After Arata and Ryuka arrived in Elation City, Ryuka seemed very impressed by the city.
"Wow, this is a human city? I've never seen anything like it," said Ryuka.
Arata, noticing Ryuka's amazement, decided to tease her a little.
"Heh, so a dragon god like you has never seen a human city before?" Arata said, teasingly.
"Hmmph, not really, I'm just impressed," Ryuka replied.
"Is that so? Why do your eyes keep sparkling then?" Arata asked.
"Don't be ridiculous, maybe you're the one who's mistaken," Ryuka retorted.
"Alright, alright, I'll believe you for now," Arata said.
"Stop teasing me," Ryuka said, irritated.
Seeing her expression, Arata laughed.
As they walked through the city, Arata stopped when he overheard a gossip from the locals about his former party.
"Hey, did you hear? Apparently, Shadow Leaf's party failed their expedition in a rank C dungeon."
"Seriously? But back when they were exploring rank A dungeons, they finished them so quickly. How could they fail today?"
"Maybe it's because they kicked out one of their members who had a big contribution."
Seeing Arata stop, Ryuka asked him what was going on.
"What happened?" Ryuka asked.
"Ah, nothing. Let's continue our journey," Arata replied.
Ryuka gave him a suspicious look but decided to follow him anyway.
When they arrived at the Adventurer's Guild, Arata and Ryuka entered, where they were greeted by Yuna, the receptionist.
"Welcome, is there anything I can help you with?" Yuna asked.
"I want to report that the mission to exterminate the dragon at the city border is complete," Arata said.
The entire guild went silent. Although the mission wasn't posted on the mission board yet, they knew how dangerous it was.
"Wait, seriously? He could defeat the dragon alone?"
"Isn't that an S-rank mission that wasn't even posted on the board yet? And he, an A-rank adventurer, defeated the dragon by himself?"
Yuna whispered to Arata, asking if he had really completed the mission or if he was just lying.
"(Whispering) Are you sure you finished the mission, Arata? You know there are consequences for lying," Yuna whispered.
Ryuka, overhearing the whisper, immediately cut in.
"He's not lying. I can prove it," Ryuka said.
Yuna turned to Arata, asking who she was.
"By the way, Arata, looks like you got a new girl after your mission. Can you introduce her to me?" Yuna asked.
"Oh, sorry. I forgot to introduce her. This is Tsukihina Ryuka, my childhood friend who just arrived here," Arata said.
Ryuka, hearing Arata's introduction, looked slightly annoyed. She had hoped for a more meaningful introduction, but she understood that Arata introduced her this way to avoid suspicion about her identity.
"Oh, so her name is Ryuka. Nice to meet you," Yuna said.
"Nice to meet you too," Ryuka replied.
"By the way, Ryuka, you said you could prove Arata completed the mission, right? Well, show me," Yuna said.
"Alright," Ryuka said.
Ryuka reached into her pocket and pulled out a dragon scale, showing it as proof that the mission had indeed been completed by Arata.
"Is this proof enough?" Ryuka asked.
Yuna immediately took the scale to check if it was real.
"Wait a moment, let me check," Yuna said.
"Okay, but don't take too long," Ryuka said.
After Yuna went to the back to check the scale, Arata, seeing the scale that came out of Ryuka's pocket, whispered to her.
"(Whispering) Are you sure it's okay to take that scale out?" Arata asked.
"It's fine. A scale like that won't hurt me," Ryuka replied.
"Oh, really? Thanks for the help," Arata said.
"Hmph, no big deal," Ryuka replied with her usual tsundere tone.
Though Ryuka said that, in her heart, she was secretly happy.
"He thanked me. I'm so happy," Ryuka murmured to herself.
Not long after, Yuna returned with a surprised expression, having finished checking the scale.
"So, how is it, Yuna? Is the scale real?" Arata asked.
"It's real. The scale is definitely genuine," Yuna said.
Everyone in the guild was shocked upon hearing that the scale Ryuka had given was real.
"Wow, seriously?"
"He defeated the dragon alone?"
"Looks like he did better than Shadow Leaf did."
Hearing them talk about Shadow Leaf, Arata asked Yuna what had happened to them.
"By the way, Yuna, what happened to Shadow Leaf? Why are people talking about them in the middle of the city?" Arata asked.
"(Sighing) So the news has spread, huh? Like you heard in the city, they failed to complete a rank C dungeon," Yuna explained.
"How could that happen? Didn't they just recruit a healer?" Arata asked.
"That's just it. They failed because their main attacker was their leader, Renji," Yuna said.
"How about Claire? She's a sorcerer, shouldn't she help out?" Arata asked.
"What can you expect from her? Before joining Shadow Leaf, she was often complained about by other parties because of her spoiled attitude," Yuna explained.
"What about Dason?" Arata asked.
"Dason? Although he's a tank, he always charges ahead and ignores his teammates," Yuna said.
"What about the healer? Didn't she heal them?" Arata asked.
"Oh, you mean Mira? She did heal everyone, but she ran out of mana because of their recklessness," Yuna replied.
"I see," Arata said.
Arata was confused about how Yuna knew so much about what had happened in the dungeon.
"Hmm, I'm curious. How do you know all of this?" Arata asked.
"Did you forget, Arata? The guild has a spy network that monitors every party that enters dungeons ranked C and below," Yuna explained.
"Oh, right. I forgot about that," Arata said.
Ryuka, who had been listening to their conversation, asked who Shadow Leaf was and what their connection to Arata was.
"By the way, you've just arrived, Ryuka, so you probably don't know. Shadow Leaf used to be one of the strongest A-rank parties," Yuna explained.
"If they were so strong, why did they fail in a rank C dungeon?" Ryuka asked.
"Maybe they failed because they kicked out one of their members who was crucial," Yuna said.
"Kicked out one of their members? Could it be Arata?" Ryuka asked.
"You're right, Ryuka. Arata was the one they kicked out because they thought he was weak," Yuna said.
"Hmph, serves them right. They didn't even know Arata's true strength," Ryuka said.
Hearing Ryuka's praise, Arata smiled, and Ryuka, realizing it, blushed with embarrassment.
"What's with that expression?" Ryuka asked.
"Thank you for the compliment, Ryuka," Arata said.
"It's nothing. I'm just saying the truth," Ryuka said.
After witnessing their interaction, Yuna told them that the guildmaster wanted to speak with them.
"By the way, before you go, the guildmaster wants to see you," Yuna said.
"The guildmaster wants to see us?" Arata asked.
"Yes, apparently, the guildmaster has something important to discuss with you," Yuna said.
"Okay, we'll head to the guildmaster's office then," Arata said.
"Right, the office is on the second floor, to the left," Yuna said.
"Alright," Arata replied.
They both went upstairs to meet the guildmaster.
Meanwhile, at the Shadow Leaf base, Renji was furious about their recent mission failure.
What will happen to the Shadow Leaf party? And why has the guildmaster called Arata and Ryuka to his office? Stay tuned for Chapter 5.
*If I made any minor mistakes that might be distracting, I sincerely apologize. I have done my best for this novel, and if you enjoy it, please consider giving it a like and sharing your feedback, suggestions, or criticism so I can learn and improve. Thank you for reading, and see you in the next chapter!*