Everything was going to plan so far. Lumina and I had hitched a ride to Lastel with the likes of Julius and Flyre. While the chaos that ensued was not exactly what I wanted, the end goal was accomplished. Like that one prince from legend once said “the end justifies the means”, our end is currently justified for how we got here. 

The path to the capital is a pretty big road paved out of stones. We decided to take this route instead of following the river like we were going to do as we have a legit means of getting in. We are on foot which is fine by me but I am used to always taking a fancier means of travel, and I’m sure Lumina is as well. I miss our dragon-powered flying ships and our magic-powered carriages, ah, my former life of luxury. 

I look over to my right and see the beautiful girl that is Lumina. Her hair shines in the light of the moon as we walk. The blue hue that leads into a pretty violet is exemplified by a light blue aura created by the reflection of the moon. She looks at me and gives me a smile while grabbing my arm. We are planning to act like a couple to make the process of getting into the capital easier. If we could become an actual couple then maybe. . . I shouldn't think about these things right now. Lumina is most likely pure based on her background and it would be a sin to think about these things right now. That bitch slap goddess is probably laughing her ass off in her domain right now seeing this. 

As I already said, we plan to get in by saying we are a couple. While we are not bound, we are currently linked. We haven’t had the ceremony of binding yet and are currently just linked. While most will just call it marriage, and that word is acceptable, the term binding is best used to describe this process. We also plan to say that we want to become adventurers at the guild and that should make our process easier. Julius and Flyre only need to present their adventurer bracelet in order to get into the first province inside Lastel. 

We continue to walk down the main road towards the capital through the night and eventually see the huge walls up close. We are almost to the main gate of the city. The height of the walls gradually started to creep up in height as we got near the gate. The giant stone walls had guards patrolling the top in the standard steel armor that the kingdom issued. They occasionally hired adventurers could also be seen walking with the guards. Based on their bracelets, most were iron rank and this was an easy job. 

We walked up to the gate and there was a line of some others trying to get in. Based on the time of day, it was a very short line.

“Next up!” the guard rings out.

Our group steps up to the guards for the inspection process. 

“State your names and your purpose for coming here,” the guard says looking at our group.

“I’m Julius, an iron rank adventurer seeking the guild in this city,” Julius says proudly while flashing his iron bracelet to the guard.

“And I’m Flyre, a gold rank adventurer also seeking the guild in this city,” she says afterward while also showing her golden bracelet. 

“Ah, adventurers eh, you are free to go. Our great city of Lastel has an open adventurer policy and seeing as these are legit bracelets, you are good to go. Now, what about you two over there?” The guard says while looking at Lumina and me.

“ I am Runoa, a person looking to become an adventurer here at the guild. I am with these two who are to lead and guide me to becoming one.”

“I- I am Lumina, I also want to become an adventurer with my link Runoa.”

“Hmm, so you two are linked eh. You boy must be one of those Prince Runoa people that I have seen so many of. You two seem ok but I will tell you one thing, Prince Runoa is not very well liked within the kingdom anymore. That Prince is said to have abandoned this kingdom so if I were you, try to change up the look when you get inside. Next!” the guard tells us while yelling for the next people to come up. 

We walked through the giant gate and into the capital. The streets were glowing with light from the lamps. It was mostly silent but there were the occasional people walking through the streets. The first district that we are in has the guild, adventurer-related businesses like armorers and hotels. Adventurers have special rights to certain hotels based on their rank. Any of the high-tier gem adventurers get just about anything while the lower tiers get little. 

“So which hotel are we staying at tonight? I know the Flyre is gold rank so we should get access  to a decent place.” I ask Julius and Flyre. 

“ This one,” Julius says as we approach a building, “ The Boar Cap Tavern and Hotel. It is home to the best tavern and hotel around and is open to all ranks. We will get a decent suite for us 4 using Flyre’s gold rank.”

This is a relatively small hotel.  It is known for its amazing drinks and great rooms for everyone. The tavern master and his crew are also cool people and are respected by everyone. Apparently, the master here is also a sapphire rank adventurer and is quite remarkable in combat with his [Ultimate Skill: Full Counter]. 

“ Hello, will you be rooming with us tonight? If so please show your bracelet.” the lady at the desk asks us.

“ Yes, we will need a room for 4 with at least 4 beds please,” Flyre says while showing her bracelet, “ I am a gold rank and my party is accompanying me.”

