Mikuo was still staring at the girl who introduced herself as Izumi Yuri.
 He was shocked, because he never expected that he will be talking with someone important like a King.
 She was a renowned Wizard not just because she was strong or she's a King, but also because of her beauty.
 The Mage over-all rankings of the Kings were kept in secret from the public to avoid comparing their power with each other but some people made their own assumptions. And according to them, the Snow Princess' rank must be somewhere in the Rank SS or higher.
 Those who reached the Rank SS and above were considered monsters that were able to destroy towns at their own will. It seems that the feelings and emotions in their hearts were so strong that over-powered magic manifested within them, their attitudes and characters can also contribute to their power.
 Well, she wouldn't be considered as a King if she was weak in the first place.
 No one ever saw her go all-out yet, but some says that it would be a disaster if that happened.
 He was still immersed in his thoughts when Yuri's slight coughs caught his attention.
*coughs coughs*
"Huh? What is it?" he was brought back to reality by that.
"Are you listening to me?" it looked like she was talking for quite some time now.
"Hu-huh? Ye-yeah. Hehe. What is it again?" he scratched the back of his head and forced out a wry smile to ease up a bit.
"Geeeezzz. As I was saying, I apologized for the misdeeds of my members." she tilted her head lightly towards the people standing far beside her.
"Huh? What do you mean?" he already has some idea but he still asked to confirm it.
"They attacked you without any valid reason, though you defeated them single-handedly." she shrugged her shoulders a bit after saying that.
"Wait, don't tell me." his eyes were twitching in reflex.
"Yes, your thoughts are indeed correct. Those three girls over there were the "hooligans" you fought yesterday."
"Ah….." he shifted his sight towards the girls standing over there along with Leu, now he understood why the voice of the smallest girl was very familiar to him.
"So you three, aren't you forgetting something?" Yuri made a gentle smile as she spoke.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" it was the sporty girl who answered. The three turned their sights away from Yuri and acted as if they didn't know anything.
"Hehe. . . Maybe some motivation will bring your memory back, right?" Yuri stood up and started walking towards the three. She was smiling but somehow the atmosphere around her was scary and deadly.
 For every step she took, the three will step back in reflex while wearing faces of horror and trembling.
 Yuri was very close to them before the sporty girl shouted.
"Ah geeeez! Okay! We get it already, please spare us Boss!"
"Oh really?"
 The three slowly walked towards him and lined up in front of him. He unintentionally took a step back in reflex.
 They were staring at him as if they want to say something. He let drops of sweat trace down his forehead as he feel pressured because of the three.
 Then suddenly the smallest one took a step forward towards him.
"S-s-s-sorry for.., yesterday." she bowed and showed an apologetic expression. That face somehow brought chills down to his spine, and he thought (Damn, what's with this overly cute creature?).
"Sorry for yesterday!" the sporty girl bowed down too fast that he thought her head will fall.
"Hmmp!" the smart-looking girl averted her sights away as if she was not pleased. "I'm not going to apologize to that freak!" she said that with her arms crossed to each other.
"Oh?*sigh* don't tell me I didn't warned you." Yuri released that displeased sigh.
 Then all of a sudden, the surrounding temperature dropped and ice started to form on the ceiling and walls, even the water particles in the air were starting to freeze. His body chilled due to that sudden change and white smoke was coming out of his mouth along with his breath due to the cold temperature.
 He saw Yuri's eyes, and that sight brought fear to him. Those eyes were just smiling while glowing faintly (probably because of the magic she was using) but the aura she was releasing was very scary.
 Then all of a sudden, from the feet up to the knee, the smart-looking girl's body began to freeze. Small droplets of tears started to form on the sides of her eyes before she sudden took a deep bow towards him.
"S-s-s-sorry." it seemed she's really reluctant about it; maybe it's a matter of pride or something.
 After she apologized to him, the room temperature gradually rose and the ice on the walls and ceiling including the ice that was covering the girl's body evaporated as if it was just a lie.
"Geeeez . . . . . It's not that hard right?" Yuri put a hand on her forehead as if she was feeling problematic or something.
 The girl once again averted her sights away from him."Hmmmmft!"
 He just forced out a wry smile in response to that.
 Yuri then averted her sights to him.
"Ahm . . . . . So, what's your plan now, Mikuo?" he saw a little spark in her eyes. He doesn't know the meaning behind that spark but it was making him uncomfortable.
"Hmmm… Before that, may I ask you why they attacked me if they are Yume's friends in the first place?"
 Yuri made a shocked face and tapped her forehead a little as if she had totally forgotten about that.
"Oh? Sorry I almost forgot. Ahm . . . . . Okay, regarding that, I guess I should be the one explaining that." it was Yume who cut their conversation.
"Huh?" Mikuo raised an eyebrow.
"Let's start it from the top. I am Izumi Yume, and I am indeed the younger twin sister of Yuri. Ahm, you remember about my illness right?"
 Mikuo just answered with a nod.
