Chapter 9 I Eat Dinner with a Queen

Mildred was instructed to issue me my employee Guild ID that doubled as my new rank E Guild card. The card had an added circle with an X on it to designate that I haven't passed the mentoring exam. She showed me around the Guild as a new employee tour. Dunbar would have done it, but there was a situation involving hospitality and he had to handle it. Considering the mess a few drunk men were making of the dining hall, I didn't begrudge that he left the duty to Mildred.

She showed me the conference rooms that were mostly used for strategy meetings by larger parties. The break rooms and washrooms were covered. We had a cup of tea in the break room when she gave me a Guild employee manual and went over it with me. I was expected to act as a representative of the Guild at all times. Any criminal behavior would be met with termination. While personal preference was always taken into consideration I was to understand that I could be transferred to any Guild branch at any time at the discretion of the Guild leader. I was supposed to maintain a clean neat appearance, but clothing types and styles were left up to me. I got a 'look' from Mildred when we went over that rule. I don't think she approved of the bloody torn up style.

After our tea, she went over the quest board, how to submit a quest, how to show proof of a quest completion. The Guild required the monster cores as proof of a monster kill. You didn't have to have the dismantling skill to get a monster core, but if you just cut up a monster without taking into consideration the value of the rest of the parts they would lose value. To help with this the Guild employed several full-time dismantlers.

He was set up in the backyard and all you had to do was give him your monster and he would take it apart for you. Even if you dismantled the monster yourself, he was still the one who assessed the quality of the parts and gave the authorization for the Guild to buy the parts from you. He would give you a piece of paper with the list of monsters killed and valuable parts to be bought by the Guild. Then you took the paper to the clerks at the desk. They paid the going rate for the monster parts and for killing the monster in general. Minus any dismantling fees, of course.

I left my apes and Red Wolves to the dismantler and was brought to the stable. As a Guild employee, I was given free access to the stable if I needed it. However, for normal adventurer's they had to pay 4 coppers for every hour their horse was stabled there. There were plenty of stable boys running around and plenty of horses being led in and out. There was even a cow standing in a stall near the end.

After the end of my tour, I picked up my paper from the dismantler and Mildred paid me as she went back on duty. I didn't even have to wait in line.

"3 Silvers for each Red Wolf plus the hides aaand gaaall blaaaders comes to 6 silvers aaand 68 coppers. 15 coppers for Green Taaailed Aaapes plus hides comes to 5 silver aaand 50 coppers. Your totaaal is 12 silver aaand 18 coppers. Taaake 40 coppers off for the dismaaantling fee, 11 silvers aaand 78 coppers. Or would you prefer 1 gold, 1 silver, aaand 78 coppers?" She asked.

So 100 coppers were worth 1 silver and 10 silvers were worth 1 gold. At least the monetary system was simple. Thinking that smaller denominations were best for now I went with the silvers. She handed me a small cloth bag and I placed it in my inventory.

"Very well done. Normaaally, aaan aaaverage person wouldn't be aaable to bring in this maaany monsters aaat once."

I smiled at her and she waved as I left.

I still had my debt to the town to pay, but I could do that when I checked in with Lotte. I needed to find a place to sleep tonight. I had to be back at the Guild in the morning to meet my trainer. So did I look for the tavern Lotte had recommended, find the temple of Amoris, or go to the library? I opened my map and found that the Tavern was right off the center square of the town. This was a tourist town so it would be bad if I lost a chance at a room because I decided to wait. According to the map, the library was near the tavern, in fact, I would pass it on the way there. The Temple of Amoris was near the other end of town. So I guess I would skip visiting there today.

Setting off, I decided to skip site seeing and head straight to the tavern. Lotte had mentioned that it was a little more pricey than some inns, but the beds were clean and the food was good. She knew I was broke when she suggested it, so it should be well within my price range.

I slowed as I passed a small building with lots of windows. This was the library. Unfortunately, there was a little sign on the door that said closed, then gave opening hours. A little disappointed, I continued on towards the square.

I hadn't considered that certain places wouldn't be open all day. At home, businesses stayed open until long after dark. I guess it wasn't the same here. While it was still only late afternoon it was about time for some people to begin dinner. I didn't have to meet my trainer until 11 the next morning. I could stop by the library in the morning and still have time to make it to my meeting at the Guild.

The square was really something to see. There was a large circular fountain right in the center. Traffic circled around it and departed into one of six main roads. Couples were seated at the fountain sharing street vendor food. Children waded and splashed each other enjoying a last burst of summer heat before fall really kicked in. The street vendors lined the sidewalks on all sides selling food of all types. There was a cafe/bakery with couples seated at outdoor tables.

