In her other life, Renia didn't get into fights like this. But she did take down a guy for trying to snatch up her niece. He was hospitalized, and then her boyfriend at the time said she went too far and broke up with her. He had called her a monster.
Emelda shakes her head, pushing out that bad memory to try and focus on the task at hand. Before her was a seasoned adventurer as far as she knew. A scruffy man with a medium build, he didn't seem too remarkable in the muscle department.
Actually, he didn't seem remarkable at all. Basically an odd uncle type. This observation made her relax almost completely. She could win this. She shifts and lowers herself slightly, arms hanging down in front of herself as she watches him carefully.
"What? Not coming at me? Then I guess I'll come get you!" He charges eagerly, reaching to grab her. She ducks and grabs his arm, flipping him over her shoulder and slamming him onto his back. She doesn't release his arm, twisting it slightly and rolling him onto his back so she could put her foot to the back of his shoulder.
"Well, you're kinda on your knees, so I'll make you beg now." She decides, grabbing the tip of his pinkie with one hand. "Let me join or I break it." She hums. He scoffs with a growl until she starts bending it in a way that it should not. He starts to growl in pain and then yelp.
"Wait!" He cries out. "I-Its not my decision!"
"Oh, I realized that before you even moved. You're just an amateur that thinks he's good or invaluable." She responds simply. Someone starts clapping next to her and with a slight jump she looks over at much larger dark skinned man. He was built like a pro wrestler, head shaven with five parallel scars grazing over his left ear. His eyes were a pastel yellow, reminding her of a cat. He wore a mix of furs, that could probably be best described as bandit attire.
"You're a sharp little lady." He comments.
"And you're the guild leader." She releases the other man to address the leader respectfully. Where did he come from? There's no way she overlooked this large man when they entered. He nods before looking at Raiden who was grinning to himself.
"I assume you're a package deal." He guesses to Emelda.
"Ah, well..." Emelda wasn't sure about that, glancing at the demon.
"If Emelda can't go with me, then I don't go." Raiden says crossing his arms. It surprised Emelda, they only just met the night before. Then again they did get along like old friends.
"There you have it." She says looking back up at the leader.
"It's fine either way. Right everyone?" He looks around the crowd and they cheer in response.
"Wait! Accept her after she lays out George again!" A guy calls making laughter ring out.
"Shut it, Striker." George growls just now getting to his feet, holding the shoulder that Emelda had her foot to.
"I believe you owe Emelda an apology." The leader rumbles. George glowers, glancing between him and Emelda.
"Alright... Sorry for actin' like that." He grumbles.
"I think you owe our guild leader an apology too. Acting like you were him is pretty disrespectful." Emelda blinks. George glares at her briefly.
"Sorry Caster." He bows slightly.
"All good. I had a feeling she was going to make you eat your words." Caster smiles unbothered. "Now you two, let's go talk in my office." He adds to Raiden and Emelda before leading the way.
The pair follows after him, Raiden smiling at Emelda like a cat. She glances at him questioningly.
"What?" She asks lightly.
"I knew you could do it. Actually you were way faster than I thought." He comments.
"I... He was just so easy to read." She huffs. "I don't even know the shoulder throw, it just happened." She adds still surprised at herself.
"That just means you got a warrior spirit." Raiden nudges her.
"I don't know if I'd call it that." Emelda shakes her head, not sure how else to respond.
Caster leads them into an office room and goes to take a seat. His desk is covered with papers and seemed much too small when he sat at it. He gestures for them to take the adjacent seats. "Now then, what types of jobs will you be interested in?" He inquires as they sit.
"Any of them at this point." Emelda glances at Raiden for confirmation.
"Yeah, before the money runs out again." Raiden agrees with a nod. Caster furrows a brow.
"Hasn't the king been paying you?" He huffs.
"No. But he has been sending assassins." Raiden shrugs.
"The King's an idiot." Emelda adds. Caster looks between them and nods.
"Noted. In that case, once you both get to a notable rank, you should start getting sponsored by nobles or other Dukes." Caster informs. "And maybe, eventually the king will come around."
"I don't care either way. We just need to make a living." Raiden shrugs.
