The Princess & The Twilight Blade

Audrey

I hummed happily as I moved through the shadows. It was the day after my amazing date with Lydia, and I was now on my way to pick up the package from Count Lamal.

"You're in a good mood, my guardian," Aurora observed.

"Of course I am! Yesterday was our first date alone!"

"I suppose the other girls had always been around..." She said, and I nodded enthusiastically.

"It's not like I minded, but it was nice with just the two of us." As we spoke, I arrived at the rendezvous point and looked around until I found a good place to leave the shadows and took a moment to brush down my maid uniform.

Let's get this over with so I can get back to Lydia!

I needed to meet one of the Count's men behind a particular shop a few streets away from his mansion, and I compared the shop sign with the note in my hand. Lydia had given it to me just to be sure I wouldn't go to the wrong place.

It looked like the right place to me, and that was confirmed when I walked down the side alley to the back and found a figure standing there with a medium-sized cloth bag slung over their shoulder.

"Uh… I'm here to pick up a package for Lady Rendall?" I said uncertainty.

The figure turned toward me, the cloak they wore hiding any features, and my eyes widened in surprise at the mask they wore. It was pure white with only small slits for eyes. The rest of it was completely blank.

We stared at each other in silence for a moment before they stepped toward me and held out the bag.

"Delivery complete." The voice came out distorted, as if a group of people were talking at once. Must be wind magic... I couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman.

The second I took the bag from the figure, they turned on their heel and walked away, disappearing between all the buildings. I sat in stunned silence for a moment. Is that it…? Then I just shrugged before confirming I was truly alone now. I threw the bag into my storage and then slipped into the shadows myself.

"You're really enjoying this, Audrey." My Goddess said wryly.

"This all feels like a real secret mission, of course, I'm excited!" Between yesterday and this, I had plenty of reasons to be humming to myself.

"That's because it is." I smiled at that, and we talked about the upcoming auction until I arrived back at the inn. I took the shadows directly to the room, where Lydia lay on the bed reading a paper.

"What's that?" I asked as I appeared at the foot of the bed, crawling above her. She was unfazed by my sudden arrival, and one of her hands reached up to caress my cheek as she finished reading.

"Bernard and the others ran into some trouble the other night. It seems there's another group aiming for the auction."

"Why the letter? I don't think we're being watched anymore." I asked. It seemed the Count no longer cared since we already had the package. I'm sure Marquess Rendall was putting pressure on him, too.

"Well, we were busy with our date yesterday, and today was the meet-up with the other adventurers."

"Oh... I totally forgot! I wanted to go..." I pouted. Meeting the other adventurers sounded fun!

Lydia put the paper on the side table and finally looked up at me with a smirk. "What? Bored with me after going out yesterday?"

"Hm..." I paused as if thinking about it. "What would you do if I said I was?"

"I can think of some things to keep your attention..." She purred from beneath me and pulled my head down for a kiss. After enjoying that for a moment, I pulled away to admire the pleased expression on my girlfriend's face.

"Did you pick up the package alright?" She asked as she held my face in her hands.

I nuzzled into her palms before responding. "There were no issues... The delivery person had a cool mask, though." Lydia raised a brow as I described the figure's outfit.

"Sounds interesting... Shall we take a look at the bag then?" I moved off of her so she could sit up, and the bag rose from the shadows on the floor. Lydia leaned down and rummaged through it before pulling things out. We sorted everything on the bed, and ended up with three masks that were identical to the one I'd seen before, along with three cloaks and a single envelope.

Lydia opened the letter while I inspected one of the masks. As I expected, there were only small slits for the eyes, and I could sense faint traces of mana crystals imbued with wind magic embedded into it. I held the mask up to my face and turned toward Lydia.

"What does the letter say?"

She jumped at the distorted voice that escaped me. "Gah! Don't do that!" I giggled at the adorable noise she made and lowered the mask. After Lydia calmed herself, she held up a small white card.

"This is our ticket in. The auction is the day after tomorrow in the basement of the old opera house."

"The card is completely blank, though?" I observed, tilting my head in confusion.

"I'm sure there's some trick to it. I suppose we'll have to wait and find out." Lydia said with a wry smile. "We're also required to wear those..." She gestured to the piled masks and cloaks. "Once we're in the venue, we can't have any identifying imagery visible, or we'll be removed."

