Once Mochi finally settled down I took another look at her back, applying medicine, magic, and a message to help try and get her body to realize she wasn't hurt anymore. By the time I was done, she was asleep again.
'Really now… Well… I guess it's getting late anyway…' I sighed falling on the bed next to her and staring up at the ceiling. 'There's so much to do… It's not like I'm in a hurry or anything, but… I'd get stressed out if I took a day off…'
Raising an arm over my eyes they shut tight, and when they opened again my body finally felt lighter, although still stiff and foreign, at least it wasn't as heavy and exhausted. 'I didn't even notice how tired I was…'
Taking a deep breath in I sat up to see Mochi huddled with her back up against a wall sleeping peacefully. 'I wonder what that's about… Still… If she's sleeping I should probably just let her be right?'
I stood up and made some more food, the smell of which woke her up right away, and after I made sure it was cool enough to eat I told her to go ahead and dig in. It was strangely relaxing that she hadn't said a single word since opening her eyes, it gave me a chance to think while I ate as well.
'I should make a list… I'll forget something for sure if I go out like this. Especially if I get distracted since I'll be with Mochi.'
Closing my eyes I brought my full attention to my storage space and suddenly began to feel a dull headache. 'That's right… That's probably why I was so tired…' Letting out a small groan I pulled out a small slab of wood and began to engrave it with magic.
'Hm… First, we need to get Mochi registered as an adventurer at the Beehive. That's the easiest way for her to start a new life, even if she wants to do something else… There really is a lot to do huh…'
Help Mochi registerCollect bounty from banditsPawn off bandits' gearBuy Mochi… Have Lola buy Mochi new clothes.Buy materials to craft better gear.Meat with Fiest and buy out her shop.Sell Feisty's inventory for profit… Find out if Fiesty is alive…Oh… I should probably visit a shrine and pay respects to PlutiaActually… I think that's everything…
I paused and looked down at the list. 'I lost focus and my thoughts spilled out…'
Completely empty out storage and discard trash left over.
'I think that's everything… Well, I also want to see about buying a new plot of land and moving my house. I'm not sure where would be good though. I'll have to ask Lola about that when I see her.'
After Mochi finished eating I brushed her hair, if not only so she'd stop chewing it along with her food… When that was resolved though we started knocking things off the list one by one… Kind of.
After visiting the beehive I collected the bounty, as well as a strangely generous compensation apology for the guild not showing up to save me sooner. Pawning off the Bandit's gear was easy too, there was no shortage of low-level adventurers and novice craftsmen looking for material after all. While we were there I asked about Lola, but apparently no one had seen her in a while. As for Fiesty, I was glad to hear she was alive at least, but apparently, she still hadn't woken up. They were taking their time healing her mind from the trauma of temporarily dying, even if it wasn't for long enough to need resurrection magic, that trauma could sometimes make people unable to use magic or worse or not treated properly… Kind of a big deal to a magic blacksmith. Either way, they wouldn't even let me see her…
I sighed looking down and pulling my new adventurer card from my storage. 'On the bright side, I got my promotions… Straight to D rank… Honestly, I'm a bit bummbed they didn't put me at C, but considering skipping one rank is already practically unheard of for someone who's been in the game as long as me, it's not so bad really. Besides, they put me straight into middle grade, so I don't have a probationary period, and I don't have any restrictions from being freshly promoted.
"Why is your's so much prettier than mine…" Mochi muttered, a clear hint of jealousy in her eyes, even though you couldn't tell from her face.
I chuckled throwing it back in storage and rubbing her head. "Because I'm stronger than you," I smirked, starting to walk again. 'Having her start at E rank isn't bad, the guild starts newbies one rank lower than evaluated strength. Although…' I thought back to her magic saving me multiple times. 'I guess I shouldn't have expected her to be much weaker than me.
"Actually, do you mind if I see the card they gave you?" 'They don't actually let anyone sit in on the exams to prevent cheating… I was getting reevaluated while she was being tested anyway… I wonder what classification they gave her.'
"Only if I can see yours…" She pouted back.
"Sure…" I pulled it back out of storage, suddenly hesitating. 'It's just her… It's… Fine…' Slowly relaxing I finished handing it to her and she did the same, not even looking at me as she was already entranced with my new card.
'Let's see here…'
Name:
Mochi,
Racial traits:
Halfling
Sex
Female
Title:
N/A
Rank:
E
Physical class
Hunter
Magic class
Defender
Devine class
Yeladot
I flicked the edge of the card back and forth against my opposite palm. 'So physically she's well rounded, but her magical abilities are heavily skewed towards defense… But what the heck is a Yeladot… That's not a normal class…' I paused and looked down at her, folding my arms. 'She has a unique divine class? No… It's not one of a kind or she would have been given a title right away. It's just abnormal. I've never heard of it before though… Normally your devine class is just a fancy word for what tier of miracle you can chanel…' I sighed. "Are you done looking?"
She quietly raised her eyes to mine and handed back my card, holding it carefully in both hands. "You look so pretty in the picture." She said calmly.
'I know… It's really unsettling honestly…' "Let's just get going…" 'That sounded cold… Maybe I should have said something else… "I'm sure when you reach D rank and get your picture taken you'll look even better."
Her eyes suddenly lost a shade of color like a part of her soul left her body, but she didn't say a word. 'Sparks… Should I have just let it go and not said anything after all? I'll just stay quiet and not make it worse…' I pulled out my make-shift list and looked at the remaining things. 'It's disappointing how many I crossed off without doing…'
Buy Mochi… Have Lola buy Mochi new clothes.Buy materials to craft better gear.Visit a shrine and pay respects to Plutia.
"Ok Mochi. What's first, do you want new clothes, or do you want to go see Plutia?"
Her eyes suddenly went wide, but I couldn't tell if they were sparkling with anticipation, or filled with shock and fear. A few moments passed by and she still didn't respond.
"I'm not sure what you are thinking… Sorry…" 'If she follows Plutia it's unlikely they've never met… And she shouldn't be against new clothes. It's possible she's scared of Plutia now because of what happened when she used a miracle for the first time… Is that it? Or… Maybe this is all just a lot to take in…'
She suddenly went completely lifeless as she started crying again. 'She's doing this now?' "U-uh… It's ok, we don't have to do anything else today if you don't want to. It's early but we can just go back home for now…" My panic slowly subsided as she stayed still like a statue. Once again, despite her tears, she was somehow emotionless.
Life slowly returned to her eyes and she looked back up at me. "I can feel her calling to us… Can't you? Don't we have to listen?"
After she mentioned it I could indeed feel what she was talking about. Like something lightly pulling on my heartstrings only in the direction of a shrine, no doubt one she was physically at herself, knowing her. "If that's what you want…"
She grabbed my hand and pointed, still looking at me. 'Right… It was a mistake to ask her… She won't even move unless I tell her to "Let's go Mochi…"