They partied all night, ate all night, danced all night, and of course, drank all night. By the time Toshirou came downstairs from the second floor of the guild, the guildhall was being cleaned by Joel, a dark-haired man with brown eyes whose name Toshirou discovered last night was Leonel, and some other people who were also members of the Housekeeper guild.
He felt refreshed and raring to go for the morning. It was the first time he had had a good night's sleep since he first landed foot in Sekaila and to be frank, it felt good.
There was no difference in the guild, except that the curtains had been pulled back, making the bright morning sunlight lighten up the entire hall, and the chandelier that hung in the middle of the hall had a dull and yet oddly entrancing glow to it, compared to the brightness it portrayed yesterday night.
'I wonder where Bonnie is, I seriously need to thank her for the room. It was comfortable.'
The room Bonnie had assigned permanently to him, as long as he remained a member of the guild, was quite endowed. It was spacious, a king-size bed lay in the middle of the room, the walls were painted grey and there was a fireplace at the head of the room. Four windows, two at each side of the room were adorned with pale blue curtains. Pretty simple, but very cosy.
"Good morning, Toshirou-nii."
"Mornin'."
Joel waved at Toshirou before continuing to mop the floors.
There was a bar sited at the head of the hall. Right beside it was a notice board, which contained all kinds of requests, from combat to housekeeping.
The Housekeeper guild in which Toshirou was a part of is called the Fugitive, and its system and structure were similar to that of the Adventurers Guild. From the Master of the guild to the members, the only difference in the two guilds was that Housekeeper guilds offered inns and a place to stay to both common members and non-members, while Adventurer guilds, in general, were much more focused on action than innkeeping and this, were stronger than most Housekeeping guilds, though the Fugitive, wasn't just any housekeeping guild.
"Ahhhh... Toshirou-san, good morning." A familiar high-pitched feminine voice called out to him.
'Speak of the devil.' Toshirou thought.
"Morning, Bonnie."
She leapt over the counter, with a basket of oranges in hand and placed it in a wooden crate beside where Toshirou stood.
"Soooo,"— she said, as she stood up to face him— "how was your room? Did you like it? Pretty neat right, right?"
She got up in his face with sparkling eyes and a bright smile. Her eyes shone in expectation of his answer.
"Ah, um, it was decent and very comfortable," Toshirou said, feeling cornered.
With an air of smugness around her, she put her hands on her hips and stuck out her chest.
"Fufu. I knew you would just like it. Praise me, thank me!"
Toshirou sweatdropped and looked around him. Everyone was working on one job or the other, purposely not interfering in the conversation between him and Bonnie. His eyes wandered from one person to another, earnestly searching for someone or something that would bail him out.
He felt a pat on his shoulder and turned around to see Leonel, with the corner of his lips quirked upwards in amusement.
"Just thank her, that'll do." He said.
Toshirou looked back at Bonnie, who was still expecting her praise and sighed.
He rose his arm and placed his hand on her head, just like he does with his mother, and patted it affectionately.
"It was a nice room. Thank you, Bonnie."
Blushing slightly, she lifted her head and turned away from him.
"L-let's get you something to eat." She said and briskly walked away from him.
'Did I do something wrong?'
"Nah, don't sweat it," Leonel replied as if reading his mind. "She just didn't see that coming, I mean, you being a mean guy and all."
"What do you mean by mean?" Toshirou asked, giving him his attention.
Leonel smirked and stopped his cleaning, leaning on the handle of his mop.
"Why don't you come and find out?"
Sensing a challenge in the tone of his voice, Toshirou bent his neck to the side, popping the kinks in them.
"You know, it's been a while since I had a good morning workout." He said, walking towards Leonel.
"Is that right?" Leonel replied, also walking towards him.
The atmosphere became heated around the two young men as they approached each other. At this point, the attention of those working nearby was drawn to both of them.
"Toshirou-nii, Leonel-san, please don't fight, you'll dirty the floors again." Joel pleaded earnestly with them.
...
"It's a good thing that Joel was there to stop you, wasn't it?"
Bonnie poured orange juice from a glass jug with a flowery design into a cup and slid it across the wooden counter to Toshirou.
Receiving it, he took a long, hard sip, emptying the cup of its sweet content.
"No, not really. I would've enjoyed ending that man's career as an adventurer, maybe cripple him so he can't run away from danger for as long as he lives." Toshirou said.
"You're crueller than you look, Toshirou-san," Bonnie said, with a grin.
"Blame life for that." He replied. He slid back his chair and stood up, intending to walk up the stairs to his room on the third floor.
