Point-of-View: Ifeus Lero ———————————————————————————"Who the hell are you, old man? Come on, I'm sick of seeing so many old farts around me, I'd much rather spend time with some cute young boys instead, like that spicy redhead and the twink with two-toned hair.""Yes, I heard that you showed my Guild members quite a time," I responded icily. "Hm? Ohh, I see, you must be the Guildmaster of those two cuties! The redhead wasn't bad, but the slender one with the two toned hair was especially tantalizing...mm, I was saving the best for last, but I got too caught up in pounding the redhead," She laughed as she let out a wistful sigh. What's with this woman? She's hot, but seriously revolting. Cesla Knois, a wanted criminal in our neighboring country, Anthro. About a year ago, there was a massive jailbreak in Anthro, several dangerous criminals escaping, she was one of those criminals. The nation was already plagued by the actions of a certain dark cult, and the sudden outbreak of jai
"You know, I'm starting to get kinda worried about Iris. It's been over a month since we last saw her, I hope she's okay," I remarked thoughtfully, as Lilac and I strolled through the city. "Oh, I'm sure she's just fine. There aren't a lot of things out there that can take down that gorilla, you know," Shrugged Lilac wryly in response. She says that, but I know she's worried too. I've seen her sleeping in Iris's room a couple of times over the last week, and she's not as energetic and upbeat as she usually is. Today's the 22nd of May, 505 PA, and a bit over two weeks had passed since that bandit Quest. I got paid quite substantially the following day after that Quest, which I used to buy myself some new novels to read, plus some snacks to munch on while I'm lazing about in my room.I decided to take a day off today and just laze about all day, but Lilac had other ideas. She insisted on showing me around the city, which I honestly couldn't care less about, but she wouldn't stop pest
"It exploded the instant you pointed at it...uh, you aren't the one who did that, right?" I inquired incredulously. "H-hey, don't say that, of course I didn't! It was just a coincidence!" She snapped indignantly. "We should probably get out of here. That explosion might've set some of the prisoners free...if that Apex Mage broke free, we'll be screwed. Let's go report this to the Guild, quickly," I remarked, grabbing her wrist and dragging her away, as several Knight Mages who'd been outside the building rushed towards the wreckage that was left of it. Yeah, realistically speaking, it's unlikely that anyone who was inside survived that explosion-...no, wait. I thought back to the explosion as it happened...whatever caused that explosion came from the inside the prison, the building exploded outwards. Hm, furthermore...there's a big dust cloud rising up from the rubble, but there's no smoke, at least not a significant amount. So it wasn't a fiery explosion...let's see, what are the
"Well, that really sucked...I mean, I was the one who told them about your deduction regarding the fact that it was most likely an Apex Mage of the Space Class who destroyed the prison, and as soon as I finish, they suspect me and detain me for questioning. I don't think I've ever felt so insulted in my life," Sighed Ifeus with an exasperated look on his face. "Sounds rough," I responded absent-mindedly, leaning back in my chair. "More importantly, let's go on a Quest, To," Chimed in Lilac, shaking my shoulder a couple of times. "M-more importantly...?" Muttered Ifeus in dismay."Just to make sure, you weren't the one who did it...right?" I inquired, feigning a doubtful look on my face. "Of course, not!" He protested indignantly. It was the next day, the 23rd of May, 505 PA, and I was currently at the Guild. Normally, I'd have stayed at home and trained today, but since Ifeus was taken in for questioning yesterday, I came to the Guild this morning with Lilac since the Knight Mage
"Hm? Oh, hey, Topaz...I see dad and Lilac are here too. How've you all been? I just got back a little while ago, I'm-...," Began Iris with a smile, as she approached us with a wave. "Iris! Do you have any idea how worried I was!? How could you just leave like that without talking to me first!? Look at you, you're covered in wounds! Where were you for the last month!? A-and what happened to your eye!?" Exclaimed Ifeus, storming over towards her. "H-hey, calm down, dad, relax...sorry for worrying you. And I left without saying anything because you wouldn't have let me go if I did, that's why I left a letter instead. And these are all mostly minor injuries, nothing to worry about. As for where I was, I went to Liffer Forest. And I kinda lost my eye while I was-...w-woah!" She exclaimed, as Ifeus grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her repeatedly. "You did WHAT!? You went outside the nation!?" He snapped incredulously. "Y-yeah, I did. But it was totally worth it! You see, I-...""Y
"So, you usually spend all year traveling around Sapio? Don't you visit any other countries?" I inquired, as I browsed through the store. "No, but not because I don't want to. It all comes down to cost...hiring Guild Mages to serve as bodyguards between cities, towns and villages within the same nation is one thing, but the price goes up significantly if I want to hire them for jobs that'll take me outside of the country. I've carefully considered it, and given my average earnings, the cost doing so would mean an overall loss for me," He explained with a wry smile. Today's the 25th of May, 505 PA, a couple of days after Iris finally returned from her training journey. Lilac and I decided to come check out Rekon's store, Iris wanted to join us but couldn't since she's been grounded. She did give us a list of things she wanted us to get here, along with money to pay for it. "Hey, what's this thing? It smells really sweet," Remarked Lilac, picking up a pink, flower-looking object. "H
"Gotta say, I'm impressed. Sure, it was more down to your opponent's carelessness, but still...taking down an Apex Mage is seriously impressive. Way to go, Topaz," Smiled Iris, as she patted my shoulder with a nod of approval. "Thanks, I appreciate it...but she was busted out of prison, so it kinda feels like I went through that whole ordeal for nothing, you know? Well, whatever, I just hope I don't ever have to run into her again," I sighed wistfully. "Hm, what do say we have a little sparring bout? It's been a while, I'd like to see how much stronger you've grown while I was away," She suggested with an eager look in her eyes-...excuse me, eye. It's the 30th of May, 505 PA, about a week after Iris returned from her excursion. After Ifeus got her checked up and treated at the hospital, he insisted that she stay put at home and rest up for at least a few days, so until a couple of days ago, she wasn't allowed to train or anything. Which made her really restless and irritable. I do
"Not that I'm complaining, but weren't you supposed to be grounded for a whole month? It's barely been a week," Remarked Rex in bemusement. "No, it's been nine days, so well over a week," Responded Iris with a shrug. "That's still not even a third of a month, not even if it were February..."Today's the 1st of June, 505 PA, and I was currently at Solaris, about to depart on a Quest along with Iris, Lilac and Rex, our party's first official Quest. Lilac's looking even more upbeat than usual, is she really that excited about this? Personally, I'm less than thrilled, to put it lightly. My main issue is with Rex, of course, but he's not my only concern...I've never actually been on a Quest with Iris before this, she did tag along on some of my first Quests, but she was more observing me to make sure I could handle the jobs. Which was unnecessary, because most of my initial Quests were tasks like gathering specific herbs and whatnot, there was basically no real danger on those jobs.