The song of the birds mixed with the light hums seeping out of the castle window. There, a little girl skipped around her room following a sweet melody, nostalgic in that she could no longer listen to it apart from singing it to herself. She brushed away at her hair matching its rhythm, making a dance out of her morning preparation.

She had marked the occasion on her calendar. 'Visit the Adventurer's Guild', she had written, in brightly colored ink.

That was today.

She stood in her room in only her underwear. Along the side of the bed, several sets of outdoor clothing draped down, each made of luxurious silks that gleamed all the colors of the rainbow. She spent some time looking closely at each one, but could not bring herself to select from among them.

They're all really beautiful, the cloth is soft and nice to the skin too, but... everything is basically a dress, isn't it? I mean, dresses are great and all, but sometimes, you'd want to mix it up, right?

For a while, she bobbed her head from side to side, thoroughly immersed in her troubles.

Then, the door creaked.

"Sylphie, are you ready yet?" a spirited voice said. A girl peeped her face into the room, dangling her crimson locks down, revealing her ear.

"Ah, Rika. Sorry, not yet..." she replied, "Hm... Say, which one do you like most?"

"Hm?"

Sylphia picked up a purple dress with a similarly colored ribbon ringing its waistline and hung it in front of her. The semi-transparent silver cloth traced the outline of her body as the bright morning sun seeped in through the window behind her.

"How does it look?" She struck a cute pose and gave a wink. "Doesn't it accentuate the color of my eyes?"

"Ahaha, I can't really tell." Rika scratched her head. "My family was never wealthy enough to buy dresses like these..."

Sylphia sighed. Placing her arms on her hips, she then said, "You don't have a single drop of romance in your body, have you? Listen up. This is the first time we go out in public! As Lord and Knight, you know? Well, I don't intend to brag about it, but still - isn't it common sense that we should make a good impression?"

"Uhh... yes?"

"Exactly! Now help me pick what to wear."

Though baffled for a moment, the redhead's expression quickly cleared up. "Ehehe, you're in a good mood today, Sylphie."

"Hm? Of course I am," She smirked. "I just took a bath this morning."

"Ooh, you mean the bathhouse within the castle walls?"

"Oh yes!" She pumped her chest out, the pendant bouncing against her skin as she did so. "And with this Royal Seal, I don't even need to ask permission to use it anymore!"

"Oh! Oh! Oh! I took one this morning too!" She clapped her hands together. "I just happened to walk across it earlier, and a maid told me my rank as Knight was enough to let me use it!"

"Oh?" True to its sort-of-medieval setting, bathing is still considered a luxury, afforded only to the rich and powerful. I say sort-of-medieval, because when you look at the clothing they produce, such as these dresses, they're more suited to modern fantasy tastes, than actual medieval clothing.

She crossed her arms.

Right, as if it were still a game... Still, I should probably be thankful that it isn't just full-on medieval...

While she was in lost in thought, Rika continued, "...and so, I thought- we should really go together some day!"

"Mm? Yeah, sure," she answered idly at first, "we..." But the moment her mind had processed the thought, she turned bright red so fast, it was as though steam puffed out of her ears. "...s-should!?" She put her hands on her reddened cheeks. M-m-me... and Rika... In a bath!?

All sorts of explicit images flooded her head in an instant. Unable to resist, her eyes glazed over and a lecherous grin formed on her face as she lost herself in a pink fantasy world. "Uhehe..."

"Hm...? Sylphie? Are you alright?" The girl pressed her palm onto Sylphia's forehead. "You're burning up..."

"E-eh!?" Her shoulders shot up. Giving her head a good shake, she popped herself back into reality. "A-ahem, yes, one day, we should."

"Ehehe." She grinned.

It's alright, r-right...? Th-there's nothing wrong with two girls sharing a bath... Mm. Of course. It's pure.

Pure.

Eventually, Sylphia just settled on the one she was already holding.

With their preparations complete, the two of them left the castle and set off into town on foot.

Though she had ridden across its streets a couple of times before, the view out of the window of a comfortable, well-furnished carriage gave quite a different, seemingly incomplete, or even fleeting, impression of the atmosphere she was experiencing at the moment. Indeed, it was the first time Sylphia had even spared a good look at the citizens of the capital city, eventhough she had already become quite familiar with those of a completely different town. Just being able to explore the streets at a more leisurely pace gave her a completely different level of appreciation of just how the city felt.

