After nobody said anything for a few moments, Rika finally looks up. “Huh? What is so funny?”

Please don’t make it so hard for me. Did she really not notice at all?

“Sis… He already accepted the first time you asked.”

“Huh? Really?”

Rika looks at me, still trying not to laugh, and realizes what Thalia said is true, and her face turns beet red from embarrassment.

“Yes, well… I expected something like this from the beginning. Before leaving this morning, I also asked the proprietress for another single room, since I figured you’d want to share this room.”

“Sorry, but I can’t have that. Although, I am happy for the thought, I am still your slave, until we repaid you. If you stay in another room, it would be more difficult to work on my tasks.”

Thalia says this with a wide smile on her face. Is she really that happy about her status as a slave? Or maybe…? Well, let’s put that aside for now.

“Hoh… That’s a bold statement coming from you. It’s fine for me.”

Rika also is fine with that.

“I am just stating the facts.”

After finalizing the room assignments, we discussed the roles of our party. Our party actually came out quite balanced.

Rika is an offensive swordsman. She dual wields two short swords and focuses on speed and agility. In that regard, her fighting style is actually a bit similar to me.

Thalia is a pure back line mage, using her wind magic.

And I am -well, still a kind of wannabe- magic swordsman. But that still put me in a more flexible position, so I can adjust my fighting style to the battle. I can basically fight in every position. I can fight in the frontline or in the back line with my magic, while protecting Thalia.

We also talked about our current goals, which actually turned out awkward.

As Thalia is still my slave, she wants to work hard for me, to thank me and repay me for saving her and reuniting her with her sister.

Rika is also a bit hesitant. Her goal was to find her sister, which she achieved now. So she just wants to be with her. She also wants to thank me for saving her sister.

“I see… well, if anything changes, just don’t hesitate. It’s not like everything we decide now is set in stone.”

That only leaves me. I already thought about how much I can or want to tell them. But in the end, I decided to keep my circumstances a secret. To be honest, I am scared about what could happen if the information leaks that I am a vampire.

“Well, for me, I am looking for some information. Unfortunately, I can’t really talk about it, since it’s a personal matter.” At that, they look a bit disheartened. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but it’s complicated. It’s something I need more information about before I can tell someone.”

“I see. If there is something we can help you with, just tell us.”

“Yes, you saved my sister, after all. So, don’t hesitate to ask for help.”

I smile after hearing those words. They both assured me they will help me. It really feels great to have someone I can count on. It’s the first time since coming to this world that I can say I have people I might call close friends in the future.

I met a few people I became friendly with. Aya, the receptionist in Gilicia, was probably the person who came the closest I could call a friend. But I never had someone I even considered talking about my circumstances. That’s different for both of them. While I still don’t know them for a long time, I feel like I might tell them in the future.

“Well, I don’t know how long it will take to find even a hint. For now, I don’t even know where to start. So, apart from that goal, I want to enjoy traveling the world and go sightseeing.”

I finish that sentence while laughing. Both of them also show a smile, while saying that this sounds like a good idea.

The next morning, we updated our party registration, and Rika officially became our new party member. Even though Rika was the highest rank in our party, both of them insisted I still should be the party leader.

With that, our party consists of an H-Rank adventurer, a F-Rank adventurer and a D-Rank adventurer, which puts our party on F-Rank.

After that we leave the capital and head to forest in the north, because we want to practice our teamwork. And we can’t do that in the beginner forest, since the monsters are way too weak there.

If we would only look at our rank, the northern forest would be too dangerous for Thalia, since we can encounter Orcs. But considering that she is already level 12 and that Orcs are usually around level 12 to 14, it should be fine. After all, Rika and I are with her and my level is 18, and Rika’s level is even higher at 28.

Well, talking about Orcs, when we arrive in the forest, I sense a group of Orcs. If I’m correct, it should be a group of six. When I tell them, I feel like I have a déjà vu.

“Huh!? How do you know?”

I let out a sigh, while Thalia is holding in her laughter.

“Wait, what is so funny?”

“Haha, sorry Sis. It’s just that’s the same reaction I had the first time.”

Not really understanding, Rika looks at me with a confused expression.

“Hah, yeah. When we went hunting the first time and I found a group of Goblins, Thalia said the exact same words you did. Well, I am good at tracking monsters. So it’s almost impossible for anyone to ambush me. And no, unfortunately I don’t think I can teach it, since it’s more of an inborn talent.”

Rika’s shoulders immediately slump down after I say that last sentence. I could see from her excited expression that she was going to ask, exactly like Thalia, when I told her.

At this moment, I felt like they truly were sisters. Blood Relation doesn’t really matter in those cases when it comes to family bonds.

“What is it?”

“Nothing. Let’s go.”

It seems my thoughts were visible on my face.

A short while later, we found said group of Orcs, and Rika looks at me with awe and Thalia smiles proudly like she wants to say ‘That’s my master for you!’.

“Alright, let’s do this like we discussed. Rika and I go in, and Thalia times her magic attack with our engage.”

They both nod, and I count down from three.

There are six Orcs, so it’s two Orcs per person. Rika and I engage them in close combat, while Thalia fights with wind magic. I also prepare an Ice Arrow when I count down, since it still takes some time to charge my Magic Energy. But with my increased skill rank, the cast time is now down to 10 seconds.

After counting down, down Rika and I charge in and we take down one Orc each without effort thanks to our ambush. In that same moment, Thalia’s Air Cutter beheads the third Orc.

The three other Orcs notice us, of course, and engage Rika and me in close combat. They ignore Thalia for now, since she is out of their reach.

But before they can even do anything, my Ice Arrow is completely charged and I release the spell to kill the fourth Orc. Then I evade the attack of fifth Orc that dies immediately after, because of Thalia’s Air Cutter.

Rika finished the sixth Orc, in the same time.

“Oh, I leveled up again.”

Seems like Thalia even got a level up out of that fight. I am not sure how experience sharing works in this world, but since all the Orcs were the same level or higher, it’s no wonder she leveled up again.

We continued hunting for the rest of the day and later Thalia even reached level 14.