A Big Step

The day after they finished the parasaurolophus requests, they had gone back to Ancona and taken it easy. 'Easy' being staying inside and sleeping, everyone draping themselves over Damien until he was so hot he could barely stay asleep himself.

In the early evening, they wandered over to the guild to turn in they're requests.

“Oh, Damien, you've ranked up! Congratulations!” Liz said. She tapped his guild card against her crystal and it turned from the previous tin into a bronze one.

The others clapped.

“We should celebrate!” Bluey said, hanging off of him.

“It's not that big a deal, I'm still pretty low...” Damien replied.

Liz shook her head. “That's not true. 'The Goddesses' Fated Chosen' has done an excellent job so far.”

Damien blushed, remembering the name Betty had come up with for them.

Betty nodded, “Exactly. We've worked really hard to get here.”

I guess that's true.

Bluey reiterated, “Master, we should celebrate!”

Damien chuckled, “You just want an excuse to drink a bunch again.”

Bluey giggled, “Maybe. I'll see if we can find Carleen to drink with.”

Aurora looked over at Liz. “Master, can we invite Liz to drink with us?”

Liz blushed a bit. “That's okay, I don't need-”

“Do you just want her to brush your tail again?” Damien asked with a sly smile.

Aurora blushed, “No, just as thanks for the other day. If she wants to, though, it's fine...”

Liz got stars in her eyes. “I'll be over as soon as I close up!”

As they were leaving, Betty whispered something to Liz, who nodded as she was quickly cleaning up.

With that, they went over to the inn and sat down, being quickly joined by Liz, still in her guild girl outfit. She grabbed Aurora's tail and sat it in her lap, gently petting with one hand.

Betty giggled, “I didn't realize you two were so close.”

Liz nodded, “She has such a wonderful tail. I'm quite jealous.”

Bluey looked at Aurora, “Does Master not pet it well enough?” she asked with a giggle.

Aurora blushed, “That's not it. Master is just busy all the time, so I can't expect...” she said, before looking cutely at Damien.

Damien sighed, “Aurora, if it's just petting your tail I don't mind doing it more often. I'm just worried it might lead to more than just petting your tail.

Aurora smiled and nodded though.

Betty looked over at Liz, “Were you able to get it?”

Liz nodded, producing a sheet of paper and handing it to her. “Are you two considering upgrading into one together?” she asked, giving a knowing smile and blushing.

Betty blushed and nodded, “The Guild can usually get you good rates on apartments,” she explained as she read it over. “It will actually be cheaper than staying in an inn every night, though of course we have to pay for the whole month at a time up front.”

Damien nodded, “Being in the Guild has a lot of benefits.”

Liz explained, “Those ones have agreements with the Guild. Make sure you don't miss out on your payments, though, as since the Guild has agreements with them, they'll pay if you do, but dock your pay in the future.”

Betty smiled, “Don't worry, we should be good.”

Liz nodded, “I figured, but I just wanted to make sure you knew. I'll get in trouble if you don't, too,” she said, averting her eyes.

Damien nodded, Yeah I don't want to get Liz in trouble.

After eating and drinking into the night, they parted ways for the evening

In the morning, they took the paper Liz had given them, and started looking for the nearest one. There were a couple directly behind the guild, so they ended up going there first.

As they were walking to the first apartments, someone ran up and hugged Bluey from behind. “Big sis! Where have you been?”

Damien recognized the little girl he had seen playing tag with Bluey and Aurora.

Bluey turned around and picked her up. “Dora! Sorry, we've been so busy I haven't had time to visit.”

“Hi, Dora!” Aurora said, smiling and leaning over.

Dora looked her up and down. “Who are you?”

Aurora comically cried a bit.

Bluey looked at them, then got an idea. Taking Dora's hand, she placed it on Aurora's head. “Remember now?”

Dora seemed to have a realization. “Foxy!? How did you get so tall!?”

Aurora giggled, “I leveled up.”

Dora nodded. “I need to level up too, then.”

Damien chuckled, Sorry Dora I don't think it works like that for humans.

Betty whispered to Damien, “Why don't we let them play while we look at the apartments?”

Damien nodded, then suggested this to Bluey and Aurora, who eagerly agreed, much to Dora's excitement.

After leaving the others outside, Damien and Betty went into the building. There was a long row of doors, as well as steps up to a second floor (the building looked like it was three stories from the outside). On the left was a door with “Office” on the side.

I guess apartments are the same in any world, Damien thought, getting a weird sense of comfort from the layout.

They knocked on the Office door, and it was opened by an old lady. “Hello my dears, come on in,” she requested. There was a desk she sat behind, and two chairs for Betty and he to sit in.

The lady got right down to business. “Sorry if I am presuming wrong, but I assume you two want a one-bedroom to share?”

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Betty blushed slightly, but shook her head. “No, there are four of us. We're an Adventurer's Guild party.”