Its streets bustled with life, commerce and entertainment. Just as one would expect of the capital city, its people were prosperous. The high walls which encased the inner city kept out even the lesser folk - laborers and farmers for the most part, who lived at the outer suburbs.

Just off of the busy market street stood a large signpost. Painted on its wooden slate was a heraldic design, with a label that read, 'Adventurer's Guild'.

"Sylphie, is it this one?" asked Rika.

"Huh?" Sylphia nodded. "Yeah, it says Adventurer's Guild, right there."

"Oh...! I see! Hm. hm. So that's what 'Adventurer's Guild' looks like..."

"Hm? Rika, are you... not able to read?"

"M-mm, yeah..." She scratched the back of her head. "Ehehe."

"I see..."

I'd like to say I'm not surprised, but, given how things are in this age, it might have been more surprising to find a town guard who was able to read...

The little girl shrugged. "Well, don't worry about it and let's go in."

"Okay!"

Hmph, well if she's not really bothered about it, then I guess that's fine.

As soon as they entered, they came upon a large hall.

Off to one side, men and women, clad in various attires and armor, sat around large, rectangular tables. Some were drinking, some were chatting and laughing, while others were simply resting. There was a laid-back sense of freedom to these people. Unlike the regimented, almost robotic responses that they had gotten used to from the servants in the castle, here, conversation flowed freely, if more crudely, and people acted with little inhibition with one another.

On the other side of the hall, a line of counters, each manned by a woman in uniform, were lined up in an L-pattern facing the central space, where people queued up.

Woah, this is just as I imagined! These people in gear must be adventurers, which means, the ladies behind the counters are the guild receptionists! Haha, that makes things easy! Whoever said I'll never learn anything useful from playing games all day clearly didn't expect to get whisked away into one!

Well, of course they wouldn't...

"Sylphie, this way!" Rika tugged on her arm.

"Ack! Wait, wait! Hold on!" Pulling her arm back, Sylphia then gave Rika stern look, and said, "Before we go out there, I want you to remember one thing."

"Hm?"

She stood up on the tip of her toes and whispered into Rika's ear, "Do not reveal that I'm the Hero."

"Eeeh? Why? That would make things easy..."

She sighed. "I just don't want to attract that sort of attention right now. These are adventurers around us, so we need to make a good impression, right? If they find out I'm the hero, and they try to test me out, what do you think will happen?"

"Will happen...?"

"Either I'll need to run behind you, or I'll get killed for sure! Our reputation will be ruined, you know?"

"Mmm..." she grumbled, "aren't you overthinking this...? They're adventurers, not bandits...."

Her eye twitched. She then muttered in a low voice, "W-well... I also don't like to think that the only reason I got accepted was because I was the hero... So just play along, 'kay!?"

As if caught by surprise by Sylphia's timid answer, Rika's eyes widened, but only for a moment. A snicker soon slipped past her lips and she said, "Okay."

"Mm!" Sylphia smiled.

As the two of them made their way to the counter, queuing up properly as her instincts led her to do, the little girl continued, with a lighthearted beat to her voice, "Besides, isn't it awkward if people kept fawning over me because of my title? We're going to be adventurers, Rika! That sense of freedom, camaraderie, and of course, adventure! Isn't it more exciting if we're more on the level with everyone else?"

"Ah, That's right! It's more fun that way, isn't it?"

"It is, isn't it! I knew you'd get it!"

"Ehehe!"

As soon as their turn came, the receptionist greeted them with a cheerful smile. "Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild!" she said, "Would you like to put up a request?" She stood with a dignified grace that mirrored exactly that of modern-day office receptionists. That was not the only thing that struck Sylphia as strangely familiar. Even her uniform, comprised of a jacket and blouse, evoked the very image of modernity.

Anachronism aside, these uniforms are pretty nice. I wonder who makes these?

Putting it to one side for a moment, Sylphia shook her head and said, "Ah, no. Actually, we'd like to register as adventurers."

The receptionist's eyes widened. "As- huh?"

"Hm? I said we would like to register as adventurers?"

