The morning sun rose, beaming its light from behind the rows of mountains far over the horizon.

Its warm glow penetrated the Sylphia's eyelids, pulling her away from slumber. Hunching forward, she stretched her body out. Her arms and legs creaked, releasing a night's worth of tension from sleeping while sitting. She looked around her, to the dreary tanned canvas spread over the frame of the wagon, to the dark wooden frame upon she and her friends sat.

Still sleeping, Rika's head bobbed up and down with her breathing. Her body tilted slowly towards Sylphia beside her and then back again. She didn't snore, but whenever their wagon hit a bump on the road, she would choke and moan.

Meanwhile, Sylphia continued observing her with an adoring smile on her lips.

Deeper into the wagon, their two adventurer companions slept shoulder-to-shoulder. She was sure they were not positioned like that when they slept. In particular, Ceressa, who originally slept leaning her head against the back of the wagon, now leaned the other way, with her head on Ruth's shoulder.

Oh, this is going to be interesting once she wakes up.

Finally, she turned her head towards Letty, opposite her.

To her surprise, she was met by a curious gaze rather than a sleeping face.

With a small smile, Letty greeted her. She couldn't actually hear her voice over the sound of the wagon, but her lips read clearly. 'Good morning,' she said. Mouthing those same words back, she returned a smile and then looked out the back of the wagon.

A vast open plain stretched out behind them. Tracing the road as far back as she could, the dark brown trail ended right behind a patch of trees just before disappearing in the horizon. Spread sparsely around the countryside were small clumps of houses, surrounded by farmland. As their journey continued, open farmlands gave way to more and more buildings, until eventually, the sound of the wagon wheel changed.

With a last buck, the wagon finally stopped shaking.

Woah.

Soon, the dirt road behind them ended, and a paved road began.

I remember this. It was weird how the pavement suddenly stopped here. But getting back on the stone road means...

She turned around and peeked past the driver's raised seat. There, she caught a glimpse of two layers of crenellated stone walls, one placed higher and farther than the other.

We're back at the Capitol, Wyllset-and-Aubury.

The two layers of walls represented the Capitol's constituent parts. Wyllset, the lower district, formed a concentric ring around the upper district of Aubury. Separating them was a second tier of walls, which served both as additional defense from invaders, or, more often, a barrier between the rich, living in Aubury, and the rest, living in Wyllset.

But even before they had passed the shadow of the outermost gates, the roadside was already dotted with houses, farms and small businesses. This was outer Wyllset - an enormous suburban sprawl that surrounded the capitol on all sides.

Alphonso warned me about this place. He said I shouldn't stray too far from the castle. Not that it was ever a problem. I'm the indoors-type anyway.

Though the buildings resembled those seen in Dellwick, these were a bit more dirty and rickety. Though just how a shack in the capitol somehow fared worse than one in a rural village escaped her.

I wouldn't call it a slum... having seen my fair share of slums in the old world, but you can easily plaster 'poor as dirt' on every one of these homes and no one will bat an eye.

Soon enough, they passed beneath the long shadow of Wyllset-North gatehouse - the same one they took going out. Stone masonry scrolled by as though they entered a tunnel. On the other side, the sun's glare awaited them, reflecting off the helmets of the guards stationed along the sides. And just like that, they were inside.

As if beckoned by the tireless noise of the Capitol's streets, the rest stirred from their slumber.

"Hngaaaaaaah...." Ceressa stretched her arms out, pushing herself away from Ruth in the process. Oblivious to her own actions, she then took notice of Sylphia who had, until then, been anticipating an amusing reaction. "What?"

"Ehh..." Sylphia's eyelids drooped down. "How boring."

"Huh?" She clicked her tongue. "The heck... I've just woken up, too."

"Hihi, it's nothing!"

"That just annoys me even more!"

Their wagon soon climbed the sloped road up to a second gatehouse. They had to wait for a short time as, unlike at the last gate, it looked like the guards were inspecting the wagons passing through.

"Hm? What's going on?" asked Sylphia. "There wasn't a traffic jam like this back when we left."

"Some sort of accident...?" Rika answered groggily.

By the time it was their turn to be inspected, a couple of armed guards went around the back, asking where they came from.

