Chapter 77
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Membership Test (3)
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After I explained the lifespan differences between elves and humans to Sia, she clung to Loren, sobbing apologies, while a flustered Loren tried to comfort her amid the brief commotion. Once things settled, we all headed to the Explorer Guild together to register our new party member.
Bzzz—
"Everyone's here today...? Huh, aren't you Loren?"
"Huh, Mion, how do you know Loren?"
"Well..."
Mion's pitiful gaze toward Loren said it all.
You've become so notoriously pitiful among the receptionists in less than a month, huh, Loren?
"Yesterday, I was busy because I ran into Loren and suggested she join our party."
"Ah... I see, phew..."
"Sis!"
Splat!
"Oh, Sia, long time... no see?"
As Mion and I chatted at the counter, Sia—who was thrilled to see Mion after so long—came up behind me, plopped her ample breasts onto my head, hugged my neck, and greeted Mion.
Mion looked flustered by Sia's casual skinship, but I kept a straight face and spoke to Sia.
"Sia, I'm talking with Mion right now. Mind waiting back there for a bit?"
"No way! I wanna talk with Sis too~ Sis, Sis! I've been working out lately!"
"Oh... haha, really?"
"I wanna help Cain, so I've been training my stamina!"
Sia beamed at Mion, clearly fishing for praise, and Mion soon smiled and congratulated her.
"For real? You used to hate exercise so much. That's impressive, Sia."
"Yeah! Hehe, Cain said he was proud of me too~"
"I see... So, Cain, you came with Loren today because...?"
"Yes, we're here to register her as a party member."
"Oh, really? That's great, Loren."
"Th-thank you..."
"First... fill out these forms... here, and this..."
Loren shuffled over when she heard her name, and seeing me surrounded by two women seemed to irk Mion a bit—she puffed her cheeks slightly as she quickly pulled out the party registration forms and handed them to me.
"Hmm... This looks complicated, so the rest of you wait over there. I'll call who I need."
"Me too?"
"You're the leader—you just need to sign. Want to fill it out yourself?"
"No."
I sent the other party members to the waiting area and sat alone with Mion to complete the paperwork.
"Hmmm... An elf... Cain, even elves now?"
"Huh? Me?"
"No, I mean, suddenly recruiting an elf into your party..."
"Mion."
"Yes?"
I looked up at her, and she seemed a little sulky.
I cut her off and stared quietly, watching her face gradually flush red.
"Eek...! Don't stare so intensely... heh?!"
"Loren's ridiculously strong."
"Strong...?"
"She can't wield a sword for shit, but we sparred at the inn earlier. She casually deflected Claude's full-force swing with a buckler and sent him flying—sword and all. And she's an elf who hasn't even entered the labyrinth yet."
"..."
"Plus, Sia gets uncomfortable around men, so we took her in because she's a woman. You know Sia's situation, yet you looked at me like that?"
"Th-that's..."
"Even if dinner got canceled yesterday, treating me like Claude..."
Though I'd be worse than Claude if she knew. But she doesn't.
"S-sorry... Hng..."
As I logically laid it out while pretending to be hurt, Mion's expression turned comically distraught.
Any more teasing and she'll cry.
"You messed up, right?"
"Y-yes..."
"Then you pick the next date."
"Huh?"
"I'm saying decide where we go and what we do next time."
"R-really?"
"Yeah. We're skipping the labyrinth this month anyway—mostly doing requests and training—so plenty of date days."
"Yes!!"
"Alright... Next date's course is up to you then... Claude!!!"
With the paperwork done and no worthwhile requests at the guild, I grabbed a gathering quest and handed it to Loren.
"Here, Loren."
"Lo-Loren!"
"Huh?"
"C-call me casually, everyone! N-now that I'm truly a comrade, isn't it better that way?"
"Sure. Got it, Loren."
"Ahem. Loren."
When Claude called her name in that sleazy lowered voice, even Sia and Loren winced slightly, but whatever.
I dropped the honorifics with Loren, Claude used semiformal, and Sia called her "sis."
"Loren sis!"
"Yes, Sia."
