Hunger. A minor inconvenience for the nobility. If not just for shows of their extravagance they were guaranteed to end the day with a full stomach. For the common folk, it was an ever-present uninvited houseguest who overstayed their welcome. It wasn't odd to go to sleep hungry and it was strange to eat more than a single meal per day if that.

It was weird for Kuro. All of a sudden he and Milly were eating three meals a day. It became more normal for Kuro to watch Milly tear through a whole animal kingdom of meats and end each meal with dessert. Even the streets were not safe with vendors wafting the mouth-watering aromas of their grills to draw in their marks. The central marketplace was an especially dangerous surefire trap with skilled cooks luring in hungry shoppers.

"Aren't you full yet?" Kuro asked with a raised eyebrow.

"After this, I'll feel like throwing up level," Milly responded with full cheeks. “I already feel like I’m suffering.”

In each of her hands, Milly wielded a skewer of meat between each of the gaps of her fingers like a savory set of claws. Each wild bite yanked her next victim off of the wooden sticks.

"How about you, aren't you full?" Milly asked with an accusing tone.

Kuro took another bite of fried chicken from a toothpick he used to fish from a cup. He’d noticed his clothes were tighter than when he started off the day and he had to adjust parts of it to feel comfortable as he walked.

"After this, I'll be done," he said with some guilt. "We don't need dinner right?"

"Nope," Milly responded while tearing off more meat. “Maybe a snack would be okay.”

"Yeah, something light sounds good, but for now we should probably go to the guild and get you registered… Milly?”

Her usual spot beside him was filled with an old lady who gave him a toothy smile as she passed. Kuro gave her a slight bow and a nervous wave as he turned around to find Milly a few paces behind him at a peddler’s blanket. They had been in town for a few days enjoying the comforts of civilization and in that time Kuro had learned several important lessons about his new partner. At this point, he felt like he should be used to Milly wandering off at every distraction, but she had a talent for slipping away. Kuro hopped into a jog to catch up. Each step made the food in his stomach bounce in a way that made Kuro’s side twinge, slowing his pace.

“I’m definitely done with these between-meal snacks,” Kuro thought.

Milly squatted and finished off the skewers she had in her left hand before taking a peculiar hat and trying it on. The pure joy she wore on her face melted any frustration Kuro held onto. She noticed her companion who finally caught up and gave him a wide grin. On her head, she wore a pinkish hat with a duck’s face embroidered onto it with the bill popping out to complete the look. At the top was a bit of green resembling a leaf.

“Ah, you like the peachy duck, I see,” the old merchant spoke. “It was of a creature I saw long ago when I was about your age. It’s a very rare, but friendly monster.”

“Well she likes it enough, it’s kind of cute after all,” Kuro said handing the merchant a few coins.

At last, they were on the road again and moving towards their destination. Kuro walked slightly behind Milly to make sure the next shiny object didn’t break their focus. Although at the moment Milly was smiling from ear to ear pointing her new hat to Kuro. It became second nature for him to pat her on the head partially because he enjoyed getting a rise out of her. Every time she would enjoy it for three seconds before yelling at him that he was messing up her hair or getting the hat she wore dirty.

"So, why the hat?" Kuro asked.

"I needed a disguise too since you do the hood thing, but isn't it too stylish?" Milly posed with her chin on the area between her index finger and thumb.

"If you like it, that's good."

"What do you mean?" Milly puffed her cheeks. “I think my sense of fashion is really good!”

"You can wear whatever you like," Kuro smiled back while she pounded his shoulders.

It wasn't that much farther from the town square as most adventurer's guilds branches were. Most cities in the empire had them right in the center of town, so both commoners and nobility could request immediate aid. The building had a familiar sign that always brought comfort to Kuro. Despite recent events, he was still proud to be an adventurer, and it was still his dream to be a hero even if his deeds went unwritten.

As soon as Kuro opened the guild's doors the hustle and bustle poured into the street. The layout of the guild was exactly the same as the one Kuro was used to, making him feel nostalgic for days past with Sera in Skovston. There were the usual groups of people at the job board searching for fame and fortune. While others were at the bar area telling tales of their glories while toasting their cups. Straight across from the entrance was their destination, although the welcoming smile of the receptionist was nowhere to be seen. A rough-looking adventurer leaned onto the desk eyeing his prey and wore a smarmy grin.

“C’mon Jessica, have a drink with me. I’ll take you to the finest restaurant in town,” the adventurer insisted.

“I can’t, I have work…” the receptionist answered avoiding eye contact.

“Just skip the rest of the day. I can make it worth your while if you spend it with me.”

“Please, just…”

“Excuse me!” Kuro interrupted.

A wave of relief washed over the receptionist’s face while a look of disgust grew on the adventurers. Kuro walked up with a full smile on his face between them, fully turning his back to cut into the moment. He simply couldn’t watch that situation go on any longer and he had to put a stop to the harassment.

“I have an applicant that I’d like to recommend, and I can guarantee her capability,” Kuro approached with his guild card in hand.

Both the adventurer and receptionist examined it. A sneer snuck out of the adventurer at the sight of the “D” on Kuro’s card and the other man’s confidence grew in his presence. Kuro eyed the bully who rested his hand over the jeweled hilt of the blade he wore on his hip, careful to watch for any sudden movements.

“Ah, a ‘D’ rank’s recommendation would allow your companion to skip the trials and start off right away as an ‘F’ rank,” the receptionist glowed.

“What’s so good about a lousy ‘D’ rank when you have the pleasure of a ‘B’ ranker’s time Jessica?” condescended the adventurer.

Everyone continued to ignore him and made his frustrations grow with each passing moment. Milly was filling out the applications as the adventurer examined both of them from head to toe. Despite the strange hat, he found the girl to be quite appealing and grinned greedily at Milly.

“You don’t even have any magic items on you, what good is there from following this loser?” he laughed at them. “Come join my party instead and I can get you all the equipment you want.”

“We don’t need magic, we’re fully capable as we are,” Milly mumbled.

“SPEAK UP!” the adventurer slammed the desk. “IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY, SAY IT!”

Silence took over the room as all eyes were drawn to the commotion. A vein throbbed on the adventurer’s head as Kuro spun himself around to go in between him and Milly.

“We have nothing to prove to you and we don’t want any trouble, how about we buy you a drink and call it quits here,” Kuro boldly spoke up.

“It’s a little late for that, maybe if you give me your woman, I’ll forgive ya. Show her what a real adventurer can do,” he gloated.

Kuro sighed deeply and shrugged even deeper, “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“Can you believe this guy? Check him out, a ‘D’ ranker talking back to a ‘B’ ranker. You should know your limits trash and fall in line like the rest of the losers.”

He looked to the entire crowd before taking a wide hook of a punch. It was too late though, Kuro had been locked in, eyeing the very core of his being, and he let out a straight punch, beating the jerk to the hit. Kuro’s other hand was ready to back up his fist ready for more. A fire was ignited in Kuro’s eyes that Milly hadn’t seen before. There was no backing up now and he was on the hunt.