Ethan stopped her, helping her up; he buttoned up her blouse and pulled up her panty again. The guild master laughed, introducing herself as Grace, an adventurer. Shaw had phoned her, telling her that Ethan and Wendy would come to the guild hall to register.
Grace had planned for Lucy to join them as she was an F-rank with no experience. Because of her beauty, only horny parties begged her to join them, and parties with women in them did not want her near their party.
The guild hall was busy as members stood before the mission board looking at quests. Wendy filled in their details and was issued guild neck chains with two small plates. The plates were made from plain metal; Grace explained that if they were rated higher, they would receive bronze, silver, gold, and so forth as they rose through the ranks. If they should get killed or die, they could be identified.
One plate could be taken if you found a dead adventurer in the dungeon to hand in for deregistration as deceased. Grace enquired about what type of quests they would be interested in.
Ethan explained that he was interested in missing persons or strange murders. Grace pulled out a quest from her pocket placing it on the table.
"This is a request from Chief Thompson for a D-rank quest."
"Squee, Grace, I need an easy quest that pays at least a silver. I have no money left; I am broke."
Grace handed Ethan another quest and a letter that was sealed with wax.
"Please deliver this to the library for me. It pays three silver coins. Thompson will be eager to see you, and this mission is urgent."
Ethan had many reasons for not trusting vehicles and riding beasts. Heather would scold him as a coward for not riding beasts. Ethan and his team left the guild hall and headed towards the train station.
Ethan fidgeted with the hem of his robe. He did not trust moving objects that surpassed walking speed. Two stomachs growled, and two faces looked up at him, red with shame. A food stall was selling bread filled with meat.
They found a stall that sold fresh fruit juice and sat under a tree, which had set them back eleven copper coins. Lucy ate hungrily as Wendy inspected the fox kin with admiration.
Ethan did not know how to feel about his circumstances. He had to focus on his mission to find the Skinwalker. He was used to hunting and surviving in the great woods. Now, he had two girls to look out for, and he had to keep them safe. Now that he thought about it, he had always looked after others.
The orphanage was like his baby. He hunted food for it and would cook for them, playing games with the kids. He had Heather. They would fight and eat together, a bond formed in childhood. They faced many dangers and prevailed in the end.
Ethan sat back against the tree, and Wendy lay against him. Lucy blushed, eating the extra food. He had never heard of anyone ever returning from going through the veil. Did he condemn himself by acting rashly, or was it a higher power at work here? Ethan knew that higher beings existed and prayed he would never meet one.
"Alas, we need to decide where we will stay for now. Our funds are limited, and we are uncertain when more funds will be available."
"Squee, the funds I received from my parents have dried up."
"Hail, Lucy, your parents can send you more coins."
White fluffy ears fell forward; tears fell to the wrapping paper and the half-eaten bread. A low wine sounded softly, and a strong arm embraced shaking shoulders. The sun was at its zenith, and the warm breeze could not drive away the feeling of coldness that invaded like a storm approaching a village.
"Alas, Lucy, you have me to look after your needs now. You are a capable woman; you made it all the way here to me."
Green eyes looked up at him, filled with tears. She buried her face in his beard. After a few minutes of sobbing softly, Lucy sat back, eating the bread. She explained that she was born without a tail and magic. She was an outcast, bullied, and thrown out of her village. She lived in a small town on the coast.
They were fishing folk, and her village was isolated beyond the mountains. Her townspeople had never seen a human or a big city. She had walked for months. Her first encounter with humans was with corpses on a battlefield. She had taken the sword and the shield for protection.
She had done a few small jobs for demi-humans who paid her in copper coins. Her father gave her a copper coin when she was kicked out of the village. He was killed for aiding her. Her father was the only one who loved her. He argued for her when they wanted to kill her as a small child. He fought for her, and in the end, the village warriors impaled him with their spears as her father bought her time to run.
It has been a year since that incident, and she was lucky to have enough money to take a train to Ghost Flower Village.
She had heard about Grace, the adventurer who gave demi-humans work and shelter. Grace had enrolled her as an adventurer, giving her small, easy quests. They didn't pay much, but she could afford lodging sometimes and food now and again.
Grace fed her when she saw her and ensured she had clothes and shoes. She wanted to join a party for better earnings, but men wanted her for ploughing, and women despised her. She was a demi-human. After all, she should have been a slave. A woman exclaimed after she had declined her offer to be a tank for their party.
People stared at the two women sitting against the giant man, his back against a tree.
"Alas, it is time to deliver this letter and find this chief Thompson."