Money—one of the most important thing in the world. Well, not entirely the most important, but it’s definitely up there. It allows one to acquire lots of things, such as good food, an extravagant house, well-crafted gear, an escort team, the latest in technology, and good food. It’s the prime necessity for all civilized beings, the main influencer of economy, and incidentally—something Alice was running low on.

    “To think I’d forget to take into account such a thing…” she said, letting out an icy sigh. “Forget searching for clues—there’s barely enough to last us for more than three days…”

    Having traveled for many years, Alice was more than capable of managing her own materials and resources for each expedition, but it was different this time. Rarely had she ever traveled with the company of others, but when she did, it was short-lived and both parties would separate upon reaching their destination. This time, however, there came the unexpected event where Alice found herself personally accompanying someone else—throughout their entire journey, no less—and providing for them. Obviously, her traveling companion of whom she had found floating along the river didn’t possess anything of value.

    “We’ll have to do some job-searching, after all,” she said, sighing once more. “But what would she be fine with?”

    Alice always had the necessary amount of things on her, with money being the most controlled variable among her travels; it was the balanced quantity—not too much, not too little—and allowed her to go to cities and stock up for the next travel with frugality. That balance, of course, was disrupted by an individual who was currently in another room.

    “She’s at least capable in magic, so it’s possible for us to take on subjugation quests at the Adventurer’s Association,” she said, thinking up some solutions. “But I’m not even sure if she’s registered…”

    Currently, she was sprawled across the soft bed inside the cozy room of which she had checked out at an inn. After traveling for most of the afternoon, Alice and company had finally made it to the city of Rebus, with the first priority being to book somewhere to sleep for the next few days. The room Alice had booked out contained two other rooms—the shower and bathing room, and the toilet and sink room. Her company was currently showering.

    There came the turning of something squeaky, and the sprinkling of water came to a stop. She was done showering, presumably, and was most likely changing into her new clothes. If she were to come out right now, what should Alice say? The topic certainly wasn’t anything fun to discuss, and the woman didn’t seem the type to stick around for ordinary day-jobs. Maybe the solution was to partake in quests from the Adventurer’s Association after all? Perhaps they could sell whatever they could for the moment? Perhaps they could work as barmaids, serving tables and customers? Of course not. For one moment, Alice jokingly thought of participating in some sort of tournament. It was only in jest, but the reward for coming in first place was rather extravagant. They say that whoever triumphs in the annual continental tournament—the Ludus Equester—receives enough prize money to purchase their own mansion, along with an artifact of untold value. While thinking of this, the door to the shower and bathing area sprung open.

    “You know, I’m surprised you managed to get something like this,” the voice said, focusing on sashing up their robe. “It fits me quite well.”

    “Eh?” Alice managed to utter. The woman who walked out of the shower—was she even the same person? “Mmm… I… agree…”

    “Right? This does seem familiar, though,” she said, plopping herself on the other bed. “But I can’t pinpoint it…”

    “Could it be… another flash of memory?”

    “Well, maybe. If it is, it’s probably not an important one.”

    “I… see…”

    Alice tried, but she had no control over her eyes at the moment. On the other side of the room, positioned lazily on top of the other bed, was someone who Alice thought she knew. They had luscious jet black hair tinged with the slightest hue of dark blue, reaching down to nearly her waist, almost as long as Alice’s. Exceptionally striking while bearing peerless refinement, her exterior radiated an attractively luscious shade of pale white, although obviously nowhere near Alice’s level of paleness. Her eyes, of which both were now clearer to the eyes, were something meant to pierce the hearts of demons, possessing undeniable allure while being sharp and keen amidst its sanguine wonder. Her stature was relatively tall, to the point where if both parties present within the room were to stand face to face, Alice—who was taller than the average woman—would only reach up to meet the beauty’s nose at eye-level.

    “I’m feeling hungry again,” the beauty said, stretching on top of the bed. “How about you?”

    “Eh? Oh… I’m… moderately hungry, I suppose…”

    “There’s still some time left before nightfall. How about we get something to eat?”

