After being summoned by the muscular man, we were taken to the second floor of the guild. As soon as we entered one of the rooms, the man asked us to sit on the couch while he sat in front of us. The place we were in now reminded me a lot of an interview room or an office.

However, even now that we were already here, I still didn't know the reason why we had been summoned. In fact, I even had a hunch about the reason, but I was seriously praying that it wasn't the case.

"Well, first of all, I will introduce myself to you. My name is Eldric, and I am the leader of the adventurers' guild. Feel free to call me by my name or simply Master, as that's what I'm usually called"

Said the man as he alternated his gaze between me and the girls.

"Right... I will go with Eldric, then"

I said as I looked at the man.

"Make yourself at home"

Eldric said, not seeming to care about that.

"So... why were we summoned?"

I asked, cutting to the chase. Upon hearing my words, Eldric pulled out a paper from inside a drawer that seemed to be on his desk. After reading it for a few seconds, he turned his gaze back to us.

"It says here that you recently completed a mission to subdue goblins. Although this is not so common, the strange part is the number of ears that made me summon you here"

Said Eldric as he looked at me. Hearing his words, a tired sigh escaped my lips.

"By any chance, a tall man wearing armor came to complain about this?"

I asked as I looked at Eldric.

"Hmm... while it is true that we had a complaint, it was not the reason I summoned you here"

Eldric replied. Hearing his words, a frown appeared on my face as our presence here now made even less sense than before.

"Then why?"

As soon as I asked that, Eldric looked into my eyes and inquired.

"Where exactly did you find all these goblins... in some kind of cave?"

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Eldric asked, looking at me seriously. I really didn't know where he was going with this, but I thought it would be better to just answer his questions since he seemed serious about it.

"We found them in a settlement of some sort while exploring the forest... actually, there were more; we just couldn't bring back their parts since some were unrecognizable after the fight"

I explained. Hearing my words, Eldric nodded slightly before getting a worried expression on his face.

"I figured that was the case"

Seeing his expression, I was genuinely curious to know what was going on.

"Isn't that common?"

I asked as I looked at Eldric. Hearing my words, Eldric seemed to think for a few seconds before he finally seemed to make up his mind.

"If we are going to talk about common, then this is clearly unusual. For starters, goblins normally live in caves, and if we count the number you say you have seen, then surely it is more than one group mixed together. Possibly something could be going on"

Said Eldric as he pondered his own words. The girls looked at each other, confused and not understanding what exactly this could mean. But to me, it could only mean one thing.

"So... are you implying that something has driven them out from where they were previously?"

Hearing my words, Eldric looked at me for a few seconds before nodding. As soon as I got the confirmation, I knew that this would only lead us to a possible future, and I certainly wanted to be well away from here when it occurred. Getting ready to speak again, my attention was turned to the door, which opened abruptly.

"Daddy, you promised Ivy you would take her for a walk today"

Hearing those words, I turned to the door, seeing a small little girl with black eyes and hair looking at Eldric with inflated cheeks. But that wasn't the strangest part; on her head were two small cat ears. In addition, I could also see a small tail wagging from side to side on her back.

"Come on, Ivy. Didn't I already tell you that your father is working now?"

Before I could even have any reaction about the scene that was unfolding in front of me, another voice caught my attention. Behind the little girl was a beautiful woman possessing the same features as her daughter, including the ears and tail. Seeing all this going on, Eldric could only sigh as he turned his gaze to me.

"I'm sorry about this. I promised my daughter that we would go out on a tour of the city today, but, well... as you may have noticed, some things happened that caught my attention"

He said as he looked at me. After that, both the little girl and the woman approached the man.

"Anyway, let me introduce them; this is Ivy and Lyra"

He said as he pointed to the little girl and then to the woman.

"My daughter and my wife, respectively"

He said while having a gentle smile on his face. Seeing this, the first impression I had of him was totally dismantled. Instead of a fierce warrior, he looked more like a silly father who cared about his daughter.

"It's a pleasure"

I said as I continued to glance at the ears of the woman and the girl.

"Surprised?"

Suddenly, Eldric asked me, seeming to have noticed what I was looking at.

"Well... yes, and the first time I have seen other races"

I said as I looked at Eldric. Hearing my words, Eldric let out a laugh before saying.

"I don't blame you. Most don't usually come to human cities; our cultures are too different to get used to"

Saying this, he turned his gaze to the woman before flashing a small smile.

"Although there are some exceptions"

Those words made the woman let out a laugh as the little girl continued to look between her father and mother with a doubtful face, not understanding what they were both talking about.