Life in the City

"Oho? Are you back already, Phantom?"

"Huh? He is back already? Didn't he go hunt down a Goblin Leader? It should take some time to eliminate one even one is a D Rank."

Will gave a polite smile to the two guards who were at the front gate watching over the three lines of people entering and exiting the city. "Yes, I just came back from hunting the Goblin Leader. It was a hell of a pain to track down though."

The left guard let out a laugh. "Well done! To defeat a Goblin Leader all by yourself as an E Rank... I bet you will rank up in no time."

The right guard let out a sigh. "At least we finally have an adventurer who cares more about public safety than money. I swear to god every adventurer only wants to explore dungeons these days. Greedy bastards. Oh right, every adventurer except for you of course Phantom."

The left guard let out another sigh as well. "What do you expect? A goblin leader subjugation mission usually requires a Party of D ranks to safely execute. And based on my previous experiences, the pay for such a job would be terrible- would you mind telling us the reward for killing the goblin leader Phantom?"

"1 silver for completing the task," replied Will with a wry smile, "and about 15 extra coppers for cashing in the mana stone I collected after killing it."

The right guard let out a whistle. "And I thought our pay was bad."

"Those people at the adventurer guild are sucking you dry, Phantom," said the left guard with a look of pity. "Look at me and Henry, all we do is stand here all day making sure that criminals don't enter the city and yet we make 2 silvers a day. It might be boring but at least it's usually peaceful. You go out and risk your life and yet you still make less than us."

The right guard, Henry nodded his head. "Being an adventurer is no fun. You should join the city's guard force instead. You are already well-liked by the city folk and have the skills to rise fast. Besides, the captain would give me a bonus if I convince you to join."

Will shook his head and gave them a sorry smile. "Sorry but I am going to have to refuse that offer once again. For the moment, I will have to remain as an adventurer."

"Shame," said Henry. "There goes my dream of receiving a bonus today."

"What dream?" said the left guard with a smirk. "It was false hope from the beginning. When are you gonna take off that mask Phantom? My daughter is going crazy over you and won't shut up about it."

Will gave him a wry smile."For the moment, I will have to remain wearing my mask as well."

"Shame," The left guard sighed. "There goes my dream of shutting up my daughter today."

"What dream?" said Henry with a smug look. "It was false hope from the beginning."

"Shut up Henry," muttered the left guard

"You shut up Charles," smirked Henry.

"You don't understand my pain," grumbled Charles with a dark look. "Any time I'm at the Inn, its always 'Did you see sir Phantom today?' 'How handsome do you think sir Phantom is?' 'What would he like for tomorrow's breakfast?' 'Isn't sir Phantom so kind and mysterious?'"

"Ouch," whispered Henry with a cringe.

"She is of marrying age as well..." said Charles in a voice even lower than a whisper. "2 years ago it was 'How are you doing papa?' and 'Are you tired today Papa' but now it's 'Where is phantom, papa'... Children grow up too fast don't they."

Will quietly averted his eyes.

"Hey Phantom," said Charles with tears in his eyes. "Please greet my daughter when you go back to Silent Night Lodgings. It makes her happy when you greet her. And although it pains me to see my little girl pay more attention to another man, as a father I want her to be happy."

Will coughed before nodding.

"The pains of being married and having a daughter. Part of the reason why I never married" added Henry helpfully. "I did have this encounter with a nice lady once. I swear to god that she had the best apple pie I had ever tasted- Oi you. Wait right there. We need to perform a check up on you."

Will left Henry and Charles at the front gate, who was currently busy with interrogating a certain shabby-looking man and entered the city. Over the past two years, Genesis had become his home. The people were warm and kind once you got to know them and everyone was generally friendly.

"Hey, big bro."

Will turned his head and saw a familiar group of children waving their hands towards him. Will bent his knees until his face was at the same level as the children and gave a warm smile. "Hello kids, do you guys want to play with Rina again?"

The children nodded furiously as one of the girls yelled, "We found a new cafe with a very tasty fruit drink! We wanted Rina to taste it as well!"

Before Will even summoned her, Rina popped into existence and made an O shape with her mouth while her eyes sparkled like sapphire jewels. "Whoaaaa! A new fruit juice? What flavor is it?"

The girl wrinkled her nose and placed a finger on her cheek. "I don't really know what flavor it is but the pretty waitress said it was a type of fruit. She gave me a sip and it was amazing!"

"Woaaaaah! I have to try it!"

Rina and the children turned around to give Will an expectant gaze. A little boy even had the gall to outstretch his hand. With a sigh that was contained a little bit of amusement, Will opened his money bag and gave the children a few silver coins. "Tell your mother to give me a discount at her restaurant," he said to the little girl, "and a discount at your bakery," he said to another boy.

The children screamed "Yes!" with an excited look before running off to who knows where with an equally excited Rina following them from above. Usually, Will would've been hesitant to let a group of children run around unsupervised but Will was sure that Rina would be able to solve any unexpected situation on her own. She was no longer the weak little spirit from before, after all.

With an expressionless mask covering half of his face while a smile nestled underneath it, Will made his way to the adventurers guild.