    “Oh, about that… we need to discuss something first.”

    “Ah, that’s right. You did say you wanted to discuss what to do once we arrived.”

    “Oh, it’s only… somewhat related to that.”

    Alice felt a tinge of guilt. If it’s about food, then their current funds would never allow them anything of restaurant-quality. Combined with the fact that one woman was still hungry from her incident while the other was always hungry because of her body’s inner workings, there was little hope in the way of sustainability. This was problematic—but it’s because this was problematic that Alice had to discuss it with her. And so, Alice discussed it with her.

    “Hmm? So it’s money we’re lacking, huh?”

    “Yes…”

    “For some reason, that brings back some bad memories…”

    “Money? How so?”

    “Well, I’m not sure how to describe it, but it’s kind of…slightly evocative…”

    “Eh?… Could it be that you were also penniless within your previous life?”

    “Oi, don’t phrase it like that! It’s just feels like… I wasn’t ever too well-off.”

    “Is… that so…”

    “…”

    “ Well, I’ve some suggestions to help us get started.”

    For some reason, Alice always felt that the woman wasn’t incredibly well-versed in the art of money-making, although she didn’t know exactly why. At times, an inkling of her intuition would leak through the precipice of her mind, helping her perceive what normality couldn’t. Significantly more often than not—her intuition would be correct. But moving on, the current problem was finding something both parties would be content with, and so Alice had to bring forth the topic of viable jobs.

    To be an intrepid traveler meant that you were also part of the top ten most prevalent professions among all denizens of the earth (albeit an informal one), but there also came something else along with it. Among travelers, an incredibly overwhelming majority of them were also enlisted as adventurers within the ubiquitous Adventurer’s Association. In almost any conceivable city or town you could find, regardless of which continent, there’d always be the presence of an Adventurer’s Association Guildhouse, or Guildhouse for short, in each city. Of course, Rebus wasn’t exempted from this. Because of its omnipresence and perks, the Adventurer’s Association remains an extremely applicable system for travelers to become united with.

    For starters, applying as an adventurer for the association would bestow upon the applicant the rights to participate in the highly esteemed quest-and-reward system. Among your travels, there’d be the option of filling out requests to acquire certain minerals, plants, artifacts, or monster loot, allowing you to receive rewards upon turning them in at the next city. Alternatively, for those who aren’t traveler-adventurers, but are simply normal adventurers, there’d be access to the Guildhouse’s bulletin board, which allowed one to accept any quests provided by clients or the association itself. Among other things, there was also the adventurer card, which signified your rank and gave discounts for exclusive inns and blacksmiths, and the activity-benefit system, which gave you weekly payments depending on how active you were; that way, it encourages more quest-taking, benefiting those who do lots of work while giving none to those who don’t. Of course, Alice herself wasn’t exempt from being part of this system.

    “Heh? Now that you mention it, that does sound like an easy way to earn money.”

    “Indeed, but it can also be dangerous. If we were to go to the Guildhouse, we might be able to find records about you.”

    “Hmm… I don’t recall much about adventuring but… maybe I’ve done it before.”

    “The association should have records on every adventurer who ever joined, so it’s plausible to investigate.”

    “But can we really find records when we don’t even know my name?”

    “You’re right, but we should be able to pinpoint your record with other information. Do you remember exactly when you signed up as an adventurer?”

    It wasn’t going to be easy, but it was their best lead. If they could only precisely pull out her record from the association, there’d be plenty more details about her—including her name. With that said, money was currently top priority, so it’s entirely possible that Alice would have to help set up an alias to register her into the association for the time-being.

    Speaking of names—Alice almost forgot that she gave her one.

    Of course, the name wasn’t to be used in actual conversation, but only for when Alice needed to call for her. Her name was truly mysterious indeed.

