“Now that I think about it, Faith, did you come to the guild for?” Gesel asked. After getting caught up in a conversation with her, I had almost forgotten my original goal of coming here.

“Ah, right, I came to sign up to become a mercenary with Sophie. I need to make some side money.” I really needed to get some money together. I did not know where I would find a place to set up my factory. I did, however, think about maybe building one at the edge of the slums. And maybe slowly trying to rebuild the area around it by giving jobs to those who wish to work and maybe bettering the lives of those living there.

“Ah, then you will need to undergo the test. What do you say? I will be your examiner.” Gesel has this grin on her face that reaches all the way to her ears. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind fighting her a bit to see how strong she truly was.

“Alright!” I answered excitedly. With that decided, Gesel and I walked up to the counter to fill out the forms, with poor Sophia in tow.

“Faith, I do not think I will be of any help….” I knew Sophie was not someone who was good at combat, but I planned to help her train up a bit before she entered the academy. This was why I was having her become a mercenary.

“It’s fine. You will be with me anyways. I will teach you how to fight while we take on missions.” I could see her ears and tail dropping lower and lower, but I am sure she knew she would need to grow stronger as well. This may also help with her confidence level.-.

While I was not sure if this would actually be the case, I just hoped it would allow for her to grow stronger. She seems to be shying further and further away from others. But I think this must have a lot to do with what happened with the Count. Just thinking about it makes me wish I killed him. Let’s just hope he is smart enough not to act out of line because if he does, I will no longer hold back.“Then I will sign up….” Sophie spoke softly, but she seemed to have a bit of determination in her voice. I think she does realize that she needs to grow stronger, and until she is strong enough, I will stand by her side, helping her as much as I can. Giving her the push she needs to grow.

Gesel leaned over and put her arms around both mine and Sophie’s shoulders. “Sophie, you just leave the test to Faith.”

“Ummm… Gesel… They can’t fill out the forms if you are hugging them.” The lady behind the counter interrupted Gesel. But it was true what she said. It was a bit difficult to write when she was squeezing the two of us against her. Her muscles were just too big!

“Ah! Sorry. Anyway, I will be their examiner so just write me down on the paperwork when they are done. When you girls finish, go to the door over there on the side wall. You will enter a hallway with a bunch of numbers on them. I will be in room nine.” Gesel pointed over at the left side wall that had a wooden door with a sign above it that said examine halls.

“Okay, we will see you soon.” Gesel nodded and walked away while Sophie and I began filling out our forms. Just the normal things. Name, age, combat profession, magic proficiency. All the normal things that one would fill out on any form…

While I was writing down my skills, I looked over at Sophie’s paper to see she actually had skills in daggers and swords. This kind of surprised me since she had never held a sword since I have known her. But this was also a good sign. If she really has been trained in swords, it would help her a lot in her path. Now that I think about it, the fortune telling she got also showed her wielding both magic and a sword, and her swordsmanship was actually quite good. If this was the case, then I expect Sophie to do amazing at the academy.

With the forms now signed, the reception went over some rules about the mercenary guild. You could take on any job, but if you fail, you will have to pay a penalty fee that is double the amount of the job’s worth. Which was a smart way to go about it, as it would reduce the chance of people trying to take on higher paying jobs just because they pay a lot. This not only reduces the chances of failure but also the chances of someone dying due to overestimating their own abilities. Besides that, there were no other real rules. She did say that if you are reported killing innocents, you will be hunted down by the guild and turned over to the knights.

“Oh right, I would also like to sign up for the tournament.” I almost walked away without signing up! Gesel would get mad if I forgot to do that. The poor battle rings would suffer!

“No problem, I added your name to the list.” After giving the receptionist my thanks Sophie and I walked over to the side door and walked down the hall to room number nine.

Now I will say I half expected it, and I will say I tried to prepare myself for it. But as soon as I entered the door, I couldn’t help but squeal in awe. I mean, the room was huge, bigger than the building itself. It was another one of those spaces like the one Adel has in her carriage, but this was just huge.“This is truly impressive.” I said as I walked in. Even Sophie was nodding her head while looking around at the huge space.

There was not much to the room. Just a large dirt arena with a rack of weapons leaning against the far wall. Besides that, there was only Gesel standing in the middle, leaning against her sword. It looked like she was rocking back and forth. If I had to guess, she probably fell asleep. She did not seem like one who could stand around for a long period of time without doing something.

I teasing grin appeared on my face as I put my finger to my lips to tell Sophie not to say anything. When I saw her nod, I gently flapped my wings and flew over Gesel, who was indeed sleeping, and silently landed behind her. I reached up and extended my index fingers and poked her under her armpits! “Ahhh! Fred cut the shi….”

“…”

“….”

” Faith! You brat!” Gesel yelled out after taking a few seconds to process the situation. She was blushing like crazy.

“Haha!” I let out a laugh as I dodged Gesel’s hands, that kept trying to grab me. This cat and mouse game only lasted a few minutes before she stopped and glared at me.

“Humph! I will just beat you up even more. But before that, have Sophie go by the weapons rack and put a protective barrier around her. I will not be able to go all out if I do not know she is safe.” I had the same Idea as Gesel. I also did not wish for Sophie to get hurt either.

“Alright. Sophie, come on, let’s set you up so you can get comfortable.” I said with a smile while grabbing Sophie’s hand and pulling her along.

“Faith, will you be okay?” Sophie asked as we walked to the far side of the arena.

“I will be fine. I promise there is not much in this world that can harm me. And if it does, I will just heal myself.” I would only actually put myself in harm’s way if I were trying to save a friend or family member. But to fool around, I will never push myself to the point that I might get seriously hurt or even die. That would just be plain stupid.

“Faith… I want to get strong too….” Sophie said softly as she gripped my hand with hers. I guess she had really been thinking about all of this. Her eyes showed her newfound determination.

“Then I will train you as much as I can. How much help I will be, I do not know, but it is always worth a try, right? You will also be trained at the academy as well. As long as you keep striving to grow stronger and push yourself past your limits, I am sure you will make this new wish of yours come true.” I watched as a smile appeared on Sophie’s lips as she nodded her head.

“Mmm! Thanks, Faith.” Seeing Sophie’s tail wagging and her ears perked up made me feel much better about her future. I set up a few barriers around Sophie and took out a table and a chair for her to sit on. Then I took out some sandwiches, pastries and some drinks. So she could snack on them while I fought with Gesel. I have a feeling that this battle will take a while.