Interlude 03 : The New Adventures of Azalia von Starfall

In front of the large gate, a girl with hair as dark as a night is looking at the gate and surrounding the large wall with a determined expression.

"This is it, Azalia. If you pass this gate, you are going to start a new page of your life. You will no longer be Azalia von Starfall unless you come back here to this Empire. You will simply be an adventurer named Azalia," the girl slapped both of her cheeks softly then looks at the black sword hanging from her waist.

"I will surely come back, Urien. When that time comes, I hope I have enough strength to stand by your side or at least to the point where you can acknowledge my strength," she smiles fondly at the memory of the boy she met a year ago.

"Next!" she heard the shout and she moved forward.

"Name and reason for coming to Leonidas Empire?" the guard asked her.

"To start a new life," she replied with no emotion on her face.

"I see," the guard raised his eyebrow at her. But it is something he got used to.

"Touch this crystal to see if there are any criminal records in you. You may pass if this gives you a green light," the guard points at the crystal in front of him. Azalea touched the crystal and it shone green.

"You are free to go," the guard shooed her with a bored expression.

She replied nothing and walk forward. But she was stunned before going to the other side. "You can do this Azalia," she muttered herself. This is a huge step for her, who had never left the capital city of Starfall Empire other than training under the Hero and went sightseeing the ruin.

She closed her eyes and step forward. Then, she opens her right eye slightly and looks at the ground. Some might think she was over exaggerating with this but the first time she went outside by herself for once, she was almost killed by a fallen angel, someone who should not be in this world.

She opens both of her eyes fully and with a slight smile, she rushed down to the road. Looking around like a country bumpkin, she earned a warm smile from the people on the road. She asked around for the adventurers' guild in the town and people willingly show her the direction.

She was awed for the kindness of the beastkin showed her. This is completely different from what she was taught! She was taught that beastkin are savage and nothing more than the animals that could talk. But after seeing for herself, she needs to disagree with that. People from here are nothing but kind to her.

After a while, she arrived in front of the adventurers' guild. The building is two-story built with bricks and red in color.

She steeled her mind and walk inside the building. She heard loud cheers and talking when she got inside the building.

"Welcome to Elias branch of Leonidas Empire adventurers' guild. My name is Nui, a receptionist. How may I help you?" the sheep bearskin woman asked her with a warm smile. She wears rounded glasses and has fluffy hairs.

"I would like to register as an adventurer," she replied.

"I see; I take it as you are older than ten years old?" Nui asked.

"Yes, miss."

"Then can you please tell me your name? I mean, the name you want to use as an adventurer name," the receptionist quickly corrected her mistake.

"Azalia," she told the receptionist her first name.

"I see. Please put your hand on this crystal so that we could know your skills and title to choose a fitting class for you," Nui shows her the crystal ball to which she touched it and a blinding light shone in the room.

[Skills]

[Sword Skills Proficiency, Fire Magic, Wind Magic, Light Magic, Sun Breathing Dance Forms, Sacred Arts]

[Title]

[⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️ ⬛️⬛️ ⬛️⬛️⬛️ ⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️, Hardworking Princess]

[Class]

[Magic Swordswoman]

The crystal automatically wrote the Skills, Title, and Class onto the adventurer card. And being a professional, Nui doesn't look at a single thing written on the adventurer card and give it back to her.

"Miss Azalia, thank you for coming here. This is your adventurer card. Your current rank is at E as that is where all adventurers' ranks start. You can rank up by doing quests we had put up on the quest board over there," the sheep beastkin showed her the bulletin board.

"Is there a time limit for quests or the number of quests I can take?" she asked.

"There is no time limit for the quests unless the quest you take has a time limit on it. And as for the number of the quest, you can take 5 quest maximum per day," the receptionist replied while adjusting her glasses.

"I see, thank you for answering the questions," the princess gave the receptionist a curt bow.

"I'm glad to help as well. I hope to see you again," she waves back at the receptionist and walks out of the building.

She aimlessly wandered around the town she is currently in and eat new delicacies which she couldn't find in her country and can't eat because the people inside the palace won't let her eat.

