The rest of the journey in the wagon was just as boring as Myrra had feared. After their encounter with the cat beasts, their journey went smooth. There were a few other less intelligent beasts that caused a bit of a ruckus, but they were easily handled. 

     They had spent nearly an entire day in travel, orders of magnitude more than she had before. In the time they took to go a few hundred miles, they could have gone around the world on earth.  She hadn’t even noticed when they passed the border if it not for Elowen telling them. 

     “This is so cool,” Myrra gushed, looking at her surroundings. The valley was lightly forested, the trees towering over them as they traveled down the road. To the north, the forest continued up to the mountain. Where it gradually turned to grass then rock, the mountains towered over even the trees. 

     To the south, there was a small section of grasslands that ran up to a lake. The large body of water bordering the mountains further south. A few boats lazily floated around the lake. Ahead of them sat Eurizeth, nestled up to the banks of the lake. Its large crenelated walls wrapping around the city. The banners of Lorenn hung from its walls. A line of people extended from the gate. Twenty minutes later, they joined the back of line.

     “This is gonna take forever,” Myrra whined.

     “No, it’ll be quick,” Elowen said. “They have multiple people working the gate to hurry people through. It's a large trade center.”

     “How big?” Myrra asked.

     “See that lake?” she pointed, to which Myrra nodded. “There's a river that runs under the mountain, it goes through the other side and into the ocean. They have special barges that can run through the tunnel into deep water docks on the other side.”

     “That's really cool, but why a tunnel?”

     “According to legends, it was made by a sea dragon who made its nest in the lake. Supposedly, it would use the tunnel to get to the sea to hunt for food, then return to the lake to sleep.”

     “Is it still there?”

     “No one really knows, it's just a legend, after all.”

     “Huh, I wanna see a dragon,” Myrra mused wistfully.

     “You definitely will, there's a few I'm sure we’ll interact with at some point,” Kat added, wrapping her arm around her sister.

     The line moved fairly quick, just two hours after arriving they reached the gates and were ushered into the checkpoint. After presenting their identification and a quick inspection, they were allowed into the city.

     “Well, this is where we part,” the man said, handing them a slip of paper. “This will serve as proof of completion. Thank you for the escort.”

     “It was our pleasure,” Kat smiled, giving the man a slight bow.

     “Bye, stay safe,” Myrra giggled and waved at Elowen. She smiled and waved back.

     “Let's go, you little munchkin,” Kat teased, ruffling her sister's hair.

     “Sissy,” Myrra grumbled.

     “What?” she smiled. 

     “Let go, I’m hungry,” she pouted. 

     “Alright, we’ll turn in the quest, eat then log off and eat,” she nodded, picking up her sister.

     “I can walk,” she protested.

     “It’ll be quicker this way,” Kat closed her eyes for a moment as a blue glow began to surround her and Myrra. With a flick of her tail, she turned and crouched down before jumping high, her body practically floating as she rose above the buildings. Landing on top of a four-story building, she pressed off, angling towards the union building. 

     The two girls floated gently through the air, a few motes of flame floating around Kat as she used her fox fire magic. Landing gently on the roof of a nearby building, she leapt again. Doing this several times before, she gently landed in front of the union building. Several adventurers looking up at her with admiration. 

     With a flick of her tail, she turned and walked up the steps, ignoring the stares of the onlookers.

 

*****

 

     “So, where do you want to go?” Kat said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

     “Let's go to that yakiniku place again,” Sam said, swaying slightly in her dress. It was white with Sakura flowers on it. Her hair ran down around her shoulders. 

     “That sounds nice,” Kat agreed. “I love your dress, by the way.” 

     “Thanks, I'm glad I ended up getting it,” she replied, doing a small twirl.

     “Alright it's settled then, let me just order a ride,” she nodded, tapping her phone. 

     Ten minutes later, Kat received the notification their shuttle arrived. They went downstairs and climbed in the autonomous vehicle. There were already two other girls in the vehicle.

     “Hello,” one of the girls smiled.

     “Hi,” Sam replied with a smile.

     The door closed behind them once they buckled in. The vehicle drifted silently back into the street, joining the throng of vehicles. 

     “So, where are you two heading?” the other girl asked.

     “We're going to Oyama Yakiniku,” Kat replied.

     “Oh, that place is nice,” the first girl said.

     “It really is,” Sam added.

     The four girls made small talk, talking about fashion, then shows, and finally about some restaurants in the city. The shuttle pulled up to the restaurant, Kat and Sam climbing out and bidding the other girls farewell.

     “So Sis still have the appetite for meat?” she teased.

     “Yea, why wouldn’t I?”

     “Cause all you eat in Loreth is fruits and veggies.”

     “Cause that's all I can eat. Meat tastes so disgusting there.”

     “Hello, table for two,” Kat said to the waitress. Who led them to a small table and set a couple of menus in front of them.

     “Can I start you ladies off with a drink?” she asked, flipping open an order pad.

     “Can I get a cola,” Kat asked.

