"Nooo! Bunny-girls are not supposed to fly, you know!" I cried out, wondering how we went from walking to town holding hands to flying at high speeds high in the air.

A Few Moments Earlier

"Yuki, how long will it take to get to town?"

"By foot, probably 30 minutes," Yuki answered before she looked like she might have been contemplating something.

"Okay, that's fi...grrrgh." My tummy rumbled in hunger, interrupting my sentence. I blushed and hid behind my ears, thinking, 'That was embarrassing.'

"Hehe, well, that confirms it; we will fly there then." Yuki giggled before she picked me up in a princess carry.

"Iyaa!" I squealed when Yuki caught me by surprise, carrying me. "Did you say fly? I misheard you, right?" I asked, trembling slightly from the unbelievable words I heard.

"That's right, make sure to hold on to me tight," Yuki said with a teasing smile before two black bat-like wings sprouted from her back. Then we started getting higher in the air as Yuki's wings flapped.

I held on to her as tightly as possible, my face buried in her neck and shoulder.

Back to the Present

"Calm down, Lily, we are almost there," Yuki told me as she started slowing down and descending to the ground in front of a round rock structure that circled around the town, with gates on the north, east, west, and south sides of the structure.

When we fully descended, I let go of Yuki and kissed the ground, "How I missed you, sweet land."

Yami looked at me with warm eyes and started laughing at me.

"This is not funny, you know. I thought we were going to look around while walking and holding hands," my bunny ears drooped as I pouted.

"I'm sorry, Lily. When I heard your stomach growl, I figured we should get to town as quickly as possible so you can eat. To make it up to you, how about I will get you anything you want to eat, and we can hold hands while going to the guild and visit the town after," Yuki said while rubbing my ears.

"No fair..." I replied, a small smile forming.

"What was that?" Yuki asked with a teasing smile.

"No fair, distracting me by rubbing my ears and giving me a sweet reason for doing that. I can't even be mad," I replied with a small smile forming on my face.

"Well, I'm glad I am no longer in trouble, haha," Yuki told me while laughing, before she continued, "I still feel bad for not really warning you, so I will still buy you whatever you want to eat."

I pouted again at Yuki's laughter and said, "I might order a lot, you know."

"That's fine. I won't mind at all," Yuki smiled and answered me.

"You still have to hold my hand too," I replied while blushing a little, with a smile forming.

"Gladly, whenever you want me to," Yuki giggled before reaching out her hand for me to grab.

I hopped up from where I was kissing the ground, and with a bright and happy smile, I wrapped my arm with hers and interlocked our fingers.

"Um...Lil...?" Yuki blushed and started to seem to say something about the way we were holding hands but stopped.

"Hmm, what is it, Yuki?" I asked in a melodic tone.

Yuki looked at me like she saw a dark purple aura forming around me.

"No...never mind, let's go to the guild first so we can take our time visiting the town after."

"Okies, let's go!" I cheered, my ears flopping up and down in excitement.

As we started making our way to the guards at the gate to enter the town, I could hear Yuki sigh in what seemed to be relief. "What was that purple aura? How can something so cute be so scary? I will never make her angry again," she whispered something, but I couldn't make out what it was because it was in a low tone.

When we arrived at the guard gate, a middle-aged guard walked up to us with a friendly smile and said, "Good afternoon, Yuki. Who's your friend?"

"Good afternoon, Frank, this is..." When Yami replied and looked over to gesture towards me, I was no longer beside her and instead was standing behind her still holding her hand, my ears and tail twitching with nerves. When Yuki noticed where I was, she turned to face me and gave me a warm smile, patting my head.

"I'm sorry, Frank, she is a little shy, but she is a nice girl. Her name is Lily; she is my destined one, you could say. She just arrived from our village today, and I met her on the way back to town. We were going to get her an I.D. at the adventurer's guild," Yuki explained to the guard.

He looked at me and gave a kind smile before telling Yuki, "Well, if you vouch for her, then you two can head on in. But I didn't know the Solo Sage had a partner; that's going to break a lot of hearts in town."

