Sarah and Matthew were hugging and thinking about the future. Sarah was excited and nervous while Matthew was scared for his older sister.
On top of the marital problems that the original seems to have had, the other problems are piling up pretty high.
"Hey, Sarah, how long was I out for?" Said Matthew as he broke the hug, staring at those round green eyes.
"About 4 whole days…" She said meekly.
"WHAT!? Then where the hell are we?" He said, looking around the room for any other clues.
"It's okay Matty, we are in Clara's room. She even got me a job here at the guild, but it is mostly just paperwork and sending messages."
"Why do they have you sendin' messages???" Asked Matthew as he stood up to look out the door.
"Ah, well, that's kind of a long story."
"…we have time, shoot!" Said Matthew as he peaked out the bedroom door, seeing multiple pretty women bustling about with large files and some carrying blue orbs.
"Well, it is information for guild workers only…" Said Sarah as she winked and waved Matthew over.
Sarah leaned in very close and whispered into Matthew's ear, "Remember the mana waves that Clara talked to us about?" As Matty nodded his head she continued, "Well, it turns out that the day we came into the city, there was a massive spike in the amount of mana needing shattered, and now the royal family has liaisoned with the guild to provide around the clock clearance to prevent a major catastrophe from happening."
As she finished, Matthew stood up as Clara came in the room.
"Ah! You are awake, that is great!" Said Clara as she took off her bloodied armor and sat down her massive shield that was dented to all hell.
"Yeah…I just woke up, what is all that blood for?" Said Matty, pointing at her dried "war paint."
"Ah, this? It is just some [Orc] blood from the dungeon. It was my third dive today."
"Why are you diving so much?" Asked Matthew with his most innocent voice.
"Hmm…I think you already know…Sarah told you, right?" She ended her sentence with a wink.
"Wha-" Matthew stumbled with his words as she laughed.
"Sarah, you took a bonded oath, normally you would be in trouble, but you are lucky because I like you two." She said, sticking her tongue out at the pair.
"Ah…I am sorry…I just couldn't lie to my brother anymore." Said Sarah, looking at Matthew.
"Oh-ho, seems like you two had a talk…I hope I didn't interrupt. Are you two hungry by any chance?" Said Clara, changing the topic immediately.
"Yeah…" Said Sarah as she turned to Matthew. "How about you?"
"I feel like I haven't eaten in days!"
"Haha, well, that's probably accurate then, lets go!"
Clara walked off with a new outfit and a small bag of coins. As she passed a mirror, she noticed how grimy she was.
"Ah…actually, give me a minute." Said Clara as she walked into the bathroom to freshen up a bit.
When Clara came out, she looked like she had undergone a full five-star spa treatment plan.
"WOAH! Shouted Matthew, looking at her transformation.
"What?" Clara said as she stared back at him.
"How did you do that so fast??!?!" Asked Matty as he ran up to her.
"What? I used my purifying magic, duh?" She said as she rolled her eyes and beckoned the duo to walk with her.
[I had no idea that magic could do something like THAT. Wow…a whole new world indeed…]
As Matthew and Sarah followed behind the woman, they talked about what their plan was, mostly about what Matthew should become for his class as the last event would not be considered as going "exactly" as planned.
When they entered the mess hall, the smell was potent.
The stomach curdling fragrance of cooked gray mush was very much in effect…
Matthew walked by and noticed that the [Slop] was on everyone's trays.
"Uh…Ms. Clara, why is everyone eating…gray paste?"
"Hmm? Oh, never heard of adventurer [Slop]? It is a basic little food that gives you some buffs but mostly makes you fight longer! Honestly, it is pretty amazing stuff no matter how bad it tastes..."
Matthew stood in awe…
[These people are BLOODY IDIOTS! Why are they eating the lowest level food when they are over level 10? Heck, some people have on full-plate, which means they hit at least level 25, they can't even get the buff from the food anymore…]
"Why are they not eating something better? Like [Stew] for instance?" Asked Matthew with a disgusted look on his face.
Clara stopped walking and turned to him…
"Y-you have had [Stew] before…" She said with sparkles in her eyes.
Sarah at this point was staring at Matthew, trying to get him to stop talking…
She had a similar question prior and they asked her to make them "better" food than what they were currently eating when she told them she could cook very well…
[Please shut it Matty…do not say ye-]
"Of course, I have, who hasn't!" Said Matthew with a loud voice.
As Sarah shook her head and facepalmed, Matthew was being stared at by almost everyone in the mess hall.
They had heard a young boy proclaim he has eaten an incredibly uncommon food as it was almost exclusively made within noble households. Most of them burst into laughter. They were thankful for dinner and a show!
"Well, come on then! Try to make some for us!" Said Clara as she pulled Matthew into the kitchen area with a mocking smile.
It was crowded with what looked like slaves and other misfortunate people. They were covered in sweat as their skin was beat-red from the heat.
[What the hell, why are these people here?]
Matthew walked up to the tallest man, he appeared to be the leader as he was giving an order to clear a stove top.
Matthew looked at the people moving around him and asked, "Why are these people here?"
A few of them looked at him with large eyes when he referred to them as "people" but most of them just kept doing their duties.
"Hmm? Oh, these are war-slaves." Said Clara matter of factly.
"And?" Asked Matthew as he gestured for more information.
"Oh, well, they are commoners that were captured in a previous war. They are sentenced to 10 years of light-labor and then they can be integrated into the culture. We are a slaving people, but we are cultured."
[Hmm…I bet you are…]
"And our slaves are housed, fed, and taught by us to lead meaningful lives when they are freed! So, it is a win-win for everyone!" Said Clara, with no hint of irony.
[…wow…]
Matthew wondered what EXACTLY happened when the world went to shit. Apparently, a lot of the safeguards also fell apart because slavery is WRONG.
[Note to self, don't get captured as a slave…wow…it is just so authentic to those fantasy worlds that the rich fuckers create. With their slave harem, but it isn't rape because they all LOVE him…fuckin' bullshit, maybe a few million deserve to d-]
Matthew was suddenly pulled to the stove top as Sarah was staring at him.