Leon ignored Loriel's concern. The wolf girl might just be heading in the same direction—no reason to make assumptions. He pushed open the heavy wooden doors and entered the Adventurer's Guild building with Seraphine and Loriel flanking him.

The moment they crossed the threshold, the murmurs and gossip that had been barely concealed erupted throughout the hall.

Their appearance was too distinctive to miss. Every eye in the room tracked their movement.

"Aren't they the ones who claimed to be from Solaris?" one adventurer whispered loudly to his companion.

"Yeah, I heard about that. Complete nonsense, obviously," another replied with a snort.

"Still, did you see them? That silver-haired guy looks strong."

The conversations buzzed around them like angry wasps, but Leon paid them no attention. He'd expected this reaction.

Sylphia entered right after them, slipping through the doors before they could close. She heard the gossip too, and her ears perked up at the mention of Solaris.

That's not something people joke about. Claiming to be from a mythical place like that...

She was shocked, to say the very least. This wasn't normal behavior. And the strength they'd displayed earlier—especially that tall, silver-white-haired young man with those strange mystical eyes they called Leon—suggested there might be more to their claims than simple delusion.

She followed behind, maintaining her distance but keeping them in sight.

Leon approached the same burly man at the main counter who'd registered him as an adventurer earlier that morning. Without ceremony, he placed the mission notice on the wooden surface.

Then he pulled the mushrooms from his spatial storage.

One hundred specimens materialized on the counter out of thin air, appearing in neat, organized rows. The dimensional ripple was subtle but unmistakable to anyone paying attention.

I've already claimed to be from a mythical place. Hiding my spatial affinity serves no purpose now. Better to show it openly and save myself the hassle.

He'd seen some adventurers carrying massive backpacks through the guild halls earlier, struggling under the weight of their collected materials. The thought of doing the same seemed absurdly bothersome when he had perfectly functional spatial storage.

This was exactly why he chose to display this affinity publicly.

The burly man's eyes went wide as dinner plates. His mouth opened and closed wordlessly for several seconds.

First light element. Now space. This is just too much.

Jealousy burned in his chest—how could it not? Like every other adventurer who witnessed this scene, he felt the unfairness of it all keenly. How could one person be so talented? How could someone possess not one but multiple rare affinities?

It's not fair. Not fair at all.

But fair or not, reality stood before him in the form of this silver-haired young man who seemed completely unbothered by the attention.

Leon, ignoring the reactions rippling through the hall, spoke simply. "I've completed this mission."

The burly man cleared his throat, forcing himself back into professional mode. "Right. Yes. You'll need to go to Hall Two to submit completed missions and receive your reward." He gestured toward a corridor. "Go down that hallway, take the second left, and you'll see the doors marked with a number two."

The guild was massive, with multiple halls and floors dedicated to different functions. It was normal for newcomers to get confused navigating the labyrinth of corridors.

"Understood. Thank you." Leon nodded and turned toward the indicated direction, Seraphine and Loriel following close behind.

As they left, an even bigger commotion erupted inside the guild hall.

It took people a while to recognize her—the possibility seemed too low, too coincidental—but slowly the realization spread like wildfire through the crowd.

"Is that... Sylphia Aerwyn?"

"No way. Can't be."

"Look at her hair! Those ears! It's definitely her!"

Sylphia Aerwyn. The famous four-star adventurer of the Crimson Fire Party. One of the top one hundred adventuring parties in the entire world.

Normal adventurers looked at her like fans spotting a celebrity, but no one dared approach. Her presence alone created an invisible barrier that shooed people away—something in her posture, the way she carried herself, warned against casual interaction.

The question burning through everyone's mind was simple: what was such a renowned and famous adventurer doing in their border town?

Assumptions were made—perhaps she was passing through, or taking a break from high-level missions, or investigating something serious. But no one knew the real answer except Sylphia herself.

It did seem like she was following those strange newbies who claimed to be from Solaris. But most people dismissed that as a coincidence. There was no way in hell someone of her caliber would be here for them specifically.

