Chapter Text
One would think that a group of teenagers would have better things to do than try to find a town based solely off of the location of a tree, even in Arcania. One would be very wrong. Of course, this wasn’t exactly your normal group of teenagers.
They were dressed similarly- the boys and the redheaded girl wore black jackets, the other two girls wore cardigans- the black-haired girl red, the blonde yellow. Not exactly a normal fashion statement, not that they seemed to notice or care.
They also carried weapons, for the most part. The redhead, who seemed to be the leader, despite being at about the middle in terms of age, used her naginata as a walking stick, much to the annoyance of her four friends, the older girl twirling her fan in her hands. One of the boys, the one with silver hair and eyes, reached into his bag and handed her a plastic water bottle.
“Careful,” He warned her. “There’s not a lot left, and we’ll need to wait for a river or town to refill it.”
“I don’t think we need to worry about that, actually,” The red-haired girl told them. “The tree’s big, but that means that the base is even bigger, and that’s where Iorys is. So we should get there by the end of the day.”
“Whatever you say, Yuki-senpai.”
“I already told you, Vice Leader, your body is older than mine now, so it’s just Hamuko. And you could sound a bit more enthusiastic- just think about what we can find in Yggdrasil!”
“Monsters, mayhem, and near-death experiences?” The boy shot back.
“I was thinking more along the lines of treasure…” Hamuko admitted. “And the fact that, if we keep Yukiko busy healing us, she won’t have time to cook.”
“She’s not that bad…”
“Souji-kun, are you saying that because you mean it, or are you saying it because you’re her boyfriend?” The boy fell silent. “I thought so.”
“I’m not sure that’s how a healthy relationship works…” The youngest-looking of the three girls started, before reaching for one of the bags. The final member of the group, a boy with dark skin, grabbed her wrist and shook his head.
“Rei, we still need the food,” He reminded her. She sighed and hung her head.
“Right, sorry, Zen…”
“Come on, guys, let’s look on the bright side!” Hamuko insisted. “We’re nearly there, and if Yggdrasil has half of the things that guy said it had, we’ll be set for life!”
“However long that is,” Souji finished. He took the water bottle back from Yukiko, who had finally finished. “Given your track record…”
“Hey, my team only lost two people! ...And sort of Junpei’s girlfriend, but still!”
“Weren’t you one of them?”
“...Point taken.” She shoved the hand that wasn’t carrying her spear into her pocket. “But this is a new day! A new adventure! We can do this!”
If the looks on her friends’ faces was anything to go by, they weren’t exactly filled with confidence.
“So many of the local explorers are content to settle for mediocrity.” The five teens exchanged glances, none of them looking entirely sure how they had managed to land themselves in this situation.
“Honestly, I just want to see how high we can get without dying,” Hamuko admitted. “And maybe look for a few things in particular, but… somehow, I don’t think we’ll be finding those very easily, if at all.”
“I’m here because Rei wanted to see the tree,” Zen said. “And because you think there could be something interesting here.”
“I’m here because Souji-kun thinks it’s a good idea,” Yukiko stated. “Also because these are all the people that I know.”
Egar stared at them for a few moments. “...Right. You’re a bunch of kids.”
“That’s…” Rei paused, as though trying to come up with the right words. “...debatable.”
“We do honestly want to explore the Labyrinth, though,” Yukiko told him. “We’re just not the most sensible about it.”
“Well, it is open to all explorers…” He sighed. “I’m probably really going to regret this later, but very well. We will need a name for your Guild, though.”
That brought the five of them up short. “Right… we should have thought of something earlier…” Souji paused. “I’d put in my vote for Fool’s Guild, but in three-fifths of our cases, that’d just be insulting.”
“It should probably be something that fits us,” Rei noted. “Maybe all of our favorite foods?”
Hamuko groaned. “That would only work as an acronym, and I don’t think we’d make any sensible words. I was thinking something more to do with… well… you know…” She gestured at herself, Souji, and Yukiko.
“I wouldn’t have any objections to that,” Zen agreed. “Did you have any ideas in particular?”
“...Yeah. Masks. We should be the Masked Guild.” And that was that.
The process of becoming recognized explorers in Arcania was a three-part process. First, the prospective Guild needed to obtain a more or less complete map of the explored areas of Yggdrasil’s first floor. This was actually the simplest part- various groups were more than happy to assist each other. The other two were more tricky, as they required going deep into the Labyrinth. It was infested with creatures that didn’t like the various people who intruded on their ecosystem, and that reacted violently.
Not that it mattered to the group at the moment, what with how low the sun was in the sky. “We can set out for Yggdrasil tomorrow,” Hamuko decided. “It’s not like we have an actual deadline, after all.”
“You mean, beyond ‘when the money runs out’?” Souji quipped. Behind him, Rei and Yukiko burst out laughing- Yukiko a good bit more so than Rei.
“I’m sorry I never needed to learn how to budget. Some of us used to get actual financial support, you know!”
“I do not entirely understand the idea of a ‘budget’, either,” Zen admitted. “But it seems like something important to learn.”
“Oh, look, we’re at the inn!” Hamuko commented, pointedly not looking at her friends. “Three rooms sound good? I get the third one, the rest of you can divide them however you like.”
“You’re the leader,” Yukiko shrugged, before glancing at Souji. “You should have picked rock.”
“I know…” Still, they followed their errant leader inside.
The inn was a nice place. Cozy, despite the large size required by a building able to host a whole city worth of adventurers. A perfect place for a quiet life, though the lives of those staying there had to be anything but.
“Ah! Welcome!” They looked up to see a young woman with rabbit ears stumble out of a backroom. “I didn’t expect you to come in, most show up either in the early morning or late at night… well, besides the ones that sleep for weeks on end, anyway.”
None of them responded. The woman shrugged, and continued on as if nothing had happened.
“Either way, my name’s Jenetta, and this is my inn. If you plan on exploring Yggdrasil, we’re probably going to be seeing a lot of each other, so I hope you find it to your liking.”
“It seems very comfortable,” Yukiko noted. “It- it feels like home.” Souji moved to stand closer to her upon hearing this, though Jenetta didn’t seem to really notice.
“I’m glad to hear you say that! And I’m sure you’ll enjoy it even more once you’ve been here for a while!”
They could only hope so.