By morning, the town had regained a bit of normalcy. Yuriko sat on the railings while she beheld the vistas she hadn’t been able to pay attention to the day before.

One of the few things that caught her attention was the presence of water wheels on the river. The wheels were attached to buildings where she supposed they milled grain or something of the sort. There were more than a few buildings with smokestacks and equipped with the same smoke catcher.

The two districts also did not have varying architecture. Based on what she witnessed in Rumiga City, she had assumed that the Lower District was for the poorer members of the community while the nobles and the rich merchants lived above them. Instead, it looked more like a mixed lot, either way. The town centre was in the Lower District, near the waterfalls and the road that led to the Upper District.

Those smokestack buildings were all on the east side of the river and weren't really part of the town proper, now that she had a better look. Or rather, the area didn’t have many residential buildings. There were a lot of warehouses though, and that bunch of houses on a brightly decorated street was probably the pleasure quarter. Or one of them. There was probably one in each area of the town. Not that she knew much about them personally, but it seemed Damien had frequented such places that he passed on the pattern recognition to her with his memories. Those balconies were probably where the men and women of that profession showed themselves off.

The Lower District had about six squares that were the hub of some kind of activity. One was clearly the market square, due to the numerous stores and colourful awnings. Another square was the one next to the town hall. Currently, it was a hubbub of activity, with dozens of people rushing about.

“We’ve been invited to the Adventurers’ Guild by midmorning,” Gwendith said as she walked up to Yuriko carrying a tray with breakfast: slices of crispy bacon and pancakes. “They have a device that tracks time, but it’s not really that accurate. It labels the hours using numbers from one to twelve, with twelve being midnight and noon.”

“Eh, so one isn’t the first hour of the morning?”

“No, that would be six, but they don’t adjust it according to the changes when dawn comes.”

“Hmmm, alright. So what does it matter?”

“Well, it means that our meeting is at 9 o’clock, but that’s just a bit less than three hours after dawn, or really, just before midmorning.”

“Oh, alright.” Yuriko shrugged.

Gwendith leaned closer and whispered, “Which gives you some time to train…or recover. Hie hie!”

“Ugh.” Yuriko rolled her eyes but gave Gwendith a peck on the cheek. “Thanks for bringing breakfast.”

“Hey, it’s what I should do as your girlfriend,” Gwendith said offhandedly. “Though when are you getting a…er, nevermind. Heh.”

They both ate quickly, then Yuriko spent the rest of the time in meditation. Gwendith and Heron revealed that the delver group had found Ambrosia, although improper containment had ruined the droplet’s potential. Still, it meant that Ambrosia could be found in Chaos Founts, and it was something that they needed to either bring back home or help the three of them to gain strength. Once she started imbibing Ambrosia, it felt as though the normal way was too slow. It wasn’t a healthy mindset as too much of the stuff would eventually result in a weakened foundation. Still, better to have and not need than the opposite.

She was actively keeping six hundred sunblades under the ground and occasionally strained herself to the maximum for a little while. She did the straining exercise every morning and has produced some results. The normal growth of her Anima reach was about an inch or two every day, but she was slowly being able to increase her max sunblades by one or two blades beyond what her reach would normally give. It was slow going, but steady progress wasn’t something to scoff at.

About an hour before the meeting time, the three of them left. The Wind Darter was parked just outside the walls. Cillian didn’t come, stating that he wasn’t affiliated with the Adventurers’ Guild and his presence may not be well taken. Why that was so, he didn’t elaborate but displayed shifty looks instead. Yuriko didn’t feel like pressing him, but Heron had no such compunctions.

“The Coinoch family are mostly soldiers,” he admitted. “My father is at odds with the branch master in Nirlith, so…”

With that out of the way, it took a few minutes’ walk to reach the gate. The guardsmen let them through without a fuss. Yuriko spread her perception aura to its maximum reach. A while back, she realised that she could stretch out her perception as far as she could control her sunblades, but the only thing she’d receive if she thinned her Anima that much was the general shape of things and perhaps the presence of people. It wasn’t ideal in battle, but good enough to get a general feel. Her Anima was also a conduit to her Mien, and with Tranquility active, it served to calm and soothe people’s minds. There had been enough death and destruction yesterday, and she felt a little bit of peace would do wonders.

Hmmm. She felt a few threads attempt to attach to her, but she warded them off and retracted her perception. Her Mien had grown stronger again, though control was nowhere near suitable. Having relations with Gwendith satisfied some part of her Mien, but she was beginning to feel the push for something more, and different. She knew what it wanted though. She wasn’t quite ready, and it looked like her prospective partner was still gathering the courage for it. Ehehe.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Yesterday, the Adventurers Square had been filled with triage tents and healers, but now, the square had been cleaned up. Probably close to how it looked before the raid, but since they arrived in the middle of things, there was no way to tell. There were chips in the stonework, and the fountain monument in the middle was dry. The Guild building itself, a three-storey edifice that took up one side of the square, had claw marks and gashes on its walls, and broken tiles on the roof. Workers were already fixing the tiles, but the superficial damage to the walls had been ignored in favour of more urgent repairs.

