When Ren and Lyra walked back into the guild, many people watched them. They expected to see the F-Rank kid hurt. They were surprised to see him walking with confidence.
They went to the quest counter. Tess, the bored receptionist, was there. "Back already?" she asked. "Did you get scared?"
Ren smiled at her. He put a heavy sack on the counter with a loud thump. "The goblin quest is done," he announced.
Tess looked at the sack. "Sure, kid. Let's see your one or two goblin ears."
Ren opened the sack. A mountain of goblin ears spilled out onto the counter. There were more than thirty of them.
The whole guild went silent. Tess's jaw dropped.
Lyra quickly stepped forward. "He is... very good at being a distraction," she lied. "While the goblins looked at him, I attacked them from behind. Teamwork."
Ren nodded. "I am an excellent distraction. They see my handsome face and get confused. Then, BAM, they are dead."
Tess, still in shock, counted all the ears. She had to believe them. The proof was right there. She pushed a small bag of 50 silver coins to Ren.
Upstairs, the Guild Master, an old and wise man named Valerius, watched everything. "An F-Rank..." he said to himself. "How interesting."
Ren took the money with a big, dramatic motion. "My first earnings!" he said to Lyra. "Tonight, we eat!"
As they walked away from the crowd, he became serious for a moment. "Thank you for helping me back there," he said. He offered her half the money.
Lyra refused. "Keep it. You did all the work." She looked at him. "Ren, no one believed that story."
"They don't have to believe it," Ren said. "They just have to be confused. My secrets are safer that way." He gave her a real smile. "For now, is it enough to know that I want to become very strong, and I would like a friend to watch it happen?"
Lyra felt her face get a little warm. She nodded. "Okay, Ren. For now, that's enough."
"Great!" his happy personality returned. "Now, I am a rich and professional adventurer. I need to buy better gear!" He put an arm over her shoulder. "You, my C-Rank friend, are going to take me shopping!"