"Are you going to get ready for your quest?" Bonnie asked him.
Stopping in his movements, he turned around and replied to her. "Yeah, why?"
"Hmm, no reason in particular. Though, there is a small problem."
"Oh? What is it then?"
"Your affiliation. You took a quest from an Adventurers guild, Thaimes for that matter, and then you joined a Housekeeping guild all of a sudden. You are neither registered as an official member nor do you have the reputation of a well-known adventurer." Bonnie said, resting her arms on the counter.
"What are you getting at?"
"What I'm getting at, is the reward. You'll have to go back to Thaimes to cash in your quest and if the story I heard from Joel is true, then I doubt they'll be friendly enough to grant you a stamp of completion."
"A stamp of completion?"
"Mhm. It's to signify that you've completed a quest and you'll have to pay commission to the guild that issued it for you."
"I see, so that's how the guilds make their profit."
"Yep," Bonnie replied with a nod.
'This is certainly troublesome. I had no idea about that and I went ahead and did something irrational. My focus isn't money but I'll need it to survive and take care of both myself and Joel.'
"Okay." Toshirou said, "When I complete the quest, I'll head over to Thaimes and resolve the issue myself. I'll take Joel along as proof of the document. When I get back, you'll register Joel and me as legal members of 'The Fugitive'. Is that alright with you?"
Getting up from her wooden stool, she smiled at him and gave a nod of approval of his suggestion.
"Yep, sounds like a plan." She said, giving him a thumbs up.
"Buuuut,"— she said again— "If you're going to go out, then you would need a new set of clothes. Your current ones, look a bit odd."
Toshirou raised an eyebrow at her assessment.
...
The bell hooked to the doorpost jingled with life as the wooden door was pushed open. The sound sparked up the attention of the young lady by the counter as she quickly composed herself in respect to receiving her incoming customers.
"Welcome! This is 'Rose's Boutique', please what can I help you with?"
Her voice was calm and smooth, dripping with both respect and politeness for her customers. After all, the customers were the pride and joy of every shopkeeper in the Min-hyuk district.
"Hello, Rose-san!"
The familiar cheerful voice of the customer brought a smile to her pretty face.
"Good morning, Bonnie."
The interior of the shop was beautiful and bright and quite spacious too, with a mix of pink, yellow and blue curtains, laid on the whitewashed walls. Different types of clothes lay on various coloured racks, making it easy for customers to select the clothes or accessories of their choice. There were four sections; Adult male, Adult female, Boys and Girls. Plates with the inscriptions of these sections were placed on the doorpost of the four inner rooms in the shop.
Rose tilted her head in surprise at Bonnie's company. Sensing her curiosity, Bonnie introduced the two males with her.
"Pardon my rudeness. This big fella over here is Toshirou-san and the little one is Joel-kun." She said with a smile, gesturing to Toshirou and Joel respectively.
Giving a slight bow, the owner of the shop greeted them. "My name is Rose, Rose Vanguard. It's a pleasure to meet you Toshirou-san, Joel-kun."
"Likewise," Toshirou replied. He and Joel gave a bow as well.
Tying up her auburn hair into a ponytail, she addressed Bonnie once again.
"So what brings you around at this time, Bonnie?"
Still smiling, Bonnie replied. "I'm here to select clothes for these two gentlemen. They are the new members of my guild."
"Ara?" She placed her hand on her chin and gave Toshirou and Joel a grin. "Looks like Bonnie has taken a real liking to the two of you."
"Well, she's alright. I'm grateful to her though, for you know, going through all the trouble for our sake." Toshirou said.
"Not only are you handsome, but you're also polite as well. I can see why Bonnie took an interest in you." Her smile became wider and she winked at Toshirou.
"Thanks for the compliment," Toshirou replied.
Toshirou felt someone tug on his shirt, he looked down and saw Joel hiding behind him with a small blush on his face.
Toshirou looked alarmed at his behaviour.
"You okay, Joel?"
"Mmm." He hummed in the affirmative.
Their conversation brought the attention of both Bonnie and Rose to Joel.
"I hope I didn't scare you, Joel-san?" Rose asked, worried at Joel's behaviour.
"Ah, um, no. Sorry for giving that impression." He replied apologetically. "It's just that, you're really pretty."
His words brought a surprise to her face. She smiled and said to the boy.
"I'm glad you think so, Joel-kun."
"Hoho." Bonnie rubbed Joel's hair with a smirk on her face. "Trying to flirt with Rose-san are we?"
