"You came back,"
As soon as I enter the inn, I am swept off my feet. Alice nearly crushes me with a tight hug making my head spin as she twirls around with me in her arms. No matter how hard I try to push away, I can't escape her. Casting a look at the front desk, I shoot a look at Sue pleading for help, but all I get in return is the elderly ladies warm smile.
"I take it that your first day as an adventurer was a success," Sue says as she gets up.
"…" I nod my head as much as I can in Alice's hold.
"I kept your room open," Sue tells me as she approaches and thankfully gets her daughter to let go of me. "I also saved you some food for dinner."
I smile as I hand over a small amount of gold. It shouldn't be enough to cover the room and meal, but Sue was kind enough to let me stay at a discounted price. I let her lead me into the small dining area, but I wish she would have stopped Alice from following me. It doesn't take long for her to try and get me to sit on her lap and offer to feed me.
"Come on, don't be shy," Alice says, holding up a spoon.
Sue retreated to her room for the night, leaving me alone to face Alice. I was lucky enough to grab my seat before Alice could. Unfortunately, I couldn't beat her to my spoon, so now she is sat across from me, trying to spoon-feed me. In the end, I have no choice but to give up and let her feed me. I tried to tell her, no, but all that achieves is making Alice smile and say how cute I am playing hard to get.
"Oh, by the way, some noble man's guards came looking for you,"
I feel my heart stop, and the food in my mouth falls out. They can't be looking for me. They were prepared to sell me off, so why would they? I can't go back home. I don't want to. I jump out of my skin, and if I was capable of making the noise, I'm sure I would have yelped.
"Relax, my mother told them you weren't staying here and sent them on a wild goose chase," I let out a sigh, but I don't feel that much calmer. "And if they come back, I will send them packing."
I smile, feeling much better watching Alice shadow box and listing to her explain how she would take down anybody who tried to grab me. I doubt she could take down one of my family's guards, but I feel a little safer hearing her offer to defend me. I'm probable going to have to find another place to stay soon. Maybe even leave town and… Lucas. I might not be able to see him anymore… no, I'm just overreacting. My family is probably doing a quick search to tell people they did everything they could to find me. By this time tomorrow, they will be telling people I am dead. They never made me feel important enough that they will tear the town apart looking for me.
"Let me know if you think someone is following you, okay," Alice says as she picks up the spoon again. "I'll make sure they leave you alone. Now say ah."
I hope everything will work out.
The following day I am awake and out of bed as the sun rises over the horizon. Alice is there to greet me as I go down for breakfast. There are only a few merchants there who have to leave town today who greet me politely, but I can only smile back. Before I am even seated, Alice is all over me, but thankfully Sue arrives to pull her off, reminding her daughter there are other customers to serve.
"Here, eat up," Sue smiles gently places a bowl of porridge in front of me. There is other stuff on the menu, but after I kept ordering the porridge, Sue and Alice started making a bowl ready for me in the morning. "I'm sure you will have a busy day today at the guild, so make sure to eat all of it."
I nod my head and start to feed myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Alice looking disappointed at this turn of events, but I prefer eating this way. As usually, Sue's cooking is spot on, and I happily devoured my bowl within minutes. Unfortunately, this meant some of the porridge got on my cheek, which makes Alice's day as she quickly moves to clean me up before I can even protest. Happily humming along, Alice cleans up every bit of porridge that missed my mouth, and all I can do is sit there and take it.
"For such a cute girl, you sure are a messy eater," Alice comments once she is finished. "But at least it gives me an excuse to serve you instead of someone less than cute. I can let my mother hand… ow!" Alice is quickly brought to her knees with a karate chop to her head, courtesy of Sue. "That hurt."
"Then don't talk about our customers like that, and it won't happen again," Sue scolds her. "Now get back to work. We have food waiting to be served."
Alice sulks all the way back to the kitchen, muttering to herself while Sue leaves me to deal with another guest. I have to meet up with Lucas at the guild soon, so I guess I should get moving to. Returning to my room, I quickly put on my leather armour, collect my spear and retrieve my backpack. Hopefully, we can do another quick job today, one that doesn't turn out to be as dangerous as the last, and we can make some more money. When I reach the bottom of the stairs again, things are much different now. Everyone else has finished eating, so Alice wipes tables, and Sue sits behind the reception desk.
