The gates of Norimoa opened before us, revealing a bustling, vibrant city. Around us, people walked back and forth, their voices creating a constant murmur as beautiful sunlight fell on the rooftops.

"How beautiful," Ren and Naori said in unison, amazed.

"Even though the sun's rays seem to hit harder, it doesn't feel any hotter," I observed, wiping away an imaginary drop of sweat. "Could it be because of that large structure in the center of the city?"

"Legend says that structure was created during the Divine War between gods and demons," Nagi explained, his voice resonating with the weight of history. "A clash of powers between a demon and a god created the glass at the top, which caused the sunlight to burn humans. But one of the gods' chosen ones buried his sword beneath the structure, creating a magic that absorbs the heat and turns it into a shield for the city. If that shield were to break, everyone here would be burned."

He paused, his gaze fixed on the distant glass dome. "Research has shown that the only thing that could break the barrier is something with power greater than the sword... like a high-level god or demon."

"Wow," the three of us said, impressed.

"What an incredible story," I said. "But I bet I could easily break that shield."

My stomach rumbled with the force of thunder, betraying my bravado.

Ren snorted. "Pfft... says the one who is about to die of hunger."

"Shut up!"

Nagi took out a small bag of money. "Let's go eat. We can talk about a few things while we're at it."

In a small, cozy restaurant, the four of us sat around a wooden table.

"Alright, let's talk," Nagi began, ever the strategist. "Before nightfall, we'll have to get a couple of jobs from one of the big guilds..."

"Why?" I asked.

"Norimoa is a pretty expensive city, and we only have 200 silver lyranai left. That's enough for a month's rent for the four of us, but not somewhere fancy."

"I understand."

A waiter approached our table. "Here are your dishes, ladies."

"Thank you," Ren and Naori said.

"And here's yours, sir."

"Thank you very much."

"So," I said, my mouth already full of food, "we should do quests so we can afford a decent place to live."

In the background, I heard Ren and Naori murmuring with delight. "So yummy." "Yesssss."

"Exactly," Nagi continued. "Now, the problem: we have to find a guild."

"Okay," I said, chewing, "but let us finish eating first."

"Fine."

We embarked on the adventure of finding a guild, but it was harder than we thought. Many were full or not looking for newbies. Ren and Naori, for their part, didn't seem to care, and were more interested in looking at the clothes and jewelry in the shops.

"Ugh..." Nagi complained after our tenth rejection. "No guild is willing to let us join."

I appeared behind him, eating something soft and fluffy.

"Wow, this is delicious."

"What is that?"

"I don't know..." I swallowed. "I got it at that place over there. I think it's called 'cake'."

I nodded toward a small place with a sign that said "Phoenix Soul."

"Phoenix... Soul?" Nagi read.

"MMMMMMMM... so delicious."

"Let's go in there, Natsu."

"Okay."

We entered the place, which looked like a cozy little bar. To our surprise, Ren and Naori were already sitting in a corner, eating as well.

"Hello..." Nagi said, approaching the receptionist.

"Hey, kid. What can I get for you? We have a lot of things from other continents and regions."

"I just want to ask you a question."

"Yeah, shoot."

"Is this a guild? If so, my friends and I would like to join."

The receptionist stared at us. "Hmm..."

Silence fell over the place. The murmur of the bar died away. I froze with the spoon in my mouth, and Ren and Naori did the same. The man's gaze was so intense it felt like he was going to kill us.

Sniff...

A sob escaped the receptionist. And suddenly, he burst into tears, tears of pure happiness.

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY I AM!"

The four of us froze, completely bewildered.

"U-uh, sir... for a second there it seemed like you were going to kill us," I said.

"Oh, sorry, sorry!"

"So... you're a guild, and we can join?" Nagi asked bluntly.

"I don't know if that was a smart or stupid question," I whispered.

"Shut up."

"Of course, kid!" the receptionist said, pulling some papers from under the counter. "You can sign here."

He handed us the papers. Nagi asked for a pen, but the man gave us some strange artifacts.

"What's this?" I asked.

"It's weird," Ren said.

"Yes, but it feels comfortable to hold," Naori added.