    The rest of the day continued uneventfully towards the night. Alice had finished some trips through the city, shopping for what she could while the woman chose to nap at the inn—something Alice was somewhat amused (and slightly annoyed) by. They made plans to accept quests from the Guildhouse tomorrow, but maybe it felt like she was being too relaxed and carefree about her situation. Was she that self-assured? Alice had to presume that it was her personality and that it’s simply how she worked; but then again, people like her tended to bring trouble along with them…

    “She’s still asleep?…” Alice whispered to herself as she opened the door to their room.

    And indeed she was. Several hours had already passed since her departure into the world of dreams, with the break of night having already arrived. The atmosphere was rather darkly cozy, shown through the room’s dim lighting and the lack of sunlight entering through the windows; although, Alice couldn’t physically feel the coziness. Was the woman extra tired because she’s still recovering? In the first place, she seemed completely fine, but maybe it wasn’t as simple as that? Thinking of this, Alice allowed herself to walk inside, closing the door behind her gently so as not to disrupt her traveling companion’s slumber. The bag of groceries which had been kept by Alice’s side was now placed on top of her own bed, with Alice herself following the same procedure soon afterwards.

    Again, it was time for another one of those boring nights; the same nights where she’d enter into her trance of deep thought, hacking away at them until it was time to resume activity. If she were to walk and loiter around the city during the dead of night and into the morning, she’d obviously be coming forth as an extremely suspicious figure, or end up becoming some sort of urban legend related to ghosts. The previous night, where Alice had slept beneath the sky within an enclosure inside the forest, had provided something that Alice currently didn’t have—the view of the stars.

    It was disappointing, but at the same time her current situation was objectively better; after all, she had proper bedding, soft pillows, and safety within the walls of Rebus. Still, she liked the stars—they were dazzling to the eyes, and made it easier to pass the time by wondering at them. Something of such beauty as to draw the eyes of all beings towards it; something of such resplendent brilliance; something of such inspiring breadth—where else would she find something of such star quality? Without much more to think, Alice turned her gaze—and found the woman’s sleeping form. Her character, as she understood it, was gruff and implacable, but what Alice currently saw was contradictory to all of that. What the lamp’s dim light managed to reveal, within the simple room of an unassuming inn, was something surprisingly filled to the brim with what Alice would call “grace”. If it were anything but the stars, then the center of attention now would certainly be what Alice was observing. Who knew that she was even more alluring in her sleep?

    Still, the fact remained that the woman slept for longer than she should. Shuffling from the bed, Alice stood up and walked over to the other woman’s bed, bringing along with her the bag of groceries. Gently, she placed her hands on the woman’s shoulders, and lightly shook them.

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    “Hey, wake up,” Alice said softly, bringing her sleeves to her mouth to block off any frost. “I’ve bought something for us.”

    Surprisingly, she didn’t wake up with any signs of lethargy. In fact, her eyes bolted open as naturally as blinking, leaving one woman slightly amazed and bemused.

    “Hmm? What is it?” the woman asked, sitting up on the bed. She didn’t appear tired at all; almost as natural as her everlasting composure, her instant attentiveness within such a context was astounding. For reasons unbeknownst to Alice, however, she still yawned, stretching her arms.

    “It’s not much, but it should appeal to hunger for the meantime,” Alice said, digging through the bag of groceries. Besides water, there were numerous packages of cream-filled buns, along with some tidbits of jerky. The jerky was mainly for Alice. “Here, eat this.”

    “Heh? You remind me of most mothers,” she said, smiling. “Besides the part about waking someone up at night.”

    “Huh? W-well, that’s because…”

    “Did you not want to eat alone, perhaps?” she remarked out of humour, holding her playful smile.

    “You were… you already slept for a prolonged duration, so I thought that…it’d be appropriate to wake you…”

    The woman was in thought. Even though Alice wasn’t making eye contact, she couldn’t help but make out something in particular about her. From only the short time they met, she found herself easily getting accustomed to her frosty companion, but something else was beginning to shine from her—something the woman couldn’t help but notice.

    “Yesterday, you didn’t sleep at all because you were watching over me, right?” she said, opening up packages of cream-filled buns from the bag. “And now, you woke me up and told me to eat, because you were worried, no?”

