Meanwhile…
Gray eyes, vibrant white hair, and fair skin reflected from the surface of the window.
Asahi was staring at the building's beautiful architecture, admiring it as people walked by. It was made of dark oak, stone, and a few metals, with a vivid arch pattern on the front and a square-like outline on the sides. He could almost feel the aura of friendliness resonate within its walls.
"So, this is the adventurer's guild, huh? It looks fairly bigger than what I have imagined."
While Asahi pampered his time with the very structure of the building, Aletha stared at her reflection, admiring her face and features.
She couldn't help but feel mesmerized by her own appearance, much like the time when she saw herself when Belial gave her a mirror. Aletha took her chest out, leaned her hands behind her head, and lifted her chin, striking a prideful pose.
"I LOOK. FABULOUS!~"
The more Aletha indulged in her looks, the more joy flooded her soul. Her infectious, cheerful aura was so strong that it spread to several people like a plague, making most laugh and energized.
"Look at that girl, go!"
"She knows the moves! Rock on!"
"I never knew people could do that."
Although Asahi was earnest and high-minded all the time, when he saw his sister dance and pose in front of the window,
"Ha ha ha!"
The act looked like she was an armless goose from his angle, with the air being the neck and her face being the beak.
The sight was so zany and silly enough for him that it made Asahi's smirk crack into a voluntary and uncontrollable smile.
Not just some sort of enclosed and fake "grin" but a genuine, cheery, and gleeful smile.
One that was radiant and lovely, showing Asahi's gleaming, beautiful straight, white teeth out to the world.
Aletha froze in shock, seeing her brother giggle warmly. It wasn't more of a giggle but a genuine, audible laugh, one she hadn't seen from him for years.
A laugh that represented not just joy but surrenders to his long, somber, and serious "act." One that Aletha waited so long to see from her brother since the calamity all those years ago.
Kali was also hypnotized by Asahi's smile, not realizing that she was giggling herself. She was always used to seeing the boy with a serious face, especially in Dreamtoe Forest.
But now, seeing the one, she loved to make such a sparkling and brilliant smile made Kali Leila even more attracted to Asahi.
It's as if Asahi's smile was a precious, rare treasure for her. One she wanted to see more of. While Canyon, Pridia, Emine, and the others walked out of the building to see what the hassle was about, Kali walked up to the laughing Asahi, blushing with a red hue floating over her face.
"You have a pretty smile.~"
Asahi looked over to Kali and tried to stop laughing, hunching over and replying with a high-pitched voice.
"Huh?"
Kali looked down, shook her thumbs, and her whole face turned crimson red. As Asahi's laugh died down to a whimsical smile,
"You look so much cuter when you're happy.~ I want to see you more like that."
At that moment, Asahi's face went from a positive tone to an embarrassed, blushy pink face. He never would have expected Kali to reveal something like that. But instead of pushing the thought aside, he kept it cradled in his soul, hoping to keep his positive attitude longer.
* * * * * * *
Emine quickly hollered out to them while others around them resumed their duties.
"Come on! We don't have all day!"
Immediately after, the wanderers had no time to look around the building and focused only on the recruit bench. Even Emine was surprised by the sheer speed and carelessness of their surroundings.
(At least take a moment to breathe.)
. . .
A man that looked like he was in his fifties, with a square-shaped chin, thick bushy eyebrows, and a vast body, sat behind a wooden booth with the words [Reecruit Booth] engraved on top of the roof.
All Emine, Kali, Pridia, Fint, Canyon, Chloe, Asahi, and Aletha gathered around the booth, going through the process while only a few were waiting in line.
The eyebrow man leaned toward the wanderers, looking both attentive and uninterested simultaneously. He said while his back was arched and lazily aside.
"You're first training session will be atop Linuxinia mountain. There should be a chest there. Grab and loot the rewards while simultaneously scaling up the mountain and avoiding enemies. If you can prove that, then your rank will increase."
Aletha trembled just at the thought of that quest.
"T... That sounds hard. With this group of people? It's going to be impossible to gather around together!"
Canyon crossed his arms and sneered at the man.
"Don't you think it's a LITTLE harsh for this to be the FIRST challenge for recruits?"
The recruiter frustratingly slammed his fists on the ground and raised his voice, not noticing others were watching.
"Settle down. Lucky for you, this training session will be done in partners!"
Asahi commented while he unsheathed his blade and looked over at Kali Leila.
"This is gonna be easy."
But as his blade was only half-sheathed, the trainer quickly snagged Asahi's sword and yelled.