Right? That would be absurd.

Leon arrived in Hall Two, which was even bigger than the previous hall. Multiple desks were set up in organized rows, each staffed by guild employees handling various administrative tasks.

Most desks had lines of adventurers waiting, but one stood completely empty. Leon headed straight for it without hesitation.

Behind the desk sat a girl with a small face, white rabbit ears that twitched nervously, and striking red eyes. The moment he laid eyes on her, he found her cute—genuinely adorable in a way that was hard to ignore. She looked quite young, maybe sixteen or seventeen.

But he also noticed the black bracelet on her wrist.

A slave. This is the first guild official I've seen who's enslaved.

He didn't know if this was the reason her line was empty, or if it was a simple coincidence. There weren't many people in Hall Two to keep the seven employees busy, and one desk did have a notably longer line—probably because the woman manning it had an impressive figure and big personality that could draw male attention.

It could just be timing.

Leon continued forward despite the girl looking extremely nervous. She was fidgeting constantly, her rabbit ears twitching in rapid succession, her hands clasping and unclasping on the desk surface.

He pulled out the mission notice along with the mushrooms, which appeared directly from his inventory onto the desk.

A small yelp escaped the rabbit girl's throat. Her ears shot straight up in shock before flattening against her head. The reaction was funny and cute to watch, and Leon couldn't help but smile.

"I've completed the mission," he said gently, trying to put her at ease.

The procedure was smooth despite her excessive fidgeting and obvious nervousness. She verified the mushrooms, checked them against the mission requirements, and nodded several times.

"E-Everything appears to be in order," she stammered, pulling a small pouch from beneath the desk. "Here's your reward. T-Ten gold coins."

Leon collected the pouch and tucked it away. "Will my rank increase after this?"

She fumbled with a large book that had the Adventurer's Guild logo embossed on its leather cover, flipping through pages with trembling fingers. "L-Let me check... No, I'm sorry. This was only your first mission. You need to complete several more before advancing to the next rank. Usually five to seven missions of similar difficulty."

"Understood. Thank you for your help."

Just then, something happened that neither of them expected.

The rabbit girl suddenly screamed—a high-pitched sound of pure panic—and dove under the desk, disappearing from view completely. Her muffled voice came from below, frantic and terrified.

"No, no, no! Why is she here?! Why now?!"

Leon blinked in confusion, looking around to see what had spooked her so badly.

Sylphia had just arrived inside Hall Two, her grey hair and wolf ears making her instantly recognizable to anyone who knew who to look for.

She stood frozen just inside the doorway, her golden eyes locked onto something—or someone—with an expression of complete shock.

Am I imagining things? Or did I really just see someone I used to know?

Her heart hammered in her chest as she stared at the empty desk where moments ago she could have sworn she saw a familiar face. A face she hadn't seen in years. A face that shouldn't be here, in this border town, working as a guild employee.

It can't be. There's no way.

She'd been thinking this whole time about how to approach the people who had saved her life. Following them through the city streets, Sylphia had rehearsed various opening lines in her head, discarding each one as awkward or insufficient.

She wasn't good at communicating with others—never had been. Social interaction drained her in ways that fighting monsters never did. But she wanted to thank them properly, and there was something else, too.

Just introduce yourself. Say thank you. Ask if you can buy them a meal. Simple.

However, this unexpected someone had gained her full attention now, completely overriding her introverted personality and careful planning.

Without thinking, without her usual hesitation, Sylphia moved. She crossed Hall Two in rapid strides, her wolf ears pinned forward with focus. She barely registered Loriel's suspicious side-eye as she approached the desk where Leon stood.

Her golden eyes locked onto the space beneath the table where the rabbit-eared girl had disappeared. She picked up a familiar scent. Memory and present reality collided in her mind, and suddenly she was certain. Despite the years, despite the impossibility of the situation, she knew exactly who was hiding there.

Sylphia's voice came out louder than she intended, carrying across the suddenly quiet hall.

"Bunbun?!"

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