The Meeting With A Noble

Early in the morning, inside the guildhall of Chandola

A thick scent of alcohol hit me like a truck as soon as I stepped into the guildhall. Apparently, a party was going on, and no one invited me!

Systie, sitting on my shoulder, let out a low growl at the strong smell before her eyes fell on some grilled fish on a nearby table. She immediately jumped down and hurried toward the fish, snagging a bite.

"Nyah," she purred, attracting the attention of the adventurers who were eating. They looked at the cat and instantly fell for its charms.

I sighed and looked around, trying to find the red-haired girl. It didn't take long. She was standing shoulder to shoulder with a group of burly men, downing mugs of alcohol like it was water. 'Those burly men don't look friendly, better avoid standing out for now,' I thought, but a moment later, Arya's gaze locked onto mine, and all my thoughts of staying out of trouble vanished.

"Ervin!" she screamed, lunging at me like a drunken missile before introducing me to the burly men around her. "Everyone, meet Ervin! He's my junior and the one who helped me clear the dungeon!"

For a second, the entire guild turned silent as everyone stared at me, sizing me up like I was some sort of exotic animal. I wasn't sure if I should wave or run, but before I could make a decision, a pair of strong hands yanked me toward the center of the room.

And that's how I found myself dancing and singing—with a bunch of sweaty, muscular adventurers. I didn't even know the steps; my feet just kind of moved on their own, and slowly a grin formed on my face as I started genuinely enjoying the party.

At some point, Arya shoved a mug of something that looked and smelled like alcohol into my hands. I hesitated, staring at the frothy liquid with saliva dripping from my mouth. I had never tried alcohol my whole life; it just didn't seem that attractive. But looking around at the people drinking and enjoying themselves, a small wish to try the drink popped into my head. Before I could chug it down, though, a giant of a man with a scar on his chin swooped in and smacked Arya on the head.

"Hey! You can't hit a noblewoman like me! You'll be thrown in jail!" Arya screamed before grabbing another mug.

The man ignored her protests and snatched the mug from my hands, replacing it with one filled with juice. "You're too young for that," he grumbled, giving me a look that clearly said, 'Don't even think about it.'

"Gee, thanks," I muttered, slightly disappointed. I got over it pretty quickly, though, and the party raged on.

It continued for an hour before Arya lost her battle with the alcohol and eventually crumpled to the floor in a heap, with drool dripping from her mouth. The scarred man, who looked like the only sane person around, picked her up like she was a sack of potatoes and plopped her in a corner to sleep.

When he came back, he handed me a pouch that felt heavier than it looked. "That's the amount she got after selling all the rat parts and roses you guys collected," he explained.

Curiosity piqued, I peeked inside and nearly dropped the pouch in surprise. It was filled with coins—lots of coins. My heart did a little happy dance as I imagined all the food, gear, and other necessities I could buy with this kind of money. Heck, I could even afford some luxuries!

"It's a total of 80,000 cents, quite a lot if you ask me," the man continued. "She told me to give everything to you and pass on a message." He handed me a folded letter. The handwriting looked pretty sloppy, but I could make out what was written:

<Drop me at my home. It's the giant mansion center of Noble District, pretty easy to spot.>

I sighed, staring at the letter for a moment before looking at Arya, who was quarreling with another burly man for a mug of alcohol. Dropping her off at home after she gave me 80,000 cents? Seemed like a fair trade. I bowed to the man, thanked him for the pouch, and then went over to pick up the drunken girl.

"Hey, junior... pass me another mug... I wanna drink more..." Arya mumbled as I hoisted her onto my shoulder. I ignored her and headed for the door, trying not to think about how awkward this situation was. Systie jumping on my shoulder and giving me the 'try anything and I will punch you' look didn't help.

As I made my way out of the guildhall, I couldn't help but overhear the whispers from the other adventurers.

"Apparently those two cleared an entire dungeon by themselves."

"It was just an artificial one."

"But still, the kid doesn't even look 12 years old. He has a bright future."

"You're right, maybe we're witnessing the birth of a superstar."

