"You've been asleep long enough, Philekos. Wake up for a bit, I want to introduce you to Miss Receptionist in front of us." said Anastasia. She let out a rather soft sigh, then closed her eyes for a moment and opened them again while looking upward.
When he felt the footing where he was sleeping shift, Philekos quickly opened his eyes and leaped into the air with an annoyed expression. A cold aura and small snowflakes swirled around Philekos's small body, while his facial expression still looked sleepy and lazy.
"Oh come on, Anastasia. I've only been asleep for a few hours, can't you wait a few more hours until I'm not sleepy?" said Philekos, with both of his hands resting on his hips. He made a gesture of annoyance and disagreement toward what Anastasia wanted to do.
"Just for a moment, please be patient." said Anastasia in a gentle voice.
Their gazes met for several seconds. Philekos stared at her with an annoyed expression that slowly turned into resignation. "Huuh~ fine, whatever… just hurry up and do what you want, Anastasia." Then, he shifted his gaze away from Anastasia toward the receptionist woman, his eyes staring sharply at her as both of his arms immediately crossed over his chest.
"So, human, who are you? Why should I waste my precious time just to introduce myself?" said Philekos. His words clearly belittled the receptionist woman.
"U-uh…" The receptionist woman hesitated to answer, turning her gaze away to avoid Philekos's eyes.
Seeing that the woman in front of him did not immediately answer his question, Philekos slowly grew irritated. He released a bit of his great spirit aura, making the surrounding air colder and piercing to the bones, forcing her to speak.
"Speak, human, or should I freeze you without anyone ever noticing?" threatened Philekos, his expression growing sharper as he floated closer to the woman's face.
Feeling the cold aura released by Philekos, the woman quickly shut her eyes and introduced her name and the reason Philekos needed to meet her, without the slightest trace of professionalism.
"I-I'M VERY SORRY, LORD PHILEKOS! MY NAME IS LYNDA TEURSA, THE ONLY DAUGHTER OF JOSEPH TEURSA AND AMANDA TEURSA! … ACTUALLY, I NEVER INTENDED TO MEET YOU AT ALL, IT'S JUST THAT MISS ANASTASIA WANTED TO INTRODUCE YOU TO ME SINCE SHE'S CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR A MISSION WITH MINIMUM PAY THAT SUITS YOUR WISHES!" shouted Lynda, the receptionist woman, without any sense of shame.
The people and adventurers inside the guild were shocked when they heard Lynda introduce herself by shouting in front of a short woman while keeping her eyes closed. None of them knew what was actually happening and assumed that Lynda was meeting someone extremely important, not a great spirit.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the adventurers who had previously praised Anastasia began making strange speculations without knowing what was truly going on.
"That woman… she made Lynda introduce herself like that? Incredible. Could she be a high-level mage, or maybe an elite noble?" thought a tall woman leaning against a table while drinking beer.
"No doubt about it… that woman must be a powerful mage who really loves to act humble! No wonder Lynda looks so respectful toward her." thought a muscular man standing with his companions.
"That short girl—no, I mean that intelligen Lady… she's definitely not an ordinary person. Could she be an alchemist from the Eastern Tower!? Or even a professor!? I need to know her better…" thought a bespectacled man who was watching Anastasia with a calculating gaze.
Feeling all eyes turning toward her, Anastasia immediately gave Philekos a gentle look mixed with a sharp warning. "Spring sounds very beautiful, doesn't it… Philekos? Don't you think the same as me?" said Anastasia softly, emphasizing Philekos's name in a way that sent chills down the wolf's spine.
"O-oh…" Seeing that Anastasia was starting to get annoyed because all the attention was focused on her, Philekos immediately lowered his ego. "M-Miss Lynda, please lower your voice. I-I've already heard everything you said. Please forgive me."
"Huh!?" Lynda immediately opened her eyes in shock. She had no idea what was happening and instantly thought that Philekos was merely testing her. "S-so that's how it is… then the rumors about great spirits are true, huh?" said Lynda.
"Huh? What are you even talking about— I-I mean! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Philekos. I am the Great Winter Spirit of the sacred Carthya Forest, as well as Anastasia's companion and protector. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lynda." said Philekos politely, bowing his body to leave a good impression.
"N-Nice to meet you, Lord Philekos." said Lynda, who began smiling again.
Philekos and Lynda stared at each other for several seconds, until they realized Anastasia was watching them with a gentle smile that felt extremely terrifying.
That smile sent a danger signal through both Lynda and Philekos, causing them to immediately return to their original demeanor as quickly as possible.
"M-Miss Anastasia, have you found a mission that you feel suits the two of you?" asked Lynda, her hands once again folded in front of her stomach, restoring the professional impression she had previously lost.
"T-that's right, Anastasia. I-I really don't have any problem with whatever mission you decide to take." said Philekos. He still looked slightly panicked and afraid of the gentle smile Anastasia was showing.
"Huuh…" With a long sigh, Anastasia shifted her gaze back to the mission papers in her hands. "Miss Lynda, could you give us a bit of explanation about these missions? And which ones you think would suit us. I also need to know who issued these missions." said Anastasia, glancing briefly at Lynda.
"O-of course, Miss Anastasia. With pleasure!" said Lynda. She felt that Anastasia's smile had returned to being a warm one, without anything frightening behind it.
With her professional attitude, Lynda quickly took out a notebook from behind her desk and opened it in front of Anastasia.
"All right, Miss Anastasia. The mission on the far left in your hand is a wyvern subjugation mission in the eastern forest, near a dragon's nest as well as valleys and mountains. The offered reward is 10 gold and 100 silver, issued by the guild master based on scouting results. Next, there's a cargo escort mission to the neighboring city, which still passes through the same forest route as the previous mission. This mission is offered by the noble Leonard, with a reward of 20 gold and 600 silver. After that, there's a bandit subjugation mission based in a cave within the western forest, near the grasslands. This mission is offered by the city's security force commander, with a reward of 40 gold and 100 silver. Then, there's a rescue mission for someone estimated to be located in the same area as the bandits. This mission is offered by a little girl named Ishia, with a reward of only 600 silver. And then moving on to the next mission—"
"Stop. Please stop there, Miss Lynda." said Anastasia, gently cutting Lynda off mid-explanation.
"Very well, Miss Anastasia. Did the previous mission catch your interest?" asked Lynda. She didn't look surprised at all and quickly understood Anastasia's intent.
"More or less like that…" said Anastasia, showing a gentle smile as she glanced toward Philekos. "What do you think, Phill?"
"Well… wherever you go, I'll keep following you. Besides, Miss Lynda already seems to understand which mission you want to take the moment you cut her explanation short." Philekos grinned slyly while glancing at Lynda, who smiled warmly.
"Ahahaha~ that's simply part of my job as an adventurer guild receptionist, to be quick in understanding my clients' wishes. And I also feel that Miss Anastasia and Lord Philekos are very suitable to handle this mission." said Lynda.
Hearing Lynda's words and praise, Philekos increasingly thought that Lynda was a clever person—in a good, professional sense. She was quick-witted, professional, and respectful toward adventurers regardless of their status.
Lynda even believed the mission was very suitable for Anastasia and Philekos, even though statistically Anastasia's combat ability was close to zero.
"All right then, I'll immediately process this and place the stamp on this mission… so that both of you, Miss Anastasia and Lord Philekos, can legally carry out this mission." said Lynda.
With a gentle smile on her face, Anastasia nodded in agreement, but then spoke again. "But before all that, please arrange a meeting for the two of us… with the Little girl named Ishia."