Yuki giggled and replied, "Thanks, Frank. They didn't ever have a shot anyways; I have been waiting for this girl my whole life, after all." I immediately started blushing and hid my face in her back.

Frank laughed and replied while looking at me, "Welcome to the Village of Hudgel; I hope you enjoy your stay. Also, congrats on reuniting you two."

"Tha...thank you," I bashfully stammered a reply, with a gentle smile.

"Thanks, Frank. Come on, let's go," Yuki told me, looking at me with a slight worried look as she could feel the shaking in my hand.

"Mm, thank you, Yuki," I replied, walking with her. Until we got into the village, Yuki had me sit on a bench near the entrance and asked, "Are you okay, Lily? What happened?"

"I don't know, I was perfectly fine talking to you when we first met, but I felt really nervous and scared with the guard guy, even though he was really friendly," I answered, feeling guilty about being rude to him. 'What am I going to do about this? I don't want to burden Yuki with this, and I am sure the guild will be filled with men,' I thought to myself, looking at Yuki.

"I can tell what you are thinking; you don't want to burden me with this and cause any issues at the guild, right?" Yami said, smiling, while giving a loving look as if she could understand me more than I could myself, even though we only met each other an hour ago.

"You're right..." I pouted slightly.

"Don't worry about such a thing; I would never consider you a burden, and I will help you get over your fear a little bit at a time, and until it is gone, I will protect you," Yuki sat beside me and rubbed my ears, causing me to lay my head on her shoulder and relax.

"Forever..." I stated in a low whisper.

Yuki continued rubbing my ears and giggled slightly, answering, "Very well, I will protect you forever. That Love Goddess, she really knew what she was doing having us meet, even though it is illogical, and we have only known each other for an hour. I already can't picture my life without you in it anymore either. I will have to thank her if I ever see her."

Hearing Yami's words made my heart melt; I then looked up at her and closed my eyes.

"We are in public, you know." It seemed like she said that while blushing, and then she gave me a gentle kiss.

"Hehe," I giggled after we separated, and I opened my eyes.

"Are you feeling better now?" Yuki asked, with a blushing face and warm eyes.

"Mm, I feel a lot better, I think I will be able to handle the guild with you beside me," I answered, the happiness evident in my voice as Yuki and I stood up holding hands.

"I'm glad, and don't worry, the receptionist is a really nice woman, so you shouldn't have any problems getting registered," Yuki explained as we started walking to the guild.

My tummy rumbled again, much to my embarrassment and Yuki's amusement, so she bought us a couple of chicken skewers at a stall on the way to the guild. The lady at the stall even gave us a couple of free ones with a warm smile when she saw my excitement for them.

"Are they good, Lily?" Yuki asked me, with a warm smile.

"Mm, they are delicious; I feel like I haven't eaten food like this in a long time. I want to eat more," I answered, my bunny ears flopping excitedly.

"I am glad you liked them, but we will eat a full meal later. Look, we arrived at the guild," Yuki laughed before pointing at a large wood-framed building, the sign hanging above the door showing a person holding two swords.

"Wow, it is huge," I exclaimed, looking at the building.

"It has a bar on one side and the quest billboards on the other, and an employee quarter upstairs. Come on, let's go inside," Yuki explained while pulling me into the building.

When we stepped into the building, the noise became deafening, from adventurers just finishing a quest and sharing a beer, to others finding quests, and even arguments. However, when everyone saw Yuki walk in the guild, they started quieting down, and it became silent when they saw her holding my hand. The female adventurers seemed to be squealing over us.

"Isn't that girl with the Solo Sage really cute?" A female adventurer stated, another said, "I know, do you think they're together?"

While the men were giving me jealous stares, the Goddess's blessing seemed to be working.

"That girl is a little cute, but why is she with a beauty like the Solo Sage?" A male adventurer asked one of his friends.

"Probably somebody taking advantage of the Sage's kindness," his friend replied in anger.

I started to feel really nervous from my surroundings, my hands started shaking again, and I got closer to Yuki.

