The following day, Nobina found herself waking up in her bed with her three companions sleeping on it. Hammy was sleeping on her while Lebron, her corgi, and Pausers, her bunny, were on her sides. The moment she moved slightly, all of them woke up and moved off her, allowing her to get up.

“Morning you three,” said Nobina.

Lebron gave a bark while Pausers and Hammy merely looked at her. Nobina began wondering how many companions she might end up having since she was sure this wasn’t the end of receiving them.

She turned to her Gaze bag, which had the strong scent of cookies in it. Going into it, she saw a really pretty plate of cookies, with one in particular that didn’t look great. On it was the name Eric, causing Nobina to sigh.

“Typical.”

To keep the plate preserved, she left it in her Gaze bag for now. Once she made sure she had both her bags, she told all her companions to behave as she headed out for the day.

Once she was downstairs, the quietness of the inn became evident. Nobina knew why this was the case. Many of those in the town were likely heading to or at the front of the Church of Beginnings, where Priestess Irida would perform the Ritual of Beginnings for the deceased.

The previous day, during dinner, Sarah had told her that they would perform the ritual to allow the souls of the deceased to pass on through something akin to reincarnation. According to Sarah, when someone passes on in the world, their soul remains in the deceased body. Eventually, the soul wills itself into the afterlife, becoming a spirit due to attachment to the world, or was allowed to begin the cycle of beginnings. The last one required the performance of the Ritual of Beginnings and would only give the soul a chance to join the cycle. Otherwise, they might decide to remain as a spirit or move to the afterlife, both governed by the God of Progress and End respectively.

As Nobina stepped out of the inn, she saw people of all ages walking in the direction of the church. Nobina herself headed to the guild, where she saw the rest of the guild officers and Eric waiting.

“There you are,” said Sarah. “We were about to head out.”

All of them were wearing pure white robes. As for Nobina, she had her normal outfit since she hadn’t received her own robes yet.

“Will they provide robes there?” asked Nobina.

“Yeah,” responded Mimiki. “Priestess Irida always has tons of these robes to borrow. While its not necessary to wear, as you can see with most civilians, those who are closer to the decease often opt to wear them.”

“Shall we head out?” asked Eric, giving a pleasant smile.

All of them gave a nod.

The five of them began heading to the front of the church, which was now packed full of people. It was a reminder to Nobina that their town was sizable at the very least. So many lives were here and it was thanks to the actions of all the adventurers and guards that they all could continue to live here.

They eventually found a spot near the front as people allowed them through. Once they were standing in a good spot, they began waiting as people continued to gather. As they did, one of the church members came by and handed Nobina a pure white robe.

“Thank you,” said Nobina.

“Thank you for all you’ve done for us, Nobina,” he replied, bowing before moving on to the next person.

Looking around, Nobina noticed a few familiar faces like Macy and Merrick, but she didn’t say anything as they were too far away and there were too many people.

When it appeared that people stopped trickling in, a woman in pure white robes with a brown symbol of a tree appeared from the entrance of the church. Everyone there closed their eyes, prompting Nobina to follow.

“A moment of silence for the deceased.”

There was a long pause of silence amongst everyone. The only sounds that could be heard were birds chirping. After what felt like a few minutes, she called for everyone to open their eyes. Once they did, she began to speak.

“Thank you everyone for being here,” came Irida’s voice. “Whether you’re a follower of the God of Beginning or not, your presence here shows that you wish to help those move to the greater beyond. While a soul might not need the Ritual of Beginning, we offer it to everyone, and it is up to them to seek new beginnings. No matter what one has done in the past, the offer is equal, and a soul may decline it if they wish.”

Irida approached the statue of a tree that stood in front of the church. When she reached it, she placed one hand onto it.

“I ask for those here to now close your eyes and remember the fallen. Whether they have passed recently, or passed awhile ago, this ritual shall now reach into all your souls and extend the offer to those who you’ve seen or known passed.”

Everyone once again closed their eyes. When Nobina closed her eyes, she felt as if something was searching within her soul. She began to worry, but a whisper calmed her immediately.

“I shall offer them peace,” came a calm female voice.

Soon, she relaxed, and the presence was gone.

“Please. Open your eyes,” spoke Irida.

Once everyone’s eyes were open, she put her other hand on the tree.

“It is time to begin the ritual. The Beginning!”

Her words echoed outwards in every direction. Soon, calmness came over all of them as Nobina noticed a single figure above the tree. It was a winged angel-like figure that was merely hovering above the tree. They were translucent and looking up into the sky.

