*munch*  *munch*

 

” ... ”

 

*munch*  *munch*

” ... ”

I was sitting on a curb at the edge of the road while observing how a certain furball was wildly munching from one of the kebabs I bought this morning. 

I know that she must be happy since we finally took off that damn collar but the contrast with her usual self was still astonishing. She was practically shining. I might be blinded if I were to look at her directly.

” Anyway, Fio... You don't have to wear that scarf from now on. Though, it looks quite good on you... ”

” I like it. Present from Lizza... Also, just now you said that it looks good on me. ”

*munch*  *munch*

” Oh, Yeah... If you like it, all is good. ” I said and took a bite from my kebab.  

I didn't want to eat too much since Sara was probably expecting us to eat with them but a certain fluff made me make an exception. It seemed that she really liked this thing. I should buy some more when I would have the opportunity. 

In the end, I gave her half of my own too since she liked it that much. Not that I disliked it or something but I wasn't a glutton in the first place. 

’Still... I should pay attention as to not transform my fluff from a wolfy into a piggy...’

We resumed our little exploration shortly afterward. I saw some secluded places around the river and I remembered about my laughable attempt to learn [Water Manipulation] but that was all since I wasn't in the mood to try again at the moment. 

Fiona might be able to work with the rest of the monster corpses in the meantime. We couldn't do it at Sara’s place after all and the river was a good alternative. 

We returned after spending a little more time looking around the place. Unfortunately, we had to eat without them since we came back pretty late. Erin kept us company though... She was quite fond of spending time around me whenever she had the opportunity. 

Before to get back to our room we received my boots from Sara. She managed to adjust them to fit me just fine. I was very pleased with the result but she was adamant about not having to pay for the adjustment too. I let things like that for the moment since that was how we set earlier. 

Laying on my back in the bed, I was just absentmindedly staring at the ceiling and thinking about what should we do from now on. I had a rough idea but that was all. A lot of things had changed and now I wasn't alone anymore either.

” Fio... Hey, Fio... Are you sleeping? ” 

” Hmm!? What it is? ” she responded with a little delay. She probably wasn't asleep yet but she wasn't too far from it. 

As I turned my head to look at her, I saw her eyes glittering in the dark since the moonlight was hardly trespassing in our room through the small window. She smiled and extended her hand around me in an attempt to get closer to me. 

” Lizza... ”

” Mm... Yeah, come here... ” I said and put my hand around her to drag her closer to me too. 

After spending so much time alone in the wild, it was a common occurrence to sleep side by side. It gave me a sense of protection at that time. Since she was fine with it, I didn't want to stop doing that even though we weren't in the wild anymore.

” Thank you, Lizza. ” she said and buried her face into my chest. 

” Ugh... Yeah, I promised you after all... ” 

” Mm. ” she said and strengthened her grip even harder. I could hear her grinning for some reason too. 

” Ehm, Fio... Uhm, do you think... ”

” No. ” 

” But... ”

” Liza. Mine. ”

” Wha... O-Okay... ”

Even though I accepted my new body and grew accustomed to it to some extent, I had my limits as well. When it comes to these special places being pressed like that, it was quite disturbing.  

’I feel like the main reason I woke her up had been lost in the context too at some point.’

*sigh*

Since she wouldn't let me anyway, I resigned to my fate and closed my eyes. I didn't feel like talking about a serious topic anymore. 

In the morning, we ate together with Sara and the siblings and decided to head to ’that’ place. 

Before to go though, we had to borrow Erin to show us a place where I could buy a hat. Since we already resolved the collar problem, all that was left was my own appearance. I couldn't wear the hood for the rest of my life after all... 

In the end, I chose one big enough to cover my ears. It had to be like this since I planned to gather all my hair and hide it inside as well. It didn't look bad either. 

To be frank, it resembled a summer straw hat for women, just a little bigger. I didn't know why but the red ribbon on the side didn't bother me at all despite the overly feminine appearance. On the contrary, I was quite pleased with it.

