Another world, Celeste

Chapter Thirty, pt 3

For some reason, I begin to feel uneasy since disembarking from the carriage. My hand instinctively hold the strap of the carrier bag hung over my shoulder tightly while Erissa adjusts the hood of the purple robe I'm wearing from falling off and revealing my hair. At the same time, my eyes dart around the roofless, inner part of the gatehouse, carefully checking for any suspicious movements through Presence Detection but there's nothing unusual to take note of. What could it be? If the cause of this feeling is not from my present surrounding, then is my intuition trying to tell me something? I keep up my vigilance even after seeing a familiar face, Senior Officer Derek approaching Polina then follow the both of them to the arrival counter from the far back of the group.

Noticing my distress, Erissa who's beside me quietly asks a question.

"You're going to register as a tamer at the Adventurers' Guild after this, right?"

Feeling distracted; it takes me about two seconds before answering Erissa's question.

"Yes, Lorelai said that I should."

"I'm going with you."

By now, I'm focused on what Erissa is saying.

"Don't you have to be with the others at the Commercial Guild? I can go by myself."

"We already talked about this with Polina beforehand. She also agreed to it."

"Oh, okay then."

Since everyone already agreed with this arrangement, there's no point in refusing. Plus, I'm relieved to have another person coming with me to the Adventurers' Guild. If there's an issue with the tamer registration, Erissa can back me up. Roy says the tamer registration is passable so long as one shows proof; either have the guild appraise and confirm that the individual's status undeniably possesses a skill related to taming, or choose the second option which is verifying the authenticity of a tamer's essential magi item. In my case, I can't readily have others look into my status. Sure, there is a way to adjust and conceal the status information and I can proudly claim my Concealment skill is on the master level but Lord Sol, Kinai and also Roy constantly telling me over and over and over to be cautious because you never know when and where the prying eyes and eavesdropper are lurking.

I'm lost in my thoughts until someone suddenly pushes me forward, causing me to stagger few steps before recovering my balance to awkwardly meet eyes with Senior Officer Derek. I refrain from turning back to see who's the culprit, instead, I want to crouch down and hide my face in embarrassment.

Polina breaks the awkward tension by saying, "Can you show your face properly to Senior Officer Derek?"

I easily comply with the request.

Senior Officer Derek react with a pleasant recognition when I reveal my face that it somehow feels anti-climatic.

"I remember your face. You're the healer who helped our town during the previous fiery hail. Welcome back to the mining town."