The next day, the group met up again to set out to headquarters, reuniting at the usual spot in front of The Chalice. Surprisingly, the first one to arrive was Lyra—even though both Ascalon and Lilithra only needed to step outside to be there! Perhaps now that Starugnia’s matters were settled and she had officially joined their Guild, Lyra was feeling more eager and motivated—that or she had luck with her train!
Either way, Selorien appeared shortly after, and with cheerful greetings exchanged, they all headed out to headquarters. Along the way, Lyra and Lilithra talked about various things, and eventually touched on the subject of Levi’s invitation to the Guild.
“He said he’s grateful and would think about it.” Lyra told them with a wide smile. “But I know him well—he’s just too prideful to accept right away, but I’m sure he’ll come around eventually, hehe.” She chirped as her ears twitched cutely, earning a gentle head pat from Lilithra.
“Alright! We won’t push him—we’ll be patient!” Lilithra declared with an assured tone, nodding a few times to herself. Lyra blushed slightly under the physical affection, but seemed quite content nonetheless.
The calm atmosphere lingered until they finally reached their destination. Once inside, they immediately made their way to the counter, making sure to not bump into anyone in the bustling crowd. It was as hectic and lively as ever, but they managed to navigate just fine.
Lilithra, as the proud leader, stepped forward and addressed one of the staff members behind the counter.
“Hello! We would like to take on a quest!” Lilithra exclaimed with excitement, her big eyes sparkling with cheerful anxiousness. The receptionist smiled at her and glanced at the group before responding.
“Welcome!” She greeted with a small bow. “A quest? Certainly.” She added, pressing on invisible keys before her. “Guild name?” The receptionist asked, and Lilithra didn’t hesitate to answer.
“The Knights of the Braveheart Vigil!” She replied confidently, her voice ringing with pride. Her response drew a few murmurs from around her.
“Wha—what a long name.” One voice could be heard from the crowd, complaining about their Guild name.
“Kinda awkward to say…” Another chimed in with a sigh.
Ascalon frowned as he listened, his expression showing clear irritation at the rude remarks. While he thought he should ignore them, he couldn’t help but think these people should mind their own business. Meanwhile, the receptionist smiled nervously as she worked, likely trying to maintain her professionalism. After a few, silent moments, she raised her voice again.
“I’m sorry, but there’s no official quests available for your current rank.” She began, causing Lilithra and the rest to falter, their motivation plummeting. “But you can check the public quest board! I’m pretty sure there are some quests more fitting to your rank there.” She explained in a cheerful tone, pointing toward another counter in the room.
Everyone followed the staff member’s gaze and saw a floating screen in the distance, similar to the ones that displayed the rankings but clearly serving another purpose.
Lilithra showed the staff member a gentle grin and bowed slightly in appreciation. “Thank you!” She exclaimed as she led the way toward the other counter, with the rest following close behind. Ascalon made sure to nod at the receptionist before continuing, to show his appreciation for her help, but she was already busy taking care of another guest. It seemed like tough work!
Once the group stood in front of the hovering screen, they took a moment to scan the contents displayed in it. The words ‘Public Quest Board’ were displayed prominently at the top, while the rest of the screen was filled with boxes that appeared to resemble sheets of paper.
The sight reminded Ascalon of the old bounties and requests he used to find when visiting taverns or town halls with his knights, but in a far more digitized way. Perhaps the design was meant to evoke that kind of nostalgic image, he thought.
“Oh, neat!” Selorien suddenly exclaimed as he joined Lilithra’s side, earning curious gazes from the rest. He then reached out, pressing on a button that read ‘Sort by Ranking.’ The group watched in awe as the boxes shifted and rearranged, with many of them quickly disappearing from the display.
After the sorting was finished, the screen showed the words ‘rank C and below’, accompanied by a total of four quests. Lilithra’s excitement surged as she bounced slightly in place, her joy more than evident. Her motivation garnered warm, gentle stares from her friends.
