Nirra was busy contemplating how to procure the ingredients needed to produce smokeless powder. She didn't realize her father had walked inside the forge to open it up.
"Oh, Nirra. I was just about to open the shop today," her father said as he put on his apron.
"Dad, I have something to tell you. I think Ellie already told mom about this," Nirra said while she held her hands.
"What is it?" Marcus asked, approaching his daughter.
"Since me and Ellie are now C-rank adventurers, we can now take escort quests. Our plan was to travel to Aeris and from there take another escort quest to the capital. That way we can make some money while we are traveling," Nirra explained.
"I see," Marcus said as he placed his hand on Nirra's shoulder. "Me and your mother knew you two would have to explore the world one day the moment we heard you two wanted to become adventurers. In fact, that's how me and your mother met my little smith," he said while he called Nirra by the nickname he gave her.
"You met Mom during an escort quest? And you were an adventurer?" Nirra asked with an eyebrow raised.
"No, it's more like after the escort quest when we were tired. Your mother was the innkeeper at the time, and I fell in love when I first saw her. Yes, I was a B-rank adventurer before I settled down with Mirabel," he said with a small smile.
"I see." Nirra said understandingly.
"Since you're leaving in 2 days, want to supervise the shop one last time?" he said with a soft smile.
"Sure, dad," Nirra replied as she went up and grabbed her apron, which was hanging on the wall to her right.
The rest of the day was just like the many shop days from her childhood. Nirra didn't know, but Marcus had a tear in his eye when they finished. It was already night as Marcus prepared to leave the cleaning to Nirra, as he always had done.
Before he left, he turned to Nirra one last time for the day and said, "Remember to visit us when you ever get back in town, alright?"
"Sure, dad, me, and Ellie will," Nirra said. Her dad nodded and left the forge to go to sleep.
Nirra then proceeded to clean the entire forge, and after she was done, it looked brand new. Before bed, Nirra crafted all the ammunition she could carry using the same process of making brass cartridges using the roller attachment to her electric motor. By the end, she had 43 .44 Magnum cartridges for her revolver and 54 .44 Henry cartridges.
Nirra also used all of the crystalized doomslime cores she had in store to make more gunpowder for her journey, along with more lead bullets to refill spent cartridges. Shen then packed up her electric drill inside her bag along with the drillbits and mounts on it so it would be safe in her hands. With her slightly increased strength compared to a normal male, she was certain she'll be able to lift all of it. Nirra was exhausted afterwards and sank into a deep sleep later that night.
The next morning, Nirra and Ellie woke up, ate the breakfast prepared by their mother, and went to the adventure guild to find an escort quest that would lead them to Aeris. While looking at the quest board, I noticed a pair of familiar faces.
"Edwina, Mari, good morning," Nirra said, and the two turned in her direction as she smirked.
"Good morning to you as well, Nirra," Mari said.
"I guess you two also want to get a quest this morning?" Ellie said while she looked at the board.
"Yeah, preferably an escort quest to the elven capital. Mari here was feeling a bit homesick," Edwina said as she pointed her thumb at said blond elf.
"I see. What about your shop, Edwina?" Nirra asked.
"Don't worry, I already hired some people to manage it while I'm gone; that brings me to you two. Also taking an escort quest?" Edwina said.
"Yeah, we're heading towards Aeris so we can get an escort quest there to the capital," Nirra explained.
The group was so busy conversing that they hadn't noticed a hooded figure that wore a white hood with golden trims.
"Nirra, good morning," said the hooded figure as it approached Nirra.
"Good morning to you as well, but who are you?" Nirra said, puzzled as to who this person would be.
"Did you already forget me?" The figure said as it revealed to Nirra who it was by letting the hood over her face.
"Ah, Ameria, I didn't realize because of the hood," Nirra said while the two other adventurers looked at her in shock.
"THE Lady Ameria!? The S-Ranker archer that took down a dragon?" Mari said with her jaw opened wide.
"Good heavens, I wasn't alone in that fight. I had three other A-rankers when we took on that adult-class dragon," Ameria said as her eyes rolled to the side.
"You didn't tell us that, Ameria?" Ellie said while she had her arms crossed and one eye closed, looking at Ameria.
"Well, you two never asked so," Ameria replied with a cheeky smile.
"Incredible! Lady Ameria? Here? I'm dreaming, am I? What brought you here?" Edwina frantically said with stars in her eyes.
"I was deployed to aid in the problem of the monster horde that you all had to deal with a while back. We found the source and destroyed it with the help of Nirra and Ellie here." She explained but did not mention the foe they fought that night.
"And due to some things I will not disclose, I'm now assigned to Nirra as her party member before said issue can be resolved," Ameria explained, to which Mari and Edwina replied with puzzled expressions.
"You're so luckyyy, Nirra! You get to have Lady Ameria with you as your party member! I'm so jealous!" Edwina said as she faked crying.
