- Before -


    Walking back from another Hunt, Aki stopped by a pet resort. Although the sign did say pet, instead of the docile cute cats and dogs back at her original world, this store was catered to monsters instead.


    Each monster, depending on their type and size, will be put in a specialized room, where the monster could enjoy a variety of services and activities. For more social monsters, they can be placed in a room together.


    Many magicians bring their familiars here as a treat or simply if they were too busy to take care of them. Kit Kat however, was attracted to the store front where they displayed a high quality spa treatment.


    His eyes shined like stars when just thinking of how majestic his fur will be after he had this extra special deluxe spa treatment!


    Kit Kat refused to bulge, flying in place and yet not letting go of Aki''s hair. Aki sighed and could only sign up Kit Kat to this deluxe special. Moonlit Pet resort is one of the more expensive and high class pet resorts in the city. Although pricey, with what Aki earned and how little she spent for herself, this did not even make a dent in her pocket.


    However, she has the feeling that she should try to earn more as the spendings on Kit Kat is just about to get bigger in the near future…


    Retrieving Kit Kat with very smooth and very fluffy fur, Aki made her way back to the inn. The pink fluff has once again occupied his throne atop of Aki’s head as it puffed up as if saying "Look at this majestic me!"


    As she walked by, many turned to stare at the beautiful Hase that sparkled. Little did Aki know that because she had been wandering around the city like this, carrying a Hase or a monster on one’s head would become a very popular fashion trend.


    Settling into her bed with the fluff in his, Aki was about to doze off when she received a notification on her smart bracelet. Checking to see if it was an emergency hunt, Aki instead saw a notification from the Adventurers guild.


    Huh.


    Ever since signing up as an adventurer, Aki had never stepped back into the Adventurer’s guild as the Hunter’s guild kept her busy. With the long inactivity, her status as an adventurer was automatically revoked. So why are they contacting her now?


    After clicking on the letter, a burst of virtual confetti exploded on Aki’s face and celebratory music began. Aki wanted to chuck her smart bracelet out of the window or better yet, hunt down whoever that designed this.


    “Congratulations! POO TU LU POO POO POOO!!! As one of the top rankers in your guild who is currently residing in Forthmight City, you’ve been chosen to be a protector for the Royal Academy’s annual field test!!


    You will be looking after the very cute and very talented children, making sure that the tests pose no harm to their life. If you are willing to take this job, you will be handsomely rewarded with not only points for your ranking, but also generous monetary compensation and a medal of appreciation from the King!”


    The irritating voice launched into a detailed explanation of how the test will be carried out and what a protector does. Right below the lengthy letter were simply two buttons.


    ACCEPT | REJECT


    Without thinking twice, Aki pressed the accept button. Being able to oversee Takeshi and Heiki’s test or even be placed close to their vicinity will allow her to protect them and in official capacity to boot.


    -


    The sun was just peeking over the Horizon when Aki walked into the Adventurers guild. All Aki could see after that were people. Loads of people. Being the main branch of the entire adventurer guild in Valticand, there were not only adventurers who came to get their quests processed but also to simply hang out with other adventurers.


    But this number of people was simply ridiculous.


    Looking at how everyone was squeezed into a small area made Aki itch to get out of here. You can never see danger coming here. It''s so easy to mix and get lost with the crowd after eliminating the target.


    Gulping, Aki gritted her teeth and squeeeeeezed her way to the front of the reception hall. At the left was a sign for protectors to head up the stairs. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    From here out it was easier as the area is totally deserted. Moving steadily up the stairs, it opened to a narrow velvet covered corridor. Lined on the wall are frames of portraits, which are likely past adventures who had made significant contributions. Curious, Aki stopped periodically to read the plaque of their names and their achievements. There were some weird sounding names, and some familiar ones too. They were probably trippers. After confirming that she did not see any familiar faces, Aki finally made it to the gathering area.


    She felt a prickling charged atmosphere as a few turned to glance at her entrance. This room was twice as big as the reception hall and was only filled with about 50 people sparsely spread across, with only a few in groups.


    "Aki!!"


    Suddenly from a far, she could see a bundle of silver moonlight bouncing towards her.


    "Axel."


    "Aki! As expected you were also invited!!"


    Axel ran up to Aki and looped his hands around her waist and nuzzled his head against Aki''s stomach. Smiling, Aki gently rubbed Axel''s head.


    "Why are you here Axel?"


    "The Alchemy guild was called to provide high class healing potions to the Protectors, including an emergency teleportation crystal. Those cost a bomb! The Royal family sure isn''t kidding about taking the field test''s security seriously."


    Axel chattered as he led Aki to an empty area with seats and started to tell Aki how troublesome it was to create transportation crystals and how much materials was wasted for this field test. It has been a while since Aki dropped by to see Axel and Axel was so excited that he grabbed Aki''s hand so tightly, as if he wasn''t intending to let go forever.


