After what felt like hours, I finally received my guild card. Proving that from now on, I am an adventurer. With a silver lining, the card could easily fit in any pocket and even displayed my picture. The artist who painted it was an old cat folk with brown fur named Beryl. He was a nice guy and did his best to shine lights on me. The end result was a perfect replica of me, and it only took half an hour.
The guild told me that Caryly already covered the fee for the card and picture, but if I ever lose it, I will have to pay for another one. Displaying my rank, it seems like the guild deemed me good enough to be an A-rank adventurer from the get-go. When I asked if I was really that good, Sophia told me that base on my ability I was a full fledge B rank, but since familiars count toward the end result, I couldn’t be under A rank. I kinda understood her reasoning, since it would be strange to classify someone with a dragon as average.
It goes without saying that Lavanda was an S rank. With Randal and her own fighting capability, Lavanda was nothing lower than an S tier. If they had given her anything under S, I would have filled entire documents of complaint of how she was league beyond me and that she at least deserve an S. Also, Caryly already became an adventurer long ago, so she is also an S rank.
Having finished our business here, we said goodbye to Sophia. I had a feeling I would see her again very soon, but right now, we needed to find somewhere to call home, at least for the moment.
Making our way further into the busy streets of Dawnriver, Caryly filled the silence left by Lendwrek and Mendry by telling us about various stores and restaurants we passed by. We couldn’t really buy anything, since Lavanda and I didn’t have money, and we still haven’t sold what our familiars had hunted yet. Our storage and bags on them were full anyway, so it wasn’t as if we needed anything anyway. We could always come back later if we needed something.
Stopping not too far from the main plaza, we arrived in front of the inn where Caryly had a room. Initially, I was surprised that she didn’t have a house or something more expensive like a mansion. It seems that even for her, these things were a little too expensive and useless to be worth buying. It is worth mentioning that the inn was bigger and trice taller than the other, and even had a good-looking half-cat doorman wearing a butler suit open the door for us.
Inside, everything was tidy and clean beyond possible. With master-crafted furniture and structure, the main hall alone left me looking around trying to catch the perfection of this place. At the end of the hall, a half-wolf receptionist was sitting behind her desk writing something on the document in front of her. Standing straight as we approached, she was the first to break the silence installed by Lavanda and me.
“Welcome to the Shining Bedding Inn, one of the three S-ranked inns in Dawnriver.” She said, welcoming us with a smile. “Lady Caryly, it a pleasure to have you back, your room is as you left it with a fresh bedding set as well as refilled lighting crystals.”
“Thank you, Clory, I would like to reserve two rooms for a week for my friends behind me. The first payment on me.” She said, putting on the counter a small pouch echoing with coins.
Taking the money, “Very well,” the receptionist answered. “Greetings dear miss and lady, my name is Clory, at your service. If you were so kind as to tell me your names, I will find rooms to suit you both.”
With my attention still scattered, Lavanda answered for me instead.
“I’m Lavanda and this young girl is Emery, a pleasure to meet you, we be in your care from now on.”
“The pleasure is all mine, I see that you have some very imposing familiar, rest assured that our garden is spacious enough to accommodate them on the roof.” Hearing her through the building windows, Lendwrek, Mendry and Randal took off to said roof. Having them on the roof was bound to attract attention, but as long as they were comfortable, I didn’t mind. We spend enough time on the road to deserve some comfort.
As they discuss the arrangement, I continued admiring the polished decoration. This place was so luxurious even compare to Earth. I couldn’t believe that I was about to spend the night in such expensive accommodation. Going from the hospital to a 5 stars hotel felt unreal, but don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining.
After finishing her conversation, Lavanda snapped me out of my trance.
“Emery, Caryly is kind enough to pay for the first week, but after that, we will need to pay the rent if we want to stay here. The loot we got from these past weeks is good enough to buy us time, but it won’t last forever.”
“So you’re saying I need a job? What about you?”
“As an S rank, there should be good paying jobs at the guild, so I be fine. Since you’re A rank, you shouldn’t have any problem either. From what Caryly told me, there is always a lack of good adventurers.”
“True, even at the capital, A-rank adventurers are quite a rare sight, let alone S-ranked. If I didn’t know better, you’re probably already swarming with requests back at the guild. Don’t give me that face! These two dragons are quite hard to miss, you know!” Well, at least I got a job in less than a day. It was a good call going to the guild first. As long as I do a few lucrative quests once in a while, I should be fine money-wise. If the worst comes to it, Lendwrek is always available for some exercise in the nearby forest.
