“Ophelia, I’ve found a job.”
Throwing out such a vague sentence in front of Ophelia, Anna dashed out the door as if fleeing.
She wandered aimlessly through the marketplace.
The street scene before her couldn’t be called prosperous, but people flowed endlessly, most of them adventurers carrying all sorts of intentions.
Just like Anna. She was now standing hesitantly at the entrance of the Adventurers’ Association.
A Mission Board stood by the door, plastered with missions and bounties offering various rewards. Some were to hunt monsters, some to explore ruins, others to complete a Map… The higher the risk, the higher the reward.
Anna’s eyes swept over each mission.
Mission Sheets were constantly being pulled down, and some adventurers even resorted to disgraceful scuffles to snatch a Mission Sheet.
Anna’s gaze landed on a mission to subjugate Goblins.
Goblins were not a target adventurers enjoyed taking on.
Other than the bounty from the Association, there was simply no loot to be had from these creatures. Focusing time and effort on them wasn’t worthwhile.
Maximizing one’s gains within limited time—this was the First Creed of Adventurers.
But Anna had no choice now; she could only pick a safe mission.
Getting hurt would be a real problem—Ophelia wasn’t easy to fool.
After much hesitation, Anna chose to take down the Mission Sheet.
She reached out, only to collide with another hand halfway there.
“U-um… sorry.”
A tearful apology came from beside her. Anna turned to see a timid, rabbit-like girl adventurer.
She looked to be around sixteen or seventeen, about Anna’s height, with long pink hair and pink eyes… She seemed familiar somehow.
Anna searched her memory carefully.
It was yesterday at the Jewelry Shop, the girl who’d lost her sword.
Quite cute, actually, especially with that look of barely contained indignation.
Anna, with a bit of mischief, took the Mission Sheet.
She strode toward the Association doors, sneaking glances at the girl from the corner of her eye.
As expected, the girl panicked, trying to follow Anna’s pace, but after a few steps, she faltered, nervously stopping at a distance.
She looked around anxiously, fists clutched to her chest, oblivious to Anna quietly approaching her side.
“Ah—!”
Anna’s hand chopped down gently on her head. The girl tensed up like a frightened rabbit… all she lacked was hopping up to headbutt Anna.
Pinned in her bangs was a delicate Carrot Hairpin… Could she actually be a rabbit?
“Hey, you really want this mission, don’t you?”
Anna waved the Mission Sheet in front of her eyes.
“No, I don’t!”
The girl instinctively denied it, but when Anna started to pull away, acting like she’d leave, her tone wavered.
“Maybe… just a little. Only a little!”
It was obvious she was lying. Her clenched little fists at her chest and her furrowed brows gave her away completely.
“Making money isn’t worth your life. I don’t care whose daughter you are—don’t treat adventuring as a game.”
Anna lectured the girl in a stern voice, though she herself was only in her first day as an adventurer.
“I’m not treating it as a game! I… I need the money!”
The girl tried to snatch the Mission Sheet from Anna’s hand, but Anna dodged nimbly. She didn’t even catch the hem of Anna’s skirt.
“Someone who loses her weapon dares say she’s not treating it as a game?”
Anna played with the Short Sword she’d picked up yesterday. It was very light, inlaid with flashy gemstones.
Anna drew the blade, flicked it, and it rang with a crisp “ting.” Such a thin, brittle sword was never meant for battle.
“You want to take this frilly sword into combat? Don’t be ridiculous.”
Anna sheathed the blade and tossed the Short Sword to the girl.
The girl fumbled to catch it, her eyes glancing nervously at the Longsword hanging at Anna’s waist, swallowing hard.
She examined her own sword, comparing it to Anna’s—indeed, they were worlds apart.
But… this was already the best sword her family could offer.
She knew her swordsmanship was mediocre at best, and she knew that adventuring was no joke; her life could be lost at any moment. But she had to go. She had no choice.
She desperately needed this money.
So she gathered her courage and called out to Anna.
“Um… Miss, can you take me with you?”
“No.”
Anna refused without hesitation.
Adventuring wasn’t about robbing the rich to help the poor—she had no reason to drag along a burden that would only increase her risk.
Everyone had their own hardships. The girl probably had her reasons, but who didn’t?
Everyone needed to make a living. Few were born to love walking the knife’s edge. Most chose adventuring simply to earn a living from the jaws of monsters.
“From your accent, you’re a young lady from the royal capital, aren’t you? Go home. Don’t make your parents wait. This place isn’t for you.”
She left the girl with harsh words, unwilling to be entangled any further.
“Home… Where do I even have a home anymore?”
The tearful question halted Anna’s steps once again.
“Sympathy won’t help you.”
Anna recalled yesterday’s hurried glimpse in the Jewelry Shop.
The girl had been anxious to sell something then. Anna hadn’t looked closely, but those colorful things… probably some poor counterfeits.
No wonder the shopkeeper refused her.
She’d probably joined some adventurer party and got palmed off with fake loot during the split.
What a… naïve child.
“Sympathy… Maybe so, Miss.”
“Hey.”
Anna felt someone press tightly against her back. Turning around, she saw the girl clenching her own skirt with trembling hands.
Then slowly, as if making some painful decision, she lifted her skirt to reveal a portion of her white thigh.
On that pale thigh, a glaring slave crest was branded.
“Miss, I don’t have a home anymore.”
Her voice was calm, as if narrating something that had nothing to do with herself.
“And I have no father or mother waiting for me. They… are all dead.”
The girl lowered her skirt and wiped the tears from her eyes.
Anna fell silent.
If she left the girl alone… there’d be only one road left for her, wouldn’t there?
Falling into misery, just like Anna herself had.
Her own first meeting hadn’t been pleasant, but at least she’d met Ophelia. What about this girl? Would she be that lucky?
Anna didn’t know. Anna dared not gamble.
“Sorry, Miss. I shouldn’t have told you all this.”
Every word stabbed at Anna’s heart.
“What’s your name?”
Anna ruffled her hair, unable to abandon this pitiful girl.
“Lydia… Lydia Krasu.”
“Come with me.”
In the end, Anna chose to bring the girl along.
“Let’s be clear: I’ll let you join me, and we’ll split the reward fifty-fifty. But you must obey my orders without question. Can you do that?”
Clutching at this last lifeline, the rabbit-like girl named Lydia agreed to everything.
“First… let’s go buy you some equipment. You’ll die if you use that sword.”
Anna glanced at Lydia, then set off.
“Yes, Miss!”
Lydia bounced after Anna, trying her hardest to imprint that silver silhouette in her mind—that was her moonlight.
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