Brooke

(A/N time)

~Desuuu~

*****

"Can you show your status plates please?"

Alex didn't bother with the guard and continued walking. Yue cast a casual illusion on the people nearby and passed through the gate without a hitch.

Brooke was the name of the town.

The town was bustling with activity. There was a wide street with carriages going in and out occasionally. Merchants and hawkers set their stalls by the sides in the corners of the roads, haggling prices with loads of people. There were a few shops in the limelight with lines of people streaming in.

Looking at the buzzing town filled with noise and people, Alex couldn't help but feel giddy in excitement. Yue by his side had a wide smile as well. Only Shea on his left had a cute pout on her face as she glared reproachfully at Alex.

"What's wrong Shea? Why are you glaring at me? Is it because we didn't stop on the way, is your stomach unwell?"

"Excuse me, my stomach is perfectly well. It's just, do something about this collar desu. I finally thought you accepted me as a companion and now you give me a slave collar to wear. Everyone will think that I am your slave." Even when her eyes were a little teary, her expression seemed okay with it. The perverted rabbit probably only wanted Alex to comfort her.

Alex was a little embarrassed and scratched his head. "Do you want to walk around without it then? A beautiful and defenseless bunny girl walking around without it; if you weren't wearing it, there would probably be a fight between kidnappers to decide who gets you."

"O-Oh you, I can't believe Alex-san was worried about me. And you think I'm beautiful. Hehe it won't be long before you fall helplessly in love with me... Iyaah you perv-" The world of dreams she entered was shattered by Yue's punch.

"Don't get ahead of yourself."

"I'm shorry, Yue-shan." It was a hit to the face. Nice punch.

"Anyways, would you like to continue or stay here to relax for a couple of days?"

Alex ignored their little skit and tenderly asked Yue, not paying attention to the "Ask me like that too Alex-san desu~" by the other side.

Yue thought for a second and expressed that she wanted to stay.

Alex nodded and they continued after sending a few rubber bullets to the ogling passerby. Alex with his handsome face, impressive body and the intimidating twin swords on his back was a treat for the young ladies. The mature and petite Yue and Shea with her nice figure attracted men.

They first proceeded to find the adventurer's guild. Alex just wanted to sell the monster bodies they had accumulated while travelling.

The monsters were too weak to provide any stats for Alex and all the important parts that could be helpful in transmutation were already taken out. Although he couldn't use magic for now, he was sure he would find a way later. He couldn't even directly use mana from the divinity stone because the act of manipulating mana in itself required mana in his body.

Anyways, the guild was a three-story building with a beautiful exterior. The entrance gate was made of glass and was wide enough for four people to go through. Alex pushed open the gates and entered with Shea and Yue. The first and second floors were merged into one big room and the third room was probably the accommodations. There was a board where a lot of reports and requests were stuck using pins, and the entire left side was made into a luxurious bar and restaurant.

All the eyes turned to the newcomers in the building and many adventurers went quiet. At a place like this where most people were men and there were occasionally any beautiful women, both of Alex's companions were too eye-catching.

Alex and co ignored the gazes and headed towards the reception.

The receptionist was not a stereotypical beautiful young woman, but a slightly fat old woman who carried herself with an experienced gait. If he remembered correctly, her name should be Catherine and she was actually somewhat of a bigshot in the entire chain of guilds.

He approached the desk.

"Hello. We'd like to sell some monster parts."

She gave a polite smile and asked for any one of their status plates to confirm their adventurer identities.

"Not an adventurer."

"Then would you like to register?"

"I don't really care but if there's no paperwork then go ahead. I don't have money so just deduct it from the monster parts I sell."

She formed a frown and her face turned stern. She was truly worried about him and started lecturing him. She somehow reminded him of his mother.

"Listen here boy. What are you doing walking around with two cute girls completely penniless? I'll give you a bonus so take care of them and yourself well. Adventuring is not a child's job. Do you understand?"

'This old lady's really nice.'

Alex showed her his status plate with his stats hidden. After he was registered, there was an occupation column next to the job column on his status plate. The occupation read adventurer and there was a little blue mark next to it.