"U-um... we're adventurers from the guild," Letty said, handing a document to the man, "and um... just returned from Dellwick."

"Hmm... adventurers, huh?" the man muttered, "Signed... Master Laeticia Ainsland..." He then turned to his subordinate. "Checks out. What do you think?"

Meanwhile, Sylphia cupped her mouth and whispered to her, "Who?"

"A-ah... that's... my full name."

"Oh..." she nodded.

I thought 'Letty' was her real name...

The second guard furled his brows. "Hold on, what are those?", he said, pointing to their baggage. "You said you were coming back, right? That means the quest is over. Then why are your bags still that full?"

"Eh? E-erm..." Letty fidgeted. "We... didn't use them all."

"Hm...? Those shifty eyes of yours. Very suspicious."

"E-eeeh!?" She clasped her hands over her chest. "Th-that's not... that's just... how I always look..."

Ack! Don't tell me... she's still awkward to strangers!?

In a split-second decision, Sylphia moved beside Letty and coiled her arm around her waist. "Hey, good morning, officer!" she said, "Sorry about my friend, she's a bit shy."

"Huh?" The man leered at her.

"Well, a bunch of things happened, and so we didn't need to use much of the supplies we brought, see? So here we are."

"Huh. A bunch of things, eh? I see. That's adventuring for ya'." He seemed convinced at first, but he then squinted, asking, "Hold on a minute, is this girl with you? She can't be an adventurer, there's an age limit-"

"Ah." She flinched.

The man scowled. "Alright, all of you, get out of that wagon."

"Eh!? Wait! I really am-"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll hear your excuses later. Get out."

And so, they all climbed down the back while the guards perused their luggage.

"Uuuuu..." She sniffled. "I really am over the age limit, I tell you!"

"Don't mind it." Rika, now a bit more awake, patted her back.

"Geez..." Ceressa moaned, "What a drag."

"Sorry..." Letty whimpered.

Ruth then said, "Don't worry about it, Miss Letty. We aren't holding anything illegal, so let's just bear with it, and we'll be on our way."

"But," Sylphia replied, "what if they cause a fuss about me?"

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"Err... well, can't you just tell them your true identity?"

"I'd rather not..."

Ceressa sighed. "What's wrong with people knowing about it, anyway? Shouldn't you be spreading your title instead of hiding it away?"

"'Cause it'll be a pain," she answered with a glare.

Taken by surprise, the woman turned away, mumbling to herself, "A pain, she says..."

Ruth then stepped between them, saying, "Well, I guess we all have our own difficulties. If Sylphie doesn't want to, there's no point in forcing the issue."

"Mm." Sylphia nodded. "Thanks."

The guards took their time scouring every nook and cranny of the wagon, leaving the adventurers with empty air while they waited under the sun.

As if to stifle the awkward silence brewing between them, Letty spoke up, "Ah... I just remembered. When we return to the guild, can you all wait for me at the lobby?"

"Uh... sure, Miss Letty." Ruth curiously said. "What's going on?"

"It's just... going to report our quest to the guild master before we turn it in... um... to see if I could reclassify to Master-class, so you could get an appropriate achievement for your effort..."

"Huah!?" Ceressa's eyes widened. "R-really!?"

"M-Mm... well, I doubt the bounty could be increased... but, at least, this quest can apply as a Master-class achievement for everyone." She then tilted her head and smiled. "That would mean you can apply for a promotion to the next rank."

"N-no way..."

"Really, Miss Letty!?" Ruth yelled, "You would do that!?"

"E-eh? Um, well... I'm not sure yet if my request will be accepted... b-but I'll try my best...!" She pumped her arms up over her chest.

He then leapt at her, grabbing her hands and clasping them within his own. "Thank you, Miss Letty! Thank you!"

Flustered, the timid scribe's cheeks flushed red. "E- a- err... d-don't thank me yet..."

"Oh?" Sylphia cocked her head. "That means we could already get promoted? That was fast."

"A-ah..." she covered her mouth, "I'm sorry, but as for Sylphie and Rika, you'll have to wait until after the mandatory five-month arbitration period... strictly speaking, you two aren't full-fledged adventurers yet. You haven't even received your crests..."

"Oh, yeah."

"But don't worry, after that, you can still refer to this request as your achievement for a promotion to Journeyman."

