Elara raised her right knee within her chest level as her foot faces the man. The sudden moment she extended her legs, the man flew straight out of the building, leaving a hole on the double doors.

Adventurers, receptionists, commissioners… everyone caught our attention. Dead silence scattered around the interior until Elara stepped her foot back on the ground.

Elara growled, “Did you mean what you’ve said!?”

The two other men left their mouths hanging open as they followed the trail of air that their leader left. They shouted synchronously, “Boss!”

“You two? Would you like to end up like him?”

“Damn you!” Instead of turning back, the two men draw their weapons and launched at Elara.

Elara evaded the first man’s blade swing and hit his groin like a car hit his body. The first man ended up flying upward and suffered another injuring as he falls the ground.

The second man thrusted his blade towards me without knowing my capabilities of my battle experience. As he continued his launched, I whispered another custom spell.

“Begone, demon in disguise.”

In fact, it was Smite spell to throw away his weapon from his hand. Lately that he realized that he had no weapon while running at me, I stepped on his foot, causing for the wooden floor to break.

He fell inside the hole he created. When his head reaches my shoulder level, I jabbed his skull with my elbows. He fell deeper until his head is the only visible part of his body.

The three ended up getting knocked down on the first hit. As the fight ended, the loudest cheer of the crowd deafened us. Their shouts resonated outside the building.

“You’re amazing, older sister! You knocked that bastard in one blow. Now, he can shut up forever!”

“Those moves are sick! If I’m in there, I should have died already. You saved us another trouble. You also helped new adventurers’ safety!”

“Now, there’s nothing to worry about! That punk should rot in jail for the rest of his life!”

“You too, little girl, you’re amazing! How old are you? Did you inherit your genes from your older sister? Your parents must have been the hero and the demon lord! HAHAHAHA!”

Praise here and there, they never stopped… not until the guild master went down the stairs from the second floor of the building. Shouts transformed into whispers.

The guild master stood tall with a height few inches higher than Elara’s. His freckles shown how aged he was, combined with visible nerves across his arms. He wore a formal thick silk polo cloth that represented his authority and position.

The moment he got near us, he whispered something at Elara and climbed up the stairs. As per Elara’s gesture, she told me that we should follow him.

Above the guild is a room with a central desk, a coffee table surrounded with two couches, and various paintings and medals hanging on the walls.

He asked us to sit in either of the couch as he retracted himself in his desk. After that, he fidgeted his fingers as he rested his arms on his desk and leaned towards us. I don’t know his name yet.

“What is your highness, the princess of the kingdom, doing here?” He asked.

A sudden pause filled the air, then I flinched after. “H—How did you know!?” I exclaimed with dilated pupils.

“There’s only one possible candidate willing to be in presence of the court maid, Veniara Ravelgrace, the first princess of the kingdom, second to the Ravelgrace bloodline.”

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“That’s too much detail.”

“You’re also the continent’s Saintess candidate, the first rookie to hit the Cavalry Captain, and the one who defeated the giant golem in Harswell Woods. Should I include the part that you escaped your engagement today?”

“That’s more than too much of you should know!” I shouted with gritting teeth. “How could someone whose name I don’t know have too much knowledge about me? At which part of the castle are you stalking?”

“Forgive me for my late introduction. I’m the guild master of the adventurer guild in the city of Valenluire Town, Urthus Darksorrow. If you’re curious on why I knew most about you, this is the reason,” he said, showing us the job post we gave earlier.

What Jes requested us to do was a commission to hunt eleven species of Entero Doflain. From what I had remembered in the books, this monster was literally a giant squid.

Because I didn’t tell her the reason why I need to escape the castle, she also hid why she called that commission. My only hint is ‘from a friend.’ As expected of one who had ears on the ground, she already knew my intention from the start.

“And how does hunting a kind of devilfish relate to Miss Veniara?” Elara asked.

“Entero Doflain is a type of octopus lurking in the lake a kilometer away from the city walls. Those who ask for its material are educators,” Urthus replied.

“Teacher Jes requested that material because she’s an educator, isn’t she?” I asked.

“What material does researchers commonly ask from the guild, and what does it contain?” He asked.

“A socket… and ink?”

“Ink is the common material to print texts in books. This is mostly used by educators in printing reference materials for students. Aside from this use, for what reason do you think it’s widely used?”

His question made me pinch my chin. I squinted my eyes, staring down as I think of possible answers to his question.

With his help, I’m able to narrow down the choices in his quiz. Something printed and related to me, there’s only one possible candidate.

A tabloid.

My name wasn’t on it, but if some reader noticed the connections of the sequence of events, I would surely appear. The guild master was a fan of tabloids.

I bit my fingernails as I growled, “that damn blabbermouthed woman! I suddenly lost the motivation to do this quest.”

“Aren’t you informed about the Lost Lantern Press? They’re currently the ones responsible in posting news in daily basis. The unnamed child was the popular among the series. It was you all along.”

“That is biased journalism!” I argued. It looks like I got a building to burn.

“By the way, I’m still expecting an answer to my question earlier, Little Miss Veniara,” Urthus said. “What is the princess of the kingdom doing here?”

“Like the tabloid stated, I’m just escaping some forced random engagement that will destroy my life. There’s no other intent in me roaming around the city.”

“Hmm?” Urthus mumbled in doubt. “Just to clarify, Princess Veniara, the guild will not going to receive a warning letter from the knights, telling us to cease our operations, are we?”

Did they call us here for that? It’s true that I caused the knights to swarm the city a year ago, but I never knew that the economy is greatly affected by it.

It might be right to leave a letter at my bedroom, but I am not sure whether Father will storm the city again with knights.

I stood up and bowed my head facing him, showing my deed of apology.

“I, as the representative of the royal family, am fully aware of my absence at the royal palace. I’ve also considered countless possibilities that may arose throughout this journey. Pray tell, I’ve already informed your majesty about my return, so the knights won’t repeat the same crisis again.”

“Please raise your head, your majesty,” Urthus commanded. “It’s the sole reason I called you up here. Also, I shall give this to you.”

He gave a card to me, having an etch of wood on its edge. As I scanned it, a different name was carved. “Vena Ingram? Who is that?”

“It’s your false persona by now. I’ve taken the reference of your Family Name from Ellyn. You can’t just barge into any adventurer’s guild without considering your position,” he explained.

“That explains it. Thank you very much, grand master!” I exclaimed with a wide grin on my mouth. My eyes downturned from obvious joy.

“That’s good, Miss Veniara! You got an adventurer’s card without taking exams!” Elara cheered.

Suddenly, I turned at her with my furrowed eyebrows, with all of my happiness converted into confusion. I squinted my eyes at her and asked.

“There’s an exam!?”

After a moment, the guild master allowed us to leave without any further inquiries. As we walk towards the door, the crowd cheered us again like we were celebrities.

“Elara, is this bad that we’re famous?” I asked.

“We can’t do anything about it, Miss Vena.”

“Drop the miss. Just Vena is fine. The adventurers already mistook us as sister.”

“Alright then, Vena.”

“WAIT!” Suddenly, a kid’s voice halted us from walking out. As we turned back, we saw a boy who has short, messy brown hair and bright and curious brown eyes.

He was smaller in stature compared to me, making him appear weaker. He wore a faded green tunic and patched-up trousers, showing signs of his financial struggles.

“Can we help you?” I asked.

With wavy lips, the boy squirmed his arms before him. He took four stutters before he completed his statement. Instead of a request, he overwhelmed us with a shout.

“C—Can I join your party!?”