I didn't know since when I started to see things in this way but maybe that has to do with me turning into a woman. Though, a dress would be too much... I was glad that I wasn't affected to that degree...

I spent 2 silver coins on it but at least now I could walk around like a normal person. Or so I thought but for some reason, a considerable number of people were staring at us as we walked around the road. 

They were mostly men so I guessed that they didn't discover my secret. Unfortunately, the actual reason they were staring didn't make me feel any better. 

I didn't have the opportunity to take a look in a mirror yet but I looked at my reflection at the river several times already. I had quite a beautiful face but that wasn't enough to attract everyone's attention like that. Maybe the fact that Fiona wasn't wearing her hood either had its share in this situation. 

Trying to ignore some rather obvious stares we advanced toward our destination. The closer we went, the more adventurer-like people we encountered on the road.

They had swords and were wearing different pieces of armor.  I saw some of them carrying staffs with them too. I was quite excited but I managed to not stare at them like how the previous people were staring at us.

As we arrived at the destination, I barely managed to suppress my smile looking at the massive building in front of me. It had three floors and was wider than the surrounding buildings by several times. There was a big sign on which was written ’Adventure’s Guild’ so I wasn't worried about mistaking the place.

Attached to the side of the building was some kind of training ground that was extending up to the back. There were people sparing among themselves but most of them were watching or chatting in small groups. 

” Lizza, are you ok? You look a little weird... ” Fiona asked while looking at me from the side with a concerned expression. 

” Do not worry. I'm perfectly fine. ”

” Mm. Then let's go inside. ”

The main entrance was easy to spot since a lot of people were circulating through it endlessly. I mustered my courage and stepped inside since Fiona was starting to look at me with that concerned expression again. I didn't want to make her worry for no reason. 

As I already expected, the place was very wide with a lot of tables spread around the whole place. Almost all of them occupied with groups of people discussing things. There were some single people as well but not that many.

As expected from a fantasy world, I could spot some female adventurers even though these were in the minority. At least we didn't stand out that much. 

On the wall from the left side of the building was exposed several boards but contrary to my expectations all of them were completely blank. That was quite strange but maybe it was just my misunderstanding. 

We made our way toward the place that was looking like a counter careful enough as to not encounter any bothersome situation. I know that the chances to actually happen were small but better safe than sorry. 

At the counter was standing two girls and a man. They were wearing some kind of blue and white uniforms. We obviously chose one of the two girls... The man didn't even enter in my eyes. What kind of blasphemy would be if I were to be received by a man at the guild?

Since there were two more people before our turn, we patiently waited for them to finish.

” Welcome. How may I help you? ” the receptionist girl greeted us as our turn finally came. 

” Hello, we came here to register as adventurers. ” I get straight to the subject since the place was quite crowded and I didn't want to cause trouble. 

” Hmm... Now that I look a little closer, you two seem to be quite young. We don't really have a restriction in that sense but I must give you a warning. You came in a very inopportune moment too. Since the emergency quest came up, all the normal ones had to be put on pause. That includes the less dangerous quests like the herb gathering ones as well. ”

” Ohh... That explains the blank boards over there. ”

” Yes. I'm truly sorry about it. ”

” Thanks for the advice but we still want to register. ”

” I see. In that case, you need to fill this paper and give it back to me. You need to pay the registration tax too. Two silver coins for you and your friend. ”

” Yes. Thank you. ” I said and took out two silver coins. 

She handed us the papers, a jar with ink and two quill feathers. It was the first time I saw one so I absentmindedly stared at it.

” Chose a table and come back after you finish it. There are other people waiting as well. ”

” Oh, yeah... Sorry about that. ”

As we sit down at a free table and took another look at the paper, a crucial issue came to my mind. 

It wasn't like I didn't know what to write since the paper was already designed for us to just complete it with basic information like our name, age, gender, race, and some other additional things. The problem was that I didn't know how to write in the first place.