The three of them looted the corpses. Their armor had the emblem of a lion. It seems they were soldiers of a particular kingdom. I don’t know the symbol of each kingdom, so I cannot conclude from which kingdom they were. Why would they attack innocent villagers? 

He couldn’t find any valuable things. The things they had were useless, and they lacked coins. He found it very odd. Seto hoped they would have at least some food. All they had were ruined armor and broken weapons.

“Their loot is useless. I feel bad for the villages they raided. They didn’t take anything from them. Did they raid just for fun? For venting their anger or something? Killing and raping the innocent.”

He grabbed his sack of coins and walked towards Lora, ready to resume their march towards town.

Lora and Ana kept quiet. Ana kept remembering how these soldiers killed her father and raped her sisters and mother. She felt relieved knowing they couldn’t harm other people anymore. Lora felt sorry for her and felt the mood. She didn’t want to ruin it.

“Thanks,” said Ana, grabbing Seto’s attire with her tiny hands.

Seto was surprised. So she’s indeed capable of thanking people. “It was nothing.”

“No, it wasn’t nothing, I mean it. I’m grateful to you. You did something I couldn’t do alone. I—I don’t know how to repay you.” Except for my body… she thought.

“You don’t have to do anything, just be a kind girl and walk towards town without causing any trouble.” Ana felt disappointed when she heard Seto’s answer. Deep inside, she hoped, he would ask for a different compensation. Am I not attractive enough? What does Lora have that I don’t have?

***

The walk towards town went by without trouble. The sun was about to set, causing the environment to look golden. When they reached the gate, some guards halted them. “Welcome to our town called Hazelwell. Please show me your identification.”

Seto noticed that one guard came forward and studied his face. He saw that the guard wasn’t drooling over Lora and Ana. He behaved professionally and kept a straight expression. Seto had a favorable impression of the guard. It appears not all men are creatures who can’t control their lust. 

“We don’t have it. We’re from a faraway town,” Seto said.

“You can obtain a card by visiting the town hall. I’ll escort you there so that you won’t cause any trouble. You’re still required to pay the fee, though.”

“I see. How much is it?”

“You’re with three people? Then it’s five copper each. So 15 copper in total.”

Seto reached into his pouch and pulled out 15 copper coins. The guard accepted it and escorted them through town. When they walked past the wall, he observed how the town looked. He wasn’t dazzled. There were lots of people on the streets, and everything looked like shit. This is not much better than that village Lora’s from. A town’s still more significant than a village. Maybe a city seems better?

The three of them followed the guard. They received a lot of looks. Some even stopped what they were doing to gawk at them. Many women drooled over Seto’s handsome appearance but hadn’t the courage to approach him.

Lora and Ana received enough attention themselves. Many men licked their lips but didn’t attempt to say or do anything when they saw Seto. His tall stature frightened them. They were just peasants and withdrew when they saw his muscles. All they could do was look but not touch.

Lora and Ana felt uncomfortable. Back in their village, the men stared at them, but this was on another level. Although the men who stared didn’t make any moves, they still undressed them with their eyes. Disgusting, they both thought, the only man who’s allowed to look and feel me up is Seto. These guys aren’t even worthy. They were glad that they had Seto with them, or else the men would have harassed them already. So this is how it feels to have a strong man that protects you, Ana thought. If he weren’t here, they would have done things already.

Seto examined the town and saw how most houses looked like ancient Germanic houses from his world. The houses were made of wood and had planks, mainly for decoration. Most of the people were humans. He encountered some folks from different races. He saw a few elves, dwarfs, and beast-kin, but they were all chained, nobody bat an eye at them. Are those slaves? He thought. I should check the slave market later. I’m interested in what they’re selling. Perhaps I’ll purchase a slave myself.

Most people’s clothes were simple, so Seto and his group blended right in. Ten minutes later, they appeared in front of a large hall. So this is the town hall? It looks better than the other buildings.

The town hall was a towering structure made out of wood. It was thrice as high as the other buildings, meaning it had multiple floors. The building was separated from the other buildings, which made it stand out. Outside stood a row of people, they waited in line, ready to register themselves just like them.

