There was a lady at the receptionist counter, she looked to be in her early to mid thirties. Long brown hair tied into a low ponytail. She was in a receptionist uniform, a grey top and bottom. She gave all the guys around me a weird look, I can't blame her afterall…
They talked for a bit, I really didn't want to listen; afterall, I'm in an adventurers' guild! It looked so nice in here, there were vibrant flags. It was cleaner than most places back home, which is a shocker seeing how medieval everything looked.
Seconds later, I got a good whiff of something. What is that? I looked over to see Verd pulling out a bag. He handed it to James. Was it their materials they gathered? Smells like parts of creatures… And I'm right. He dumped it fully on the counter. Around half were ears of goblins. The other a fluffy tail bit? It looked huge, and like a ball…
Was it from another giant bear? Are these guys pretty strong? My curiosity grew as more were set on the counter. Everything else were different. I couldn't tell what they were.
As the lady totalled the monster drops, James turned towards Jin. With one of his arms, he pointed at me, then at a table. I guess he wants me to go over there? Not really subtle, y'know?! I couldn't argue about staying, it would've ended with my cover being blown…
I had to get help to sit down. Damn this small body! On top of that embarrassing situation, these guys made me sit on the table. Do they seriously have to treat me like some kid…? Or well, a daughter? It's super embarrassing…
Just as the embarrassment was leaving my body, I heard James talking to the receptionist lady.
"What else is there you want to talk about, mister?"
"Can someone apply to be an adventurer without an Identification Card?"
I guess he wanted me to not hear what they're talking about, huh? Unfortunately for that guy, I have good ears.Heh… For some reason, I felt a little proud of that. If I had a tail, I definitely couldn't hide it wagg- What the hell am I thinking about?!
Anyways! Time to eavesdrop on them more.
"Um, Mister, you already know that every individual who becomes an adventurer needs one. You've been with the guild for a long time."
"Right… Right."
"Even then, there's other things they have to do."
Other things? I watched as the lady put up a finger.
"They must have no strikes on them, meaning they can't be a criminal."
That's a standard, who would want someone potentially evil? That would leave a bad mark.
As she was bringing up points, the other guys offered to buy me food, or ask if I wanted something. I guess the guild wants to be busy? They mentioned something about a kitchen that food can be bought or eaten from.
The second and third things were pretty basic. By her words, they must pass a test. Basic education, mathematics, and reading. Her third point made me feel a bit nervous.
"An individual must qualify with skills or stats. If they're too sickly, or weak they won't be able to fulfill their duties. Or if they have no special skills, nothing to use for strength they can't apply." During her explanation, I could see James lower his head. I couldn't hear much else for him… But he looks slightly relieved from here.
"That girl that we brought wants to join, but she can't remember her home, or family. I don't think she has a history here either, is there anything we can do?"
That lady looked over at me, she must've saw I was staring as she gave me a wave.
"Mister, then there's not much you can do here. I'm afraid that girl will have to leave, or you must find a way to get her an Identification Card."
I see… What did I expect? Hearing those words, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. This world already hates me…
We left without a word, I mean, what else are we supposed to do? They got paid, and answers. James tried to stay silent about what transpired. He continued with his charade of a happy, easy going guy with the rest.
I guess I gotta keep up the act. "Um… What did you and- and that lady talk about?" To add on top of that, I tilted my head. Dear, my invisible friend, my diary, please let me forget this. Everything I have to do is so embarrassing as a former guy.
Looks like my question caught James off guard, he nearly choked on the food he bought. He coughed a few times, and jabbed at his chest.
"Oh, yeah! What did you guys talk about?? It looked pretty intense!" Shaun asked, begging for James to actually answer. He dropped his food onto his plate, and a hopeful look crossed his face.
"Hey, he looks like he doesn't want to answer."
"We deserve answers though. Look at Little Yukina, she looks like she's expecting an answer."
"Alright you four. It didn't go as well as I hoped." James after some time finally said. This food's actually good compared to the rest I had. It was a sandwich, it looked like it just had some sliced meat in the middle. "Oh c'mon, don't give me that look. We'll just have to get you an ID, okay?"
Unintentionally, I pushed him to continue? All I did was just look at him after a bite of my food. After a week or so with just that, this was super tasty.
Such a long time passed with the other guys, aside from Jin pressing James for answers.
"Alright! Fine you two, Little Miss Yukina needs an Identification card. Then we need to figure out if she can qualify to become one." I watched as James bent his back, and covered his eyes with his hands. "My apologies, I don't think you can become one, Yukina."
"H-Huh? W-Why…?"
"Why are you saying that?"
In the end, he said as much as he was told. This caused Shaun, Verd and Jin to leave. The former two left frustrated, meanwhile Jin just followed the crowd.
Then, James pulled me to his house, where I am now. His wife welcomed him with a frenzy, smiling like crazy and not leaving him alone. What a lucky guy huh? On top of that, she was a beauty, long flowy blonde hair and brown eyes. That color seems pretty common in this city.
Once she was done smothering him, she turned to look at me with a confused look on her face.
