Nobina took a deep breath as the last person exited the guild. Things were finally relaxing now that people were no longer coming and going. Turning to Sarah, she seemed to share the same sentiment.

“Man… Looks like we are finally good,” spoke Sarah as she stretched her arms.

“I’d say,” Nobina sighed, giving a relieved look.

It had been a long day for the two after the incident with the B-rank adventurer. Nobina was still thinking about how serious things had gotten for something so minor as checking a Path. While she did understand the value of knowing what one’s current Path was, it didn’t feel like something to throw away one’s career for.

“Want to head out for dinner Nobina? I know something perfect for a rough day,” said Sarah ecstatically.

“If you’re suggesting it, it must be good,” Nobina chuckled.

The two prepared to leave but stopped as soon as they caught Eric and Maria leaving the special room. They waited as Eric said a few words to Maria before departing deeper into the guild. As for Maria, her gaze fell onto the two of them, her smile rising moments later.

“Ah. Nobina. Sarah. It’s good to see you two are still fine after the earlier incident,” chuckled Maria.

“Can’t be a guild officer without some backbone,” said Sarah proudly.

Maria could only shake her head in response.

“I wouldn’t say that, Sarah. Anything can make one fit for being a guild officer. Whether it’s someone with good social skills, the skills of an adventurer, or even being good with numbers.”

The moment she said those last words, Nobina noticed her gaze fall directly to her in particular.

“That’s true,” nodded Sarah. “Say, are you heading out for dinner? You can come along with us if you want.”

Maria gave it some thought before nodding.

“Why not. Eric is too busy, so it was going to be little old me alone. Might as well enjoy a nice meal with Eric’s cherished employees.”

Both Nobina and Sarah felt happy that Eric had thought highly of them. Nobina thought the praise towards herself was unnecessary though, given she had only been there for two weeks.

With that, the three set off to Mares Restaurant, where Nobina and Sarah previously ate. Nobina was excited, since the Glaze Ham they had last time was certainly worth the time it took to prepare. Plus, it gave them a good amount of time to talk.

“Ah… Mares is certainly a place I remember,” said Maria. “I think it was when Eric started working as a guild master, he invited me and a few members of his party here to enjoy some good food. Sadly, it seemed only Eric and I really took advantage of that time together. Those other two really weren’t happy with his decision to retire from adventuring.”

Nobina noticed Maria’s down-cast look as she spoke. It made her wonder how deep the history was between the two of them.

“Curious about the two of us Nobina?” asked Maria, catching her staring.

“Oh sorry,” said Nobina, looking away immediately.

“It’s fine dear. You’re young and obviously curious about the world at large. Even Sarah here loves hearing the stories regarding the two of us.”

Nobina turned to Sarah, who gave her affirmation.

“Those two are pretty close,” said Sarah casually. “You would assume they were something more than just friends, but that’s what they firmly convinced me they were.”

“Perhaps if things were different Sarah. Regardless, our friendship should be good enough. For both us and anyone else.”

Both Nobina and Sarah nodded, dropping the topic.

The three entered the restaurant and this time, Sarah let Maria handle picking out the food. The result was a large display of all sorts of food that made Nobina’s mouth drool. It was either high-quality monster foods or plant-based foods that were being served. Sarah eyes lit up, while Nobina felt a sense of guilt as she saw the price of the bill skyrocket.

“Don’t think I’ll be hurt at all buying all of this,” laughed Maria. “This is the least I can do for the two who supported Eric.”

“But…”

Nobina was cut off by Maria’s gentle smile and kind words.

“Even if you feel like you haven’t done much, know your work is highly appreciated.”

Refusing to deny her generosity, Nobina merely nodded and began digging into the food. From some meat called the Catala-Drago to vegetables called Hi-Mi-Surine, Nobina felt completely engulfed in the fantasy world atmosphere. The food was nothing like she had ever tasted in her previous world. Everything tasted far better, and her expression of bliss wasn’t just hers alone. Sarah herself was in her own world while Maria seemed happy. Whether it was due to their joy or the food itself remained to be seen.

