Mildiesta Town Guild

Mildiesta, Kingdom of Hensberg, Northern Continent.

"Goodbye, Elena-sama and Ryuji-sama! May the Sun God bless your journey!"

Raff-san shouted while waving at us from a distance.

"Yes, thank you, Raff-san. May the Sun God bless you as well!"

Now, Ryuji-san and I have arrived in the city of Mildiesta, one of the busiest cities in the Kingdom of Hensberg. Mildiesta is a city renowned for its thousands of festivals. A lively city filled with music, celebrations... and of course... sake.

The sake in Mildiesta is the finest in the Kingdom of Hensberg. One could say that the sake of Mildiesta is the kingdom's mascot. Merchants from other kingdoms come to Mildiesta just to purchase sake here. Mildiesta's sake is even said to be the best on the Northern Continent… Ahem... That's actually what the people in Toffa Village say.

Of course...

I wouldn't know how good the sake here is since I've never tried it myself. After all, I'm only sixteen years old. So, naturally, I avoid it. Father Dante, the head priest of the Sun Temple in Toffa Village, always told me to steer clear of alcoholic beverages.

"Listen, sake is a curse. Remember this well, Elena! A CURSE! Never ever try it, understand?"

Though in the end, he'd always run off and… end up partying with sake alongside the uncles in Toffa Village. I saw Father Dante's bad habit almost every day.

And whenever that happened, Eri-san, a nun at the Sun Temple, would always tell me:

"Elena... don't ever follow Father Dante's foolishness, UNDERSTAND?"

Yes... Eri-san, I would never do such a thing. In my opinion, people who drink sake are fools. I mean, their breath becomes awful after drinking it. And then there's the occasional uncle who even ends up vomiting everywhere. And even knowing all of that, they still gulp down that foul-smelling drink! Hah!

How can they get addicted to such a 'foul' beverage?

You could say Mildiesta is a city of commerce. On every street corner here, vendors line up to sell their goods.

"Miss... Wouldn't you like to buy my perfume?"

Suddenly, a voice came from my left. I turned my face to see a lady flaunting her perfume right in front of my face. Right in my face!

Isn't this too close, Ma'am?!

I stepped back slightly to create some distance between us. Waving both hands, I said,

"Ah... No, no, thank you very much."

But then the lady came closer again and whispered right into my right ear,

"Miss... This perfume can make your handsome boyfriend even more smitten with you! He'll keep 'holding you' all night long!"

What?! No! Eh... What is this lady saying?! And what does she mean by 'smitten'? And 'holding'! Ryuji-san holding me?!

My whole face felt hot. My head spun, imagining everything that lady just said. Before I realized it, my body wobbled slightly backward, bumping into Ryuji-san.

He caught my shoulders with both hands and said,

"Are you alright, Elena-san?"

At that moment, I felt a tingling sensation spread all over me. Ah... How foolish of me!

Alright? No! I'm definitely not alright! Especially after hearing that strange lady's words.

Quickly, and as soon as I could, I grabbed Ryuji-san's hand and hurried away from there. Right... I had to get far away from that strange lady. This is truly humiliating!

"Miss, don't you want to buy this for your boyfriend, too? It'll make him love you even more!"

The lady kept shouting from afar. She continued saying such mortifying things loudly. What exactly is wrong with that strange lady?! Right now, I was too embarrassed to even look at Ryuji-san's face as I dragged him away.

"Elena-san… Could it be that woman thinks I'm your boyfriend?"

Ah... Ryuji-san! How could you ask such a blunt question?!

"So what did she whisper that made your face and ears turn so red?"

Please stop asking such foolish questions! You're so clueless about the mood, Ryuji-san!

I couldn't hold back anymore…

I let out a long breath, trying to calm myself. Then I raised my right leg high in the air, gathering all my strength.

"What are you doing, Elena-san?"

Ryuji-san asked, confused by what I was about to do.

And then…

Thud!

I swung my leg as hard as I could and kicked Ryuji-san's leg. This oblivious man! To make him stop asking me such silly questions.

"Oww… Oww… What are you doing, Little Girl!"

He hopped in pain on one foot, holding his now victimized ankle with both hands. But I didn't care. A moment later, I strode away quickly, leaving this clueless man in front of me.

