Ryul

A strong storm seems to be approaching, and we will stop in a village that we are passing by. There the carriages will pick up some people who also want to go to the city. We go in a group of six carriages that come from the capital, passing through various villages, picking up and dropping off people and in the same way, picking up and dropping off different things, including letters.

The carriage I am in, also has an adventurer who told me that he and two more adventurers had been hired to protect the caravan in case bandits or a monster appears. In a few words, it is a transport service for which you have to pay 50 copper coins, and in exchange, they take you to the capital or to some village.

We barely made it to the village before it started to rain heavily. The idea was to only be here for an hour to feed the horses and give time to stretch the legs or eat something in the village. As well as give time to the people who would join to arrive. But because of the rain, it seems that we will be here longer.

I and the majority of the people found shelter from the rain in the village inn. The place was not very big and it quickly filled up. I managed to buy a sandwich with some difficulty, but there were no free tables. It is uncomfortable standing in this place, so I went out and found refuge in the stable. I sat on the straw, accompanied only by the horses. After eating, the straw's comfort accompanied by the sound of the rain made me sleepy, but I did not want to risk falling asleep and catching a cold or even worse than the carriages leaving while I was sleeping.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

I was dozing when an unknown voice from behind surprised me. "I'm sorry, I'm just passing through the village and I had nowhere to protect myself from the rain." I apologized, thinking that he was the owner of the place.

"Hem... Indeed, I haven't seen you before. Are you on your way to the city?"

I turned to see the person behind me. "Ah, yes..."

I was surprised to see who the voice belonged to. My gaze focused on his ears. He is an elf! When I was a child, I saw a dark elf once, but I have never seen anyone of another race again since then.

"Ah? Is something wrong, buddy?"

"I-It's nothing. I'm sorry..." I stared at him too long without realizing it.

"Let me guess. It's your first time seeing an elf!? What do you think? I'm pretty cool, right!?"

"Eh? Ah... I suppose..."

"Hahaha! I'm kidding! It's just that whenever someone sees me for the first time, they tend to react the same way. After all, there are only humans around here."

I heard from my mother that there are people of all races in the city. But in remote villages like these, there are usually only humans, so it is intriguing to see someone different. He seems to be a young man of a similar age to me, but from what I know, elves live much longer than humans, so it's hard to guess his real age.

"Are you also on your way to the city to become an adventurer?" He asked.

"Yes, but from the rain, it looks like we'll stay until it stops."

"Then we will be fellow travelers. I will also be going to the city for the same reason." He said, stretching out his hand to greet me. "My name is Ryul, and a few days ago, I finally reached the age to become an adventurer."

So we are the same age. "I am Darx. Nice to meet you!" I said, returning the greeting.

"Hey! I know it's weird to see elves around here, but it's also weird to see someone with red eyes. Are you human?"

"I am human! I thought there would be people outside my village with the same eye color as me. Is it really that weird?"

"I don't know. At least in this village there is no one, but maybe in the city."

I imagine that there will be more people with my eye color in the city since, after all, I am an average person.

"By the way, haven't you seen a blonde girl playing around here? She's my sister, but she didn't come home after it started to rain, so I thought she'd be here sheltering from the rain."

"I haven't seen any little girls since I arrived."

"Damn, where did she go?"

"Do you want me to help you search? I don't have anything else to do anyway."

"Really!? Let's go then."

Ryul and I walked through the village in the rain, looking in the places where he thought his sister could be but with no luck. The more time passed, the more I noticed how Ryul started to worry.

"Where the hell did she go." Ryul said, worried.

"Can't you think of another place where she can be?"

"I don't know... we already looked in all the places that I could think of." Ryul stood still thinking for a moment. "Don't tell me that she went... I think I know where she is. We have to hurry."

We ran to the to the forest. "Where are we going?" I ask.

"There is a place with many flowers in the forest which my sister likes, but she is forbidden to go alone as monsters can appear."