Beside it were some large, scantily dressed, muscular women with chin stubble who were trying to lure passing people into their establishment. It took me a few seconds to realize that the building they were in front of was where I needed to go. No wonder Sturgis had been laughing.

"Hi, honey, care to have a meal with me?" One lady with red hair asked as I approached.

"I was told you rent rooms?" I asked.

"Of course we do, dumplin' follow me." The red-haired woman led me inside. I was a bit surprised to see it moderately busy inside with customers eating and drinking.

"Florence, you and the other girls can come in now. The dinner shift is about to start and we need you waiting tables." A short woman with a stocky build and a 5 o'clock shadow yelled from behind the counter when she spotted Florence at the door.

The short woman's hair was pinned up on top of her head in a messy bun. Her eyebrows were as thick as caterpillars but well groomed. Her nose was rather squat for her face but still suited it well since her eyes were large. She was a handsome middle-aged woman. I wondered if all the women who worked here were of the more masculine persuasion.

"Marge, this one here would like to rent a room." With that, she passed me over to Marge and went back outside to presumably gather the rest of the girls.

"It's 60 coppers a night for a single room, 375 for a week. Our bigger rooms are booked. Dinner is included, but other meals will cost extra."

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"I'll take the room for the week. I'll be staying in town for a while, so if possible I'd like to reserve the room for next week as well"

"That's fine. You can either pay 750 now or wait and pay another 375 next week."

"I'll pay 375 now and 375 again next week." I handed Marge 3 silver coins and 75 copper coins. As she stepped down from behind the counter I realized she'd been standing on a step.

It suddenly occurred to me that Marge was a Dwarf. She looked human but her bone structure made her build a lot thicker. She was also a lot shorter, her head only coming up to my mid-chest. She was the second non-human person I had met that day. I was led to believe that non-humans living in human towns was rare and here I was meeting two in the same day.

She showed me a side door that had a long hallway, a staircase, and a second door beside the stairs.

"We close at 12 am, the front door and this door," she pointed to the door we had just entered from, "get locked. It closes off access to the tavern, kitchen, and pantry. The backdoor to the kitchen also gets locked. Those rooms down there," she pointed down the hall, "are being rented by my girls. My wife and I are the last door on the right. Only wake us up if the building is on fire or you are dying. If you wake us up for a reason other than that you will wish you were dead." Marge gave me a very steely look. "Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," I nodded gravely. Marge was small, but I could just picture her chasing wayward drunkards around with a battle ax.

"This door," she opened the door beside the staircase. It led outside to a small stable. I hadn't seen the stable from the front of the building, but it looked to be up against a side road. "Will be locked, but can be opened with your room key. If you lose your key, you can sleep in the haystacks. I will also be charging you 1 gold because I will have to change all the locks. So don't lose your key." She closed the door and gave me another 'if you do I will kill you' look.

We went up the stairs and she showed me my room. It had one window, a clean fluffy looking bed, a small desk with an attached bookshelf on top, a chest of drawers, a trunk, a nightstand with an odd portable lamp that looked like an old oil lamp but had a yellow stone where the oil would normally go, and a sink with a mirror.

"Every room comes with a water core sink for washing up. If you don't use magic there is a well behind the stable. There are buckets there you can use. Candles are in the desk. The toilet is down the hall, fourth on the right. You can either have your meal in your room or have it downstairs. Dinner is served between 6 and 10, if you miss those times there isn't a refund. So will you be eating now?" She asked as she handed me the room key.

"Um, I'll eat now. I'll get settled in and be down in about five minutes. Will that work?"

"Yes, I'll keep a spot open for you at the counter." With that, she left.

The first thing I wanted to do was check myself out in that mirror. Here I was reincarnated and I still didn't really know what I looked like. I approached the mirror and stared. I was me, but not me. I wasn't a younger me either. The way I had looked when I was on Earth had been your normal young scruffy kid. Now I felt like I could be in an ad campaign for underwear, well based on my face, my body still needed work.

My hair was still black and messy and my eyes were still green. The shade of my eyes was different. Before they had been more green mixed with brown. Now they were the color of a granny smith apple. Did humans even have eyes that color? Wait, I wasn't human so I guess that did fit.

The rest of my face, well I looked like the hotter twin sister of myself. My facial features had definitely softened, but my chin was pointier. My eyes a little further apart. I also had no signs of chin stubble. My skin had smoothed out and was several shades paler than I was used to. How did I miss that when I was getting dressed?

I lifted my shirt to check, yup the little paunch was still there like this morning, but when I looked at the skin it seemed the same. Then I realized I had lost my tan. I had no tan lines. That would explain the paler skin.

