Apparently, the ranks at the guild were determined by difficulty. It's starting from the lowest F-rank, then going up to A-rank, with S-rank being the highest.
"Um, is there any problem with having them help me?"
Elias had said it was fine, but just to be safe, Qiong Xing choose to ask it again and the receptionist said that there was no problem since they were registered as his slaves now.
"Thank you very much."
"…No. Please take care."
Perhaps it was unexpected for him to ask about slaves, because the receptionist gave him a strange look, but he was able to register without issues.
He still didn't understand how the card worked, but thinking it was fine for now, he headed toward the request board near the entrance.
After he decided to start with the basics, he took a medicinal herb gathering request and headed toward the forest where he had first met Leander.
Although he didn't seem to know their names, once he saw the illustrated guide, he was able to recognize which plants were the medicinal herbs for the gathering request.
While being taught by Leander, they all gathered them one after another together.
At first, Qiong Xing had planned to have Cari stay behind at the inn, but Cari refused to stay behind when he heard they were going, so he ended up helping with the gathering as well.
The egg also couldn't be left unattended, so Qiong Xing made a simple sling out of cloth, like a carrying strap, and carried it on his back.
With a total of four people (and one egg), the gathering mission was completed quickly, and since there was still time, they took the opportunity to also gather tree fruits that looked edible and plants that seemed like wild vegetables.
He also learning about them as they went.
"All right, you three, let's head back for today, sha—shall we? Hm? W-wah, what, what is it?"
"Qiong Xing?"
"Qiong Xing!"
"Mama?"
At that moment, the egg on his back that was trembled once start to shaking again.
Qiong Xing immediately removed the strap and held the egg in his arms.
"This… is it about to hatch, maybe? Leander, do you know?"
"No, it's my first time too, so I don't know."
It seemed even the older brother wasn't reliable in this situation.
While Qiong Xing was wondering what to do, the egg, as if the creature inside was struggling, began to crack with sharp snapping sounds.
"Do your best, do your best~"
While the adults around panicked, unsure of what to do, Cari came close to the egg and gently stroked it while cheering it on.
Seeing the young Cari like that helped Qiong Xing calm down as well, and he joined in, stroking the egg while cheering.
"Just a little more, do your best."
"Do your best~ do your best~"
"Everyone is waiting for you. Do your be—ah!"
"Kyuu~ Kyuu~"
With one final burst of strength, what broke through the shell was a small snake with white scales inherited from its parent and golden eyes.
"You did very well. Good child."
"Kyuu~ Kyuu~"
When Qiong Xing gently stroked it in praise, it happily rubbed itself against his hand.
"Cari, this is your little brother."
"That's right. Such a reliable big brother. And then… what should we name him?"
Calling him an egg or a snake forever would be pitiful.
Qiong Xing looked to Leander to see if he had any good ideas, but Leander told him that he wanted Qiong Xing to name him.
Being the one to give a name made him feel nervous.
"Hm, let's see… how about Mayo?"
"Mayo?"
"Yes. From today on, Cari's little brother is Mayo. Can you get along with him?"
"Yeah!"
Qiong Xing patted Cari on the head and praised him for being a good boy.
When he showed Mayo to Leander as well, Leander smiled with eyes that looked like they might tear up and said, "Qiong Xing way of naming is... Really unique."
"By the way, is this child a boy or a girl?"
"I've never really thought about it. That giant snake was more like a mother than a father, so I just assumed female, but I wonder about Mayo."
Since no one could tell, they decided to leave it for now, thinking they would find out eventually.
"With this, moving around will be a bit easier. But staying in this form might still be dangerous."
"He's still small, so we can just hide him inside someone's clothes."
"Cari! Cari will stay with him!"
Cari insisted that he would do it since he was the big brother, but with Cari's small body, it seemed impossible to hide Mayo properly. So they decided to buy a small bag or something similar before going to the guild.
Just as Qiong Xing turned around, thinking it was time to go, his waist was suddenly grabbed from behind by Elias.
"Someday, please give birth to my child too."
"Huh?"
Those words were whispered right next to his ear and for some reason, he could feel his face suddenly turn hot.
...
"This is Cari's bag. Mayo, you must not come out of there, okay?"
"Yeah."
"Kyuu~"
Like his parent, Mayo could not speak, but he seemed to understand what was being said, and obediently stayed inside Cari's bag.
Mayo who had been hidden inside Qiong Xing's clothes was placed into a small shoulder bag they bought on the way to the guild.
When Qiong Xing handed it to Cari, he looked adorable, like a kindergarten child.
There had been no safety helmets, but when they bought him a small hat meant for children, he looked at a glance like nothing more than an ordinary human child.
"Elias, did you carry anything with you when you were working as an escort?"
"Nothing. Or rather, we weren't allowed to carry anything. Letting slaves have weapons would be troublesome if we attacked them, after all. And if they were going to spend money on armor, it was faster to just replace the slave instead."
"...…."