**********************************************
Ulvala, The Safe Birds Tavern, Time: 10:25 AM
**********************************************
"We have arrived!" Jame declared as he kicked open the tavern door.
"See, I told you they would be here, Ace!" The man with black hair, dressed in sniper attire with a brown pauldron, emerald ornaments, and a musketeer's hat, nodded in agreement.
"Well, Ezra, you owe me 50 coins since I bet on them arriving together, holding," the man with blonde hair, donning a white suit for the special occasion, and a pocket watch dangling from his pocket, remarked.
"Hey, Ezra! Hey, Ace! Sorry if I was a little late!" James said, waving back to Ace and Ezra in his arms.
"If this place didn't have an applicable queue, I would have choked both of you right now," Ezra stated aggressively.
"Now that you guys have finally let go of each other, Mianne and James, I'd like to get in line right away," Ace said as he pulled out a card with "Queue Squad Forming: 231" written on it.
James, dense as a rock, asked, "What do you mean?" He tilted his head like a puppy.
Meanwhile, Mianne, saddened by the order from Ace, began fake crying on the floor with crocodile tears. "You're the worst..." she said to him.
"Unlike you, I don't throw a temper—" Ace was about to finish when Mianne bonked him on the head.
"You guys sure are un saco de mierda," Ezra remarked, causing James to tilt his head in confusion.
"What does that mean?" he asked innocently.
Ezra replied, "Oh, that means a couple of besties."
James, taking Ezra's word, decided to use it, saying "un saco de mierda" as he went along to join the waiting queue.
"God, you sure are an innocent child," Ezra chuckled.
**********************************************
Ulvala, The Safe Birds Tavern: Waiting Queue, Time: 10:30 AM
**********************************************
As they patiently waited in the waiting room, Ace broke the silence, "Have you guys learned anything new?"
Mianne nodded, saying, "I've been working on this technique for a while now. Still haven't quite grasped it though..." Meanwhile, James was kicking his feet in anticipation, unable to contain his excitement.
"Alright, can someone tell him to calm down?" Ace whispered to Ezra and Mianne, who could only chuckle at the sight of James in his current state.
"Oh, Jamie~"
James slowly turned, resembling a statue, toward Mianne. "Yes, Mianne?"
Mianne winked at him, "If you behave, I promise you some treats once we're done!" James nodded slowly, coming to a stop from his previous shaking.
"Number 231, please come to the registry room," the manager of the Tavern exclaimed.
"That's us. Let's get going," Ace stated, leading the way to the Squad registration room.
"LET'S GO!!!" James shouted, rushing past Ace and into the rooms. Mianne let out a small laugh while Ezra sighed.
All of them descended into the basement, revealing a modern setting with people donned in blue and white coats.
"Hello, and welcome to The Guardian Registry," exclaimed the exhausted woman with several eye bags. "How many people are in your team today?"
"Four," said Ace as the TGR woman noted it down.
"Are you the corresponding leader of the team?" She asked.
"No, that would be James Woodheart." Ace pointed over at James, who observed others undergoing magical tests.
"What's your teammates' role on the job?" She inquired about the answers.
"Ranger, Cleric, Fighter, and Paladin." She noted it down.
"Do any of you possess illegal Frourá or Dosei?" She asked randomly.
Ace raised an eyebrow at that question and shook his head, "We are clear."
"Well then, we shall have all of you undergo some testing for us to register." She led Ace, his arm comically stretching as he dragged everyone along.
"Mierda de culo extraño," Ezra remarked before all of them were led into the white testing room with a dummy.
"I would like the ranger to step up to show his skill," the speaker said, prompting Ezra to step up in front of the dummy.
He pulled out a silver bow with dark coloring around it and a red sharp tip. "Arrow Effect: Elemental!" he yelled out as the arrow, coated with fire, electricity, poison, and snow, shot at the dummy, setting it ablaze.
The scientist examined the comically square steampunk monitor before nodding, "Good work. Now, I would like the cleric to step up." Mianne stepped up as James whispered a little 'Good luck!!!'.
The dummy, now more damaged, faced her as she held onto her staff. "Guérir!" she exclaimed, casting a spell that covered the dummy in a white aura, completely healing the damage.
"Good work. Now, I would like the paladin to step up," the speaker commanded, prompting Ace to face the dummy.
His sword and shield appeared, and the dummy shot a projectile, which Ace deftly deflected back.
"Shield bash!" Ace continuously bashed into the dummy until it cracked down.
"Good work. Now, I would like the fighter to step up." James looked at his friends, all of them giving him a thumbs up and a smile, even Ace.
He wielded his halberd, concentrating all his energy into a singularity point, glowing in an orange aura.
"Solar,"
James declared as his eyes turned orange and slashed the poor dummy. It caused a sudden shake in the test room. It was like an earthquake happening in the building before it finally stopped as the dummy's body was left in ashes.
The scientists ducked down at the immense energy output. "G-G-Good work..."
Mianne rushed to him, embracing him in a hug. "You did it! You're finally going to become a guardian!"
James laughed a little, "My dream is about to be real!"
"Well that end well, I suppose…" Ezra stated before leaving the room first.
Some of the scientists looked at the monitor as they all left, "Dear god... that was almost six digits..." The scale of the attack was almost 110,000.
"So, what's our team name going to be?" Ezra asked, looking at both Mianne and James.
"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe James has some ideas!" Mianne said as she looked at James, who was still contemplating the team name.
"Lucky..."
"And finally, the team name? If you're done with this process, you're officially a registered guardian," said the TGR woman.
"Alright then, the team name is going to be So—" "The Lucky Inquisitors!" Before Ace could say anything, James interrupted him, naming it first. "You little sh- I am so sorry about him-"
"That settles it," said the TGR woman as she registered the team name as 'The Lucky Inquisitors.'
"But, but—" Ace tried to say something but was interrupted by the SR woman.
She said, "You did say this little dude is your leader, correct? So the leader has more power over his members," as she told James, "Your official guardian certificate will come in the mail tomorrow, and from that day forward, you can be considered a 'Guardian.'"
"Haha, yeah!" Jame cheered as he went to tell both Ezra and Mianne about it, leaving a very frustrated Ace clenching his hands in anger.
**********************************************
Ulvala, Yoshos Empire: Woodheart's Resident, Time: 10:00 AM
**********************************************
A day passed by, and within the Woodheart household, James was getting ready, wearing steel armor with green and yellow lines, creating an apple symbol, and carrying a stuffed bag in his right hand.
"Did you forget anything?" Stacey asked as she watched him get ready.
"Nope! I am all filled and ready to go!" James put on his steel boot.
"Oh, and James," Stacey said, causing James to turn back to his mother. "Please be careful out there." She was carrying a brown ponytailed baby in her arms as she slept soundly.
"Don't worry, I will make sure I will be safe. Take care now, Lily..." James rubbed his little sister's head before departing.
"Take care, Sweetie!" Stacey waved back at him.
**********************************************