“Lifa? You mean that girl who looks about the same age as my daughter is Lifa Serena?” Inside Enid’s Adventurer’s Guild, two middle-aged adventurers sitting in a corner of the hall began to whisper.
“That’s her. Look, that masked assistant is there too.”
The other adventurer pointed a finger at Ron, his tone exceptionally moved.
“It’s been so many years, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone in Enid skip ranks to be certified as an Adamantite-rank Adventurer. And she’s such a young and beautiful girl.”
“The assistant beside her is no simpleton either. I heard… the Countess meets with him at the mansion almost every day.”
The adventurer at the same table lowered his voice, acting mysterious.
“There’s such a thing? What does that guy even have to offer! Look at his relationship with Lady Lifa…”
The adventurers’ gazes drifted toward Ron and Lifa. The young girl, who had been walking ahead, intentionally slowed down.
When she was walking side-by-side with Ron, her hand hanging at her side flipped over. First, she lifted her pinky to hook onto Ron’s finger, then naturally let their hands entwine.
“Miss Receptionist, please give Lifa a registration form for certification!”
Lifa and Ron stopped in front of the window for adventurer certification. Lifa, who was already somewhat famous in Enid, waved at the receptionist.
“No problem. Has the assistant finally decided to register as an adventurer as well?”
The receptionist, dressed in the Adventurer’s Guild uniform, immediately found the data forms in the filing cabinet. She didn’t forget to greet Ron during the process.
“Yes, after all, having an adventurer’s identity is much more convenient. Besides, forming an adventurer party requires at least three adventurers.”
Ron sat down on a high wooden stool in front of the reception window. He felt a wave of emotion as he took the handed-over materials.
Two weeks had passed since he and Lifa bypassed Gaderade and reached Enid, a city closer to the magic beast forest.
Having experienced a real and painful lesson before, Ron became more determined and spared no effort in training and teaching Lifa after their heart-to-heart talk.
At the same time, relying on his understanding of game experience, he made full preparations in a short time to deal with a possible “reunion” in the future.
“Teacher, you wrote the name wrong—mmph!”
Lifa stood obediently by Ron’s side, waiting until she noticed the error in the name column.
She spoke up to remind him, which led a helpless Ron to gently pinch the soft flesh of Lifa’s leg under her skirt to signal her to stay quiet.
“Sorry, I did write it wrong.”
Ron met the receptionist’s scrutinizing gaze, changing a fictional name into another fictional name as if nothing had happened.
This was also a lesson learned from the last time. Although Isis kept saying she could smell his scent, Ron had realized on the way to the outskirts that Lifa’s radiant set had first drawn attention.
Later, Lifa had inadvertently outed him during the Q&A of the Adamantite-rank assessment.
So, the moment they arrived in Enid, Ron changed his hairstyle and clothing.
Most of the time, he wore a mask that covered the upper half of his face, and he repeatedly emphasized to Lifa that she must not tell anyone about him.
Fortunately, thanks to the previous confession, Lifa, who was afraid of her teacher being stolen away, managed to remain tight-lipped for once.
As a result, while stories of the “genius adventurer” Lifa began to spread through Enid, Ron’s name and identity remained “that masked assistant following Lifa.”
“So your name is Lorne? Alright, next I need to collect a blood sample from you.”
The receptionist picked up the form and examined it carefully, then took out the blood-sampling magic tool Ron had seen before.
“Please put your index finger inside. It will only take a moment.”
The receptionist pushed the palm-sized device in front of Ron. After a moment of hesitation, Ron decided to comply.
Even though he still felt uneasy about this registration process that clearly contradicted common sense, his need for an adventurer identity was more pressing.
“Alright, please wait a moment while I prepare your Bronze-rank Adventurer badge.”
The subsequent process went very smoothly. While waiting for the receptionist to return, Ron and Lifa chatted quietly.
“Teacher, you’re being too careful.”
Lifa pulled over a chair and sat next to Ron, leaning her head against his shoulder without caring about the gazes of the many adventurers in the guild hall.
“Didn’t you say the names they knew before were fake and that your appearance has already changed?” Lifa asked.
“It’s never wrong to be careful. If anything, I’m worried that as our little Lifa, the ‘genius adventurer,’ becomes more and more famous, they might notice you,” Ron replied, not forgetting to praise Lifa, whose reputation had been rising recently.
“Eh? Then… then what should we do!” Lifa became nervous upon hearing that.
“Let them do what they want.”
Ron leaned back in his chair, a helpless and casual smile appearing on his face as he saw Lifa’s serious expression.
Back then, in order to create brilliant darkening materials, the number of female characters he had provoked and toyed with exceeded what he could count on both hands.
Rather than living in fear—like when Isis suddenly showed up at his door—it was better to boldly enjoy the adventure and life of raising Lifa.
‘I am a player, after all.’
“Mr. Lorne, please take your certification.”
The receptionist handed Lorne an unadorned, bronze-plated badge. It was engraved with Ron’s identity information and adventurer number using special techniques and magical encryption.
“Alright, thank you very much.”
Ron naturally handed the adventurer badge to Lifa, who stored it inside her storage pendant.
“Is there anything else I can help you with?” As the receptionist spoke, she looked toward Lifa.
“No. Teacher, let’s go.”
Lifa shook her head, glanced at the clock on the hall wall, and prepared to leave.
“Oh, right, Lifa.”
As they walked, Ron brought up the matter of forming an adventurer party.
“Do you have any thoughts about the third person for our party?”
“Eh? Teacher can just decide that. Lifa doesn’t understand these things.”
Lifa’s emerald-green eyes shifted elsewhere. Beyond not understanding, she felt that grouping up with a third person would ruin her “world for two” with her teacher.
“You have to understand, Lifa. There are limits to what one person can do.”
Ron shook his head, insisting that Lifa give him an answer, even if it was just a casual thought.
“This… this…” Lifa poked her chin with her index finger and began to think.
“Just say whatever comes to mind.” Ron sighed.
In fact, forming a party to take on specific commissions was secondary. Ron wanted to use this as a way to cultivate and teach Lifa the importance of teamwork and coordination.
At the same time, it was to make the somewhat single-minded girl think more, rather than relying on him as an external brain for everything.
“The stronger the better, I guess. And they have to be able to get along with me and Teacher.”
The two walked out of the Adventurer’s Guild entrance, and Lifa gave an answer that Ron couldn’t fault.
“Alright, I understand.”
Ron shook his head after a long silence.
The two then set off on the path back to the inn. Just as they were about to reach the entrance, a luxuriously decorated noble carriage blocked their path.
“Please wait, you two. My lady requests your presence.”
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