A warm sensation was transmitted.
From the faint trembling of her back, I realized that Ruma was crying.
Silently, I stroked her head.
Her originally pure white hair was matted with dirt.
Thinking about the hardship Ruma must have endured over the past two days, I decided to let her be, allowing her to express herself as she needed.
At that moment, her younger sister took Ruma’s hand and gently pulled her away from me.
Her gaze turned toward me.
It wasn’t a friendly one.
However, it wasn’t filled with the same hostility that she had shown yesterday when we first met. Even as she drew her sister closer, there was a trace of hesitation in her actions.
The twins were clearly exhausted.
“I won’t say it.”
Suddenly, the younger sister muttered.
“I haven’t acknowledged you yet. I won’t give my name. A name means nothing.”
“Parte, don’t take such a combative tone,” Ruma gently admonished her.
Parte averted her gaze in dissatisfaction, gripping her sister’s hand tightly.
It struck me as endearing.
“Uoooooh…!”
Behind us, I heard the sound of stomping feet. It was Regin.
“Damn it, as expected of Sensei! But I won’t let this keep me down!”
As expected? What does he mean by that?
When I turned around, I saw Regin lamenting to the ceiling while biting his newly bought clothes. Beside him, Tiara was lightly patting his back, a faint smile on her face.
“Calm down already. If Isto-sensei is your opponent, there’s no way you can beat him, no matter what you do.”
“What’d you say?! You can’t know that unless I try, even if it’s a long shot!”
“So even you know the phrase ‘long shot.’ Well, good luck, then!”
“Puh-kusu-kusu,” Tiara teased, making exaggerated laughing sounds with her mouth.
Well, what can I say?
Seeing the two of them so lively made me feel both amused and conflicted as their teacher.
Shaking off those thoughts, I turned to the twin sisters and asked,
“By the way, why are you taking the Explorer Ranger Exam?”
Ruma wiped her tears and exchanged a glance with her sister.
“We want to become adventurers. We heard that passing this exam is the fastest way to do that.”
“But the reception desk won’t let us take the test because they think we’re suspicious,” Parte spat out.
Looking toward the reception desk, I saw the female staff member shrugging her shoulders.
Upon hearing the full story, I learned that they had refused to provide their names—mainly Parte—and lacked any form of identification. On top of that, they had no proper equipment and were attempting to take the exam in their current, disheveled state. This had led the staff to conclude that they were just here to mess around.
“I see.”
Looking at the sisters again, I saw Ruma gazing intently at me, while Parte, radiating tension, stuck close to her sister.
What stood out in both of them was the intensity of their eyes, which sparkled with strong determination.
It reminded me of the expression Regin had shown back in Wigarlus.
—Their resolve was genuine.
I was convinced that the twins were serious about becoming adventurers.
All that remained was to see if they had the strength to make their wish come true.
It was then that I noticed something unusual about the twins’ earrings—the Drops of Fate.
Looking closer, I saw faint cracks in both of their Drops of Fate.
Could this have something to do with their loss of memory?
Using the Awakening Appraisal’s “Monitoring” ability to assess their compatibility wasn’t wise with the Drops of Fate in that state.
Even without using Awakening Appraisal, I wanted to honor Ruma and Parte’s determination.
“If you have no business here, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave. As you can see, there’s a line forming,” the receptionist said, looking annoyed at the twin sisters.
Without saying a word, I pulled out my adventurer tag from my pocket.
The yellow crystal shimmered, causing not only the receptionist but also the surrounding applicants to murmur.
“Isto Rilos, Citrine-class adventurer of Wigarlus. These two are acquaintances of mine. I’ll vouch for them, so could you allow them to take the test?”
“Wigarlus’s Isto… Oh, are you perhaps the hero who saved Minigel…?!”
I wanted to deny being a hero, but to avoid complicating matters, I held my tongue.
As expected of a branch office of the Guild Union, they were far more informed than a city guild.
The staff member disappeared into the back for a moment, then quickly returned.
“Confirmed. There’s no problem. Please have them fill out this form. However, they’ll need to sign it themselves as a confirmation of their intent to take the test.”
Accepting the registration form from the now more accommodating staff member, I handed it to the sisters.
Ruma quickly signed her name. Parte, however, froze with the pen in her hand.
“Come on, Parte.”
Encouraged by her sister, Parte reluctantly wrote “Parte” on the form.
As I handed the forms back to the staff, I couldn’t help but notice how refined the twins seemed.
Their handwriting was neat and without quirks. Despite their memory loss, they still knew how to write.
Habits ingrained in the body aren’t easily forgotten, it seems.
After that, Regin and I signed our own forms, and now all that remained was to face the test itself.
“Hey, Sensei,” Regin whispered.
“If those two don’t have a place to go, do you think they could come stay with us?”
“Do you want to get to know them better?”
“Yeah. Is that bad?”
“No. I was thinking the same thing.”
I ruffled Regin’s hair roughly before turning to the twins.
“You two. If you’d like, why don’t you stay at our base until the test?”
“Huh?”
“Luckily, we have enough space and supplies. I won’t force you, but I’d be glad if you joined us.”
“Yes. Yes! Of course! Thank you so much!”
Ruma enthusiastically nodded and clung to my arm.
“Well, if my sister is okay with it, I guess I don’t mind,” Parte said, linking her arm with her sister’s.
Behind them, Regin clenched his fists in triumph.
Beside him, however…
“This feels like the calm before the storm,” Tiara murmured, arms crossed.
“I don’t mind taking them in, but what about convincing Fiole or Almoa? Suddenly adding more people will likely stir things up,” Tiara pointed out.
“It’ll be tough, but I’ll persuade them,” I replied, trying to sound positive for the twins’ sake.
“I see.”
I thought I’d answered reasonably, but—
“The calm before the storm. No, I’m certain of it,” Tiara emphasized, correcting herself.
Why?