“I grant all who seek it… the right to begin again,” said the angel-like figure, their voice echoing an authority unlike anything Nobina had ever heard. If not for the sheer calmness she was feeling, Nobina could tell that such authority would make her tremble in fear. This was a god that demanded respect. Nobina instantly recognized it as the same voice that had spoken to her.

Soon, the figure disappeared, and so did the calmness that was previously there.

“The ritual is complete,” said Irida. “The offer has been given and all the souls I could reach have… been… offered.”

She began to close her eyes, prompting Nobina to worry. She was going to take a step forward, but Sarah grabbed her hand, telling her to merely look.

“I… wish you all… a good day… I shall awaken… when the process is done.”

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With that, Irida seemed to fall asleep on the tree statue. Four members of the church began carrying Irida back into the church. Everyone began to leave, allowing Nobina to ask what had happened.

“The Beginning,” said Sarah. “It is a powerful ability that allows Iris to offer everyone who hasn’t received the offer the chance to begin again. As I told you yesterday, this is basically a soul that is given a new beginning in another form. Whatever that form is, we cannot say. As with all other abilities, even this one has a cost. The cost, in this case, is sleep until all souls have made a decision. As for the souls this impacts, the God of Beginning determines who and how far to reach out from the caster based on those who are here. In this case, all the town being here for the ritual allows the ability to go pretty far.”

Nobina gave a nod. It was interesting to see such an ability exist. It made her wonder how powerful those who were apart of the three religions were.

“Anyways, Irida is likely going to remain asleep for a whole month, so her fellow church followers will take over for her,” said Sarah.

“I see,” said Nobina.

“So,” said Sarah. “What should we do now?”

“Hm,” said Mimiki. “Considering its our day off, I was planning to visit Gazu to ask him to look at my blade. I think it went a bit dull after all those goblin kills. I want it checked to make sure everything is good and have it re-sharpened.”

“That’s cool,” said Nobina. “What about everyone else?”

“I wanted to check out the clothing store,” said Sarah. “I haven’t had a fashion update in a while and I think Muni has some new designs. I may order a new set of cloths myself it I like it.”

“I’m probably going back to the guild. We still have a lot to do and I don’t have anything in particular I want to do,” said Lare.

Nobina turned to Eric, who merely smiled.

“Honestly, I should be working as well, but I think I’ll just enjoy a stroll around town. What will you do Nobina?” asked Eric.

Nobina had no idea what she wanted to do. The easy answer was to continue her story, but she felt this was a rare chance to enjoy a day without having to worry about anything. It was then she realized she hadn’t had a moment to merely take a break to walk around and enjoy a casual stroll through town since she arrived. The closest to a break she had was going fishing, but the trip was cut short due to the goblins.

“Mind if I join you, Eric?” asked Nobina.

“Not interested in clothes or swords?” he chuckled.

“No… I just want to also look around town. Still new, remember?” she smiled.

“You know what,” said Sarah. “I’ll join you two.”

Hearing that, Mimiki shook her head.

“Don’t think I’d be selfish and abandon you guys. Count me in,” said Mimiki.

All of them turned to Lare, who sighed.

“Yeah. I’ll join you all,” he smiled.

As he said that, Nobina remembered the cookies in her bag.

“Oh right. I have something from Gaze for all of you.”

Hearing that, they waited as Nobina removed the plate of cookies from the bag. All of them seemed to drool upon the smell of cookies reaching their nose.

“Wow,” said Mimiki. “What is that smell.”

“It smells… unlike anything I’ve smelled before,” said Sarah, her eyes sparkling.

Lare didn’t say anything, but Nobina could tell he was interested in trying them.

“Cookies?” asked Eric.

“You recognize them?” replied Nobina, surprised by Eric’s response.

“Yeah… I’ve tried them before, but… Well, I guess this is not a story to talk about in the open. Let’s just say that recipe was left behind a long time ago in another era.”

Hearing that made Nobina wonder if she’d see more signs of those from another world if she ended up going on a long journey.

As Nobina offered the cookies, Eric frowned upon seeing his cookie.

“Come on,” he sighed, looking at the silly face of his cookie.

They all began to laugh, enjoying the reaction of Eric. However, it was also them realizing they wanted to spend time with Nobina above all else as they were having a great time together already.

With that, the five of them began their trek around town. As Nobina followed them, she began to smile. Tomorrow, she’d be back to training, working and writing. As much as she wanted to have a longer break to relax and focus on writing or training, she knew they had a lot of work to do. The recent events had taxed the guild’s finances, and she’d be key to keeping them afloat until aid came. While she was sure they’d be fine even if she wasn’t there, she wanted to do her best and continue to work hard.

“My journey has only begun,” she told herself.

…

“Hm,” spoke an old man sitting at a desk.

