately after your IDs are issued. So, shall we start, Lady Hestia?”
‘Super Arcane Mega Pyro Mage Light Idol’, here I come!