The girl crossed her arms, still visibly annoyed. “I’m not a goblin.”

  Kazuki blinked. “Then… ogre?”

  “Human!” she snapped, cheeks puffed in frustration.

  Kairyuuha cocked his head. “Are you sure? You look kinda… ogre-adjacent.”

  Her eye twitched.

  “I’m. A. Human,” she repeated, enunciating every syllable. “The name’s Mei. I’m an E-rank adventurer. I was on a quest transporting goods through the valley when we were ambushed. I fought back so my comrades could escape... ended up lost.”

  Kazuki and Kairyuuha exchanged a look.

  “Adventurer?” Kazuki asked.

  “E-rank?” Kairyuuha echoed.

  Mei’s eyebrows drew together. “Wait… you guys don’t know what an adventurer is?”

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  Kairyuuha shook his head. “Nope.”

  Kazuki pointed. “We’ve only lived in the forest. Since birth.”

  Mei stared at them, stunned. “What?! No way… You mean you’ve never been to a town? A village?”

  “No,” they said in unison.

  She ran a hand through her hair. “Okay. Civilizations have… religions, etiquette, currency, trade centers—basically a lot of stuff you don’t get out here in ogre-land. With jobs, you earn money, and with money, you can buy stuff.”

  Kazuki blinked. “Buy?”

  “Yeah. Like food, weapons, clothes… Not everything’s about killing monsters, y’know?”

  Kairyuuha raised a brow. “Sounds inefficient.”

  “It’s normal!”

  Mei let out a deep sigh. “Look, you two are crazy strong. You shouldn’t be living in the woods. Come with me—I’ll take you to a town.”

  ---

  Later, at the nearest town gate…

  The guards gave them suspicious glances but let them in after Mei vouched for them.

  The town was bustling—market stalls lined the streets, merchants haggled prices, kids ran by with laughter trailing behind them. Kazuki and Kairyuuha looked around in awe.

  “So… this is civilization,” Kazuki muttered.

  They soon arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild—a large stone building with a symbol of crossed swords and wings etched into the arch.

  Mei smiled. “If you register, you can take quests, earn coin, and maybe even find out more about yourselves.”

  As they stepped inside and approached the counter, forms were laid out before them.

  Just as Kazuki finished writing his name—

  “Mei!!”

  Four people burst in through the guild doors, their eyes wide and frantic.

  They rushed up and stopped just in front of her, panting.

  A girl with short auburn hair grabbed her hands. “We thought you were dead! How did you survive?!”

  Another, a tall guy with a bow slung across his back, added, “We searched the forest for hours. We only found your blood trail and wreckage!”

  Mei offered a sheepish smile. “I survived because these two saved me.”

  She gestured to Kazuki and Kairyuuha.

  The party of four turned to look at the boys—two strange, aura-heavy figures standing casually like they hadn't just fought ogres and tossed around elemental attacks.

  Their eyes widened.

  Chapter End.