Just another member of the Adventurers Guild

"So they tried to frame the elves and dwarves?" Amelia asked.

It was 8:00 a.m., and Finn and Darwin had gathered to train as Cristel had told them to. Amelia and Cristel were with them, watching them train while they talked about the early morning attack.

"Yes, the culprits were disguised as elves and even wore authentic elf clothing. We think they killed some elves and stole their belongings" Cristel stated, sitting on one of the exercise machines.

"Those bastards were definitely humans!" Darwin said angrily as he pushed some heavy weighted plates with his legs. "I don't think it was the mytt."

"It's not good to speculate or make statements so soon" Amelia said, although she also doubted it was the mytt, as they have been trying to enter this kingdom for several years, and doing something like this would only bring them more conflict.

"Wait, how did you manage to survive that, Finn?" Darwin asked, knowing that the entire area had completely disappeared, including Finn's place.

Cristel simply remained silent, but with a smile on her face, as she had seen both him and Amelia when she jumped out of her own room.

"Luckily, he wasn't in his apartment" Amelia replied, smiling, glad she had forced Finn to stay in her room the night before.

"Oh, wasn't he? Were you going for a midnight meal? You should have invited me. I always get hungry at midnight" Darwin said.

"Yeah, something like that… Besides, I don't even know where you live" Finn replied, wanting to avoid the topic.

"He was with me" Amelia replied, surprising Darwin. "He spent the night in my room."

"HA, you took Merlin's words very seriously!" Darwin said mockingly. "Or maybe Amelia just took advantage of you and the moment… wait, where will you live now? Your room is destroyed."

"I'll be living in the guild hall. That's exactly what I was talking to Amelia about yesterday before she made me spend the night in her room" Finn said, embarrassed.

"Oh, so that's what happened? Amelia sneaked you into her room and then assaulted you there, right?" Darwin said, understanding everything.

"Don't say it like that. It was all consensual!… at least in the end" Amelia said, lowering her voice as she was talking.

"Whatever happened, it was a good thing you weren't at home at the time" Cristel said. She didn't like the idea of ​​having lost a friend just a few days after meeting him.

"...maybe I should get a room for myself too. If Finn can afford it, then so can I. We earn the same amount" Darwin said, making Amelia frown.

"Tch, that's what I've been trying to tell you, idiot. You don't need to pay anything in the guild rooms; they're totally free for adventurers!" Amelia exclaimed angrily.

Amelia had been telling Darwin to move to the guild for over a year, but he always avoided the topic by saying he didn't have enough money, which frustrated Amelia even more since he didn't listen.

"Anyway, you need to get everything fixed quickly since several adventurers have been wanting to come live at the guild since yesterday" said Cristel.

"I've already arranged everything for Finn, all that's missing is Darwin. I can fit him in one of the rooms next to Finn's. There were plenty of vacancies since it's on the 4th floor" Amelia said, and Cristel nodded, understanding why Amelia had chosen that floor.

"What's wrong with the 4th floor?" Darwin asked curiously.

"Nothing, just that the view of the window is blocked by a neighboring building, and the adventurers don't want to live there" Cristel said. "Anyway, you should hurry up with your training. It's okay if you finish a little early today. Finn needs to find some new clothes, and Darwin needs a room."

Everyone nodded, remaining silent for a few seconds, but as Finn exercised, he couldn't help but wonder if the war had come a few years early, so he decided to ask.

"So... will we go to war?" Finn asked, finally asking the question Amelia and Darwin had been trying to ask to Cristel.

"No… for the moment, although the tension is very high right now, the Masters don't want to go to war with anyone because we don't know for sure who it was, but once they find out…" Cristel said, not finishing the last sentence, as it was very obvious what would happen when they found out who attacked them.

"War" Darwin finished seriously, the idea had never crossed his mind, but now he knew very well that the war could be a few years or days away from starting, depending on how everything developed.

"They've already sent several spy adventurers to other kingdoms and capitals to find out who it was. I hope this doesn't escalate much further. If the other kingdoms get involved, then it will be a very disastrous war" Cristel affirmed, convinced. "Anyway, war or not, you have to train, so keep going!" Cristel said, recovering her spirits.