At that moment, the receptionists and even the adventurers on the adjacent counters turned their gazes towards the little girl.

Huh? W-what? Did I say something weird? Stop looking like me like I'm causing a scene!

"Um... I'm sorry miss, but we have an age limit for guild membership."

She raised her eyebrow. "Huh? So wha- ah." Her eyes glazed over. I forgot, Sylphia looks like a bloody 12-year-old...

"Sorry, little miss... but I'm sure you can try again in a few more years!"

"Pfft." Rika snorted. She then turned away, stifling her laughter.

"Gnnn-!" She bit her lips and clenched her fists. She then turned around to her partner and said beneath her breath, "Rika! You set me up, didn't you!? You knew this Guild had an age limit and didn't tell me right away!?"

"Sorry, Sylphie! I actually forgot! Really!"

She puffed her cheeks out.

"Geez, I said really!"

"Tsk, Fine." She turned back around. Then, in an attempt to regain her composure, Sylphia cleared her throat.

It'll take a bit more than a minor setback to get me down. This is a goddamn fantasy world! Like hell I'm going to wait before Sylphia's body grows up!

"I'm sorry, but there must be a misunderstanding." She said, "I may not look like it, but I'm actually older than this girl over here!"

The guild lady tilted her head to the side, showing a troubled look on her face.

"It's true!"

"Um..." The receptionist glanced anxiously at the people looking at them.

She clicked her tongue. This is going nowhere! Aaagh, Sylphia's just too cute to convince anyone she's my age. Hmm... to think being cute also has its downsides...

Tsk... should I use my power...?

There isn't a convince magic per-se, but seeing as I can make someone hallucinate when I use intimidation, then maybe I can do something similar using charm? If there's any magic user around though... She swivelled her eyes from side to side. They might think I'm attacking her. I'll get wasted in a heartbeat if I do something stupid.

It risky, but...

Here goes nothing. She then pushed herself up on her tiptoes and asked, "Miss Receptionist, please listen to me. You've heard of the Legendary Heroine of this Kingdom, right?"

The receptionist leaned closer. "Hm? What about her?"

Covering her mouth with her hand, she whispered, "Who do you think is the young girl facing you right now, asking to become an adventurer?" At the same time, a thin streak of black smoke leapt out of her tongue and slithered into the woman's lips.

"A-are you..."

"Shh. Can you keep it quiet? If possible, I'd like to join as a normal member."

"But wait, why would you..."

"Let's just say it's part of my training." She winked. Well, that's sort of true anyway. But really, I'm just in it to have fun.

The woman let out a sigh. "I understand." Then, raising her voice, she added, "I see, so you really are over 18 years-old after all!"

Oh! Nice one!

That outburst attracted the attention of the people on the adjacent counter, where people immediately began whispering amongst themselves.

"Right?" The receptionist gave her a wink back.

She giggled. "Mm!"

"Well then! Please wait while I prepare your registration." With a bow, the receptionist left the counter and disappeared deeper into the guild hall.

She sighed. In the end, it's my title as the heroine that gets me in...

Dangit.

Oh well, what's important is the adventure itself. No use flogging myself with my pride if it gets in the way of the fun! She slapped both her cheeks. Mm! It's from here on that matters!

Word quickly passed around of two female entrants into the guild.

The next thing the girls knew, all eyes had centered around them. Thus, did the adventurers mutter amongst one another. From the sheer amount of chatter, it was hard to pin the voices to their faces, and they all came in like background noise.

"A girl...? Wait, two girls!?"

"No way, for real!?"

"Shit, that red-haired girl's a fuckin' babe!"

"She's pretty..."

"The little girl doesn't look half bad, either..."

"Hey! That's a child you know!"

"S-s-she said she's over 18, right!? So it's totally okay!"

"Wha- you can't really believe..."

"Miss Cynthia believes her, are you saying she's a liar or something, huh!?"

"W-wait, no that's not what I'm-"

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Come here, you, and we'll have a good 'talk'!"

"Wait sto-"

Woah, we're already attracting this much attention, even without knowing I'm a hero...? She gave the crowd-shy Rika a quick glance. Ahh... she's really cute when she's embarrassed like this. I don't really get it, though, she's usually so energetic, I'd assumed she'd do well with crowds. Hmm... She smirked. Well, whatever the reason, it's really adorable. Mm-hmm. That's gap moe for you.