“Alright! Let’s see…” She murmured with an eager grin on her face as she started pinching on the quests, enlarging their boxes one by one. The group huddled closer, carefully inspecting the contents of each quest with curiosity.
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Maid’s needed! - Rank F -
We need someone to cover one of our girl’s shifts this weekend at our maid café, Lovely Cuties!
Girls from every race are welcome! We’ll provide the maid uniform and serve you tasty desserts after your shift!
Location provided >here.<
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Lost my flute. - Rank E -
Hello, I would like to request help to find my flute, an heirloom left by my late father. Let’s discuss details in person, please.
>Contact me here.<
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Looking for herbs. - Rank C -
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
We’re from the alchemist’s Guild Perfummer’s Dream, and we’re looking for someone to go and gather some Snow Lurian herbs from the Howling Chasm.
The herbs grow in the snowy part. We’ll tell you more details once you contact us. We don’t take responsibility for injuries or whatnot, so only experienced dungeoneers, please.
>Guild contact.<
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I want a girlfriend. - Rank F -
This is embarrassing but my parents are coming to visit from Caldenoire, and I kind of lied to them about having a girlfriend so they wouldn’t worry much about me.
I don’t want them to be disappointed so I would like to rent a girlfriend for the entire next week. We’ll shop, eat, and show my parents around. No indecent stuff. Unless? Haha, just kidding.
Only black haired girls if possible.
>Contact.<
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Ascalon nodded thoughtfully at the information, thinking most of these looked more like simple errands rather than quests, and sighed deeply as he finished reading the last one.
“That one… kinda irks me for some reason.” Lilithra said in a worried tone, grimacing as she gestured toward the last quest. Lyra nodded a few times at her side, clearly sharing her thoughts, while Selorien smiled mischievously.
“Poor guy, cut him some slack… but yeah, that ‘just kidding hehe’ part? Creepy as hell.” The elf replied with a mocking tone, with Ascalon agreeing in his mind. That did sound weird and inappropriate, but well, it was none of their business.
The rest of the quests were quite normal, at least. The maid request had piqued Ascalon’s curiosity, and he wondered if Escarlata would accept that kind of mission if she were there. The one about the missing heirloom made him feel a bit sad for the quest giver, thinking that losing such a precious item was indeed a tragedy.
But the one that managed to grab most of Ascalon’s attention was the herb-gathering quest at the Howling Chasm, without a doubt. The familiar name made some memories of their last visit resurface, and a soft chuckle escaped his lips just as Selorien spoke up again.
“Hey, pick the maid one!” Selorien suggested with cheerfulness, his tone trying—to no avail—to mask the pure mischievousness behind his wide grin. Lilithra narrowed her eyes and shot him an irritated stare, and then glanced over at Lyra, who looked distraught. Lilithra and Ascalon followed the Felinae’s gaze, worried about her downcast expression.
She was looking at the rank C quest, and they both soon realized—it was the dungeon where Ian had betrayed her Guild. How could they forget? Lilithra frowned with concern, and Ascalon lamented thinking about that quest so carelessly, but was thankful for not having voiced his thoughts aloud.
Amidst the heavy mood, Lilithra’s face lit up as an idea flashed across her mind. Puffing out her chest with confidence, she grabbed onto Lyra and squished her cheeks against hers.
“I mean, we would probably look the most adorable as maids!” She exclaimed out of nowhere, bringing Lyra back to reality. The cat girl looked flustered, her cheeks rapidly reddening at Lilithra’s words.
Ascalon sighed and shook his head, reprimanding Selorien’s antics in his mind… just as he began picturing the girls in elegant maid attire, like the one that Escarlata usually donned. The always energetic Lilithra would make for a cheerful and playful maid, and would perhaps adorn her outfit with cute characters or symbols for a unique flair.