"Heading out again?" I nod my head as Sue notices me. "Good luck again, and I hope to see you again tonight."
"And don't forget about saying goodbye to me," Alice squeals as she rushes me, and I quickly find myself trapped in one of Alice's dreaded tight hugs. "Or disappearing on me. I would hate to lose a cute guest like you."
"Let the girl go, Alice. She has to go to work, and you have some tables left to clean," Sue tells her daughter, and reluctantly, Alice releases me.
"Fine," Alice huffs as I take a step away from her. "See you tonight, Maria."
"Have a good day," Sue smiles.
"…" I smile and nod my head before turning and exiting the inn.
It is surprising to see how busy the streets are today. They are usually empty this morning, but today there are wagons after wagons moving down the streets. Also, these don't look like the regular wagons I see making deliveries for the merchants. These wagons are so much more colourful. Oh, I remember now. I can remember from my studies that today is the day of the Hero's festival. I never was allowed to go, so it slipped my mind.
Every year our country holds a festival celebrating the day a hero came to our lands and banished a great darkness. I always wanted to go, but my parents kept me locked away. I hear there are stalls with games and selling delicious food, but the main attraction is the Right of the Holy Sword. It's a huge event where the priests bring out holy weapons and see if anyone is capable of wielding them. I heard they let every try no matter what their social status is. Hopefully, I have time to go. I could ask Lucas if he wants to come with me… but just as friends! Why do my cheeks have to heat up?
I follow the main road all the way down to the adventures guild, where I struggle to find an opening to cross the street because of all the wagons. I don't see Luca or that Demi-Human Nori waiting outside, so I head in. since the door is still intact, I doubt Nori has even arrived, but to my surprise, I spot her right away. Standing so close to Lucas that they are basically touching. Lucas spots me nearly right away, moving to greet me quickly, followed by Nori.
"Good morning Maria," Lucas says as we meet up in the middle of the guild.
"Good morning," Nori also greets me.
"…" I can only smile and nod my head in reply.
"Both Nori and I arrived early and already handled the paperwork to make her member of the party," Lucas tells me. I notice Nori smile when he mentions we are in the same party. "We found a quest we could handle today if you are up for it."
"…" I nod my head. I could always use the money.
"Okay, then it shouldn't be that hard," Lucas says.
"Yeah, we just have to patrol the main road for a few hours, but the town guard will be handly most of the work," Nori chimes in. "It's an easy job with a decent payout. We should be back in time for the festival. Hey Lucas, how about we go together?"
"Sure, we can all go together," Lucas smiles to my relief. He thankfully misread Nori's intentions as he invited me along with them, and I see her struggle not to frown. "I promised my brothers and sisters that I would take them, so how about we meet in front of the guild tonight."
"Sure, let's all meet up," Nori replies, doing her best to remain cheerful.
"…" I just do what I always do. I smile and nod my head, glad that Lucas didn't realise that Nori was inviting him out on a date.
My feet start to hurt after a few hours of patrolling. It is not as hard going as when I hiked through the forest with Lucas, but it feels worse. Nori smiles as she leads our group, only stopping to stiff the air from time to time. She assures us she can't catch the scent of any monsters every time, so I don't question it. Remember how she told us about her strong sense of smell yesterday. I feel a bit safer with her, but I wish Nori would stop coming back every few moments and brushing against Lucas as she gives her report. The clink of her armour always lets me know whenever she tries to get near him.
Unlike Lucas and I, who are clocked in cheap, barely held together armour and wielding cheap weapons, Nori's equipment looks top of the line. Her chainmail armour looks shiny and new and fits Nori so well it must have been custom-made for her. Even her weapon looks a lot higher quilty as I can easily see her giant Warhammer shattering my cheap wooden spear. Hopefully, I would never have to fight her.
