Conflict
Creak.
The moment Father pushed open the door, every gaze inside swung toward us. For a heartbeat, the weight of all those eyes settled over the room, and a taut silence hung in the air.
But only for a heartbeat.
As if my presence barely registered, the adventurers turned back to their conversations, and the hall filled once more with noise and laughter.
People in armor. Mages with staves. Men and women carrying bows and daggers. Someone had a bandage wrapped around one arm. Someone else still wore armor stained with monster blood. A massive axe leaned against one wall, and near the ceiling, old sword scars cut into the wood like faded wounds.
And beyond that—someone was drinking, while others bent over request forms, deep in discussion.
So these are real adventurers…
His heart began to beat a little faster.
"Dad."
"What are those sword marks on the ceiling?"
"Those?"
"From what I know…"
"They say a fight broke out in here a long time ago."
"Guild members fight each other?"
"Of course they do."
"Why?"
"Well… the reason's simple enough."
Father looked out across the adventurers as he spoke.
"Those people have to be ready to trust each other with their lives at any moment. They're comrades."
"Comrades…"
The word settled into his chest, and something there began to flutter with a strange, quiet excitement.
And then—
Bang!
"Hah—"
"Look at you, spouting fancy lines! Fer!"
Someone called out to Father from across the room.
"Keep it down, Ruti."
"Fer, is it?"
Scraping back his chair, a man of enormous build rose to his feet. Even tilting his head all the way back, the boy could see nothing past the man's chest.
"Still built like a damn beanpole."
"Visca."
"How've you been?"
"You vanished for so long I was starting to worry."
"Don't. I'm not the type to die that easy."
Father fired the retort back without missing a beat.
"Haha!"
"That's what we like to hear!"
Visca laughed and raised his cup.
"Then finish your drink."
"Will do."
"We'll have one together sometime."
"Sure."
Father lifted a hand in an easy, familiar greeting. The people around them were already smiling as if nothing could be more natural. Watching it, the boy began to understand just how long his father had belonged to this place.
"Same as ever, all of you."
"Dad."
"I've never seen anyone taller than you before."
"Is that so?"
"Though that man is especially huge."
Father chuckled under his breath.
"That uncle of yours carries the blood of the giants—the ones who used to walk this world long ago."
"Giants?"
"What are those?"
Father glanced up at the ceiling, as if wrestling with how to explain.
"Uh… well."
"They're a race as tall as mountains, basically."
"Dad…"
"You're not very good at explaining things, are you?"
The people nearby couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Pwahahaha!"
"That doesn't explain a single thing!"
The big man from earlier roared with laughter so hard he sprayed his drink.
"Man, you really are hopeless at explaining anything."
"That's a talent right there. A real talent."
"You're telling me."
"Quiet!!!"
Father's face went red as he shouted. It was a side of him the boy had never quite seen before. At home, Father had always seemed impressive—but here, everyone leaned on him, and everyone seemed to like him.
"Dad."
"Everyone really likes you, don't they?"
"Of course!"
"Because your old man's strong!"
The back that delivered those words looked sturdier than ever.
Thud!
"Ow…"
Someone rose from beneath the counter.
"Fer. It's been a while."
"Here on a request?"
That was a really loud noise… Is she okay?
"No."
Father gave the boy's shoulder a light tap.
"Today I'm here to register my son with the guild."
The air in the room went cold. Several adventurers turned to stare at him, eyes wide with surprise.
"Is that right?"
"So this is Lady Armel's child."
"Haven't seen him since he was little."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Lizette."
"You can call me Lizette unnie."
"Yes…"
Lizette was remarkably warm toward him.
"But how do you know my mom?"
"Your mother is more famous than you think."
"My mom is?"
"She is. I'm only here thanks to Lady Armel, too."
"Ahem."
"That's enough of that."
Father seemed to cut her off in a hurry.
"Fine, fine."
"You never let anyone say anything."
"But what are you doing here, anyway? Where's Kasha?"
"Kasha's on leave for a while, goofing off. Said she wanted to travel around with her little sister or something."
"I see."
Her gaze shifted to the boy.
"But he looks awfully young. And he wants to register as an adventurer?"
He couldn't find a word to say. Then Father spoke, quiet and steady.
"My son."
"He's better than you'd expect."
There was real conviction in those words. A few of the onlookers smiled and looked away.
"Is that so?"
"But Fer."
"I heard you earlier."
Lizette wore a teasing little smile as she looked at him.
"Still terrible at explaining things, huh?"
"Be quiet."
"I could just go tell Armel, you know."
"Please don't…"
"But Dad."
"Hm?"
"Lizette unnie is younger than you. Why does she talk to you so casually?"
"That's…"
"I'll explain. Fer can't explain anything properly."
"Lizette…"
Father's face crumpled on the spot.
"Among adventurers, casual speech just works better. You never know when a fight's going to break out—formal talk would only get in the way."
"Is that how it is?"
"And… well. We're adventurers."
Lizette swept a look around the room.
"Plenty of people here don't know much about manners, either."
"Look at that idiot picking a fight while he's drinking again."