     “I’d like some juice, please,” Sam requested.

     “Right away,” she said with a bow, noting their drink choice.

     “So little Sis, besides getting too caught up in it,” she said with a frown. “How are you liking the game?”

     “It's been really fun, but I'm gonna miss having so much time with you in game.”

     “We’ll be in Eurizeth for a while probably, and we can play once I get off work. The nice thing about the game is we’ll get nearly a whole day together.”

     “That’ll be nice, work has been keeping you busy lately. Now that Loreth is out of beta, what is your company working on?”

     “We still have a small team providing QA, but I got shuffled to a new VR shooter game.”

     “That sucks,” Sam remarked, reading over the menu.

     “Eh, it is what it is,” Kat shrugged.

     The waitress returned shortly after and took their order.

     “It’s going to feel weird without you there.”

     “You spent four days without me already.”

     “That was just a tutorial, though,” she pouted defensively.

     “You’ll be fine. Now, let's eat,” she said as the waitress returned with their meat selections, and turned on the burner in the center of the table.

     Kat used the supplied tongs to put the meat on the grill. Sam added some of the vegetables. Kat flashing her a questioning look. Sam replied with a shrug of her shoulders. Before helping herself to some meat and veggies. The veggies were delicious, the flavor tantalizing to her. The way the slightly bitter char complimented the savory sweetness.

     The meat on the other hand tasted off. It was still good, but somehow it didn’t satisfy her as much as it used to. The sauce on it was just as sweet, the char just as savory. But for some reason, she just wasn’t able to enjoy the meat. 

     “Something wrong?” Kat asked, seeing her sisters look of confusion.

     “No, just I remember it being better. Maybe it was cause it was a new experience. It’s still excellent, though,” she replied.

     The two sisters talked over dinner. Sam going into more detail about her tutorial. Becoming more animated as she talked about her adventures. Finally ending with her confrontation with the boar. She barely caught herself before calling Moria ‘Mommy’ again.

     “That was a lot for a tutorial.”

     “I had fun though,” she beamed.

     “I bet, now why don't you go to the restroom while I pay and order our ride.”

     “Kay!” Sam replied eagerly, jumping up happily.

     “Acting like Myrra again?” Kat heaved a sigh before requesting the check.

     Myrra made her way to the bathroom, washing her hands after she did her business. She looked in the mirror and frowned. All day she felt fine but looking at her self she saw the maleness. Shaking her head, she tried to clear away the negative thoughts. 

     Of course, I would look male when compared to what I look like normally. 

     Running her hands through her hair to freshen up herself, she did a once over of her outfit and rejoined her sister. 

     “Perfect, our ride is just about to arrive.”

     Kat stood up and joined her sister. The two of them making their way outside just as the shuttle pulled up. Unlike the first, this one was empty, Sam snuggled up to her sister, falling asleep after a couple of minutes. Kat smiled and ran her fingers through her sister's hair.

 

*****

 

     Myrra pouted as she swung her Flower rod, causing vines to turn up the soil. The green tendrils worming their way just below the surface. Kat teased the small girl for twenty minutes when they arrived home. Then had the nerve to tell say she needed to do something alone and to take on solo quests.

     “Yah!” she shouted, swinging her rod again, causing more ground to be tilled.

     “That's perfect, young Missy,” thanked a burly farmer. His arms, neck, and face lightly sunburned. “You were such a big help, it would have taken us days to till everything.”

     “I'm glad I could help,” she smiled. 

     “I'm sorry we couldn’t offer much. But you’re welcome to come back at harvest, and we’ll gladly share some of our bounty with you.”

     “That's entirely fine, and I will,” she beamed before retrieving her proof of completion and hopping back to the city. Choosing to use the resident entrance along the north, the guard at the gate took her ID. After placing it on the slab, she verified its validity and waved Myrra through the gate.

     The gate led into the residential part of the city, and was not used by the majority of people. Ordinarily she would have to use the main gates, but one of the guards objected to her coming and going alone and arranged special permission for her to use this entrance. 

     This part of the city was much quieter than the merchant district. People from all over the continent came to sell their wares and to try their luck at getting exclusive trade deals. The city boasted a wide variety of skilled industries. Thanks to adventurers union and the merchant guild, the city has seen a period of unbridled prosperity.

     Unlike the rulers of old who would have horded such wealth, the lord in charge of the city invested that money into social and civil improvements. They had recently installed a new sewer system, that carried the waste from every house into a pit a kilometer away.

     “Hello sweetie, are you lost?” a kind looking older lady asked.

     “No, I’m on my way to the union branch,” she replied.

     “A sweet young girl like you?” 

     “Mhmm,” she beamed.

     “Well then, you be safe, okay?”

     “I will.”

     She continued her journey to the union branch, several people gave her a curious stare, but she paid them no mind. Unlike in Weinheim the union office here was constructed of simple stone. Walking through the doors, she made her way over to the counter. Where a line of adventurers were waiting to be helped. She joined the back of the line and waited her turn.