"Hm... That will make it really hard for the adventurers to keep track of each other." However, it wouldn't be a problem for us.

Lydia nodded in agreement. "We'll have to wait and see how many of our side actually get in. You and I can at least keep track of Cassandra and 'Shining Wind.'"

"What about this other group? Do we need to keep from fighting them?" I asked.

"If we get attacked, we'll defend ourselves," she shrugged. "We'll confer with the others when they get back. We only have a day to prepare."

"What do you want to do until they come back?"

"First, would my beautiful partner put everything in storage?" She handed me the white card, and I slipped it into my shadows along with the required clothing. Once I was done, I looked at her expectantly. "Second…" she continued with a seductive smile. I stepped toward her, my hand already reaching for hers, when I ran into an invisible wall with a grunt.

"Pfft." I could have sworn I heard my goddess laugh, but it must've been my imagination. My goddess is calm and mature and would never laugh at her guardian, right? My mind was completely silent after that.

I looked at Lydia with teary eyes as she stifled her laughter and finished her sentence. "... magic practice."

"You're so mean!"

***

Lydia

After consoling Audrey with plenty of kisses, I let her nap with her head on my lap as an apology. I sat on the bed and focused on my mana, trying not to be distracted by my girlfriend's peaceful expression. The standard barriers of light were easy to make now, but I wanted some more flexibility, so I was trying to manipulate them into different shapes, which proved much more difficult.

Squares were the easiest shape to visualize and turned out to be the sturdiest. I could also do triangles or circles with some focus, but they weren't as reliable. My goal of creating three-dimensional barriers was still a while off.

"You'll get there with practice. Keep working hard, Dia!" Azure cheered in my head. She had given me some explanation, but putting it into practice was a different matter.

Keep the edges strong… I can't let the light escape. I gritted my teeth as I began to bend a rectangular barrier into a pipe shape and felt the strain on my mana. The edges moved slightly before I felt it snap, and the barrier dispersed as I lost control.

I sighed and ran a hand through Audrey's red hair to calm myself. She shifted slightly and made a contented noise at my touch, which made me smile and helped ease the frustration I was feeling.

My teleportation needs work too… I let my mind wander as I closed my eyes and leaned back slightly. I was confident in my ability to handle inanimate objects now, as long as they weren't too big. Living things were still an issue, but I couldn't bring myself to practice on anything. It's fine… I'm sure the day will come as long as I keep at it.

The morning passed slowly as I continued to work on my light magic, mixing in some teleportation practice. At some point, Audrey woke up and joined in, creating and playing with a small amount of purple-black mist. After she explained its effects to me, I offered to be her test subject.

"I would never use you like that!" She said with a pout. "Besides, it wouldn't work on you anyway. You have too much stella."

"That's too bad. I'd rather you do it to me than another cute fluff-ball." I teased.

"That was an accident! And the bunny was fine!" She defended. "I just need to find some less cute animals, just in case."

I giggled at that and rested my head on her shoulder. Our hands found each other, and we just sat in comfortable silence for a while. The air between us has felt so perfect since our date…

"The two of you really needed real time off… I'm happy for you, Dia." My goddess said gently.

"Thank you, my goddess."

But, like all things… The quiet moment didn't last forever. We heard voices in the hallway before someone knocked at the door and entered without waiting for a response.

"Oh… All your clothes are on." Cassandra said with a smirk as she stepped into the room.

"How did the meeting go?" I asked, blatantly ignoring her remark.

"It was fine, nothing too interesting… Seems like we're the team with the best success rate. Only a few other adventurers have gotten in so far." She pulled the chair from the desk and sat down. "What about the package? Do we have the details?"

"Here's the letter!" Audrey said, waving her hand to make the envelope appear on the desk. The older woman read through the paper, and her smile twitched slightly as she finished.

"Sounds like a hassle… And it's in two days? Our situation probably won't change much then."

"What about Bernard and the others?" I asked.

"We found a way in as hired help. We'll be replacing some of the staff who had… An unfortunate accident." My attention was drawn to the man himself leaning in the doorway.

"If we have everyone, then it should be fine." My girlfriend nodded her head in agreement.

"Well, if you little ladies are so confident, then I guess we'll be alright." He said with a boisterous laugh. We all paused for a moment as some other inn guests walked down the hallway, then I asked the question that's really been on my mind.

"Can you tell me more about those people you ran into the other night?"