—

At 5 p.m., Finn and Darwin finished their training, two hours earlier than they should have. Darwin left with Amelia. The two would fill out all the paperwork for Darwin's room and bring all his things. Cristel accompanied Finn to a nearby clothing store, as he had never bought clothes before.

The two walked down one of the city's main streets, but instead of heading downtown, where all the shops were, Cristel led him back to Pink Alley, because according to her, the clothes were better and cheaper there. Along the way, the two noticed several civilians gathered, demanding justice from the knights of the capital. Some were crying, others were furious, and others seemed helpless. All of them were family and friends of the people who died in the early morning attack, and they were demanding justice for them.

Cristel looked at the civilians with regret, as not even they knew who was responsible for this attack, and there was no way to bring justice to the bereaved families. After a few minutes, the two entered Old Dan's shop, who greeted them briefly, and then headed toward the Pink Alley.

The Pink Alley was in a similar state to the capital. Several adventurers and merchants were whispering between them about what had happened, speculating and theorizing about who the possible attacker might be. Wanting to avoid them, Cristel quickly guided Finn to the shop where she usually buys her clothes.

"I'm surprised you've never bought clothes before. How did you get your current clothes?" Cristel asked, confused.

"I don't know. I guess the other Finn managed it somehow... or maybe Amelia" Finn guessed, dismissing it.

"Well, then it's time for you to learn which is the best shop" Cristel said, standing in front of a shop that was much more decent than the others in the Pink Alley. "This is my favorite shop; they sell all kinds of clothes here!" Cristel said excitedly.

Cristel led Finn inside the store, where Finn could see that it was much larger than the outside. This made him realize that almost every store he had ever visited had this peculiar characteristic.

"You know, I've always wondered how the inside of a room or store can be bigger than what's shown on the outside?" Finn asked Cristel.

"This is possible because of the magical writing. These are all hidden basements somewhere in the kingdom, and they're connected to the shops or rooms through magical writing. I don't know exactly what spell is used, but I understand it's like a huge door that connects two different spaces" Cristel said, walking into the shop and being followed by Finn.

"Oh, like a portal or wormhole?" Finn said.

"I don't know what you mean by wormhole, but about a portal, yes, it's something like that" Cristel said, confused by the term. "So tell me, what do you think? There are a lot of clothes, aren't there?" Cristel asked, pointing to where the clothes were.

Finn turned around, seeing a large number of sections distributed everywhere. Each section had a different style of clothing, whether for different occupations in the guilds, cultures, seasons, or special occasions. Finn looked closely at the clothing from different cultures, noticing that this clothing wasn't a exactly copy of the clothing he knew from the other world, as it had a more fanciful tone.

"Incredible, isn't it?" Cristel asked, walking toward a traditional black Chinese dress with a golden floral pattern that moved around the dress. Cristel caressed the neck of the dress, and the colors inverted, becoming a golden dress with black flowers. "I've always wanted a dress like that, but I can never find one in my size. I'm too big to wear it."

The two walked through the long aisles of the different sections, looking for the section that held the adventurer clothing.

"They sell all kinds of clothes and accessories you could ever need here" Cristel said.

"Wow, they sell everything…" Finn said, looking at a section of clothing for prostitutes.

"Yeah, they have clothes for everything" Cristel said, looking at the section Finn was looking at. "I had to buy the clothes I use for party or brothel missions here. I have to admit, they're very comfortable."

"Have you worn these clothes to parties?" Finn asked. "What kind of parties have you been to?"

"Sure, I told you the other day, didn't I? I've danced several times at parties" Cristel said. "Do you want me to dance for you on your birthday too? I don't mean to brag, but my clients say I'm very good, a 10 out of 10... wait, when is your birthday?"

Finn stopped walking at the question. He knew when his birthday was in the other world, but he didn't know if it was the same here. He highly doubted the other Finn had even celebrated it.

"Well, I don't know... I know my age, but not my birthday" Finn confessed, and Cristel nodded.

"There's no record of your birthday in the guild either…" Cristel said, remembering examining Finn and Darwin's information when they were in the infirmary. "Maybe Merlin knows. He brought you to the guild after all" Cristel said, and Finn nodded.

