Once Rea had received her card, it was my turn. I stepped up and placed my hand on the crystal, and the receptionist, seemingly unfazed by anything anymore, announced tiredly, "Ava Kino, A rank."
The rest of the room, however, burst into chatter.
I sighed heavily and received my guild card, then listened to the receptionist's explanation.
"These cards will allow you to freely enter and leave any city in any nation that has an Adventurer's Guild. When you come to select and fulfil requests, please present your card to us. Ah, and the cards you currently have are provisional guild cards. Although both of you are very strong, you will only become official members of the guild once you have completed ten requests and the ranking test. The requests can be found on the board over there, and our collections counter is over there for items not listed in your requests but buyable by the guild. The ranking test is held on an ad-hoc basis, and you may request a ranking test whenever you want. However, personnel for the ranking test may not always be available. Any questions?"
I shook my head, indicating my understanding of the explanation. Rea looked slightly confused, but also shook her head.
The receptionist continued, "moving on, here are some of the Guild's rules. Fighting in the guild hall is strictly disallowed. However, the provoked party may invoke self-defence. That is what you have done, so please don't worry about it. Any irregularities in monsters, whether in the [Labyrinths] or not should be reported as soon as possible to the Guild. Failure to do so will not be penalised, however it will put others at risk. Therefore, please comply. Lastly, as the Guild is a supranational organisation, it will not interfere in the political matters of a country. If adventurers are found to be engaging in political affairs, they will be requested to suspend their Guild participation until they have returned from their endeavours. Any other rules may be found in the Guild handbook that we have multiple copies of in the reference room."
I nodded once again, then opened my mouth, "receptionist-san, could I ask for your name?"
Unexpectedly, the receptionist's cheeks flushed slightly, and mumbled, "such a thing...um, no, my name is Cariya."
"Ah, Cariya-san. Thank you. It was feeling awkward calling you receptionist-san. May I ask if there is an inn suitable for the two of us?"
Cariya looked at us and thought for a moment, then pulled out a map of the city and circled a few locations, saying, "these are inns that have a reputation of favouring their female clientele. If you'd like, you can check these out."
I took the proffered map, and then led Rea over towards the request board amidst the rising chatter in the guild, much of which was of course, regarding us.
"Uwaaa, Ava-sama, scary..."
"Nn?"
"Ava-sama's [Killing Intent] is so thick and heavy that I thought I was going to faint, you know?"
"Ah? But I only dropped the [Presence Suppression]. I didn't even blast it at full strength."
"Uwaaaa, Ava-sama, that's even scarier..."
"Silly girl, that [Killing Intent] is for our enemies, okay?"
"Muuu...but still, it's so heavy..."
I ended the conversation there and looked at the request board. Sure enough, there was a standing request for [Mana Cores] of any rank. Handing over an A-rank [Mana Core] in any condition would fulfil the request, as did a [Damaged] or better B-rank [Mana Core], a [Good] or better C-rank [Mana Core], or a [Perfect] D-rank [Mana Core].
"Ten requests, huh..."
I headed over to the collection counter and pulled out ten [Perfect] D-rank [Mana Cores], asking, "is this enough to fulfil the standing request ten times?"
The girl at the collections counter widened her eyes, stared at the [Mana Cores], then at me, then at the [Mana Cores] again, and then said, "ano...well, yes, it is. Please hand me your guild card."
I handed over my guild card, and when she handed it back, I dropped another bombshell on her, "well then, ten for her too," pulling out another ten cores for Rea's request quota.
Her soul almost left her body, and the chatter behind us became even noisier. From what I could pick out, it seemed that it wasn't the most common even for B-ranked adventurers to obtain a [Perfect] D-rank [Mana Core], due to the nature of trying to battle while being precise and avoiding injury. Furthermore, strong monsters were rare aboveground, and D-ranked monsters were plentiful in the [Labyrinths], but they had a tendency to swarm and could cause some injury to even B-ranked adventurers. The worst part was, if monsters were stressed before death, the [Mana Core] would receive damage upon their death, and even if it didn't, most adventurers did not possess enough skills to retrieve the core with a guarantee of zero damage.
