Night was upon them.
Archibald and Rumia lay beneath the star-filled sky beside a crackling bonfire.
The dancing shadows cast by the flames flickered back and forth.
The red-haired lad had just woken up and felt a bit of discomfort in his back, likely due to sleeping on the ground.
("I temporarily have Rumia as an ally... I just had to tell her I was an aspiring Adventurer and the rest was pie. I guess those dating tips I scrolled through wasn't a waste.")
When he got up, he shifted his sight to the left.
There was nothing but trees.
To the right, was the bonfire which he was two meters away from. Across from where he sat, Rumia laid her back against a tree.
Her eyes wide open like an owl and fixed on the boy like an eagle.
She didn't move a muscle.
("Did I do something wrong?!")
The stare made Archibald mentally panic. On the exterior, he maintained a calm expression.
"Why are you staring at me like... Like that?"
It was uneasy for him to speak, because, even as he spoke she didn't break focus once.
Rumia had long, straight green hair that was tied back in a short ponytail with a gold braided cord, and two long fringes hanging from above her forehead over her ears. She had teal blue eyes and subtle rosy lips.
"I'm a delicate lady, and you're a perverted boy... I don't know how comfortable I'd be sleeping near you."
"Uhhh, I'm not enough of an idiot to touch your meatbags while you sleep... It's just not my style."
A finger was up his nostril digging for dried mucus. Whichever one he found, he'd either blow it or flick it away.
"Meatbags! I'd appreciate if you not call them that! Honestly, how can someone be so vulgar...."
Rumia protectively placed her hands over her chest.
A perverted look grew on Archibaldʼs face as he observed her chest.
"For a moment, I actually thought you were a gentleman! I might just have to kill you, you know that?!"
Of course, Archibald was teasing her, but Rumia didn't appreciate his manner of doing so. Neither did she find it funny.
Relaxing on the ground once more, Archibald closed his eyes. With a subtly serious voice he said:
"If you go to sleep then there'd be no need for you to kill me.... I'm depending on you tomorrow. So please, get some rest."
There was transparency in his words. She decided to oblige him and rest, then tomorrow they would need to head for the town.
-----
In no time at all, they'd arrived at the town. One which only took about six hours in all.
It was an awkward journey filled with uncomfortable silence.
The Town of Pantoran.
One of Velvana territoryʼs popular towns.
The town was home to one of the most popular guilds in the Eses continent, the "Tempest Fall" guild. They had branches all over the world, but conveniently, their headquarters was here.
Another guild was in the Galdruos territory. That was the guild Michael had advised him to join.
He wasn't here to join the Tempest Fall, instead he planned to make inquiries about guild requirements from Rumia. She was the only person he knew as it was.
Pantoran was a bustling town and one of the largest in the Velvana territory.
To reach it from Berkyl, a day's journey on a horse carriage was required.
Upon arrival, the first thing to be seen were the large, 12-meter high walls that surround the city.
The walls were thick and dependable.
The town gate was a hub of activity, with an unending flow of traffic.
Unsurprisingly, security in the town was tight.
There were two guards standing at the only entrance.
Rumia and Archibald were now approaching the town.
"Are they gonna let me in...?" he asked.
"...Why wouldn't they?"
"I don't know, my father said something abo–"
"About High Elves being condescending bastards?"
"...."
"Well, he's right... But, ask yourself this question.... Are you here to become an Adventurer or care about every single thing another race does?"
Pristine. Her sense of reasoning was flawless. Enough that it urged Archibald to ponder how old Rumia actually was.
He hadn't asked.
("I mean, she's right, but I'm still gonna have to register as an Adventurer in the Galdruos territory. Michael must've had his reasons for choosing there....")
The guards straight ahead were also elven. That much was clear from their pointy ears.
They held lances that had an enchanted appearance. As expected, aside from their delicate-features, elves were also skilled in magic or spellcrafting.
Walking past the guards, nothing happened.
("Okay, not what I was expecting....")
Conversely, Archibald had assumed the worst. In his head, a scenario played out where he believed he would be stopped by the guards.
------
After entering the town.
Archibald observed a series of establishments, namely inns and brothels.
