Magic Chronicles : Fallen Race

"Eh? Mr. Reji?"

At the Adventurer's Association, in the commission hall, the staff member who had previously attended to Reji was surprised to see Reji return so quickly. It hadn't even been half an hour, filled with astonishment.

Reji placed a carry case on the counter, and the staff member looked inside to see a little stuffed cat continuously "meowing," identical to the photo in the commission.

"Lucky, we just arrived at the missing location and heard a kitten meowing on the tree. And surprisingly, it was the very one from the commission."

After Reji briefly explained, the staff member first verified the details, then turned to the back to proceed with commission confirmation and payment procedures for Reji.

However, in no time, the staff member quickly returned and said to Reji:

"Mr. Reji, could you please wait here for a moment? We have just contacted the employer of the commission, and she is on her way here, hoping to thank you in person."

'Hmm?'

'Coming to meet in person?'

Reji was a bit surprised but found it saved him some trouble.

"No problem" Reji would naturally not refuse and then sat down on a sofa in the tea break room, led by the staff member.

It didn't take long for Reji to wait.

In about ten minutes or so, the entrance hall of the Adventurer's Association was filled with a commotion.

"Look at that carriage, am I mistaken, or does this horse seem bigger than others? Look at the eyes of the horse! They are heterochromatic!?"

"Ignorant aren't you? This kind of horse is imported and only raised in the Empire. That heterochromia is a sign of magical power; this horse can release simple first-tier wind spells, it is really impressive! But, I heard it eats several gold coins' worth of feed a day!"

"Who could afford such a horse?"

"Are you from out of town? See the clover emblem on the carriage? That's something everyone in the Royal City knows, it belongs to the Vedler Count's family!"

"Vedler Count, huh! Isn't that one of the nobles who formed the Five Flowers Alliance? Why would such a distinguished noble come to our association?"

The luxurious noble carriage pulled by a heterochromatic steed stopped at the entrance of the Adventurer's Association, immediately drawing the attention of many adventurers inside.

And then, the person assisted down from the carriage by a butler was a young lady wearing exquisite dark green dress and brown leather shoes, topped with a beautiful wide-brimmed sun hat.

Although the brim was long, the young and pretty cute face under the hat occasionally peeked out, making passersby stop in their tracks, drawn by her charming aura.

"It's the Count Vedler'sdaughter! Miss Ariel!"

"So beautiful."

"Of course! Miss Ariel is the second-place winner of our Ilinor Royal City's beauty contest!"

"What? Only second place? Who's the first?"

"Hmph, who else could it be, if not Princess Yuffie."

"No wonder."

"I really want to be Miss Ariel's dog guard!"

"Wait, look at the young lady's demeanor, does it seem like she's here in our association to find someone?"

The excited adventurers discussing among themselves were not wrong.

The beautiful young lady, not carrying much of an aristocratic poise, didn't wait for her old butler and directly ran into the Adventurer's Association Hall with small doll.

Her bright eyes quickly scanned the hall, and soon she locked onto Reji and another sitting on the sofa in the tea break room.

The young lady happily waving her hand and lifting her dark green dress, ran up to Reji.

"Hello! You're the ones who helped Ariel find Bululu, right?"

Then, a staff member of the association hurried over to explain and introduce to Reji:

"Mr. Reji, this is your client, Miss Ariel from the Count Vedler's family, the employer of the commission. Miss Ariel, here is your lost pet, we have checked and it's all fine"

The staff member said as he handed the carry case to Ariel, who eagerly opened it and hugged the stuffed cat inside, rubbing it affectionately against her face, her joy of being reunited with her pet clearly overflowing.

"Wuaaah, thank you so much. Bululu is my best partner; I've always treated her as family. Bululu, I finally found you! Thank you, I'm so grateful to both of you!"

"No problem, glad we could help Miss Ariel."

Perhaps it was because of Reji's calm demeanor, not as excited or thrilled as the other adventurers around them towards the young lady, or maybe Ariel was genuinely grateful to Reji.

Anyway, the young lady shook her head immediately, putting on a very serious expression:

"No, no! Ariel must properly thank you both. Let me think, hmm! Okay I Decided!

Ariel wants to invite you both to my home for a visit! My dad and mom said when you meet good people, you must invite them for a meal! Ariel wants to treat you to a big meal!"

"Miss, this... this might not be appropriate, even though they completed the commission, but their identity hasn't been," the belatedly arriving old butler interjected from the side, trying to dissuade her.

But to no effect.

"I don't care, I don't care! Today Ariel wants to invite them to our home as guests!" The young lady, hands on her hips, showed a stubborn and puffed-up demeanor, leaving the old butler no choice but to shake his head and sigh.

"My apologies for our young miss's slight rudeness, would you be willing to be our gusts? Of course, if you have other arrangements later, I will persuade the young miss."

The butler ultimately left the decision in Reji's hands.

And though Ariel looked a bit pouty and displeased, she didn't say anything. Instead, she just used those innocent and beautiful big eyes to look expectantly at Reji.

Under this scene, inside the hall, countless adventurers cast envious glances at Reji, regretting why they hadn't been lucky enough to receive such a commission.

Especially the male adventurers from other places, to them, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity seemed too good to hesitate. They wished they could immediately agree on Reji's behalf to have dinner with Miss Ariel.

Even some appeared to be lost in a blissful fantasy, probably imagining a beautiful love story between a poor boy and a rich girl, even thinking up names for their future children.

However, among the majority of adventurers filled with envy and jealousy, a small group cast a sympathetic and regretful glance towards Reji.

If Reji had seen them, he would have noticed that this group of clearly experienced and agile adventurers' leaders were the same ones who had bought the "Star Combat Technique" at the "Lanqi" auction in the tool shop last night, led by a fierce-faced big man.

"Sit back down!"

The leader pressed down a girl who seemed unable to resist the urge to "remind" Reji.

"But leader, are we just supposed to watch as nothing is happening"

The fierce-looking big man showed a hint of helplessness, shaking his head, "You can help this one, but what about the next? And the one after that? Can you help them all?

"Our Eagle Mercenary Group has grown to a certain size, but compared to a count, compared to the Five Flowers Alliance, we're still too weak."

The female adventurer fell silent, gripping her staff tightly, her head bowed in frustration.

Seeing this, the big man leader seemed heartbroken and comforted her:

"Alright Luna, I promise you, the day we truly have enough power, I'll be the first to lead you all to join Princess Yuffie. We'll together punish those bastards, change this... rotten country!"

"Hmm"

Eventually, the adventurer named "Luna" nodded, giving up, and could only watch as Reji and another "foreign" adventurer readily accepted the invitation and went with Ariel onto the carriage.

Under this scene, she seemed to touch upon some painful memories of the past.

The female adventurer's fingers tightened around her staff, her knuckles turning white, her eyes filled with sorrow and hatred.