Even I had a few damaged cores. However, it seemed that [Perfect] [Mana Cores] fetched a high price. I was beginning to regret handing over the four C-ranked cores at the gate. Even though they were all in the [Damaged] category, they would still fetch a decent price. Thinking about this, the receptionist at the collections counter handed us back our cards with a bag containing some currency.
"For 20 [Perfect] D-ranked [Mana Cores], the sale reward plus the completions reward comes to a total of 3 gold coins."
"How much is an inn per night and a meal for two usually?" I asked casually.
"Depends on the inn and the food, but I'd say on average it runs somewhere around two to five silver coins a night for an inn, and between one to two silver coins for a good meal for two."
I smiled at the receptionist and thanked her, then left the guild with Rea in tow.
"Ava-sama, what's the currency like here?"
"Nn, it seems that a hundred copper coins equals one silver, and a hundred silver coins equals one gold."
Rea's eyes bulged as the numbers flew around her head. She then cocked her head to the side, asking, "Ava-sama, Ava-sama, does that mean we're rich??"
I patted her head and replied, "no, Rea, right now we have enough money for a while, but we'll still have to earn more, you know? At most this will last us for a month or two, with all the things we need to do and buy."
"Ah, is that so?"
"Nn, tomorrow we'll go shopping for some nice clothes, alright?"
"Kyaa, an outing with Ava-sama!" The pure, unadulterated joy shone through on Rea's face, filling my heart with warmth and comfort. Ahh, this innocence and sweetness, is really something I want her to never lose, no matter what. Just as she resolved to protect me, I too, will resolve to protect her and her warm, innocent smile.
Like that, we arrived at the first inn on the map. As we entered, the innkeeper looked up at us and smiled. She hurried from behind the desk to greet us, asking, "ah, dear customers, are you looking for a meal or for a room?"
"How much is a room for two weeks with dinner?"
"Hmm, per night with dinner is four silver coins, but since it's for a two-week period we can call it an even fifty silver coins," the innkeeper responded unhesitatingly. She must have a template for this, huh.
"We'll take it. Dinner downstairs or upstairs?"
"Ah, about that..." she went behind the counter and pulled out a key attached to a small crystal.
"This is the key to your double room, if you'd like dinner upstairs then channel your mana into this crystal and let us know."
"Thank you, manager. By the way, could I get your name?"
"Ah, for an old woman like me...my name is Remi."
"Then, Remi-san, we'll be in your care."
"Ara, maa, you two have fun, alright? Such a sweet young couple."
."...???" x2
"Ano...Remi-san, perhaps you're mistaking something..."
Lightly blushing, the innkeeper waved us off, leaving Rea and I slightly dumbfounded...were we referred to inns that were partial to their lesbian customers?? Well, it's not like I wasn't attracted to women, but...Rea... Rea's a little more like my little sister, you know? And even if we went back a thousand steps, does Rea even understand-
I glanced at Rea's lightly flushed face and internally groaned. Ah, this girl, she too has learned of romance, huh...
"Ano, A-Ava-sama, if it would be of service to you, t-then, Rea too can..."
"No, Rea."
With those words, Rea's eyes began glittering as though tears were about to fall.
"D-does Ava-sama dislike Rea..."
"Rea, you're very cute. So cute that anyone would fall for you. But, please consider your words and offers more carefully, alright?"
"Alright, Ava-sama. But, if Ava-sama really wants to, Rea isn't opposed you know..." she said as her eyes swam, the redness in her cheeks rising slowly.
Looking at her flushed face really made me want to tease her a little. I leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "ne, Rea, if you say things like that it'll make anyone want to eat you up."
Her face was instantly dyed a deep red, it was as if steam was about to pour out from her ears. I lightly chuckled at this very embarrassed, very cute Rea, and told her, "come on, don't stand there in a daze. Let's head to our room and get our things sorted out, then have some food and rest, alright?"
"ah...fuuu...yes, A-Ava-sama, room, yes, of course...hah," Rea mumbled, speaking words that could be easily misunderstood? Or understood? Her true feeling weren't exactly clear. Glancing at this girl with a maiden's heart stuttering and stumbling, I couldn't help but laugh softly.
"Rea, composure."
"Ah! Of course, Ava-sama."