"Hm?" Rika cocked her head.

Eventually, some of the adventurers got up and approached them, asking them about themselves.

The first among them said, "Yo, I couldn't help but overhear, but if you ladies are planning to join the guild, it'd be good to party up with more experienced members, you know?" He smiled, showing his pearly whites as he did so.

"U-uh... hahaha..." Sylphia simply smiled back.

We aren't even finished registering, you know? Then, just as she was about to dismiss them, a mischievous thought took root in her head. Well, it's only polite to introduce ourselves to our future colleagues...

Thr little girl thus stepped forward, gave a curtsy in front of the crowd, and said, "Good morning, everyone." She made her voice even tinier than it usually was. Her head then swiveled to the adventurers around them, greeting each of them with a sweet smile. "Allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Syl... phie. Sylphie. Mm. And over here is my partner..." With a giggle, she presented her hand before Rika.

"Eh!? A-ah..." Caught in the spotlight all of a sudden, Rika's first instinct was to nod down. Then, with a timid smile, she said, "M-my name is Rika! Nice to meet you!"

Cute! Definitely a solid 10/10. Sylphia giggled to herself and then said, "Pleased to meet you all."

As if all sound in the room vanished into a vacuum, an oppressive silence built up a bottled up tension. It built up for several moments, collecting in shared glances and bit lips. And then, like a well-shaken bottle of brand new champagne, all of that pressure exploded at once.

"Uooooooooh!!" Like a blast wave, the adventurers' voices shook the guild hall to its very foundation. Some cheered amongst themselves whilst pumping their fists in the air. Meanwhile, others jumped at the opportunity and pined the two girls for their attention.

"Miss Rika, please join our party!"

"No, she's coming with us!"

"Ahh, I want to go on an adventure with them!"

"I want to take Sylphie hooooome!"

Th-they're... really nice, aren't they...? Sylphia's eyelid twitched.

"Um, excuse me! Excuse me!" The receptionist struggled to both wade through the threshing mass of adventurers and to get a word in from all the noise. In her frustration, she shoved her hand into an adventurer's face, forcing her way past the crowd. "Um," She spoke right into Sylphia's ear, "I'm sorry if this is rude, but, even if you are with the Hero, the guild rules say that all new members should start at the Apprentice rank, and should register under a Master..."

"Yeah!" Sylphia gave her a thumbs up. "That should be fine!"

A wide smile appeared on the guild receptionist's face. "Thank you very much! And thank you for joining our guild!"

Later, Sylphia and Rika were taken to a private room to formalize their membership into the Guild.

"Please wait here," the receptionist said, "the guild scribe should arrive momentarily with the necessary forms." She then took a bow before leaving the room.

Scribe, huh? That makes sense... with very few people able to read or write, I guess being a scribe qualifies as a job too, huh? Hell, if this Hero business doesn't pan out, maybe I could make a living as a scribe too! She snickered to herself. Just kidding.

After a while, the door opened with a creak.

"U-um..." A woman wrapped all around in a large mantle entered the room. "I am the guild scribe, Letty." She squeezed a book with a dark cover between her forearms and chest.

Ah, here we go. What's with the mantle, though? We're indoors, you know?

"Let's begin your registration." Her voice was as meek as her mannerisms - low and breathy; almost monotonous if her voice did not squeak slightly each time she tried to raise her voice at the beginning of every sentence.

The scribe took her seat across the table and placed the book on the table. On its cover, the words 'Guild Ledger' were written, in plain English. Finally, she opened the book and flipped across its pages. Page after page flew by, filled to the brim with names, and assorted information, all written by hand. Eventually, she reached a blank page. Finally, producing a bottle of ink and a feather quill from within her mantle, she started writing.

The registration resembled more an interview, and she asked them not only their names but also religion, previous occupation and place and date of birth.

Sylphia had come up with a backstory for herself beforehand, made thanks to Rika's local knowledge. At first, the scribe, Letty, looked skeptical, but she made little effort in questioning its validity. After all, her word was already backed up by the receptionist from earlier.

