Chapter 229: Day of Inauguration I

There were one hundred thirteen children who had been kidnapped by the demonic humans back then— Regis included.

Out of all of them, Greg, Lea, and fifty others chose to live peaceful lives.

Meanwhile, the remaining sixty divided themselves into six-man parties and continued as adventurers, taking on quests and carving out new paths for themselves.

"So far, I believe we have enough members to form a corporation, but..."

Aurelia was speaking with a notebook in her hands, but her voice faltered slightly toward the end.

"But what?" Regis tilted his head.

"Well." She continued, flipping a page in her notebook.

"We still need people to handle the administrative side of things. Forming a corporation isn’t just about having members or doing quests—it also means managing everything behind the scenes."

She tapped her pen against the page, "We’ll need staff to handle logistics—people who can schedule missions, coordinate supply deliveries, manage finances, and maintain records of our contracts and accomplishments."

Regis nodded, while Killian and Pandora leaned in with interest.

"Then there’s internal support: a team for maintaining the building, handling upkeep, managing inventory like potions, weapons, armor, and storing supplies for expeditions. We’ll also need someone to liaise with clients and guilds, process payments, and monitor quest progress."

Aurelia replied, "On top of that, we’ll need to appoint ranks and structure— who’s in charge of what, how decisions get made, and how to protect ourselves legally if anything goes wrong."

She flipped another page, "And don’t forget personnel. We’ll need clerks, scouts, maybe even a few medics and smiths on retainer. If we grow big enough, we might need legal aides or negotiators too—especially since we’ll be working with other factions, merchant groups, or even nobility."

"And more importantly."

She added, "We still don’t have a headquarters. A building we can call our base of operations. Somewhere to keep our equipment, train recruits, meet with clients, host internal meetings, and safely store documents."

"I didn’t expect you to have all that thought out, at least not that detailed."

Regis said with a light chuckle.

"Of course, when you first mentioned that to me back then, I had already begun to think of things that need to work."

Regis, Pandora, and Killian exchanged thoughtful glances.

Forming a corporation had long been one of their shared goals, and they had all considered what it would take to bring it to life.

It was then that Aurelia smiled mischievously, "Actually, that’s why Dad sent me here."

Her words immediately grabbed their attention.

"Wait, what do you mean?"

Regis asked, "You’re saying Uncle Aurum sent you?"

Aurelia nodded, her brows furrowing slightly, "He told me that he’s ready to sponsor us. Apparently, that was his intention from the beginning. But more than that... he asked me to remind you of your promise."

A knowing smile formed on Regis’s face, "So he’s finally ready, huh?"

Aurelia pouted, "Ugh, what does that even mean? I kept bugging Dad about it, but he wouldn’t tell me no matter how much I begged!"

Pandora and Killian also looked at Regis with interest.

"It’s just a little something between us, you don’t have to worry too much about it."

He then looked at Aurelia again and asked, "Is Uncle Aurum free right now?"

"Tsk... Yes, Dad’s been expecting you and told me to escort you there in the afternoon."

"Then that’s all good. Let’s eat lunch together and get ready to go to the City Hall, then head to the Adventurer’s Guild afterwards."

The group did just that, sharing a meal while exchanging light conversation.

They talked about some of their recent solo quests, poking fun at each other here and there.

"To make sure that we’ll use our time efficiently, why not you and I will go straight to the City Hall while Pandora and Killian will go to the Adventurer Guild to take care of matters regarding the primary preparations for the registration of our corporation?"

Aurelia spoke as she took a bite of her sandwich, making Regis nod thoughtfully as he agreed at her words.

"Tsk, I don’t wanna get stuck with this idiot..." Pandora muttered deadpanly.

While Killian protested as he pointed at his nose, "What!? Look at this! How am I supposed to face people with this on my face!?"

"Just wear a mask or something." Aurelia waved her hand dismissively.

Killian then looked at Regis, "But you have our official party card and as the leader, we’ll also need your Adventurer ID..."

Regis did not even respond as he tossed his id card to Killian, who caught it with two hands.