“Unfortunately the best we can do for 4 is with 2 beds as the other rooms are taken. You can either do this or bunks with the stone adventurers.”

“Y-yeah, that's fine,” Flyre replies with cold sweat running down her face, “I guess 2 beds will be fine for us.”

“Alright, that will be 2 gold for the night and your room is up and to the right number 14G. Thank you for staying with us.”

Flyre hands over the gold and we proceed to our room. Inside the room is 2 nice beds that look of decently high quality, a fine bathroom and shower, and working lights. Lights are not the cheapest here as they run on a magic source and only gold ranks and higher have access to them Flyre told me. 

“ I guess Flyre and I will sleep in this bed. Runoa, you and Lumina have that bed. Any issues?”

 Julius says.

“ None here.”

“T-that's fine with me. S-sharing a bed is nothing big.”

“ You two lovebirds will be fine. Don’t worry about it. Just don’t be too loud during the night,” Julius says with a wink toward us.

“ What?!” Lumina and I exclaim.

“I may owe this girl a lot for saving me but I would never dare to do anything like that to her.”

“R-right, we aren’t in love or anything.”

Flyre walks up to Julius and pulls his cheek.

“Aiiiiiii, what was that for?”

“ Don’t tease them like that, you know how much we owe them?” Flyre says angrily at Julius.

“ Fine. Anyways, goodnight you two, we will get you to the guild tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.”

“R-right.”

***

The next morning. . .

*Yawns*

“Good morning Runoa,” a sweet voice says to me.

I raise my head and lookup. I turn my head to the right and see the sweet face of Lumina. She is already dressed in her attire for today. Her usual church robes would give off too much suspicion in the capital so she is wearing a more casual dress. 

“Get up already, we are all waiting on you,” Lumina says back to me, this time pouting, “ We don’t want to miss breakfast with Julius and Flyre. They are waiting for us downstairs.”

“Ok-ok. I get it, I slept late. I’ll get dressed immediately.”

I got dressed in my attire and went with Lumina to meet up with Julius and Flyre in the restaurant part of this tavern.

“ Yo, you have a nice sleep?”

“ I slept alright I guess. I am hungry now that I have woken up though.”

“Alright, let's get some food.” 

We ordered food from the waitress with a pink top and white hair. The food came out quite quickly as the restaurant was not too packed at this time of day. 

“ This food is amazing!” I say while chowing down on my meal.

“I- I really like this food too!” Lumina says in response.

“ That's no surprise, this place is known for some of the best food around,” Julius says while chewing.

“Who’s the chef? He did a wonderful job.”

“ From what I have heard from the gem adventurers who can meet with the chef, he was a former outlaw and was known as the unkillable prisoner. His meals are great and when I advance to ruby rank I want to see about meeting him,” Flyre says. 

“Interesting. I doubt those rumors are true about him being unkillable but I bet he is strong in combat.”

“ The workers at this tavern have already said they will not fight again. They will provide support with food but will not fight.” 

“ That's really surprising considering the skills of the people here.”

“ I know, it's very surprising. Anyways after this, we are going to the guild to sign you two up. Are you ready to become adventurers?”

“Let's do this!”

“R-right!”

“That's the spirit! Anyways we should get there before noon and it gets packed.”

We get up and leave the tavern while leaving a small tip of 2 silver. We leave the tavern and start heading back down the main road. 

Our group walks down the main street that leads to the guild. The road is bustling with activity as it is the early morning and this is one of the busiest areas in the capital. Many shops are set up on the side of the road, most offer anything effective for adventures. Blacksmith shops are relatively common as are the potion shops. We do have a dedicated healer with us in Lumina so we do not need as many health potions as a normal group. We might need to get some armor for me as I currently have nothing, but I also don’t have the money to buy a gear set so it has to wait. 

We continue walking towards the guild past the many different people and approach the giant building that we have been aiming at. It is made of stone with huge wooden doors. There are no windows on the outside of the building to keep the matters going on inside the place silent. I am nervous about going in as I hope I won’t be called out for my looks, or Lumina for that matter,

“Alright, we are here!” Julius exclaims.

“I am ready, are you Lumina?”

“S-sure, we can do this!”

“Alright, here we go!” Julius says while opening the doors to the guild.