"Um, honey. Who's this?" Her sudden tone of voice made James shudder. "You went out on a trip with your buddies and bring back a little girl…"
"U-Um, we took her in…"
"Why didn't you send her to an orphanage, or the adventurers' guild….?"
"She's too old for that… And she-"
Don't try to throw me under the bus… you decided to ask me what I wanted! I looked up at him with a glare. He got the message as his tone of voice changed instantly. "We just took her in, th- that's all, I swear nothing happened on our journey!"
"I'm just kidding~ She looks to be around our daughter's age." His wife lowered herself yet again… Look at me at the same level. I seriously hate this! Why did I have to be reincarnated into a little girl's body! "Wow, what beautiful eyes you have… That's a unique color. I'm Melinda It's nice to meet you…?"
"M-My name's Yu-Yukina…"
"What a pretty name!"
Why's she looking at me like that? Oh, no. No, no. Fuck no!
From then on everything became a blur. I couldn't write it down in my little diary, all I know, I suddenly found myself in a completely different outfit. My hair was clean… That's all I could say. I don't remember much, just a few words left her mouth, then now.
Could they find a less girly outfit?!FFFFF Since I was alone, I squeezed my head whilst glaring down at myself. A dress. A DAMN DRESS! Not the fancy kind, but a damn dress nonetheless. Can this get any fucking worse… At least the ceiling is nice to look at.
After such a long time, I memorized what the ceiling looked like. Only after that, I heard someone enter this room. It was James, he took a seat in front of me.
"You look cute, my wife knows how to dress up people." He said to me, and chuckled to himself.
Thanks… No, screw you! Don't call me cute!That's even worse than this damn DRESS! Never in my entire lives had I wanted to strangle someone so badly.
I glared at him unconsciously, I guess he realized since he straightened his back. With an exaggerated cough, he continued to speak. "Ahem… So, I have an idea. But, let me ask you again."
"Hm?"
"Are you sure you want to become an adventurer?"
"Y-Yes…"
"Okay… Then, can I see your status?"
"My s-status?" Don't call me cute, please. This is just an act!
"Just say yes, I'll show you."
"Yes…?"
With my permission, he grabbed my hands. A few seconds later, I felt a warmth enter my body, from his hands to my eyes. Then, my status appeared. Just with key information missing. The (???) was missing from my race. That's odd, must be a me thing I can see. The rest, as that curse inflicted on me, which I don't know what it even is.
This guy stared at me for a moment, then released my hands. Following that, was that warmth. Must be his mana, that's interesting. I couldn't help but observe.
"Your stats are incredible… um, how should I put this nicely, low? But there's an important thing I saw."
I'm getting so tired of this cute girl act, if I join his party, I'll slowly get away from it! It's been over a week! It's getting exhausting dealing with it, okay?! James slowly sat straight, whilst a small smile appeared on his face.
"You can use magic, that means you can qualify to become an adventurer!"
"E-Eh?"
Duh, he doesn't know I already knew! Hehe…
"I'll start to teach you tomorrow, for now let's relax for the rest of the day."
And like he said, that's what we did. It felt rather nice, being in a home once again after the first week of hell. Oh, I met his daughter. She looked like the exact replica of her mother, just smaller and around this body's age. Although, she was rather tomboyish in acting.
Anyways, now I'm laying in a makeshift bed in their daughter's room. Melinda was pretty shocked seeing my fluffy ears, but like her husband she was warm and welcoming. Their daughter… Surprisingly too, way too curious however. Wayy too many calls of her trying to touch my ears. What a bad girl.
For the first thirty or so minutes, she kept wanting to touch 'em. Cornering me, and wanting to get a feel. It finally took her to stop when her parents stepped in.
"Now… I see the use of wearing that hood." I mumbled, looking at the ceiling. Definitely don't want strangers to touch these. They are ultra soft though… Despite them being my ears, they feel exactly like a dog's ear…
"I wonder what James is going to do? That lady and him never talked about how to get an Identification card… Please, whoever reincarnated me, not to make it weird. Why does that feel like a bad omen?
My mind kept wandering, from that night. To sleeping, dreaming of what was to come, then the next morning. By the time it was daylight, Melinda rushed into the room waking us up.
And holy hell, she was loud… Even an hour later my ears were ringing.
"OOkay, please take a seat on the ground." James requested after taking me to his daughter's room. "Good, now keep your palms aiming at the sky."
"W-What are you going to do?"
"Just listen to me, and trust me."
He's acting super serious about this. I complied to his orders, keeping my palms up. Good thing too, I don't know if I'm fire proof.
"Okay, keep your back straight. Take a deep breath in…"
I felt his hands touch my back, followed by that warmth just yesterday. At the center of my chest, I felt that flame.
"Hm? That's rather interesting."
"H-huh?"
"Interesting color for mana, it's something I never heard of. Nevermind that, I'll help you direct this mana into your skill."
My mana started to move on itself, against my will… From my chest directly to my arms. I followed James's words and imagined that same fire I had practiced. That familiar warmth appeared above my palms, alongside a flame igniting just above them.
"Good. That's not for combat, it's better for tasks." He explained whilst looking above my head. I can feel his chin on my ears, so uncomfortable.But that's good to know… I'll just stick to fighting physically. Not my strong point.