Both Cassandra's and Bernard's expressions darkened a little, and the man entered the room fully, letting the door close behind him.

"I'm sorry… We really didn't see much. One was a wind mage, and the other seemed to be a swordswoman."

I couldn't help but be disappointed. That could be just about anyone, then. The faint hope that this mysterious group might be who I wanted was slim, so I steeled myself and shook the thought away.

"That's fine, we'll have to keep our guards up either way. Let's discuss some strategy for the day." I said, changing the subject. There wasn't much more for us to do until the event started anyway.

***

"Alright, you can drop us off here," I told the young man through the small window of the carriage.

"As you wish, my lady." The amber-eyed man said. He drove the horses to the side of the road, and the door swung open shortly after. He extended his hand to help all three of us down the steps, and then bowed and hopped back into the driver's seat. "Please be safe."

I nodded and watched as he cracked the reins until the carriage disappeared around the corner. Audrey and Cassandra both flipped up their hoods, and I followed suit. Today was finally the day of the auction, and the sun had set only a few minutes ago. We had done all we could to prepare, so it was time to complete this assignment.

All three of us wore the cloaks we had received from the Count, with our masks tucked away inside. The guards would check our faces, as well as the blank card, to ensure we were who we claimed to be. Though I still don't know how that works…

The rest of the trip to the old opera house was quick, since we only had to walk a few more blocks. Instead of walking up the grand staircase to the main entrance, once we arrived, we moved down the side of the building until we found a staircase leading down to what I assumed was a staff entrance. The cement stair turned left into a short tunnel before we found ourselves before a solid iron door. When I knocked, a small window at eye level shot open.

"Card." A deep voice ordered. Without hesitation, I pulled it from my cloak and handed it through the window. Once he had the small paper, the window closed with a sharp noise. We stood there for nearly five minutes before the window opened again.

"Show me your faces, one at a time." I shared a glance with Audrey and Cassandra, but we followed their instructions. After leaning toward the window for about a minute each, the window was closed once again. Then, the sound of metal on metal echoed through the tunnel before the large metal door slowly opened inward.

"Masks on. Enter." The masks didn't limit my vision as much as I assumed they would, but the area inside the door was dimly lit. "Stop. Pat down." It's okay, you can use more words… For a moment, I feared the man would be the one doing it, but it seems the Count was smart enough to have a female guard as well, so as not to offend the women of his clientele.

"Arms out," the higher voice came from a shadowed figure. We followed their instructions, and I suppressed a yelp as her hands moved all over my body swiftly, leaving no part untouched. Let it go, Lydia… They'll be getting their comeuppance soon enough… I had to take some deep breaths as I heard Audrey gasp in surprise, too. The letter had informed us there would be a body check, but it was a little more invasive than we expected. Still, we stashed all our weapons in Audrey's storage, so there shouldn't be any issue.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Oh… How forward…" A distorted voice said behind me, and I knew it was Cassandra because my girlfriend wasn't so easy. The lack of lighting made it hard to make out any details of the two guards, but I desperately wanted to remember their faces for later.

"Try infusing some stella into your eyes. Audy\\ told you about it, remember?" Azure reminded me, and I quickly tried it. Suddenly, the corridor brightened as if bathed in sunlight, and I quickly memorized the average-looking woman who dared to lay her hands on Audrey, and the bulky-looking man who sat behind the door. I also noticed a bowl of water that sat on a desk in front of the man. The card we had given him floated inside it, with ink visible where it hadn't been before. It seemed to have a list of our physical descriptions on it now, along with Count Lamal's seal. So that's how it works, hm? Still… I've never heard of ink activated by water. Or perhaps it's the paper itself? I should research it.

The discovery helped to distract me from the bubbling resentment I felt toward the guards, and we were eventually sent on our way. The dark corridor stretched on for a while before opening into a large room with proper lighting. Comfortable-looking chairs were arranged into two large sections, separated by an aisle that led to a large stage. I was shocked at the number of figures that sat throughout the space, which, after a quick count, came to nearly a hundred. Some of them are our people, and there are probably some from that other group… However, this is still an unacceptable amount.

Nobles were entrusted with their power and wealth to work for the good of their people, not to abuse it on their selfish whims. I knew better than anyone that being in that position was a privilege, not a right. My fist clenched at my side, but Audrey must have sensed my emotions and took it in hers.