After asking around for the inn, she was guided to the cozy inn at a reasonable price. She rented a room there for a week which costs her 7 silver coins as it costs a silver coin for a day.

When she got into her room, she lay down on the bed and take out her adventurer card. She realized that there is a skill she couldn't recognize and the title is blurred by something.

"I wonder if I could look in detail," she muttered and touch at the place where the skill she doesn't recognize is.

[Sacred Arts]

[Got from the ⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️ ⬛️⬛️ ⬛️⬛️⬛️ ⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️. Sacred Arts are used to arrange thoughts and guide the emotions of the caster to make use of one's imagination power. Because of this, the imagination of the user may either improve or decrease the effectiveness of an art. All elements are usable.]

"Arr… what?" she was confused.

With the force of habit, she grabbed the sword and put it by her side while looking at the card. But, by the time her hand touches the sword, the glitch in the adventurer card becomes normal. There, she saw the previously glitch part of her title is now viewable.

[Title: Divine Protection of Gigas Cedar]

[Protection granted to the wielder of <Night Sky Sword>. The sword is not made from any metals but from a branch of the tree named Gigas Cedar. This protection allows you to cut down the souls of the enemies who don't have flashes and will keep on healing you slowly as long as you hold onto the sword.]

[Previous Wielders: Star King Kirito, Urien Gregorios]

[Current Wielder: Azalia von Starfall]

[The previous wielder Urien Gregorios willingly gave the sword to the current wielder Azalia von Starfall even after fully knowing the abilities of the sword.]

Her eyes immediately went wide after seeing the Title more so because the adventurer card can give out this kind of information. "What's up with this title? Is this the title I got because of this sword? And even after knowing fully about this sword, he willingly gave this sword to me. Is he really serious about the proposal?"

She is now sure that Urien really meant to propose to her. And she will now try harder to meet his expectation.

"So, your name is <Night Sky Sword>, huh?" she touches the sword fondly. "The news I've heard about the adventurer card seems to be true. They are bonded to the soul. That is also why it can give out such information. But I wonder if this information will be leaked somewhere?"

She thought for a while and gave up. She alone won't be able to take on the adventurers' guild after all. She falls asleep after keeping the sword by her bedside.

The next morning, she tries the few quests inside her rank. Her efficient ways of doing quests earned her quite a reputation inside the guild. But of course, when someone feels glad for you, there are bound to be opposites.

It was a month after doing her first quest. As usual, she was going through the procedures about the quest she was about to accept.

At that time, five adult men with alcohol reeking on their bodies come and block her way. Surprisingly, today is the day when Nui and the other employees left the first floor for the adventurers so that they could go to the monthly meeting on the second floor.

"May I help you?" she tried to ask nicely.

"I don't like your face," the man in front of her, a bear beastkin said while looking straight into her eyes.

"Is that so? I apologize for that. Can you please move? I would like to take the quests," she bowed them to show that she felt sorry for whatever they are unpleased about.

"Now, look at here. That sword of yours seems like a waste on you. I will be taking that," the moment the bear beastkin's hand touch the hilt of the sword, she sent out the heel of her palm to his chin.

The poor dude was sent away and crash on the table.

She practically growls to the men, "Nobody is allowed to touch the sword that my beloved gave me."

"Grab that bitch!" the man who got sent away by her shouted. Now, surrounding her are not only five people but nine. "It seems they are his party members," Azalia thought.

She smashed through all of them with her sword while the scabbard is still on the sword. But about when she was going to get sneaked on the back, someone appeared and punched the sneak attacker on the face.

"I just arrived at the guild and there is a brawl already? Why does nobody invite me?" her savior said while looking around.

When she turns and look at her, she saw a girl who looks like the same as her age taunting the surroundings. The girl also turns around and looks at her.

"Hi! The way kick-ass looks marvelous! My name is Novell Vanir and do you wanna be my friend?" the girl gave her a toothy grin. And this is the first time she met her long-life companion.

----------------

Author's Note;

Am I trying to make her a hero instead of Bright Covan, the canon hero? Yes!

And thanks to Yvel Draws for the awesome illustration of Novell Vanir.