"You’re really just giving me thi—"

He was not even able to finish his sentence when he saw what was written on it.

"Holy... you’re already an Expert Adventurer!?"

At his words, both Pandora and Aurelia widened their eyes, shock clear on their faces.

"Of course. It’s not like it’s hard." Regis said with a grin.

Killian stared at him speechlessly, "Even I only became an Elite Adventurer not too long ago! Just what kind of quests have you been doing?"

Even Pandora couldn’t help but roll her eyes at his nonchalance.

Adventurer ranks were divided into five tiers: Novice, Adept, Veteran, Elite, and Expert.

A person’s rank was primarily determined by the number and difficulty of quests they had completed.

With higher ranks came increased perks and benefits—more luxurious accommodations, greater pay, and access to restricted quests and regions.

Despite this, Killian still did not want to give up, "But without you—"

"Just say hello to Isabella for us." Aurelia cut him off, as Regis and Pandora both laughed lightheartedly.

It was a mix of calm and chaos, the kind of moment they had grown used to sharing throughout their journey, just enough to bring comfort before the busy afternoon ahead.

***

A few hours later, at the City Hall...

"I didn’t expect that I’d come here two times in a single day..."

Regis muttered beneath his breath.

"Let’s go." Aurelia said as she led the way towards Aurum’s office.

They had planned earlier that Pandora and Killian would be going to the Adventurer Guild to start the processing and preparations and for the beginning steps of their corporations registration whil Regis would go with Aurelia to meet with Aurum.

Following behind her, Regis nodded with a slight smile to some of the staffs and people that he had used to seeing every time he visited.

***

While the two of them were on their way to Aurum, on Killian and Pandora’s side...

"Ugh, what an idiot."

Pandora could feel her head aching as she cursed both verbally and in her mind.

"What are you waiting for? Let’s make this quick!"

A figure whose face was covered with bandages and tinted glasses, looked left and right in a wary manner as he spoke.

It was none other than Killian, of course.

"Haaa..."

Pandora used all her strength to prevent herself from lashing out and casting a destructive magic spell at her friend.

The two of them then went on and entered the Adventurer’s Guild.

***

Back on Regis and Aurelia’s side...

At this moment, the two sat side by side on the couch, with Aurum sitting across from them.

It was Aurum who spoke first. "So, Regis... you must know why I called you here, right?"

"Yes, Uncle." Regis replied with a faint smile.

Having interacted with him over the years during their time in Harmonia, it now felt natural for Regis to comfortably address him as ’Uncle.’

Aurelia chimed in with a groan, "Oh, come on! It’s been ten minutes of you two just staring at each other, trying to act all mysterious. Can’t you just get on with it already?"

Caught off guard by her sudden outburst, Aurum scratched the back of his head and leaned slightly toward Regis, cupping a hand around his mouth as he whispered, "Is it, perhaps... that time of the month for her?"

Regis nodded, "Yeah. I made sure we didn’t run out of Moonleaf Tonic, though. Especially since she and Pandora usually have it at the same time..."

A visible twitch formed on Aurelia’s temple, "You do realize I can hear both of you, right?"

It was clear that Regis and Aurum had grown close over the years— close enough to joke around together, even if it meant teasing Aurum’s own daughter.

The two of them laughed heartily.

Just as Aurelia was about to explode, Aurum’s expression turned serious.

"The Inauguration Day of Harmonia will be next week. You’ve already received your official ID, correct?"

"Yes, Uncle," Regis replied, his face growing serious as well.

It had been announced that the issuance of official IDs for Harmonia’s citizens would begin in the days following the Inauguration.

However, Regis—being treated as a VIP by Aurum—was able to bypass that schedule.

Even Aurelia herself had not been granted such a privilege.

Now calmed from her earlier irritation, Aurelia listened closely, her attention sharpened.

"We’ll set off for Montrelle City the day after the Inauguration."

Aurum continued, "Will that be alright with you?"

"Of course." Regis nodded in response.

Hearing the words exchanged between her father and Regis, Aurelia’s heart swelled with shock.