The moment the carriage came to a stop, Soren let out a quiet groan.
His body felt heavy, his muscles stiff from hours of sitting.
He stretched his arms high over his head, his joints popping one by one as he yawned loudly.
"Finally…" he muttered, blinking at the sunlight that greeted him.
Ingrid's air was different from the Arden estate's: busier, louder, and alive.
He turned back toward the carriage.
Esper was still sitting by the window, her chin resting on her palm, watching him with that same bright, teasing smile she always wore.
For a second, neither of them spoke.
The city's noise filled the space between them instead: the clatter of wheels, the chatter of merchants, and the distant ringing of a bell tower.
Then Soren stepped closer to the window.
"Thanks for everything. Really."
Esper blinked once, her expression softening into a warm smile.
"Everything? You make it sound like I did something grand."
"You didn't have to save me, or drag me out of that place."
Soren paused, then lowered his head slightly in a rare gesture of sincerity.
"So… thank you, Esper."
For a brief moment, she just looked at him; the usual playfulness in her eyes was nowhere to be found.
Then, as if realising the mood was getting too serious, she let out a groan and waved her hand.
"Ugh, you're making me cringe. Don't get all sappy on me now."
Soren gave a small smile.
"I'll see you after summer break. Make sure you look after yourself."
Esper grinned widely, leaning slightly out of the carriage window.
"Sure, sure~ See you later, Hubby!~"
Soren froze mid-step.
"...What?"
Esper burst into laughter, waving as the carriage began to move.
"We're engaged, remember? Hubby~"
The carriage rolled away before he could respond, leaving him standing in the middle of the street, slightly dumbfounded.
For a few seconds, Soren just stared as it left.
Then, finally, he sighed and chuckled under his breath.
"That woman…"
Still, as the carriage disappeared into the distance, he found himself smiling faintly.
Somehow, Esper always found ways to leave him dumbfounded.
He stood there for a moment longer before finally turning around and walking toward the city's central district.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
Ingrid was bustling with life.
Wide cobblestone streets stretched between rows of elegant Tudor-style buildings.
Vendors called out to passing crowds, selling everything from roasted nuts to magic trinkets.
Children darted between the legs of adults, laughing as they chased after wooden toys that spun through the air with faint traces of mana.
The smell of bread and roasted meat lingered thick in the air.
Soren pulled the hood of his cloak up slightly, not to hide, but simply to keep the sun off his face.
One thing he had become aware of this summer break was his weakness to the heat.
His eyes flickered from one sight to another as he walked by, quietly taking everything in.
It wasn't his first time in Ingrid, but it felt different now.
Back then, he had only passed through on his way to the Arden estate, as the carriage desperately tried to keep him hidden.
Now, he was here with a goal.
The Adventurers' Guild.
He knew where to find it.
The Ingrid branch was the largest in all of Fialova and also the most famous on the continent.
Every major city held a Guild branch, but Ingrid's was the heart of them all, the first and oldest.
As he walked, his thoughts drifted to what he knew about the place.
The Adventurers' Guild had been founded centuries ago by a man named Rynic Burroway, one of the original members of the Hero's Party.
After the war with the Demon King ended, Rynic had seen how fragile peace really was.
Monsters still roamed the wilds, bandits plagued trade routes, and nobles fought behind closed doors.
So he created the Guild, a neutral organisation that answered to no king, no lord, and no church.
Anyone could post a request, and anyone could take one, as long as they were registered.
It was a simple idea, but it had changed the world.
'At least, that's what the settings book said.'
Soren scratched the back of his neck.
"Though, honestly… that's about all I know."
In the game, the Adventurers' Guild was barely mentioned.
Most of the story centred around Stellaris Academy and Valefor.
Even the worldbuilding books sold by the developers provided only surface-level details about the Guild.
Beyond the basics, everything else was vague,
Still, he remembered the ranking systems clearly enough.
There were seven ranks in total.
Copper → Bronze → Iron → Silver → Gold → Platinum → Mithril.
The average adventurer would spend their entire career between Iron and Silver.
Silver was considered the "standard" rank, the point where one was seen as competent and trustworthy.
Below Silver rank, however, adventurers didn't exactly have the best reputation.
Most people saw them as drifters, mercenaries, or troublemakers looking for easy gold.
Gold and above were rare, their names often known across the continent.
And Mithril…
That rank was unique.
It belonged to a single person.
A mysterious figure known across the world as the "Adventurer King."
Soren couldn't help but grimace slightly at the name.
He found the moniker of Adventurer King to be lazy and even somewhat cringeworthy.
"They could've at least gone with something cooler…"
Still, there was no denying the King's strength.
Whoever held the Mithril plate was said to be able to slay Spirit Lords single-handedly.
Though like many legendary figures, the details were blurry, and most people treated the stories as myths.
The Guild itself maintained strict neutrality between the three kingdoms, and that neutrality made it an invaluable tool in maintaining peace.
Even so, in the game's story, the Guild only appeared a handful of times, mostly during breaks or side quests, nothing major.
Soren knew all of that in theory, but this was his first time seeing it for real.
And as far as he could tell, it was exactly as described.
He passed by a group of rough-looking men lounging outside a tavern, all wearing thin metal plates around their necks, Bronze and Copper ranks.
Their armour was mismatched, their weapons dull from poor maintenance.