    " Axel!"


    From the front of the room, Martila was signaling to Axel to come back. Pouting, Axel got a promise from Aki to visit him again and with a last gentle pet on the head, Axel made his way back to the front.


    Leaning against the wall at the end of the hall, Aki instinctively cataloged everyone, their weapons, strength and also the possible exits as she waited patiently for… something. It wasn''t her fault that she did not read the letter. The voice was just too annoying that Aki pretty much shut it off after clicking accept and went to sleep.


    Contemplating whether to open the letter to read through it properly this time, the doors slammed open with a thud, echoing through the hall and effectively silencing the whispers.


    "THE FIRST PRINCE OF VALTICAND, KYLE JULIAN DE VALTICAND."


    The first Prince which Aki had met not long ago, strut down the hall with his entourage of loyal nobles following behind him. Deck in formal ceremonial attire, a shiny crown and arrogance in his bones, he sat at the main seat atop the stage.


    Everyone got up and bowed. Everyone except Aki of course.


    This made Kyle able to spot Aki at a glance. He gave a short laugh at how Aki was so nonplussed and waved at her. The cold beauty just gave him a curt nod and turned her attention elsewhere.


    Kyle mused that it''s not often that people do not give a fu-, did not care about the first Prince of Valticand. Although, he thought again, almost all the Hunters he had met so far actually treated him like this. Apparently Aki fitted quite well in the Hunters guild.


    Amused by his new observation, Kyle leaned back as he relaxed and began to oversee the assignment of Protectors for the test.


    "Aki from the Hunters Guild."


    After waiting for what seems to be an eternity, it was finally Aki''s turn. As she walked to the platform, whispers could be heard spreading around. It was afterall the first time they had ever seen a Hunter turn up in a formal occasion. Many of the hunters were always off wondering and it was rare to see one. They were always seen as rather eccentric.


    Looking at the stage, the stairs were at the far corners and it was such a bother to walk a whole round. Thus Aki placed a hand on the platform and lifted herself up, jumping right in front of the Prince. Without bowing nor a second glance to Kyle, she walked to the announcer who had a letter with the group of students that she will be protecting and an emergency teleportation crystal.


    Shocked at the disrespect, the main overseer of the ceremony looked towards the Prince. Kyle waved his concern away and the announcer passed the items to her. Ripping open the letter of paper directly, Aki saw "Magician Extraordinaire".


    With a slight tick of a smile, Aki roughly stuffed the paper into her pocket. Just as she was reading to jump off the platform, a smooth velvety voice rang.


    "Take care of my little brother, will you Aki?"


    Turning her head back, her smile dropped and she gave a nod at Kyle and left. It was a win-win situation, so Aki would let the conspiracy pass.


    After everything was distributed, the guild master brought all the protectors to the test location, which was surrounded by a barrier that only allowed the relevant personnel to enter. They pointed out the assessment''s mission points and allowed them to scout the area.


    Perched on a branch of a tree, Aki looked at the sunset over the horizon as the darkness fell.


    ~~~~~~~~


    - After -


    A rumble was heard in the distance, followed by a few yowls and roars. Aki had dug a hole deep into the pile of discarded inventions and was currently making the hole even deeper, trying to find the herb she was after.


    The rumbles were getting closer and closer, even causing the ground to shake and a few of the inventions cluttered down around her. Afraid that the items piled above her would bury her alive, Aki jumped out of that 5 meters deep self-made hole.


    Looking towards the rumble, Aki dropped her jaw in shock. A roughly 5 meters tall robot was chasing after Kit Kat and Cadbury. She looked towards the same hole and wondered if she should get back in to hide.


    The classic retro robot with its eyes flashing and shooting laser beams out of it, clumsily headed towards her with a pink fluff and a mini dragon leading the way in joy.


    “Intruder alert, intruder alert.”


    Kit Kat and Cadbury were frolicking around as always when they spotted the herb that Aki was looking for. Wanting to give Aki a surprise, they tried to pull up the herb. But just as they touched it, the robot activated and landed them in this situation.


    Still, instead of trying to deal with the robot themselves, they thought, what more convenient way to bring the herb to Aki, then to have it go to Aki itself?


    With the gleaming eyes looking at her that practically shouted ‘Prise me’, Aki heaved a sigh and said “Good job.”


    Feeling the crackle of electric magic in the air, Aki pointed to the sky and summoned forth a bolt of lightning. As her finger drew downwards, the red flash descended upon the robot.


    Boom!-


    After the electrifying moment, the robot was fried inside out and collapsed into pieces.  Yet, the Helianthus that was actually growing on the Robot’s head was not affected in the slightest and was even letting out a few electric charges as if it was pleased by Aki’s lightning and wanted more.


    Kit Kat and Cadbury bounced around Aki, still going “praise me, praise me”. Aki tossed them a bar of chocolate each and headed towards the robot to unearth… to detach the Helianthus.