"W-What does this mean?"
"Well, that means you can use magic. Not everyone is born with mana, even animal-kin like you."
"So I can become an adventurer like you?"
What's with that laughter?
"Yeah, yeah that does." He confirmed with a proud tone in his voice. He removed his hands and my mana stopped, with the flame snuffing out. "But, you have to practice by yourself. I can't funnel my own mana into your body constantly."
For the next hour, I had to act as an ignorant girl. This step is pretty simple… I already learned it just a couple days ago. This guy kept giving me inconsistent pointers, from imagining something deep within my chest, to let it come naturally.
To hell with it... This is starting to get frustrating. I activated my mana, when previously I wasn't able to on purpose. His previous bored and frustrated look turned to shock as flames started up in my palms. See?! I'm not som-
"Fantastic job! That was super fast!" He congratulated me with a proud look, only a father could have seeing his son/daughter accomplish something.
Hehe... Reading all that junk has really helped me out. If my hands were free, I would be rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment. If only he knew I was able to do this just a couple days ago... He'd probably crap himself in shock.
For a couple minutes he had me hold this spell. Although it was pretty exhausting, before I could pass out, he had me stop the spell. I guess there's something going on with how I look, that caused it.
The time flew around, he and I stayed in this room. He showed me a few spells of his. There was one where he made an orb of light appear at his palms. Or another one where he aimed a spell right at me, then a light outlind my entire body. It made me feel incredibly light and energetic... Magic is truly amazing, huh?
We only stopped when his wife called us for dinner.
"So what have you two been doing this entire day?"
"N-Nothing..."
"Hm? You sure? You have a suspicious look on your face..."
"I was showing her how to use magic... We got too drawn into it."
"That's cute... Just don't forget about your daughter, mkay? Wait why don't you show her how to use magic?"
"Yeah! I wanna learn too!" Alissa exclaimed excitedly from her seat. She was practically jumping for joy from the news. For some reason, seeing her excitement left a scared feeling in my gut. The one that makes you feel like something's going to happen.
"H-H... Yeah, yeah I will. I just need to check something then I can teach her. We'll start tomorrow, It's going to be late and I can teach you both more together." James explained with a slight smile appearing on his face. His wife squinted at him but dropped it after seeing his nod. "Um, anyways. Honey, can I talk to you in a separate room? We can do that after we finish eating."
"Yes, is there something wrong?"
"No, it's something important."
"Alright."
Is it something about their daughter? This is the first time I've seen him this serious. Oh well~ I can just eaves drop. Who knew superhuman senses can come in handy? Now now, I know what my dear old diary is thinking. "Isn't it good to give them privacy?" Well, yes it is bad. Am I still going to do it? If it's something related to me... Definitely!
Once we all finished our food, I helped clean the dishes, Alissa did help to the best of her ability. Only if she stopped her excessive energy it would've ended faster. This girl has more energy than a toddler... How does she have that much? Eventually we finished, and she went to her room. I stayed in the hallway.
"What was it you needed to talk about?"
"It's about Yukina."
"Yeah? I can already tell by the way you look at her... You see her as a second daughter?"
"Sort of..."
"Before we get to hear what you wanted to talk about, does that girl have a family?"
"She doesn't remember her past, the guys and I found her about to be killed by a goblin. I tried asking her, and don't think she has a reason to lie."
"Huh… Have you tried talking to the others?"
"Mhm, they don't see anything she would lie about. Anyways… She's not our daughter, but I can't hold her back from what she wants to do."
"And?"
"She wants to become an adventurer. To become one you need an ID"
See? Trust my guts…
"What's the issue, what's been bothering you then?"
"Well… What do you think about adopting her… She doesn't have an identification card."
Eh? What the heck? How does that work? Do you have to be a citizen of some place to get one? Does that actually work in this world? I looked towards their door, is that how it works? It makes some sense, do I really want to be adopted here? Hearing him say he saw me as a daughter… That's really weird and embarrassing. Melinda hasn't responded for a bit, looks like she's contemplating it…
"I guess… She seems like a sweet girl, I don't see any issue."
"Really?"
"Yeah…. Although…"
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"I don't know if our daughter will like it…"
"She'll get used to it, remember she wanted a sibling when she was small?"
"Haha… Yeah, we'll see how she acts when the time comes."
Nope… NOPE I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR THAT! They're going to do that "THAT"! I had to cover my ears as I rushed into their daughter's room. She already was asleep, somehow stayed asleep despite the slam. I do not want to hear that… That'- I-t. Think about something else.
The benefits of being adopted? I guess? I have a home to go to… That Identification card, some people backing me… Hearing their words left a weird taste in my mouth. I was born into a family in my previous life… That feels odd to talk about still. It's just a lot of paperwork, right? The cons, I don't see much. This family feels kind, I don't think there's anything to be worried about.
If they do adopt me… I can become an adventurer. It feels wrong to think like that, but I'll need to use what I can to learn about this world. I guess it wasn't so bad, this new beginning… The very start was utter hell… And being reincarnated as a little girl, but I might have some chance.