"They're called ballpoint pens. They're brought from the north."

"Interesting artifacts," Nagi murmured.

We signed the papers and handed them over.

"By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Kimura Okitsuo."

We introduced ourselves one by one.

"Hey, Mr. Kimura," Nagi said. "Do you have any quests for us? Also, we wanted to ask where the four of us could stay for at least 200 lyranai."

"Hmm... how about my house? Since you're in the guild, it'll be 25 lyranai each."

"So, that would be 100 lyranai a month?"

"Yes. And about the quests, we don't get many requests, so I'd recommend looking for a traveling guild."

"I understand. Well, maybe we won't have to worry for two months, thanks to you."

"Well, how about we go so you can see your new home and get settled in?"

The house left us speechless. It was a gigantic structure with a beautiful garden.

"ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE NOT SCAMMING US?! A PLACE LIKE THIS WOULD COST 3,000 LYRANAI!" I shouted.

"Relax, of course it's yours for 100 lyranai. The house was abandoned," Kimura laughed. "Although I might need to stay here tonight because I had a fight with my daughter, hehe."

Inside, the house was even more impressive.

"What memories..."

"Could you tell us the layout of the house?" Nagi asked.

"Sure. We're at the entrance. To the left is the kitchen and dining room. To the right is the bathroom. If we continue between the two staircases, we reach the living room. Upstairs, on the right, there are two bedrooms, and on the left, two identical rooms, each with a small private bathroom. The main bath is the one downstairs. And the double door at the top of the stairs is a balcony overlooking the living room. Don't be fooled by the facade, though; the inside is sparsely furnished. Many of the smaller-looking houses in this city actually have more inside them."

"Are you seriously complaining that this isn't enough for people who lived in a place with only one shared bathroom, kitchen, and dining room?!" Ren exclaimed, incredulous.

We joined her and started running around the house, exploring everything with the excitement of children.

Later, sitting in the enormous living room, Kimura looked at us with a smile.

"You kids have so much energy."

"Ahhhh, I want to take a bath," Naori said.

"Hey, how are we sharing rooms?" Ren asked.

"Right..."

"How about the boys' rooms are on the right and the girls' rooms are on the left?" Kimura suggested.

"That's a good idea," Nagi said.

"Okay, it's settled. Wait... where's Natsu?"

"I have no idea, and I don't even care what that idiot does," Nagi said. "By the way, Kimura, I want to ask you something. Could you give us details on how to get into Norimoa High School?"

"Are you really aiming to get into Norimoa High?"

"Yeah... why the reaction?"

"You have to pay monthly for the school, almost everyone knows that."

"Yeah, I know that."

Ren and Naori stood up. "Let's go take a bath. You can tell us later."

"Alright," Nagi said. "Please continue your explanation, Kimura."

"Well, the biggest problem for you is that it's 5,000 lyranai a month."

"WHAT!"

"I know, it's a lot. Although, every two years, the academy holds a tournament where the top 10 finishers get in for free. And you're in luck, because the tournament will be held in 7 days, but..."

"But?"

"You must be represented by a guild to enter, and the teams must be of three people."

"Teams of three?"

"Yes, there were very few paid entries this year, so they're making the tournament teams of three. It's more beneficial for them to have more participants so they don't lose their reputation."

"I understand, but the problem is there are four of us."

"Now that I think about it, my daughter is also participating this year, and her team is missing one person."

"Then I'll talk to the others about it."

"Well..." Kimura said, leaning back in his chair.

Just then, I walked through the door, accompanied by a girl.

"Hi, I'm back. Mr. Kimura, your daughter came looking for you."

"AHHHHHH!"

"I'm sorry, okay, Dad? It was my fault. Please come home," the girl said.

"That doesn't sound very convincing. You sound like you're going to kill me, Chizuru."

"Yeah, whatever you say, just come back," she said angrily.

"Ugh, fine, but don't kill me."

At the door, Kimura said goodbye. "Well, I guess I won't be staying here tonight after all. By the way, Nagi, figure out who is going to be on my daughter's team."

"Do you have anyone who could be on my team?" Chizuru asked.

