| Starter Town: Lanier |

A man slams his tankard on a table. "Hey, where's my beer!"

"C-coming!"

A group of adventurers clinks their glasses in celebration.

"Could we get some more food this way?"

"Of course, what would you like?"

Aiyoma takes a sip of her ale at the bar as I pass her.

"They're keeping you on your toes it seems."

I walk past her once more and sigh.

"I think this is far more work than our morning runs."

Needing some extra cash to continue my life in this new world I decided to work at the Tavern I and Aiyoma ate at when I first got here.

It's not all that bad, and because of my past job as a convenience store clerk I know how to handle people…but not so much when they're half-drunk.

The man from before slams his mug on the table again.

"My beer dammit!"

I rush over to him with three tankards of ale.

"Here you go sir, sorry for the wait!"

. . .

I gasp for air, my heart wanting to pounce out of my chest.

"Keep it up Momoko, you're doing great!"

Aiyoma raised her hand triumphantly.

"We're almost to our goal!"

I sprint attempting to keep up with her.

"D-dammit!"

Studying her hand gesture I uncurl my fists and flatten my fingers.

"HAAAA!"

The cold morning air brushes past me as I race forward to the fountain.

"Oh?"

Higashi glances over as I run forward and match their pace for a brief second.

Finishing my jog, I stop in front of the spring. The fountains aquatic mist brushes over me like an applause for my efforts.

"Well, I'll be dammed."

Higashi looks over to me heaving on my knees.

"Seems like you're finally getting used to your stamina training."

"Quite impressive!"

Aiyoma pats me on the back.

"This is probably your best time yet!"

"T-thanks."

Actually, now that I think about it, I have been keeping with them for the past few days now. Guess the training is starting to pay off.

"But now it's time for the real test!"

Higashi gestured to the way back.

"Now we run all the way back together!"

These guys are crazy!

Aiyoma stretches her legs. "You usually walk the ways back as we run, but now you can accompany us back to the house!"

"Like…Like hell! I got somewhere to be anyways, I'm starting a shift at the tavern today."

Higashi raises his brow.

"Ah, I see, getting used to the town life and landing a job for some extra coins."

I stand up and take a deep breath.

"Yeah, something like that."

. . .

This job will serve two purposes while I stay here.

One, I can hear any gossip or news surrounding the town; And two, I'm able to save a bit of money for anything that comes up.

That damn angel only gave me so much, I need extra money in case any other expenses come up!

"Waitress, could you take our order please!"

A lady beckons behind me.

I turn around.

"Yes, of course, be right there!"

"You hear about that monster causing a ruckus near Avondale."

I overheard a man in plated armor at his table.

A girl with bunny ears takes a bite out of a carrot.

"Yep, I heard it's for Ruby and up, it's a shame I could really use the money."

The monsters, quests, and people of this world are all divided by rank. Each shows a person's prestige, skill, and class proficiency.

The higher the rank, the more powerful the person wielding it. If it's a person, you can usually check theirs by a medallion being worn as an accessory like a chain or a bracelet.

The highest rank is Platinum (Hakkin), only being given to the strongest of the strong, while the Porcelain (Wakuji) is the starter rank given to everyone when they acquire a class.

I glance over to the bunny girl wearing a blue-colored medallion.

"Hm, she must be Sapphire."

Citizens can only go up to the class Emerald (Suigyoku). If you want to go higher you have to enlist in the knights guild or come from the nobility.

Sounds kind of unfair to me. Seems like being a knight has a lot of privileges, no wonder there's a huge tournament to become one.

Grabbing some empty tankards I fill them to the brim with some beer.

"Man, these guys seem to be doing more drinking than adventuring."

Gazing over towards Aiyoma I glance at the center of her armor which holds a crimson medallion shining brilliantly.

"Aiyoma ..."

I enunciate due to the loud atmosphere.

"I sometimes hear people call you Sword Maiden, does that have something to do with your rank?"

She puts down her ale and taps her medallion.

"Indeed, once you're above the rank of emerald and shown decent skill you're given an echelon. It's somewhat of a title based on your defining attributes."

Dang, that's so freaking cool! I wonder what my name would be...

"Dragon Slayer!" No to medieval…Maybe, "Monstrous Momoko!"

..Wait, that doesn't sound heroic at all...

The tankard in my hand starts to spill over with ale.

"Momoko, you're daydreaming, again."

A pink-haired girl with twin tails waved her hand in front of me.

"Oh no, not again ..."

I whimper looking at the beer spilled over the countertop.

The pink-haired girl sighed grabbing a cloth from her shoulder.

"You're fine…just get a towel for the floor I'll clean the counter."

"T-Thanks Sofia."

Sofia's the Tavern's owner, hence the name "Sofia's Tavern." She and Aiyoma are good friends so she decided to give me a shot at the waitress gig.

Wiping the rest of the floor I look at the clock and cheer.

"It's time for my sword lesson!"

I rush to the back to put on my normal attire.

"H-hey, don't run or you'll trip like last time!"

Sofia sighs turning away from my direction.

"I don't know where she finds the energy, such a handful that one is."

Aiyoma swivels around to face her.

"Well she's putting it to good use, can you believe she kept up with me and father on our morning run?"

Sofia turns to her in bewilderment.

"No way! Isn't your family basically super-human, being from the Yokamo tribe and all?"

"H-hey that isn't nice! We may be considerably stronger and faster than regular humans, but we're still human you know."

Aiyoma huffed and took a large sip of her ale.

Sofia chuckled.

"You know I'm just jokin' with you Aiy!"

"It's time for training!"

I rush out of the backroom and bow in front of Sofia.

"Thank you for the job, I won't disappoint!"

Sofia scratches her head with a bashful gesture.

"Y-you don't have to do all that, a friend of Aiyoma is a friend of mine. Don't worry about it!"

Aiyoma gets up from her bar chair, resting her hand on her sword.

"You ready to go?"

"You know it, race you home!

I dash out of the diner and into the street brimming with carts, people, and merchants.

"She's excited, what're you guys training for?"

Sofia inquired as Aiyoma walks to the door.

Aiyoma looks back.

"We told Momoko that we'd finally teach her sword training when she's able to run a full lap around town without passing out."

Sofia laughed.

"That's brutal! And around the whole town, she must be tired as hell after that!"

Aiyoma continues to walk outside the tavern.

"Yeah well, with willpower anything is possible I suppose ..."

. . .

I gasp for air as I reach outside of Aiyoma's family house.

"This was…a mistake."

Aiyoma stands from her seat on the stairs.

"You may be able to run around the entire town, but you can't outrun me!"

"Yeah…whatever."

I raise forward to climb up the stairs.

"But none of that matters, it's finally time for sword practice!"

Aiyoma glances over at me.

"You've really been wanting to practice with a blade, does it really mean that much to you?"

"Hell yeah, it does!"

I reenact myself holding a sword. "What's a knight without their weapon!"

The door to the house opens in front of us.

"Welcome back girls!"

Sakuma greets us with a beaming smile.

"Food is almost ready and your father is in the back."

Aiyoma and I walk through the door.

"Thanks, Ms. Saki,"

I stride toward the back door.

It's finally time for my knight training to begin! Time to get good!

. . .