"Because of that, Onee-sama never let me play outside even in this world. I really want to go outside, to see this world, to see this new world. I insisted that since we arrived to this world, my condition has improved a lot, but still, she wanted me to stay here and rest. I felt bored and I really wanted to see the exciting experiences this new world can offer, so….."
"So?" Mikuo was already starting to have an idea.
"I escaped. Tee-hee." Yume stuck out her tongue and made a cute expression.
 But all of a sudden (Blam!), Yuri hit Yume's head with a slight knock.
"That's not funny Yume." Yuri's face made a problematic expression.
"Onee-sama is mean!" Yume held her head and made an act as if she was crying.
"Hmmmm…. I guess I already get it. Those three were her guards and they attacked me because they taught that I kidnapped her, am I right?"
"Yeah, that's the gist of it." Yuri turned her head towards those girls. "I guess I might as well introduce them to you. Hey you three! Come over here."
 The three slowly walked towards them and lined up in front of them.
"Introduce yourselves to him."
 The smallest girl took the lead and opened her mouth to speak."I'm Clerica Ashbell, nice to meet you." She then took a bow and gave her a smile.
 Then the petite girl with the sporty characteristics took a step forward. "Tachibana Sena here." she just raised her right hand a bit as a sign of greeting with a cool expression. She looked like a tomboy because of her boyish gestures.
 Lastly, the smart-looking girl took her turn and introduced herself to him. "Yu Lan Lei." and that's it. (Geeez, what's the deal with this girl, I kinda have the feeling of being looked down upon.) he thought.
 He then took his turn to introduce his self to them. "Though Leu and Miku already know my name, I'll still introduce myself. I'm Yuoh Mikuo, a freelancer, I'm currently not affiliated with any guild and I don't have any plan to."
*COUGH!*
 All of a sudden, Yuri coughed as if she was choked or something.
"Hey? Is there anything wrong?" Mikuo tilted his head with frowned eyebrows.
"*cough cough* Why is that?" Yuri asked while trying to retrieve her composure.
"Huh? What do you mean?" he tilted his head in wonder.
"You said you don't have any plans to join any guild, why?"
"Oh . . . . . That? Hmmm . . . . Because . . ." Mikuo put his right hand under his chin as if he is thinking.
"Because?" Yuri waited for his response eagerly.
"I can't stay in a place for a long time. I'm looking for some people so I'm constantly moving from one town to another."
 That caught Leu's attention and entered the conversation as well.
"Maybe you're looking for Rikka and Rinne?"
"Huh? Hmmm . . . . Do you have any idea?" Mikuo turned towards Leu.
"Nope, but if that's your reason, then this guild is perfect for you."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Mikuo made a puzzled expression.
"Let me be the one to explain that for you." Yuri said.
 Mikuo once again turned his attention towards Yuri.
"You know that my guild Arctic Knights doesn't have its own city right?"
"Nn . . .Nn . . ." Mikuo just nodded in response.
"And that is because we don't have enough members to build our own. Unlike the other major guilds whose members enter the four to five digit count, our guild only has around 850 members. It's a shame but it's the truth." Yuri shrugged her shoulders as if she was mocking herself.
"Hmmm. . . . And?" he can't see its connection to the previous topic.
"So . . . . Since we don't have our own city, we also don't have a permanent Headquarters. So basically . . . ." it seems Yuri intentionally cut off her statement.
 Mikuo was starting to get the idea.
"So basically . . . ?" he still asked her.
"Our guild can operate inside the cities of the other major guilds, even in some of the minor towns."
"Oh. . . . Now I get it."
"So . . . You said you're looking for some people right? Our members are distributed all throughout the entire continent. If you join, we can help you look for those people, plus, the number of jobs we received is not inferior to those of the other major guilds so you can also find some decent money here." Yuri was starting to get excited while explaining things to him
"Yeah Knight, come on, and join us. I also want to look for them anyway." Leu was also urging him.
 But he suddenly thought of something.
"By the way, why are you so eager to recruit me?"
 When he asked that, he heard someone reacted at the back.
"Eeeeek!"
 They all turned toward the origin of the voice and the only person standing on that direction was none other than Yume.
"Huh? Why? Is there a problem?" he tilted his head in wonder.
 She was looking down and her face was flushed in red, she was also rubbing her hands with each other. It seems she was shy about something.
 Then suddenly . . . . .
"Ohhhhh . . . Now I remember why." it was Yuri, she was casting a knowing look towards Yume.
"Huh? Huh? Why? What is it?" Mikuo was still confused.
"Hehe . . . Let me explain why. It seems like my little Yume here has a –- Uhhhmmmmbb!!"
"Onee-sama!"
 Yuri was talking when Yume suddenly rushed towards her and covered her mouth.
"Eeto . . . . . Let me be the one . . . uhm. . . let me be the one to explain it to you." Yume started speaking while covering her sister's mouth.
"Mikuo . . . . Since you were able to defeat those three, uhm… ahm …. I want to be with ... I mean we need you here. They are three our strongest members here, so, defeating them proved your strength." for some reason, she was shy about something. Mikuo was starting to lose any idea of what's really happening.