Lucas, meanwhile, stays back with me, and we watch the flanks looking out for any threat Nori might have missed. The wheat plains to our left look so peaceful, and occasional one of the farmers working the fields would greet us as we pass. I'm not too worried about the wheat fields, but the forest to our right does concern me. The thickly packed trees could hand anything or anyone, and we would never know they were there. Maybe they even have a way of hiding their scent, so Nori will miss them too.
"I told you this would be an easy job," Nori smiles as she twirls around to face us. "We just have to reach the guard checkpoint and head back without having to lift a finger. My old party used to love this gig. I can only imagine how mad they will be when they hear I swooped in and secured the quest for us."
"It better not cause any problems between them and us," Lucas warns, and I pray there won't be.
Nori told us a lot about her old party as we walked. Her old party leader Miller Graham was a bit of a hothead, so I'm a little worried he might try something since we took not only Nori from him but a job too. Hopefully, he won't do anything stupid. Nori, though doesn't seem worried about that as she continues to smile happily.
"It's fine. Miller will just cry for a bit then find some other quest to do," Nori assures us, but I'm not convinced.
"If you say so," Even Lucas still seems worried.
"Just forget about that knucklehead and focus on the upside of having me by your side," I try not to glare as she brushes up next to Lucas again. "Surely gaining such a beauty is worth the price of being on someone's bad side."
"As long as…."
Before Lucas can finish, my worst fear happens. A small pack of giant wolves jump out of the tree line and quickly surround us. There are seven of them, and every single one of the wolves is at least my size, with some even taller. Nori was too focused on Lucas. Both Lucas and I were paying too much attention to her to even notice them before it was too late. They snarl and growl with saliva dripping from their open mouths, revealing a row of razor-sharp teeth.
We quickly move back to back, staring down the wolves as we keep our weapons trained on them. We don't move and never does the wolves. An eighth wolf soon joins them that's twice the size of the others and covered in scars. That large wolf looks like an Alpha. It howls when it sees us, and although it only has one eye, that last remaining eye looks sharp and alert. I take another step back and bump into Lucas. He shoots me a reassuring smile, but I still find myself shaking.
"I can handle the Alpha if you two can keep the others off of me," Nori says as the largest of the wolf circles us.
"We'll cover you," Lucas replies, and I nod my head. It's not a foolproof plan, but it will have to do. "We'll go on your mark Nori."
"Got it," Nori says as she gets ready to charge. I do the same point my spear at the nearest wolf. "Ready… go!"
We all move at once. Nori rushes the alpha, easily knocking away the wolf that blocks her path. She told us her Ability gave her superhuman strength but seeing that wolf flying through the air and smashing into the tree was a shocking sight to behold. I do my best to ignore the yelp and sound of the wolf's body splattering against the tree as I rush forward, impaling the wolf in front of me before it could react. My spear easily cut through its grey fur, and as the wolf's body collapse, a red patch rapidly grows.
I look around as I pull my spear out of the wolf's body. Lucas has also activated his Ability using his enhanced speed to engage multiple wolves at once. Nori seems to be holding her own against the alpha, but it's starting to look like she is being pushed to her limits. I see a wolf getting closer to her and make that my next target, but it sees me coming.
The wolf turns around to stare me down, letting out a growl. I shake as I get ready to fight. The way the wolf glare and snarls at me is frightening. I can tell it is just thinking of eating me. I take a deep breath watching the wolf use the sharp claws in its front paws to tear up the stone road. The scraping hurts my ears, but I take a step forward, ready to fight.
The wolf makes the first move, leaping forward with its mouth wide open and claws on display. It is terrifying, but I hold my ground waiting for the right moment to… I see it and quickly roll to the side just before the wolf and crash into me. I hear the wolf cry out as it smashes into the road, and I promptly spin around. I can see the wolf trying to stand, but I don't give it a chance. Before the wolf finds its footing, I thrust my spear through its neck, but surprisingly the wolf still lives. I quickly pull my spear free and stab the beast in its side. Still, it doesn't kill the wolf, so I stab it again and again until I am sure the wolf is dead.
Blood soaks my hand as I look around the battlefield once again. It seems things have gone well for us, and I smile seeing Lucas taking down the last of the wolf and Nori finishing off the alpha. I winch when I hear the alpha's neck snap when Nori strikes it with her hammer, but I am also relieved to see the fight is over and no one was hurt. We all regroup in the middle of the bloody wolf corpses to catch our breath and discuss our next move.
