"Well, you can't reach the top shelf, can you?" Robert retorted back trying to find any solution to save an ounce of his pride. All she did was look him dead in the eyes and say: "Dick move," then with that, she grabbed his right hand and began dragging him towards the job board, most likely to explain what jobs were available to him. At the same time this was happening another adventurer who had been watching this unfold from the tavern side could be seen spitting out his beer in surprise as the cat girl grabbed Robert's hand, their mouth agape and the little beer that was left flowing out and onto the floor.
Once Robert had been dragged to the board, they began looking over all of the jobs available to him. Most of these were things that could only be classified as simple chores, from pulling weeds to helping someone with pest extermination. These jobs paid very little and offered just as few contribution points to the guild. It wasn't until D rank that the missions started to get interesting. While Robert couldn't read any of the information for the jobs, he looked down at the green-eyed snow leopard looking cat girl with a chest as flat as a cutting board, hoping that she would explain everything.
"The jobs available to you at the moment are F and D ranked missions, F rank can be taken alone but D rank will need approval from higher ups. The F rank jobs that are currently available can only be described as basic chores, the hardest being rat extermination." She said after seeing Robert looking down, his eyes begging for help. Robert had no clue why she was helping him, she seemed like the type of person who didn't really care for anyone yet here she was going out of her way to help him.
"So, which one are you going to take?" The cat girl receptionist asked, looking up at Robert seemingly getting over the short joke told at her expense. While she seemed annoyed at him she was still helping him, and Robert could only look at her with admiration because of it. After a few seconds of consideration, he looked back up at the cat girl, making eye contact.
"Umm none of them, why can't I do that dungeon reconnaissance mission, that one seems pretty easy," Robert said, trying his best to get out of the more basic missions, it wasn't that he wasn't willing to do them or thought that they were beneath him it was that he gave up curing cancer to be here and he had little time to form his cat girl harem, and at this rate he wasn't doing very well. Robert figured if he could climb the rank ladder quickly while being nice to all the cat girls he met along the way then things would eventually work out for him.
"No way that's a D-rank mission and like I said F-rank adventurers can't do that unless they have a higher-ranked adventurer as an escort, or they get express permission from the higher ups," she said looking up at him, deep in his eyes and making the green reflection of her eyes bounce back at him.
"Well then just find me a higher-ranked adventurer that is willing to take me on as an apprentice or something, that or get the higher ups to approve me going alone," Robert said putting his hands on his hips hoping that if he showed her his honesty then maybe she would go for it, he knew he probably wouldn't be allowed to take a quest outside of his rank but he had to try. His livelihood was on the line here and he desperately wanted out of that cramped room.
"Fine!" This broke Robert's focus; he hadn't expected that to be her answer and the way she said it caused him to worry slightly. The cat girl was now clenching both her hands together looking at the board, "If you want to go with a higher rank then fine, but it's me that will be going with you!" This was the last straw for Robert, his mouth did that anime-surprised spitting thing that they all do, and began questioning his life decisions. He was happy that he got to go on an adventure with a cat girl as cute as her, but if she ever found that out, he would be stranded in the lowest part of the dungeon, left for the rats as dinner.
"Wait with you? Are you even an adventurer?" Robert asked, completely confused. If she was offering, then that could only mean she was an adventurer and a higher ranked one than him. All the other adventurers in the place could hear in that monument a shattering sound, and if they hadn't been paying attention to the two's conversation then they might have thought some glass had hit the ground. But nope, if you peered deep inside Robert's chest during that time you would have seen his heart explode into a bunch of tiny pieces, his pride shattering like the glass it was. This realization that the little cat girl in front of him was a higher rank than him and could probably beat the shit out of him caused pain to shoot through him.
"What, you didn't think I was an adventurer? What is it because I'm a girl?" The cat girl said angrily, her voice raising and for the first time since Robert had met her, she seemed extremely angry with him. It took him a second for Robert to realize what she said but once he did, he stuck out both arms waving them frantically hoping to clear up the misunderstanding.
"What? No, no, no I was surprised that you're an adventurer because you work as a receptionist not because you're a girl," Robert said frantically, trying his best to calm her down and pick up the pieces of his shattered harem dreams at the same time. Luckily for him the moment he said this her face visibly calmed down and she backed off a little, giving Robert more space to breath.
"Yes, I am an adventurer even though I work as a receptionist, or at least I was until last year. I took the receptionist job after an accident with my last party, I have been working on finding the strength to return to taking jobs for a while now, and a D ranked job seemed like the perfect place to start," she said with a shaky breath after taking a few seconds to calm down, her voice was just above a whisper and no one besides Robert could hear her. Roberts' heart felt a pang in response to her story.
"I'm so sorry, then yes if you want to help me out and go on this D ranked quest with me then please," Robert said after a second, letting his emotions guide him instead of trying to calculate the best possible response.
"Actually, please help me with this quest and teach me how to be a good adventurer," Robert said, bowing his head to her in hopes that his sincerity would help her make her decision. If Robert had been able to see her face, then he would have seen a blush go across it as he did this, her eyes showing hope and complete bewilderment. Never before had she seen an adventure like Robert, one who would put down his own pride and ask for help, even bowing with sincerity like he was now. If he had been prideful and given her lip then she was going to report him to the higher ups, but this was well beyond anything she had expected.
"If you're willing to go that far then how can I say no," she said while placing one hand on his shoulder. Robert's head and eyes flew up, looking at her with awe, he had expected her to say no and definitely had no hope in her forgiving him for what he said earlier. Robert could feel the hope of him actually achieving his wish building in his chest, like a small fire that was being fed by the cuteness of all the cat girls.
Above the clouds far away from where Robert and the cat girl were, a gavel being smashed down could be heard echoing across the sky. The gods and goddesses had gathered for a meeting and were now sitting on what looked like marble benches circled around a massive court bench, the kind where a judge would reside during a trial. The diva goddess from before sitting at one of two marble tables in front of it, the messenger god at the other.
"All rise for the great god Zarta," A voice boomed loud enough that all the gods and goddesses could hear. All of them stood up on command as they heard the voice, none of them seemed willing to cause a scene in this place, even the diva goddess stood with no objection or lip. Then with no warning the clouds began to move around all of them flying to the bench and forming what looked like a massive archway behind the seat where a judge would sit. It only took a second for the archway to be completed and the moment it was complete a blue portal was lit, it looked like the daytime sky and had what appeared to be stars shimmering within it. The Diva goddess could only gulp as she saw the portal open, fear clearly plastered on her face.