Another World Story

Day Seventy-Three: Lara (3)

"Lara!"

As I walked towards the Adventurer's Guild, a familiar female voice called my name.

When I turned around, I noticed a familiar face.

"Rose"

A female adventurer of the mage class who specializes in fire-attribute. She has short crimson red hair and lovely golden red eyes, and her long red robes swirled in the breeze as she ran towards me. She and I have known each other since we were children, as our parents knew each other from their adventuring days, and because we are the same age, we became playmates. She is someone I may consider a friend.

We haven't seen each other since the incident ten years ago. We were reunited when father returned from his search in the Seira Forest; she was one of the veteran adventurers who joined the expedition.

"Oh, Rabbit is also with you? Are you going to register together?"

Rose's eyes widened for a minute as she approached us, spotting Rabbit. I nodded when she asked if we were both going to register as explorers.

"Hm, though I'm not sure if he could..."

"Well... he can talk and has far more intellect than me, so I don't suppose the guild would mind; he'd just be called a demi-human."

Rabbit, who was standing on his two front legs, was dressed and armored. He was dressed in a shirt and pants knitted by my mother, as well as the same leather armor that John had given him before. He might appear to be any other ordinary civilian if it weren't for the fact that he is a rabbit. And when he heard what we were saying, he exhaled with relief.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Regardless of how I act, I am still regarded as a demonic beast, therefore I'm concerned about how people will treat me, you see."

"I see. Well, I'll act as a mediator for both of you; after all, I know how strong you two are!"

"Thank you, Rose."

"Thank you, Ms. Rose.""

"... Don't mind it; it's the least I could do... since I couldn't do anything back then..."

"Hmm?"

"Nothing, nothing, let's go!"

"..."

I'm not sure if it was just my imagination, but I swear I heard Rose mumble something... For a brief while, she looked sad.... I wanted to ask why, but when she flashed her refreshing smile to us, I couldn't help but stop myself.

Rabbit and Rose became friends on the same day I was reunited with her. Rose, like any normal person, froze on her feet as she heard Rabbit speak. Even for me, his deep voice, which contradicted his appearance, was a surprising experience.

"W-wa-why is a rabbit talking?" she screamed to us. I didn't know how to explain it since I didn't know why he could talk. Fortunately, Rabbit explained. I was taken aback when he revealed that he was mixed-race, that he was an experimental subject, and that he was about the same age as my father. He is 31 years old.

""..."" Rose and I both fell silent when Rabbit ended his backstory. Most likely, neither of us can think of anything to say to him. But, being Rabbit, he simply smiled and jumped over to Laer, who was looking at him.

And that's how they met. It was a really one-sided interaction.

In any case. I was supposed to be training with my father and Laer today, but during lunch, I remembered Rose's words about the adventurer's guild and asked my father if I could join. Father was initially hesitant, but with mother's persuasion, he decided to let me join with the condition that I always bring Rabbit with me.

I accepted the condition because I had no reason to refuse. Father was the one amongst my parents that had been the most overprotective of us. But then that didn't mean mother didn't love us. It was the absolute opposite. Mother cherished us, and I'm sure she was the one who suffered the most when I was abducted. After all, she was there with me when I was taken.

"We've arrived!"

Rose, who was guiding us, abruptly came to a halt as I was reminiscing about the past. We appear to have arrived.

A house.  The same as any other in the area, but significantly larger. It is entirely made of stone, in contrast to the other homes, which are composed of stone and wood. It also bears a sign with the guild's symbol, a sword and spear crossing each other, and a shield behind them, as well as writing that states 'Adventurers Guild.'

"The Guild building in our village is fairly small in comparison to the ones in the city and the capital, so don't worry about getting lost in here, the inside is much smaller than the outside!"

Rose informed us, with a broad smile on her face, of what we needed to know when we become adventurers.

- Fighting is strictly prohibited within the Guild building.

- It is illegal to forge Guild Cards.

- Killing fellow adventurers is prohibited; the penalty will depend on how involved you are in the case.