"Sis!!!"
"Hahaha."
Sia, who'd always wanted a big sister, latched onto Loren, who couldn't hide her joy.
Though her expression soured a bit whenever Sia's heavy breasts pressed against her.
Maybe playing the picky heroine from a picture book felt burdensome, or perhaps she was just thrilled to have comrades and wanted to get closer—either way, Loren tweaked her act slightly.
I didn't care as long as she kept our fling from the others secret.
"I've gathered plenty of herbs in advance, so during our city stay, I'll handle all the gathering requests myself."
She crossed her arms proudly, like she'd found her calling. Kinda cute.
"Oh... But Loren, gathering requests have fixed quotas, so gathering extra doesn't help. You planning to do them daily?"
"No, I've already gathered a ton, Leader."
"Please call me Claude casually too..."
"Leader."
"Urk...! Anyway, Cain said herbs lose freshness over time. Pre-gathering them could be an issue, right?"
"Hmph! We elves have special techniques—no freshness problems!"
"Oh... really?"
"This is nothing."
Claude tried buttering her up, but she drew a line and responded coolly before turning to me.
"Cain."
"Yeah, Loren."
"You said call casually, but isn't that too close?"
"You call me that too."
"Hmph!"
"So, what'd you want to say?"
"Um..."
Seeing her mouthing "swordsmanship" desperately with pleading eyes, we left the guild and headed to the gathering area together.
At the gathering area, Loren recovered just enough pre-hidden herbs to meet the quest quota. Then I told Claude and Sia about her swordsmanship aspirations.
"Swordsmanship dojo?"
"Yeah, Loren came to the city to learn swordsmanship because she wants to use one..."
"Sis wants swordsmanship too? Wow!"
"Ugh...!"
I handed an iron sword to Loren, who blushed and bowed her head in embarrassment.
"Give it a try."
"W-wait a moment. Hoo..."
Sia and Claude watched expectantly, but their expressions changed in under five minutes.
"Uh... ugh... hoo..."
"Sis!! Don't play around with swords—you could get hurt!"
"Sniff...!"
"See? That's why. She came to the city with nothing but the desire to wield a sword well, but look. Now that she's our comrade, we want to help however we can. What do you think?"
"Dojo... Yeah, we haven't done the labyrinth yet. Should be cheap."
Even Claude—who I'd expected to say "just train together!"—suggested paying for the dojo.
"Dojo tomorrow, or since all the party members are out together for once, wanna hang out?"
"Cain!! I wanna hang out together!!! Got a sis now, hehe!"
"Sounds good?"
"You guys..."
Loren's eyes welled up, touched by how Claude and I jumped straight to dojo plans without hesitation. We pretended not to notice and headed to the swordsmanship dojo together.
"What? 2 gold?"
"Hmph... Adjusting that elf's physical abilities looks tricky, no matter how you slice it."
"No, even for level 1, that's too much!"
I barely stopped Claude from shaking the dojo staff by the collar and tried negotiating again.
"So, regardless of level, you're charging more because our comrade's physical stats are too high?"
"Cough! Yeah... Heard she trained solo? Means she's full of bad habits already... Level doesn't matter then... Hey... hey!! Don't grab the collar!!"
"Claude, stop. Let's go. Thanks for your time."
"What? Ugh... fine."
Ting-a-ling—
Outside the dojo, we fell silent.
Loren's ears drooped pitifully, clear sign of dejection, and we slowly returned to the inn.
No doubles available anyway, and singles were better for separately "sucking" Sia and Loren, so I got her one too.
"Claude."
"Yeah."
"Should we ask Hawk or old man Frank for help?"
"Hmm... maybe?"
"Yeah. Mornings have few customers during training, so ask them to check her out then."
"Sure. Her noble speech is spot-on, but those awkward moments are cute."
"Horny bastard again."
"What? What're we eating at the after-party?"
"Hmm. Tons of meat and booze."
"Yes!!!"
"And don't let them catch you sneaking to the Pleasure House again."
"Got it..."
Loren's pretty down today, so I gotta comfort her plenty tonight.