My Adventures In Philia

Reason

Zeke's POV

As Ria teleports away in a flash, I glanced at little Lexi who was waving goodbye. It's honestly adorable because of the way Lexi cares for Ria but unlike Nean who's avoiding eye contact and seems to not care about Ria. I feel jealous that my friend has two cute siblings.

I am an only child of a commoner family who lives in a poor village. I decided on going to Rose Empire to become an adventurer and support my parents. Then after that, I met Ria and we became good friends. But I still regret that I decided to quit. I don't want my adventures to end but sadly I am scared to continue.

I guided the two kids inside the guild which is half-destroyed. The floorboards were wrecked and the wooden walls are ruined. Some of the tables and chairs were fallen over as the other adventurers are still collecting themselves from what happened.

Most of the damage was caused by me trying to stop Ria and Hanjin from fighting. My bad.

I felt eyes glaring at me. So looked around and was stunned to see my boss at the upper level of the guild.

He was looking down on me rigorously which made me tremble. But then, he turned his back and walked to his office with a root beer bottle in his hands. He is such an alcoholic, to be honest. Surprisingly Ria and I don't drink. Unlike the rest of the guild including Hanjin who is such a heavy drinker.

I told Lexi and Nean to sit at the table in the corner. Lexi smiled and nodded while Nean continued to avoid eye contact, you really can see the difference between the two of them. They took their seats and I started to clean up the mess I made...

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After an hour of cleaning, I returned to the bar area and saw Nean behind the counter, looking through the cabinets.

"Hey, Nean! What are you doing back here?!" I yelled.

"I'm hungry, you got nothing but stupid beer." She replied with an annoyed tone.

I ignored her attitude "Well, you shouldn't tell me. I will get you something in a few minutes." I said,

She stood up and hence looked away from me, "Moss-head."

Did she just call me "Moss-head?". I'm pretty sure I heard it wrong.. Yep, she called me "Moss-head".

Nean took a seat on a stool in front of the counter rather than sitting with Lexi who was taking a peaceful nap on the table.

I got behind the counter and started making something to satisfy the little archer. Then, the doors of the guild suddenly flung open and 2 familiar adventurers entered. It was Drake and Mask, Hanjin's 'friends'.

The one on the left was a guy with honey-blond hair, bright orange eyes, and is wearing a crimson red cape while the other one on the right had a grey mask covering his face while most of his body is wrapped in thick clothing.

Drake who had his usual grin went over towards the bar area followed by Mask with his intimating stare.

"Hey!! If it isn't my favorite person!! No offense, Masky." The happy-go-lucky Defender said to me with a friendly tone,

Mask replied, "It's fine."

He then glanced over to Nean who was impatiently waiting for her snack.

"Oh, and Who are you?" Said the masked man.

Nean ignored him and stared into space.

"She's just here with me," I said to Mask,

Then, Drake approached her with a big grin across his face. "Well nice to meet ya, little girl. Maybe we could play cards some-"

But suddenly, he was cut off by Mask who yanked on the back of his collar. "Now is not the time for games, Drake. Just order something already." Mask threatens him with a deep tone. I felt a shiver going down my spine as he said that. Mask is just as terrifying as Ria...

After giving Mask and Drake their orders, they went over to Hanjin who was still fuming with anger.

I finally finished making the snack and it's my famous pudding with a sparkle of cocoa beans. My pudding recipe isn't really famous, I just made it up.

Carrying the snack to where Lexi is sitting because I don't want her to be alone. The young girl immediately woke up from the smell of the cocoa beans and began to eat them little by little leaving some for Nean.

The little archer over to the table and ate some of it which she gave me a thumbs up. I think she likes my recipe which I am glad to know. She thus spoke to me,

"Oi four-eyes, why does Ria hate that Hanjin guy so much?"

"Yeah! I want to know too!" Lexi also said,

I took a glance at the two of them. Maybe it's best if they knew, at least if Ria doesn't mind. As I fixed up my glasses, making sure they don't fall off my face, I begin to tell them Ria's backstory.

"Well, that's because of what happened a year ago when she first joined the Guild of Beer. Ria was on a quest to collect a magic stone hidden in a dark dungeon."

Before I could continue, Lexi interrupted by raising her hand in the air. She asked,

"What are Magic Stones? Can you eat them?"

"Geez, you really don't know anything." Nean hissed at her question. Most adventurers would already know about what a Magic stone is. I then briefly answered Lexi's question.

"Magic stones are one of the most valuable and beneficial resources in Philia. They can be used to forge magic users' weapons, create jewelry, and even grind into Magic stone dust. Most Magic stones are quite limited to find so that stone was one of them."

"Oh! I see." She responded. Once that was done, I continued with the story.

"Ria had fought through the traps and dangers that were thrown in her way until finally, she found it. She was about to obtain it but there was an explosion.." I trailed off.

Lexi's pink eyes widened but she continued to listen,

"Hanjin somehow blew up the entire dungeon and stole the magic stone. The explosion almost killed Ria along with the half-damaged dungeon. And ever since then, she has developed massive hatred towards him. I don't know why he did it in the first place but Hanjin couldn't give her a proper answer. And so, that suddenly turned them both into enemies."

As I finished talking, all of a sudden, Lexi stood up on the table and yelled, "How dare he do that to Big Sister!! He needs to pay! Revenge!"

Nean also yelled at Lexi,

"Lexi, you idiot! Get down from there!!"

I giggled a little at how Lexi wanted to avenge Ria but knowing how intelligent and strong she is, Ria would be fine.

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Ria's POV

I am not fine, no- I am the opposite of fine.

Catching my breath, I found myself surrounded by furious creatures. My energy is low and I don't have my staff in my hands. At this point, it feels like I'm going to die.

"Dangit"