"Wake up." Greg whispered in Laurence's pointy ears as he pinches her cheek. As usual, Greg would often sneak inside Laurence's room to come wake her up. He was like an uncalled-for-alarm.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to come inside my room without my permission?" Laurence stated, displeased by the fact that Greg has a weird habit of entering her room every morning.
"How many times do I have to remind you to wake up early, you sleepy brat?" Greg's words slapped Laurence in the head. She knew of her daily duties, and she does have the resolve to do her responsibility. Yet, no matter how hard Laurence tries, she always succumbs to her first and foremost enemy, the comfy bed. Such is the reason for her procrastination.
"Ok, I get it... Can you please leave my room now?" Laurence said this while performing a perfect split.
"Tsk. How many times do I have to remind you not to do some gruesome stretches? How many pajamas have you already ripped?" Greg retorted as he folded his arms. Laurence stood up from her bed and came closer to Greg. She stood idle for a while. Then, in a quick flash, she pushed her brother outside her room and closed the door.
"Such an ingrate brat. Make sure to fix your bed. If you fail to do it, then you'll truly never become an adventurer." Greg said while bringing back Laurence's tragic memories. Two years ago, when Laurence turned fifteen, she snuck out of their house to sign up as an adventurer as the required age to sign up is fifteen years old. On the Guild Tavern, Laurence took the assessment for becoming an adventurer. It was unchallenging to pass the test—all you have to do is some writing to assess your knowledge and take the talent test. You have to fill in a paper and write your name, age, and other information such as skills. After the written assessment, you'll take the practical test where somebody will assess you based on your talent.
Dad and Greg taught Laurence how to read and write, but she was still quite illiterate. She had some grammatical and spelling errors, and somehow she was given a pass, just slightly above the passing mark. Heck, even the one checking her sheet couldn't suppress its emotion and laughed at Laurence's work. She was then taken to the grand hall where she stood in front of a big and muscular man. The man shot out a quick punch directly towards Laurence's face. She couldn't react very fast. She can only stand still and wait for the upcoming fist to hit her face. The punch halted millimeters away from her face. 'She is no good.' the big man said. Laurence was forced to go home after getting rejected by the Guild. She came home as the worried Greg and Dad went up to her to ask where she had gone. Laurence told them everything while streams of tears flowed down her cheek.
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As Greg went down the stairs, Laurence was crying inside her room. She felt pathetic after remembering the embarrassing memory that she had failed to erase. Laurence rarely sees Greg become this much of a jerk. Well, she knew that it was her fault. She was the one rejecting Greg's kindness.
"Laurence, come down here quick." Dad called out for Laurence.
"Coming!" Laurence replied as she wiped her face. Trying to hide her pain, she rushed downstairs to the kitchen.
"Laurence, you can take a bath later because I need you to go to the market and buy me something." Dad said as he hands a paper slip to Laurence.
"Can Greg accompany me?" Laurence replied as she bobbed her head, scrutinizing the room for her brother.
"He left early. He had an important meeting to attend. This time, you'll have to go by yourself." Dad answered.
"Will you accompany me?" Laurence looked at her father.
"My daughter, you're already old enough to look after yourself. Besides, there are no slavers here in the great Western Empire. Now, go, my sweet little adventurer." Dad said as he embraced her daughter and kissed her on the cheek. Her charismatic father made Laurence shimmer with excitement as she left the house, her eyes sparkling.
Although Laurence had just woken up, her face still contains beauty. And even with pajamas, she was nevertheless elegant. Laurence took a deep breath as the sound of the busy market resonated within the vicinity. While walking the crowded streets and looking at the market stalls, she managed to overhear something that piqued her interest.
"Hey, wanna come with me to the Guild Tavern? I heard that the Great Sage is in the guild."
"Yeah, sure, but we ought to wait for a wee' bit. I don't want to attend a boring meeting."
"Even if it's about the Great Sage?" A familiar hooded woman said as she walked closer to the two gossiping men.
"Ah, crap. If it isn't Cassandra, the receptionist." The man smirked as he said this.
"Come with me, you two. Otherwise, you would have to consider the horrible consequences of twenty percent down pay." The woman called Cassandra replied while bearing a sadistic smile on her face. The two men gulped and followed her. Laurence knew who Cassandra was. After all, she was the one who laughed at Laurence's assessment sheet.
Laurence continued looking for the ingredients. While bargaining, she would hear the conspicuous gossips of people regarding The Great Sage. Laurence knew of the Great Sage. When she was a kid, she would often watch plays about the Great Sage's legendary story throughout His past. Laurence had also heard about the Great Eight Disciples, but she didn't imagine that the man from yesterday was one of the Eight. During shows, the Eight were presented as noble figures of Knights with colorful armor. She had seen some paintings of the Great Sage, but never of the Great Eight. She had no idea how her brother knew their faces.
She fell and gave in to the temptation. Laurence had devised a devious plan. Once she got home, she would lie about going to the bathhouse to take a bath. She would use this opportunity to go to the Guild Tavern.
"Alright, it's decided..." Laurence took a deep breath and muttered these words. She carried the ingredients on her basket and went home.