"Hey! That's not right!" it was Lan Lei who interrupted the conversation.
"Huh?" everyone in the room turned towards her.
"If we were serious back there, there's no way this freak can even lay a single finger on any one of us." she was gritting her teeth while saying that.
 Struggling, Yuri finally managed to escape from Yume's grasp.
"But that's not the case here right? The point is, he defeated you three, ALONE, nothing more, nothing less. And while watching, I can tell that Mikuo also held back a lot against the three of you." it was Yuri.
"N-n-no way! That's impossible! I refuse to believe!" Lan Lei made an expression as if she was listening to something that will definitely not happen. That kinda insulted him.
"But—" Lan Lei still tried to defend their side.
"No buts" but Yuri casted away all her complains.
"I'm surprised, how can you tell?" Mikuo asked.
"What do you mean?" Yuri answered him with another question.
"How did you know that I held back in that fight? I was sure that I looked like I was having a hard time back there. They even managed to stab my shoulder, though it is mostly healed by now." he was very curious on how she found out because he was sure that he made it looked like he was weak.
"Well. I'm a King after all, so you can't really fool me." she showed a fearless smile.
"Ooohhhh….." Mikuo was at a loss for words.
 After all those commotion and conversations, Mikuo was immersed in deep thought. He tried to consider about the advantages of joining this guild. It's true that joining this guild will greatly increase his chance of finding the others, plus, he will earn some money and popularity in here. And if he becomes popular enough, the others might hear about him and look for him in this guild. No matter how you look at it, it's a win-win condition. But there's still a problem.
"Hey Yuri." Mikuo reached for a decision in his head.
"Huh? What is it?" her eyes were sparkling, it seems she was anticipating his admission in her guild.
"Entering this guild has an exam of some sort right?" he was scratching the back of his head to ease a bit, talking too much is not his thing, so talking to this Lavender-haired beauty makes him a bit nervous.
"Oh.........… Does that mean—"
"Not yet, let me think about it. It's a win-win condition for both of us, but there are still some things that I need to consider first."
"Yay!!!!!" everyone in the room cheered except for Lan Lei who was gritting her teeth, it seemed she was very reluctant about it.
"Hey . . . I didn't say that I'll join yet."
"Good choice bro. Haha. I'm looking forward to work with yah!" Leu said that while having a fist-bump with him.
"Yuoh-san." Clerica said that with a slight bow.
"Mikuo is fine with me. But wait, hey . . . Like I said . . ." it seemed that nobody was listening to him.
"Ah …. Eh ….. O-o-o-okay. Uhmm … Mikuo-san. M-m-me too. I look forward to it." she was very shy for some reason and her face was painted with a deep shade of red.
"Yo! Mikuo! Be sure to pass that exam or I'll kick your ass! Failing is not an option ya hear?! We still have a score to settle between the two of us. Haha!" Sena said that with a cool pose.
"Mikuo. Mikuo." Yume slightly pulled his sleeves to get his attention. She looked like a kid who was going to ask her father for a favor or present, that expression really suited her and it was very cute.
"Hmmmm? What is it Yume?" he tilted his head in wonder. He swallowed his saliva to calm his heart a bit that was beating fast because of this beautiful girl beside him.
"Mikuo. I wish you good luck. I'm very happy right now, if you pass, then, I can be with my first boyfriend everyday!" Yume said that with an innocent smile before hugging his arm. The soft sensation of her chest assaulted his arm and made his face all the way to his ears red. But that's not just the reason why he suddenly panicked like that.
"Huh!?" everyone turned toward them because of that and Mikuo became more disoriented.
". . . . . . . . . . ." everyone turned silent except Yume.
"Huh? Why?" she tilted her head in wonder and tried to recall what she said moments ago.
 Then all of a sudden—
"!!!!!!!" it seemed she finally realized what she said because her face suddenly became red. Red enough that one might even see steam coming out of her ears.
"I-I-I-It's not like . . . . . .ugh . . . . uhmmmmmm . . .it's not like . . . . . we didn't do anything . . . .no . . .ahm .ahm .ahm ." she's too shy that she can't even manage to finish one sentence.
"Kyahhh!" unable to bear the pressure, Yume suddenly pushed him and ran out of the room while covering her face. Everyone sent her off with their sights before finally looking towards him.
"Yume! Yume!" Mikuo tried to call her with an almost-crying face.
 All of their eyes were gleaming except for Clerica who was in a sort of panic.
 Mikuo swallowed his saliva while he let sweat trace down from his forehead. He was sensing a weird aura of predation, killing intent and jealousy from them. He was already having a bad foresight regarding the situation. And then—
"MIKUO! YOU BASTARD!" everyone (except Clerica) yelled his name and lunged towards him.
"GAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mikuo couldn't help but scream in terror before his consciousness blacked out after being nailed down and hitting his head on the floor. The last thing he saw was Yume who was standing by the door with teary eyes.