The lady smiled, “Of course. The other two don't mind sharing a room?”

Betty shook her head.

“Excellent. I just need to see one of your guild cards, or both if you both want to be put down.”

Betty nodded, “We'll both be on it,” she said, with a smile towards Damien.

Damien gulped, This feels like a big relationship step. Actually, I guess it kind of is.

After checking both their cards, the lady started to fill out a sheet of paper, before grabbing a keys. “I'll show you one of the two bedroom's,” and motioned for them to follow her.

She took them out and up the stairs and down the hall.

“Would you prefer a corner room?” she asked.

Betty nodded. “If possible.”

The lady nodded, then led them to the end of the hall. “We have one available right now,” she explained unlocking the door and leading them in.

Inside was...an apartment. It had a small kitchen with a gas stove, a living area with a couch and coffee table, and on either side was another door. The doors each led to a bedroom, simple with just a bed and a desk, although each bedroom had it's own small bathroom as well.

That's nice, especially if we get a new member, Damien thought. One bathroom had sometimes been a bit annoying while at the inn.

“Well, what do you think?” the old lady asked with a smile.

Betty was nodding excitedly.

“How much is it?” Damien asked.

“Since you're with the Guild, it will be one gold and fifty silver per month. Due on the monthly date you moved in.”

Sheesh, that's a lot! Although, like Betty said, it's technically less if we paid every day of a month at the inn. Although since we sometimes are out and about we don't actually get a room every day. That's about two weeks of earnings currently...

His thoughts were distracted by Betty pulling his sleeve. She whispered, “I really think we should get this. That's a good rate for this apartment, and we're only a couple streets from the guild.”

Seeing how excited Betty was, Damien couldn't say no, and just nodded.

Betty shouted, “We'll take it!”

The old lady smiled and nodded. “Always nice to see a young couple moving in.”

Betty was blushing bright as the sun, so Damien wrapped an arm around her shoulders. It's worth it to see Betty so happy. We'll just have to work hard, I guess.

They followed the lady down, signing some papers before paying for their first month and getting their keys.

After they left the office, Betty jumped up, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a smooch on the lips. “I'm so happy right now!”

Damien caught her and hugged her. “Me too.”

Suddenly, the door to the apartment building opened, and Bluey burst inside. “Master? They inv-” she stopped, seeing them. “Sorry, I didn't realize-”

Betty shouted, “We're not doing anything bad in public!”

Bluey nodded, before remembering what she wanted to say originally, “Oh, they invited us to lunch!”

“Who's 'they'? Dora?” Damien asked.

“Dora's mother. She wanted to thank us for the rabbits.”

Damien shrugged, then looked at Betty. “I don't see why we should decline.”

Betty nodded, “We don't have anything in our apartment yet, so it would be a big help.”

Bluey smiled, “Come on, let's go!” She dragged them outside and a only couple buildings down, and down an alley way, they stopped.

“They live here?” Damien asked. The house was a bit worn down. They probably needed those rabbits a lot more than us.

Bluey nodded, opening the door. Inside was Aurora, smiling and watching Dora play with a doll.

A small girl came out of a side-room, grabbing onto Betty's skirt. “Mommy!”

Betty got hearts in her eyes, picking up the little girl and holding her. “I'm not your mommy, silly! You're so cute though.”

A lady came out, wearing an apron. “Oh, I'm so glad you could make it.” She came over and bowed, “Sorry, Delilah thinks anyone wearing a skirt is her mom, she doesn't bother to look higher than that.”

Betty shook her head. “That's okay,” and poked Delilah's cheek.

The lady gave a small bow, “Thank you so much again for all the rabbit's. I'm Diana, by the way, forgot to introduce myself.” She was blushing a bit, seeming a bit flustered.

Damien bowed back, “I'm Damien, it's good to meet you.”

“I'm Betty,” Betty replied, setting Delilah back on her feet, who immediately went over to her actual mom.

Diana smiled at her, “Come on, sit down, sit down, the rabbit stew is almost done.”

Aurora and Bluey (who had gone over to her and Dora) immediately jumped up, while Dora followed after.

They had a large dinner table, big enough to seat them all, so they sat down. Dora and Delilah seemed to have assigned spots, so the others filled in the empty seats.

“Have some bread, the stew just needs a couple more minutes,” Diana said, turning around and going back to stirring.

They all grabbed some bread. Damien noticed Dora seemed to be staring at him while she chewed, so he smiled back at her.

When he did, she seemed surprised, but then nodded.

What!? Why is she nodding!?

Dora then jumped off her chair, and walked around, pulling on his sleeve.

Damien leaned over, “What's wrong?”

Dora shook her head, then tried to whisper in his ear. “Are you going to be my new daddy?” She had, however, misjudged her whisper, and everyone in the room could hear.

Before anyone else could react, Diana dropped her ladle, and turned around red. “Dora! You can't just say something like that to our guests.”