The man was overlooking papers in an office that looked similar to Eric’s. However, his gaze turned to the corner of the room for a second before he squinted his eyes.

“Was… someone watching me?” he asked himself.

He looked around the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary. However, he no longer felt the presence of the gaze nor any indication something else was off.

As if on cue, a knock came from the door, drawing his attention.

“Come in,” he called, keeping his eyes on his papers.

As soon as he said that, a woman with short, black hair entered. Her outfit was black and full of belts, showing a unique style compared to the average adventurer. Beyond that, she exuded a powerful aura that the old man didn’t fail to notice.

“You should really control your new energy better,” said the old man, chuckling.

“I’m just showing off,” she laughed, receding the aura. “Anyway, excited I’m back?”

The man merely smiled, not looking up.

“Well only if you aren’t back with bad news.”

She gave a frown, taking a seat in the chair in front of his desk.

“I still can’t believe how ridiculous the Nation of Arren is. Not only did it take me a year to enter, but they made me do a year of work and then it took half a year to exit due to ‘duties owed to the nation.’ Honestly, I never want to go back there.”

The old man looked up to see her expression. Seeing her sulk made him chuckle and shake his head.

“Did you obtain it at least?”

On those words, the woman slid her adventurer card to the old man. Looking at it, he smiled.

“An S-rank adventurer in less than three years. That’s something that even the heroes failed to do. I knew our specialist was right.”

The woman gave a pout upon hearing that.

“And so, as a part of our duty to maintain the alliance, I offer the Queen of Arren our most promising adventurer. May she serve your nation well…” said the woman, trying to mimic the old man. “I swear, if you weren’t the Grand Guild Master, I would have tried to go my own way.”

“That breaks my heart Fay,” said the old man, acting sad. “Anyway, as promised you have earned my blessing to do whatever you wish now. Travel. Stay in the capital. Do whatever you want. At least, as long as it doesn’t disgrace the guild and nation. Oh, and also be ready to return if I use the whistle.”

Upon saying that, he held up a silver whistle with the symbol of a tiger-wolf.

“Yeah… I’m glad I can finally do what I want,” said Fay, now giving the biggest grin. “Oh this world isn’t ready to end the fashion revolution I’m ready to introduce.”

The old man put his hand against his face.

“Someone capable of reaching SS and perhaps even SSS rank, yet you're interested in fashion… I guess that is your Path so…”

“I know I’m destined to do a lot, but I have my own dreams Lent,” said Fay, conviction in her eyes. “Anyway, anything I should know before I head out?”

“We have a fighting tournament you can join for prize money and fame,” he replied.

Fay sighed, shaking her head.

“You know I’m not interested in that stuff.”

“Then show off your ability there. You got to start advertising if you want to sell right?” he asked.

The moment she heard ‘advertising,’ her eyes lit up.

“You’re a genius,” she said, standing right up. “I’ll go ahead and do that. See you later Lent!”

“It’s…”

Before he could say anything, she was out the door. Fay was about to run off before running into a second individual. They were wearing robes that covered most of his body. Fay could notice they were a demon due to their features. She hadn’t seen many of them, but she knew blue demons indicated they were a part of the Warna, a demon race that often had paths related to the water element.

“Watch it human,” called out the demon angrily. “I’m here to report to the guild master, not some nobody adventurer.”

“Man. You demons are so aggressive. I’m just trying to relax,” said Fay, smiling and grinning. “What kind of information could you possibly have worthy of the old man’s time?”

He scoffed, shaking his head.

“I have no intentions of telling some nobody.”

Hearing that, Fay took out her adventuring card and flashed it, causing an immediate expression change.

“Another special path user?” said the demon with a surprised face.

“Another?” questioned Fay, curious about who he was referring to.

“Bah. I said to much. Anyway, I got business with the guild master.”

The demon began walking past Fay, who merely sighed.

“So boring.”

Upon hearing those words, the demon’s tail flung towards Fay’s back in response to her disrespect. Before it could make contact, the aura around Fay instantly froze the demon in its place. Fay, whose expression was boredom a second ago, instantly showed a cold expression. She didn’t even look at the demon as she began to speak.

“Oh… If you think you’re going to ruin my friend’s gift to me, you have another thing coming demon. In this outfit… I truly represent a power beyond your understanding.”

She released her aura as she made her way past the demon. The moment she was downstairs, Fay leaned against the nearby wall.

“After all this time… I still can’t control my emotions when it involves you… Damn you fate...”

Fay took a deep breath before continuing out of the adventuring guild. As she walked, a single teardrop hit the ground, remaining there as Fay’s steps got farther away.