The two continued searching for clothes, until a few minutes later they finally found the adventurers' section. Finn didn't hesitate and chose clothes similar to what he already had, only varying the colors and the style a little. After that, they moved on to the accessories, noticing several magical leather bags where he could store his potions or items collected on quests, as well as a strange bracer with mini-tubes around it.

"And what's this for?" Finn asked, looking at the bracer.

"This is used by the mages in charge of healing the team. They store blood in these small tubes for emergency transfusions, although some use them to store potions or any other type of drink" Cristel said, remembering having seen several adventurers use the bracer to store water or even beer.

"This would be very useful for storing my slime," Finn said, taking the bracelet and taking the slime out of his backpack. "It fits perfectly…"

"That's what you used on your mission, isn't it?" Cristel asked, looking at the slime. "I thought it was some kind of water magic, but who would have thought it was just a simple slime… Can I?" Cristel asked, wanting to grab the slime.

Finn handed her the bracelet with the slime in it, and Cristel didn't hesitate to pull it out using her telekinesis, controlling it to try to shape it in all kinds of ways, but she could barely stretch the slime or make it change shape.

'In the video, Finn used this, giving it various shapes for different situations. It's definitely a very clever and useful way to use it…' Cristel thought, putting more effort into manipulating the slime.

Cristel tried a few more times until she finally managed to shape it into a shield, which little by little took on various details, making it look more like a real shield.

'If it were just a little harder, it would be my perfect weapon...' Cristel thought, remembering all the problems she had with her swords or any other weapon she used. "Would you mind if I kept it for a few days? I'd like to try it out on some missions" Cristel asked, and Finn nodded without hesitation.

"Sure, I won't be using it for the next few weeks anyway" Finn said.

"Thanks. I promise I'll take care of it and make it up to you," Cristel said, putting the slime back in her bracer. "So you have everything?"

"Yeah, I think so" Finn said, seeing the amount of clothes he had grabbed.

"Okay, then let's go... oh, of course, then what do you say?" Cristel asked again, confusing Finn.

"About what?" Finn asked, not knowing what she meant.

"About the dance, of course. I'm pretty sure you'd like it. I honestly believe it'll also bring us closer as friends" Cristel said, leaving Finn unsure of how to respond.

Finn looked away, wondering what to say. Part of him understood that this was somehow normal here, in addition to everything he had read in the novels, which he now knew were all true things that happened here. But he still couldn't see it as normal or something friends would do, since he hadn't grown up with the same mentality and morals as the people of this world. Although a part of him did want to accept, because after all, he was young, and who would reject such a proposal from a beautiful woman like Cristel? but he felt that he would then be taking advantage of this situation.

These types of dilemmas had been going through Finn's head since he came into this world, because ever since he arrived he had felt the need to want to speak or act more freely, but he always held back, because for him it wasn't right to be giving opinions or taking action at times when they weren't required, like the first time he met Amelia, it seemed, and still seems, strange to him that a person could have two horns coming out of their head and he wanted to ask her all kinds of questions, but he didn't do it so as not to offend her in any way; Or the time he met the centaurs. Finn had seen centaurs several times in movies or animated series from his other world, but it was completely different from seeing them in person. Finn didn't dislike centaurs, but they seemed strange to him, and he wanted to ask them many questions, which he didn't ask so as not to offend them in any way.

There was also the matter of goblins and any other monsters. It was strange to him how they could kill them or enslave them for their own purposes, but above all, it was stranger to him that he himself had no problem killing a creature or disliked Cristel's crazy ideas, and that made him uncomfortable.

All these dilemmas ran through Finn's mind, not knowing whether he should accept Cristel's offer or reject it. Before he could answer, Finn felt a slight pang in his chest. It was small, but noticeable. Finn adjusted his shirt, surreptitiously touching his chest and wondering what that was, before answering.

"I don't know. I'm still not used to these things... how about I answer you after I think about it more carefully?" Finn said, and Cristel sighed and nodded.

"Of course, I'm fine with waiting, but remember what Merlin said, you should express yourself more" Cristel said, and Finn nodded. Then, both finally went to pay his clothes.