Next please

We took a short break but decided to continue walking to finally reach Bergwacht. And from my observations, Mia wouldn't have been able to wait much longer before running off.

On the way, to my surprise, we encountered several parties, all coming from Bergwacht. Some seemed to know Ben and his friends, so they exchanged greetings.

That was the only thing I heard from them. Otherwise, they followed us in silence. It wasn't a sad silence but rather a silence with a determined look, as if they were making plans for the future.

Mia was the complete opposite of them. She joyfully skipped alongside me, talking and talking.

She speculated about how the village might have changed, whether there were new houses, and if our house was still standing. I listened to her with a smile on my face. Her voice was soothing yet sweet like sugar.

I still needed to process how she had managed to motivate the three to overcome their fears. Is it because she has been a healer for a long time or has a talent for motivating people?, I pondered.

She was definitely better at it than I was, because at the moment, I couldn't think of anything truly helpful.

"This is the last ascent!" Mia exclaimed excitedly. "Behind this mountain is Bergwacht!" She ran a few meters ahead in delight but then came back to me and said, "It still feels strange to call it Bergwacht."

"Haha!" I laughed. "I find it strange too!"

We followed a narrow path winding up the mountain and eventually reached the ridge.

*Whoosh*

A gust of wind caught us, and Mia's long black hair swirled behind her.

We looked at the view that had accompanied us for the past few years.

"Yippee!" Mia squealed and joyfully clung to my arms. She brushed her hair away from her face and looked wistfully towards the sky line.

"Do you see that?" She pointed to the landscape stretching out before us. A forest lay at our feet, sloping down slowly until you could see an open area on the horizon.

I followed her finger. "Is that...?"

"I think so!" She held my arm tighter, and I felt her body tremble slightly. Then she turned to Bernd, Lisa, and Ben. "Is that the new village of death, Bergwacht?"

They stood next to us on the trail and calmly replied, "Indeed, that is Bergwacht!"

Almost uncontrollably, Mia pulled me down the mountain until we walked through the lush green mixed forest. Light flickered on our faces as we walked, and the air smelled fresh of wet earth, flowers, and pine.

A bird chirped, and we greeted a party coming towards us on the almost correct path.

We heard them whispering about how tall Mia and I were and how pretty Mia was. My wife giggled, and I stopped.

In front of us, the forest cleared, a stone path began, and a city wall blocked our view.

"..." I was speechless. What a change! The path I had followed into the forest alone back then was gradually being turned into a paved road, and there was a line in front of what looked like an entrance gate.

"Welcome to Bergwacht!" Ben smiled. "It seems to look completely different since the last time you were here."

Mia nodded first in disbelief, but her expression changed to a radiant smile faster than a racing car.

I, too, was delighted to see that our hometown had developed so much in the last month.

The small village wall had been expanded and was already 4 meters high. However, we still saw some people diligently placing one stone after another. It looked like a big project.

"You said you're also an adventurer?" Bernd asked me.

I scratched my head in contemplation. "Yes, I am. Or rather, I was!" I answered.

"Hmm, do you still have your adventurer's license?"

"Of course! It hasn't been that long!" I laughed.

Bernd smiled for the first time today and said, "That's good; then you should be allowed to enter the city early with your wife."

"Why shouldn't we? We were residents here before?" Mia curiously intervened.

"Well, it's supposed to be turned into an adventurer city," he said somewhat nervously. "That means it should be attractive first for them. Also, for those with enough strength. That's what I've heard, at least."

"What happened to the original residents?" Mia asked threateningly.

"Haha," he laughed embarrassed, "As far as I know, they are allowed to stay. Only immigrants must meet certain criteria to be allowed to permanently live here if they have implemented it by now."

Mia breathed a sigh of relief but looked at me with wide eyes.

With a smile, I assured her that I sensed the mana signatures of most of them. After that, she let go of my arm and gently took my hand.

"Well, let's get in line!" she said motivated.

Lise, Bernd, Ben, and I nodded and followed her.

As we stood in line, we saw many groups quickly turning around to get a glimpse of Mia. Carrying their loot sacks over their shoulders, the news whispered up the line.

And near to everyone looked at Mia.

Should I get angry or be happy? I pondered intensively until Mia took my hand and held it tightly.

"Stop thinking so much; you'll scratch yourself until you bleed!" she whispered angrily.

She was right. I stared deeply into the eyes of everyone looking in our direction.

After that, not many looked back, and we gradually approached the gate.

I took off my backpack and searched for my adventurer's license.

Where is it?... There it is! I pulled it out with two fingers, and the plate lit up in the light.

I smiled briefly at her and was about to let it disappear into my pocket when a small hand grabbed my arm.

"Wait!" Lise said.

I looked at her calmly. "What is it, Lise?"

"Is that an SS-Rank...?" she whispered bewildered.

"Yes. Never seen one before?" I asked jokingly.

She shook her head with an empty look and sat down on her flat bottom.

Ben helped her up. "Is everything okay?" he asked her.

She shook her head and pointed at me. "SS!"

He looked at my card and also fell down.

"Now don't be so dramatic!" I laughed.

Then Bernd stepped in, "Why didn't you mention that you're an SS-Rank?" But his voice also trembled slightly.

"Is that so special?" I asked surprised. "Don't you have many more where you come from?"

He sighed, "Were you raised under a rock?" he asked bewildered. And I looked at him just as bewildered and surprised.

"Hehe Hahha!" Mia started laughing so much that she leaned forward.

I scratched my head and said that I had just been hunting monsters.

Mia couldn't stop laughing, and Ben sighed, "There are probably only 10 'SS-Rank' adventurers in the entire Sun Kingdom!"

"Oh!" I noticed and seemed to make a silly face because Mia couldn't stop laughing.

I made a joke out of it, lifted her up, and said, "I think I need to help!" and started tickling her.

She wiggled in my arms, laughing, and I couldn't help but laugh too.

Bernd just watched, but seemed to be processing the most recent information.

Lise and Bernd stood up, right on time.

"Next, please!" we heard impatiently.

I looked and noticed, "Well, now it's our turn."

I put Mia down, who gave me a playfully evil look, and we moved forward to the gatekeeper.