Colette woke up feeling revitalized after their long dungeon expedition.
After spending several days inside the dungeon, she had finally reached the Apostle Grade, and even gained two pieces of Mythical Equipment that matched her profession. Not only that, she had also gained a Warg Mount of her own, as well as several Rank 2 and Rank 3 Beast Cores, which was the share she got from the expedition.
She was quite happy with how things turned out, but also felt sad because after ten days, she would have to leave Leaf Village and her Big Brother behind.
Lux had already told her that he didn't have any plans of leaving the Beginner's Zone for the time being. When Colette asked why, the Half-Elf only told her that he made a promise to himself, and before he fulfilled that promise, he would continue to stay in Leaf Village.
The red-headed teenager didn't tell Colette what his goal was, but the latter knew that it must be important for Lux to insist on staying.
'I really need Big Brother to marry my Big Sister,' Colette thought. 'That way, he will become part of our family.'
The adorable blonde Dwarf had already labeled Lux as her dependable Big Brother. A person that would always be there to ensure their safety when things got too dangerous for them to handle.
After taking a bath, Colette went to check if Helen was already awake. As the only two girls in their party, she couldn't help but care for her like a sister would.
"Helen, it's me," Colette said as she knocked on the door. "Are you awake? Let's have breakfast together"
"Yes." Helen's reply was heard through the door. "Can you give me a few minutes? I am almost done. Just combing my hair a bit."
Colette smiled. "Okay. I'll just go and check if Big Brother is already awake. You can find me in his room."
"Okay," Helen replied. "I'll be there in a bit."
The adorable Dwarf then walked towards Lux's room and knocked on it.
"Big Brother, it's me, Colette," Colette said. "Are you awake? Let's have breakfast together."
Colette waited, but no reply came. Just as she was about to knock for the second time, the door opened and the first thing she saw was a Skeleton, which almost made her jump back in fright.
"Sis!" Eiko, who was perched on top of the Skeleton's head greeted Colette, which made the latter pat her chest in order to regain her calm.
"Good morning, Eiko."
"Sis!"
"Is your Papa awake?" Colette asked as she peered at the bed. There, she saw Lux still sleeping peacefully, while snoring lightly. "I guess not."
"Pa!" Eiko replied as she used the Skeleton's arm to jump into Colette's arms, which made the adorable Dwarf giggle.
She then walked towards the sleeping Half-Elf, while holding the baby Slime in her hands. This was the first time that she had seen Lux's sleeping face, and a playful feeling blossomed in her heart.
"Big Brother, wake up," Colette said as she poked Lux's cheeks. "Let's have breakfast together."
The Half-Elf didn't reply, and was still fast asleep, which prompted Colette to look at his pointed ears.
She had long wanted to touch them and see what they were like. But, since Lux was taller than her, she never had the opportunity to do so. After a brief internal struggle, Colette reached out to touch Lux's ears gently.
"It feels like a normal ear," Colette muttered as she lightly played with the Half-Elf's ear with her fingers. Just as she was having fun, Lux's eyes abruptly opened and stared at her with a sleepy gaze.
"Colette?" Lux asked while looking at the adorable Dwarf who was still holding his ear in her hand.
"Good Morning, Big Brother," Colette hastily pulled back her hand as if she had been electrocuted. "Nice day we are having today."
"Pa!" Eiko jumped on the bed and crawled towards his pillow. After coming close to Lux's face, the baby Slime lightly pecked his cheek with a kiss.
"Good morning to you, too, Eiko," Lux said before kissing the cheek of the baby Slime, making Eiko giggle.
The Half-Elf covered his lips in order to suppress a yawn before standing up from the bed.
"What time is it?" Lux asked as he went to the sink to wash his face.
"It's just around seven in the morning, Big Brother," Colette answered. "Do you want to have breakfast together with us?"
"Breakfast? Sounds good," Lux replied after drying his face.
As if waiting for that moment, a knock was heard on the door.
"Colette, Big Brother, it's me, Helen. Can I come in?"
Colette hurried to the door and opened it for her friend.
Lux was now fully awake. After combing his hair for a bit to fix his bed hair, Eiko jumped on his head so they could go have breakfast with the two girls.
When the three arrived at the dining area of the inn, they saw Matty, Andy, and Axel seated at the table and waiting for their breakfast.
"Over here," Matty waved his hands to Colette as soon as the adorable Dwarf appeared in his sight.
Andy and Axel also waved their hands at their friends who were now headed in their direction. As soon as the three people sat, the Dwarf manning the counter personally came over to them to get their orders.
A few minutes later, Matty's, Axel's, and Andy's orders arrived, but the three of them didn't eat right away. Instead, they chatted with Lux and the girls, waiting until all their orders arrived.
"Big Brother, what are your plans after we return to Leaf Village?" Andy asked. "You're not coming with us to the Intermediate towns, right?"
"Correct," Lux answered. "When we return, we will do your graduation ceremony of course. Beat the Red-Eyed Terror Mantis, as well as… beat Colette's Big Sister's record in the Bronze Crypt."
"Huh?!" Colette, who was patting Eiko's head, looked at the Half-Elf seated beside her in surprise. "Beat my sister's record? That's impossible!"
"Impossible?" Lux chuckled. "You are one of the six people that cleared the Hidden Mission in the Orc Dominion Dungeon. According to Thoram, all of you will be given a Medal of Honor just like the one I received from his Majesty. In short, all five of you will become Honorary Knights. Did your sister accomplish that during her stay in Leaf Village?"
"N-No, but…!" Colette tried to argue, but Lux raised his hand to stop her.
"Colette, nothing is impossible," Lux said with a smile. "You've already accomplished something that your sister didn't manage to do. The Hidden Quest will not be repeated, and the Riders of Norria will forever be indebted to all of you."
Colette pouted. "But, Big Brother, the only reason we managed to clear that quest was because of you. In the end, we did very little to help you clear the mission."
"You're so silly, Colette," Lux patted the adorable Dwarf's head, which made Matty glare at him with envy. "We are a team, so it's only natural that I was able to clear it because all of you were there. When we got attacked by the Orc Berserkers, I might have died if you guys hadn't moved to fight on the frontlines.
"Don't belittle yourself too much. All of you had fought alongside me. I was also very surprised to see how brave Matty was. Even though he was outclassed, he still took the enemy head-on."
Matty didn't expect Lux to praise him, so he just looked at the Half-Elf in a daze for half a minute before averting his gaze.
Lux smiled as he scanned the faces of his friends who were all looking at him.
"You guys still have ten days left," Lux said. "Let's make sure that the Dwarves who enter Leaf Village later will look up to your names as the new role models that they need to surpass. Isn't that exciting?"
The Dwarves exchanged glances with each other before nodding their heads. For some reason, the desire of surpassing her sister's achievements started to burn inside Colette's heart. Although she wasn't confident that she could do it alone, there was hope within her knowing that she had her friends and Big Brother to help her.
He believed that as long as they were together, the five of them could beat the impossible.
