Ethan's head was within the clouds when he left the guild hall a little later in the night. Both Cecelia and Lorelle had made a big deal about him completing his first assignment, though Cecelia was definitely the more excited of the two. Some of the more good-natured adventurers that happened to overhear the small celebration even offered words of encouragement or small claps of approval. However, even though it didn't dim his excitement, Ethan also noticed a few not so nice looks sent his way, though he couldn't say for sure why others were upset. Before he could focus more on the topic, or perhaps even inquire to someone willing to listen, he was swept back up into the festive mood emanating from the two receptionists. In fact, he was so emotionally drunk on the entire situation he could only blink in confusion when questions by Badger upon arriving back at the inn.

"Huh?"

"What da ya mean 'huh' ?! I asked how your assignment went!"

"OUCH!"

He had taken too long to engage into the conversation, even after Badger had offered the explanation that shouldn't have been needed. As such a wooden spoon had been used to smack him on the forehead.

"Your assignment! You did finish it right? Did you even remember to show up?!"

The physical and verbal abuse combined into a rush of negative emotions that left him pouting, both genuinely and a bit of an overselling act.

"Yes I remembered to show up!"

He was still rubbing his forehead when he began to reply.

"Well there's that at least."

"And I did finish the job!"

He held up a small pouch that jingled when the coins within bounced against each other. Badger almost swiped the pouch on several instincts, though the two predominant ones were to torment and greed. She would never say no to money and the idea of making him think she took his money brought a grin to her lips. She held herself back though for she didn't want a sniffling baby ruining dinner for everyone else. Instead she decided to give him a small verbal rib.

"Great! Now you can pay me back for all that food!"

Unfortunately she was only able to enjoy her words for a few seconds before a whole host of emotions rushed clearly over his face. She could tell he was caught between doing what was right by the situation, the reality of his financial situation, the urge to hold on to his recently earned money for a bit longer, and finally the desire to be debt free though he was very far from that last wish. Before he popped from the chaotic storm of competing priorities swirling within she finally held up her hands with a smirk.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Easy now, don't go exploding on me right when the dinner rush is about to begin. I'm only jesting, you don't have to pay me back yet."

She finally let out a laugh when she saw him deflate in a single breath, appreciation for her words and the updated situation etched on his face. He looked at her confused for a second and then let out a nervous chuckle as he realized how he must have looked.

"Thank you for your kindness. Hopefully I'll be able to get another job immediately."

"Well until then, you best go get to the bathhouse. I've definitely smelled worse than you but you aren't bringing the smell of hard and honest work into my place!"

He tilted his head upon hearing her declaration before lifting his shirt to his nose and inhaling deeply. Well, that was the idea, he only managed to suck in a little bit of air through his nose before he drew his head back and chocked.

"Ugh!"

"See? Now go get your clothes and get washed up!"

There weren't any further arguments from the boy and he was soon on his way to the bathhouse. Thankfully Katarina wasn't there yet, or perhaps she didn't work on certain evenings, and he was in and out with little fanfare and definitely less theatrics than last time. Offering a sincere thanks and good evening to Edwine he rushed back to the Lazy Badger to chow down on pork ribs and corn bread that had been freshly prepared that day.

An hour or so, and definitely a few more coins on his tab, later Ethan looked like he may need another bath as his hands and mouth was covered in rib grease, seasoning, and bread crumbs. In fact, his appetite had been so voracious that several of the other patrons not only paid for him to eat more than usual they were even taking bets to see how much it would take until he was full. Sadly for those involved it was Badger who ended up winning the most in the end as she not only sold the food but also won the bet. Thankfully the patrons weren't too mad, or at least weren't mad at Ethan, and they suddenly cheered up when Badger offered all those involved a mug of ale. Ethan got apple cider and a warm wet rag to clean himself up with.

The last hour or so of the night was a blur for him and soon he was face down on his bed, half his body off and the other half trying to pull the slacking end the rest of the way onto the mattress. In the end about three quarters of his body could be considered appropriately in bed though the remaining quarter would definitely be giving him a hard time the following morning as several cramps decided to gather while he slept soundly enough that their formation didn't jolt him awake. Perhaps it was the focus of his dreams, or maybe even their source, that prevented him from waking up, as the scenes were vivid and held his subconscious firm though he would remember none of which the next morning. He wouldn't even remember having any dreams at all, though he did wake up to an unknown warmth in his chest and was felt like slightly wet cheeks.