—Present Day: Ilifelen calendar, year 5212, Enoh, 17th.
Yuflan, a small town built on top of a hill; fortified by walls and barriers. The town was a prosperous little hub for all sorts of independent entrepreneurs.
In the case of the Night Ouen party, they'd taken on the task of hunting crystal drakes. With a reputation for surgical material gathering, they'd been tasked to retrieve a few highly preserved crystal drakes.
Taking on the commission alone pays 100k Lech; the rest is the quality of the material they'd be bringing in, but if they were to fail, they'd have to compensate with other raw materials extracted during the hunt. But besides that, they'd be rewarded 4 million Lech for their contribution to the Erda operation.
But…
"Hmm…"
A guard glanced at the two siblings who sat waiting inside the guard post while their party waited on the other side of the gates. He was looking into their systems with his other co-workers and found nothing too suspicious, except that Ailz's little sister wasn't an adventurer.
At the age of fifteen, she was already considered a young adult, but… as their seniors in life, they found it to be reckless to bring such a young girl out into the wilderness. Not only that, she was still considered a civilian, which was why they had to do a proper background check.
"I'm telling you, I am of age and an adventurer," Luna said coolly, her fingers twitching a little after finding out she was supposedly fifteen—That old phoenix... does it ever get old for him?
—Did you lie to me that you were eighteen? Alum teased her when they made eye contact.
Luna's lips pursed a little as she read his eyes—Al, not you too, she mildly sulked.
"Sigh… I know you're of age, Ms. Selene, but…" The guard then stared at Alum. "As an older brother, shouldn't you consider her safety more, Mr. Ailz? Also, you might be a fine adventurer, but still 19, not even of drinking age. Meanwhile," he glanced at Luna again. "Your little sister… she's just a civilian."
Luna glared at Alum—hey, why didn't Uncle change your age? Huh? Huh?
Alum ignored her silent protest and placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her close.
"…"
Luna's eyes widen for a moment, she hadn't even noticed that a smile had snuck onto her face.
"She's safe as long as she's with me, and vice versa," Alum stated. "Besides, check again. She was qualified as an adventurer last week; the data archives should have been updated by now."
"…Yeah, I'm not buying that bullshit. But… We are waiting for the guild's response. Sigh… you're free to enter the town, but Ms. Selene is not allowed to venture out with you until it's been confirmed," he stated firmly. "Is that alright?"
Alum pondered a little.
It should be alright. Some logistical matters need handling. The deadline is at the end of the month on the 28th. It's the 17th, Jan should find the crystal drakes within two days. If we're lucky, other adventurers or mercenaries might have information to sell.
And by then, we'd have a small caravan to help with the extraction… a round-trip estimation of four days, worst case, passed 28th. If Luna's issue isn't solved by then… no, she can't sneak out of town either. Turen and the others might have their license revoked if discovered.
Even though he knew that Rigeld or Ateles could easily pull some strings, Alum saw this expedition as an independence test. Thus, having to rely on them to cover for his mistakes would likely break the trust of the military. Though every faction always had its form of corruption, they didn't need more for something small like this.
"Is that fine, Selene?" Alum glanced down at the blonde head around his chest.
"Sigh… that's fine," Luna replied.
He could tell she wasn't happy with it since it meant he'd have to leave without her if the data wasn't updated in time. He gently stroked her silky hair.
"…" Luna looked, staring at his face—don't you seem to enjoy this brother role a bit too much? Her eyes seemed to ask.
Alum flashed her somewhat smug look—you seem to enjoy it yourself; the sister act, I mean.
"Hmph," she huffed lightly. Well, aren't I the perfect little sister? Cute, adorable, pretty, capable, intelligent, and loves you a lot? Aren't you lucky, Big Bro?
"Pfft…" Alum lightly chuckled. Yeah-yeah, his eyes softly responded. I could say the same thing, aren't you lucky? Your brother's this capable, has good looks, loves you as much as he does; he even caught a saint—wait… did she catch me?