"Swords not from the guild are restricted and will be taken away until the session has been either completed or expired."
Asahi and Aletha jumped up in shock.
"What?!"
"Also, previous Dares who have completed the training session will not be eligible to help or make any sort of assistance. It has to be fair."
Kali, Canyon, Fint, and Pridia all erupted.
"WHAT?!"
Fint bounced back up and sneered at the man, trying to keep his positive attitude at bay.
"Excuse me, sir, but making these three people climb a tall mountain is virtually impossible. They don't know anything, and the number of people is low! Speaking of which, there are only three. So how-"
The recruiter snarled and crossed his arms, pinching his nose and shrugging his shoulders.
(SLAM!)
"Two partners ONLY! Not four, not three-- TWO! Either suck it up or leave. I don't care. All of you are worthless anyways."
Canyon, Emine, and Fint shook their fists, irritated and annoyed by the recruiter's impolite and rude actions. They wanted to burst out and yell at the man but realized that there were people, so they tried to keep their anger as much as possible.
Aletha dropped her arms down to the floor, hopeless that she would ever receive this adventure's license. Her only motivation was the mount, but knowing the difficulty of the first "session" made her lose some confidence.
She even realized that all the people in their group aside from Aletha and Chloe are not eligible. So she felt stuck in a corner.
But luckily enough, a man with brown hair, wearing a black scarf, barged into the building, racing to the wanderers with his head soaked. Aletha couldn't believe who it was.
"Phthonus?"
"Finally, I've found you two."
The Wanderers were absolutely clueless about the happenings before but were relieved to see a particular friend barge into the building last minute. The recruiter crinkled his nose and shouted.
"NO MORE VISITORS! We close in an hour!"
That was the final straw, well... for Canyon at least. In a rage, he leaned forward toward the man and clenched the recruiter's thick and fat neck, choking and strangling him out of pure frustration.
"JUST LET HIM IN! Why are you so rude?! They're just newbies!"
The recruiter dared to respond with a strangulated voice.
"Only newbies are allowed! C... Come on... it's just the..."
"CANYON, what are you doing?!"
All the recruiter did was anger Canyon, even more, tightening his grip on his neck and closing the man's windpipes. His voice was filled with rage and hatred, screaming.
"ONLY NEWBIES?! WHAT IF HE WAS A NEWBIE?! WHY ARE YOU RUDE ALL OF A SUDDEN?! NO ONE IN THE ADVENTURER'S GUILD EVER ACTED LIKE THAT WHEN I WAS RECRUITED!"
Everyone in the building bounced up in shock and gathered around the recruiting booth, trying to stop Canyon from strangling him. His loud, blood-boiling voice shouted out.
"Oh my goodness, you're so CARELESS! AT LEAST HAVE SOME RESPECT, DON'T TREAT US LIKE RODENTS! WHY ARE YOU NOT FIRED?!"
Kali and Pridia tried to restrain the ferocious gray-haired boy, but he lunged toward the man, making his face turn purple. The crowd around them shouted and screamed, some cheering Canyon on while only a handful cheered for the man.
Asahi and Aletha were cornered in this situation, not knowing what to do since they had never been here before. The more they saw it, the more the wanderers thought that maybe getting an adventurer's license wasn't the best idea.
But as chaos ensued upon the building and the recruiter was almost near death, a mysterious, almost magical voice emerged from the front doors.
"Oh, please. Two years ago, you acted the same way. Either you allow the others and go against the laws of the Adventurer's Guild, or risk your life."
Everyone leaned over to the entrance and saw three figures walking inside the building. Out of the three, two of them looked familiar to Asahi and Aletha. A brunette-haired girl and a pink-haired boy. However, only one looked unfamiliar.
A petite girl with bright pale skin, bird-like slate blue eyes, and tawny brown hair stood straight in front of everyone inside the building, holding what looked like a silver spoon covering her mouth.
The spoon would always follow her mouth no matter what movement she made. Even a sparkle illuminated around it.
"Aww, look at that shy little girl covering her mouth with a spoon. What're you gonna do about it--
Suddenly, the mysterious girl grabbed the magical silver spoon and made a "scooping" gesture in the air.
"Ha! What's that gonna do?"
The girl made a slow smile, muttering.
"Heh, you'll see."
As the spoon "scooped" the air, golden particles started appearing on the spoon. Everyone gasped.
"Huh?"
The mysterious girl leaned over and pressed her finger on the tip of the spoon, bending it as if it was a catapult. And then, in such an exemplary manner, the girl threw the glittering golden particles on the man, effectively stinging him and forcing him to scream.
