"I-is this really fine?" Nerium muttered.
"It's really fine! If we don't register you with the guild, there's no way we can get permission to meet the king," I assured Nerium, who had been restless since yesterday.
"Uwah..." Nerium sulked.
"Hahaha! Everything will be fine. After all, we're here to help you," I laughed, offering a reassuring smile to Nerium. I wanted to calm her down, and it seemed to be effective.
"T-Then... I guess I can't do much about it," Nerium blushed slightly.
"Kyaa!! Nerium blushing is so cute!" I couldn't help but cuddle with Nerium again.
"Stop it!" Nerium pouted.
"Well, I bet even if we register Nerium, she'll need to increase her rank too," Yukki mused to herself.
"But don't worry! We're all going to level up quickly!" I turned around and smiled at Yukki.
"Alright, alright. But just to let you know, I'm not a fighter or a magician, so I'll be supporting you two from behind," Yukki's expression turned a bit somber.
"That's fine. I don't want you to be in danger. However, I can teach you some basic magic, like Ignite, for your own self-defense," I offered to Yukki, hoping to lift her spirits a bit.
"But if we're just going to be ambushed like this, it won't be much fun, right?" I stopped in my tracks and looked around at the bushes.
"Ambush? What are you talking about, Yuna?" Both Yukki and Nerium looked at me with puzzled expressions.
"There are about 28 bandits about to ambush us. Most of them are hiding in these bushes. You can come out now!" I called out to the bandits, and in response, they revealed themselves and surrounded us.
"Kekeke! You think you can escape now that you've noticed us? Hand over everything you have, and we might let you live!" The leader, with a red bandana, stepped forward. He was the largest among them, and clearly, he believed he had the upper hand.
"Hoh, do you think you're threatening me?" I stepped forward towards the leader.
"You're not going to stop her?" Nerium asked Yukki.
"Well, it's not really necessary," Yukki sighed.
"Kekeke! Do you really think you can take us on alone? Or are you surrendering yourself so your little friend over there can survive? Fine!" The leader's laughter was full of arrogance as he moved closer to me.
"Oho, it seems you've misunderstood something," I replied calmly.
"Then prepare to die!" The leader yelled and lunged at me, attempting to strike my head.
"Sigh... You're slow. Too slow," I effortlessly caught the tip of his sword.
"W-What?!" The leader was both surprised and confused.
"Did I forget to sharpen my sword this morning?"
"Haha, what a joke," I mocked.
"Everyone, surround her!" The leader shouted, and all the bandits rushed towards me, attempting to encircle me.
"Sigh... This is really pathetic," I flicked my finger, and all the bandits froze in their tracks.
"Eh? What happened?" Yukki and Nerium were both shocked and puzzled by the sudden turn of events.
"They're already dead," I turned around, smiling at them.
"D-Dead?" Yukki and Nerium seemed slightly horrified.
"But we're safe for now! Let's leave the bandits here. Knights will probably arrive soon to apprehend them. In any case, they're nothing but empty shells now!" I laughed.
"Ahahaha..." Yukki and Nerium offered nervous laughs.
After a few hours of walking, we finally reached the main gate.
"Oh, here we are! Hey, Alex!" I waved my hand at Alex, who was guarding the main gate.
"Whoa! Yuna and Yukki! Off to the guild?" Alex's energy was infectious.
"Good morning, Alex. Yes, we're heading to the guild," Yukki replied to Alex.
"Oh? It looks like you've made a new friend," Alex observed Nerium.
"Yes, in this case, she's my little sister. She was searching for me because she was worried something might have happened to me on my journey," I fabricated a story, just in case. Surprisingly, Nerium seemed somewhat happy with that explanation.
"L-Little sister..." Nerium muttered to herself.
"I see! I hope you'll be happy here. Welcome to the town of Inglis!" Alex patted Nerium's head gently.
"Inglis? Ah, I see. I never realized the town's name before," I muttered to myself.
"Let's head to the adventure guild, Yukki, Nerium!"
"Nod, let's go!" Nerium nodded and reached out to take my hand.
After a short walk, we arrived at the impressive building again. No matter how many times I saw it, I was still impressed by its grandeur.
"Let's meet Aira first and register Nerium with the guild," everyone entered the guild.
"Ohh! Yuna, Yukki!" Aira waved at us from the reception counter.
"Aira, can we talk for a moment?" I called out to Aira.
"Sure! What's the matter?" Aira asked.
"I'd like to introduce you to my little sister, Nerium. She might not be as strong as me, but I can assure you she's incredibly talented," I said, lifting Nerium so that she could meet Aira at eye level.
"You don't need to lift me up..." Nerium sulked.
"Why not? It's not a big deal," I laughed.
"Then please touch this magic crystal. The instructions are the same as last time: your name, hometown, skills, and specialties," Aira brought out the magic crystal.
"Then, without further ado..." Nerium touched the magic crystal, and it displayed information. However, it was all fabricated information that I had created with my magic: Name - Narium Everlasting Empress, Skills - Unknown, Age - Unknown, Hometown - Unknown. I wanted to ensure that nothing about Nerium's true identity would arouse suspicion.
"Most of them are unknown..." Aira murmured.
"Then I'll start explaining the adventurer guild to you, Nerium," Aira began to explain.
After a few minutes, Nerium's registration as an adventurer was successful. Now, it was time for lunch. We were going to have my newfound favorite food - pork skewers! It seemed that Nerium had taken a liking to them as well.
"These skewers are delicious!" Both Nerium and I exclaimed.
"Good grief... I suppose they've truly become like siblings now," Yukki sighed.