Aoto and Audrey walked together toward the Adventurer's Guild. The road wasn't too long, but it wasn't exactly close either. As they strolled down the cobbled path, the afternoon sun warmed their backs, and a gentle breeze rustled the leaves in the trees.
They chatted along the way—nothing too serious. Audrey asked a few silly questions, like whether nobles bathed in gold water or if swords could be sharpened by wind. Aoto, of course, didn't give her any real answers. He chuckled a little but kept things about himself quiet. He didn't want to reveal too much.
As they walked, Audrey's eyes slowly shifted to Aoto's right arm. More specifically, to the strange wooden stick that was wrapped tightly around it with cloth strips.
She blinked and tilted her head. "Why do you have a stick on your arm when you have a sword?" she asked with childlike curiosity.
Aoto glanced at her, then looked away and smiled faintly. "You wouldn't understand… You just wouldn't understand," he said dramatically.
Before she could ask more, Aoto looked forward—and there it was.
They had arrived at the Adventurer's Guild.
The building wasn't huge, but it was bigger than most houses around. A wide two-story wooden structure stood proudly at the end of the street, with a hanging sign above the door showing a sword and shield crossed behind a golden star.
They stepped through the wooden doors and entered the guild's ground floor.
Inside, it looked more like a tavern than anything else. There were long wooden tables and chairs where adventurers sat, eating, drinking, and chatting. The smell of roasted meat and ale filled the air. Laughter and clinking mugs echoed around the room.
To the side, there was a small shop with shelves of food and bottles—clearly offering snacks and drinks at cheaper prices for guild members. Right up front was a counter area, where the receptionists stood and helped people with missions, questions, and requests.
As Aoto and Audrey stepped in, many adventurers glanced in their direction.
Most of the stares were directed at Audrey, likely because of her clean village robes and her innocent, wide-eyed expression. But no one said anything. The people inside were professionals, adventurers, or mercenaries—they might've been rough, but they weren't fools. Harassing a woman inside the guild was a big no. No one wanted to be banned or punished.
In fact, most of them were already distracted.
Their attention was focused on a scene happening at the front desk.
A short girl with sky-blue hair and soft blue eyes stood by the receptionist. Her tiny figure looked like a child's, but the two fluffy cat-like ears on her head and the fluffy tail twitching behind her made it clear—she was a beastkin.
She was standing on her tiptoes, struggling to meet the eyes of the female receptionist on the other side of the tall counter.
The receptionist had an uncomfortable smile and spoke in a polite but helpless tone.
"Ms. Veldia, this is the Adventurer's Guild, not a police station. We're not required to take on every citizen's request. If no adventurer is willing to accept your mission… then either raise the reward or give up."
The little girl—Veldia—slammed her small hands on the counter.
"Why should I give up?! Does no one here have a heart?! The police aren't helping, that's why I came here!"
Her voice trembled a bit—not with fear, but with frustration.
"Our village is already poor! We don't have much! Most of our food and goods were stolen, and we have nothing left!" she said with watery eyes, her tail drooping behind her.
Some people nearby turned their heads away, feeling awkward. No one wanted to look at the crying girl.
Aoto and Audrey stood silently, watching the scene unfold. Audrey's eyes filled with worry and sympathy, while Aoto crossed his arms, a serious look on his face.
"…Should we do something?" Audrey whispered.
"Nope. I'm already doing two side quests. A third one will just make things worse," Aoto said quickly, waving his hand as if to push the thought away.
"Huh? What?" Audrey blinked, clearly confused.
"Uh… nothing," Aoto said, realizing his mistake. "I just meant—don't you have to go to Freysac Village? If you're late, someone else might become the nun instead of you."
Audrey's eyes lit up with fire. "No! That's exactly why I want to be the nun! To make others jealous! To hell with them!"
Aoto let out a long sigh. He knew arguing with her would go nowhere. "Alright, alright. Let's go then," he said, raising his hands in defeat.
Together, they walked toward the sky-blue-haired girl, who was still arguing with the receptionist.
Aoto stepped forward first, his tone casual and a bit lazy. "Hey there, little girl. What's the problem?"
Veldia whipped her head around with a sharp glare in her eyes. "Little girl?!" she growled. "Listen, tall boy, I'm not a kid! I'm sixteen! I'm already an adult!"
Here, sixteen was considered adult. So technically, she wasn't lying. But with her tiny frame, fluffy cat ears, and that twitching tail behind her, it was really hard to take her seriously.
Aoto gave a dry, awkward laugh, trying not to say what was on his mind.
"Only sixteen? Damn, I can't even molest her!"… he thought silently.
But Veldia squinted at him with suspicion.
"Hey! You were thinking something dirty, weren't you?! I can see it! Your eyes are full of filth, lust, and greed!" she shouted, pointing a small but accusing finger at him.
Aoto blinked in shock. "She is exposing me!", he thought but Didn't make it obvious.
"Why do all hot-tempered little girls have such sharp senses? Maybe that's why no one wants to help her", he added silently.
Audrey stepped in, trying to smooth things over. "Um, actually, we heard your village is in trouble. We came to see if we could help!"
Veldia's face softened a little. Her blue eyes glimmered with hope. "Really? You want to help?"