Climbing the stairs, we were shown to our room by another servant. Our room being on the eleventh floor out of fifteen, we were given quite a sight of the city. Composed of a spacious living room, a small kitchen, and one bedroom, my room was almost half as big as our house back on the island. There was no way I could fill the space by myself, but lucky me, I wasn’t alone.
It was a blessing that this inn accepted familiars, as I would have needed to search for another inn if they didn’t. With Tara and Hybry staying with me, this was where I would call home from now on. Unpacking all our stuff out of the insane number of bags, it took quite a while to free our three mounts of their burden.
Fill with a desk, table, shelves and other furniture, I was able to store most of the stuff elsewhere than the ground. After emptying my own storage, the sun was getting down, and Caryly invited us to the restaurant next door.
Exiting my room, Lavanda was waiting for me, since our rooms were next to each other. Caryly was one floor up, so we settle to meet on the first floor when it was time.
Out of the inn, there were fewer people outside than before as it was running late. With light-emitting crystal installed along the pathway, the ambience at this hour felt welcoming to night walk, something I wouldn’t miss if I ever had trouble sleeping.
As our target was right beside the inn, it wasn’t a minute before we were inside.
“There some people I want to introduce you!” Caryly said enthusiastically. It was her idea to eat here, and she had been pretty insistent on it, saying how good the food was and praising the place. As we were getting hungry, we didn’t see any reason to refuse, since again she offered to pay. It was not that their cooking on the road was bad, on the contrary, it was delicious, but I could see the appeal of not cooking or doing dishes after eating a good meal. I myself was getting tired of cutting the meat and vegetable each time we prepare dinner.
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Having made a reservation, a waiter led us to our table, where two blond-haired girls looking in their early twenties were waiting for us. Seeing them, I could see a resemblance to Caryly and I soon understood why. As my elven instinct was tingling at their sight, I could see that theirs was also functioning correctly as they got up and rushed to greet us.
Almost not noticing Lavanda beside me, both girls hugged me, as I felt like I just met some family member I haven’t seen in years. They almost didn’t even notice Hybry being squeezed between all three of us. At least he seems to be having a good time.
Drown in my elven instinct, I hugged them back and understood why all elves consider each other as family, even if they didn’t share any blood. The feeling of instant trust was overwhelming as I felt bad about my family back on Earth. They were here for me when I needed it the most, and to have that feeling reproduce with people I never met before was almost unsettling. Still, my elven instinct was stronger than my thought, so my uneasiness was washed away quickly.
“Is something bothering you?” One of them asked. It seems that their instinct was sharper than mine. I tried to hide the little bit of discomfort I had but to no avail. I was still new to my elven instinct, so I’m still not used to all the extra it offers me. As they used it since they were born, it was no wonder theirs was miles better than mine.
“No it’s nothing, I assure you, I’m fine!” With a bit of persistence, I was able to reassure them that they had nothing to worry about.
“Perfect then!” The other sister said. Putting her hand on her chest, she introduced herself. “I’m Phyralia, sorry to have startled you, it's the first time we ever met another elf outside of Mom.” Her calm smile was so soft to the eye that I felt I was able to melt, if I was a man and not an elf, I would have fallen in love instantly.
“I’m Reylia, really sorry for earlier, you were just so cute!” She was a bit more energized than her sister, but not in a childish way. It was more like she let herself go more often than not.
“Wait, cute? Do I look cute?” I was still wearing the all-purpose outfit that Caryly and Lavanda made for me, so I never thought someone would call me cute.
“Yes,” They both said.
“Give it a few days, and you be swarmed with suitor! I wouldn’t even be surprised if you catch the attention of some noble, it would be great for you!” Nononononono, me? I barely ever spoke to strangers, so why would anyone want to court me this fast, I’m still new in town! Phyralia please, I don’t need that.
“Just think about all the handsome and muscular men coming for you! Ahhhhh, I’m so jealous!” Reylia I give them all to you if you want.
“Thank you, but you both are the real fish catcher. Anyway, let's sit, they’re waiting for us.” I told them, making them notice that Caryly and Lavanda had gone ahead and were already sitting at the table, looking through the menu.
Joining them, they both introduce themselves to Lavanda and asked her tonnes of questions. Having heard so much about her from their mom, they wanted to learn as much as they could from their mom's best friend. They drag me into their conversation more often than not, and it took me a while to pick something from the menu. Luckily, the establishment was open twenty-four-seven, so we had all the time in the world.
With Hybry on my lap, I wandered through the option and was lost to what I wanted. As they were, some carefully drawn pictures, I was able to see what the items were. Following my hydra gaze, I asked him what he wanted, and each three heads picked a different item. Unable to decide between a flaming curry of wolf meat with fresh cheese, brazed cockatrice wings with homemade sauce and spice, and smoke strips of boar in homemade bread with a gourmet thick tomato sauce, I was truly at a loss.