Thus, she was recorded as having been born in the Kingdom of Londinium, 19 years ago - a girl from Brandonbury who lost her parents at an early age and met Rika during her travels.

Finally, Letty closed the ledger and faced them. "The last step is to register under a Master as their apprentice," she said.

"A Master?" Sylphia cocked her head.

Letty nodded. "A Master ranked member of the guild. Someone who will teach you and guide you along the way until you reach Journeyman status, where you can go independent."

"I see..."

"Please do so." She thus closed the ledger and packed up her materials.

"Um, wait," Sylphia reached out to her. Where are we going to find these masters?"

"Um... well, I-" She squeezed the ledger into her chest. "Um..." Then, biting her lips she turned her eyes away. "A- mm..." She sighed. "There... should be a few in the guild reception hall."

"Mm...?" Sylphia nodded with a blank expression. "I... see, thank you."

Is she okay?

With the registration finished, all of them left the room and returned to the main hall.

"Thank you." Letty nodded. "I will now file this with the guild's records. Your guild crest will be finished in one to three days. In the meantime, when you accept a request from the guild receptionists, make sure you ask for a temporary seal."

Sylphia nodded while Rika waved merrily at her as she walked away.

A Master, huh? That means we're going to be taking in a third member? Hmm... I don't know... Suddenly getting a third wheel out of nowhere is just...

"Sylphie..." Rika pulled at her sleeves.

"Hm?"

"She was pretty nice, wasn't she?"

"Hm? Really?" She rubbed her chin. Well, it's not like she was rude or anything... but I don't see how she was especially nice either. I thought she was quite cold, actually. Though that sort of shy personality does have its own charm...

Like being subjected to tender bullying.

At that moment, her head was filled with images of that awkward girl's reactions while being tormented. Heheh... With eyes glazed over, and a lecherous grin plastered over her face, she lost herself in her fantasies. Uhehehe...

"Mm!" She grinned. "She really took care to tell us everything we needed to know!"

Sylphia snapped back into reality. "Huh? Er, what?" She cocked her head. "How is that being nice? Isn't that a given?"

Rika shook her head. "I tried joining a few guilds before, like the Adventurer's Guild in Carrington, and normally, people expect you to know all of that beforehand..."

"Ahh..."

"Oftentimes, I even saw newcomers being given a hard time by the senior members, or even the staff!" Rika hung her head, as if a weight fell on her shoulders all of a sudden. "You don't come across people that nice all too often..." She tried to eke out a smile in spite of herself.

"Huh..." She put a hand to her cheek. "You were an adventurer?"

"Ah, ehehe... I never mentioned it? Well, it was a really short stint anyway. There isn't a guild in Ealdton, so I visited the neighboring town to join one." She scratched her cheek. Well, that didn't last long..."

"Oh... may I ask why?"

"Ah, it's nothing big, really! It's just... being an adventurer's a really unstable source of income. Well, that and my dad kept pestering me to find a 'real job'..."

Sylphia giggled. So even Rika's been through some tough times, huh? I honestly wouldn't have guessed, from that personality of hers. Stretching out her hand, she then gave the industrious girl a pat on the head. "I see." She couldn't quite reach at first, even at her tiptoes, but Rika quickly took notice and bent her knees slightly to let her reach.

"Geez, I should be the one patting you, not the other way around!"

 Her knight puffed her cheek out.

"Hmph." She tilted her head away and looked at Rika from the corner of her eye. "Isn't it a given that the Lord should pet their Knight?"

"What the heck?" She snickered. "I've never heard of a rule like that."

"Well, now you have." She continued stroking her hair for a while.

Locks of deep crimson split and stood from the motion, but it did not bother Rika. Indeed, she had, on her face, a contented expression the entire time. After a while, she took a shallow breath."You're pretty nice too, Sylphie."

She paused for a moment, and then said, "Mm... thanks."

When they returned to the reception counters, a whole bunch of adventurers had gathered, awaiting their arrival.

"Hey, hey!" One of them, clad in polished plate armor, said, "You'll be looking for a Master now, right, Miss Rika?" He smiled and winked at the same time, as well as pointed his thumb at himself. "How about it? I'll make you into a star adventurer in no time!"

