Travel Diary III

POV Jasmine Flamesworth

Returning from exploring a dungeon, we headed to Dragonspire Inn. I had separated from Arthur because they had another matter to attend to before going to the guild headquarters. Truth be told, the Twin Horns were nearby, and I wanted to surprise Arthur when he saw them.

When I brought them with me to the inn where we were staying, we decided to wait for Arthur, but he was somewhat delayed, so we went out to look for him. We were worried that he might have gotten into trouble and accidentally killed someone.

When we arrived at the guild, we asked about him, but they only told me that he had been talking to another adventurer and then both walked off in a certain direction. It seemed a bit strange considering that Arthur is not exactly friendly with other adventurers or strangers.

We began to ask about Arthur on the path they indicated where he went. After all, Arthur's mask is very striking, and we learned that he was accompanied by another person also wearing a mask, but everyone gave different characteristics for this person.

This caused us even more concern since the person seemed dangerous. When we arrived at the end of the directions, we were in front of a three-story building.

After entering that restaurant, we saw that it was relatively expensive but offered a lot of privacy. It had tables in individual rooms with nice decorations, not too ostentatious but elegant.

Normal adventurers usually don't enter this type of restaurant because it makes them feel out of place. Only those of noble descent used these establishments.

We asked about Arthur with the intention of finding out where he was, so the waitress said she would first consult with him directly while telling the guards to watch us.

"Do you think he met with some noble to ask him to be his bodyguard or something?" Adam spoke with a confused face.

"But people described that person as an adventurer," Durden spoke.

"Maybe he heard rumors about Arthur and wants to form a group," Angela said.

"Arthur would have rejected him immediately with his personality," I replied.

"I'm worried that the other person has some kind of artifact to prevent them from being recognized," Helen spoke.

"It seems that you protect this guy named Arthur a lot," spoke an adventurer who had recently joined them after being on several missions together. Her name was Samantha, and she was a very young adventurer, so the group took great care of her.

They didn't know if she would join the group permanently, but for now, they enjoyed her company because her personality was pleasing to everyone.

"Well, in my case, it's because he's in my care, his parents entrusted him to me," I said while thinking about what could be the reason Arthur was here.

After waiting a few minutes, the waitress returned and indicated that we should enter, so we followed her to a room on the second floor.

When we entered, we saw Arthur without his mask, eating and chatting with another boy his age.

That surprised me because I don't remember Arthur having friends, let alone acting so relaxed.

I turned my attention to the boy with him, white hair and eyes a deep red like mine, but strangely they felt different as if they looked beyond your soul.

A small chill ran down my spine for a moment, but that was all.

"What's up, guys, don't just stand there, come on, my friend is inviting," Arthur said as he asked us to sit down.

The white-haired boy was stunned by Arthur's brazen comment and looked at him with wide eyes.

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POV Julián Kingscrown

An hour before meeting the Twin Horns

"How has the most beloved prodigious firstborn of the Leywins been?" I said, draping my arm around his neck in a hug-like gesture while teasing him.

"That's what I should be saying. How does the world treat the beloved son of the heavens?" he said while giving me a light punch in the chest.

"Where did that come from? Since I was born, I've been on the short end of the stick," I said, holding back laughter.

"Do you want to go eat? My treat, and we can catch up," I spoke again.

"Sure, why not, I also wanted to know how you've been doing," Arthur replied.

"I know a good place where we can take off our masks without a problem," I said as I walked in a certain direction.

"From what I can see, your assimilation process was a success," Arthur told me.

"Yes, the process was quite smooth. Virion said I had a very high affinity with the will," I replied.

"I'm surprised it was so quick; I thought it would take you longer," Arthur questioned.

"I thought so too, but it wasn't the case. I'm more interested in how your life as an adventurer treats you. I often hear about a crazy guy who raids dungeons alone with his magical enhancement," I said as I looked at the building we were heading to.

"I felt that my body was not in sync with my techniques, so I decided to balance it with this kind of idea," Arthur replied.

"Indeed, since our practice fights in Elenoir, we had seen that problem, although I didn't think you would address it this way. Aren't you worried about losing a limb in the process of doing that madness?"

While Arthur thought about the answer, we entered the building.

"Miss, may I request a room with a table for two?" I asked the receptionist.

"I'm sorry, I only have rooms left with tables for several people," she said with a regretful voice.

"We'll take that one," I replied.

We followed the receptionist to a room with two tables where five people could sit at each.

After placing the order, the waitress left, and both Arthur and I took off the masks we were wearing.

"Now that I think about it, why do you wear a mask that alters people's perception? If it weren't for your mana signature, I wouldn't have recognized you," Arthur spoke.

Looking at his face, I noticed that his hair had grown quite a bit. Maybe I should do the same and let it grow?

"It's for the same reason as you. It's not convenient for people to know my abilities being so young," I replied while touching the strands of hair on my head, considering a change of look.

"Although yours seems exaggerated," Arthur commented, taking a sip of the drink they had brought us.

"Mine doesn't attract attention like your mask and your attitude," I said, teasing him.

"It's not my fault that every adventurer I meet is an idiot," he replied.

"That's what they call the protagonist's luck, ha ha ha ha," I said, mocking his bad luck.

"Lately, they don't show up, so I think they got the message," Arthur said with a tired tone.