- Adventurers are not permitted to take part in the war between countries.

- When working in the field. Any deaths would not be the guild's responsibility.

Was the set of rules that the guild instilled into every new adventurer. Rose also mentioned that the guild has other rules, but the five she mentioned were the ones that we should certainly never forget.

"So, shall we proceed?"

""....""

Rabbit and I nodded, and noticing that we were blocking the path for the other adventurers, we ran back and followed Rose. Despite being on the Kingdom's most remote frontier, the Saharan Village where I grew up and now reside boasts a sizable number of explorers. According to Rose, there are those who are quite the rowdy bunch, but the majority of the adventurers who make up the guild here are all veterans and beyond the rank of -D-. Rose is currently a -D- ranked adventurer, and her usage of magic is comparable to that of a veteran who has been adventuring for years.

The Seira Forest is frequented by adventurers with ranks ranging from D to A, and it is located near the Saharan Village, which is located in the southwestern most area of the Memphis Kingdom.

"That is one of the numerous reasons why adventurers of this caliber stay in the village," Rose explained as she led us to the registration desk.

"Hello~"

"Hmm? Oh, Miss Rose, what can I help you with today?"

"I've got two new people here who want to register; can you take care of them for me?"

"Of course, but where is the other?"

As we approached the reception desk, Rose in front of us called out to the female staff. Based on their conversation, it appears that they were quite close. The staff who listened to Rose's request turned to face us, specifically me. I could tell she was perplexed since Rose stated there were two of us yet I was the only one she could see.

'Should I carry Rabbit? '

I thought. But even before I could move my body. Rabbit, who was standing next to me, leaped and landed on the desk, making a *Pomp* sound.

"Please excuse my rudeness; I am the other, miss."

"...."

Oh, she froze. That's to be expected; after all, you don't experience this kind of event every day.

Rabbit bowed and introduced himself to the receptionist. He bowed his head slightly and positioned his front leg/arm near his chest and the other behind his back, as if he were a lord. It was very lovely.

I'm curious where he learned that.

"...."

"I think you overdid it, Rabbit."

"I did, but I was just greeting this lovely young lady."

"Are you aware that you are a Rabbit?"

"As far as I recall, yes."

"And that Rabbits don't generally speak"

"Ah- My apologies. I shouldn't have done that. Please forgive me, miss. I was so used to talking to the people around me that I forgot my species, with the exception of a rare variant, couldn't speak."

Rose admonished Rabbit, who didn't know why the receptionist had stiffened, and he promptly lowered his head once more. As he moved, his huge ears followed.

"...Ah- Khm. no, I was simply shocked, don't mind it."

The receptionist came to her senses when she saw Rabbit bowing. It wasn't much, but I noticed tinges of crimson on both of her cheeks; it appears that Rabbit calling her a 'Beautiful Young Lady' caused her to blush. Especially if said while performing such a graceful movement.

"Thank you very much."

"Ahm... So the two of you would be the ones to register, correct?"

"Yes"

"Would you mind if I examined your soul stones?"

"Soul... ah- I lost mine a long time ago.... Would I be unable to register if I didn't have one?"

"As for myself, I didn't had one since the beginning."

".... Oh, I see... Then..."

The receptionist was taken aback when she heard our response. It's unavoidable; I lost my soul stone ten years ago as a result of that incident. I'm not sure where I lost it, but the instant I discovered I'd misplaced it, I was already in a cage. It appears that I misplaced my soul stone when I was separated from my mother as we were fleeing our pursuers. And, because Rabbit was both an experimental subject and a demonic beast, obtaining a soul stone was impossible.

When the receptionist discovered we didn't have such a replacement for our identity, she turned to Rose.

"Yes, I would be in charge of them. Fa- no, the branch guild master has already given me his consent; all we need to do now is prepare the identification."

"I see, then, I'll take your data."

I had no idea Rose's father had become the guild's branch manager here.... We appear to have a lot of catching up to do.