My Girlfriend is an S-Class Adventurer

— Monday morning, late July, Year 512 of the Arani Era, the last hero to die. 1 year and 9 months before the Decay of the Broteforge Empire. —

When Luke entered the hotel room again, he saw Alexis placing a scroll inside her Invocation. Then she whispered a few things to the green bird, which took off northward.

It was a very sunny morning in Oukiwa and Luke was feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted from his back after he had decided not to start a lifelong search for his friends.

Internally, Luke was convinced that he had really underestimated his friends too much, and now he was quite sure that it would be easier for him to get caught by the First Servant than to quickly find the others in the gang.

If the First Servant referred to Oukiwa as a city that was at his fingertips but Vasconcelos was not, that could mean that Luke could now also be reached by the demon and if he could be reached, he needed to get even stronger to protect himself.

Once he was sure that Koven was headed in the right direction, Alexis asked:

"Did you leave Matthew where he asked?" 

"Yes. I think after the weekend we managed to camouflage our tracks well. It should be safe to leave by now and when I explained to him that I still work for the Strogueher's, he preferred to go his own way. I don't judge him for that..."

"But will he be safe that way? We still don't know how the First Servant found him in the hospital."

"It was his choice, but I hope that theory of ours is correct... Matthew was hospitalized for two weeks, yet the First Servant didn't try to kill him before... It's a little strange, but I still think he just has a vast network of informants."

"I believe that too. Although I felt myself watching when we fought in the castle, I never felt anything like that again... Somehow we got in the way of his plans that night."

"When he said his fingers reach out to us in Oukiwa, I think he meant his subordinates... He must have more influence here." Luke theorized, sitting down on the half-dragon's bed.

"If he does, we can try to use that to our advantage. I have contacts who owe me some favors here." Alexis replied, winked her right eye, and smiled at the half-wolf.

Luke smiled back. "I appreciate everything you are doing for me."

"N-don't be an idiot...I'm doing this because I want to kill demons." She said, turning her face to the side to hide her blush.

"Well, then we have nothing left to do. Shall we hand over the room key?" Luke asked with a smile to the half-dragon and held out his arm as if calling him to dance. 

That weekend, Luke found a new favorite pastime: teasing Alexis. She turned, opened the pouch on her bed, and took out the last vial of Elixir of concealment of half-beast traits. She drank a little and replied:

"Let's go soon, silly."

So, Luke and Alexis went to the West Port to receive Ayumi and Nathalia. When they got there, they saw from afar a very beautiful small boat. On the hull of the boat was the word 'Strogueher' painted in silver.

Just before the boat docked in the harbor, the white sails were lowered, and from then on only the remaining power was enough to complete the movement.

As soon as a small bridge came down, connecting the ship to the pier, Luke saw beautiful blond hair fluttering in the wind. Following Ayumi closely were Nathalia, Martha, Shiro, and two other guards that Luke recognized as the morning shift guards.

The people in the harbor recognized the craft from afar as well and stopped to watch.

"Is that the Matriarch of the Strogueher?"

"Yes... it is almost a must to stop what we are doing to admire her. If she's not one of the most beautiful women in the world, I want lightning to snap me in half right now."

"Ah, man...you would never have a chance with her."

"And who would? She's a rich, powerful, beautiful Elf and already has a daughter. What could someone like me offer her?"

"You're right. And also, normal guys like us could never stand the sexual appetite of an Elf."

Two old fishermen chatted casually as they watched the beautiful Ayumi walk down the stairs of the bridge. Other people whispered compliments and some even insulted the blonde Elf with envy. The reality is that the Matriarch of the Strogueher's is a figure highly respected by some, and feared by others, so any public appearance by her usually causes quite a stir. 

Alexis and Luke paid no attention to the comments and went to greet Ayumi. As they approached, they were briefly stopped by five guards who were preventing movement near the ship. Even from a distance, Ayumi recognized the lively red hair of the half-dragon and also her attire. 

"Let them pass. They are new employees." Ayumi said, seriously. She needed to keep her posture rigid and inflexible in public.

"Yes, ma'am!" The guards saluted and opened the formation for Luke and Alexis.

Nathalia recognized the hooded figure from afar and felt as if it had been a hundred years since she had last seen Luke. In a way, she really had grown accustomed to his presence.

Before Ayumi could even greet her lover, her daughter stepped forward and hugged Luke tightly, who returned the affection.

"Miss... I think that's enough." He said after being hugged for more than five seconds by Nathalia. For some reason, this time his heart palpitated as much as the first time he saw her.

"Khun!" Nathalia cleared her throat, at the same time blushing slightly. "I think you're right." Immediately she began to try to disguise herself, pretending to unpick the fabric of her clothes.

The white-haired, red-eyed Elf looked beautiful. She was wearing a long lilac dress made of organza with gold lace details. This dress did not make her look like the usual young warrior, on the contrary, it highlighted the girl's young and innocent look.

"Feeling nostalgic?" Luke asked Shiro as he greeted him with a firm handshake.

Shiro looked around and inhaled the air through his nose with his eyes closed. "This place stinks as much as I remember, but it's good to be back." He spoke smiling at the half-wolf.

Since Luke had not yet said anything about Shiro to Matthew, he was secretly anxious to reveal that the big man was indeed alive, however, Luke was still afraid to tell about Meredith's disappearance.

Surprising Luke, Shiro whispered to him as Ayumi and Nathalia greeted Alexis, "We'll find them, don't worry about it."

Luke looked at him, smiled, and nodded. 'So, he already knows everything... Ayumi must have told.'

Martha realized that the two men were talking something, but she didn't care enough and went to greet Alexis as well.

"Where are we going now? We have a lot to talk about." The half-dragon asked, propping herself on the Matriarch's shoulder, which surprised the family guards.

Not caring about Alexis' extra weight, Ayumi replied, "I know there must be a lot for us to talk about, but first we have to formally introduce Nathalia to the rest of the Strogueher family. And something tells me that's not going to be easy...."