Lyra, on the other hand, would probably attract a lot of attention too, both because of her small yet plump figure and her timid demeanor. He could picture her in a more cute, pastel-colored attire, with frills and ribbons carefully embroidered into the clothing.
Ascalon then let out a worried sigh, rubbing his face with his palm and wondering just where those kinds of thoughts had come from. It was most likely Selorien’s influence, so he would silently blame him! Just then, Lyra nervously spoke up, interrupting his train of thoughts.
“Uhm, c—can we take the herb-gathering quest?” She asked shyly, yet her clenched fists and resolute stare showed a burning conviction. Lilithra pried away from her, slightly surprised, but soon smiled gently.
“Okay.” She replied in a soft tone, causing Selorien and Ascalon to exchange glances, grinning to each other.
Time and time again, Lyra would show them she wasn’t as fragile as they thought, even if she exuded the image of a small, cute animal. She didn’t seem to want to be held back by bad memories, and perhaps going to the Howling Chasm would help her put a closure to Ian''s ordeal.
“I was interested in that quest, too. Thank you for proposing it, Lyra.” Ascalon chimed in with tenderness in his voice, and Lyra nodded at him, smiling. Lilithra giggled as she fiddled with her interface, while Selorien let out a contented sigh and let his gaze drift around the room.
“I’ll contact their Guild. Give me a second, everyone!” Lilithra announced as she walked to a less crowded corner of the room, producing her phone on the way. Ascalon watched her go, and then mimicked Selorien, glancing around the room to keep himself entertained. The amount of people coming and going was always a sight to behold, yet it looked even busier than other times they had visited.
“Hmm… I wonder if something is going on.” The knight murmured to himself as he stroked his chin, his sole eye scanning his surroundings with eagerness. He had become quite the curious one too, and he, once again, blamed Selorien—and his other friends, just to be fair! Just before his gaze wandered further, Lilithra came back, skipping joyfully with a wide grin on her face.
“They, or, well, we accepted the quest!” She stammered with slight nervousness, her excitement clear. It was the first quest they would do for a complete stranger—and that it didn’t involve a friend or headquarters—so it was to be expected that Lilithra would feel so happy about it! Everyone smiled at her, sharing in her joy, as she spoke up again.
“Alright, so. We have to find these!” Lilithra showed them a picture on her phone: a white flower with small petals, surrounded by a bushy grass of the same color. “They’re rare to find because of their color, duh!” She added, chuckling at the thought.
Ascalon nodded at her words, listening intently, while Lyra admired the beautiful flower with a longing look. Selorien, uninterested as usual, yawned as he waited for Lilithra to continue.
“They need the grass-looking thing, not the flower itself! But they said they don’t mind if we bring them whole—because they’re cute!” Lilithra explained with a playful grin, earning chuckles from her friends.
“There’s no time limit or anything, but they won’t pay us if we don’t deliver, ‘even if we spend days looking for them’ haha.” She laughed awkwardly, and Ascalon raised an eyebrow before replying.
“That sounds quite unreasonable!” He complained in a stern tone, with Lyra shyly agreeing and Selorien smirking. “Time is valuable, is it not? If not, they should gather the herbs themselves!” Ascalon finished with a resounding ‘hmph!’, causing Lilithra to giggle.
“Don’t worry, we just have to find them! It’s our first quest so I want us to do it! And we might find some loot in the dungeon itself!” She exclaimed with utmost confidence, puffing out her chest. Ascalon wanted to retort but soon realized she was right. He sighed and smiled gently, thinking that they should enjoy their first quest rather than complain.
“You are right, let us do our best!” He chirped with cheerfulness, his earlier irritation completely gone. Lyra clapped a few times, clearly animated, and Selorien raised his hands in a lazy attempt at excitement. With her friends in agreement, Lilithra nodded resolutely and stepped forward, heading toward the exit.
“Let’s go, everyone!” She commanded with a joyful grin, and the group promptly followed. It was time to revisit one of their earliest adventures—the Howling Chasm!