“Master!”
Lifa called out several times, but Ron still didn’t respond.
Seeing that her verbal calls were ineffective, the ignored girl puffed out her cheeks and bit her lip with her little canine teeth.
“Huu—”
Her emerald-green eyes blinked a few times before Lifa simply reached out, placed her hand on Ron’s shoulder, and gently blew a breath of air into his ear.
*Saa—*
A warm flow of air carrying a sweet scent entered his ear canal, and Ron snapped awake instantly.
“Master, what happened to you just now? I’ve noticed you’ve been absentminded lately.”
Lifa couldn’t help but feel a bit worried about Ron’s state. But then, thinking that the more he was like this, the more he needed to rely on her, she lowered her head and naturally hugged Ron’s arm.
“Ah, it’s nothing, nothing’s wrong.”
Ron could still feel a chill running down his spine as he answered Lifa. Looking at the portrait under the bounty that resembled his own features, he let out a dry laugh, nearly exposing himself.
“Haha, who—who is this? I wonder who put a bounty on my name… Oh, I mean, on this person whose name is similar to mine.”
Ever since they set out from the village, Ron had imagined countless times that he would cross paths with the girls whose feelings he had toyed with.
And this wanted poster was the first time he truly felt their presence and… their resentment.
“It must be a very wealthy person. Five hundred thousand gold coins—Lifa can’t even calculate how many things that could be exchanged for.”
Lifa nodded simply, not paying any attention to the hidden meaning in Ron’s words.
Rhein Virgil.
This name was precisely one of the aliases Ron had used in the past.
He had understood the source of the bounty the moment he saw the dragon tooth badge, which symbolized the Empress of the Northern Empire.
“Sigh—”
Ron sighed, searching the noisy guild hall for the counter to process adventurer credentials.
He still held onto a glimmer of hope.
After all, even the Kingdom of Falosa, to which Gaderade belonged, was considered a remote ‘backwater’ far from the center of the continent.
Perhaps they would leave him a ‘growth period,’ allowing him to slowly raise little Lifa until he had the strength to protect himself.
“Let’s go, Lifa.”
Ron spotted his target after looking around, but he couldn’t help but glance back at that bounty one more time before walking over with Lifa.
“Master, this is for you.”
As the two approached the counter for adventurer registration, Lifa remembered Ron saying earlier that each person needed to pay a fee of five silver coins.
She took ten silver coins out of the storage pendant hanging at her chest.
“Good afternoon. Are you two here to register as adventurers?”
A receptionist in a dark green uniform stood behind the service counter.
“Yes, I would like to register as a Bronze-rank adventurer.”
Ron stepped forward.
Since the Adamantite-rank Lifa wanted to skip levels to register for required an examination, he planned to finish his own registration first and personally demonstrate the process of filling out the forms.
“Thank you.”
Ron had filled out similar forms countless times in his past saves. He completed it with fluid motions and pushed it toward the receptionist.
“I see. Mr. Ron, is that correct? There are no issues with what you’ve filled out. You only need to pay five silver coins, and after I take a blood sample collection, I can grant you your badge.”
The receptionist bowed slightly, but the expression on Ron’s face became unnatural.
“Why do you need to take a blood sample?”
This was something Ron had never experienced in his dozens of previous saves. This change in what was almost game common knowledge made him instantly sense an uneasy atmosphere.
“Please don’t misunderstand. This is a new regulation enacted by headquarters three years ago. We are doing this to better and more formally serve all adventurers.”
Clearly, the receptionist had a prepared set of talking points. She even took out an oddly shaped magic tool to bolster her persuasion.
“We will use this tool to turn your blood sample into a special record for our archives.”
“It will be sent to the guild headquarters for storage. If you encounter danger during an adventure, this can not only be used for subsequent identification but also makes it convenient for your family and friends to use this record to post requests related to you.”
The receptionist’s phrasing and rhetoric were extremely clever and tactful, and her tone suggested she was entirely ‘looking out for you.’
Ron caught the expression of Lifa constantly nodding in agreement and knew this innocent child had already been talked into it.
“Ahem.”
He cleared his throat twice.
“It is indeed a meaningful new regulation. But I imagine that blood sample’s greater purpose is to prevent anyone from using multiple identities to register as an adventurer.”
As someone who had used multiple aliases, Ron had naturally registered various adventurer identities under different names many times before.
That was why he could pinpoint the core of this new regulation so accurately.
“Perhaps, but I am just an ordinary staff member.”
The receptionist gave a professional smile.
“Is the blood sample collection mandatory?”
Ron asked after thinking for a moment.
“Of course it is mandatory. Please believe that it will be properly kept at the adventurer’s guild headquarters.”
“You should know that there are several Rank 8 Legendary adventurers stationed there permanently.”
The receptionist’s gaze now seemed to be urging Ron to make a decision, but Ron simply gave a polite refusal.
“Fine, I’ll think about it some more. Please process this lady’s Adamantite-rank adventurer registration first.”
The adventurer’s guild’s reasoning and purpose were impeccable, but the unease Ron felt regarding this change persisted.
“Lifa.”
He nudged Lifa with his arm, only to see the girl staring intently at a certain spot.
“Lifa, it’s your turn to fill out the form. What are you looking at?”
Ron moved aside from the counter and looked in the direction Lifa was staring.
“Master, I feel like that person has been staring at you. He is very dangerous.”
There, on the stair landing leading from the second floor to the first, stood a figure completely wrapped in a grey hooded robe.
“Is that so?”
He couldn’t even see the person’s face clearly. Ron, however, hadn’t felt any gaze on him.
“Lifa, fill out the form first. There’s still an exam for skipping ranks.”
Ron patted Lifa’s shoulder to have her sit down and fill out the form. When he turned back to continue observing the mysterious person, they were already gone.
“Miss Lifa, are you sure you want to register as an Adamantite-rank adventurer?”
Registering for a higher rank was clearly a rare occurrence in Gaderade. After taking the form Lifa had filled out, the receptionist did not immediately take the silver coins or begin the blood collection.
“First of all, you will need to participate in an evaluation and battle with our designated examiner. He has at least Rank 4 strength. It is very likely you will be injured in the fight.”
The receptionist advised her with a serious tone.
“Well~ I won’t lose. Master, didn’t you say I’m also a Rank 4 Swordsman?”
Lifa didn’t care at all, and Ron, standing beside her, was equally confident.
“It’s fine. I believe in little Lifa.”
Seeing that the two were adamant, the receptionist said no more. She stated that she needed to go to the second floor to ask the guild higher-ups to arrange an examiner, then left the counter.
Ron actually knew about the subsequent exam. He immediately took his voided registration form and drew a somewhat messy map on the back for Lifa.
“Lifa, the exam will take one or two hours, and I can’t be present. So, take this for now.”
After marking the location of the inn on the map, Ron had Lifa put it away.
“Master, are you leaving first?”
“Yeah, I need to go buy some necessities. Meet me at the inn when your exam is over, Lifa.”
Ron didn’t want to sit around and wait at the adventurer’s guild. He patted Lifa’s head, said a few more words of encouragement, and then walked straight out onto the street.
Just as Ron’s foot stepped out of the guild’s main entrance, the receptionist and the mysterious figure in the grey robe came down the stairs almost simultaneously.
“My Lady, is something wrong?”
The receptionist carefully stood by as the mysterious person stopped.
The latter watched Ron’s retreating figure until he disappeared into the crowd on the street, and only then did they walk toward the waiting girl.
“Miss Lifa, please follow me. This lady will be the examiner responsible for this test.”
“You may call her Lady Ash.”
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