"Alright then." Caster goes through some papers on his desk. "As George said, you can come along for tomorrow's job, we'll be liberating a nearby village from bandits."
"Sounds simple enough." Emelda nods.
"And here are three other jobs. Pick one to take on after tomorrow. They're low rank for now until you're promoted." Caster sets three forms in front of them.
"Hmm... We should do the merchant escort, we could find more things for the manor at another town." Emelda points.
"That does sound funner than looking for a missing pet, and this labor job.... We really do all kinds." He looks at Caster.
"Yeah, we started taking them for locals that are in a pinch for money." Caster shrugs.
"How thoughtful." Emelda smiles a bit, taking the escort job.
"At the bottom of the form is where you can find your client. The merchant caravan will leave in three days, so you have time." Caster tells them.
"Alright. When should we be here tomorrow for the job?" Emelda looks at him.
"We'll leave in the morning to get to the village around sundown. Then at night we'll wait for the bandits to show up, round them up and then deliver them to the king for the reward." Caster explains.
"Really does sound simple." Raiden nods.
"Good. Then we'll see you in the morning." Caster rumbles.
"Yessir." Emelda says as Raiden nods. With that meeting concluded, they go out and return to the carriage before heading home. The sun was going down when they finally arrived.
"Hm... Jinx should've heard us coming." Emelda comments, looking at the manor as they unload the carriage.
"Yeah... Go check on her. I got this." Raiden tells her. They nod to each other before Emelda enters the manor.
"Jinx?" She calls.
"In here! I caught an intruder!" The maid calls from the kitchen area. Emelda blinks at that, rushing to find her maid, soon coming to the kitchen. Jinx has her broom pointed at a man she had tied up. He had white hair and amethyst eyes. He looked dirty, his clothes were rags, his hair was a mess and dirty too. He looks at Emelda carefully before dropping his gaze.
"I'm sorry. I was just looking for... Food. I saw all the stuff in the yard and didn't know anyone was home." He says.
Emelda blinks at him before going and kneeling in front of him, starting to untie him. "Well, we have food you're welcome to, so long as you stay and help out." She tells him lightly.
"You... You're sure?" He blinks in surprise.
"Mhm. Then after you eat we can get a bath ready for you. Raiden's new clothes should fit you for the time being." She nods.
"Isn't that.... Too much?" He says lightly.
"No. We need help, and you need a place to stay. It's a great trade. Now come help, we got a lot of stuff." She tells them leading back out to the carriage.
"Wait. A lot? Just what were you two up to all that time away?" Jinx inquires in surprise.
"Well, we took a gamble and got lucky. By the way, this is yours." Emelda gives her a coin pouch. Jinx peers in curiously before gasping.
"This is too much Emelda!" She gasps.
"We agreed to it. There's still some left right now so this is fine." Emelda pats her friend's back. "Thanks for taking the leap with me."
"You don't have to thank me... Ever since your accident, you're the only one to treat me like a person. I'm more confident thanks to you. Plus, it's really nice not to hold my tongue." Jinx smiles in return. She then peers at the man she had tied up. "Speaking of... Are you sure about letting this man stay with us?" She adds.
Emelda hums before turning to the man suddenly and making him jump slightly. "What's your name?"
"Varen- I-I mean-"
"Varen... I'm Emelda Night, and this is Jinx." She introduces.
"Ah... Um... It's nice to meet you." He gives a slight bow. She watches him for a moment before looking at Jinx.
"He's fine." She assures Jinx.
"Well... If you trust him..." Jinx nods, still watching Varen unsurely.
They reach the door to leave the manor as Raiden carries a bed frame in. "Jinx, which room do you want?" He asks her.
"Oh, I like that room in the hall." Jinx points excitedly, leading the way to the door. Raiden pauses spotting Varen.
"Ah. So that's why Jinx didn't come out... Hello." He offers a wave.
"Hello." Varen nods awkwardly.
"This is Varen. I made him our butler." Emelda introduces. "Varen, in case you haven't heard, Raiden here is our Grand Duke."
"I know that but I never agreed to-"
"Alright then. Can you help Emee with Jinx's bed?" Raiden requests.
