The next morning, Owen opened his eyes to the soft light filtering through the curtains, and there beside him lay Heath, curled up like a cat in a sunbeam. His tousled hair framed his face, an endearing sight that reminded Owen he was, after all, a tiger person—part of a species known for their grace and agility, but with an unmistakable feline charm. Not wanting to disturb his peaceful slumber, Owen decided to slip out of bed quietly, carefully shifting his weight to avoid making any noise.
However, his attempts to sneak away were in vain. Just as he began to move, he felt the bed shift beneath him. Heath stirred, blinking sleepily, and with a playful grin, he declared, "Mission failed." Owen couldn't help but smile at his humorous demeanor, even as he felt a twinge of guilt for waking him. It was hard to resist the warmth of his presence, but the day awaited them, full of new adventures.
Continuing on anyway, Owen finally got out of bed and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. Once he finished his shower, he got dressed and made his way downstairs for breakfast. Heath, after his own shower and getting dressed, joined him, clinging onto him as they descended. Owen figured it was understandable since he had just rescued him from the bandits the day before. So, he extended his hand for him to hold onto, which he grabbed immediately.
When they reached the breakfast area, Owen sat down in one of the high-top chairs, with Heath taking a seat next to him. Owen ordered the morning special, which included three eggs, two biscuits or toast, a choice of two pieces of sausage or bacon, and either a glass of water, beer, or juice. He ordered two of these meals: his with biscuits, sausage, and juice, and Heath's with toast, sausage, and juice.
The server politely responded with a warm tone that Owen's meal would cost 120 Thal. However, her demeanor shifted dramatically as she rudely informed Heath that his meal would be 360 Thal.
Owen felt a deep sense of unease for several reasons. First and foremost, it struck him how recently the beastmen had been regarded as inferior beings. Less than two years ago, they were marginalized and discriminated against, their worth questioned by many. The passage of the "Race Unification Proclamation" (R.U.P.) was supposed to mark a turning point, one that would level the playing field and grant them equal status alongside humans. However, despite this legal recognition, the reality on the ground was far more complicated.
Interactions in everyday life revealed that many individuals, deeply ingrained in their prejudices, continued to treat beastmen as lesser beings. It was disheartening to witness this ongoing discrimination, a stark reminder that mere proclamations do not erase centuries of bias.
Among all this, Owen was particularly troubled by how Heath, a kind and deserving individual, was unfairly treated simply because of his heritage. The conflict of the R.U.P.'s ideals against the lingering reality of inequality weighed heavily on Owen's heart. He couldn't help but feel a sense of injustice and frustration, knowing that while progress had been made on paper, true acceptance and equality remained elusive for the beastmen.
Instead of throwing a fit and getting nowhere, Owen simply handed the lady 480 Thal for their meals and waited quietly while she prepared the food.
Fifteen minutes later, the food for Heath and Owen arrived, and they quickly devoured it. After finishing their meal, they headed to the guild so Owen could register Heath as a member. Once they arrived at the guild, they stepped inside, and Owen approached Asa to initiate the registration process. Standing in front of her, he greeted her, "Hello again! I would like to register my friend Heath in the guild."
Unlike their last encounter, Asa responded with her usual warm and inviting voice, "Okay, just have your friend fill out this form." She handed Owen a piece of paper, which he filled out with the following information:
Name: Heath Kento
Age: 11
Level: 1
Mana: 89
Class: Apprentice Warrior
Tier: 0
Path: The Heart
After completing the form, Owen returned it to Asa, who then registered Heath by going into the back room. When she returned, she handed Heath his guild card and explained the guild system to him. Owen then mentioned that Heath and he were planning to take on a quest. In response, she informed them that the maximum level of a quest was determined by the highest-level party member.
Owen then went to the quest board and selected a Rank 0, 10-star quest for a goblin hunt located in the forest. After eliminating some boars he encountered there, he confirmed the quest with Asa. With everything set, they headed out to the forest.
Before they reached the forest, they needed to buy equipment for Heath. Unlike Owen, who relied on magic, Heath was a swordsman and required a sword. For this reason, they stopped at a blacksmith located on the street. Inside the shop, Owen gave Heath the freedom to choose any sword he wanted, and he was ecstatic about it.
After about 20 minutes, Heath settled on a black steel longsword of good quality, complete with a beautiful scabbard. Once he made his choice, they approached the shopfront to pay. The blacksmith informed them that the total for the sword and scabbard was 1 Ran 500 Thal. As Owen pulled the money from his bag and handed it over to the blacksmith, he noticed that Heath's eyes nearly popped out in disbelief; it was the most money he had ever seen.
Even after witnessing the transaction and receiving the sword he had chosen, Heath was still in shock. However, once they were on the carriage heading to the forest, he snapped out of it. After regaining his composure, he asked Owen if it was really okay to spend so much money on a sword. Owen reassured him that it was just a small price to pay, and that once he completed this quest, he would understand why.
Arriving at the entrance of the forest they went over the game plan for the goblins that being that Heath would be in the front and Owen would be in the back and that if he ever needed help that Owen would help him also that after Heath got the grove of killing the goblins that they would split up to get more work done. Understanding this they entered the forest ready for the battles. No more than five minutes later they encountered their first goblin group.
To help Heath out Owen shot Icicles into the heads of the four back goblins so he only had to deal with one. Luckily Heath seemed to be talented, waiting for an opening to slash down killing the goblin immediately.
After that the time started to pass as they got into the rhythm of defeating the goblins, cutting their ears off as proof and taking the mana stones out of the goblin putting them into Owen's infinite storage bag.
Eighteen hours later, both Heath and Owen were exhausted as they approached the entrance of the hotel. They went inside at 2 AM, ready to crash, and that's exactly what they did after taking showers and changing clothes.
The next morning, they met with the guild at 8 AM, eager to cash in on all the hard work they had done the previous day. Once they arrived at the guild, they asked Asa to take them to a warehouse, and this time she agreed. Upon reaching the warehouse, Owen began emptying his storage bag. They spent a solid ten minutes dumping everything out, and by the time Owen finished, the entire warehouse was almost full of goblin ears and mana stones.
This time, Asa took a more proactive approach, launching into the task without hesitation. The process was intense and required almost four hours of concentrated accounting work. After diligently analyzing the data, she recorded a successful haul of goblins: 12,852 were hunted, each fetching a price of 345 Thal. In addition to this, she accounted for 10,471 Tier 0 Mana Stones, which were sold at a price of 1,023 Thal each.
After calculating the revenues from both the goblins and the mana stones, Asa concluded that the total earnings amounted to an impressive 1,438 Ran and 8,484 Thal, after deducting a 5% processing fee. This meticulous effort not only reflected her efficiency but also highlighted the profitable opportunities in their recent endeavors.
After hearing her proposal, Owen expressed his intention to split the profits evenly, at a 50:50 ratio. However, before he could elaborate on his reasoning, Heath interjected with his own suggestion. He argued that, given his status as a newcomer to the venture, he deserved a smaller share—specifically, a 90:10 split because he believed that Owen's experience warranted him taking the larger portion.
This sparked a spirited discussion, as Owen felt that a fair division of the profits should take into account their respective contributions and commitments. After some negotiation and a bit of back and forth, they eventually reached a compromise: a 70:30 split. This arrangement resulted in Owen receiving 1,007 Ran and 1,939 Thal, while Heath would take home 431 Ran and 6,545 Thal.
With this agreement in place, Owen's total earnings swelled to 1,449 Ran and 7641 Thal, which he felt was a fair outcome considering the efforts both of them had put into the venture.