"Nah, I bet Arya did all the work and he's just shamelessly hogging all the glory."

I had to bite back a laugh. It was hilarious how they were all trying to figure out who I was. 'The birth of a superstar,' huh? Well, that felt nice, not gonna lie. I adjusted Arya on my shoulder and continued toward the Noble District, trying to tune out her drunken mumblings.

Of course, she just had to puke along the way, forcing me to stop and clean her up. I am so glad I didn't drink; I didn't want to go through that vomiting session.

After half an hour of travel, I finally reached the stone wall separating the Noble District from the rest of Chandola. It looked impressive and very sturdy. I could even spot quite a few guards patrolling on top of the wall.

I knocked on the Southern Entrance, and a guard peeked out, eyeing me suspiciously until he noticed Arya. His expression changed instantly, and he opened the gate without a word.

Unlike the commoner district we were in, the Noble District was a lot cleaner with a pleasant smell of flowers wafting around. The streets were spotless, with huge mansions and gardens lining either side. I even spotted a dedicated library, weapon shop, and potion store.

It felt like I had stepped into a completely different world. As I walked, I couldn't help but notice the way the nobles stared at us—no, at Arya—with a mix of disdain and curiosity. They covered their mouths with fans and whispered among themselves, but none of them dared to approach.

"Man, you must have a lot of fans," I muttered to Arya, who was too out of it to respond.

Eventually, I reached what could only be described as the largest mansion I had ever seen. It was twice the size of anything else in the district and looked like it had been plucked straight out of a fairy tale. As I approached, a middle-aged man in a butler's uniform opened the gates and stepped forward to greet me.

"Thank you for bringing the lady back safely, young man," the butler said and then welcomed us in.

I hesitated, but the prospect of staying in a luxurious mansion even for a few minutes was too tempting to pass up. I followed the butler inside, trying not to gawk at the lavish decorations that probably cost more than everything I'd ever owned combined. The butler guided me to a sitting room, where he gently laid Arya down on a plush sofa.

"Arya's mother—the head of this house—wishes to have a small talk with you. Please follow me," he said and walked out of the room.

His statement caused me to panic. 'Why does the head of this house want to meet me? Did she find out that I stole Arya's first kiss!? But it was CPR; she would understand that, right!?' Many questions ran through my mind, but I still followed the butler.

The cat on my shoulder tried to slip away but if I was going to jail then I was going to take it with me. With that thought in mind, I yanked the cat on my shoulders and marched ahead.

After many twists and turns, the butler led me into a large chamber and beckoned me to go in. As I entered the room, my eyes landed on a black-haired woman sitting behind a desk, doing paperwork. A large portrait of two red-haired siblings was hung on the wall behind her. It was a portrait of a young Arya and her brother reading some storybooks.

As I was distracted by the portraits, the black-haired woman coughed to get my attention and started speaking, "Thank you for helping my reckless daughter in the dungeon. Sit down; we have a lot to talk about. Especially about the talking cat of yours"

I immediately felt my world come to a screeching halt as her words registered in my mind, 'How did she know? What happens now?' I felt the cat stiffen and hug me tighter.

"How do you know?" I asked while sitting up straight. This meeting was already turning out to be a lot more serious than I expected, I was seriously considering bringing up the topic of me kissing her daughter just to distract her from the current topic.

***********************

In the forest outside Chandola.

A red-haired boy—Ronan—and a blonde girl stood in front of a blue crystal bird and placed their hands on it. A few seconds later, the image of a black shadowy figure appeared in front of their eyes and looked straight at them before opening its mouth.

"Did you collect the blood samples of the mutated monsters?" the figure asked. The duo nodded and took out two vials of blood from their pockets.

"Good. Place them in the crystal bird's mouth," it ordered, then continued, "Your mission on this continent is complete. Both of you split up and go to the elven and dwarven continents. Your mission is to clear the dungeons in those continents and collect the blood of the sacred beasts."

They both nodded and placed the vials in the crystal bird's mouth. The vials immediately disappeared and reappeared in the shadowy figure's hands. After doing that, they deactivated the bird and went their separate ways.