"You're telling me."
The reactions around them grew louder. Lizette seemed pleased with the response, a satisfied smile on her face.
"Alright, enough explaining."
"You said you wanted to register as an adventurer, right?"
"Just a moment."
At that instant, the guild door opened.
Creeeak.
Every gaze swung back toward the entrance. A figure stepped inside, sunlight at her back.
Click. Click.
A cloak billowed behind her like a princess's train. A sword, ornate and impossible to ignore, hung at her side. And then—white hair, and white eyes.
The moment she entered, the noisy guild fell still. But only for a short while. Soon the whispers started up again.
"What the…"
"Is that a noble?"
"Why would a noble come here?"
"Who knows."
Without meaning to, he watched her. From the moment she began walking, he couldn't look away. And when she stopped before the counter, their eyes met.
His heart began to pound for no reason he could name. At the time, he thought it was only nerves.
That brief silence passed, and the guild grew loud again. But he alone still couldn't tear his eyes from the girl. She looked at him for a moment, then spoke.
"Is there something you need?"
"No…"
"It's just…"
"You're so pretty…"
The words left his mouth before he could stop them.
"Pff—"
"Dad!"
"Thank you for saying so."
"You're rather handsome yourself."
Her smile seemed to shine like moonlight.
"Thank you…"
For a long moment after that, he couldn't quite collect himself.
"Son."
Father waved a hand at him.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Ah… nothing."
He hurriedly turned his head—and found Lizette wearing a thoroughly mischievous expression.
"Already falling for someone at first sight."
"I wonder who he takes after."
She turned to look at Father.
"Not me."
"He takes after Armel."
"Does he, now?"
"More importantly, hurry up and do the measurement."
"Alright."
"Here. Place your hand on the crystal orb."
"What does this measure, exactly?"
"Your mana attribute and your basic physical strength. It tells you what attribute you have, and how much mana you carry."
"Look at that—a decent explanation for once."
"Shut… up."
"Haha."
He hadn't even touched it yet, and already his heart was racing. He wiped the sweat from his palm and carefully set his hand on the crystal orb.
In that instant—the crystal began to glow with a faint light. Something about that light felt familiar.
This light…
It's like the one I saw back then.
"What is this light?"
"Lizette, is that okay?"
"It's fine. The measurement's working properly."
The light gradually began to fade.
"Measurement's done."
"Did it go well?"
"Just a moment."
Is that a crack in the crystal orb?
Lizette's expression hardened ever so slightly.
"Unnie?"
"Did it come out badly?"
"No!"
"It's better than I expected, actually."
The surrounding adventurers pricked up their ears with interest.
"His basic physical strength is high. And for a child, his mana capacity is pretty solid too."
Whispers rose around them.
"As expected of Armel's son."
"Blood doesn't lie."
Then—a small voice came from beside him.
"So that boy…"
"…is Lady Armel's son."
Sensing her gaze, he turned. The white-haired girl was watching him quietly.
"Is something wrong?"
"No."
She smiled softly.
"Congratulations on your measurement."
Father gave a short, proud laugh.
"That's my boy."
"Alright, then. One last thing."
"Just a simple test."
"A test?"
Without a word, Lizette raised a thumb and pointed toward the door at the back.
"You'll do that over there."
"Where's that?"
"The training grounds."
"Alright, son!"
"Follow your dad."
They walked around behind the guild, and a wide training ground opened before them.
"Wow!"
It was far larger than he had imagined. The ceiling was open to the sky, and all around them stood training dummies, people sparring with real blades and wooden swords, and mages casting spells into the air.
"Oh, if it isn't Fer."
"Been a while."
Everyone greeted Father as they saw him.
"Long time no see."
"Who's that next to you?"
"Your son?"
"That's right. My boy."
"Cute."
"Which means…"
"That's right. He's Armel's son too."
"Ah…"
"Kid, looking forward to working with you."
"Yes…"
It seemed that every time his mother's name came up, the reaction changed.
"This is amazing!"
"I can't believe a place this big exists."
"Right?"
"This is one of our guild's pride and joys."
The scent of grass mixed with the smell of iron—unfamiliar, but somehow not unpleasant.
"Dad, the guild is such a fun place!"
"Hearing you say that makes me happy."
"Now let's finish this test and head home."
"We should do the test, yes."
"But."
At that moment—two wooden swords had somehow appeared in Lizette's hands. He stared at her blankly.
Why is unnie holding swords…
"Don't tell me…"
"That 'don't tell me' is exactly right."
She tossed one of the wooden swords toward him. He caught it on pure reflex.
"Normally we'd just check your basic technique against a training dummy."
Lizette rolled her shoulders as she continued.
"But Fer taught you himself. Doing it the usual way would be boring, wouldn't it?"
She spun the wooden sword lightly, then dropped into a low stance.
In that instant, the air itself seemed to change.
This feeling…
It's the same one I felt when I fought Dad.
Looking at Lizette, he felt a flicker of fear. Her smile was gone. In its place was the gaze of a seasoned adventurer.
"Simple."
"Land even one hit, and I'll count it as a pass."