"Hey... Little Girl! Where are you going? Hey... hey!"

This is so embarrassing. How can Ryuji-san be so clueless when it comes to women? I mean, women's feelings!

I ran off, covering my face with both hands, trying to hide the embarrassment I felt.

Now I know one definite thing: the hero I summoned to this world, Ryuji Honda, is a man utterly clueless about women.

Yes... absolutely!

-------------------

In front of us now stood a door, with loud noises clearly audible behind it. This was the door to the Mildiesta Guild. The home of adventurers in the City of Mildiesta.

"Huh… let's go inside, Ryuji-san."

"Ah… yeah."

At least, I believed Ryuji-san and I had reconciled by now.

Before we arrived here…

After that embarrassing incident with the perfume seller auntie, Ryuji-san ran after me. He found me sitting alone, hugging my suitcase. He approached me and said,

"Are you still angry, Elena-san?"

At that time, I stared at him with a frown. Ryuji-san continued speaking,

"Yeah… I'm sorry. Although I'm not sure where I went wrong. Can you stop avoiding me?"

Honestly, I felt a little guilty for venting my frustration at Ryuji-san. He hadn't done anything wrong. The real problem was his obliviousness, his complete inability to understand a woman's feelings!

Earlier, I was just embarrassed, deeply embarrassed by what that strange perfume seller auntie said. So… yeah… I decided it would be best to forget about it.

"No…"

I then stood up and continued,

"Let's just put it behind us. Let's head to the Mildiesta Guild in the middle of the city."

And here we were now, standing before the door of the Mildiesta Guild.

Upon opening the door and stepping inside, the sounds and sights of merriment became even clearer. Adventurers sang together while some played musical instruments. Many of them laughed uproariously, their faces red and their bodies swaying. They were clearly drunk—even though it was still broad daylight.

Freedom, joy, and the smell of sake. That was my first impression upon entering this hall.

"Ah… young lady? What brings you here?"

An older man sitting at a nearby table addressed me. He appeared to be having a good time with his friends.

"Excuse me, sir. We've come from Toffa Village and intend to register as adventurers."

"Ha ha ha ha…"

Suddenly, he burst out laughing at my response. Then he turned toward the crowd and started shouting.

"Hey… everyone, listen up! We've got ourselves a young couple who wants to join our ranks as adventurers!"

They all burst into boisterous laughter together.

What?! Please stop this! Why does everyone always misunderstand my relationship with Ryuji-san?

"Pardon me, sir! Please stop! We are not a couple."

I replied, feeling an overwhelming surge of embarrassment. How could this man yell so loudly without even confirming the facts with us?!

Oh… this wasn't good. I wanted to rely on Ryuji-san... but... I was far too mortified to even look at him.

"What? A handsome young man traveling with a pretty girl isn't a couple? Then what are you? Siblings?"

"No…"

I replied with my head lowered, my voice barely audible. This was beyond embarrassing!

"Hah! Not, you say! Hey… young man… are you even alright?"

The man turned his attention to Ryuji-san. What was he trying to do now?!

"Why would you let a girl this beautiful go to waste?"

"I…?!"

Ryuji-san stammered, pointing a finger at himself, clearly confused by the drunkard's remark.

"Ha ha ha ha ha… are you even a man, kid?"

The drunkard laughed harder, his outburst echoing through the hall.

This was utterly humiliating!

At this moment, I could only bow my head in an attempt to hide my burning embarrassment.

Suddenly, a voice came from the front of the room.

"Enough, Seth-san! Stop teasing them!"

"Apologies, Anna-san."

Hearing this voice, the drunk man fell silent, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

And the voice belonged to a woman with pointed ears and beautifully dark skin. Without a doubt, this woman was a Dark Elf.

She appeared to be in her twenties, with an alluringly stunning face. This was the captivating beauty unique to a mature woman.

"Pardon me if you felt uncomfortable, young lady."

She said while smiling at me—a smile accentuated by her sensuous lips. This was a deadly weapon against men, no doubt!

Was this what they called the charm of a mature woman?

"And you are, sir?"

She turned her gaze toward Ryuji-san.