A little girl alone in the forest is really dangerous. We have to hurry. We arrived at the place, but she wasn't here. It was a place without trees and with many flowers which possibly looks more beautiful on a sunny day. We decided to separate and search for her. It was still raining heavily, which made it a bit difficult to walk through the forest, and after a while, of not finding traces of her, I heard Ryul scream. I ran to where he was and saw the girl crying on top of a big rock and underneath a giant rat trying to reach her.

Ryul took a piece of wood and went towards the rat to hit it, but the rat turned around and hit Ryul, knocking him to the ground. Giant rats are one of the weakest monsters. I thought Ryul would take care of the rat with ease, but he seems to have difficulties. So I took out the sword that my mother gave me and with a single blow, I split the rat in two. Wow! This sword is incredible. I didn't even feel resistance in the cut.

Once the rat was dead, Ryul ran to his sister and I noticed that she was not an elf. She is human.

Ryul hugged her. "Are you okay? What were you doing here alone? You know you can't come to the forest alone."

The crying girl replied. "I'm sorry, I won't do it again. I wanted to pick flowers to give to you before you left."

After the two calmed down, Ryul picked her up and walked over to my direction.

"Thanks, Darx. I owe you one. Let's go to my house."

Ryul carried his little sister, trying to protect her from the rain. We returned to the village, where he walked me to his house. We entered, the three of us soaked. Inside, at the entrance, were two more girls and a tall and bearded man. The two girls who seem older than me ran to hug the little girl while the guy was with his arms crossed and looking intimidating.

"What happened?" The bearded guy asked.

The little girl replied. "I'm sorry, I went to pick flowers for Ryul. Sorry..."

"Are you okay?" The bearded man asked and walked over and hugged the girl, who started to cry.

"Yes! Ryul helped me."

The bearded man notices my presence. "Who are you?"

"His name is Darx. He helped me find my sister." Ryul answered.

The bearded man invited me in, and Ryul lent me a change of clothes. We then sat at the table and Ryul explained everything that had happened. The bearded man is the three girls' father, and Ryul also calls him father, although it is evident that they are not of the same race, yet I did not feel comfortable asking.

They also informed me that the caravan decided to spend the night here since the rain did not stop. That means that we will arrive on the same day that the ceremony takes place. I hope there are no more complications since I don't want to wait another half a year to receive my awakening. Since we were staying here, they invited me to spend the night here, considering the inn was full.

"You can sleep in Ryul's room, but I warn you that if you try to do something with one of my daughters, I will kick you out without a second thought." The bearded man said.

"I-I wouldn't dare...!" I responded nervously.

"Ignore him, Darx. You're quite handsome, so I wouldn't mind if you try to do something to me." The older sister said.

"Eh? I-I can't..."

It seems they were having fun, making me nervous. Apart from Amelia, I have no experience with women, so I get nervous easily. Mia also seemed to have fun, making me nervous. I wonder what those two are doing... I'll see them again soon, I guess. Ryul and I went up to the second floor where his room was, and he lent me some blankets so I could sleep on the floor.

Tomorrow we will leave early, so we went to bed to wake up on time.

"I guess you're wondering why they call me brother when we're obviously not related by blood." Ryul said.

"Well, it's true that I was curious."

"When I was a child, I traveled with my real parents. They were nomadic merchants. One day we were attacked by bandits and they killed everyone except me. If it hadn't been for my father, who was passing through, I too would have died. He is an ex-adventurer and not only saved me but also gave me a home. Since then, I have lived in this village with my father, my three sisters, and my mother, who unfortunately died a year ago."

"I see. He seems like an intimidating guy, but I can tell he's a good man."

"As you may have already realized, I don't have any combat experience. I don't expect to receive a good rank. But whatever I receive will help me find a good job in the city and help a little around the house."

We continued talking a while longer until we fell asleep. In the morning, the weather was better, and we could finally continue with the trip. The whole family went to see Ryul off. He and his sisters were crying, and even his intimidating father was also having trouble holding back tears.

