As they neared the city gates, the gate’s guards noticed them and waved in acknowledgement.

Leo waved back and in a couple minutes they reached the gate. Leo and Wendel both gave their ID's to the guard who checked them.

“Leo and Wendel huh, how’d your mission go?”

The guard asked while giving back Leo and Wendel their IDs.

“It was bad. We nearly died,” sighed Leo. “We were duped.”

“Leo!” said Wendel. “Though, he’s not really wrong. I wouldn’t say we were duped but the information we got was incorrect. The people who requested the job mistook an Xilisk for a Saladle.”

“You guys fought an Xilisk?! And lived?”

"Yeah," said Leo. "We got lucky. The Xilisk we ran into was just a child. It was still a tough fight. Afterwards we had to escape as its parent found us."

"Damn," said the guard. "Well, thanks for your hard work!"

Leo only nodded in response. The guard moved aside to let the pass but suddenly stopped.

"I have to ask, who's the missy?" he said. The whole time Aria remained silent because she didn't know what to say.

"We found her in the forest. It's not an issue right? Bringing her in like this?" asked Wendel.

"No... but you'll have to take her to the orphanage and I'll have to make a report."

"We understand. Thanks," replied Leo. The three moved past the guard and through the gates.

The area close to the gates were mostly open space with the exception of some stables and a building that acted as a house of sorts for guards. It seemed it was mostly just open space for recreational activities for kids.

“Ahh,” sighed Leo. “I’m pretty exhausted from that mission. The payout won’t even be that good for this either considering it was a request to deal with Saladles.”

“Yeah, I’m quite exhausted as well,” replied Wendel. “At Least Aria seems to have some energy.”

“Hm?”

Aria looked at the two questioningly, before tilting her head in confusion as Leo and Wendel both sighed again.

“Aria, do you recall where your family is? Parents or siblings?” asked Wendel.

Aria shook her head. As far as she knew, she didn’t have such a thing. It was just her.

“We really have to take you to the orphanage..,” muttered Wendel. “I don’t want to though, you’re such a cute girl. It’d be a shame to leave you there.. But taking care of a child… I don’t think I’m up to the responsibility considering how busy we already are.”

“We’re already busy enough as it is,” said Leo. He ran his hands through his hair. “Well. For now let’s get to the Adventurer’s Guild. We ought to tell the Guildmaster about this. She should be able to help us with our situation."

The three followed down a path that led towards the middle section of the capital. The capital has 3 ‘sections’. The inner section, middle section and outer section each called rings. The middle ring happens to be the largest, taking up 60% of the entire capital while the inner and outer rings are 20%. The middle ring is filled with the majority of the common populace including areas like neighborhoods, markets, taverns, inns and various businesses. It is also the section that contained Leo and Wendel’s home. One could mistake parts of the middle section as parts of the inner ring, when in reality it was not. This is a tell tale sign of the Kingdom’s prosperity. It simply was prosperous enough that the middle section had a lot of nice things despite being the majority of the population.

The inner ring of the capital was where the nobles, upper-class citizens, renowned shops, resided. Naturally, the royal family resided in this section within the large castle that occupied the area in the center. Though myths say in the very center is something special but no one has a clue as to what it is.

After a long, long walk that even tired Aria (if only mentally) they reached the Adventurer’s Guild which resided in the middle ring. The Adventurer’s Guild was a decently sized building. Bigger than an inn, but not too big. It consisted mostly of a large lobby with tables here and there like an inn’s cafeteria. Adventurers with varying types of equipment-- mostly average looking --bustled around waiting for their team members, resting or looking for requests. One side of the room was sectioned off by counters and receptionists while another wall had a board filled with requests that were organized into different levels of difficulty.

They walked straight towards a free receptionist without drawing much attention to themselves. A few adventurers glanced at Aria out of curiosity as a child is out of place in the Adventurer’s Guild but paid no attention otherwise.

“Hi welcome back Leo, Wendel. How did your mission turn out?”

The receptionist was an above-average looking lady with polite manners. Her tone gave off a formal and dependable but friendly vibe that relaxed the listener.

