Luembark, the City of Commerce

"And here we are! The mother of all cities." Lae opened her arms, raising the upwards and spinning around as we entered the capital. It took only 5 hours to get there, which was much faster than what Lae hinted it'd be, but I personally think it's because she forced her step more than she should've.

"Woah. This place is much bigger than I thought." I said in awe. The streets were decorated with vendors selling all kinds of stuff, from food to accessories. Behind them, residential homes and more formal shops were present. Taverns, armor shops, potion sellers, inns... It was a city, alright, in all the sense of the word.

She turned to me, hands on her waist. "No time to explore. First, let's secure a place to stay! There must be an inn somewhere..." She turned her head from side to side, as she stepped forward with confidence. Too much confidence.

"Wait a minute." I grabbed her back the back of her shirt collar. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Huh? An inn, of course. Or what, planned to sleep on a bench?"

"Oh yeah? With what money?" I pointed to the both of us. On one hand, we have me, who came to this world with nothing but clothes to his name. On the other, we had a girl that was carried out of her burning village on my back with, too, nothing to her name but clothes. So we were no more than two completely broke people in a city where everything cost a pretty penny.

"Oh... riiight." She understood what I meant, and quickly changed her plans. "I guess we do need some money, huh? Hm..." She put her hand to her chin, lost in thought. "Hey, can't you just waltz into the Royal Palace and tell everyone you're the Hero? I'm sure the King would be willing to fork over his entire fortune for your sake."

"No way in hell." I shot down her proposition. "Let me remind you I'm the Hero in name only. What do you think would happen if they found out the Hero is as powerful as your average, run-of-the-mill adventurer?"

"... Yeah, that wouldn't end up well, now that I think about it." She sighed in exasperation. Her bright idea was trashed as quickly as she came up with it.

"For now, i say we head to the Adventurer's Guild. Maybe we can find a quick and easy job that would earn us enough for a night at the inn and some food."

Lae nodded, completely fine with the idea. And so, we headed deeper into the city. Along the way, i constantly had to stop Lae from drooling all over whatever stall with decent food with passed by, reminding her that no matter how good the food looked, it'd remain just as a look as long as we didn't have any coin on us. Strolling through the city I was reminded of how open Luembark is to everyone. Humans, elves, demihumans, and even some of the more intelligent variety of momsters, all came and went on their merry way, happily interacting with each other. But I'm supposed to have never been here.

"This place very varied, huh?" I mentioned to Lae.

"Oh, that it is. This is not just the capital, this is the capital. Being on the dead center of the continent makes it a perfect melting pot for all kinds of races. And with a variety of races coming from a variety of places, comes a variety of trade. Hence, the City of Commerce. Neat, right?" She grinned. She really likes giving people tours of places.

After a bit more of a walk, we reached the Adventurer's Guild. We opened the door, revealing a bustling scene. Adventurers chatting away, some taking look at quests at the board. The typical guild, same as I remember it. Unfortunately, I don't know what to expect anymore. I'm much, much earlier here than I'm supposed to, given I didn't stay for a week at the village. I looked over at the Lae. "By the way, are you registered as an adventurer yet?"

"Me? No way. I just came to the city on errands from time to time. That said... I can handle a dagger or two." She grinned, trying to reach for daggers that weren't there. "When I have daggers. I'm good with daggers when I have them."

That much is true. I know that. Nevertheless, that doesn't matter that much right now. We both approached the counter, where a kind-looking man stood patiently. Seeing us, he gave us a soft, warm smile. "Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild. How may we be of service?"

"We wish to register as adventurer's." I explained, while Lae nodded besides me emphatically.

"Very well. Please fill out these forms." The man handed us each a sheet of paper. They asked for very basic things: name, age, class... The usual. They're determined by the weapon type someone is most proficient with, except for casters where it gets a little more complicated, so we both confidently regsistered our classes, paladin for me and rogue for Lae. Afterwards, the man put his hands together. "As per protocol, I'll do an examination of your capabitilities to determine your Advenurer Rank. It's not intrusive, so there's no need to worry."

This is the part that worries me. I don't even want to recall when I did this last time around. The guy fainted and we had to wait a couple hours before he could inform us that I was a triple S rank, the highest. At that point, it was impossible for it to not be known I was the hero. However this time...

"... Adventurer Lae, E+ Rank." Seems about right. All she needs is a bit of training and polishing, because the the talent is there that's for sure. And as for me, "Adventurer Kenta, C Rank." That's... as mediocre as it can get, so I guess that's good? Or not, that really puts into perspective how nerfed I got. But hey, at least the whole world won't know now I'm the hero. The guild worker handed us our identifications, as we both smiled at each other. It was finally time. It was time to-

"Let's go hunt something down!" Lae shouted at the top of her lungs. That's the right course of action, obviously. We need money. Well, normally, that is.

"Who said you were coming along?" I crossed my arms I can't let her go out, specially not right now.

"Why are you dampening my mood for? I'm going no matter wh-AAAAAAHt!" She winced in pain, as I delivered a soft kick to her ankle.

"You aren't going anywhere. You've been forcing that foot for the entire way. You'll rest." I gave her a dissaproving look.

"Hey, I'm completely fine if you don't kick me, you-"

"You'll rest." I shot her a glare. She's the kind of girl you sometimes need make understand reason.

"... Yessir." She reluctantly agreed.

As much as I'd love to rest too, we need money, and fast, else we'll be sleeping on the floor of the plaza tonight. I walked over to the bulletin board where all the quests are posted. And after a bit of browsing, "That one." I smiled confidently. It's time for my first official quest.