"We should harvest the wolves before we move on," Lucas suggests. "Can you keep watch, Maria?"
"…" I nod my head.
"Do you want to start with the alpha Nori?"
"Sure," Nori smiles, drawing a knife from her hips. "Make sure nothing sneaks up on us, Maria."
Wolfs may not be worth much, but they have some value. Their cores can be used in potion-making, and people love the pelts, but they still carry very little value. The alpha, however, can be worth something. The alpha's skin is tougher, making the pelt worth more gold, and their cores are sort after by potion makers who will be willing to pay a pretty penny for one.
I busy myself whipping the blood from my hands as I keep watch. I hate just standing here doing nothing while Lucas and Nori work. I feel just as useless now as I did in the forest with the goblins. I try to keep my eyes on the tree line instead of watching Lucas work, but as Nori slowly works her way closer to him, I can't help but keep an eye on them both. I really should just buy a knife of my own and ask Lucas to teach me how to harvest monsters and animals. That way, I wouldn't just have to stand back and watch as Nori gets closer and closer to Lucas.
"Help us move the bodies off to the side," It takes them nearly half an hour to complete skinning the wolves and cutting out their cores when Lucas finally stands up.
"…"
I don't hesitate to nod my head and even smile a little, feeling useful after all that standing around and waiting. I quickly move to help him carry one of the wolf bodies off to the side, only to notice Nori trying to hide a glare when she watches us. I guess she feels the same way I felt watching her work with Lucas. Well, she can wait as I don't give her a chance to offer to help as I quickly help Lucas carry another wolf over to the side.
"We should get moving," Nori says, moving to Lucas's side the moment we have finished clearing the road. Now it's back to my turn, trying not to glare as she grabs his arm and starts to pull Lucas along. "If we want to get back in time for the festival, then we need to keep moving."
We reach the guard checkpoint without any other incident. I don't know why I was expecting more, but I was a little disappointed to see only a small watchtower and guardhouse. In my mind, I pictured a stone tower instead of this flimsy-looking wooden one, and I thought there would be more than three guards stationed here. Lucas handles the talking as our party leader, leaving Nori and me to hang back and wait.
"You like him too then," I hear Nori sigh.
I blush instantly at her comment, not knowing how to respond. I like spending time with Lucas and feel safe with him, but I am not sure I want him the way she implies. But then I get embarrassed by that comment and felt jealousy towards Nori for most of this day. I don't know what to do or if she is right or not.
"Just so you know, I won't be backing down," Nori continues even without my response. "But I will be fine with you being his mistress."
Mistress, I probably would have ended up as someone's mistress if I hadn't had ran away. Monogamy is perfectly acceptable in this country, especially amongst nobles, so it wouldn't have surprised me if my parents sold me to someone as their mistress. I don't know how I feel about the arrangement Nori suggests, but I can see myself being happy with Lucas.
"I won't be relinquishing my position as his wife, though, so I will fight you for that spot if it comes down to it," Nori tells me as Lucas returns.
"I finished with my report, so we can start heading back if you guys are ready," Lucas says.
"…" I nod my head and try not to look at him, hoping he doesn't notice my burning cheeks.
"I'm good to go to," Nori cheerfully smiles.
"So, what were you two talking about while I was gone?" I feared he would ask that.
"Oh, just some girl talk that won't interest you," I am grateful Nori is here. For the first time, I am happy about her presence.
The walk home should only take a few hours at the most, and as long as we don't run into any problems, it should be an easier journey. The only thing that will make it better is if Nori would let go of Lucas's hand.
"Well, looks like we found some pretty ones this time,"
It turns out our luck wasn't so good that it would allow us a peaceful journey home. Before we know it, we find ourselves surrounded again. It's not even that far from where we fought the wolf pack, if you can believe it. But this time, it isn't monsters or wild animals that have us surrounded but humans, while they are mostly humans as their leader look like he is half-orc.
"We hit the jackpot, today lads," Their leader laughs. "Those two look like they will fetch a good price while the boy doesn't have what it takes to protect them."
