The Moon of the World
Mo Ying lazily got up from her blanket; she had pulled another all-nighter gaming last night.
She rubbed her eyes and glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table—it was already six in the evening.
Summer break was nearly over; school would start tomorrow.
What had she done over the break?
Every day she just stayed up late playing games, or went to gorge herself at the taverns on the street—she hadn't done anything productive at all.
As for Xiya, Xiya spent every day reading in their dorm room. She'd even bought a bookshelf just for it, and it was now almost full.
She would often go listen to concerts outside. Xiya really liked music.
After stretching, Mo Ying sat up, then got dressed.
Brushing her teeth and washing her face—these things she should have done in the morning, she was only doing at six in the evening.
"Let's go out and see what there is to eat today."
The school cafeteria was closed for the summer, as most students went home during break. Only a few stayed, and Mo Ying and Xiya were among them.
Because they had nowhere else to go.
Mo Ying used her Sky Crystal Id to swipe open the school's main gate and stepped outside.
She headed toward the teleportation array on the street and in an instant arrived at the shopping district in Tianqing City.
It was as bustling as ever.
Mo Ying was about to pick a tavern at random to eat at. She strolled casually along the shopping street, when she noticed a familiar figure.
Hearing her name, Akina paused, then turned around.
With her crimson long hair, Akina was easy to spot even in a crowd.
Mo Ying walked up to Akina, acting as if they were close.
In reality, the two had only met twice, and even then it was as an employer and employee.
"Is there something you want?"
Akina held a large amount of food in her hands, apparently preparing to go back and eat.
"Does Akina live here?"
Mo Ying looked up at the building in front of them.
"This is where I work."
Akina's tone carried little warmth. She and Mo Ying were different—she was not one to be friendly with just anyone.
Mo Ying read aloud the words inscribed on the building.
"Is this the Hunter Guild?"
"You can think of it that way."
"Can I go in and have a look? I've never been inside a Hunter Guild before." Thıs content belongs to novel⚑fire.net
Akina seemed indifferent, but Mo Ying didn't notice at all, happily following Akina inside.
One could only say the situation inside was worse than she'd expected.
Rundown flooring, walls and ceiling draped with cobwebs, dusty tables, and even some spiders crawling about.
"I brought food back."
Akina placed the food packets onto the front counter.
A woman sat up from behind the counter. She had long golden hair, golden eyes, magnificent attire, and a breathtaking face that was unforgettable.
She looked exactly like the young lady from some super noble family; Mo Ying had seen similar students at school.
Every word they spoke, every action they made, exuded aristocratic bearing. The woman before her was exactly the same.
However, she probably wasn't nobility—a true noble wouldn't sleep in such squalor.
The golden-haired woman glanced at Mo Ying.
"Former employer, just happened to run into her."
Akina's explanation was succinct.
"Hello, my name is Mo Ying."
Mo Ying didn't seem the least bit nervous.
"Hello, I'm Aifelia, aifelia Arulurkrat."
"So you are a noble after all?!"
Only nobles would intentionally introduce their surnames when presenting themselves.
"No, not at all, I'm just an ordinary Hunter. No noble would live in a place ."
Aifelia brushed off some dust from her clothes.
"Let me introduce you: this is Furijini, a fellow Hunter."
Aifelia pulled over a petite girl from beside her.
From the wings on her back and the horns on her head, it was obvious she was of the dragon race.
The dragon girl introduced herself. Like Aifelia, she also had golden hair; her bangs covered one of her eyes, just like Teacher Liushu.
Furijini was about the same height as Mo Ying, and a bit shorter than Aifelia.
In fact, Mo Ying was slightly taller than Furijini if you compared closely.
Still, Mo Ying didn't dare look down on this dragon girl in the slightest.
Because—she was a dragon.
Dragons, ranked third among all races, far surpassed humans; rumors said any one dragon could easily take an entire human city.
Akina handed the packed meals over to the two.
Mo Ying saw only some rice and two side dishes.
"This is radish stewed with radish, this is greens stir-fried with greens, and these are some mushrooms I picked from the wild."
It was a dinner of utter simplicity...
"Are there just the three of you here?"
"Ah, there's one more, but she was hired by the Knights to help wipe out a bandit gang in the suburbs. She should be nearly done by now."
"Are these mushrooms edible?"
Furijini took out a mushroom Akina had picked.
"There shouldn't be any problem—I've eaten them."
Akina, who had a mushroom sprouting from her head, said calmly.
"I think that's a pretty big problem."
Furijini quietly put the mushroom down.
"I haven't seen meat in almost ten days, Akina,"
"We'll barely have enough for rent soon. If you want meat, you can slice a bit off yourself and contribute to us,"
Akina said, eating one of the mushrooms. Another one sprouted from her head.
"I honestly don't care, but Akina, you're a wolf and you've only been eating vegetarian stuff. Is that really okay?"
"Just hold out a bit longer. Once Lizaila finishes the commission and returns, we'll have money."
Furijini chewed on her greens.
Mo Ying looked at Akina.
"Akina is a beastkin?"
Mo Ying hadn't noticed at all.
Because Akina didn't have any of the beastkin features—not even a tail or ears. She looked exactly like a human girl.
"I'm not a pure-blooded beastkin, so I don't have those features,"
Akina explained to Mo Ying.
"So, miss Mo Ying, are you here to commission something?"
"Commission...? I'm just passing by,"
Mo Ying replied. She didn't really have anything she needed to hire a Hunter for.
Hunters did all sorts of jobs, but she basically managed everything herself.
The last time she hired Akina to buy a cake, she only did it to try something new.
"I see, another day with no business,"
Aifelia sighed, hanging her head.
"Well, it's because our place is rundown and tiny, and we're short on people,"
"Do most Hunter Guilds have a lot of members?"
"Usually, even a small guild will have a dozen or more Hunters. Larger ones can have hundreds—I've never heard of a guild with thousands, though. It's not easy being a Hunter,"
"But there are only four of us, so no one else thinks much of us,"
Mo Ying gained a rough understanding of Hunters; she was considering whether to become one herself after graduation.
"Akina, your head, your head."
By now, Akina had four mushrooms growing from her head. Mo Ying, unable to bear it any longer, reminded her.
Akina felt the top of her head, picked a mushroom off.
"She actually just plucked it off!"
Mo Ying exclaimed in amazement.
Akina looked at the mushroom in her hand, and opened her mouth.
"You can't eat that, miss Akina!"
Mo Ying immediately hugged her to stop her from eating it.
"Because it grew out of your own head!"
"Is that a reason not to eat it?"
"Isn't that totally unnatural?!"
While the two squabbled, aifelia quietly took Akina's meal away.
Furijini also quietly took the other one.