"Yeah, anyway, we should get going. I found a good quest that has a reward of 25 gold coins if we complete the escort," Ellie said as she ripped parchment paper from the board.
"Agreed, good luck on your journey, Edwina and Mari," Nirra said with a smile.
"You as well, Nirra," Mari replied with a small smile of her own.
Ameria, Nirra, and Ellie separated from Edwina and Mari as they proceeded to the guild front desk to confirm the quest. Ameria put her hood back on to not draw any attention.
After the guildmaid puts the stamp on it, they leave at dawn tomorrow, which gave the party ample time to prepare, like buying extra food rations as well as extra canteens and bags to hold everything that they would use. The next day, at dawn, the twins were about to set off, as their parents were already waiting outside the house to say their goodbyes. The sun was peaking from the horizon, casting an orange shade over the place. Mofu was busy sleeping inside the bag that Nirra carried. But woke up when they were about to say their goodbyes.
"Good luck, you two, and remember to pay us a visit whenever you two are back in town," Mirabel said with tears in her eyes, watching the two girls they nurtured grow up and be ready to go on their own journey.
"Yeah, mom, I'll make sure to take care of Nirra," Ellie said with a soft smile.
"You too, Nirra. Good luck, and here, I made this for you if you ever find a forge to work your weapons," Marcus said as he pulled out a smithing hammer with a custom-made handle with intricate markings and a symbol that depicted her revolver and rifle in an x pattern hammered on the head's side. Nirra thought he must've made this yesterday when they were selecting the escort quest.
"Thanks, dad," Nirra said as she held the hammer with her hands and placed it inside the bag she was carrying.
"And this is for you, Ellie," Mirabel said as she handed Ellie a leather bandolier that was designed to carry throwing knives.
Ellie slowly took the bandolier from her mother and placed five throwing knives on it before wearing it on her belt.
"Thanks mom," Ellie said as both she and Nirra hugged their respective parents tightly. Mofu got out of the bag, and his secondary colors changed to blue as he licked both of their parents with his ears and tail drooping.
"We'll miss you too, Mofu," Marcus said as he patted Mofu's head.
"Mofu...." he slowly said while he jumped back on top of Nirra's bag.
"Good luck on your journey," Marcus said as he hugged Nirra.
They let go, as they were now being called to gather near the city gates to meet with the merchant they were going to escort. The twins then walked away with their bodies still facing home, waving goodbye to Mirabel and Marcus. Both parties had tears in their eyes as the two parents saw their daughters turn the corner and out if sight.
Nirra was busy contemplating how to procure the ingredients needed to produce smokeless powder. She didn't realize her father had walked inside the forge to open it up.
"Oh, Nirra. I was just about to open the shop today," her father said as he put on his apron.
"Dad, I have something to tell you. I think Ellie already told mom about this," Nirra said while she held her hands.
"What is it?" Marcus asked, approaching his daughter.
"Since me and Ellie are now C-rank adventurers, we can now take escort quests. Our plan was to travel to Aeris and from there take another escort quest to the capital. That way we can make some money while we are traveling," Nirra explained.
"I see," Marcus said as he placed his hand on Nirra's shoulder. "Me and your mother knew you two would have to explore the world one day the moment we heard you two wanted to become adventurers. In fact, that's how me and your mother met my little smith," he said while he called Nirra by the nickname he gave her.
"You met Mom during an escort quest? And you were an adventurer?" Nirra asked with an eyebrow raised.
"No, it's more like after the escort quest when we were tired. Your mother was the innkeeper at the time, and I fell in love when I first saw her. Yes, I was a B-rank adventurer before I settled down with Mirabel," he said with a small smile.
"I see." Nirra said understandingly.
"Since you're leaving in 2 days, want to supervise the shop one last time?" he said with a soft smile.
"Sure, dad," Nirra replied as she went up and grabbed her apron, which was hanging on the wall to her right.
The rest of the day was just like the many shop days from her childhood. Nirra didn't know, but Marcus had a tear in his eye when they finished. It was already night as Marcus prepared to leave the cleaning to Nirra, as he always had done.
Before he left, he turned to Nirra one last time for the day and said, "Remember to visit us when you ever get back in town, alright?"
"Sure, dad, me, and Ellie will," Nirra said. Her dad nodded and left the forge to go to sleep.
Nirra then proceeded to clean the entire forge, and after she was done, it looked brand new. Before bed, Nirra crafted all the ammunition she could carry using the same process of making brass cartridges using the roller attachment to her electric motor. By the end, she had 43 .44 Magnum cartridges for her revolver and 54 .44 Henry cartridges.
Nirra also used all of the crystalized doomslime cores she had in store to make more gunpowder for her journey, along with more lead bullets to refill spent cartridges. Shen then packed up her electric drill inside her bag along with the drillbits and mounts on it so it would be safe in her hands. With her slightly increased strength compared to a normal male, she was certain she'll be able to lift all of it. Nirra was exhausted afterwards and sank into a deep sleep later that night.
