Hikari found herself in a market district of the capital the next day. The bustle of morning human traffic was alive and well. People flocked to market stalls and buildings, especially the adventurers guild. The lively structure held the signature plaque, and the tiers of adventurers flocked into the grand entrance—much larger than the guild they'd visited previously.
The elf had much on her mind since the feast from the day before, but she'd not be leaving so soon. She'd given the queen a guarantee that she'd bring the daughters, after all. It's just that she wasn't ready to set off yet.
For starters, she still wanted to feel her way around the capital, learning what she could along the way and seeing what the huge city had to offer. The smell of freshly cooked skewers wafted her way, provoking her keen sense.
She made a small gesture to Kurayami standing next to her. "Are you hungry? You've been eyeing those for a while."
The dragon nodded. "I am thankful for whatever the master gives me."
Hikari sighed in her heart. "Don't be so modest. I prefer a more sincere Kurayami."
The dragon smiled. "In that case, please treat me well, Master."
Hikari didn't miss the glint in her pet's eyes as the dragon looked at the small elf. Instead of addressing it, she moved to the stall, greeting the lively old man. "Good morning. I'd like two skewers."
The graying old man spoke in a slow, raspy voice—tainted by age. "Many have come to this stall, but this is my first time seeing an elf." He grabbed two of the roasting skewers. "For two, the price will be 16 copper coins. Consider it a small discount from this old soul."
She paid him without even a smile or slight change in expression. Considering that a room costs 50 copper in that smaller town, is 16 really cheap for two skewers? Isn't it more like highway robbery?
Nevertheless, she found a bench and handed the drooling dragon one of the skewers. Watching the dragon effortlessly gulp the entire thing made her think that the dragon was truly hopeless. Yet, she yielded the second skewer to Kurayami.
"Are you sure, Master?"
"Yes, it's not like a feel a need to eat anyways."
The dragon took no time to devour the second one as well. With the skewers devoured, it was time to check the guild.
It was much larger than in the small town, sporting four stories. The place was already packed with people lined up at the desk towards the back, and this one was much larger. For each tier, there were two lines, and the desk had glass windows segregating them. It was numbered above with a plaque containing 1-6.
I suppose tier 7 adventurers are rare enough they don't get a section? Hikari looked towards the boards on the left of the desk, resting next to a staircase. On the other side of the room there was a bar, and another desk was for people putting in requests. But if there are requests and tiers here, what are the upper floors for? Dismantling? Books?
The pinned requests were also tiered, making it easy for the adventurers to quickly find what they were looking for. A constant at tier two and above were dungeon materials and monster parts from different floors. In the fourth tier—Hikari's tier—the bigger requests started. They ranged from monsters past floor 20 of the nearby dungeon, to requests for escorting lords, or large scale bandit extermination.
A small surprise was there were a few non-humans in a mostly human dominated kingdom. There were beast people walking around freely, and even one of the receptionists for Hikari's tier was a beast woman, sporting cat ears and all.
The elf gathered a lot of attention outside of the beastmen, and many in the guild had already started to stare, each promoting a glare from the dragon. This prompted Hikari to take Kurayami's hand and finally walk to the board.
Of course, the most interesting requests were related to dungeon expeditions, and the book Hikari picked up in that dainty town "How to be a Safe Traveler" had mentioned them. There was an entire section about packing up bags to delve into dungeons. It was customary for people to bring a magic item called [Ring of Return]. This was an expensive item regularly bought at the guild for dungeon divers. Accordingly, one could speak a phrase, and the ring would transport them back to the first floor.
Hikari grabbed a request to bring back materials of a plant monster called a [Wimblo Tree] on dungeon floor 27, making her way towards the cat woman behind the tier 4 desk.
One person in line had left by the time they arrived, and Hikari gently placed down the piece of parchment. "I'll take this one."
The cat woman sported a name tag—Essah—on her collared shirt. Essah's white ears twitched from Hikari's small voice. Her slit eyes with blue irises widened, and her white tail waved back and forth. She spoke with a light voice, but Hikari found the accent fitting for a cat.
"I just need to see your guild cards. Is this your first time in the capital's branch?"
Instead of making them appear directly in front of her, Hikari pulled both of the cards from behind. "It's our first time here. Is that a problem?"
Essah examined the cards with a magic tablet while shaking her head. "It's not a problem. I've just never seen either of you, and I remember faces. Besides, you have a face that's hard to miss." She finished by pointedly staring at Hikari's ears.
"Well, it's not like you'd be hard to spot in a crowd either. How many beastmen are there anyway?"
The cat chuckled, taking no offense to Hikari's words before handing back the guild IDs. "I suppose there aren't many of us here. But if you travel back to the elven forests, you'd meet more of my kind up north."
"Oh? And what brought you here?"
Essah frowned. "In the lands of the Faraash it's eat or be eaten. Naturally, a small and mannered 'cat' like myself couldn't make it there." Her expression quickly shifted into a grin, and she placed her head on the back of her hands. "And what brings you here, miss elf princess?"
It was Hikari's turn to frown, at least in her mind. Naturally, her outward expression didn't shift. "I came for sightseeing. Also, please leave your weird thoughts about my origins inside your head."
The cat laughed heartily. "I like you. It's the first time I've heard of a runaway elf. Were the forest's bounties not good enough?"
Kurayami seemed at the end of her temper. "Master goes where Master pleases. Is that not good enough for you, cat?"
Essah crinkled her small nose at the dragon. "You smell of lizard. Did you crawl out of the swamp to accompany her? It's not the first time I've heard a story of lizards stealing away a princess."
Hikari cut off their petty squabbling, gripping the dragon's hand tighter for good measure. "Alright, alright, if that's all, we'll head the request then."
The cat sighed but returned the elf a smile. "Do you want to buy a [Ring of Return] while you are here?"
Hikari considered it, wondering if it would be possible to decipher the magic on it. If so, it could have some useful application. It's not like she needed the effect. However, any information on this world's magic tools would be a boon. The elf ended up relenting five gold coins for the ring in the end, even if it ended up as a worthless storage item. At the very least, she'd be able to resell for some of the lost gold.
"One last thing," Essah said, "if you're taking the request for the trees, you can still sell any items or materials you find in there worth value to the guild. There will be a small commission for the guilds portion, but you will still receive most of the cut."
"There's a commission for dungeon items?"
The cat nodded. "Yep! After all, the guild is in charge of maintaining it and doing our best to ensure the safety of our members."
"I see."
Hikari left the receptionist and pocketed the ring into her inventory. Maybe it's best if I let someone else decipher this later? She could tell there was a spacial magic incorporated, but the enchantment's style felt different than what she was used to. It had a feeling of being more primitive than the game's functions, but she'd not make any preliminary judgments.
"After all, it's better to leave these things to experts."
"Are you planning on another summon so soon, Master?"
Hikari nodded as they left the guild and walked on the paved streets towards the eastern exit. "By the way, how is your relationship with that one?"
The dragon frowned. "I'd prefer if you didn't summon her."