"Don't worry, we're here to hold them accountable, remember?" Even through the distortion of the mask, her whisper was comforting, and I did my best to relax. It seemed to be an open seating arrangement, so we found some seats away from anyone else. We weren't here to actually participate, so it would be fine if we weren't up front.

"Can you sense the animals at all?" I leaned over and quietly asked my girlfriend. My sense for mana was quite good, but nowhere near Audrey's level.

Her head shook, which felt weird with the blank mask and hood she wore. Initially, our only job was to be on standby once everything kicked off, but only a few other adventurers had managed to sneak in alongside our group. The rest were positioned around the building itself to catch anybody who managed to escape. Due to the circumstances, it was decided that Audrey and I would focus on saving the animals, while the others would round up the criminals. Higher-ranking adventurers held more authority, and it would be more likely for the stuck-up nobles to fall in line when faced with the guild's power.

As I reviewed the plan in my head, the required attendees had all arrived, and the lights began to dim.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you all for attending our special event! We have quite the rare selection for you today, so I hope you head home satisfied!" The man who appeared on stage wore a mask that bore a happy expression, and instead of a cloak, he wore a butler's uniform. "Without further ado, let's begin!"

Magic beasts weren't the only thing on sale today, and the auction opened with a pair of rare non-magical birds. They were eagles that inhabited the snowy mountain ranges of the north, and I had read about their beauty before. Not that you could tell with how mistreated they've been…! Not to mention the cage they were in was clearly too small. Anger rose in my chest, but I knew I had to control myself. Yet, I only maintained composure thanks to Audrey's grip tightening around my hand. Right… We'll share the anger until it's the right time.

As the event progressed, we saw a wide variety of creatures. From normal animals like wild cats and eagles, to magical ones like flash birds and dirt snakes. There was an inferno bear from the central regions… Stone lions from the southwest savannas… Even a Hydro-panda from Yamada, which should have been impossible considering their isolation for the last three years. They have beasts from all over… The corruption must run incredibly deep. I don't want to imagine what the human trafficking looks like. Yet, the final sale had both Audrey and me completely stiff with rage.

"Thank you all for your purchases! We have one last specimen for you tonight!" The despicable butler dramatically paused before lifting the cover off the cage. "I present a frost wolf pup! Not only will it grow to have powerful ice magic, but they are brilliant creatures. Since it's so young, you can train it with a strict hand to be a loyal pet! The bidding will start at one hundred gold coins!"

The crowd went wild at the prospect of having such a prospect, and the price quickly soared above three hundred gold. In the middle of this, I could only stare at the abused pup with heartbreak. Its half-lidded gaze didn't seem to see anything as it lay limp on the cage's floor. Its fur, usually a pristine white, was matted with dirt and dried blood. I could only imagine the pain it was in as its little chest barely moved with each breath it took.

Almost there… We just need to wait for the auction to end completely… Unfortunately, or perhaps not, others were not content to wait that long. As soon as the bidding for the wolf pup finished, and the innocent animal was wheeled off stage, the masked butler took center stage to wrap up the auction.

"That concludes our showing for today… We hope to see you all here next—" Suddenly, an explosive gust of wind shot through the room, and everything fell silent before a woman's scream pierced the air. On stage, a cloaked figure had appeared in front of the butler, their sword buried in his chest.

Suddenly, the room was filled with chaos as magic began to fly in all directions, and bodies soon began to fill the ground. The cloaked figures all scrambled to escape or defend themselves, sometimes trampling over each other to do so.

"Shit! Guess we're moving now! Girls, secure the animals!" Cassandra ordered through her mask, not waiting long enough for a response as her wind set her flying across the room. Audrey and I quickly stood and ran from the room into the side halls. It had to have been that other group… The adventurers were under orders to capture, not kill.

The animals had all appeared from the right side of the stage, and we promptly checked every room until we found a large storage area. Cages lined the walls, and animals whimpered quietly all around us. There was already a group of people inside, including the guards from the entrance, who were trying to organize and move their merchandise.

"Intruders! Kill them!" Someone shouted once they spotted us, and the enemies rushed toward Audrey and me. In response, Audrey rushed forward, her water magic sending the first assailant flying into the ceiling. My bow fell from a shadow above me, along with an arrow. I caught them both and shot them in one smooth motion. Audrey ducked beneath an axe swung at her head, and my arrow pierced the man's neck. Her pendant glowed, and her artifact formed in her hand. My girlfriend turned to intercept a different blow, and her divine blade sliced cleanly through the other woman's weapon before mercilessly cutting her down.