Yue then took out the monster materials. He was only selling materials from the monsters in Raisen Gorge and Haltina Woods. The ones from the last floor of the abyss were his backup food.

Though just one look at the 'common' monster bodies he took out, and Catherine's eyes opened wide as saucers. The bodies he took out were of very famous monsters that were only found in the Reisen gorge. It was a place well known for not being able to use magic and deadly monsters. Even one monster being killed was a big deal yet here were more than a dozen of them, dead. Even monsters from Haltina Woods were there.

She hurriedly inspected them to check their authenticity. It was just too unbelievable. If this was all hunted by the small party in front of her, then they would already be at the least as strong or even stronger than the highest rank adventurer.

Alex didn't bother to hide this matter either, but she still didn't know there were more than a hundred such monsters with them.

After she made sure they were the real deal and calculated their worth, the total came up to 250,000 Luta. It was quite a lot and it was half of the money in the guild storage of Brooke but she didn't hesitate to pay for the monsters were just too rare. In truth, she wanted to call the guild master but Alex and party didn't have time for useless conversations so she just processed the payment.

As a gift, she even threw in one of the maps of Brooke town she made herself, a fairly detailed map of the continent, and a few souvenirs. Such a nice lady.

Leaving the guild, they were thankful that no extras came to cause trouble for them. Close enough; actually there were a few intending to follow them after they left the guild but after seeing the monster after monster stacked on the side, they gave up. Not to mention, the instinctual crisis their lower half felt upon coming closer to the Yue.

"Alex-san. Where are we going now desu?"

"Nn. Where?"

Meeting their expectant gazes, he felt like a tour guide. He chuckled and gave them the map. It was still afternoon so they could tour around the city with time to spare. They should enjoy themselves for today.

Their trip started.

They first went to a restaurant and had a delicious and sumptuous meal. Yue had Alex for dessert, of course. For some reason, even Shea bit him on the other side of the nape. Her jaw hurt. Her teeth couldn't even penetrate his skin. Was she too weak? Or was it because Yue had a blood bond with him?

Afterwards, they went shopping for clothes. They turned their shopping mode on and went on a shopping spree. They bought a lot of dresses for themselves and for Alex too. Alex also changed into comfortable pants and a black t-shirt. Shea only bought airy and revealing clothes. Full sleeves and tight stuff was not to her liking. It was just in her nature.

Later, they went travelling the streets trying to find anything interesting. They went to a museum that detailed famous historical figures. All three of them were so bored, they slipped out in the middle of the guide, not before the wig of a statue on display mysteriously slipped down.

After touring the streets, they went to a water park at last. It wasn't that advanced but it was satisfactory enough. But the best part was that Yue looked so mesmerising in a swimsuit. Alex lamented that he didn't have a camera as he silently clicked a picture in his mind. He had to say that even Shea looked so good in a swimsuit. He clicked another picture.

On the other hand, the perverted rabbit drooled at Alex and jumped at him. She was rewarded with another punch.

After playing for hours, they finally ended their day and headed to an inn. They somehow felt tired. Something they didn't feel even after fighting monsters for days. Maybe it was because it was a new experience. Mysterious...

Even at night, the streets were illuminated with mana streetlights, though most of the shops were closed up. Yue and Shea were making talk with each other giggling ever so usually. Today was definitely an exception in the usual days of their lives. Just fighting for survival, killing, dealing with annoying liberators; There was never truly a place where they could fully let go. Even in the Orcus lair, although there was the much-needed break, the ticking clock didn't stop and there was the pressure and training every day to get stronger.

Alex smiled at Yue and Shea. They were a lot closer to each other than before. He was happy for Yue that after being sealed for so many years in the abyss, she finally got herself a new friend. She had nobody else but him to rely upon and Shea was definitely welcome in her life.

As for him, he was fine with just Yue. He didn't want to walk upon the path that he had once seen inside a novel. But at the same time, he knew that since the moment he had joined high school, he had already been paving his own path. He'll just let time take its course.

He let himself be dragged by Yue and Shea as they headed to rest for the night.

*****

(A/N time)

"Where is Myuu nano?"

*Sweats buckets*