"…" I bit my lip. Even though that insult wasn't directed at me, I still feel anger.
"If you think I need protecting, then you are mistaken," Nori looks and sounds like she is as mad as me.
"Oh, those to look like they got some spunk," One of the other people jokes. "This might be more fun than I thought."
"Just don't mess up the merchandise too much," Their leader says as they slowly start to close in.
There are four of them. All men and dirty looking. They must be bandits. The dirt in their clothes and the cheap torn clothing they wear point to no other occupation. One the plus thought their leather armour is even more torn up them my own, and their weapons look just as cheap. They are armed only with wooden clubs wrapped in cloth. I think we stand a good chance of getting out of this mess alive.
"Same as last time?" Nori asks.
"Sounds good to me," Lucas replies, and I nod my head.
They step closer, and we get ready to pounce. Another step, and the men laugh at the fact we are going to put up a fight. I tighten my grip on my spear and lock eyes with the man in front of me. He grins, raising his club as his eyes lock onto my own. Another step and I can smell the alcohol wafting from them.
"Now!"
Nori calls out, and I can see the surprise in the man's eyes as I leap forward and thrust my spear through his neck. I… I can't… move. As the man gurgles and blood pours from his neck, I can't retract my spear even as blood pours down the shaft and coats my hands a shade of crimson red. I see the life drain from his eyes, and I drop my spear as the man falls to the ground.
I... I can't breathe. I drop to my knees, panting, struggling to fill my lungs as I stare at my blood-soaked hands. I… I killed him. I wanted to kill him. Needed to. But why do I feel so sick? I take deep breaths watching the mans blood pool around his body. He was a bad person. He was no better than the monsters that seek mankind's destruction. I had to kill him. I need to kill him. He was an evil man. He probably killed and kidnapped people before. If I hadn't stopped him, he would have continued to do so.
I take deep breaths. I grit my teeth, clench my fists as I will myself to stand. He had to die. I repeatedly tell myself that it was a good thing, but I still feel sick and in the wrong. Retrieving my spear, I nearly throw up at the sight of its bloody tip. I needed to kill him. I turn to face Lucas and Nori, feeling grateful they didn't need my help as the other bandits lay dead on the ground. Lucas is currently pulling his sword out of one man's chest while Nori kicks another, making sure he has passed on. I should feel just as happy as I did earlier, but I only feel sick. Lucas looks uneasy too, but he appears to be doing better than me. Nori, meanwhile, doesn't look fazed by all the death. I guess that being a former member of a top party, she probable seen plenty of death.
"Are you okay?" Lucas asks as he notices my distress.
"…" I slowly nod my head. I will be fine once I am away from all this blood.
"Was this the first time you killed someone?"
"…" I nod my head.
"Me too," Lucas admits. "I didn't think it would be so different to killing those wolfs and goblins."
"…" I nod my head, agreeing with him. Apart from when I killed the goblin kids, I didn't feel bad about it at all.
"We probable saved lives by taking theirs," Lucas tells me. "That is helping me."
I wish it would help me. I have been telling myself that, but I still feel bad. I shoot Lucas a weak smile to assure him I am fine. I will be fine soon enough. Like Lucas said, these are bad guys that needed to be stopped.
"Hey guys, we need to report to the guards when we return to town," Nori calls out, and both Lucas and eye turn to see her kneeling over the bandit leaders body. "These guys are part of a larger slaver operation, and I just found a map to their hideout."
"Yeah, we let them know," Lucas replies, still sounding shaken. "Is there anything else on them?"
"I have only checked a few of them, but apart from a few coins in their pockets, nothing," Nori answers, bending down next to the guy I killed quickly, checking his pocket. "And only three coins in this one."
"We should divide up the loot when we get back to the guild," Lucas says. "I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to."
We quickly move the bodies off to the side of the road, and I reluctantly help. I hated this. I didn't like the lifeless looks in those bandits eyes. I had to fight the urge to cry and throw up the entire time. By the time it is done, I decided that the first thing I need to do when I get back to town is taking a long bath. Even though I whipped my hands clean, they still look dirty.