“NoW, LadIeS and GeNts. I’ll… hic… sinG you, a great LOVE SONG.”

The diners cheered for the half-naked bard, who was holding a wooden mug of ale in one hand and a mandolin in the other. The mandolin was a fancy-looking piece of equipment with its carving of flowers blooming on a mountain edge. Its polished body gleamed with a warm, honeyed hue. The mandolin’s surface was smooth with no scratches to be found, despite being a bard meant traveling from one place to another constantly.

When the bard tested the string, it made a clear and undiluted sound. The kind that showed even the inside of the instrument was carefully cleaned. The neck where the bard placed his hand showed a faint sign of wear, despite the rest of the mandolin looking as if it were new.

“ThiS is fOr eveRy SIngLe laDies OUt theRe.” The bard said before he chucked the last of his ale.

The music started, and the rowdy atmosphere changed immediately. Toby thought the bard wouldn’t be able to sing for his life with how he wasn’t able to speak properly.

But that wasn’t the case at all. In fact, the song was a treat.

The gentle ballad invoked a deep desire to love and be loved as the song continued to guide the listeners toward a perfect village home, away from the bustling of the world.

“There’s an empty table over there,” Lily said as she pointed at a table on the far side of the dining area, the closer side to the lounge.

The three moved through a small but intimate dining area as the smell of seafood, bread, and cheese filled the place and caused their stomachs to growl. They sat down at the table and looked around them. Hot, steamy food served on wooden plates and bowls, painted with the image of wind and waves, was coming out of the kitchen nonstop.

“Do you two know where Gramp went?” Toby asked the kids.

“He said he’ll be working in the kitchen and that we should eat first, no need to wait for him,” Lily answered.

“I see.” Toby nodded. “Hello, waitress. Can we get our food?” He turned around and called out.

A brown-haired girl with freckles on her nose came running. “You’re the customer in rooms 302 and 303, right?” She asked.

“Yes, that’s right,” Lily said.

“Your meal will be prepared right away. Please wait a bit.”

“Don’t we get to choose what kind of food we will eat?” Lukas said, looking confused.

“Ah. I forgot that you’re new. Here, at the Dancing Song, everyone will have the same meal. Every meal is a different set and never repeats for at least five days. You don’t have to order. Just sit down and enjoy the food.” She beamed.

“That sure is a unique way to do it,” Toby commented.

“Again, please wait a bit as your meal is being prepared. If you want to drink something, like ale or other spirits, call me.”

“Then, a cup of water, please,” Toby said. “What will you guys have?”

“Water.” Both Lily and Lukas said at the same time.

“Three cups of water. Got it. I’ll be back before you can even sing a song to the end.” The waitress said as she dashed away like the wind.

“ThAt the eNd of the sOng. I’m Tootha. I’ll be hERe every NigHt.”

The bard ended his performance with another round of applause before slamming his head into the floor and sleeping with his butt pointing at the ceiling. One of the inn’s workers came and carried him upstairs. They seemed to be used to doing so with how smoothly they carried him and picked up his mandolin at the same time.

“Here’s your meal.” The waitress returned and put three plates and three bowls on their table.

The meal consisted of a plate of warm bread, a steaming plate of some kind of tiger fish but with a big claw coming out of its forehead, and a plate of fresh vegetables that looked like cabbages. The three bowls were hot chicken soup with small pieces of mushroom, carrot, and green beans floating around.

“Thank you.” Toby and Lily thanked the waitress, and Lukas followed their example soon after.

Couldn’t wait any longer, the three dug in their meal right away.

There was only one word to describe the meal. Perfection. The bread was soft and fluffy, the fish was rich, and the cabbage was fresh. But the soup, the soup, was the real show stealer. Its rich aroma calmed the mind with a single wisp. When the warmth entered the throat, an explosion of flavor shot toward the brain and transported them to an endless grass field where small, palm-side chickens were running around.

Perfectly. Peak. It was no wonder so many people came here despite the pouring rain outside. It was a miracle they got a seat.

