The path to Riverside would take Sara and Tom around half a day to travel, if they walked at normal speed. They would cross through a simple plain in their way there as they descended the mountain where their village was.

Tom lead ahead cheerfully, Sara following from behind. He was totally ignorant on what he just did to Sara.

Sara's heart still beat harder than normal. Her face was a little flushed.

It was because of him unknowingly touching her sensitive spots once again.

Of course, this time, it wasn't really his fault since it was Sara who hugged him in the first place. But he had quite a good cry in that position and his movements rubbed on her two virginal cherries.

Sara just stood there until his cry was over though since she knew he really needed it.

As a result, she had to bear the tingly, embarrassing feeling for a good 15 minutes.

If she were to have a beef with her body, it would be this. Not how she had small breasts, but how they were really sensitive. It was the same in the previous world. Her body would get all tingly whenever anything even brushed with them.

To her embarrassment, her two cherries were still rigid even after Tom had stopped nestling on them. Luckily, they didn't really show since her apron covered them. She could tell they were jutting out of her shirt underneath though.

At midnoon, they decided to take a rest. They sat down underneath one of the big trees that stood on the plains. There, the two brought out their respective meals from their bags, made by their respective mothers.

"Tom?" Sara started. "How about I teach you a thing or two about swordfighting?"

"Y-you can, Sara?" Tom replied.

"I can, a little bit. In my previous life, I'm more of a magic-oriented fighter."

After they finished their food, Sara stood up first. Then, she stretched her arms and legs as she smelled the pleasant breeze brought by the wind blowing through the plains. The breeze felt nice because they were flowers scattered all around them.

"Come on Tom, let's begin. Pick up that fallen stick over there."

Tom did as she said. She then picked up her own stick. They both were about the same length.

"Now, attack me with all your might. I will guarantee you I will block every single strike you make."

"R-right! Here I come! Haaaaaaaa!"

Tom ran towards her, his stick raised high above his head. Sara didn't even need to think to block such an obvious strike.

"Gah!" Tom said when his stick clashed with Sara's. He tried to push in but he found Sara's strength to be an insurmountable obstacle.

"Give it up, Tom. Strike from a different angle," Sara chastised.

He then did as she told. He took his stick and swung downwards this time. Sara blocked it once more easily. Then, he tried a thrusting attack only for Sara to flick his stick away from his hand.

"That was the weakness of a thrust attack. You either have to be quicker or stronger at your grip." Sara told him.

They then continued their mock battle for some time. Like Sara promised, she indeed blocked every single strike Tom sent at him. Getting desperate, Tom even used some punches and kicks, but Sara countered them with her own.

"Well done. Using the rest of your body to support your attack, not focused only on the swordfighting, that is a smart way to fight."

When Sara saw a large opening she could abuse, she immediately did, ending the fight with her stick right in front of Tom's face.

"I-I give!" Tom said. "Wow, you really are strong, Sara!"

Sara smiled a little hearing that. "I suppose I am. But that's because i had a lot of training in my previous life."

Their journey continued after a half-hour break. Sara estimated they would arrive at Riverside right when the sun went down.

Tom carried the stick around with him, pretending to fight an imaginary opponent all the way when they walked.

Sara was deep in thought. She now knew for sure that Tom wasn't fit for real combat yet. He needed a real training badly, not just the one she could give her. She wasn't really fir to be a teacher. She was born a genius at combat. She instinctively knew what to do and how to react in a combat situation. Perhaps that was a perk given to her for her being a Hero. She never knew the steps for an ordinary person to be good at a fight.

That was why she intended to have an experienced adventurer to be a tutor to Tom. But she wasn't sure whether or not she could find one in Riverside. And even if she could, she doubted they would do it without a proper payment, which would certainly quite expensive and out of her reach.

Maybe she could trade her services for the money needed. With the knowledge and power she had now, she should be at least as strong, if not stronger, than the average adventurer. Such was the benefits of being a hero in your previous life.

"Sara, look, that's Riverside, isn't it?"

Tom's voice brought her back to the real world. Without her realizing, she had indeed arrived at their destination.

Riverside. A small-sized town built above the river that flowed from the mountains to the southern sea. Situated right in the middle, it was split into two halves, joined by a bridge in its center. It mainly thrived off the produce of the nature around it, from the farmlands across the river or the hunting grounds on the mountains. It also had a small force of adventurers to protect it from any wandering beasts and monsters that may come, though that rarely happened so they mostly helped around with chores and such.

"Well, what do we have here? Two kids coming from the mountains? You don't have your parents with you?"

The two was stopped by a guard right when they were about to enter the city.

"No, Sir. We came here on our own. We both wanted to become adventurers, you see," Sara answered.

"You? Adventurers? Kids like you? Ha-hahahahahahahahaha!"

Tom looked at Sara. He clearly looked frightened. Sara signalled him to just stay quiet and let her handle the talking.

"We have lost our father and mother, Sir. And we have a relative in the guild that is willing to take us in," Sara continued.

"Hmm, I see... Sorry about your loss, kid. But life's tough. So you just gonna cheer up. And I assume the kid hiding behind you there is your little brother?"

"Yes Sir. His name is Tom."

The guard then crouched in front of Tom before saying "Hey kid, take care of your sister. You're a man, right? A man gotta protects their woman. Don't be a coward."

Tom hastily nodded in response.

Satisfied, the guard rose up and said "Very well then. Just walk straight ahead and you'll see the building."

