The Black Rabbit incident was finished . I think . It would really depend on the reaction of the Adventurer’s Guild that I was now headed for .

In other news, I and Daniela had decided to party up .

We had been discussing how this whole thing started after leaving the guardhouse, which led to this decision .

“When I first came to this town, I was being chased by a pack of forest wolves . I was practically rolling, the way I tumbled into the western gate . Some adventurers saw me then, and because of my hair, said I ‘looked like a black rabbit . ’ That was the start of it . ”

“A whole pack? Were you alright?”

“Ah, yes . I found this out later, but I have really high AGI . Well, maybe it wasn’t that high at the time… Anyway, I was able to run without them catching up to me . And the man I asked for help at the time was…”

“Captain Russell, I presume . ”

“Correct . If he hadn’t been near the gates then, I would have probably been eaten alive . ”

It was that dangerous . I thought I was going to die, again…

“I see… Hmm… Asagi, we shall form a party . ”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

“No, uh, what led you to that decision?”

“I’m too worried about you to leave you alone . You’re just a rookie, but you’ve been raising your level in absurd ways, haven’t you?”

She was sharp… I straightened my back and looked back at her .

“Now what gave you that idea?”

“You just said ‘it wasn’t that high at the time . ’ That must mean it is at least somewhat high right now, no? But you’re a rookie who should not have experienced more than a few battles . But Asagi, you really are quite active in terms of fighting, aren’t you?”

I had exposed myself . I look away without thinking .

“…”

“Hehe . It’s obvious to anyone who actually listens to what you say . I won’t ask you to stop . But, I’m worried . And so, we should fight together . ”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes . ”

“Then… I look forward to working with you, Daniela . ”

“Likewise . Can I trust you to have my back?”

“Haha . It’s a bit early for that . ”

That’s how it happened . It was no big deal . Daniela was worried about me . A person she had just b.u.mped shoulders with last night .

There had been many unpleasant things that had happened to me in this world . Whether it was sleeping in trees, walking forever, fighting with monsters or being called Black Rabbit .

But there were also many kind people who cared about me .

When all was said and done, I was quite blessed . I realized once again, that it was the connections between people that was the most important trick to living .

I entered the adventurer’s guild in much the same way I always did . Gardo and Ness were waiting for me inside .

“Asagi, I’m sorry . ”

“Please forgive me!”

The two men said with lowered heads . The atmosphere inside of the guild house was dead quiet .

“Gardo, Ness . ”

“Gardo, Ness . ”

“You asked me to ‘deal with it,’ but I couldn’t do anything . I couldn’t even help you . ”

“I was drunk and my public announcement has now led to such an incident! I should have done more than apologize, I should have done something…”

“Hey, you two . Please stop that . ”

“But…”

“It’s fine . It’s finished . The troublemakers are gone, and you’ve already apologized . Also, I’m sure you’ll do something about anyone else who calls me Black Rabbit from here on out?”

They raised their heads . They both looked so full of regret that tears were threatening to fall from their eyes .

“Come on, don’t look like that . You two are the first adventurers I met when arriving here . You came because you were worried about me . I’m thankful for that . ”

“You dumb s.h.i.+t… We are on duty!”

Gardo looked away and spat . Ness was wiping at his reddened eyes .

“Asagi, I’m real sorry! From now on, we’re comrades!”

“Aye, we’re now on equal footing! Does anyone here have any complaints!?”

Gardo glared towards the bar . While they weren’t involved in last nights incident, they were all part of the jeering crowd . They now looked at their gla.s.ses as if to avoid Gardo’s stare .

“Well, that seems to settle it . ”

“That went well, Asagi . ”

Daniela said as she placed a hand gently on my shoulder .

“Yes, thanks to you as well, Daniela . ”

“Don’t mention it . We are also comrades who are equals . ”

She chuckled softly and I felt my face to turn red . Now, now, was I falling for her?

She chuckled softly and I felt my face to turn red . Now, now, was I falling for her?

“By the way, Asagi . ”

“What is it, Ness?”

“Who’s the pretty lady next you?”

Ness was looking at Daniela with his usual comical smile . That was a quick turnaround .

“Ahh, I forgot to introduce you . This is Daniela . She was forcefully involved in last night’s incident . And since then, we’ve found a reason to form a party together . ”

“I’m Daniela . Nice to meet you . ”

Daniela, Ness, and Gardo offered and shook each other’s hands . I felt my connections as an adventurer were growing .

We separated from the two, and I took Daniela over to the Reception counter . Today’s guild worker was the bookworm, Flo .

“It’s been a while . ”

“Oh, Mr . Asagi . Nice to see you again . Though, I have seen you within the guild house . So what’s your business here today?”

I guess she had seen me around . Well, things tended to get rowdy, so it was not surprising .

“Yes, I want to form a party with her . ”

“I see . Party registration . Please give me your status cards . ”

Flo accepted our status cards and placed them onto a tray .

“Thank you . This will be finished in just a minute . Please stay here and wait . ”

So saying, she disappeared through the back . We saw her leave and then chatted together for a few minutes until she returned .

“Thank you for your patience . Your party has now been registered . You may have your cards back . ”

So saying, she disappeared through the back . We saw her leave and then chatted together for a few minutes until she returned .

“Thank you for your patience . Your party has now been registered . You may have your cards back . ”

I took the cards off the tray and handed Daniela’s card to her .

“Thank you . ”

“No, no . It’s just my job . ”

Flo brought her small hand over to her mouth and laughed . She used to act quite strangely around me, mostly due to the way the others treated me, but things had become normal now . Thankfully .

We thanked her again and then decided to stop at the bar . The two of us sat together at the bar counter and ordered some flavored water and a side dish . The plate that eventually arrived was a river fish meunière . For a bar full of rougher clients, the food here was strangely refined .

We poked at our food with forks and talked about what we would do next .

“I’m thinking of going after the forest wolves . ”

“Mmm, forest wolves . I think the two of us should be able to manage them, even in a pack . ”

Daniela said as she pushed her bones to a corner of the plate .

“The forest wolves live in the forest to the north . By the way, did you just arrive in this town recently?”

“Yes . I came from the eastern plains along with a caravan . Those plains were infested with gra.s.s wolves . ”

“Gra.s.s wolves?”

“The wolves in those plains have turned into monsters . Unlike forest wolves, their fur is a yellowish green . ”

Interesting . So the wolf that I ate was just a normal wolf .

We discussed such things until we finished our plate .

Well then, it was time to head for the forest .

The two of us accepted our first quest as a party, then made our way out through the western gate and into the forest .