NARRATOR's POV----

“… Goodness. She seems okay.”

Jonas said, his expression softening after seeing that only the edges of Maria’s clothes had been slightly burnt, after running to where she was.

“You’ve got to be kidding me… She took down a Magma Wolf King by herself?”

Elmo exclaimed, his hold on his spear tightening as he gazed at the said remains, which were right next to its killer.

His handsome face was a mix of befuddlement and remorse.

Elmo was likely annoyed by the fact that a young vampire and a little girl to that had defeated a high-level monster that even they had a hard time defeating.

“Physical boost and defensive body layer typically for warriors— Predator's Pride. And quite a strong and thick one at that. Just who are you?”

Moa inquired as she approached Maria, who had already adjusted her glamourous staff around her waist, and lifted her face to look at her.

Maria, however, disclosed her expression earlier and confronted them once they get closer.

“Me? I’m just a wanderer who wants to become an adventurer.”

Maria said in a cool manner.

Although she pretended to be cool, the thoughts that ran through her mind were quite stacks of disappointments.

“You must be quite good if Moa commends you on your combat skills and spells. The way you dodged the attacks was also splendid. Are all vampires this amazing? Those hoodie guys of ours sure are something eh?”

Jonas said this after collapsing to the ground, cross-legged, most likely from fatigue. Elmo’s face hardened as he heard their leader say it.

“There’s no way! If everyone was as good as the nocturnal guys you mentioned on the provincial branch guild we live in, then they would have already taken care of these monsters by themselves.”

“I suppose you’re correct. That simply means Maria is amazing. So, Maria, if you could have taken it down by yourself, why didn’t you?”

At his question, Maria merely swayed both her covered hands sideways. Shows her arms underneath her sleeves full of bandages— the same cloth she wears. Seeing this they were quite unsure how to respond to her bravery in daylight.

“It would have been impossible. With all of the other monsters around, I wouldn’t have been able to take down the other Magma Wolf King. It wouldn’t have been possible without you three.”

“I suppose you’re correct as well.”

However, the truth was that even with the high-level monsters there, Maria could have easily defeated the Magma Wolf Kings by her air-cut spell. Although she hadn’t known there were two of them, she probably wouldn’t have lost either way if she were going to full head-on.

The only reason she hadn’t fully maximized combat prowess herself was that these adventurers do the same thing— hiding their trump cards. Maria thinks adventurer's guild was a place where abiding by the unspoken rules was extremely important. For example, an adventurer mustn't share anything crucial information about the party he/she belongs to, or else will be used against them like framing them and possibly selling that information as well.

Maria couldn’t go to the town alone, and there were no adults belonging to the said place who would accompany her. Even if she had defeated the monsters after then loot valuable items and gone to the town for fortune, the issue of her snatching a vendor hours ago would have possibly remained.

If that had happened, she will no longer be accepted by the townsfolk and perhaps becoming an adventurer will be a dream.

The same thing would happen if she decided to go berserk here to satisfy her bloodlust and ignore the intentions of the other party and full unleashed all her spells. It was an outcome that Maria wanted to avoid at all costs as if showing her neck to chop by them.

That’s why finding a safe way to learn and adapt to every people she met to benefit her as much as possible, had been crucial for her.

And now she had accomplished that goal.

“Pardon me, but might I ask you three for a favor?”

“What is it?”

“Could you please inform any authority or maybe the guild that I was the one who killed one of the Magma Wolf King? Likewise, once I become an adventurer myself, I will commit to serving the townsfolk against monsters.”

“Huh?”

Elmo pushed his female companion aside and stood in front of Maria with an angry expression after hearing her say that.

“Do we look like adventurers that would steal another’s achievement? Give me a break. True, it’s still difficult for me to believe you defeated the Magma Wolf King on your own, but that doesn’t mean I’ll lie about it.”

“…”

“It’s exactly as Elmo says. We’ll receive our intended reward. While we’re at it, we’ll also report that you defeated one of the two Magma Wolf Kings that appeared.”

“…”

“Maria, you’re strong. We can all agree on that.”

“…”

The three of them, as expected, appeared to be straightforward adventurers most of the time they converse.

Maria had the impression from her deductions that many adventurers would steal others’ achievements and commit heinous things for their fame, but these three seemed to be different this time.

Even though she had never met any other adventurers besides Meteor Impact, it gave her the impression that the adventurers of this age weren’t all terrible. Or maybe not to the extreme and everybody has hidden personal agendas.

Survival of the fittest, everyone will save their skin before their companions.

