The short adventure quest was cut short, reaching the Guild soon after where Flora dragged around two heavy boars like it was nothing. You could even see a faint drool on the corner of her lips, the dreamy look on her eyes as she walked towards the guild.
In an instant, upon entering the Guild, all eyes were pinned towards us as all of them looked at us with shock. The reason for their shock was obviously not because of Flora but because of the number of boars we carried, all of which were of a rare variant.
“Excuse us, we’re here to finish the quest,” I said towards the counter who soon snapped back to reality, rushing out from her side as she inspected the boars one by one before coming into utter shock as her face turned blue.
“Isn’t that the so-called legendary boar that those high-ranking adventurers have been bragging about?!” a person suddenly shouted before more and more followed as they discussed about the boars which are said to be something famous within the high-rank adventurer’s circle for its delicious meat.
“May I see your quest tokens?” the receptionist who finished looking at the boars asked as the three of us except the children took out our quest tokens which was that simple wooden token, handing them to the receptionist who soon nodded as she looked at the boars with a wry smile.
The receptionist soon went back to the counter before leaving once more as she entered a room, taking up to two minutes inside before coming out together with a familiar red-haired girl came together with her with a smile.
“If it isn’t the two of you, weren’t you two the ones who managed to eliminate the Evolved Stinky Slime while forgoing the rewards?” the red-haired girl who was none other than the infamous Witch of Flames and also the Guild Master, Shirley smirked, creating a louder uproar around the guild as everyone looked at us with different emotions.
“It has been a while,” Mana and I showed our respect to which she laughed as she looked at the boar with a wry smile.
“The two of you never fail to surprise me, last time, it was a kingdom-level threat and this time, it’s the infamous boar in its highest quality. I wouldn’t come out had it only been one or two boars but with around twelve boars… who wouldn’t?” she smiled.
“We were just lucky,” Kaori smiled, it felt like her eyes changed for a second which could have been my imagination as the guild master soon chuckled a bit.
“Indeed but luck is still a skill favored and envied by all adventurers. You require luck to survive and transcend the boundaries of skill, the boundaries of life as the infamous Sword Empress once said in the past,” she said while turning her volume a bit down near the end, but it was still heard by my ears which had become a bit too sensitive.
I was a bit surprised to hear about Mana’s biological mother once more especially since she is a figure who is considered a legend by now, the Sword Empress who no one could contend, vanishing out of thin air for no reason.
Few really knew her though, and there were almost no quotes written down on the books that came from her which could only mean she had met the Sword Empress once which would be strange as the Sword Empress’s last appearance should be when Mana was sent to the fake Fragaria family which should have been eighteen years ago.
“Anyhow, the quest doesn’t specifically say that you have to sell the boars to the Guild but if the other party is willing, we will purchase the boars at our estimated market price of fifteen gold coins per… this price is also negotiable,” she offered.
The three of us looked at each other with a bit of conflict, the effort we spared for all these boars was around none, yet the price was around fifteen gold coins per boar which if we total in the number of boars we got would be around the hundred.
Perhaps because she was afraid of us breaking our promise, Flora started pulling on the hem of my dress with puppy eyes. You could hear her inner monologue saying: “Don’t sell all the boar please…. I wanna eat one!” which made me chuckle a bit as I looked at the Guild Master with a smile.
“Then, we’ll sell all except two… it would be nice if we have the two butchered up for dinner if you don’t mind,” I answered before she showed a proud smile as if showing the confidence of the entire Guild, the pride of the Guild.
“You don’t have to worry about that, our Guild offers free butcher service for anyone up for it. Our butchers would probably be glimmering after knowing that they will be butchering one of the highest quality boar meat,” she laughed.
“We’ll leave it to you then,” I said before she nodded, taking out a crystal orb soon after.
“You can place your Guild Card on the orb, and it should consider the quest as complete while also handing out the appropriate rewards for the quest, including the experience points, and pre-calculate it before determining your new rank,” she said as all three of us took our guild card and placed it on the orb before a blinding light exploded around the guild.
After our business with the Guild, reaching Party A rank, the five of us soon walked around the cityscape before ending up on a little park where Flora and Crystal soon started playing with one another once more. The two had taken a short shower through the water ball spell and were dried up which is why they looked super fresh upon arriving in the city.
The two were obviously still energetic as Flora chased Crystal around endlessly as if the two were real blood sisters which made me smile as Kaori suddenly poked me on the stomach with her elbow as she smiled.
“It’s pretty nostalgic, right?” she said while looking at the two before a fragment of memory came to mind. It was during our childhood times where the two of us would play hide and seek every now and then, hiding at several parts of the school which was one of the many fun times the two of us shared together.
“Indeed…” I smiled before a sudden grumpy hmph echoed from the side, coming from none other than Mana who looked at Kaori with two fat bumps on her cheeks.
“The two of you should tell me more about your experiences… I am being left out here!” Mana pouted.
“Why should I hand my rival the advantages I have?” Kaori teased which made Mana’s pout inflate even more.
“Then don’t tell… I have my own advantage as well,” Mana said causing Kaori to laugh a bit.
“The two of you should please take into consideration that I am still here…” I tried to push them aside to which the two soon glared at me like I was a common enemy of the two… I truly can’t understand the two.
“Aywumi-mwa!” Flora suddenly pounced onto me, hugging me tightly causing the two of us to fall onto the grass as Crystal looked at us with an odd look on her face. It was as if she wanted to join us but was afraid to which kind of hurts as I called out to her.
“Want a hug as well, Crystal?” I asked before she nodded, causing me to smile.
“Come here!” Flora gestured before the cute black-haired girl shyly approached us, joining in the fray as Mana and Kaori looked at us with a smile.