Inside the Golden Vanguard Guild, Alara, Weston, and Leo were seated around a table, waiting for their companion Kyle and Mira to arrive.
The hall was bustling with activity, other adventurers chatting and laughing as they drank and ate their breakfast.
Leo glanced at the clock on the wall, his brows furrowing slightly. "They're taking their time, aren't they?"
Weston leaned back in his chair, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "She's probably got distracted by something and forgot the time... You know how she is."
Leo frowned, not fully convinced. "Still, we should check on them. It's been an hour since Mira went to get Kyle."
"Let's wait for them a little longer." Alara said, taking a sip of her tea.
They both nodded and sat down quietly.
An hour later, the door finally burst open. Mira walked in, with Kyle following close behind.
She seemed to have trouble walking, stumbling a bit as if her legs were weak. Her hair was a little disheveled and her cheeks were flushed.
Kyle walked behind her with a smug smile on his face, looking exactly the same as usual.
"S-sorry for being late!" Mira stammered, waving her hand to greet them.
"What took you so long?" Leo asked.
"N-nothing!" Mira immediately denied, shaking her head. But it was clear that her body was still shaking slightly.
Kyle just shrugged. "We just had a little... breakfast. Isn't that right, Mira?" He chuckled, patting her shoulder.
Mira's blush deepened, and she could only nod dumbly in response. "Y-yes... it was a really filling breakfast..." She smiled weakly, trying to play along with Kyle's joke.
The others exchanged perplexed glances, sensing something more to the story, but not wanting to press.
Instead, Alara just nodded, signaling them to sit. "Alright then. I submitted a report about the task to the guild while you were both away."
Mira sat down slowly, wincing slightly as she felt a trickle of Kyle's seed leak out of her still-sensitive pussy. She crossed her legs tightly, trying to ignore the wetness.
Kyle sat across from her, still smirking faintly as he eyed Mira's flushed face and distracted demeanor. He could tell her body was still tingling with pleasure.
Alara folded her hands on the table, her tone calm and professional. "They have officially approved the mission. It's been marked as a success."
Weston let out a relieved breath. "Good. That cave was a mess. I was half-expecting the guild to question the report."
"They won't," Alara replied. "The evidence was sufficient. The boss's tusks, and the missing patrols's belongings."
She paused for a brief moment before continuing. "I also handed over the personal belongings we recovered from the fallen adventurers. The guild will send them to their families... and they're organizing a team to retrieve the bodies for proper burial."
The table fell silent for a heartbeat.
Leo lowered his gaze slightly. "That's... good. At least they'll be laid to rest properly."
Mira swallowed, her earlier flustered expression softening. "Yeah… that's good."
Kyle remained quiet, listening. `So the guild actually handles things properly... better than I expected.`
Alara reached into the pouch at her side and placed several small coin bags on the table, one by one.
"Now," she said, shifting the tone of the table, "the reward."
She slid a pouch toward Weston first, then Leo, then Mira. Each bag made a solid, heavy sound as it hit the wooden table.
Finally, she placed one last pouch in front of Kyle. It was noticeably lighter. Kyle picked up the pouch, weighing it once in his hand. He opened it and saw a gold coin along with several silver coins.
His share was clearly less than that of the other party members, but Kyle was not surprised. He wasn't officially a member of the party—he was just a porter.
The job of a porter is to carry supplies, equipment, and spoils, and perform daily tasks such as cooking, washing, driving the cart, and setting up tents.
However, this applies to ordinary, weak porters who have no combat skills. Team leaders may give the position of porter to a strong adventurer instead of inviting them as a member of the party.
There are many reasons for this. It may be because the adventurer is strong, but not as strong as the other members of the party. For this reason, giving him a share of the mission as a member of the party would be unfair to the other strong members.
The reason may be that the team leader harbors resentment or hatred toward this adventurer, or that he wants to punish him for some mistake by making him a temporary porter.
But even though his position is that of a porter, he is adventurous and has combat skills, which is why he participates in battles.
However, his participation is less than that of other members, and his role may be limited to easy and minor tasks.
Because of this, the porter receives a fixed amount for each mission, and rarely receives a share instead of a fixed amount. This is guild policy, something known to all adventurers, including Kyle.
But as he thought about it more carefully, his eyes narrowed slightly. This share is more than what a normal porter would get. Especially on a first mission.
Kyle looked back at Alara, and she met his gaze calmly. Before he could say anything, she continued. "However—"
Everyone's attention snapped back to her.
"Given what Kyle demonstrated in the cave," Alara said evenly, "his contribution exceeded that of a porter."
Weston nodded. "No argument there."
Leo crossed his arms. "You held the rear, protected Mira and Weston serveral times, and took down multiple goblins. That's not porter work."
Mira nodded a bit too quickly. "Y-Yeah! You were amazing!"
Kyle raised an eyebrow, amused. `Amazing, huh?`
Alara straightened. "From this point onward, Kyle will join the party as a full member—not as a porter."
Silence fell on the table for a moment, then—Mira smiled warmly. "No problem... You've earned it!"
Both Leo and Weston nodded in agreement to his joining.
Kyle paused... then smiled. Not wide. Not smug. Just genuine.
"I accept," he said calmly.
"Good." Alara nodded formally, but Kyle could see that her lips slightly curved.
She leaned back slightly. "Also, we won't be taking any major missions for a while. The reward from this one is more than enough for a long time."
No one complained.
Leo stretched. "I won't say no to some rest."
Weston chuckled. "My joints agree."
Mira suddenly clapped her hands together, her eyes lighting up. "Then that settles it!"
Everyone looked at her.
"We should celebrate tonight!" she declared. "A proper celebration. We survived, we got paid, and we didn't die horribly!"
Alara hesitated for half a second—then nodded. "Alright."
Mira grinned triumphantly. "Yes!"
The mood around the table lightened immediately. Laughter returned, conversation flowed, and Kyle found himself blending into the group far more naturally than before.
`Full member, huh...` he thought, glancing at Mira's big breasts and Alara's wide hips. `This party might be more interesting.`
Kyle leaned back in his chair, half-listening to the chatter around the table.
Then—A sudden noise cut through the guild hall. Shouts echoed from outside the guild—raised voices, hurried footsteps.
The conversations around the table slowly died down.
Mira blinked. "What's going on?"
Alara turned her head toward the entrance, frowning. "That sounded... serious."
Even the surrounding adventurers were starting to look uneasy, chairs scraping as people shifted to go outside.
Kyle straightened slightly and felt a sudden sense of confusion at the loud noise outside.
Then—BANG!
The massive doors of the Golden Vanguard Guild swung open, and a group of figures stepped inside.
Their presence alone silenced the entire hall. Every adventurer in the guild turned to look at them.
At their center walked a young man with a calm, heroic aura that drew attention without effort.
A guild staff member near the counter froze—then shouted in disbelief.
"Th-They're here!" His voice echoed across the hall. "It's the Hero's Party!"