“Not that good. The Guild was misinformed,” replied Leo tiredly. Just thinking about the incident again seemed to drain him.

“Misinformed..?” questioned the receptionist.

“Mhm, it was really dangerous. The Saladles turned out to be Xilisks instead,” said Wendel with a hint of frustration.

“A-An Xilisk!?” gasped the receptionist. Her eyes widened in disbelief and her formality faltered as surprise took her.

The group of 3 adventurers next to them as well as their receptionist looked over in disbelief. The adventurers were D-rank and haven’t really faced any ‘real’ dangers yet. They simply completed requests like subjugating weak monsters that could only be considered pests or doing simple, laborious tasks.

“T-That’s crazy,” stammered one of the 3. He was a young lad fresh out of an academy-- which all three of them seemed to be --and after learning about different types of monsters there, they grasped how dangerous the situation was.

“Who would mistake a saladle for an xilisk?” exclaimed the D-rank adventurer. “It had to have been on purpose!”

“Now now, let’s not jump to conclusions,” said Leo while raising his hands in defense for the requesters. “Mistakes happen… and this one just happened to be a pretty drastic mistake. Plus, I don't know anyone I wronged badly enough for them to do something like this. Had to have been a mistake I guess."

"Ah… I guess if you say so," muttered the D-rank. He scratched his head before him and his party went back to deal with their own business.

“Regardless,” continued Wendel. “Can we see the Guildmaster?”

“The Guildmaster?” repeated the receptionist. She flipped through some papers before confirming that the Guildmaster was in fact available. “She should be available right now if you head to her office. Great job on your work and have a nice day!”

“Thanks!” replied Leo and Wendel.

Aria watched everything from the side quietly surprised at the fact that the receptionist didn’t ask about her. Must be her formality keeping her from inquiring about things that aren’t really her business or a part of her job.

They walked towards the left of the receptionists and took the stairway leading to the second floor. The second floor was a wide hallway filled with offices on each side for paperwork, discussions, battle-planning, etc. At the end of the hallway was the Guildmaster’s office. As they approached, a sign hung on the door with words that read: ‘Available - Knock Before Entering’.

Leo tapped his knuckles on the door gently to knock and a woman responded.

“Enter."

Leo opened the door and held it open for Wendel and Aria as they entered the Guildmaster’s office.

The woman who responded sat behind a large magohany desk filled with paperwork.

"Ah, Leo. Wendel. Welcome back," said the woman.

Leo glanced at the papers on the table and the feminine hand with a pen that accompanied them before following the arm up towards the face. However, something ample entered his vision that Leo suddenly felt uncomfortably conscious about causing him to blink and look away. He sighed as the realization that he barely dodged a figurative lethal bullet dawned on him.

The Guildmaster, luckily for Leo, didn’t notice and looked at Aria before continuing.

"And this is..?"

"Aria," replied Wendel. "We found her in the Forest of Lyca, she seems to have amnesia of sorts."

Wendel went on in detail to explain the encounter with the Xilisks and the journey in general. During this time Aria found a seat to sit in and relaxed.

“Xilisks!” said the Guildmaster with a hint of surprise. “You did well to survive the encounter. We will reprimand the requestor, perhaps even give a temporary suspension from further requests. We'll also spread awareness about Xilisks being spotted there. Again, well done.”

“Thank you,” replied Wendel.

"The guards at the gate told us we'd have to take her to the orphanage. Do we really have to?" asked Leo. He gestured towards Aria as she tilted her head with curiosity. “I know it would be fairly irresponsible to try and take care of her right now but… it doesn’t just sit right with me to send a child to the orphanage after rescuing her. Aria, do you want to stay with us?”

Aria looked at Leo excitedly.

“Mhm!”

I do want to stay with you guys!

“Then--!”

The Guildmaster closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. Her long hair followed her head’s movement with a gentle glide as the three’s hopes were inevitably crushed.

“So.. there’s no chance,” said Wendel. A lingering but diminishing hope tinted her voice. Her gaze shifted to the side as if avoiding direct contact with the Guildmaster as she awaited the obvious.