They looked tired, half-drunk, and very much like the kind of people others avoided.
Soren turned his eyes forward again.
Before long, the Guild came into view.
It was a massive five-story building, larger than most inns.
Adventurers of all types came and went through the wide double doors, some in groups, others alone.
The atmosphere was lively, filled with laughter, shouting, and the faint metal clinking of armour.
Soren paused for a moment at the entrance, staring up at the building.
Then, with a quiet breath, he stepped inside.
The interior was even busier than he had expected.
Rows of tables filled the open hall, with adventurers sitting in small groups, drinking, eating or bragging loudly about their latest hunts.
To the right, a long wooden board stretched across the wall, covered in sheets of parchment, with requests written on them.
And straight ahead stood a polished counter where several receptionists worked, each handling a different queue of clients.
The smell of sweat, alcohol, and steel mixed together into something strangely fitting for a place like this.
Soren walked forward, his boots clicking softly against the floorboards as he pulled his hood from his head, his snow-white hair cascading outward.
A few eyes turned toward him, some curious, others dismissive.
He ignored them.
He was used to stares by now.
When he reached the counter, one of the receptionists looked up and greeted him with a bright smile.
"Welcome to the Ingrid Branch of the Ivansia Adventurers' Guild! How may I help you today?"
She was a woman in her early thirties, with chestnut-brown hair tied neatly behind her head, clear grey eyes, and a professional yet kind voice.
"I'd like to register," Soren said simply.
"Of course! Can you fill out this form quickly?"
"Ah, hold on a second."
Soren raised his hand slightly, reaching into his inventory.
A faint shimmer of blue light rippled for an instant as he pulled out his Stellaris Academy ID card.
The hall fell silent.
Even though the action lasted barely a second, it had been enough.
All around him, a dozen heads turned sharply his way, their expressions changing from boredom to open surprise, and then to greed.
Spatial items were extremely rare.
Even the smallest one, barely big enough to hold a single sword, costs an arm and a leg.
And what Soren had just used looked seamless, effortless.
The receptionist's smile faltered for half a second.
Her eyebrow twitched before she quickly composed herself again, pretending nothing unusual had happened.
"Ah, thank you. Let me just confirm the authenticity," she said smoothly, taking the ID card from his hand.
Her fingers were steady, but her gaze flickered subtly toward the nearby adventurers, as if checking how many had noticed.
Soren noticed the strange atmosphere, too, and frowned slightly but said nothing.
The woman placed the card onto a small magical implement behind the counter.
A faint light pulsed once, confirming the ID's legitimacy.
"Everything looks in order," she said after a moment, smiling again. "You'll be starting as a Copper-rank adventurer. From there, you can take requests directly from the board on your right. Simply bring the one you'd like to accept to the desk for approval and stamping."
Soren nodded.
"Understood."
"Your rank will be reviewed periodically," she continued, "and you'll be promoted whenever the Guild deems you ready. Please remember that reckless behaviour or failure to complete an accepted request can result in suspension or expulsion."
Then she reached under the counter and pulled a small, rectangular metal plate, Copper-coloured, engraved with Soren's name and his rank.
"This is your adventurer plate. Please keep it visible whenever you're on duty."
Soren reached out to take it, but just before he could pull his hand back, the woman leaned forward slightly, motioning for him to come closer.
"...A word of advice," she whispered quietly enough that only he could hear. "Be careful showing off expensive items like that."
Soren blinked, confused.
"What do you—"
But she straightened again immediately, smiling as if nothing had happened.
"Congratulations on joining the Guild! I wish you the best of luck on your adventures."
Soren hesitated for a second, then gave a polite nod.
"Thanks."
Still unsure what she had meant, he turned away from the counter and walked toward the request board, slipping the copper plate into his inventory.
The noise of the hall had returned to normal, but he could still feel a few eyes following him.
It wasn't a good feeling, even if he was used to it.
He frowned slightly, staring at the parchment requests pinned on the board.
'What was she talking about?' he wondered. 'What expensive item…?'
And then it hit him.
'Ah… the ring.'
He glanced down at his hand.
The thin black band with a red jewel on his finger gleamed faintly in the light.
To him, it was just a simple ring, but to anyone who didn't know any better, it looked like a high-grade spatial ring.
It was something he had done to hide his ability, and nobody at the academy had ever questioned it, so he had never thought much of it.
But that was because the academy was a place full of nobles that utilised equipment no less rare than a spatial ring.
Right now, he was in a place overwhelmingly filled with commoners, or in other words, those who needed money.
He sighed quietly.
"Great…"
Before he could move away, a group of five adventurers walked up beside him, all grinning like they had just found treasure.
"Hey there, Missy," one of them said.
Soren didn't respond immediately, turning his head toward them.
"...This again?"
The tallest of the group laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.
"Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to offend. You're just… uh, kinda pretty for an adventurer, that's all."
Another one elbowed him, grinning.
"Anyway, you got a party yet? If not, we'd be happy to show you the ropes. We'll even help you rank up fast."
One of them smirked.
"Of course, we'd expect a little payment for our generosity. Nothing too crazy. Just a little taste here and there."
Soren stared at them for a long moment, then, silently, he let out a slow breath through his nose.
'...Right, I should've expected this.'
————「❤︎」————