“I’ll take my leave then,” said the guard. “Don’t cause any trouble, or I’ll come to find you.”

Seto nodded. He then placed his arms around Ana’s and Lora’s waist, indicating that they were his women. Lora smiled and gave him a peck on his cheeks, but Ana was startled. “What are you doing?” asked Ana.

“Making sure you two don’t get bothered. If other men see this, they’ll back off because they know you two are my women.”

Ana’s face became red when she heard Seto calling her his woman. She felt happy inside. He considers me his woman? She wanted to scream out of excitement. She smirked and felt a weird feeling in her heart. Did he steal my heart? If this is what it’s like to be in love. I like it. It’s a pleasant feeling.

Seto was right. The men in line didn’t bother them. When they noticed the girls, their excitement reached an all-time high, but when they saw Seto, they lost all hope. They couldn’t compare to him. They returned to what they were doing and waited in line.

The line became smaller and smaller until it was the trio’s turn.

There sat a man behind the counter. He looked towards them. When he saw that Seto brought two women with him, he felt jealous. Lucky bastard, the heavens blessed him with those looks, and I’m sitting here, wasting my life with this shitty job.

The receptionist forced a smile. “Hello, sir, are you here to register for your identification card?”

“Yes, how much does it cost?”

“The card price is 50 copper coins. Do you also pay for the ladies beside you?”

“Yes, I indeed do.”

“The price is then 150 copper coins in total.”

Seto handed him two silver coins and got 50 copper coins in exchange.

“Have a nice day, sir, and enjoy our beautiful town.” He said as if he said that exact sentence a few thousand times a day. “You may enter the door and finish the procedure. My colleagues will assist you.” He pointed towards a wooden door. Next to that door, some people existed.

Seto went with his women towards that door and entered. Upon entering, a female welcomed them. She blushed when she saw Seto’s appearance. She recovered herself and said. “Hello, sir. May I know your name? I need your name for the creation of your identification card.”

“Seto Ukyo.”

“How old are you?”

“16.” Isn’t it better to ask for my date of birth? He thought.

“What is your class?”

“My class? I think it’s warrior? Can this be changed later on?”

“Of course it can, although most people stay with the same class the rest of their lives. You can change it anytime. Although if you declare to be a certain class, you have to prove your affiliation with that class. If you claim you’re a mage, you should show you’re capable of using magic. The warrior is the most common class. That’s why you don’t have to show proof. Because I assume you know how to use a weapon.”

“What if I said I don’t have any class at all?”

“Then I would have written it as empty.”

“I see.”

“All right, could you place your finger here?” She pointed towards a metal plate.

“Are you going to measure my strength?”

“No, we’re not qualified to do that. If you want to measure your strength, you should visit the adventurer guild or the army. They can both provide you with an accurate measurement of your strength. This plate uses a magic spell to create a unique identity for your card. This is to prevent fraud.”

Seto nodded and placed his hand on the plate. The plate shone for a few seconds with a dim light.

“Here’s your card. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Seto looked at the wooden card he received. Because he didn’t have an adventurers’ rank, his card was made out of the lowest rank material which was wood.

His name, age, and his class were engraved with black letters. There was also a picture of his face. When did they take that? His face looked as realistic as if he were looking into a mirror. The picture didn’t reduce any of his handsomeness.

His adventurer rank and his Unified Strength Standard were empty.

Ana and Lora also went through the same process as him. A few minutes later, they got their card. They were proud of it. Not many peasants could afford an identification card. This meant they were actual citizens of the kingdom now.

They showed their cards to each other and Seto. He noticed that Ana had the warrior class as well. He glanced towards Lora’s card, but her class was empty.

“So you’re 17?” Seto looked at Ana’s card. “I didn’t expect you to be older than me.”

“You should call me big sister then.” Ana teased Seto. She pushed her tongue out and put a finger under her eye.

Seto decided to ignore her. “Let’s register as adventurers.” The girls nodded, and together they left the building.