"Yeah, the four of us will talk it over."

"Four?" Chizuru thought.

"Okay, now we're off... bye!"

Ren and Naori came downstairs, now dressed more comfortably.

"What happened? And where is Mr. Kimura?"

"His daughter came to pick him up."

"But weren't you just fighting with him?"

"I have no idea."

"Guys, we should talk," Nagi said.

Nagi told us everything Kimura had told him about the academy. "How fun, a tournament!" I exclaimed.

"Finally, we have to choose who will go on Chizuru's team, since the teams are of three people."

"I could go," Naori said.

"But, wouldn't you feel uncomfortable?"

"Never mind. I should try to socialize."

"Well... then tomorrow we'll go register for the tournament."

"YES!" the four of us shouted.

The next morning, Nagi yawned. "Aaaaahhh!"

I went out onto the balcony where he was. "Good morning..."

"Ah, you're awake."

"Yes. When will we go register?"

"We have to wait for Ren and Naori to wake up."

"Naori?"

"Yes...?"

"Did she really not tell you? She said she was going to meet Kimura's daughter and that we'd meet her at the registration area."

"So she's already out. Only Ren is missing. Could you wake her up?"

"Sure."

I stood in front of Ren's bedroom door.

Knock... Knock... Knock...

"Ren, are you awake?"

Without thinking, I opened the door. "Wake up."

Ren was on her back, wearing only her underwear, with her arms crossed over her chest. Our faces turned bright red at the same time.

"Na... Na... Natsu, you perverted idiot!" she yelled, running towards me.

Nagi stepped inside from the balcony door. "The morning sun feels so good."

When he turned around, the first thing he saw was me, flying out of Ren's bedroom door and crashing down to the floor below.

"Aaaaa... THAT HURTS, YOU IDIOT!"

"SHUT UP, PERVERT!" Ren yelled, slamming the door.

"Ugh..."

"Natsu..."

I turned around and saw Nagi's face. It was the face of an angry demon.

Walking through the city, near the academy, I touched my swollen cheek.

"There are a lot of people here."

"I'm not apologizing," Ren said, walking beside me.

"Just keep walking," Nagi ordered.

"Hey, guys, over here!" Naori yelled.

We met up with her and her team.

"Hey, I'm glad you didn't get lost. By the way, these are the girls on my team, Chizuru and Diana."

"Hi, I'm Ren, nice to meet you."

"Oh... hi, Chizuru," I greeted her.

"Ah, Natsu, welcome."

"We can sign up over there," Chizuru said.

In front of the registration booth, a girl helped us.

"Hi, can you tell me the names of your members?"

"Sure. The girl on my right is named Ren, I'm Nagi, and the guy on my left is Natsu."

"Okay. And now, tell me which guild will be representing you."

"Guild?... Representing us?" Nagi went blank. He remembered Kimura's words. "Damn it," he thought. "Right, now what do we do?"

Chizuru touched his shoulder. "Can you put my father's guild?"

"Phoenix Soul?"

"Yes."

"But what about you? Aren't you going to register under him?"

"No, Diana and I are in another guild."

"Well... won't Kimura get angry?"

"No."

"Okay then... As our representative, I'll put..."

Back at Phoenix Soul, Kimura wasn't so calm.

"THEY DID WHAT?!"

"Relax, Dad. If they win, the guild will experience a popularity boom, and I'll transfer to it. Isn't that what you want?"

"Chizuru... Ugh, fine. What does it matter? You can all do your best so my dear little girl can join this guild!"

"But she'll have to fight me in the final match," Chizuru said.

I jumped onto one of the bar tables. "It doesn't matter! Because we'll finish in first place!"

"That's the attitude!" Kimura cheered. "But get off the table."

"Sorry."

"Well, there are six days left. And three days before the tournament, you have to go meet the other participants. Okay, let's win that tournament!"

"YEEEEEEES!" we all shouted in the bar.

"Ahhh, how exciting. I want to fight Natsu right now," Chizuru said, looking at me with a defiant smile.

"Yeah, right, as if you could beat me," I shot back.

"We'll see about that."