"It's okay, Lily. Ignore them; I will ask for a private meeting room so you can feel more comfortable," Yuki told me, tightening her hand around mine.

"Th...thank you, Yuki," I gave her a smile. I noticed my racing heart started to slow down as I watched Yuki and ignored everything else.

We made it to the counter, and a pretty girl with medium-length brown hair, and auburn eyes, what stood out though was her cat-ears and tail.

"Hello again, Yuki; did you bring us a new adventurer?" She asked, her ears twitching excitedly when she looked at me, however, when she noticed Yuki and my hands holding, her eyes started sparkling, and her tail started swaying side to side.

Yuki laughed, and replied, "Hello to you too, May; you could say something like that. Her name is Lily, and we want to get her an I.D., but she is a little nervous around men, could I ask for a private room?"

'Her name is May; she seems cute and energetic,' I thought to myself, giving May a smile, my ears twitching happily with hers.

"Of course, please follow me," May answered excitedly, giving me a warm smile back. After Yuki and I followed May into a quiet room with two couches and a table in between, May gestured for us to sit down. When it was just us, my body instantly relaxed.

"Lily, do you feel better now?" Yami asked, seeing my tension go away.

"Yes, that was really scary, you know," my ears twitched as I answered her with a smile of relief.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Yuki giggled.

"It can be overwhelming for new people in there, especially coming in with an honored adventurer like the Sage. It is nice to meet you; my name is May, and I am the lead receptionist at the guild," May said, sticking out her hand.

I grabbed her hand and shook it while introducing myself, "It is nice to meet you too, May."

"We would like to get her an I.D. made by registering her with the guild. I know that confidence over a person's skills and titles is very important within the guild, but I need to emphasize the importance of it in regard to Lily," Yuki looked at us with a smile before it became one of seriousness.

May looked at me, her ears twitching with curiosity, before looking back at Yuki, "Of course, we keep everything confidential, but why such an emphasis on Lily?"

"You will see when you register her status," Yuki answered with a slight smile.

"If you say so, but to think the Solo Sage would come in with someone, a newbie for that matter," May sighed, getting the papers ready for me to fill out.

I tilted my head in puzzlement, "Yuki, what do they mean when they call you Solo Sage? I know your magic abilities, but why solo?"

Yuki gave me a look that seemed to show some loneliness and answered, "When I do adventure work, I always do my quests solo, in other words, by myself."

I gave Yuki a loving smile, while holding her hand, and asked, "Does that mean you put yourself in danger and have done hard jobs by yourself without any help?"

"Yes, but because of my abilities, it seemed people thought they would just get in the way, even when I asked for help for jobs I wasn't sure about. It has been like this ever since I mastered my magic, so I have gotten used to it," Yuki answered honestly, but I could see that she was really lonely when she talked about it; it wasn't the warm, loving, and happy gaze I received from her.

"Hehe, they dared to let Yuki put herself in danger just because they thought they would get in the way even after being recognized for their skills, being asked for help," I could feel a strong anger filling up my body, and my smile morphed into something that didn't reach my eyes.

"Eeek!" May squealed when she looked at Yuki and me, though I couldn't understand why.

"Lily, I'm okay now; I don't feel lonely anymore; I have you," Yuki said with a smile while rubbing my ears, calming my anger down.

"You promise?" I asked, looking at her directly in the eyes; I no longer saw the lonely look.

"I promise," Yuki answered.

"Then I want us to be a party together; I don't want you doing dangerous quests alone. Besides, when I register, I will be doing quests too, and you said you would protect me," I said, looking at her with pleading eyes as my ears twitched with anticipation.

Yuki smiled at me and nodded her head before looking at May, who seemed to get over her shock earlier and was looking at us with sparkling eyes again, and asked, "May, after Lily registers, can we register as a party too?"

"O...of course, is Lily not a newbie adventurer you are helping. Could you two actually be in a relationship or something? You two seem like you have known each other for a long time," May asked, coming back from her daze, her tail swaying in excitement.

