Adventurer's Card

Just as Miss Lucy took her leave, I was rammed to the side, startling me away from my daze. I turned to my right and looked down to see Em wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. She lifted her teary eyes up and gazed at me.

"Was it my fault, Day?" She asked desperately, her voice almost cracking into a whimper. "I'm so sorry for making you upset, Day… It was my fault that you left…"

I placed my hands on Em's shoulders cautiously and pushed her away from me. But just a moment after, she lunged back into me in another unbreakable hug.

Ari sat down at the opposite side of the table and sighed. "She's been even more down ever since she found out you were gone, you know."

"So you should probably have let her know before you just left like that," Abby added as she leaned into the table. "At least consider her feelings a bit, even if you don't care about ours."

I looked between Abby and Ari, then back at Em, who was still locking herself onto me tightly. I felt both comforted by her touch and moved by her tears, but I was even more embarrassed and annoyed by her clinging.

"E—Em…" I said, not knowing whether I should put my hand on her or not. She didn't lift her head from my clothes, but I continued anyway. "Em, it isn't your fault I decided to leave. I never even thought about staying with you guys for the long term in the first place. So please, just stop worrying about it."

She didn't move, and now I finally felt her wet tears soak into my shirt. I tried to shift away from her on the bench, but she kept her arms around me. How could I get out of this situation without forcing this girl away from me? And here I thought I'd finally be free to move on my own.

"You're really dense, you know?" Abby suddenly commented. She was eying me with a disapproving look. "She doesn't give a damn about who's fault it was."

"What do you…" Em's grip on me tightened, preventing me from continuing. It was already getting hard to breathe, but I made no effort to pry her arms off. Then, her muffled voice came through my clothes.

"Don't…"

I shifted my body with effort to turn closer in her direction. "What was that?"

She lifted her head just slightly, enough for her tearful blue eyes to peek through her now messy hair. When our eyes crossed, she sunk her head back into my side.

"Don't leave us!!"

I flinched. Her voice was still muffled, but I could still tell she was yelling. I quickly grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away from me again. I looked into her eyes, and she looked into mine, piercing my very soul. She sniffed and opened her mouth again, whispering a silent, "please."

No, it wasn't just the possibility of it being her fault that bothered her. And she probably didn't even care that it was my own decision to leave either. All she cared about…was just the fact that I was leaving. What had made this girl so attached to me?

"I…I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye to you earlier," I quickly said, breaking the lock between our eyes. If I keep looking at her sorry and pleading face, I might even be persuaded to join back into the team. That isn't what I wanted.

I took my hands off Em's shoulders and stood from the table. Looking at the reception area where I still had to get my ID card from, I could still feel her unwavering gaze on me. I took a deep breath and told myself to ignore those feelings that kept coming.

"I've already made my decision, Em. I'm not in your team anymore."

I left the table, walking towards the reception desks. Behind me, I heard Ari sigh with upset. I never looked back in that direction again, but I couldn't push the lingering memory of Em's helpless plea from my mind.

We have only known each other for less than a week now, right? Did she really think our "bond" was that strong already? I could hardly even call them friends rather than travel companions. So was there something I wasn't getting? Was this really a one-sided relationship?

"Sir? Do you need any help?" The polite voice of the woman behind the reception desk snapped me out of my thoughts. I had been standing in front of the counter staring at the woman without realizing it. She was looking at me uncomfortably.

"I—I'm sorry. I was just… thinking about stuff…"

She straightened her back and forced a warm smile. "Then, how can I help you today?"

"I just need a card."

"Well, you have come to the right place for that. Here, we not only genuine official government-issued cards, but they also come with a free adventuring contract."

Seems like I made the right decision coming here. Now, once I got my card, I could go back and send that letter to the princess. "That's nice," I replied to the reception lady, "but I don't plan on being an adventurer."

"That's a shame, then. If you would like to just receive a card of identification, then the card issue office is quite far away, on the other side of the palace. There is also usually a long line as not everybody wants to be an adventurer. But from the looks of it, I'm sure you'd love to be one."

The woman kept her forced smile when she finished. I sighed and looked at the exit. I really didn't want to be an adventurer. My only goal now was to meet up with my sister.

"I guess I'll go to that place then—"

"Oh, and did I mention all the benefits that come with becoming an adventurer? Not only will you earn money by accomplishing simple jobs, but you will also get special care from the guild and the government as well. That doesn't just include having a free pass to many places here in this timeline, but it also allows you to travel to any timeline as you please! You won't be limited to your birthplace and the Capital anymore!"

I blinked my eyes in surprise. Her personality just flipped instantly from helpful assistant to advertisement lady. "I still think—" I continued, but was cut off again.

"And the best part is you will be doing what you love! You will be paid only for the quests you finish, so it's okay if you take a break. It's the most flexible job out there, I promise. Many people consider adventuring as just a hobby, but of course, it can be a serious job that can earn you a living as well!"

This woman just isn't going to stop, is she? But to be honest, the offer sounded pretty tempting. Unlike the Imperial Army and the Magic Academy, I wouldn't be required to dedicate even an ounce of my time to this. All I needed was an ID card, and maybe I could do one of those "quests" once in a while to earn some money.

"Oh, have you changed your mind?" The woman continued when she saw me hesitate to leave. "There is no additional cost for registering for an adventurer's card than for a regular card at the government office."

I put my hand into my bag to find my coins. "How much will that be?" I asked

"Just 5000 Krons, Sir."

I took out five gold coins and placed them on the counter, but I hesitated to push them over. Was this really worth it? It sounded too good to be true. This wouldn't go against me in any way, right?

I looked at the many adventurers sitting across the room. There were young people, old people, people who looked weak, and people who were strong. If all these people were doing just fine, then it shouldn't be too much of a problem for me, either.

I slowly slid the coins across the counter. The woman grabbed them and placed a tablet down in their place. The screen displayed a long jumble of words on a white background.

"Here is the contract. Once you finish reading it, let me know so we can start your registration process. Of course, if you change your mind, we can always refund your money."

I picked the tablet up and swiped through the many pages. There were over twenty pages. Well, it was shorter than I expected, but I groaned at the thought of having to read through the entire thing. Unlike all those other terms of services I had skipped over in my life, this might actually be important.