The Adventure Guild was in an uproar the dungeon which was unconquered so far was conquered, and on top of that by a C-ranked party, this news took mere hours to spread all around the town and everyone was wondering how the C-rank party dealt with bees swarms which were troubling every other party.
'I heard they were actually not C rank'
'The priestess can make people invisible to monsters'
'The C-ranked party just took credit for something someone else did'
'It seems like a scam'
'That boy from the party was so cool!!'
Although the last one doesn't make much sense, these were the rumors going around the town and at such time the heroes of the event Fusion souls were missing from the adventure guild where everyone was waiting for them to submit the report of the quest competition,
"Now what are we supposed to do with her?" Ryu asked Aiena and Jue. They were all hiding near the path to town on the opposite side of an old hollow, tree a tree that was victim to monster mite from a dungeon stampede,
"Give me a name!!" the wolf lady childishly spoke.
"I don't…." Aiena wanted to ask for not to leave her but she knew carrying her around will be troublesome and that Ryu would be burdened
Jue didn't think much and spoke in a confused voice,
"We are going to take wolf sister with us, right?" he tilted his head,
"We can't Jue, she is a wolfkin and also someone we don't know properly," Ryu said with a troubled voice, but before Jue or Aiena could say anything a little crying voice came from the side,
Ryu turned his face and saw that the wolf woman was holding her tears back.
"I am sorry… I will be quiet, you three talk" the wolf woman apologize like a good kid as she realized her voice interrupted, and Ryu asked
"What happened?"
"You are talking about leaving me, right?" Ryu was taken aback as she was talking childishly so far, that he didn't think she was able to understand the conversation.
"Please don't leave me alone, I don't know anything…. I am scared, the world would become red again" she pleaded while sobbing her voice like a little kid,
Aiena began crying again, feeling her sadness and Ryu realized.
'Man, I feel shitty now…. She just helped us in the dungeon and saved our lives and I was thinking about abandoning her, even though I promised earlier'
Suddenly Ryu could feel a bad taste in his mouth and realized what he was thinking of doing was sick, as she didn't have anywhere to go. even though in his last life Ryu used to do such things based on pure calculation, now he just can't. It was like his soul doesn't want to agree with what his brain thought is absolutely correct,
"There, there, calm down," Ryu cooed as he patted the head of the wolf lady who spoke.
"But… but" she sobbed harder,
"No one is going to abandon you, Rafa," Ryu said, without thinking much and the wolf lady stared at him and asked,
"Is Rafa my name?" she looked up, wiping her tears, and Ryu didn't even realize that he had called her by a name. Where did it come from or what does it mean he didn't have any idea but
"Did you like it?" Ryu asked awkwardly rubbing the back of his head, and the wolf lady, now Rafa, nodded as she jumped on Ryu and spoke
"This is the best name!! thanks, big brother… I will be called Rafa now!!" she smiled, her canine visible and Ryu tried pushing her aside,
'Heck, she is heavy!!' Ryu thought as he felt her weight on top of him but her wild smile was pretty cool,
Finally, Ryu was able to move her from the top of him and Jue and Aiena were grinning.
'After all, big brother….' Jue thought,
'After all Ryu….' Aiena thought,
'Is good at heart' Jue and Aiena completed their thought and nodded with understanding and Ryu coughed to get their attention.
"Now we have three options. First, we take her to adventurer's guild with us right now, second, we don't and take her to Inn…..." Ryu spoke till here and stopped when Aiena asked,
"What is the third option, Ryu?"
Ryu made a troubled look as he explained the third plan and hearing it, there was no doubt that this was the main plan Ryu had thought of all along.
"It would piss another adventurer's off though" Aiena put a finger on her chin with a thoughtful expression and Jue spoke with a resolved look,
"I do not care if wolf sister can be helped," Ryu nodded at this and spoke.
"Also we don't need them to put us on a pedestal so it will just be fine" all of them nodded and Rafa, who didn't get the exact details properly, nodded too,
And they began walking towards the town when Rafa asked,
"Big brother is the town far?"