"Oww!"
The crowd backed up while the mysterious girl stepped forward and ordered the pink-haired boy and brunette-haired girl, introducing herself shortly after.
"Brunella, go and fix the mess in the Recruit Booth. Assistant Katib, try and escort that rude man to the hospital."
"On it!" Both replied.
Then, as the mysterious girl looked over to the white-haired siblings that stood out from the crowd, she bowed down and felt the spoon returning to float on her lips, introducing herself.
"Please excuse me. My name is Joshilyn. I am the founder of the Adventurer's Guild. Closing time will be extended by two hours. If any worker refuses, they will be fired on the spot whether they like it or not."
Everyone in the building, including Canyon, fell silent. Never would anyone think that the one who owned the guild was no other than this tiny girl in front of them.
Now that they mention it, Asahi and Aletha realize that Ubel, along with Alai, was also here, wearing relatively mediocre wooden armor.
Ubel screamed from across the room.
"You guys are here, too? We were just getting done with our first task."
Aletha nodded her head.
"Yup! Same could be said for you!"
Asahi mumbled, noticing that two more had ended up here as well.
"Wait, why are Brunella and Katib here as well? Did the tornado just toss everyone here, too?"
Joshilyn politely coughed to grab back the attention of everyone. It seemed she wasn't finished yet.
"Ahem, does anyone know who Asahi... and um..." Joshilyn looked over her notes and continued with an unsure tone. "... Aletha is?"
Asahi raised his arm and hollered.
"Yeah, over here!"
Joshilyn quickly jumped up in shock and noticed the color of their hair. She mumbled while everyone in the room walked away and resumed what they were doing.
"White hair?! Yeah, I guess they DO look like what Brunella had described." She raised her arm and hollered at the two. "Hey, umm... Asahi and Aletha... come here."
Emine quickly intervened, pushing her dark hair back and mumbling.
"What do you think you're doing? You can't take them like that."
Joshilyn sneered.
"And who could have such a behavior to the owner of the Adventurer's Guild?"
"ME! I already have these two for the upcoming race."
Fint stepped in, defending Josilyn and the Wanderers.
"Were you the one that brought Asahi and Aletha here in the first place? If so, you should respect this girl, especially if she's the owner."
"U... Ummm. Erm..."
Emine quickly fell silent, stammering to try and think of anything to counter it. But the crimson-haired man was right; she WAS the one who brought the wanderers here.
And so, without hesitation, the recruiter was fired, Canyon was excused, and Josilyn resumed the recruitment process, leading all of the group straight to the second, vacant booth.
* * * * * * *
"Since many newbies are eager to get their Adventurer's Licenses, I will extend the count to four. I feel generous today."
Joshilyn stood behind the counter, with the same spoon hovering in front of her mouth. During the process, everyone in the group was given a wooden name tag, despite some already having a license. It was only necessary to make keeping track of everyone easier. After everyone, including Canyon, settled down, Josilyn moved forward and informed.
"Right, okay. Asahi, Chloe, Canyon, and Brunella, I will make an exception. Even though some of you already have your adventurer's license, I'm allowing it since tomorrow will be a little risky."
Joshilyn looked over to all their brown nametags and stepped forward to the rest of the group.
"As for the rest of you, Aletha, Phthonus, Fint, and Kali, you will go on an entirely different expedition. I will share the details later. Don't worry; the difficulty does NOT change depending on location."
She pressed her fingers together, leaning over with a traditional posture.
"Alright, so any questions?"
Everyone in the group was silent. Joshilyn nodded, stepped out of the recruitment booth, and led all of them toward the quest board.
* * * * * * *
Understanding Joshilyn's commands were easy for most, but it was an absolute chore for Chloe since she was oblivious and uneducated regarding the Gincaidian language. All she ever knew was Asahi and has followed him ever since.
This made it to where Asahi would be the one to be Chloe's guide, informing her of her native language while also translating it.
"Okay, what she is saying is to follow her."
Chloe raised her eyebrows, bending over and looking at Asahi's name card, clueless about who Joshilyn was. Without hesitation, she asked him.
"Who is she? Do you think you have it?"
Yet again, Asahi made another rare grin and nodded his head with a light chuckle.
"Yeah. Her name is Joshilyn. She said she was the owner of this place."
Chloe gave a doubtful expression while peering over at the spoon girl.
"A...Are you sure? She looks very young."
Asahi scratched his head.
"Don't worry. Once we get started in this training session, I will teach you our language."
Chloe gulped.
"O... Okay."