"How has it been with dungeon exploration, anything strange or unique you've seen?" I asked.

"Not especially, occasionally you see unique beasts, but that's all," he spoke as the door opened with the waitress entering with the dishes.

"On the other hand, I'm very interested in what you've been doing. I thought I would hear rumors about you, but in fact, not many people know you, or maybe they do, but they don't associate it with you," Arthur questioned.

"I don't know exactly when or how the character of the lone adventurer emerged. I highly doubt people have even seen me; it just came up, and when I realized it, they were calling me that."

"How much truth is there in that about raiding dungeons alone?" Arthur said.

"It's half true. While it's true that I don't raid them with other humans, the mana beasts that follow me do their part," I said while tasting the food.

"Having a bond must be very useful," Arthur said thoughtfully.

"Don't worry, I have something for you, but I need you to give me time to deliver it to you," I said when something hit the room's window.

I already knew what it was, so I stood up and opened the window on the second floor. At that moment, Ingram entered with the Boreas tiger cub on his back; they had been hunting but had told me they wanted to return to Eden to see the birth of the evolved Wyverns.

Dryas told me they were very close to being born, so I expected to see them within a week at most.

When the Boreas tiger, whom I called Nile, jumped to the ground, he looked at Arthur, and the red-haired boy returned the gaze.

"Hey, how much for it? I'm thinking of giving it to Ellie," he said as he watched it.

"It's better if you wait for her; she's still young, plus we don't yet know Ellie's affinities," I said, thinking there couldn't be a better beast for her than a guardian delivered directly from Epheotus.

"You're right. Speaking of my family, when I've had breaks between missions, I've heard that you visit them quite regularly. It's surprising that we haven't run into each other even once. Do you time it or something?" he said mockingly.

"I can't say it's too often, but I try to stay in touch with people I consider close, and it's not at all that we've just been unlucky not to have seen each other," I replied.

"My mom says you're spoiling Ellie with your gifts," he said with an annoyed look.

"I'm sorry, she's also like a little sister to me," I said, avoiding his gaze.

We chatted for some time about what we had done, what we learned, and some occurrences that happened to us. It was a very pleasant time talking with an old friend.

As we were nearing the end of the conversation, the waitress arrived and told us they were looking for Arthur. He thought it was Jasmine and let her continue.

Come to think of it, I believe this is the first time I've seen someone from the Twin Horns.

As I thought, the door rang again, and to my surprise, not only was Jasmine there, but the entire group was there, and with them was someone I barely remembered.

It was the girl who survived the Dire Tombs with Arthur, Elijah, and Jasmine. If I remember correctly, her name is Samantha, a water mage who I felt had the same potential as the people at the Xyrus Academy.

I would like to have her as an ally and help her awaken her full potential, just like Jasmine. It's amazing the Butterfly Effect my existence causes; I didn't think she would meet the Twin Horns.

As those thoughts crossed my mind, Arthur spoke.

"What's up? Guys, don't just stand there, come on, my friend is inviting."

My gaze immediately turned to Arthur, you bastard, since when are you so brazen?

Not to make the people at the entrance uncomfortable, I erased any feeling of displeasure towards Arthur for his statements and gave a smile to the Twin Horns while signaling for them to sit down.

"Arthur, I didn't know you had friends," Adam said, mocking the young redhead.

"Of course, I can't be like you, a loner without friends," he said while pointing to a seat next to him for Jasmine to sit down.

Next to mine, Helen sat down while looking at me curiously.

"I think the same, Arthur, I don't remember ever seeing you being friends with someone else," Jasmine said.

"Your social skills must be terrible if your family's friends think that," I said in a playful tone.

"I don't remember being the one running alone through the clearings," he said, betraying my facade.

After that, I received surprised looks from all those present. I sent a precise electric current through the ground to Arthur's body, which made him jump from his seat.

"Ouch, why did you do that?" he said as he recovered.

"You're the adventurer rumored to raid dungeons alone," Helen asked me with a curious voice.

"Haaaah, please don't tell anyone, I have my reasons for not revealing my identity," I said as I crossed my arms.

"Don't worry, we know that Arthur is in a similar situation, so this information won't come from us," Helen reassured me.

"You know, we overlooked the fact that this guy is Arthur's age and I can't sense his core level," Adam said.

"How did you and Arthur meet?" Angela asked with eyes full of curiosity.

Looking at everyone, I could see the quiet Durden and Samantha, who seemed very shy, looking at me.

"We met in Elenoir; you could say he's an orphan adopted and raised by the elves. During my stay there, we became very good friends, and yes, Adam, he awakened as young as I did," Arthur said, giving Adam a mocking smile.

"I knew it, damn it, where are these little monsters coming from these days?" Adam said, cursing the air.

That earned him a smack on the head from Durden for his words. We continued talking for some time, getting to know each other a little better.

There was only one thing that troubled me, and that was that Nile had been giving Jasmine looks for a while.

This boy seems to have found his bond. (You can be with her when you reach rank A; you've been growing very fast and are almost out of class B; it's just a matter of time.)

(I know, Master, I was just watching her.)

(I know better than anyone that your looks are for her to take you, but you can't yet.)

After saying goodbye to them, I headed to Eden to check on the progress of the Wyvern eggs, evolve the offspring of the Hades serpent, and absorb the class AA core.