Dora looked down sad, then went back to her chair.

Damien, trying to fix the atmosphere, replied, “It's okay, I'm not upset.”

Diana sighed, then shook her head. “No, it's not your fault. Dora should see you already have a partner.”

Betty blushed a bit, looking down.

Bluey, not reading the atmosphere, asked, “You don't have a daddy? I thought all humans did.”

Betty started staring daggers at Bluey, who seemed confused.

Diana, who was now spooning out bowls of stew, replied, “No, they have one, he's just a deadbeat who left his pregnant wife because he didn't want another child,” she said, a bit of snarl on her face.

Dora looked down, seeming sad.

“I'm sorry,” Betty said.

Diana shook her head as she started setting down bowls. “It's not your fault. I'm pretty sure he was cheating on me anyway. And at least he left the house for us, instead of trying to kick us out. Of course, he was barely around anyway...”

Dora nodded, “I barely remember Daddy.”

The mood was fairly gloomy now, and Damien wasn't sure what to say.

Bluey however, seemed to get an idea. Turning to Dora, she said, “I'll be your Daddy!”

This seemed to cheer Dora up, laughing a bit, “You can't be my Daddy, you're a girl!”

Bluey seemed to think, “Okay, I'll be your second Mommy!”

Dora shook her head, “You and Foxy are already my big sisters, right?”

Aurora, not bothered by still being called Foxy, patted her head, “Of course!”

Diana smiled, and the mood had been successfully lifted. She sat down with a smile, “Go ahead.”

They dug into the stew, which was fairly good. It wasn't overly seasoned, and it was warm and hearty.

When they finished, Diana motioned, “Please, get more. I wasn't sure how many were in your party, so I made a lot.”

They finished eating, and Dora drug Bluey and Aurora to go play more tag.

Delilah wanted to sit in her mom's lap, after she started to heat up some tea for them to drink.

“Sorry about that outburst earlier, I just wish she'd think more,” Diana apologized again.

Damien and Betty both shook their heads. Betty poked her fingers together, then said, “Ermm...you can talk about it to us, if you want.”

Diana smiled. “There isn't much to it besides what I shouted earlier. I was married, he was always away, never telling me what he was doing. Barely spent any time with Dora. When I told him I was pregnant with Delilah, he grabbed his coat and all our money and left. Delilah is two now, and I haven't seen nor heard of him. And I honestly don't want too,” she sighed. “Luckily I've been able to make ends meet working for the local stores while I leave the girls with another neighborhood mom. I'm always worried about the future though. It was a really big help when your other party members gave us all those rabbits.”

Damien nodded, “I'm glad we could help.”

Delilah seemed to have fallen asleep, so Diana got up. “Seems like it's nap time, I'll be right back.”

After she had left the room, and Betty and Damien were alone, Betty turned on him. “Do you like Diana?”

Damien nodded, “Yeah, she seems nice. I feel kind of bad for her, and her daughters...”

Betty looked up at him, “No, do you like her,” she emphasized.

Damien blushed, “Wh-why are you asking me that?”

Betty blushed now, “I think she likes you, based on how she reacted.”

Damien was confused, “What!? But she-” realizing he had raised his voice a bit, he looked over to the door, “...this is only the second time we've met.”

Betty shrugged, “I liked you after the second time we met.”

Damien blushed, “I...well, for me it takes a bit longer than that.”

Betty nodded.

“Why are you even suggesting this though? You know I'm not going to leave you,” Damien said, poking her cheek.

Betty blushed and smiled. “I know, I meant having her as your second girlfriend.”

Damien was taken aback, again, “You're okay with me having a second girlfriend? Wait, you're suggesting I get a second girlfriend?”

Betty nodded. “I told you before, didn't I? As long as I was okay with them.”

“Is that...normal?”

Betty nodded. “It's fairly common for rich men to have multiple wives. Or really, uh...attractive...ones” she added smiling and blushing at Damien, poking his side. “Woman too. There's a famous Divine-Rank party of one woman and her five boyfriends.”

Damien blinked a few times, then shook his head. “Look, I feel bad, but I'm not....doing something like that just because I pity their situation. It wouldn't feel right.”

Betty looked down sad, but nodded.

“I'm not saying we can't help them though, I-”

At that point, Diana came back in, and sat down to drink her tea. “Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt.”

Damien shook his head, “No, I was just saying, if you ever need more rabbits or whatever, let us know.”

Diana smiled and blushed but shook her head, “Not, that's okay, I can't burden you with that.”

Betty added, “It's okay. We sometimes get rabbits or other edible creatures on our trip and we can't even eat all of them.”

Damien nodded to agree with her. “Yeah, it would just go to waste otherwise.”

Diana blushed, then nodded. “Thank you so much. I can never repay you...”

Damien shook his head. “It's fine. Just let Bluey and Aurora play with their 'little sister' occasionally.”

Diana giggled. “I'm sure Dora would be excited to.”