The next morning, Nirra and Ellie woke up, ate the breakfast prepared by their mother, and went to the adventure guild to find an escort quest that would lead them to Aeris. While looking at the quest board, I noticed a pair of familiar faces.
"Edwina, Mari, good morning," Nirra said, and the two turned in her direction as she smirked.
"Good morning to you as well, Nirra," Mari said.
"I guess you two also want to get a quest this morning?" Ellie said while she looked at the board.
"Yeah, preferably an escort quest to the elven capital. Mari here was feeling a bit homesick," Edwina said as she pointed her thumb at said blond elf.
"I see. What about your shop, Edwina?" Nirra asked.
"Don't worry, I already hired some people to manage it while I'm gone; that brings me to you two. Also taking an escort quest?" Edwina said.
"Yeah, we're heading towards Aeris so we can get an escort quest there to the capital," Nirra explained.
The group was so busy conversing that they hadn't noticed a hooded figure that wore a white hood with golden trims.
"Nirra, good morning," said the hooded figure as it approached Nirra.
"Good morning to you as well, but who are you?" Nirra said, puzzled as to who this person would be.
"Did you already forget me?" The figure said as it revealed to Nirra who it was by letting the hood over her face.
"Ah, Ameria, I didn't realize because of the hood," Nirra said while the two other adventurers looked at her in shock.
"THE Lady Ameria!? The S-Ranker archer that took down a dragon?" Mari said with her jaw opened wide.
"Good heavens, I wasn't alone in that fight. I had three other A-rankers when we took on that adult-class dragon," Ameria said as her eyes rolled to the side.
"You didn't tell us that, Ameria?" Ellie said while she had her arms crossed and one eye closed, looking at Ameria.
"Well, you two never asked so," Ameria replied with a cheeky smile.
"Incredible! Lady Ameria? Here? I'm dreaming, am I? What brought you here?" Edwina frantically said with stars in her eyes.
"I was deployed to aid in the problem of the monster horde that you all had to deal with a while back. We found the source and destroyed it with the help of Nirra and Ellie here." She explained but did not mention the foe they fought that night.
"And due to some things I will not disclose, I'm now assigned to Nirra as her party member before said issue can be resolved," Ameria explained, to which Mari and Edwina replied with puzzled expressions.
"You're so luckyyy, Nirra! You get to have Lady Ameria with you as your party member! I'm so jealous!" Edwina said as she faked crying.
"Yeah, anyway, we should get going. I found a good quest that has a reward of 25 gold coins if we complete the escort," Ellie said as she ripped parchment paper from the board.
"Agreed, good luck on your journey, Edwina and Mari," Nirra said with a smile.
"You as well, Nirra," Mari replied with a small smile of her own.
Ameria, Nirra, and Ellie separated from Edwina and Mari as they proceeded to the guild front desk to confirm the quest. Ameria put her hood back on to not draw any attention.
After the guildmaid puts the stamp on it, they leave at dawn tomorrow, which gave the party ample time to prepare, like buying extra food rations as well as extra canteens and bags to hold everything that they would use. The next day, at dawn, the twins were about to set off, as their parents were already waiting outside the house to say their goodbyes. The sun was peaking from the horizon, casting an orange shade over the place. Mofu was busy sleeping inside the bag that Nirra carried. But woke up when they were about to say their goodbyes.
"Good luck, you two, and remember to pay us a visit whenever you two are back in town," Mirabel said with tears in her eyes, watching the two girls they nurtured grow up and be ready to go on their own journey.
"Yeah, mom, I'll make sure to take care of Nirra," Ellie said with a soft smile.
"You too, Nirra. Good luck, and here, I made this for you if you ever find a forge to work your weapons," Marcus said as he pulled out a smithing hammer with a custom-made handle with intricate markings and a symbol that depicted her revolver and rifle in an x pattern hammered on the head's side. Nirra thought he must've made this yesterday when they were selecting the escort quest.
"Thanks, dad," Nirra said as she held the hammer with her hands and placed it inside the bag she was carrying.
"And this is for you, Ellie," Mirabel said as she handed Ellie a leather bandolier that was designed to carry throwing knives.
Ellie slowly took the bandolier from her mother and placed five throwing knives on it before wearing it on her belt.
"Thanks mom," Ellie said as both she and Nirra hugged their respective parents tightly. Mofu got out of the bag, and his secondary colors changed to blue as he licked both of their parents with his ears and tail drooping.
"We'll miss you too, Mofu," Marcus said as he patted Mofu's head.
"Mofu...." he slowly said while he jumped back on top of Nirra's bag.
"Good luck on your journey," Marcus said as he hugged Nirra.
They let go, as they were now being called to gather near the city gates to meet with the merchant they were going to escort. The twins then walked away with their bodies still facing home, waving goodbye to Mirabel and Marcus. Both parties had tears in their eyes as the two parents saw their daughters turn the corner and out if sight.