Blood splattered across the ground, and I worried for a moment that Audrey would have another trauma response.

"How's she doing?" I asked my goddess.

"Sis says she's alright… Audy is focused on saving the animals." Azure responded, and I let out a sigh of relief. At the same time, my full quiver appeared at my feet, and I quickly strapped it to my hip before firing more arrows. With the two of us working in complete harmony, the dozen or so enemies were dispatched within minutes.

Then, we stood in the center of the room, doing our best to ignore the coppery scent in the air.

"I should stick to a normal sword… This might've been a bit much." Audrey muttered as her pendant reformed on her neck. She had removed her mask, so I followed suit. Not like we need to use them anymore.

We moved to inspect the animals, healing them in the process, and our divinity also helped to calm them. Every magic beast had a mana-draining collar around their neck. It used mana crystals to drain magic from the target, and it was how they kept the more powerful beasts from escaping, though it didn't prevent the use of magic entirely.

"It's not ideal, but they'll have to stay on until the guild can relocate them," I said. It would be a disaster if adventurers were attacked while trying to help them.

Eventually, we found the frost wolf pup as well, and Audrey reached her hand into the cage to heal it. Up close, it was even smaller than we thought, around the same size as a large housecat. It had to have been born only recently… I mourned for what had likely become of its mother.

The weakened beast opened its eyes and snarled at my girlfriend, but she just spoke softly to it.

"It's alright, little fluff. I'm here to help—Ack!" I flinched as the pup moved with an unexpected burst of energy and bit Audrey's hand. Ice crawled across her skin, yet my girlfriend didn't pull away. Instead, she activated her holy magic and began to heal both herself and the wolf. "See? Everything will be just fine." She said with a smile. The pup released her hand from its mouth as if shocked, then curled up to inspect itself, licking at its matted fur. Audrey also used some water magic to help clean it, and when it was done, the pup looked at us with an intelligent gaze.

Audrey extended her hand through the bars once again, and this time the animal slowly sniffed at her before nuzzling its head against her palm, its tongue lolling out in contentment. "You are just the cutest!" My girlfriend squealed. "Lydia, you should give it some pets too!"

I crouched down and extended my hand to it as well. It sniffed me before letting me touch it, and I ruffled the fur behind its floppy ears. It felt like silk as I ran my fingers through it.

"How lovely…" I muttered, and I could feel my expression melt at the adorable pup.

Suddenly, Audrey pulled back with a start. "Someone's coming."

We quickly put our masks back on, and a second later, three cloaked figures ran into the room, but stopped as they took in the sight of the bodies. I half-drew my bow in preparation as we faced them, the tip of my arrow igniting with white fire. Audrey surrounded herself with water and shadows, ready for anything.

"Are you adventurers?" One of the figures asked.

"C-Rank from Oylutz," I replied, still not letting my guard down. "Identify yourselves."

"We are not your enemies. If the guild has the cargo secured, we'll be on our way." The figure replied. These damn masks make it impossible to identify them! The group turned on their heel, but I shouted after them.

"Wait! You must be with that rogue group… Tell me what your intentions are." I demanded.

The leader turned to face me again. "Only to reclaim what we've lost."

What does that mean? But before I could ask, the ground rumbled and a large earth wall emerged from the ground as the figures retreated into the hallway, blocking any pursuit. We could've captured them easily, but they didn't seem hostile towards us, and I didn't want that to change.

I desperately wanted to go after them, but Audrey and I needed to keep watch over the animals until everything settled. I had been planning to block the entrance with magic anyway until Cassandra and the others were done with their part, so Audrey and I left the wall in place and just settled beside the wolf pups' cage to wait.

"Can you sense how the others are doing?" I asked Audrey after we removed our masks once again.

"Just barely… There's so much mana flowing in the air, but I can at least sense them moving." She replied. I nodded at that and leaned against the bars. The frost wolf pup licked at my hand, and I giggled at the sight.

"Are you trying to comfort me? Thank you, little one."

I hope they resolve things quickly.

***

Cassandra

"We warned you!" I grunted as I countered a barrage of wind blades with my own. We had long shed our masks and cloaks in the fight, and I glared at the brown-haired woman as she spoke. "Retreat now, last chance!"