Time came and went. Soon, the table was mostly empty, and all of them were relaxing. The restaurant was now calm, and everyone else’s chatter faded away as the night progressed. It was clear the night’s end was upon all of them, and it was almost time to depart.

“Say Nobina,” said Maria, looking her in the face.

“Yes?”

“What are your… aspirations?”

Nobina could only chuckle upon hearing her ask.

“Nothing grand. I just want to… write my own book and release it,” she said, looking a bit down.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Oh? Is it not that great of a dream? You seem sad about it.”

Hearing that immediately caused her to raise her head and wave her hands.

“Oh no. Sorry if it seems like that. It’s just… I’m thinking about how I haven’t started on that book yet. I’ve been working for two weeks so far yet I have nothing to show towards my dream.”

“Fascinating,” said Maria.

Nobina could only give her a confused look as she said that.

“You must already be busy learning the ropes of being a guild officer, right? Eric told me just recently that you had your hands full dealing with a conflict. Not to mention your also training during your downtime, right? Trying to become a combat-capable guild officer?”

Nobina nodded, which seemed to form a smile on Maria’s face.

“Writing is an art that takes time and patience. I might not be a writer, but I have met a few good ones in my time. Reading their work, it often reflects them in a time when they are no longer too busy. You’re far too young to be worried about having no time for something like writing. I’m sure that time will come, and you’ll have plenty to write about.”

Nobina thought about what she said and nodded.

“I did plan to fish tomorrow so… I guess there’s that,” she replied.

Maria’s face brightened upon hearing those words.

“See? Nobina. Don’t let doubt blind you from your dream. Don’t let it turn any small progression into something insignificant. Celebrate any progress you’re making, even if it’s not directly involving your dream. You’re at the moment trying to become a good guild officer. Once that is done, you should have all the time in the world to write.”

Hearing that brightened Nobina up, making her more optimistic about tomorrow.

“Yeah,” said Sarah. “I’m also right here to support you as well Nobina. Heck, if you want to write, I can take some load off you. Just say the word.”

Nobina shook her head vigorously.

“Sarah. That’d be highly rude of me to take advantage of your time for my goals. I would rather earn that time by working hard.”

“That’s so you Nobina,” laughed Sarah.

Nobina sighed, shaking her head.

Maria could only look at the two of them and smile. The two were clearly close, and she trusted their friendship would keep Nobina on the right path.

Soon, the dinner was finished, and the three headed out. As Sarah split off first, Nobina found the chance to ask Maria about her plans.

“Oh. I plan to head to the next guild tomorrow morning. It’ll be a day-long journey, but I have enough food to get me there without worry.”

“Walking? Do you have an escort?” she asked.

Maria shook her head.

“I might be old dear, but I was a former A-rank adventurer. I can handle myself just fine.”

Nobina couldn’t help but chuckle. Were all high-ranking guild employees former adventurers? It would make some sense since they all held a position of power in an organization meant to deal with quests that could be extremely difficult. Considering she saw how an S-5 quest, a S-rank designated quest rated with five stars, could give someone wealth beyond measure, the organization needed to be able to protect such wealth. The guild book also indicated these were normally threats that threatened the world, meaning they’d often be taken on by multiple S-ranks, and the rewards split accordingly.

“Sorry if I offended you,” said Nobina.

“None taken dear. I wish you good luck on your fishing tomorrow,” smiled Maria.

With that, Maria departed for her own abode, leaving Nobina to head back to the inn to sleep. Once she was there, she noticed something in the Gaze bag. Opening it up, she saw it was another comment letter. Taking a look at it, she felt it necessary to comment back.

“Hm… My path becoming more than that of a Writer…”

Nobina hadn’t considered the possibility of such a thing happening. Perhaps she could gain an advanced path that gives her powerful abilities, but she shook her head.

“I would really prefer they be writing related at least.”