"I... Yessir." Varen gives in with a nod. Emelda leads him out to get the bed.
"We only have two beds right now. But you can use mine for the time being." She tells Varen.
"Then where will you sleep?" He blinks helping her carry it back into the house.
"Raiden and I are going to set up hammocks for now." She responds.
"I see." He peers back at the furniture and other things they had bought.
They quickly set up Jinx's room best they could before bringing in the bathing tubs. They get a bath ready for Varen in Raiden's room after bringing in the demon's clothes to the wardrobe. As the new butler bathes, the others set up the dining room and start dinner.
"That is lucky." Jinx gasps, cutting vegetables as Emelda stirs in ingredients for a broth.
"Yeah. There was a lot more in that box though." Emelda breathes.
"Are these small enough?" Raiden asks from where he was cutting the roast.
"That looks great." Emelda smiles at him.
"Great... Anyway, after we went shopping we stopped by and joined the Adventurer's guild." Raiden tells Jinx.
"Really? That's great! I hear they pay well." Jinx smiles.
"Yeah. We'll be leaving for our first job in the morning." Emelda adds the vegetables before moving the roast in a skillet to cook a bit.
"I can finish this. Go get changed." Jinx hums taking over.
"Alright." Emelda nods as Raiden moves to assist Jinx. Emelda heads upstairs to her room next to Raiden's. Closing the door behind herself, she changes into a lighter dress for bed before going back out. She pauses as Raiden's door opens and Varen comes out, he runs his fingers through his hair, combing it back from his face. He looks over and meets her gaze in the motion.
"Is this better?" He asks. She could only nod in response.
'He's so much cuter than I thought.' Emelda silently marvels.
"Alright good." He looks away to adjust the black coat he wore over a white button up shirt.
"Come on, dinner is almost ready." She tells him starting downstairs. He watches her back for a moment before following.
"What will we be having?" He inquires.
"Stew and bread." She responds. "We sort of had to rush things so it might lack flavor." She adds.
"I'm sure it'll be great." He breathes. Emelda peers at him for a moment before looking ahead as they reach the ground floor and into the kitchen.
"We forgot dishes." Raiden holds up mugs. "This is what we got."
"Heh... Still a lot to do." She chuckles taking a mug.
"We can go shopping for dishes tomorrow while you and Master Raiden are on the job." Jinx tells her.
"Master?" Raiden echoes.
"I'm your maid, it's sort of part of the job." She reminds him.
"Right." Raiden nods, seeming to have forgotten his title.
"That would be great. We'll leave the money with you then. Varen, go with her tomorrow just in case." Emelda requests. Varen makes a face like he had other plans but nods.
"Very well." He nods.
Soon they are able to eat dinner before retiring to the rooms. Varen taking Emelda's room for the night, and Emelda setting up hammocks in Raiden's room with the demon's help.
"So this is the thing you mentioned..." He comments looking at the completed hammocks as Emelda brings blankets to make the rather rough ropes comfortable.
"Mhm. I figured the nets would help us save money until we get you the bed you wanted... Now we gotta get Varen one too." She breathes. Her bed was the one that Raiden had used when he first got here, he found it a bit small though.
"Well. We have more than we did before." He comments, helping her before they both get in their own hammock. Once they're comfortable Raiden snaps his fingers and makes the lamp go out.
It was quiet for a bit, before Emelda shifts in her hammock. "Why become a Grand Duke?" She asks. He hums in response as he thinks it over.
"Because, the woman that raised me said I should try to protect the people... But, because I am not human... No one gave me the chance to work up to it. So I took it." He responds.
"Why not King?" She ponders.
"Not enough freedom." He answers, the ropes of the hammock creaking slightly as he shrugs.
"Ah... Sound logic." She breathes.
"Hey, Emelda?"
"Hm?"
"Thanks."
"What are you thanking me for?" She huffs.
"Treating me like a person. Probably the second person to... And today's probably been the best day since I took the title." He says lightly. She hums, rocking slightly.
"Well if you think going shopping is a good day, you're going to have a blast tomorrow." She comments. Raiden chuckles lightly at that.
"I can't wait."