"As I said before, that's not an option. Count Lamal and the others will be taken in for questioning." I sprinted around another attack, a short sword in each hand. They had appeared in front of me as I'd left the girls behind, no doubt Audrey's handiwork, and I couldn't be more grateful.

"There's no point in that! He'll walk away with a slap on the wrist and continue his ways. People like that never change!" The venom in her words was apparent, but her feelings wouldn't sway me.

"This is a joint effort between the guild and other nobles… More powerful nobles than Count Lamal. He'll be properly punished, maybe even executed!" I explained. Seeing an opening, I launched myself toward her with my wind magic, but she flew out of the way and floated toward the ceiling.

"Then it doesn't matter if he dies now!"

"There's still a proper procedure for these things!"

Our retorts vanished in the chaos of the room-turned battlefield. While I fought the wind mage, Bernard was fighting the swordswoman with sky-blue hair from before. His axe clashed with her sword as they each vied for an opening, their earth and water magic colliding to steal the advantage. The rest of 'Shining Wind' and the other adventurers were occupied with other combatants, whether they were part of the auction security or this mysterious group.

These two are not bad… Not bad at all. The four of us seemed to be equally matched, so the loser would be whoever ran out of energy first. Though… none of us are going for a killing blow either. Maybe there's still a chance to talk this out.

I ducked beneath a chair that had been sent flying from my opponent's wind, slicing through the tornadoes that followed. "Can't we all just take a breath and talk about this! It's insane that we're fighting right now!" I cried out in exasperation.

"There's no need. If your people won't retreat, we'll treat you as enemies." Her face became expressionless, and her long, brown hair fluttered as she gathered an incredible amount of wind around herself. Sweat dripped down my face, but I responded in kind, collecting my own mana to counter.

We both released our attacks, the resulting windstorm blasted throughout the room, knocking most people off their feet and into the walls. I made a mental apology to the adventurers who hadn't managed to protect themselves, but they wouldn't die from something like that. Bernard had kept himself upright with an earth wall, and the swordswoman had surrounded herself with water. Damn… I can't do that again…

I huffed, trying to catch my breath. The wind mage was also breathing heavily, though she looked to be in slightly better shape than I was. We stared at each other, each waiting for the other to move while recovering.

"So… No truce?" I asked between gasps of air.

"I thought… That was clear." My opponent responded. The swordswoman backed up as the wind mage landed on the ground, putting their backs together.

"You overexerted yourself." The one with sky-blue hair observed.

"I can keep going, worry about yourself." The mage replied sharply, but that only made her companion smile wryly.

"Always so serious… We're retreating. The guild most likely has captured most of our targets anyway, nothing we can do now."

"But—!"

"It's His Highness's order."

The wind mage scowled. "Fine."

The swordswoman then turned to us as Bernard joined my side as well. "We can't have you following us… Next time, I hope to get your names. You both are worthy of my respect." With that, she retrieved something from her cloak and smashed it against the ground. Smoke filled the room, and Bernard and I covered our mouths. I only had enough magic to protect the two of us, but the smoke only seemed to be knocking people out, as I could sense them breathing at least.

"Guildmaster is not going to like this report…" Bernard murmured as I leaned on him. I hadn't noticed, but some debris had caught my leg. It wasn't too bad, but it definitely hurt.

"Well, I wish you luck submitting it," I said, laughing to distract myself from the pain. We limped through the smoke until we found an exit to the hallway. The adventurers outside were starting to flood into the opera house now, and some wind magic users were taking care of the smoke, but the two women were long gone.

"Not this time. You know he'll want us both to do one."

"Whatever… let's check on the girls." He laughed at my change of subject as we moved down the hall. It took some time because the doorway had been blocked by earth magic, but we eventually found them.

***

Audrey

Eventually, Bernard and Cass came for us, both bearing some injuries. They weren't life-threatening, but the one on Cass's leg was particularly bad.

"Here, I know a bit of healing magic," I said, holding my hand over her leg. White light emanated from my palm, and the wound stitched itself together quickly, leaving only a trail of dried blood as evidence of its existence.

"Wow, that's handy. My leg feel better than before!" Cass said, swinging her limb experimentally. "You girls are full of surprises, eh?" Lydia had also healed Bernard, and we glanced at each other with worry.