Ryu sighed as he replied,
"I am not big brother!! my name is Ryu"
"But Jue, call you big brother and it feels closer" replied Rafa and Ryu wondered if it was only him or if she was becoming more and more coherent and smart every passing minute,
Ryu just shrugged the thought away as he began explaining to her that Jue call him big brother, because he is older than her and Rafa seems older than him so she shouldn't call him big brother he also told her it is also the reason why he calls Aiena big sister,
"So I can be, little brother…. of someone your age but not big brother," Ryu explained, and Rafa walked with a thoughtful expression for a while and remembered how Ryu shouted in concern for Jue when he was in danger and thought,
'Big one protect small one' and nodded happily as she put her hand on Ryu's shoulder and spoke.
"Ryu is my small brother" Ryu looked at her with an awkward gaze as he saw her puppy eyes. He nodded,
"I do not mind Rafa big sister" and Aiena pouted as Ryu would only rarely ever call her big sister,
While chatting and finalizing the plan details they went toward the Hinsmark adventurer's guild talking and also instructing properly to Rafa what she have to do and speak it was a short-acting lesson, but Rafa unexpectedly did well.
*
Inside the adventurer's guild, every adventurer was waiting for the arrival of Fusion souls to claim their completion reward so they can figure out how a rookie party went past through that many swarms many adventurers who doubt Fusion souls of scamming were also seated getting angry without any particular reason,
And finally, their wait was successful as they stepped inside,
"Was there a Wolfkin with them before?" an adventurer whispered,
"She looks ripped," another said,
"She seems strong," a female adventurer said,
"These scammers" a guy with a thick mustache clicked his tongue,
But Fusion Souls ignored them all as they made their way to the reception. The face of the receptionist was looking a bit awkward as she remembered how she gave them a tough time as soon as they arrived in town,
"We are here for quest completion" with these words from Ryu, the Receptionist finally moved and spoke,
"Please present the orb you collected from the dungeon and also if you ended up getting some loot from the core room," she tried keeping her voice professional as she stared at the wolfkin girl in front of her,
Ryu grinned a bit as he pulled out the orange glowing orb from the bag Jue was wearing and presented it to the receptionist.
"The core seems fine… please present your cards so I can do the procedure,"
Fusion souls passed their Ids and Rafa was looking around the Inn curiously as if it was the first time she saw one.
The receptionist kept staring at her and couldn't hold back but ask,
"Umm, can I ask who this lady is? She wasn't with your party before, is she?"
'Here goes nothing,' Ryu thought as Jue began speaking,
"She is my guard; she was camping near the dungeon in the forest,"
"Your guard?" The receptionist asked confused as there was nothing such as a guard for adventurers unless Jue nodded and the Receptionist asked shaking a bit.
"Are you a Nobel Lord?"
Jue nodded and spoke.
"I am son of Lord of Zerah Geld Pernelle, and an heir to his Nobel title Juelius Pernelle"
The receptionist was shocked but more than her, Ryu titled his head once, and then realizing something he shouted,
"Your name is Juelius!? Jue!?"
"Eh"
"Eh"
"Eh," all the fusion souls tilted their heads and Jue asked,
"Big brother, don't tell me you did not know…. Aiena big sister, you remember, right?" Jue looked towards Aiena with hope-filled eyes, who looked another way as she replied stuttering,
"I do remember Jue was a nickname Ryu suddenly began calling you…. But I didn't remember Juelius,"
"I give Jue the nickname!? when?" Ryu tilted his head as he didn't remember it properly and Jue looked sad as he spoke.
"Remember it this time!!!" he pouted looking disappointed in both his big sister and brother who awkwardly looked aside and Ryu said to change topic,
"Either way, we completed the quest. please give us our reward and if you would please register her as an adventurer…. The test would be unneeded as she is a participant in this quest and is above level 30," even though Ryu said this casually, the adventurer threw up his water and others looked towards them enviously as they had only one thought,
'After all, this party just used a Nobel's guard to clear a dungeon'
'How shameless'
'They shouldn't be adventurers'. They looked towards Fusion souls with scornful and envious gazes,
'Well, this will settle the uproar around us so whatever!!' Ryu thought as the Receptionist presented Rafa with her Guild card and paid them 2 Gold coins as a reward for dungeon subjugation.
"The core will be bought by Town Lord himself please don't try embezzling it" warned the Receptionist as it was stated by the lord that he will take the orb from the dungeon but Fusion Souls didn't have such plans so they just nodded and moved out of the Adventurer Guild without paying heed to stares from adventurers