Luna chuckled softly, rolling her eyes—please, in this scenario, your fiancé isn't a saint, but a normal girl named Amethely.
Alum shrugged, his expression deadpan, smug—doesn't matter to me, she is still my beloved.
Luna's cheeks reddened a little—even I get slightly embarrassed when you're so earnest. "Mou…" she exasperated aloud, then covered her mouth. But Alum was just frozen for some reason. What's wrong? Her eyes asked.
—No… it's just… I didn't think you'd develop the same mannerisms as Miu.
Luna shrugged. It's contagious, she softly exhaled.
I suppose, Alum averted his gaze.
Even if it was brief, Luna didn't miss the hint of melancholy in those blue eyes. But, she wasn't going to pry.
"…"
The guard who'd been silently watching the two communicate through eye contact for the last ten seconds sighed—what a strange pair of siblings, he thought.
"Alright, alright, get out and do your sibling flirt elsewhere," the guard dismissed.
"…" Alum and Luna tilted their head slightly.
..
Meeting up with the others, they headed toward a trusted repair shop to have their equipment checked and repaired. Alum's cloak was badly damaged and needed enhancements to be reapplied. Other than that, he couldn't show Depth Cutter since it's supposed to be his 'divine' weapon instead of military tech.
But from what he'd observed, it was not damaged; the edge itself was barely used. As for Luna, her runic blade had to be repaired; he was surprised she was still able to cut with it despite being that dull.
As for the others, their equipment was barely damaged—all except for Turen's shield. Jan was too agile for his armor to take any damage; it was the same for Jua, and as for Nuli, she was so well protected that nothing could close the distance.
Regardless, their equipment needed some basic maintenance—minus 40k Lech, and 25k of that was due to Luna's almost broken blade. Now that they were in civilian clothing, they decided to split up.
Jua and Jan were in charge of handling resupply. Turen and Nuli went to look for a place to stay, then would negotiate a caravan. Meanwhile, Alum and Luna were tasked to gather information about the crystal drakes.
Thus, they found themselves at the guild. Mercenaries and adventurers alike were looking at the job posts—it was too crowded. People lined up for the desks, and the job board was so crowded that Luna drowned.
But… something unfortunate happened—someone had almost accidentally touched Luna's butt before their hand was almost crushed by Alum's telekinesis.
"E-Eeek," the man yelped in pain quietly.
"What's wrong, Sir? You seem to be in quite the pain," Alum inquired, adjusting as he wrapped his arms around Luna's shoulders in an embrace, holding her close. He smiled, but his eyes couldn't have been hollow.
"N-No… nothing, I just got cramps all of a sudden, haha," he replied, playing it off, but his bones were crushed. "We-well, if you excuse me, I think I need to get it checked."
"…"
Luna watched the culprit leave with a glare, then looked up at Alum, who managed to start a conversation with another female mercenary who happened to witness the scene.
"Ew, guys like that really are the worst, aren't they?" she remarked, then looked at Luna. "Good for you, Miss, having a protective lover like Mister here," she chuckled. Then she slapped Alum on the arm. "Nice done, boyfriend!" in a low voice.
"…"
Alum seemed somewhat uncomfortable, but just as he was about to correct the mercenary, Luna said, "He's my older brother," calmly, then flashed Alum a smile. "Thanks, Big Bro. But I was fine, y'know? I could've taken him out."
"But that's not really the issue, right?" Alum replied, but he meant—you would've chopped off his hands. "He would've touched you," he added—I could prevent his filthy hands, thus I did.
Luna blushed, averting her eyes. "Big Bro… you're quite possessive…" she feigned shyness.
"…" Everyone around them froze; these two were not normal—even the previously chatty mercenary backed off.
Alum, reading the mood returned a listless expression—you're doing this on purpose…
Luna covered her face, but almost couldn't contain her laughter—this is quite fun, her eyes said, as she peeked through her fingers.