    “Eh?! I-I was, I was just—”

    “It’s ok,” she said surprisingly softly, albeit still naturally deep. “You don’t have to worry about me so much—I’ll be able to protect myself.”

    “…”

    “Hehhh? These are some pretty good buns. Where’d you get them?”

    “…The convenience store.”

    “And it’s filled with red bean paste, too! Must’ve been a pretty good deal.”

    “Yeah… it was…”

    “Although just water is a bit boring…”

    “W-well, if that’s all, then I’ll be returning to bed!”

    And with that, Alice slowly returned to her own bed, taking with her the rest of the remaining food. She ate four red bean paste buns within record time, and then delighted in some jerky. As time eventually came to pass, what followed next was silence once more as the other woman fell asleep, resuming her dreams and leaving Alice to herself.

    So it was another night—now what? What would be the topic of interest? How to pass the time? Before starting up her trance, however, Alice realized that, for once, she wasn’t necessarily alone. That’s right. Mystery was with her.

    Yes—Mystery was the whimsical name of which Alice bestowed upon the woman. The reasoning behind it was simple—it’s because she was a mystery.

    Mystery was currently asleep. Thinking about it, would she sleep for longer than usual again? It’d be best to start off early tomorrow, preferably before noon, but Alice didn’t want to wake her if she needed the sleep. What were they going to find at the Guildhouse? What records would they unravel about her? Did she really register in the Adventurer’s Association? What level of quest from the bulletin board would be the most suitable? How much money should she account for in order to move on with the journey? Amidst all these questions, Alice realized that she was thinking about—of all things—tomorrow. It was strange. Travel and travel; discover and discover; such is the life of an intrepid traveler such as Alice. But as for Alice, her own journey wasn’t about the future or anything as perplex as that. It was simply about herself—herself and the world as it was. Why was she thinking about tomorrow? Her nightly trance would always be about her experiences and the past; they didn’t usually swing this way towards tomorrow—towards the future . Was tonight’s session of deep thought simply an arbitrarily offbeat one? Did she simply think of the past too much, and her subconscious redirected its thoughts to topics about the future? Or perhaps—was it because she now had someone who was able to confide with her? Someone who, of all people, chose to partake on an emprise with Alice through the continent to search for what she’s lost? Someone who she needed to consider and take into account for? Who knows? For now, Alice slept.

    “I’m surprised you managed to wake up in time. We’re making decent progress,” Alice remarked, her sleeves covering her frosty lips. “There’s still half the city to travel until we reach it, though.”

    “Half the city, huh? That’s rather inconvenient,” the woman next to her said. “Were there no other cheap inns that weren’t located in the backwaters?”

    “Well, that’s where you’ll usually find better prices—something we’re currently in dire need of. For now, we should be thinking objectively.”

    “Objectively, huh?… For some reason, that way of thought doesn’t really click with me.”

    To Alice’s surprise, she didn’t find herself being surprised at all. Knowing the woman’s relentlessly breezy and insouciant demeanor, she was able to piece together the (now confirmed) theory that she was anything but objective.

    “Regardless, the thing about objectivity is that it’s factually sensible and practical to what’s important. You should start being more prudent, too, you know…”

    “Well... things will get better, eventually…”

    “'Things will get better', huh? By the way…aren’t you cold?” Alice asked, observing the distance between her and Mystery. She asked because it was still morning, with noon gradually closing in and the sun having yet to emerge from the clouds. There was that, and the fact that Mystery was most certainly within range of Alice’s permanently frosty aura.

    “Oh, me? It’s nothing at all, really.”

    “Eh? Are you sure? But you’re wearing such light clothing, too...”

    “Honestly, I’m beginning to think I usually wore light one-piece garments like this one.”

    “H-hoh… usually most people would be find it uncomfortable to stand too close to me…”

    “Hehhh? It’s nothing I can’t handle. If anything, I think it’s quite nice—almost like a gentle breeze,” she said, smiling.

    “...”

    “Hmm? Don’t you think it’s getting louder?”

    Without even realizing it, Alice had covered more distance than she initially expected. Time seemed to have flew by while she was engaged in her conversation with the woman.

