I walk forward, my steps purposeful as I approach the attendant, a female elf with round-rimmed glasses perched on her delicate nose. She scrutinizes me from head to toe, her expression void of any emotion.
"Well... How may I help you, please?" she inquires, directing the question at me.
"He needs an adventurer's card," Ban speaks up before I can respond.
The elf's gaze shifts towards Ban. "Are you related to him in any way?" she asks, her voice barely audible.
"I plan on adding him to our team," Ban replies confidently.
"Weird," the attendant mumbles under her breath, glancing between us.
"Name?" she asks, her tone businesslike.
"Owen Hunter."
"Age?"
"Seventeen."
"Identification number?"
"Huh..."
"He doesn't have it here. Run it the usual way," Ban instructs, slipping a coin onto the attendant's desk.
"Fufu, that's why I like you, Ban. If it weren't for our age difference, I would like to hang out with you later in the day," she says with a giggle.
"I really don't mind, though. I have a thing for mature women," Ban replies, licking the corner of his lips.
"Meet me in Booneville," the attendant whispers, and Ban winks in response.
Observing their playful banter, my admiration for Ban grows. Despite our similar age, he just effortlessly charmed a woman.
"Your fingerprint, please." the attendant says, prompting me to touch a small glass screen couched within a machine.
Without hesitation, I place my hand on the device, triggering a buzzing sound. Simultaneously, clanking noises resonate from within the confines of the attendant's workspace.
"That's the machine making your ID card," Ban whispers, and I nod in acknowledgment.
Suddenly, the attendant produces a metal card and hands it over to me, with my details neatly etched on the surface.
[Name: Owen Hunter]
[Adventurer Rank: F-rank]
"F-rank..." I mutter, eyeing the bold letters.
"Get off the queue!" a voice booms from behind, prompting me to step aside as an old man approaches the attendant.
"F-rank is the lowest rank and is the one every first-time Adventurer gets. By completing guild missions and hunting beasts, you'll rise in rank," Ban explains. I tuck the card into my pocket after absorbing this knowledge.
"Now, let's meet the team leader. We just picked a mission this morning," Ban declares, leading the way.
Following him, we arrive in front of four people—Two males and two females. Nando, the guy who punched me, is there, along with the cat girl I tried to hug. The other two, male and female, remain unfamiliar faces.
"You are Owen, right?" the cat girl asks, striding forward with a small angry expression on her face.
"I am Owen Hunter, and I am sorry for what happened the other time. I also want to thank you for accepting me into your group," I say with a small bow.
"Hmph! Don't get the wrong idea, though. I told Ban to add you to our group because you seem kind of unique," the cat woman explains, looking completely aloof as if my addition to the group wasn't that big of a deal to her.
"Well, my name is Lena. I am the team leader. You are welcome to our group, Owen. I want you to treat everyone here like your sibling, and I am sure they'll also treat you the same way," Lena says with a smile, gesturing to the others to introduce themselves.
"My name is Sue Gunn, nice to meet you, Owen," the black-haired human girl introduces herself. She appears to be around the same age as me.
"My name is Gustavo Quinn, nice to meet you, Owen. I hope we get to eat Gumgum together," another shy-looking human male says. Just like Sue and Ban, he seems to be around the same age as me.
"My name is Nando, and I am sorry about what happened the other time. I was only trying to stand up for the team leader," the familiar square-chinned guy says, causing me to want to burst into laughter, but I hold it back. Apart from his burly stature, he seems to have an overly large head, a square-shaped chin, and a thick neck. Judging from his appearance, he seems to be in his early twenties, around the same age as Lena.
Suddenly, Ban walks forward and starts whispering something into the team leader's ears. For some reason, Lena's eyes widen in shock as if she can't believe her eyes.
"S-Space magic....?" Lena stutters, looking at me in horror. Even Sue and Gustavo look extremely shocked. Abruptly, after getting over her surprise, Lena calms herself.
"To be honest, I only told Ban to add you to this group out of a mere hunch despite what you did. Ban didn't hesitate because he believes that I have eyes for good talent. Everyone here is extremely talented," Lena says, puffing her chest with pride. But on the other hand, Ban looks extremely confused.
"Don't tell anyone about your magic again. If anyone asks, you can just say it's earth magic since space magic is versatile. You don't have to worry, just as you are special, Sue has two unique skills that make her qualified to be a hero, but she's hiding it because we all know that the kingdom will only take advantage of her at this young age," Lena explains while I nod my head in understanding.
Suddenly, Lena puts on a serious expression.
"Owen, we were on our way to complete a mission before everything that happened. We want to subjugate a group of wild harpies in the nearby village. According to reports, the harpies have been terrorizing the village by kidnapping all the men and raping them, and also beating the women to a pulp," Lena says with a sigh.
I, on the other hand, after hearing about the harpies, feel like it's a dream come true.
"Darn those harpies, I hate them during their mating season," Ban curses at his luck.
"H-Harpies... Let's go then," I stutter, barely able to hide the excitement from reflecting on my face.
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