"…"
To think the best friend whom he thought was almost too similar to him would have such a devilish side… Alum couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. Perhaps she was like this all along, but had no one to open up to.
He didn't even need to imagine who she'd practiced her teasing on—Miu was too easy to tease, after all.
Alum sighed. "Ahem. Now that I've got everyone's attention, I'd like to buy info on crystal drakes."
"Ooh…" the others softly exhaled. "Hmm, what's the asking price?" one asked.
"2k for trails. 10k for sightings, 30k for herd location—which we will deposit through the guild after confirming," Alum replied.
The crowd began to murmur. "Well, it's quite the easy Lech…" one muttered. "Hm, it's not like we're hunting them ourselves…" another one said. "They must be from a pretty nice party to hunt those things, huh?"
After a minute or two, a woman raised her hand. "I know where they are," she said, grinning.
"Anyone else?" Alum inquired.
"I've gone on some trails that might be," one said, "same here," another one added. "Also," one said.
—Only trails, huh? It might be lies, but it might be of value just in case, Alum thought as he materialized a notebook, a pen, and a pouch of Lech.
"Alright. Miss, can I just get this first before we move location?" Alum asked the red-haired elf.
"Sure, I'll wait outside," she said as she shrugged.
Luna winked awkwardly—as per calculation.
"…" Alum almost sighed in disbelief—you're still not that expressive… he remarked inwardly as Luna tried her best to further play into the cute sibling role.
—Nnhg… you're not any better, she told him with a cast of her gaze.
..
After a while, after paying the others, they headed out. Luna and Alum naturally bumped fists, thinking of Noel's silly face.
"Good work."
"Mm, you too," Luna replied.
"…"
By the entrance, a young, pretty woman, leaning, her arms crossed, with one foot on a pillar. Her long red strands shone and flickered dazzlingly in the light breeze. Her blue eyes were like glass—clear, pure, and brimming with confidence.
"Supp," she greeted them with a grin.
The girl didn't have a single piece of armor; her clothes seemed breezy and comfortable without showing any skin. A white long-sleeved blouse with decorative ribbons tied at the sleeves, a teal high-collared over-tunic, a waist cinch, and brown pants. Around her hips hung a sword, which presumably wasn't her main weapon.
"The name's Sarah, nice to meet'cha," she reached her hand out.
Alum shook her hand. "Ailz, nice to meet you too," he returned a casual smile. "This is Selene, my sister."
"Pfft… I know," Sarah chuckled, covering her lips with a fist. "Though I must say, you're creepily close for a pair of siblings—but hey, none of my business, right?" she teased, shrugging.
"…" Alum softly exhaled, though Luna giggled softly. "She was just messing around. We're normal."
"It's as he said," Luna added gracefully without any mischief. "I just teased him a little."
"Uuah… that's some terrible personality you got," Sarah burst out laughing. "Poor dude and his reputation!"
"It's okay, I'll be there for him. Right, Big Bro?" Luna flashed him a smug deadpan grin.
"…Please spare me," Alum exasperated, pinching his temples.
"Pffts—hahahahaha, I like you two!" Sarah lightly tapped Alum on the chest, Luna on the shoulder.
"…" Alum and Luna exchanged glances—weirdo?
"Ait, you wanted to know the location of the crystal drakes, right? They're between the Mornth forest to the north of here and the Bonsha valley," she said casually.
"…I see, I'll write that and send the check—"
"Huh?" Sarah crossed her arms, grinning instead. "There's no need," she said, shaking her head, then pointed her finger at him and Luna. "I want to fight you two—a high-caliber mage and fellow path strider of the blade!" she declared.
"How does 60k Lech sound?" Alum suggested, increasing the amount.
"Nooooo~!" Sarah sulked, protesting as she flailed her arms.
"…" Luna's eyes jumped up and down, watching the elf with a blank face as the light in her eyes slowly disappeared.
—it really is… what it is…