"Hmm... Journeyman, huh...?"

Ruth said, "That's the same rank as we have now! With it, you can gain access to better paid quests, and even join any party you like, even without the consent of your Master!"

"I see..." She crossed her arms. "But then again... quests harder than the one we just finished, huh...?"

"W-well, this one was a special case... I doubt you'll run into something like it again..."

"In any case, I think I'm done with adventuring for a while, so you guys can keep all the supplies we still have."

"Oh? Are you sure?" Ceressa asked. "I certainly wouldn't mind free supplies."

I'm sure you wouldn't.

Ruth nodded, saying, "It's important to take a break, too. This was one heck of a quest we went through..."

"It sure was." Sylphia scratched her head.

After a while, the first guard approached them and gave them the go-ahead to enter.

"Sorry for the inconvenience," he said, "just doing our job. The city's suffering lately, from smugglers bringing Jizzarian Spice into Aubury, so we're extra careful around bulk goods."

She let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, it looks like he forgot about me.

But just as she thought she was off the hook, the other guard shoved his face right at her.

Or not!?

"Hrm," the man grumbled, "it's not really our business who the guild recruits. But young lady, you ought to stay on your toes, a'ight? An adventurer's life ain't easy."

"A-ahh..." She averted her gaze and nodded.

Just as the man was about to pull away, Letty wondered aloud, "Jizzarian... Spice?"

"Yeah. Don't know about it? Then it's better that way! Anyway, you're holding up the line, so get moving!"

"Y-yes! Sorry!"

But spice smugglers, huh...? I guess someone's trying to evade customs duties? I suppose it's the same in any world - everyone wants to avoid paying as much tax as possible.

Sylphia shrugged.

I can sympathize with that.

And so, they continued on their way to the guild house. There, they turned over their quest for a bounty of 100 silver coins. Further, it was confirmed that the quest was accepted as a Master-level achievement for their party, prompting a flash-feast that nearly drained their entire reward on food and alcohol.

Luckily, Sylphia was able to spirit her share away without anyone noticing.

"Pwah!" the little girl moaned.

Even while her hair was still moist from having just taken a bath, she paid it no heed and followed heart's desires - namely, flopping face-down into her soft, clean bed.

A welcoming sensation tingled the back of her mind as the fabric squeezed into her tiny body, triggering an expression of pure bliss. Her eyes rolled up and her lips stretched wide open as she giggled happily to herself.

"Ehehe, ehehehehe... I missed you so much..." She cuddled her pillow, at the same time brushing her face into it.

Once satisfied, she turned herself over and let out a deep sigh. Peeking an eye out from beneath her forearm, she stared blankly at the ceiling.

Adventuring, huh?

Slowly, her eyes fell. The soothing quiet, coupled with the cool breeze, blowing in from the window gently nursed her to sleep.

It was a lot of fun, that time we spent together...

Little by little, her mind drifted to the memories freshly drawn on her mind. Looking back on it coaxed a peaceful smile on her face.

...but that active lifestyle isn't for me. If anything, I'd probably choose something similar to Letty's job instead. Hah.

And so, her consciousness drifted away.

She swore that she saw quite the pleasant dream that night.

As she tried to pry heavy eyes back open, she tried her best to recall it, if only to savor once more the fantasy that was now woefully out of reach. But the next thing she knew, she was jolted fully awake by a knock on her door.

"Eh!?" She sat up.

The sun was already shining into her window, and an unfamiliar voice was calling for her outside the door.

"Hold on!" she yelled, buying time for her to put on something decent.

Whilst still brushing her hair, she pulled the door slightly ajar and peeked out.

"Yes, who is it?" she asked.

"Ah, Lord Heroine, good morning," the guardsman said, "the King has summoned you for an urgent meeting today. Please join him in his quarters this 2 o'clock in the afternoon."

"Ah... okay, thanks. I'll call Rika, then."

"No, I was informed that this summon was for only the Lord Heroine. Her knight may not participate."

"Ueh...!?" Her heart fell as she muttered, "...am I in trouble...?"

And for what!?

"That is all!" The man thus gave her a salute before marching away in knightly fashion.

And in his wake, he left a dumbfounded, and terribly anxious little girl.