    “That’s probably the city’s center. The amount of bustle there remains sky-high throughout most of the day.”

    “Heh? We’re cutting through the city plaza, then. Wonder what it’s like?”

    “Hmm? It’s like any other big city plaza—lots of business and recurring events, but not much of anything new. Did you forget that, too?”

    “Well, for me, at least—each one is different in its own way.”

    “Hmm, is that so.”

    “Actually, I think everything is different in its own way. The world’s far too big for anyone to stop running out of encounters with people you’ve never met, food you’ve never tasted, items you’ve never touched, and cultures you’ve never experienced. I think... every new experience is something waiting to be grasped.”

    “Eh?” Alice blinked, “That’s… rather profound of you…”

    “Oi, oi, that was profound of me?” she broke into a smile, “What kind of standards about me did you have before this, then?”

    “E-eh?! Oh, I… that wasn’t what I meant—”

    “Hehhh? That’s one big crowd gathered over there. What could be happening?”

    Alice tried, but she had no control over her slight irritation at the moment. For companions, she sure wanted to abruptly rectify the woman’s blitheness and breezy attitude, albeit slightly.

    “We need to register you to the association first,” Alice said, taking a short glance at the large crowd gathered at one particular corner of the plaza. “We’ll come back and shop around after earning money, if you’d like.” Then, she resumed walking towards the Guildhouse.

    The woman’s profound words that ”everything is different in its own way”—it had Alice thinking. The more she thought, the more realizations she made. The world was indeed incomprehensibly vast, so much so to the point where no amount of scrutiny directed towards any map could allow the scrutinizer any indication as to the beauty of the world’s grandeur. Indeed, nothing truly ever remains the same—not even emperors or empresses. Eventually, there’ll always be someone else—something else, to take over, but heavens know when that time will come. Alice was an intrepid traveler whose purpose was to journey the world in satiation of her wanderlust, yet it was her companion who had to spell it out for her that the world was big; that things were always changing. It was her companion who had to tell her—an intrepid traveler—that there was always the opportunity to look forward to food you’ve never tasted, items you’ve never touched, culture you’ve never experienced, and people you’ve never met. All those things listed—weren’t they something an intrepid traveler should have already known by heart? Something any traveler should have known by heart?

    Amidst her thoughts, she began to notice that she was walking alone.

    “Huh?” Alice managed to utter, searching around for her companion. It didn’t take long until she found her, not far away, striding towards the previously-mentioned large crowd of people. The woman certainly wasn’t thinking objectively. Considering their distance, Alice had to almost shout. “Mystery, where are you going!”

    “Hah? Oi, oi, we’re barely several meters away!”

    “There’s too much background noise!” Alice remarked, walking up to her companion.

    “Still… you didn’t need to use that name. “

    “It captured your attention, didn’t it? Besides, you said I could call you whatever I want.”

    “Yet of all names, you had to choose that one…”

    “W-we already talked about that on the way to the city! What were you planning to do, anyways? You’re worsening our situation by wasting time.”

    “Well… something really interesting seems to be going on over there.”

    Alice stared at her, her bright yellow eyes filled with contemplation as she exhaled frostily. “Fine. But we’re only getting hungrier every minute by staying here, you know!”

    “Ah, so that’s why you’re in a rush. I didn’t even realize that. My bad, Alice.”

    “J-just ignore what I said! Let’s hurry up with it.”

    And so, they walked towards the large, cheering crowd of onlookers. While Alice walked with her sleeves unparted from her lips still, her companion walked with an all-too-familiar smile on her face, obviously having been amused by her frosty companion. Once the two women were able to circumnavigate the immense crowd of fired-up spectators, they came to witness the reason for all this uproar—an arm-wrestling match. In particular, there was one eye-catching man, bulging with muscles visible through his simple leather vest, who stood proud as the single victor emerging from the previous match.

    “Eighty! So far, eighty contestants have failed to bring down today’s top contender! Is there anyone strong enough to put an end to Oaks’s rampage?!”