His face became even brighter.
"N-no!"
Toshirou sighed and placed his hand on Bonnie's hair.
"Come on, cut the crap, Bonnie. I have somewhere to be so let's get this over with."
"Hai, hai." She said dismissively.
"Um, Rose-san, these two are going on a quest this morning. Could you get them something good to wear?"
Her lemon eyes lit up at the request. She dusted her purple apron and walked out from behind the counter.
"Follow me."
...
"This is pretty cool," Toshirou said, admiring the clothing he wore as he looked himself over in the wall mirror.
"It's nice, isn't it?" Rose replied with a grin. "You have a nice body type, and your face is definitely not bad either. It suits you perfectly."
Toshirou wore dark pants and a slim-fitting dark blue jacket, a black circle was printed on the back and dark lines connected the circle to the end of the sleeves. Dark vertical lines ran from the top of the back, down to the hem. Black buttons adorned the jacket and brown shoes on his feet, not too weighty which made his movements easily and lighter. His swords were strapped to their usual positions; one at his back, one behind his waist and the other by his side.
Bonnie gave a nod of approval at the sight of his outfit.
"Where's Joel?" Toshirou asked, coming out of one of the inside rooms with Rose.
"I'm here, sorry for taking long. I was trying to figure out the straps for the sandals."
Joel came out feeling better than he had ever felt in his life. It was all like a dream. Never before in all his eleven years of living did he dream that he'll able to get new clothes - legitimately. Most of the fabric he wore were from the nitpicking he did on the streets from time to time. For him to be here, he had to choose wisely.
He picked slim grey sultan shorts that reached a bit below his knees, a light purple V-neck shirt with short sleeves, and a pair of black sandals - with complicated straps. Surprisingly still, he wore his brown headband on his forehead.
"He certainly has taste, doesn't he?" Bonnie asked Toshirou.
"It looks good on him." He replied.
Joel sat on a nearby stool, still trying to figure out how to wear the sandals.
"Let me."
Rose knelt on one knee and slip the sandals on his feet, she fixed the straps on his right leg before moving to his left.
Her touch was soft and careful. It made Joel's face a bit pink as she carefully dressed him up.
"There, all done."
"Thank you, Rose-san," Joel said in gratitude.
"Ara, it's my pleasure." She closed her eyes and smiled at him.
"Rose-san, could you give me the total price of everything we've gotten."
She and Joel arose together and she walked over to behind the counter.
"It's on the house, Bonnie." She said, smiling.
Bonnie was surprised but she couldn't just accept it like that.
"Ahhh, we can't just do that." She said.
"Rose-san, it wouldn't do well if we don't pay the first time we come to your shop. At least, please consider it gratitude for picking out such wonderful clothes for us."
Rose leaned down and patted the boy's head softly. Casting a grin at him, she said, "You're a good boy, Joel-kun, cute too if I may add. I've taken quite a liking to you and Toshirou-san, so accept this gift from me, okay?"
She winked at him and Joel responded by giving her a toothy smile.
"Hai!"
...
"Thanks for the clothes, Rose-san."
Bonnie waved her hand as she exited the building.
"Fufu, the pleasure is all mine," Rose replied, standing by the door.
"Expect me sooner than you think, Rose. I'll be back to get some more things."
"I look forward to your return, Toshirou-san."
He nodded at her. Tapping Joel's shoulder, he signalled to him to get going, and he left waving his arm at Rose with Toshirou following them closely from behind.
As he was about to leave, he felt a whisper in his ear.
"Take care of Joel-kun, Toshirou-san."
He looked behind, seeing Rose standing by the door with a small smile on her face and her eyes closed.
He replied to her mentally, 'You don't need to tell me, no one is going to lay a finger on Joel. Not on my watch.'
'Fufu, I'll hold you to that. Be safe, the both of you.'
Giving her a nod, he looked away from her and left the shop.
Once he was outside, he spotted Joel and Bonnie who was waiting for him.
"We're going to be on our way, Bonnie."
"Yep! Be safe, you two. And Joel, watch over him. Make sure he does nothing rashly." She said cheerily.
"Hai!" Joel replied.
"Um, thanks for everything, Bonnie."
"Hihi, your welcome Toshirou-san. Just make sure you two come back home."
'Home... huh.'
Handing over their former clothes to Bonnie, minus his cloak, he and Joel waved goodbye and walked further into town, on their way to their first mission.
Bonnie stayed in the same spot till their figures gradually vanished from her sight.
'May His Majesty be with you, Toshirou-san.'