Chapter 24 - Companions

My eyes widened at the thought. An Adventurer! My mind raced with the stories of Adventurers I had enjoyed back on Earth. I stared at Midnight after his question, collecting my thoughts.

"Is there an Adventurer's Guild in Malduhr?"

"Certainly," piped up Lilly with enthusiasm, "Can we wait for Poppy and Pepper?"

"Sure, let's wait until they rejoin us."

Twiiii!

Bliss, the encouraging companion on my shoulder, seemed ultra happy with the idea of going on adventures. I couldn't blame her. I wanted to see this world too. Several onlookers in the city were staring at the little flower on my shoulder. Thankfully, it seemed that their interest was out of curiosity rather than anything malicious. The little flowkra was drawing attention to its excited shouts but I haven't had any problems. Just as I was saying that…

"I'll give you 20 gold for your flower pet!" The offer came from a merchant beastkin with spikey hair yellow hair. If I were to guess, I would say he was some kind of hedgehog…maybe? I was too distracted by his question to analyze him.

"No, I'm sorry. She is not for sale."

Twiiii!

Bliss harrumphed with her tone of voice as if she would never be taken away from me. It occurred to me that Bliss was being treated as a pet. Even the system had recognized her as a Familiar Bond. I didn't want to consider her as subservient to me. If anything, she was highly intelligent. Each day, I felt that she was learning and growing along with me. Perhaps she would even be able to speak with me someday. The merchant tried making a few more offers, but I declined them all. Disappointedly, he thanked me and walked off.

"Do not worry Bliss, I will never sell you like some kind of belonging. You are my first friend I made in this world, and I will always treasure you."

I reassured the little flower as we waited for the catkin siblings to meet up with us. We were waiting in the town square, snacking on a type of wrap or burrito with cheese and meat inside. It was delicious! One fact made me really grateful of this fantasy world…the food was excellent! The vegetables tasted fresh, the meat was well seasoned, and the cooks and chefs of the world were proficient. Apparently, only those that had a high level of cooking skill would generally sell food. For that reason, the dishes that were served were always fantastic. I considered the unique meals that we had at the palace just a day ago. It was all delicious. Their culture encouraged the mixing of a vegetable, a meat, and some kind of bread or pasta. They also seemed to have some types of sticky rice sold at most of the grocers. Apparently, the ingredients and manufacturing of some of the finished products were all done in the gigantic greenhouses in the mountains. The hero Lachish had secured food production for the four main nations over 400 years ago. Thanks to that, there was always an abundance of food in this society.

Thanks to the infrastructure and respect built over those centuries, there was very little discrimination going on. A close observation would always show that each race would consider themselves "superior". However, they never looked down on other races regardless. This was apparently a hard lesson to learn for some nations. Dwarves used to be isolationists, avoiding all other cultures. Elves used to attack any other race approaching. And Humans used to enslave any others. This changed dramatically thanks to past heroes. I was not entrusted with any major mission. In fact, it felt like I was allowed to enjoy my life in this new world. Stopping some thugs here and there would be plenty rewarding for me!

"Hello Sir Airey, Bliss, Midnight, and Lilly." Pepper was greeting us with a warm smile.

"Just Airey is fine. I'm not a noble nor do I intend to act like one." I quickly tried to quash the "sir" title. I was not interested in being revered or treated with any superiority. I had not yet revealed much about my life on Earth but I told the four beastkin and flowkra that I did not get to experience life to the fullest. I made it clear that it was my desire to learn all I can while adventuring in this world. My new friends seemed pleased with this plan even if they were still convinced that I was some kind of hero. As long as I had good loyal companions, I would be satisfied.

"Let's become Adventurers!" Lilly called out excitedly.

Twiiii!

I followed the group as we went down a main road from the city square, reaching the Adventurer's Guild. After selling off surplus materials, Poppy reported that they purchased several maps throughout the different kingdoms. Dwarves apparently had the best recorded maps in Vando. I was glad to have such good guides in this world. They had plenty of coins leftover. I agreed to store it in my Storage Vision out of convenience. I reminded my companions that I am more than willing to share with the costs we incur. When we were at the palace, I told the king about the ores and coins I had collected from Monte's carriage. Apparently, those had come from the royal treasury as well. The king told us to hold onto those resources as part of our reward. The royals' generosity was astonishing to me. On Earth, I was used to the "rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer". But here, it seemed like they had a healthy economy and plenty of resources to share. If anything, it seemed easier to buy, trade, and sell in this world. There were some buildings in Maldurh that had been constructed just for homeless and refugees. The king continued to find housing for those that were destitute or had no other hope. Despite the fiend attacks, it felt like the kingdom was well equipped.

"We have arrived. Uh, here is the Adventurers Guild!" Lilly held out one arm to point out the stone building before us. The building seemed to be of some kind of granite stone. It looked like the most solid building in the city with 4 stories. We approached the main entrance, and I wondered if any of the Adventurer Guild stereotypes would befall us. Would we get challenged by a prideful adventurer? Would this world's guild match the imagination of the stories I've enjoyed on Earth?