I guess my body was starting fresh. I checked for the scar that had been on the underside of my arm, gone. Further testing that theory I opened my mouth.

Nope, all my fillings were gone, thank Amoris my teeth were still straight. I wore braces for years trying to get straight teeth. It would suck if all the effort went to waste. My teeth even looked whiter. I would have to find out what they did here for oral hygiene I did not want to be visiting a dentist.

I began to play with the sink. Water core, I didn't know what it was, but Lotte had used the blue stone to make tea in the guard room. This one was mounted above a basin. The basin could be stoppered and there was a stack of towels below the sink. I touched the stone and nothing happened. How did it work? Stumped, I thought I'd search for water core to see what information came up.

*Water Core, A water core is the blue colored core that comes from a monster that uses water-based magic. An uncommon household item.~

So it was a magic monster core. Then it probably used magic to work. I touched the core again and thought about putting magic into it. A stream of water poured out. Success! I washed my hands and face. Then I played with the lamp. It too was probably a magic core. When I use my magic on it the lamp began to glow with a soft yellow light.

*MP, or Magic Power, bar added to permanent visual display. This bar will remain active even if Gamer Glass is not being used.~

A yellow MP bar appeared under the red HP bar. It read 62/64. I turned the light off, there was no MP drop. I turned the light back on and there was an MP drop of 1. So each activation cost a little bit of Magic Power. It was logical that if you used magic to work something your magic would be depleted. I turned the lamp back off, then went downstairs for my meal.

I sat down at the counter where Marge pointed. She placed a plate of dark brown and butter bread in front of me.

"Today we have a chicken beer cheese stew with carrots, onions, potatoes, and celery. Next, we have a lamb curry with rice. Finally, marinated lamb kabobs with squash, onions, tomatoes, and pineapple served with rice. You can also have your choice of cider, our house ale, or water." She told me.

"I'll have the stew and the ale," I decided. She nodded and came back with a large bowl filled with a white stew. She waited until I took my first bite then went to serve a woman who had sat down at the other end of the counter.

The stew was a thick creamy cheese sauce with chunks of chicken and other vegetables. It tasted amazing but was really rich and heavy. I buttered the bread and ate. I was pleased with the taste but wished I had gotten something lighter. The ale was really good too. It was a lot better than the stuff I bought in cans back home.

As I ate, I thought about what to do next. The library was closed and it was still too early for bed. Should I try to go to the temple? I didn't want to make the journey only to find out that it was closed as well. The quickest solution was to ask someone. When Marge came back to clear my bowl I took the opportunity.

"Do you know what time the Temple of Amoris closes?"

"Amoris, of course, everyone here worships Amoris. The temple and the hot springs are open until 10 unless it's a healing emergency. Amoris is one of the better healing temples in Yellow Springs." She paused then continued. "It is on the outskirts of a more colorful side of town, so keep your money safe."

"Colorful?" I questioned.

"Prostitutes," she leaned in and spoke quietly. Then she gave me a long look like she wanted to give me a momma-bear lecture, but was restraining herself. Then she sighed. "Look you're young and new to town so I'm not going to give the talk. Just be careful of where you go, some places care about their girls, while others...will send you home with your member rotting off. That's all I will say on the matter." With that, she closed the subject and began to pour mugs of ale for a group of men who had just walked in.

Name- Eri Veritas

HP 1954/2335

MP 61/64

Level- 11

Age- 18

Race/Species- (Human) Unknown

Gender- (Male) Unknown

Occupation- Surveyor of Adventurers Guild

Exp- 202

Physical Power- 220

Stamina- 278

Defense- 348

Agility- 489

Intelligence- 84

Magic Power- 8

Metal Rain Lv 1

Healing Hands Lv 1

Paralysis Resistance Lv 3

Skills

Staff Fighting Lv 2

Basic Sword Lv 2

Skull Bashing Lv 2

Martial Arts Lv 2

Spear Lv 1

Stalking Lv 1

Jumping Lv 1

Running Lv 2

Pain Tolerance Lv 3

Deception Lv 2

Poker Face Lv 1

Etiquette Lv 3

Rock Throwing

Dancing

Harvesting

Small Talk

Discretion

Racial Ability-

Hidden Among the Masses- 20

Stealth- 95

Items Equip

Inventory Bracelet

Gold- 8s 3c (803c)

Debt- 43 copper- Yellow Springs

Blessing 1- All Map Exploration

Blessing 2- Exp Points Required by Level Up / Current Level

Blessing 3-Exp Increase X Current Level

Blessing 4- Item- Gamer Glasses

Titles- Devotee of Amoris

Oracle of Amoris

Grateful Petitioner

Lover of Leaves

Enemy of Apes