After dinner, the three headed back to Toby and Grillion’s room and waited for the goblin. When Grillion came into the room, they discussed their next move.

“Thanks for your hard work, Gramp.” Toby gave Grillion a water cup.

“Thank you.” Grillion took the cup and drank it. “Now.” He placed the cup down. “She should talk about our future. What do three plan to do next?”

“I’m thinking of joining the Adventurer Guild and searching for a better Healer who can heal Lily fully. Or at least an item or something to fix Lily’s life force.” Toby turned to Lily. “And no, this isn’t negotiable. This is something I want to do. If I’m going to help someone, I’ll do it properly.”

Lily didn’t say anything to Toby. She just nodded. “I’ll go to the city’s library. There’s something I want to figure out.”

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The three looked at Lukas. The boy raised his wooden sword and said, “I’ll join the Adventurer Guild too. I want to get stronger and look for a way to heal big sis Lily too.”

Grillion nodded. “That settles it. We will drop Lily off at the city’s library, as with every big city, they will most likely have one. Then we will get you two to register at the guild and take on some commissions. Go rest early, children. We have work cut out for us tomorrow.”

Toby, Lily, and Lukas agreed. When Toby was able to use [Float] to help Lily, she raised her hand to stop him. He looked at her with curiosity in his eyes, only to be shocked as she used her own [Float] and [Push] to move herself.

“The heck,” Toby exclaimed. “It took me days to do that. And I even cheated.”

Lily didn’t say anything, she just smiled and flung a strange of her hair that was covering her face back and said, “Good night, Grandpa Grillion, good night, Toby.”

“Good night, Grandpa Grill. Good night, big bro Toby,” Lukas said as he followed Lily.

Toby sighed after the kids closed the door. “They grow up so fast.”

Grillion looked at Toby with the ‘what-the-heck-is-this-month-old-baby-even-saying’ kind of gaze. After which the two hit the hay and into dreamland as soon as their heads touched the pillow.

Toby didn’t dream of the past that night.

The next morning, just as planned, the group escorted Lily to the city’s library, an intimidating building that looked like a courthouse with its big, tall pillars and an equally big gate. The only sign that it was not a courthouse was the letter that said “Eldium’s public library.”

Once Lily entered the building, the three went toward the Adventurer Guild.

From the outside, the building’s design just screamed “Adventurer Guild." Tall, four-story building with a wide, arched entrance with double leaf doors with no carving whatsoever. On top of the doors was a sign with an image of a traveling backpack choked full of items. Unlike the inn, there was no name underneath the image. But it did have something else, a banner with some kind of motto that said “Steadfast in storms, unyielding in tides” in the middle of the door. Two lanterns hung on each side of the door shone bright, golden light.

Funny enough, they met the bard from the night before at the guild’s entrance.

“Oh, aren’t you three one of the customers from the Dancing Song last night? Tootha the name, barding the game. Nice to meet you.” Tootha introduced himself with his superior extrovert energy that was too blinding for Toby to respond right away.

“Hello, good fellow. I’m Grillion. This is Toby and Lukas.”

“Hello, nice to meet you too.”

“Nice to meet you, mister.”

“So, what kind of commission are you fine gentlemen looking to do today? I reckon the commission for Lighting Eel. They are easy to catch in shallow water where the wave pushes them in from the depth. The commission itself is worth quite a bit, but the payoff is worth it since the eels’s fat can be sold to shops to get discounts on skin moisturizer. The competition is fierce, but the ladies love that kind of thing.”

Tootha rapid-fired at the three, overwhelming them with his extrovert power once more.

“That’s a good suggestion, Tootha. I’ll keep that in mind. But I’ll have to get these two registered as Adventurer first.” Grillion thanked the bard.

“No problem. If you need any help, come find me at the Dancing Inn.” With that said, the bard took off.

“Come one, let’s go inside,” Grillion said as he pushed the big leaf door open.

The air of adventure welcomed them along with the sight of many different Adventurers from all kinds of races and all walks of life moving around, looking for their next commission inside the expansive main hall with a high ceiling supported by large wooden beams.