Rea instantly recovered after I lightly chided her, and we headed upstairs to our room. The room was relatively small, with a window facing the street below and a large double bed against the wall. On both sides of the bed were nightstands, and against the opposite wall of the window was a small closet. Away from the foot of the bed and in the view of the door was a small workdesk with mana crystals that could be lit for working while dark.
I grinned when I saw the bed. For too long have I been sleeping in the air or on hard earth, and now after almost three months of working my way through the [Labyrinth], I could finally, finally, sleep on a bed. Closing the door behind us, I immediately dived onto the bed, rolling around happily as my [Living Armour] pulled away from me and hung itself in the closet.
Rea then loudly announced, "A-Ava-sama, Rea will sleep on the floor here!"
I stopped rolling around and fixed her with a quizzical stare, "Rea, what are you talking about? This bed is big enough for the both of us, isn't it?"
"Ehhh? B-but sleeping on the same bed as A-Ava-sama, isn't that too disrespectful..."
"Rea. We're family."
"A-ah, that's right..." the girl/boiled lobster was stuttering again, her eyes swimming once more.
I narrowed my eyes at this, then opened my mouth and said, "Rea, come sit in front of me here."
"Ah? Yes, of course, Ava-sama."
Rea clambered onto the bed, sitting while facing me, a questioning look on her face.
"Rea. Disregarding everything the innkeeper said, what are your feelings for me?"
"E-ehhh? Something like that, so suddenly..." the young maiden whose feelings were asked about with a straight shot stuttered and floundered. Before long, though, she regained her composure.
"Ava-sama is an important existence for me. She is the one who saved me who was on the brink of death, fed me, and welcomed me as her family. My body, heart, and soul is for Ava-sama alone. I want to always be by her side, fight alongside her, and-" her voice faltered as her face flushed again.
"-and maybe, be a little closer to her as well."
Hearing Rea's true feelings and her words of conviction, I lightly sighed.
"So, it's like that, huh?"
"Ah, b-but it's not like Ava-sama has to accept those feelings of mine...after all Ava-sama is Ava-sama and she has her own thoughts about this as well..." I noticed tears beginning to form at the edges of her eyes.
"Rea, let me tell you honestly and directly. You are also an important existence for me. The first person I met after coming to this world. The first family I've had after coming to this world. The first person I could talk to so freely and be with so comfortably."
"T-then..."
"But. I don't know if my heart is twisted or I've become something like a monster by killing monsters. The truth is, Rea is extremely cute. I really love seeing Rea smile and laugh and have fun more than anything else. I would do anything to protect Rea. But the kinds of emotions you are talking about - romantic love - are much more muted for me. I don't know if I can feel it right now.
Also! How old is Rea even? I know your body is mature, but I don't know how old you are mentally! You have received knowledge from your evolution, but even I have no idea how much it matured your mind, you know? Until we can ascertain that, something like what Rea is asking for is Off! The! Table! I would feel like a pervert otherwise!
Well, anyway, back to the main topic...I love Rea as my family. Anything more than that at the moment is..."
"A-ah! I understand, Ava-sama. Thank you for telling me. But, Ava-sama said 'at the moment', right? That means the future isn't set in stone! Rea will do her best to make Ava-sama look her way too!" Rea declared, smiling brightly with her whole face, replacing the sign of the small tears she had initially shed.
Looking at that bright smile, something in my heart caught. That smile, seemed so close yet so far away. I wondered if I could ever smile like that. In my past life, being a man, being depressed, struggling to just stay alive, so many of my emotions disappeared like water down a drain. Even after coming to this world and becoming a woman like I had dreamed of, even after leaving the [Labyrinth] with a new friend and family, I was still searching for my emotions. Maybe it wasn't that I became like a monster after killing monsters, but that I was now trying to fix something that had been broken a long time ago.
Yet, looking at that smile on Rea's face made me feel like if I worked hard alongside her, I could perhaps find those emotions for myself again. That brightness, that innocence, that strength. I never wanted her to lose her smile, never wanted her innocence to be broken. For me, those parts of her were like a beam of hope for my own broken self. With that, a new resolution was born in me. The desire for Rea's smile to never fade.