Part of the reason she wanted writing abilities was their convenience. So far, the ability to recall and summon her works has given her the ability to write anywhere she wants. It was this world’s equivalent of having your writing in a bag you carried around. Only she needed far less effort to summon and recall a book.

She went to her diary to note down the events of the day then went to bed. Pausers moved next to her, giving her comfort as she closed her eyes.

“I’m glad you’re with me Pausers,” smiled Nobina.

The next day, Nobina got up early. From the books she read for fishing information, fishing was either an early in the morning or a close-to-sunset thing. She packed everything she needed into her Special bag. Everything that could actually go into it that was relevant, that is. She then took both it and the Gaze bag with her as she departed from the inn. She was thankful that the objects in the Special bag didn’t actually weight. Another pretty useful feature, though it was limited to items from the Gaze bag.

“I wonder if I’ll get something crazy one of these days,” she chuckled.

She had already obtained an item that was magical in nature. She had been meaning to ask Eric about it, but she never had the chance to do so.

“Perhaps tomorrow.”

With that, she headed out of her room with her two bags. She noticed the gaze of others fall onto her, probably curious about the two bags. Nobina wished she could have put the Gaze bag into her Special bag, but it seemed that was unfortunately not possible.

She had also a book with her that had locations on where to go. Referencing it, she found the correct path to the nearby river.

“It’s a good thing this place is well mapped,” said Nobina.

The map book had indicated that the Ren River was the only large source of water nearby that could fish. There was a lake, but that was a day away, and Nobina didn’t plan to make a long trip anytime soon. The river itself acted as a source of water for the town, so there was a travel path between it and the river, albeit a dirt path. It wasn’t traveled too frequently though, as the town had a well that it used more frequently than the river. Only the adventurers really traveled on this path, as a goblin nest wasn’t too far from the river. According to the guild maps, it was half a day away from the river at least.

“Goblins,” said Nobina in a worried tone.

Goblins were classic fantasy creatures. It was so classic that she wasn’t surprised to learn they were a commonly hunted monster for adventurers. Remembering the incident regarding that small adventuring party, goblins posed a serious threat in numbers, but even one goblin could harm an unarmed individual without any special strength. That being said, goblins had a tendency to stay far away from any source of people. Mainly, they were smart enough to know humans were a threat but aggressive enough to attack them if they didn’t pose one.

For Nobina, it did scream that the river wasn’t completely safe, but Eric had convinced her otherwise. He had told her how the river was considered a place adventurers frequented enough that goblins tended to avoid it during the day. At night, it was often filled with monsters trying to get a drink, so she’d have to avoid staying too long.

After an hour, Nobina arrived at the river, excited to get a chance to fish. She had been waiting for this chance ever since she was given a fishing rod, and now that it was here, she was excited to put her limited fishing knowledge to work.

She looked around for a decent spot where she could sit and fish. It had to be open enough that she wouldn’t be caught too off guard if something like a goblin appeared, but it also couldn’t just be too open. If she was caught, she needed options to help conceal herself or just block the goblin’s vision. She had no intentions of engaging in it unless she had to.

“Perfect,” said Nobina, finding the spot she was looking for.

It had a giant rock where she could rest as she cast her line and waited. To some, fishing wasn’t the most exciting thing in the world, but it offered her a rare chance of relaxation. Ever since she came into the world, it had always been a lot of her trying to do what was necessary. Now, it was merely her, her stuff, and the river.

Sitting down, she saw Pausers jump out of the bag and immediately snuggle next to her.

“Glad to have a buddy along for the ride at least,” said Nobina.

This time, Nobina didn’t want to leave Pausers alone if she could help it. She felt guilty having to leave them back all the time. However, the guild did have a no-pet policy, and Eric was concerned people would assume they were a Death Hare.

“You’re not a Death Hare, right Pausers?” asked Nobina.

Pausers merely looked at her confusingly before snuggling against her again.

“Of course not,” she laughed.

With that, Nobina began fishing. She had no idea how long it’d be before she caught something, but she hoped the trip would be worth her time.