While treating Bennett, Barbara was astonished. He really had broken his leg. It must have hurt a lot. She was very puzzled. What kind of dangerous activities was this boy doing to get injured twice in a single day? His legs had been hurt in two different ways. It must have been so painful.
But even more surprising, despite such serious injuries, the boy's expression remained calm. Didn't it hurt at all?
What shocked her even more was that normally, such severe wounds would require at least two weeks of bed rest. Yet the boy named Bennett could get out of bed and walk the very next day. On the third day, he was almost fully recovered. He clamored to leave the Church of Favonius and go pay respects to his dads.
Barbara wanted to stop him. But seeing Bennett back on his feet, full of energy, she couldn't.
And so, after only two days of treatment at the Church of Favonius, Bennett's leg injuries were completely healed. He and his companions rushed to the hillside where the seven graves stood and paid their respects.
"Dads, don't worry. Bennett has grown up now. I have a whole bunch of companions. We're going to form an adventuring team. We'll learn from you, Dads. We'll adventure together for life and be eternal companions."
After paying respects at his dads' graves, Bennett led his four companions to the Adventurers' Guild. The receptionist was still Katheryne.
"Little ones, you're newly registered adventurers, aren't you? Let me look for some commissions suitable for you."
She brought out a stack of papers and sifted through them, searching for the simplest tasks for the young adventurers.
Bennett quickly said, "No, no—before taking any commissions, we want to register an adventuring team!"
According to guild rules, four adventurers could form a team.
Katheryne smiled and handed them a form. "Register a team? Alright. Fill out this information form."
Bennett took the form and saw the required fields: the team's name, the members' names, the team's motto, the date, and so on. They had already discussed all this before coming, so they quickly filled it out and handed it back.
Looking at the form, Katheryne asked, "Where is your dad? Didn't he come with you?"
Bennett said sadly, "My dad—he's already gone. I buried him where the wind blows. I wanted to hire the street-singing bard to sing a song to bid him farewell, but I didn't have enough Mora to pay him."
He was very sad. His dads had loved listening to that strange bard's songs. Now that they were gone, they would never hear that bard's music again.
Katheryne's face showed regret. "Forgive me. I just found out."
Bennett said cheerfully, "It's alright."
Katheryne carefully reviewed the form, stamped it, and said seriously, "Benny's Adventuring Team—though the name is strange, good luck to you. I hope you find the greatest treasures. Here are your team's badges."
She handed Bennett several badges engraved with the words "Benny's Adventuring Team."
Bennett said happily, "Thank you!" Then he distributed the badges to his teammates.
From this day forward, Benny's Adventuring Team was officially born. They would be eternal companions.
After all the members had put on their badges, Bennett asked, "Can we take a commission in our team's name now?"
Katheryne smiled. "Of course. These commissions should be suitable for you. Take a look."
She handed a stack of commission papers to Bennett.
[Commission]: Fishing Master – Catch ten premium bass from Cider Lake and deliver them to XXX Inn.
[Commission]: Investigate the cause of the mountain burning.
[Commission]: Find the missing Klee.
Though they were all newly registered adventurers, only twelve or thirteen years old, in Mondstadt that was old enough to do many things. These commissions seemed simple enough.
But one of them mentioned a "Klee." Who was that? They had no idea.
Katheryne explained, "Klee? I think she's a new member of the Knights of Favonius. A child who can become a knight must be quite capable. I've only met her once. All I know is that the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius said she's a dangerous person. If you take that commission, be careful."
Bennett: "…"
A child becoming a knight? And a dangerous person? Who would believe that? But he didn't care. They weren't going to take that kind of simple search-and-find commission anyway.
"Let's go fishing. That will be our first adventure commission. Target: Cider Lake."
With that, Bennett led Benny's Adventuring Team charging out of the guild, heading straight for Cider Lake.
But when they arrived at the huge lake, they were dumbfounded. How were they supposed to catch fish? They hadn't brought any tools, nor had they ever learned fishing techniques.
One of the team members suggested, "What if we dive into the water and catch them by hand?"
It was a good suggestion, but Bennett immediately rejected it. One of his dads had drowned while teaching him to swim.
Just as Bennett was at a loss, a little girl in a red outfit walked up to them.
"Oh, are you here to fish too? The bass in Cider Lake are delicious."
She carried a backpack and wore a red hat. She looked even younger than twelve-year-old Bennett.
Bennett replied, "Yes, we're here to fish. But we forgot to bring any tools. Are you here to fish too?"
His teammates were just as clueless. Normally, an adventuring team should be well-prepared before undertaking a commission—stocking up on supplies, assessing risks, and so on. But this was their first adventure. They had no idea about any of that. After accepting the fishing commission at the guild, they had rushed straight to Cider Lake without preparing anything.
The little girl smiled. "Of course! I'm a fishing expert. Let's catch fish together."
Without another word, she pulled a Jumpy Dumpty out of her backpack and tossed it into Cider Lake.
Boom!
Water splashed onto Benny's Adventuring Team, soaking them all.