"I am the guardian of the young lady before you."

I was startled by Ryuji-san's response. Reflexively, I turned my face toward him. Yet, he simply looked back at me with a subtle smile.

"Ah… I see. At least I now understand your purpose for being here. Allow me to escort you to the registration counter over there."

She said as she gestured toward a counter at the far-right corner near the stairs.

As she guided us to the counter, I couldn't help but ask the Dark Elf.

"So, your name is Anna?"

"Yes… do you recall it?"

"Of course! That drunken man quite clearly addressed you as Anna."

"Do you dislike Seth-san, young lady?"

"A little… actually... maybe a lot!"

After all, that peculiar old man had embarrassed me in front of everyone in the hall.

Miss Anna chuckled softly.

"Please forgive Mr. Seth, young lady. He's truly a kind man but has a habit of teasing young adventurers here. However, he means no harm—I can personally vouch for that. May I know your name?"

"I am… Elena. Elena Fearis."

"Well, Elena-san, please fill out this registration form!"

Anna-san said while handing me a piece of paper.

"And this is for you, sir."

She handed another form to Ryuji-san, drawing closer to him. Wait… wasn't she a bit too close?!

"You're quite reserved, sir. May I ask for your name?"

Oh no… was Anna-san trying to flirt with Ryuji-san?

"Ryuji… Ryuji Honda."

"Ah… what an unusual name."

Once again, she leaned in even closer, flashing a sly smile.

"Most men would ask me many things. Aren't you curious about me, Ryuji-san?"

Hold on… wasn't this Dark Elf being far too brazen with her flirtation? How could she not feel awkward—or at least consider my presence? Was this the confidence of an unabashedly bold woman?

"No… I don't feel any need to know about you."

But… Ryuji-san responded in a completely flat tone. Absolutely flat! As expected of Ryuji-san. Excellent! Show her just how oblivious and unromantic you can be, Ryuji-san!

"Oh… pardon me if I intruded. Please fill out the forms I handed over earlier. I'll step aside for now."

Anna-san left to enter the room behind the registration counter in front of us. She must have been embarrassed by Ryuji-san's flat response. Take that!

"Elena-san, could you help me fill out this form?"

I stared at Ryuji-san for a moment, lost in thought. How could a man be this clueless about women? Was Ryuji-san still a virgin? No… no… that's impossible!

Of course, I'm a virgin too. But Ryuji-san's behavior was beyond what adult men usually do. That's why I felt a bit awkward, or rather, curious.

"Elena-san? Why are you silent? Did I do something wrong again?"

"Ah… no!"

What was I thinking? Stop thinking weird things, Elena!

Hurriedly, I grabbed the paper he offered me and began filling it out. Focus, Elena!

I began to fill out the form…

And…

Place of residence?

I left it blank. No one could know that Ryuji-san was someone summoned to this world using the Hero Summoning Spell.

Before long, Anna-san returned carrying a Mana Crystal to measure our ranks.

"Well, Elena-san, please place your palm on this crystal."

I placed my hand on it, and my class and rank were displayed.

"Ah… you have the Priest class with light magic, and… your level is Rank C."

As expected… I didn't have high expectations. At least Rank C was decent for a beginner.

"And Ryuji-san… please place your hand on the crystal too."

Now it was Ryuji-san's turn.

To be honest, I was quite curious about Ryuji-san's rank. He placed his palm on the crystal, which began to glow. My heart pounded slightly as I awaited the crystal's reading.

"This is amazing, Ryuji-san!"

Anna-san's shout startled me.

"You are a Swordmaster class with Rank S! This is the first time the Mildiesta Guild has received a new adventurer at Rank S. Congratulations, Ryuji-san!"

"Wooaaaaaah!"

Anna-san's congratulations were nearly drowned out by the roaring cheers from all the adventurers in the guild hall.

I was left speechless, unable to process what I was hearing.

The hero I summoned turned out to be a Swordmaster with Rank S!

This was truly incredible!

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The first chapter of this story (5-7) is an introduction chapter for Elena Fearis and Honda Ryuji. Who are they and what is their life story?

This is an introduction chapter before we get into the first arc of this story.

So, stay tuned, okay?!