Yuki and I giggled, and Yuki replied, "Something like that; you will find out after checking Lily's status and updating mine."

"Okay, Lily, please fill out these forms, and then you will put your hand on this orb, and it will register your status with the guild and create your adventurer I.D. After doing so, we will determine your starting rank from your current level and status," May answered, showing slight confusion at first before going into business mode.

I did as I was told and filled out my name, race, age, and level on the form and gave them back to May, who had me place my hand on the orb and told me to chant my status out loud.

Gasps of awe and confusion came from May as she saw my status screen. Then she started bowing, saying, "To think you were the new hero, and to be blessed by the Love Goddess and have the Harem Queen title, the rarest title a hero can receive, I am sorry if I was rude for my questions earlier."

"Please raise your head; you weren't rude at all; in fact, I would like for us to be friends," I answered honestly with a genuine happy smile.

"Gaagh!" May made a sound as if she got taken out by a lethal weapon, and she seemed to be holding her hand under her nose like she was trying to stop a nosebleed.

I tilted my head in puzzlement by her reaction. "Are you okay?" I asked with a look of worry.

"Yes, I am fine; I feel like I just saw a Goddess in person," May answered while blushing heavily.

Yuki laughed and replied, "I know the feeling; if I was any weaker, I would have reacted the same as you."

"What is it?" I asked, looking back and forth at Yuki and May, who were giving each other an understanding look.

“Nothing to worry about,” Yuki replied while patting my head.

‘I feel like I am getting distracted again, but it feels good.’ I thought myself.

“Seeing Lily’s status, I understand why you emphasized strict confidentiality, but if she has the Harem Queen, and seeing you two being so close, does that mean you are...?” May replied and began to ask when Yuki stopped her.

“It will be better to understand by seeing my status.” Yuki answered before putting her hand to the orb and chanting status.

May gasped in awe when she saw Yuki’s status, “I was right, you have the title of First Wife of the Harem Queen now and a new skill.”

Yuki laughed, and replied, “Yes, I do, however please don’t get any ideas I was affected by Lily’s status, even if I wasn’t destined to be her first wife, I would still join on my own.”

“Of course.” May replied with a bright smile.

My tummy started growling again, I guess those chicken skewers didn’t tie me over very long. I blushed and hid my face in my ears, so Yuki and May couldn’t see me.

“I don’t want to rush, but Lily seems to be getting hungry, and we still need go to the inn as well. I will explain the guild’s ranks and systems to her, so can we receive her starting rank and I.D. and register as a party?” Yuki giggled before asking.

May laughed as well, and answered while my adventurer’s ID, “Of course, Lily with your current status and level you will start at rank F, but as you improve and get stronger you can update your status and move up in rank. Now for the party registration, you two will put your hands on the orb and chant status at the same time and then say the name of the party you would like to register as, do you two have a name in mind?”

Yuki looked at me said, “I will let you pick the name.”

I pondered to myself for a second and then whispered in her the name I came up with.

“I love it, it sounds perfect. Let’s register.” Yami told me before we both put our hands on the orb once again and chanted status, after which we both said in unison, “Our party's name is Love’s Bouquet.”

“You have successfully registered as a party, you can accept up to B rank missions as a party which is the median between Lily’s F rank and Yuki’s SS rank, and you can also now find each other when you are separated on a quest or in general, now I will let you two go eat.” May smiled before walking us out of the private room. I grabbed Yuki’s hand as we went back into the hustle and bustle of the guild.

“Thank you May.” Yuki said her thanks.

“Thank you for everything, May.” I gingerly say my thanks as well.

“No thank you needed; I hope to see you two soon for a quest. Now go have fun visiting the town together.” May replied with a smile.

We made our way out of the guild while still being whispered about and stared at, and we both breathed in a breath of fresh air.

“Are you ready to see the town of Hudgel, Lily?” Yuki asked me with a warm smile.

“Mm, I can’t wait, but maybe food first.” I answered, and we both started laughing as Yuki and I started making our way to an inn to eat.