She took a deep breath and began to explain, her voice a mix of anger and sadness.
"Our village is near the border between the human realm and the demon realm. So… nobody really cares about us. We don't even have proper guards—just a few police officers. Not even ten."
She clenched her tiny fists.
"Some thugs saw a chance and attacked. They beat up the police and took over the village. Everyone is scared."
Veldia lowered her voice, her fluffy tail drooping behind her. "I sneaked out of the village through the woods. I came all the way to Tengen village to ask for help from the police, but their 'process' is moving slower than a grandma with a cane."
She sighed deeply.
Audrey's eyes widened with amazement. "You… you're really brave. To escape like that while your village was taken over—that's amazing for someone so small!"
"I told you—I'm not small!" Veldia puffed up with frustration. "I'm part of a hunter group back in the village. We hunt wild animals and weak monsters. I can fight, you know! I just… I'm not sure I can take on all those bandits by myself."
Her tail straightened out as she shouted, trying to show off her strength and pride.
But Audrey just chuckled kindly and placed a hand on Veldia's head. "Don't worry. This is Aoto. He's from the Hero Academy. I'm sure he can beat those bandits and save your village!"
Aoto's smile twitched ,"Please say you don't want my help!", he thought.
Meanwhile, Veldia's eyes sparkled with excitement and hope. "Hero Academy? I guessed wrong about you, The let's go immediately, We better hurry!",
"Where's your village?" Aoto asked with a tired sigh, already expecting something troublesome.
"It's Freysac Village!" Veldia replied, her voice full of energy.
"Really? That's perfect! We were planning to go there anyway!" Audrey said, smiling brightly.
Aoto looked at her with a blank face. "We?" he thought to himself. "I was only going to find my treasure… that's all."
He wanted to say, "This is a sign we shouldn't go. The village is already taken over by bandits. There's no way you can become a nun there now. And Veldia even said her village is poor. After being attacked, how could they even pay your salary?"
But he kept all those thoughts to himself. He knew that even if he said them out loud, Audrey would still insist on helping.
"I'll be back in a second," he mumbled and turned around, walking toward the receptionist.
The lady at the front desk recognized him right away.
"Oh! Mr. Aoto! We meet again!" she greeted him with a friendly smile.
Aoto returned the smile and pulled out his map from his bag. "Do you know what's the next location after this area?" he asked, pointing at the marked trail.
She looked at the map and clapped her hands. "Oh, it's the treasure map, right? This area here… it's Freysac Village. You can reach there by normal carriage in about 22-24 hours!",
Aoto raised an eyebrow. "Freysac Village again? What a coincidence…" he muttered. "It's like even fate wants me to save them."
But deep inside, he frowned. "Why did she say it so happily? If they know where the treasure places are, how come they've never found the legendary sword? What a bunch of idiots," he thought to himself with disappointment.
He turned around and walked back to Audrey and Veldia.
"Let's go. I'll arrange a carriage. It's better than walking all the way there," Aoto said, trying to sound normal.
———
They booked an Earth Wyvern carriage, which cost a lot more than a regular one, but it was faster and more secure. The large, dragon-lizard beast pulled the carriage swiftly over the rough paths, and in just under 18 hours, They reached the outskirts of Freysac Village around 9 AM at the morning.
But the moment they arrived, things took a sharp turn.
From the trees, behind rocks, and even from nearby houses, dozens of men jumped out. All of them had spears, swords, and wicked grins on their faces. They surrounded the carriage in seconds.
"Hahaha! What do we have here?" the bandit leader laughed loudly. He had a dirty bandana tied around his forehead, a nasty scar across one eye, and dark sun-burnt skin. "A rich man riding in a fancy Wyvern carriage, coming to our village at the worst time!"
But before anyone could respond, the roof of the carriage broke apart with a loud crack.
Someone leapt high into the air, flipping over the bandits' heads, and landed smoothly on the ground.
It was Aoto.
His cloak fluttered behind him as he stood tall and calm. His eyes showed no fear—just confidence and focus.
Audrey and Veldia quickly stepped out of the carriage and came to his side.
"I'll cast healing and defensive spells," Audrey said nervously, holding her staff tightly. It was her first real battle, and her hands were slightly shaking.
Veldia clenched her small fists, and her cat-like claws sharpened. "I'll tear them apart!" she growled, her tail puffing up like an angry cat.
They were all ready to fight.
But then… something surprising happened.
"Wait a second… is that the summoned hero?! Aoto?!" one of the bandits shouted, his voice filled with shock.
Another one pulled out a crumpled newspaper. "Yeah! The photo from newspaper matches exactly!"
The bandit leader's face went pale. His confident grin vanished, and sweat rolled down his forehead.
"What? Summoned hero?" Veldia turned to Aoto, her eyes wide with surprise.
"No way… If that's really him, we're doomed!" the bandit leader thought in panic. "He's stronger than all of us combined! And if something happens to him, the kingdom will come after us! We'll be hunted down and punished worse than death!"
The fear spread like wildfire among the bandits.
The leader didn't wait another second.
He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Everyone run! We're out of here!"
And just like that, the entire group of dangerous-looking bandits dropped their weapons and scattered into the forest like scared little animals.
Aoto stood there, speechless.
"Huh?… that was easier than I expected,"