Cui Ciyou and his four companions left the Adventurers' Guild.
The warm afternoon sunlight spilled over them, with Milishion's white streets and the towering mage towers in the distance forming a beautiful picture.
Yet none of that beauty eased Alice's frustration.
"Seriously... this is so boring!"
As she walked, she kicked little stones along the roadside, grumbling nonstop.
"I'd rather spar with Rujierd all day than deal with those disgusting little green runts!"
"My sword exists to cut down stronger enemies!"
Sylphy quietly followed beside Cui Ciyou. Sensing Alice's displeasure, she tried to comfort her in a soft voice.
"Alice, i-it's all right... Ciyou must have a reason for deciding this..."
"A reason? What reason?" Alice snorted. "I think he just wants to annoy me!"
An amused smile rested on Keith's monkeylike face.
He sidled up to Alice and spoke with the air of a seasoned veteran.
"Oh, Alice, that's where you're missing the point."
"Goblins are called rookie killers."
"Exterminating Goblins is a rite of passage every legendary adventurer has to go through!"
"Back in the day, your uncle Paul..."
"Shut up, you Swindler monkey!" Alice cut him off without mercy.
Just as they reached a fork in the road and Keith was about to continue his epic tale of "back in the day," Cui Ciyou, who had been walking silently at the front, suddenly stopped.
He turned around and surveyed everyone with an inscrutable half smile.
Then he cleared his throat and said in an exceedingly casual tone:
"So..."
"It's not every day that three grown men like Rujierd, Keith, and me get to visit somewhere as lively as Milishion."
"So I've decided we'll find a tavern first, have a good drink, and unwind."
He paused, then casually held the parchment for the E-rank quest out to Alice,