Who Says I’m Not a Legitimate Adventurer?

After walking out of the guild entrance—

There was still plenty of time before he needed to go see Cecilia after picking up the gift. After all, birthdays were meant to be celebrated at night.

He planned to buy something for Uncle Ryan, since the other party had transferred that obviously precious special approval slot to him.

Both emotionally and logically, he should go check on him.

Recalling their earlier conversation at the veteran’s home, Lance could sense the sorrowful weariness hidden within Uncle Ryan’s tone.

He did not know whether Uncle Ryan was suffering from illness—

Or whether old age had caused him to lose hope in life.

Which was why, that day, he had spoken such heavy words as though explaining his final wishes.

Lance carefully searched through the fragmented memories from the original owner’s childhood.

He discovered that Uncle Ryan had apparently always lived alone in that small house, and no relatives from elsewhere had ever come to visit him.Now, it seemed that he himself had truly become the only family Uncle Ryan could rely on within this remote border town.

Lance knew very clearly that one day, he would leave this border town and head toward the wider world in pursuit of exciting adventures.

He could not simply watch helplessly after leaving—

As Uncle Ryan became an elderly man sitting alone outside every day, basking in the sun while waiting for death.

Lance quickly arrived at the bustling Commercial District.

There was a privately owned alchemist shop there with exceptionally good craftsmanship. It was the very place where Lance had specially commissioned the custom accessory.

After pushing open the shop door with the hanging copper bell, the mustached owner immediately came forward with a broad smile.

He carefully took out a beautifully wrapped velvet jewelry box from beneath the counter and handed it over.

Lance opened the box to inspect the quality, then paid the remaining balance in satisfaction before storing it away.

After leaving the alchemy shop, Lance visited several different stores one after another.

He purchased quite a number of rather expensive practical supplies. Only when one hand could barely carry all the bags anymore did he finally stop shopping.

Afterward, Lance did not return home directly. Instead, he skillfully headed toward the old stone arch bridge with the aged waterwheel.

Arriving before the abandoned Half-Body Shrine, he crouched down.

“Little Black, Doubao, I’m here.”

Hearing the familiar voice, the two filthy little puppies immediately ran happily out from the dark corner.

They wagged their tails joyfully while circling around Lance’s pant legs, occasionally rubbing their wet noses against his boots.

Lance extended his large hand and grabbed each one by the scruff of the neck.

Then he steadily placed the two little fellows into the crook of his arm, which was already filled with shopping bags.

The puppies seemed capable of sensing the kindness coming from Lance. They obediently lay there without struggling at all.

“Come on, I’ll find you a good home.”

Lance rubbed their fluffy little heads.

Deep within the original owner’s memories, he remembered that Uncle Ryan had once owned a very fierce hunting dog.

However, when the original owner had still been very young, that hunting dog—which had accompanied the old veteran for many years—had already become extremely old.

Not long after the original owner first became aware of the world, the old dog had already died of old age.

At the very least, this proved that Uncle Ryan liked dogs and was not opposed to having pets for companionship.

Bringing the two little ones along, he first returned to his spacious home.

Lance placed the bags onto the table, then gently set the two puppies from his arms down onto the wooden floor of the living room.

Entering a strange and brightly lit environment—

The two puppies immediately displayed completely different personalities.

The one called Little Black was obviously mischievous by nature. The moment it landed, it began wildly running around the living room, sniffing everywhere with its nose.

Seeing this—

The steady and reliable Doubao immediately rushed over and accurately bit Little Black by the scruff of the neck.

It forcefully pinned the mischievous younger sister to the floor, then lifted a paw and patted the stone floor in an oddly human-like manner.

As though warning her to behave properly in this unfamiliar place.

Watching the highly intelligent interaction between the two puppies—

Lance could not help laughing from the side.

Only after Lance clapped his hands and gave them permission to move freely—

Did the two little fellows resume running around the yard. Eventually, they even ran together into the backyard to explore unknown little corners.

Watching their lively backs, Lance could not help sighing inwardly.

Perhaps because the air of this other world was filled with Aether Energy—

Even stray puppies casually picked up from the roadside could become this intelligent and understanding.

After sorting and organizing all the purchased supplies in the living room—

Lance looked up at the weather outside.

The weather today was extremely nice, with golden sunlight pouring generously across the courtyard.

Lance walked to the well and drew several buckets of clear, cool well water before carrying them to the open backyard.

“Little Black, Doubao, come take a bath.”

Hearing the call, the two puppies, who had been digging in the dirt at the back, immediately obediently ran over.

The washing process went surprisingly smoothly. The two little fellows behaved very well, not even yelping despite cold water being poured over them.

After washing away the dirt from their bodies, Lance found a clean old towel and carefully dried the water droplets from their fur.

Then he let them comfortably lie on the backyard grass beneath the sun until their fur completely dried.

Meanwhile, he returned to his room, changed into a clean set of clothes, and organized the things he planned to bring later.

Once the time was about right—

He walked into the courtyard and picked up the two puppies, who had already become pleasantly sun-warmed and fragrant beneath the sunlight.

“Come on, let’s go meet your future owner.”

After locking the courtyard gate, Lance followed the familiar streets and strode toward the old veterans’ residential district where Uncle Ryan lived.

……

Meanwhile—

Inside the attic on the second floor of Ryan’s stone house within the veterans’ residential district—

Sunlight streamed in through the narrow skylight.

Ayla sat cross-legged with her long, slender legs folded up, painfully sprawled over the old desk in an extremely twisted and strange posture.

The large cloak she originally wore to conceal her appearance had long since been confiscated by Ryan.

What she wore now was a set of refreshingly cool summer clothing with strong local characteristics.

On her upper body was a white linen camisole.

The hem was very short, and because of her current twisted posture, a large section of her flat yet toned stomach was directly exposed.

As for her lower body, she wore a pair of dark brown bloomers.

However, because the angle of her cross-legged position was too wide, the already-short pant legs had been pulled upward, exposing large portions of smooth, firm thigh skin to the air without the slightest concealment.