Noticing that I was helpless, Caryly insisted that I take whatever I wanted with how many servings we needed, so for the sake of my stomach, Hybry in my lap, and Tara sitting under the table, I didn’t refrain from ordering all three dishes. Just how rich was she? These prices are no joke, at least with my little understanding of money I got since arriving in Dawnriver.
The three meal cost fifteen, twelve, and ten silver coins respectively, with most other options at this restaurant costing around the same. Using a bronze, silver and gold coins, system, 10 bronze equals a silver, and 10 silver equals a gold. I also saw someone paying with another type of coin, and when I asked, it was a platinum coin. Guessing by the amount of coin the man got back, the value of a platinum coin was 10 gold. What a generic and easy-to-understand currency system. What a headache it must have been to come up with it. It seems that most normal transaction use bronze and silver as their basis, gold and especially platinum being more for the rich.
My room at the expensive inn cost 20 silver a day and 100 silver a week, since weekend literally doesn’t exist here. In total, I can’t even calculate how much Caryly paid for us. I just hope I will be able to keep up my expense with the jobs offered by the guild. I be sure to take a look tomorrow.
Sharing the three plates between our three stomachs, the food was delicious and a part of me wanted to come back here every day. At the end, we were offered a dessert, but I refused, my stomach was already ready to die so anything more would have been too much. I can come back anytime anyway, so it's not like I never get the chance again.
Following us outside, I was pleased to learn that the twins were staying at the same inn. Being on the same floor as their mother, I could see them whenever I wanted, and the same was true for them if they wanted to see me.
Before going to sleep with how late it was, they insisted that they wanted to see my other familiars. I couldn’t refuse since I wanted to visit them before going to sleep anyway, but I asked them to bring some meat, so we could feed them. As big as they were, it was not like they needed to eat every day, and they could always go hunt outside if needed, but it was my responsibility to fulfill their need anyway.
Going a step further than I asked, they offered to buy something from my stock of material, knowing I still didn’t have any money. After a quick stop at my room, they bought a few garments that I knitted myself and some horn and claw that I didn’t even remember the provenance. With a total of 8 silver in hand, I quickly run to the restaurant again to order their flat set of meat with some sauce for takeout. Leaving 7 silver lighter, I joined the girls waiting at the front of the top floor door with a big bag of meat in hand.
On the roof, Lendwrek and Mendry were laying comfortably with Randal. They slowly opened their eye as they clearly heard us coming. Lendwrek nose twitched as he smelled what I brought with me. Taking a piece of meat in my hand, I threw it at him in the air, and without moving, he gulped it down in one go. The samples were barely larger than his teeth, so I wasn’t able to fill their stomach, but the sauce was good enough that my two dragons were satisfied for the time being, and that was all that mattered. Watching me silently, I wasn’t able to resist Randal staring at the meat and throwing him the last piece I had with me. I already knew that Lavanda fed him, before going to her room, she was the one who drill in me that I should take care of my familiar after all.
Checking on Mendry egg, she kept it in the bag around her neck at all times, so after a checkup and some polishing, she was happy to go back to sleep after a small lick on my face. There wasn’t much that she needed from me, but she did enjoy watching me take care of her egg, so it became something I did whenever I could. I learn from Lavanda during our travel that a dragon egg could take a hundred years to hatch, so I wasn’t in a rush for it to hatch. Honestly, I think I have enough dragons, If I have other familiars, some diversity would be nice. If it wasn’t for its three heads, I could almost consider Hybry a small dragon since he had wings.
While I did all that, Phyralia and Reylia were watching the beasts and even asked if they could touch them. Obviously, I said yes. Lendwrek and Mendry weren’t the type to rip off someone's hands because they were touched, as long as the person in question was someone I knew, there would be no hand lost.
When I finished taking care of my familiars, I took off to my room, leaving the sisters in the dragon’s goodwill. As the room had a balcony, I took in the peaceful and silent wind offered by the city at night.
The day had been rather calm, but I knew that it wouldn’t continue for very long. When Noble and others would learn that two dragons have made their nest in this city and that their master was a young A-ranked lady with extremely rare affinities, I’m sure that they take their chance for whatever they want from us.
However, they have one main problem to overcome. If anyone threatens my familiars or someone I was close to for even for a second, they must be ready to endure all our wrath combine for the rest of their very short life. Monsters bigger than a house, are, after all, powerful enough to intimidate most fools, but I’m sure there are some that are just that stupid.