There was quite the bustle inside the guildhall. The doors immediately opened into a common room that was almost like a tavern. On one side were dozens of round tables, a bar, as well as a bandstand. There was no one playing on the stand at the moment but there were only a few people lingering on the tables. Most of them had bandages wrapped around their heads, torsos, or limbs, and they nursed a mug of tea, or perhaps some other hot drink. None were foolish enough to drink wine or ale in their injured condition. Some were eating a late breakfast, and from the aroma, Yuriko thought that the chef was at least as good as Ryoko if not better.

On the other side was a reception area, and flushed against the wall was what looked like a bulletin board, except it was not pinned with paper or anything of the sort. Instead, the board was made out of white crystal and was etched with fine runescript. It was like a crystal screen back home, except this one was large enough that the text was visible easily even from the dining area. It displayed rectangles on the screen, with labels inside. It was all in Wojan so Yuriko could read it, albeit haltingly. She still wasn’t that proficient in speaking the language, much less reading it.

Many of the rectangles had the label: Waterlow Repair. The subtext underneath the label detailed the address, general description, as well as remuneration. There were a few adventurers browsing through the job orders, and one of them took their adventurer badge and pressed it against the screen, on one of the rectangles. That particular rectangle disappeared, and the adventurer trotted out of the guildhall. It was a level of sophistication and automation that Yuriko had not witnessed in the Empire, prompting her to reevaluate her presumptions of the Republic of Bresia.

Or maybe it was the Adventurers’ Guild that was that advanced rather than the country. According to Cillian, the guild was a pan-national institution, and even Sheamus Dorn’s explanation of the guild was that it crossed borders.

One of the receptionists behind the counters must have recognised them since she, a shaggy-haired wolfkin woman, slipped out of her station and approached them eagerly, with tail wagging and ears perked up.

“Greetings! You must be Ladies Sharine and Yuriko, and Lord Muryh. Wow, you all look so young!”

At Yuriko’s raised eyebrow, the wolfkin girl sputtered an apology. “Ah, I’m sorry! I have trouble not speaking my mind! I meant no offence! Just that you all must be so capable!”

“I see,” Gwendith murmured. “We are expecting to meet with Lord Martelli and Lady Mondero.”

“Yes, of course! Please! Follow me!” The wolfkin girl said enthusiastically, “Ah, I am Irah Songdottr.”

Irah ushered them towards a grand staircase just beyond the reception counters. On the second floor, the hallways showed a bit more decor, with elaborate tapestries, large paintings of the landscape and portraits of smiling people. She stopped next to a double door, made of dark oak and decorated with a fascinating fractal pattern that reminded Yuriko of soothing winds and warm days.

“Come in.” A voice inside said, and Irah pushed the doors open, revealing a large conference room with a long table, several comfy-looking armchairs, and a side table laden with sliced fruit and a couple of pitchers. One had tea in it, while the other had wine. An attendant stood next to the serving table, and placed a cup of tea and a goblet of wine, along with a silver plate filled with the fruits and some finger foods.

At the other end of the table, two people stood to greet them, while another two stood at the opposite corners. The man, who Yuriko presumed to be the branch guild master, Alejandro Martelli, was easily recognisable due to the cute and expressive bunny ears on top of his head. Which meant that the blue-haired Sha’ledras with the distinctive long triangular ears was the Vigilant Lady Mondero.

Both of whom were staring at her, intently.

“I cannot determine your strength, Great Lady.” The Sha’ledras woman bowed low. “Which could only mean that you are far beyond us.”

Yuriko blinked, trying not to react. She was sure they could not, because she was not a follower of their Anima strengthening system. Not even Imperial can easily determine another’s level by casual observation, though most Knights and above tended to act with supreme self-confidence.

These people did not act like Knight, and Yuriko thought it was probably because they weren’t that much physically tougher than a normal humanoid. She also wasn’t sure how their upper echelons were determined, and since from the beginning, the Bresians all assumed that she was a powerful Magus, there was little reason to dissuade them. And even with her display of power yesterday, they did not act with any kind of suspicion.

Well, she wasn’t lying at all. She was simply refraining from speaking the truth. Which was probably also considered lying… but well…

“Please, have a seat.” Alejandro said after the two introduced themselves. “We have much to discuss. But let us get a few things out of the way first.” He pulled out a couple of heavy purses and gave them to Heron and Gwendith, then a smaller purse to Yuriko. “These are the lawful remuneration for aid given during an overflow event as well as two shares for the Life Essence we found in the Waterfall Cave Chaos Fount. Ten silvers a piece, and one hundred gold a share.”

Two hundred golds? That was twice what Yuriko brought in Sovereigns. And yet, for them to put a price on something that should have been priceless…

Well, there was little point in being angry or disappointed. Though maybe she should have taken a more active hand there.

“So what do you wish to discuss?” Yuriko asked.

The two adventurers exchanged glances, then Alejandro said, “It doesn’t seem that you are an adventurer, Lady Yuriko. And neither are your allies. We wish to invite all of you to become a member of the guild, and not as a newbie, of course, but as Steel rank veteran. Your power and experience are more than enough for that.”

“And what does being a member of the guild entail?” Gwendith asked.

Laura Mondero smiled. “There are many and very few restrictions. I believe you will find membership to be quite fruitful, especially if you wish for ease of travel.”

Well now. That was useful. Yuriko leaned back and let Gwendith hash out the details. She found herself examining Laura’s aura. The Ennoia energies she had control of were easily visible to her, and she had an inkling that finding out the woman’s secrets would make her Colligia advance.