Thanks to Ryul, the trip stopped being boring. He is an easy-going guy who is easy to talk to. We played cards, and he told me about his life and I also told him about Amelia and Oliver. It was a long trip, but finally, the day the ceremony would take place arrived and we were already near the city.

We were both quite anxious and finally, when we left the forest, in the distance we saw the city. It was amazing. We are still far away, but I can see the high stone walls surrounding the city. And even further, at the top was a beautiful castle. I can't even imagine how big the city is. When I turned to see Ryul, he had the same expression as me. On the side of the road, there were lots of farms and many crops.

When we finally reached the entrance, we had to line up in a long line. We had to go across a large bridge across a moat to get to the gate. Or gatehouse? Because the gate lookes more like a large stone house with only one room and two huge doors. It also looks like a metal grate was hidden in the gate walls on either side, ready to drop down and block our passage if the guards felt it necessary. There were also many soldiers at the entrance and above the walls. Lots of people wanted to get in, and the line moved slowly.

We don't have much time, and our enthusiasm turns into a concern. The guards seem to be checking everything in addition to charging to enter the city. Some people just show a medallion and pass without being stopped. After asking, they told me that those people belong to one of the three great guilds and can enter without problems. Now that I remember, my mother had one too.

Finally, our turn came, and we had to pay 50 copper coins to enter. We don't have much time left and after asking for directions, Ryul and I ran to the place where the ceremony would take place. There were many people in the streets, and the first thing that caught my attention was how different the houses here are compared to the ones in the village. Unfortunately, I cannot stay to appreciate the scenery as we are against the clock.

Ryul and I took a narrow path with stairs. We were already close. Leaving the narrow path we only have to turn right, and we will arrive at the place. Everything seemed to be going well when two guys appeared blocking our way.

"Excuse me." I said, trying to get through.

One of the guys pushed me to the ground.

"What the heck! What do you think you're doing?" Ryul asked, angrily.

"Is he who we're looking for?" One of the guys said.

"A pretty face and red eyes. I think we hit the jackpot. Hey! is your name Darx?" The other replied.

Who are they, and how do they know my name? I've never seen them in my life.

"Do you know them, Darx?" Ryul asked.

"I don't."

"So you are Darx. We've been looking for you all day."

"What do you want with me? How do you know who I am?"

"Looks like you pissed off someone important, and don't want you in the city. You better turn around and leave, but I'd rather cut off your head and give it up for a better pay."

"What? You must be mistaking me for someone else. I don't know anyone in here, much less anyone important. We are merely on our way to the adventurer ceremony so let us pass."

I don't understand what's going on, but we don't have time to waste here. If we don't hurry, we won't get there on time. If they don't let me pass, I will have to **** my way through.

"You better let us pass." Ryul said.

"Or what? Let's kill the elf first." One of the guys said, drawing his sword.

"Darx, I'll take care of these guys, so go on ahead. I want to thank you for helping my sister, and it's not that important to me to be an adventurer, so just leave it to me."

I want to hurry, but I wouldn't abandon Ryul; besides, he doesn't know how to fight. It seems that the only solution will be to **** our way through. Could they be adventurers? Can I deal with both? I was thinking about how to get out of this situation when I felt someone push me aside from behind and getting between Ryul and me.

"Move. You're blocking the way."

Cat ears! The one which passed behind me is a girl with cat ears. She must be a beast-kind.

"And who are you? Don't you see that we are busy? If you don't want me to **** you, you'd better go quickly." One of the guys said.

"Scum!" She said as she laid her ears flat.

The cat-eared girl kept walking when one of the guys tried to attack her. I'm not sure what happened, but she had both guys on the ground in less than five seconds. She is quite fast ... and strong.

"Aren't you going to the ceremony too? You better hurry because we don't have much time." She said, after which she continued walking as if nothing had happened.

"Yess..." Ryul and I answered at the same time in amazement.

Who is she? The two guys are **** on the floor, so Ryul and I continue on our way until we reach the place where the ceremony will take place.

Ryul