Anthrals like Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Beastfolk, Orc, and very few Primalis like an Arachne, a Lizardmen, and a Dragonborn. Toby had never since so many races went about their day in the same place peacefully like this before. This was the first place he ever been to after he was reincarnated, but still, it was a sight to behold.

On the left wall were 10 insignias, each with different colors, images, and designs. Below them was a giant map, seemingly, a map with this country as its center and five others nearby. One of them, the country with the biggest territory, was connected to this one by land. While the other four were connected by sea. There were sea charts and routes written on the map for all to see, indicating the safest route to take.

On the right of the map were guild notices – a small board with two large notices hung on it. Some Adventurers were reading on the notice board, then turned and discussed something with their companions. On the right of the notice board was the commission board, where Adventurers read what was written on a small commission paper, then either took – or ignored – them to one of the five reception desks in the middle of the hall.

The right side of the hall was filled with rectangular tables and chairs, a small haven for the Adventurers where they were gathering and sharing ales and tales with one another.

“This way, we will have to wait in line for a bit.” Grillion beckoned Toby and Lukas.

Time passed as the line they were on got shorter and shorter, until finally, it was their turn.

Sitting in front of them, behind the reception desk, was a young fox-eared girl with orange hair and fur. She had four ears, two human ears, and two fox ears. Her green eyes also gave off a feeling of wit and sharpness, just like that of a fox. Toby didn’t know if this was normal for people of her race or if it was because she was a halfling. Either way, it had to wait.

“Hello young lady, I want to register these two as new adventurers,” Grillion told the girl.

“Two?” She tilted her head. “I only see the Blue Wolf boy here, sir.”

Grillion picked Toby up from his head. Toby looked at the girl straight in the eyes.

“A turtle?” She said.

“Hello, I'm Toby.” He waved.

“Toby the talking turtle?” She exclaimed with her body leaning forward.

Toby chuckled as he looked at Lukas while the boy looked away. “You know if I have a bronze coin for every time this happens, I’ll have two bronze coins, which isn’t a lot. But it’s weird that it happened twice.”

Snapping back from her blunder, the girl sat back down on her chair and made an awkward “Ehem” before saying.

“I’m sorry, this is the first time I see an animal talk. I was just surprised.” She said.

Seconds later, noticing her second blunder. She bowed. “I’m truly sorry. I didn’t mean to call you an animal. It’s just that I need to report to the Guild Master about this. This might be a huge finding that could add another race to Virelen.” She spoke with the passion of a middle school science girl who couldn’t wait to show off her project.

“Ok? Sure. Can we register as an Adventurer now?” Toby asked.

“Ah yes. But before that, please take this plate and go to the door over there.” The fox girl placed a bronze badge on the counter and pointed at the stone door at the far right of the hall.

“You will have to take a basic test to prove that you are strong enough to at least protect yourself if you were to become an Adventurer. As you know, this line of work comes with great danger but also great reward, as there are still many places in the world we have yet to fully explore. That’s why we can’t allow people to just go around randomly and forfeit their lives. I hope you understand.”

“Of course, that sounds perfectly reasonable,” Toby said before Lukas picked him and the badges up. “Let’s go, Lukas.”

“Yes.” The boy said excitedly as he ran toward the stone door.

Behind them, Grillion took out three bronze tags and placed them on the counter. “I would like to report an assault and kidnapping case to the guild.”

In front of the stone door, Lukas gave the bronze badges to a receptionist.

“I have received your badges.” The receptionist said. “Please come inside the testing chamber, your tester will be waiting inside. It will be… Eh?”

“Is something wrong, mister?” Lukas asked.

“No.” The receptionist shook his head. “I was just surprised at who your proctor is.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Toby said.

“Now, that's just a rude thing to say. Don’t you agree?” A voice came from behind Toby and Lukas. Toby didn’t notice there was someone standing right behind him until the voice showed herself.

“Guild Master.” The receptionist stood up and tapped his heart twice.

Toby extended his neck and looked back using [Insight].

[Elaria D’vanna – Warrior Path – Monk – Rank. ??? – Lv. ???]