Sara gave a little curtsy before taking Tom with her into the city.

"...Sara, do I really look that young?" Tom suddenly said after they were far away from the guard.

Sara took a glance at Tom. It seemed he really was dejected by the guards' words.

"Don't mind him, Tom. You'll have your growth spurt soon enough."

The two looked for the cheapest inn they could find. And it wasn't that hard since they were only two inns in the entire city. The name of the place was the Grizzled Boar, and the name was nicely reflected by the crafting of a boar hanging above its entrance.

Sara booked a room with two beds. Getting two different rooms would be double the cost, so she thought it would be the logical choice to make.

"M-me? S-sleeping with you in the same room?" Tom objected.

"It's far cheaper that way. We need to conserve our money as much as we can."

"T-true, b-but it's still pretty embarrassing to do..."

The innkeper guided them to their room on the second floor. It was a pretty standard wooden room in every aspect, with no furniture other than the beds provided.

"Now Tom, if you would be so kind to leave the room for a while..." Sara suddenly said, turning around to meet Tom.

"W-what's the matter, Sara?" Tom responded.

Sara sighed. "What do you think that a girl needs to do in privacy?"

Slowly, Tom's face turned beet red.

"S-sorry! I'I'll go right away! You need to pee, right? W-well, i-it's only natural since we've been walking outside all day long!"

Tom then quickly turned around before running out of the room as fast as he could.

"...What I meant was I want to change to my nightgown."

"Though I do quite need a bathroom break too, now that you mention it..."

The two then had their dinner in their room; a couple of bread Sara had purchased from the inn owner. Sara calmly ate her bread, disregarding its bland taste. Tom, however, couldn't keep his focus on his bread, seeing how he was in the very same room with his crush, and she just had to wear her nightgown.

It wasn't like it was skimpy or anything. It was a perfectly modest white nightgown, with little frills here and there to add to the aesthetics.

However, Tom couldn't help but noticing how it was a little sheer, due to the garment it was made off. And just so it happened that he noticed a little suspicious light green mixed with the white color when he glanced at Sara's bottom.

Sara, of course, didn't notice it at all.

The very first thing Tom and Sara did the next morning was eating their breakfast at the inn. The owner took pity on them, seeing how they were just two kids, so she gave them free bread and soup. At first, Sara refused politely, not wanting to burden the good lady, but she insisted, thus making Sara relent. Sara never liked receiving charity, you see.

After that, they finally departed for their destination, the adventurers' guild.

When they arrived, Sara immediately noticed the contrast between what she had expected the place would look like and what the place was looking right now.

The building was small, smaller than any adventurers' guilds she had ever came across in her previous life. And there were barely any people around, unlike the bustling and loud adventurers' guilds she was used to visit.

She did see some people dressed in adventuring attire though so she was reassured that this was indeed the right place.

"Good morning, miss! What can I help you with?"

She was brought out of her stupor by the cheerful sound emanating from the counter in front of her. There, she found what she imagined to be the receptionist of the guild.

She was dressed like a city worker, with a prim and proper dress and a hair tied up on the back. She was smiling, and Sara could tell her smile was genuine.

Sara approached her.

"I am looking for someone that is willing to teach swordsmanship."

Sara said it with such a straight-laced face that the receptionist had to secretly stifle a laugh.

"What a brave miss you are! In such a young age you already want to become an adventurer! And a swordswomen at that! Most girls prefer more magic-oriented classes like clerics or mages."

"It's not for me," Sara answered, "It's for him." Sara pointed at Tom who stood awkwardly behind her.

"Oh, is that your little brother, miss? My, he's cute! How old is he?" the receptionist said cheerfully, not knowing that she had struck a nerve with Tom.

"He's 13. Just like me. And he's my friend. We're not blood related. And I know 13 is the minimum age for apprenticeship."

"Him? 13? My, he looks 10 to me!"

Tom's face flushed. He just wanted to be swallowed down to the ground now.

It's not fair! It's not my fault I am born with a small, boyish body! - he said to himself.

"It doesn't matter anyway, miss," the receptionist continued, "There's no one willing to teach him here. In fact, there's no teacher at all. Here, our presence is pretty small so we only have a couple of adventurers around and they're full with their own jobs."

Sara fell silent. She had already suspected something like this could happen.

This would mean they would have to go to another city to get their teacher. And on the way, there would be a chance they would end up in a battle, either against monsters or bandits and the like.

"Then, can I take some books from your library about swordfighting instead?"

"Hmm... sure. But it will cost you, my dear."

At noon, Sara left with her pocket nearly empty and her hand holding a book. She only ends up buying the introductory book on swordfighting since she figures it would be enough for now. And it wasn't like she had loads of money with her. And carrying a lot of books around would be a chore.

"So, you'll be my teacher, Sara?" Tom asked, his eyes glimmering.

"Yes, Tom. I've told you already. I will be your teacher, at least for the time being," Sara answered matter-of-factly.

"Woohoo! I have the best teacher in the world then!"

"Oh, don't be silly, Tom. I know nothing about teaching."

"But you are so good at swordfighting! I could never hit you!"

"I suppose I am. But I can't really teach it to you. I don't really understand it myself. It's like... an instinct to me."

"Hmm, must be your power as the hero then!" Tom grinned.

Sara smiled softly. At that moment, Tom made her remember of her little sister in the previous world. On how she reacted when she saw her with the power given to her by the Goddess.

Her heart ached,