"Uh… Yeah. We'd appreciate it if you two kept that a secret." I said, and my girlfriend nodded.

Bernard smiled and patted us both on the head. "You don't need to worry. An adventurer who spills secrets will soon find themselves without secrets to tell."

"Agreed," Cass said, before her gaze landed on the cage behind us. "Oh my… What do we have here?" She bent down to admire the wolf pup, but when she extended her hand out, it snapped at her with a growl.

"Hey! She's a friend." I chastised the animal, and its ears flattened cutely against its head. I reached through to pet it, and it perked right up. "Oh… How can I stay mad at such a cutie! Yes, you are!" I cooed, as its eyes closed in enjoyment.

"What the…" Cass said, bewildered.

I suddenly stopped and cleared my throat in embarrassment, pulling away from the pup. "Please pretend you didn't hear that…"

"That's a secret I'm definitely going to spill!" My face flushed as they all laughed.

The rest of the adventurers arrived a bit later, and staff from the guild entered to assess the situation and create a plan to return all the animals to their homes. Once they took over, and we had given our report, Lydia and I were finally free to return to the inn. The only problem was…

"Ah! Please stop biting, little wolf! It will be much more comfortable in here!" We turned to see a guild employee struggling to move the frost wolf pup into a more comfortable carrier. It lashed out and struggled against the leash it was on, until it finally slipped the collar and sprinted toward us.

I crouched as it cannonballed into my chest, yipping excitedly as it licked at my face. "Woah! Hang on, little fluff, it's alright!"

The staff member ran over in a panic. "I'm so sorry about that! But… could you help us put it in the carrier?"

I looked at the pup, who started to pout in my arms as it looked between the staff member and the crate. My heart melted as it gave me the biggest puppy eyes I'd ever seen, and I gave Lydia the same look as I remembered something.

"Huh?" My girlfriend looked at me in confusion for a moment before her eyes widened. "Audrey. No."

"You said it would have to be capable of taking care of itself, right?"

"I mean… I did say that…" I could see her defenses crumbling, so I pressed the attack.

"But it's so cute! And it's a frost wolf, so it can use magic and protect itself! My girlfriend wouldn't go back on her word, right?"

"Of course not! It's just…"

"And look, it's already attached to us!" I held it out to her, and it licked at her face as well. Then we both gave her a begging look until her resistance crumbled.

"F-Fine… But only if the guild agrees…"

"Excuse me… But what are you talking about?" The staff member asked. When he stepped too close, the pup turned and gave him a low growl.

"I suppose we'll be taking the wolf pup," Lydia said, folding her arms.

"What? Like… a pet? You do know it's a wild animal, right?" He objected, waving his arms around.

"It's fine! You'll listen to us, right?" I addressed the pup and set it on the ground, and it looked up at me with a cute head tilt. "Sit!"

The pup yipped and followed my command.

"Oh my gosh! You are so smart!" I crouched to pick it up again while gushing.

"Tell the guildmaster he can summon us if there are any issues, and we'll fill out any required paperwork. For now… The fluff-ball doesn't want to go with you, so we'll watch it until we get approval." My girlfriend said, ending the conversation as we both turned to leave the room. She called it a fluff-ball...

"Hey, you can't just—!" The guild employed shouted after us, but was stopped by Cass.

"Just let it go… We'll work it out with the GM." She patted the man on the shoulder consolingly, before shooting us a thumbs up.

As we left the opera house with the frost wolf in my arms, we realized we couldn't shadow travel due to having the animal with us. Luckily, the amber-eyed young man who had been acting as our driver was waiting with the carriage, and we gratefully accepted a ride back to the inn.

The pup sat on my lap, and I stroked its white fur as the vehicle trundled along the cobblestone roads.

"Ah… This is bliss…" I mumbled. Lydia gazed at me with a look that bordered on jealousy, and I giggled. "Do you want to hold it?"

"... yes, please."

I didn't even have to hand her the pup, as it stood up and hopped over to her all on its own before curling up again on her lap. Her face melted into one of satisfaction, and I couldn't help but think the two of them were the cutest sight.

"We should come up with a name." Lydia suddenly said.

"Do you have any good ones?" I asked.

"How about frosty?" I just stared at her blankly for a moment.

"Well… There's no rush, so let's think about it a little more."

"I thought it was a good name…"

How cute.