Lucy stood up just as Lily, who was ahead of Bruce, walked into the house through the door...
The moment she saw Bruce, her expression softened into something warm and relieved, like she'd been holding her breath without realizing. She walked toward him, wiping her hands on the apron tied around her waist.
"You're back," she murmured, tone light but eyes shining. "How did it go? The adventurer test... everything."
Bruce nodded once, calm, steady. "It went well. Better than expected, actually." His gaze swept over Lily, still hugging her bag of sweets, then back to Lucy. "I'm now a certified adventurer. I can officially raid dungeons of my rank without restriction."
For a moment, Lucy just stared. stunned. She blinked twice, almost like she needed to confirm she heard correctly. Then her hand lifted to her lips as a shaky exhale slipped out.
"You… you really passed." Her voice flickered between disbelief and pride. "You're actually an adventurer now…"