"Pheh," Another one stepped forward, with a large bow strapped to his back. His golden locks of hair swayed from side to side as he made an exaggerated stride towards them. "You could study under the musclebrain here and learn how to be a meatshield." He then pointed his thumb at himself. "Or you could study under me, and learn all the tricks of the trade, so you never have to worry about getting hurt!"

"What did you say!?" the first adventurer raised his fist at the other and the two of them descended into bickering.

In the meanwhile, a third one stepped up and screamed at the top of his lungs, "Being an adventurer means fighting spirit!" He pumped his fists vigorously in the air. "A battle is only half the physical, the rest is the battle of burning souls! Join me, and I will kindle the fire that will ignite your passion!"

Uwah... they're really fired up... I don't think I want to go adventuring with such energetic-

"Uho!" Rika pumped her fist in the air. "That's right! It's all about fighting spirit, isn't it!?"

"Oh, you get it don't you!" the man shouted, "I knew I saw a burning soul the moment I laid eyes on you! Or was it the hair? Aaaahahahahaha!"

"It was the hair!?" Rika slapped him on the arm. "Hahahaha!"

"Uohohoho!" He put his arms on his waist. "Aaaahahahahahaha!"

Sylphia winced. Eeeeeh!? She actually resonated with the fighting spirit guy!? I-I feel my impression of Rika crumbling away... After a quick look around, she noticed that most of the adventurers were men. Aha, I see. Not many girls sign up in the Adventurer's Guild, huh? Explains why these meatheads- err, Masters, are falling head over heels to get us to become their apprentices...

Tsk, and she was all shy earlier too... So, she's the type who instantly feels comfortable after just getting acquainted with someone... Tsk, just like my dad... I don't get how people like that work...

As the various adventurers were fawning over Rika's cheerful nature, Sylphia slipped out for a moment to catch her breath.

Phew, that was excruciating... when it comes right down to it, I'm not good with crowds either, just that I don't spill the spaghetti in my pockets whenever I encounter one.

She then looked back at Rika, who was now getting along very well indeed with the adventurers.

That cheerful personality of hers is really something... And yeah, she's pretty cute, when it comes right down to it, but why wasn't anyone complimenting me!? Hm!? Does my personality suck...? Ah, wait a second- She placed her hands on her chest. Would that be a crime in this world? Hm. I suppose it is! Otherwise, they'd all be head-over-heels for my overwhelming cuteness! That's right! Of course. It wouldn't make sense otherwise. While she deluded herself, a couple of figures in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Hm?

In the back of the reception hall, the awkward scribe who interviewed them earlier, Letty, faced a guild receptionist. It appeared as if she was being given a stern talking to.

Hm? Is she in trouble? Sylphia decided to sneak closer and eavesdrop from behind a nearby column.

"Is it really okay, Letty?" the receptionist said.

"I... told you it's okay," she replied, her head tilted downwards.

"The council's deadline is gonna hit tomorrow, you know?" The receptionist placed her hands on her waist. "If that happens, you might get downranked, or worse..."

"It's okay, Christa..." Letty tried to reach her arm out to her but hesitated at the last moment. "I'm... prepared for it."

"But..!" The receptionist, Christa, bit her lips. "You're just going to take it, without doing anything? That's just wrong!"

Letty lowered her head even further.

"You worked so hard to get to where you are, and you're just going to let it go!?"

She started fidgeting with her fingers. "I'm... sorry..."

"Don't apologize to me!"

She flinched.

"Can't you just give it a try?" She held out her open her palms to the awkward scribe. "We just had two people join the guild today, can't you just try to get them to be your Apprentices?"

"B-but... they wouldn't want to-"

"Why do you assume they won't want to!? You're still a Master, aren't you?" Christa's voice rang out in the back of the hall. At this point, some of the other guild receptionists in front were starting to give them awkward glances.

Meanwhile, Letty was on the verge of tears.

Hm, hm... I think I get the gist of it. So Letty herself is a Master, huh...? Sylphia smirked. That gives me a great idea... If we're gonna be having a third person in our team anyway, of course, I'd rather it be a cute girl! She looked back towards the reception counters, where Rika was still having a lot of fun with the other adventurers.

She sneered, "Sorry, guys, but I'm not letting any of you have my girl!"