“Yeah,” said the Guildmaster. Her expression softened as she looked at Aria. “Leave her to me, I’ll take care of her and personally escort her to the orphanage. You guys did a good job.”

The Guildmaster stood up from her seat, rising to her full height. Her outfit was a mix between a dress and combat-ready armor. A long ornamented katana hung by her hip.

Her hand rested on her katana’s hilt as she walked around the desk.

“Don’t give up though,” she said, placing a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “There’s a good chance you’ll be able to get her back under your care along with a proper Urothian citizenship later. I’ll see if I can help with that as well.”

"Really?"

"Yeah. So work hard and be in a position that'll let you take care of her."

"Ah.. um. Guildmaster?" said Wendel. "On that note, I've been thinking about becoming an instructor at the academy. I was wondering if I could have your recommendation backing me.”

“An instructor huh,” muttered the Guildmaster. “Well, without a doubt I think you’d be a good one. You have field experience backing you.”

“Of course, I will still stay as a registered adventurer and should there be an emergency, I’ll respond like the usual adventurer. On top of that I will still do requests weekly. Leo can’t do it all alone. So things will be the same, but I’ll just have to take requests less frequently and work as an instructor.”

Leo groaned as he imagined the load of solo work he’d have to do.

The Guildmaster smiled. “Of course Wendel. I hope things work out and you become an instructor. I’ll put in a recommendation for you. By the way, do you have a subject in mind?”

“Ah! Yes, I do. I’m not sure how much I’d like teaching it, but if I can I hope to teach something along the lines of Demi-human Ideology.--”

“Here we go again," muttered Leo.

“--I know it’s not really a popular topic as the majority of nobles here in Uroth have… well, unfavorable opinions on non-human races, but I think coexistence should be possible with intelligent demi-human races. After all if these races are capable of introspection then what really separates them from humans aside from physical differences? So by learning more about them people can reach a better understanding of demi-humans letting them be less blindly biased and even more open-minded towards anything in life.”

Leo’s eyes glazed over as he only listened because it was Wendel.

“A-Ah.. I see,” said the Guildmaster. “W-Well certainly it can be a sensitive topic in this Kingdom considering it favors human supremacy. But maybe with you teaching such a class, students from a young age can realize a more open-minded or acknowledging mindset. It has the potential to bring about less conflict, and less conflict is always welcome.”

“Thennnn there’s the issue of goblins,” said Leo. “Goblins are intelligent to a degree and have the capability to understand feelings or atleast have feelings. But, they and humans have been at war since.. gods know how long.”

“Yes… but--” said Wendel but the Guildmaster held her hand up, stopping her.

“Ahem, well, let’s not get too into it. I’ll be sure to recommend you to the academy soon, maybe today, so you should be fine. In the meantime, you two actually have a report to make regarding the Xilisks. I got the gist of it and said the guild would handle it by setting out warnings for the area, but a written report with details is necessary. It doesn’t have to be too long and it’s up to you two concerning who writes it.”

Leo and Wendel stared lasers at each other as they insisted out of love that the other could write the report. After a moment or two, Leo finally spoke up.

“We’ll do that and settle it swiftly, one round.”

“Hmph, don’t regret it.”

“As if!”

They both brought a fist up and began shouting in unison.

“ROCK!”

“PAPER!!”

“SCISSORS!!!”

“SHOOOOT!!!!”

The Guildmaster facepalmed as they shouted.

“Urk! BestoutofthreebestoutofthreebestoutofthreepleaseWendelIwasonlyjokingearlierdon’tdothistome!!” cried Leo. He grabbed Wendel’s shoulders as he pleaded for another chance.

“Haha!~ Don’t be a sore loser now Leo~,” said Wendel. She grinned with a smug while eyeing him down in a condescending manner.

“C’mon I did the last report! Ugh...” he continued with a sigh. His head hung in defeat as he let Wendel go before the Guildmaster started ushering the two towards the door.

“I have to be on my way and take Aria to the orphanage, so you guys hurry along now,” said the Guildmaster.

“We’ll see you again Guildmaster!” said Leo.

As she closed the door behind them she let out a tired sigh.

“Those two honestly… they still act like children!”