The local citizens intermingled with merchants and adventurers of varying races.
The overall ambiance of the place was reminiscent of a fantastical setting straight out of a storybook.
Notably, there were individuals carrying bulky luggage who took up residence in a particular area, most likely travelers who planned to enter the inner-city.
"What's wrong?"
Rumia noticed the puzzled look of Archibald.
In relation to the question, he widened his eyes a bit.
"Huh?"
"You're acting a bit strange.."
".....Oh it's nothing, I just thought the place wouldn't have much of other races."
But so far, he'd seen a humans, lizard men and even demihumans.
"It's common to feel skeptical about this, but let me explain how it works. There are two types of elves: high elves and regular elves. The high elves are easily identifiable by their ivory hair and they reside in the inner-city ----Baron, along with some chosen regular elves. Despite Pantoran being a popular place for travelers, merchants, and other activities, the high elves allow all races to come here because it helps boost Velvana territory's revenue..."
("Oh, so we're in some kind of merchant city..")
Her explanation made complete sense.
"So you're a regular elf then?"
"Yeah, but do you really have to point it out?"
"Someone's a bit offended... Haha."
"...Whatever," she averted her eyes for a moment.
Still, his deductions were unmistakable. She had green hair, not ivory. This meant she wasn't a high elf.
All this while they'd been walking, expectedly, they arrived at an inn nearby.
------
The Ferkit Inn.
There was little to no one within the inn.
The silence was the most uncomfortable part, but Archibald believed since he had Rumia to speak with so he needn't worry about boredom.
On their table, both had drinks given to them by the waiter. It disappointed Archibald that an inn in fantasy setting didn't have a cute beast girl as its waitress.
"Alright! Bottoms up!"
Archibald extended his cup of grape juice for a toast.
Her refusal to respond to his actions were obvious, on top that she said:
"I won't raise glass with a pervert, just have your drink..."
The manner with which she spoke was elegant and at the same time a bit impolite.
("Gosh, she's so cold... I've never felt this aroused in a while! I wonder what her panties smell like? No! Focus Archie-dono!")
Now that they could sit and relax, he could make inquiries about the guild.
"So, about the Adventurerʼs guild..."
"Umh, yeah, why exactly do you even want to be an Adventurer?"
("Because a pretty loli God told me to?")
He most definitely couldn't tell her that.
"I recently left home to start my own adventure. But if I'm gonna see the world then why not do it in a professional way... As an Adventurer."
In his opinion, he could've made up a better story. This was the best he could do seeing as it was so unexpected.
("Honestly, this lie sounds a lot like that anime about that guy who's been 10 years old for 20 years and has an electric yellow cat with him. I can't remember his name, he always says stuff like -----I'm gonna catch emʼ all!")
Completely, Rumia believed his story.
"That means you're going to need some money.."
Of course she'd believe him.
At the age of 10 a child was allowed to become an Adventurer. In this world, that was the standard age for their semi-independence.
It would ultimately mold them for adulthood; at the age of the 15.
".....It's still early, we'll wait a bit then have you registered in my guild, you're lucky since their headquarters is here."
"I planned to join Goldbande guild in the Galdruos territory, because..."
"Of high elves? Like I said before they're not a big deal in the outer-city and the Tempest Fall guild pays a lot better than a number of guilds in Ixtal. Besides, it'd take you three days to get to Galdruos on foot.."
"Yeah, but...."
"But what?"
Indirectly, Rumia was advertising her guild.
("Well, this is a tough decision. On one hand, there's this stunning elven girl and her guild, which I'm sure would be a lot of fun to join. On the other hand, there's Michael's advice, which is always valuable.")
Just when he considered choosing his father's advice, his eyes caught Rumiaʼs chest again, and then her rosy lips and teal blue eyes.
Who could say no to that? Certainly not our resident pervert.
("But let's be real here, it's not every day that a gorgeous elf invites you to join her guild. And honestly, who can resist a little bit of boobs and ass? Sorry Dad, but I think I'm going to have to go with the elves on this one.")
A nod of the head, Archibald agreed.
"Alright, I'll join your guild."