“Maria, there’s something that’s been bothering me.”

Just as Maria’s thoughts were beginning to wander farther, Elmo spoke in a somewhat angry tone. Maria could tell he was upset by something because of his expression, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

MARIA's POV—

“Maria, try saying my name.”

“What? It’s Brother Elmo.”

“Now Moa’s.”

“Moa…”

“Now Jonas'.”

“It’s Brother Jonas. What is this about?”

“This is it!”

What is what?!

I still couldn’t figure out why Elmo was angry.

“Why do you attach brother to my and Jonas’ names, but call Moa without any formality?”

“She's a female, right? Why should I call her brother?”

“Urgh! We're not joking here! Why you didn't call her a sister huh!?“

I was finally able to figure out the root of this man's anger. However, because I had done it unconsciously I couldn’t answer why I was doing it.

In my previous life, I was accustomed to addressing women older than me by one or a few years without any formality just like my classmates, and I would add brother to any man beyond my age or my height. It’s quite hard for me to change that habit now…

“Sister Moa, do you mind it?”

“Hm? Not at all. Instead, how about I just call you Maria? That should settle things.”

Moa said with a bright smile, putting an end to the case swiftly. I didn’t mind Moa addressing me casually, so I just nodded as well.

“I just can’t accept this…”

Elmo expressed his disdain with a scowl on his face, as though he couldn’t believe Jonas and I had thrown out the formalities so lightly. I couldn’t do anything about it, despite his glare and there's nothing wrong to call her sister, right?

“What’s wrong Elmo, are you jealous?”

Jonas casually asked him his dense surprised me.

“…?”

Elmo, on the other hand, simply stared at him in disbelief.

I had assumed that Jonas had been unaware of Elmo’s feelings for him, but this looked to be incorrect. He likes Moa. It had been evident even to me, who had only recently joined them, so there was no way Elmo would dislike Moa.

“If you’re jealous, why not just have Maria address you informally as well?”

“… Huh?”

He doesn’t get it.

“What I’m trying to say is that since Maria already addressing Moa informally, you should just do the same. Moa, what do you say about it?”

“I don’t mind since Jonas call me like that I may as well call you Elmo.”

“I-I…”

Elmo had an incomprehensible look on his face making me delighted. He was probably relieved that Moa hadn’t figured out his true feelings.

He silently nodded after one last glare at me.

“It’s fine with me if you say so, Moa…”

As a result, despite my petitions, I ended up addressing the members of Meteor Impact informally as well.

What in the world is going on…?

“Oh Maria, here take it.“

A white hooded cloak? Where did you get this? Wow, so smooth and smells good, I wonder what kind of fabric is this.

“Thank you, Moa”

“No problem”

With my existence as a mystic white fox, I wore the white hooded cloak just fine without changing. And looking at them, it seems they didn't mind at all.

“Maria, this may disappoint you but you need to enroll in a prep school before becoming an adventurer. You may well know that being an adventurer is privileged all across the empire!“

“Jonas, is that so? Empire you said?“

“Yes, all five human kingdoms in southeastern nations are under Uranus Sol Empire except its Imperial Capital, of course.“

“Prep school is that something classes I need to like education?“

“Exactly!“

The three adventurers said in unison which alleviates my anxiety at least. After all, school traumatized me until this moment.

“The prep school huh. I’ll accompany you. I have a few questions about the admission that I’d want to ask.”

“I had a feeling you’d say that. That’s why I’ve already got this ready for you.”

Jonas said, handing me an envelope. Inside the envelope, I discovered a piece of paper with a big sentence written on it with a brush and something solidified liquid wriggling thing covering it.

This vampire girl has the potential to become a high-level adventurer. I guarantee it.”

“What is this?”

“Your recommendation of course. Didn’t I say I’d write one for you?”

“You did, but is this okay? They won’t turn me back when they see it, right?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. It’s fine as long as it feels like a recommendation and is written by a veteran or higher adventurer. And with that sentence, there’s no way they’ll think it’s anything else.”

I wasn’t quite sure where that confidence of his was coming from. After all, I had assumed that the recommendation would be more formal.

“How will I prove that you’ve written this, Jonas? I mean, can’t everyone write a sentence like this?”

“I’ve imbued that ink with my essence. They’ll be able to identify the recommender instantly as long as they’ve registered their essence at the Guild.”

“That’s quite useful.”

Hmm… wait… what's the essence? Do you mean this gooey thing!?

After hearing Jonas' explanation, Maria and the rest of them headed to the Town