Teamwork and a Day Off

The next few days, Kris's party focused on killing goblins, gaining Paddy some more confidence, and practicing working together as a team.

Going into the guild the day after, Corinne called to them as they entered.

“Kris, if you would,” she asked, beckoning him over.

Kris nodded, walking over to the front desk instead of the request board.

“I took the money for your first payment out of your deposit today. It's now empty,” she explained.

Kris nodded in understanding. Only nine more...maybe this won't be too bad?

Corinne also handed him a request paper. “I was also hoping you might take this,” she explained. “It's a zombie extermination request. Five silver. Zombies are also a one copper bounty each.”

Zombies!? That's new. Two copper isn't a lot either, but oh well.

“There's a graveyard a few miles north that's been reported as infested. There wasn't any sign of a necromancer, and the request is just to get rid of the zombies, so be careful,” she said, giving him a stern look.

“I understand, I won't fight anything I can't handle. Or any one,” he responded.

Corinne smiled and nodded, “Good.”

Heading out of town once more, they followed their request map to a graveyard. It wasn't hard to tell when they were close, as they could hear the telltale groaning of zombies.

As it came into sight, Kris had to rethink the worth of the request. They're everywhere! It's probably in the hundreds...even one copper each, we'll get quite a bit.

Luckily, the zombies weren't too smart (or really, had much intelligence at all), and were contained by just the waist high fence around the cemetery. The gate had been closed shut, presumably to keep them in.

Mibu was holding her nose, not wanting to get closer. “This is...awful.”

Kris didn't have a super-strong nose and even he was in agreement. The stench of the zombies was nauseating. Paddy was pulling up her armor so she didn't have to smell it.

Well, we gotta do this...After thinking for a minute, he came up with a plan.

“Paddy, you stay by the fence, and shove away any that get close with your shield. Mibu, you stay back with me and we'll take out as many as we can from here. We can use the bow too. I just wanna thin out as much as possible before we actually go in.”

Paddy and Mibu nodded, readying themselves.

Kris cast Scorch while Mibu cast Ice Spike, taking out a few nearby. This alerted all of the zombies in their vicinity, who were now shambling over to where they were.

They took a step back to get away, so Paddy went over and started smacking the ones at the fence. She was hitting some of them so hard, Kris saw their bodies falling apart.

Hmm...that might work. Paddy is definitely the best equipped to deal with these.

Mibu took out the bow and started firing into the mass, hitting one, sometimes two if the arrow went straight through. Kris tried to light any bunches on fire, the dried out zombies seeming to be highly flammable.

After half an hour (resting occasionally to restore mana), they had run out of arrows, and successfully taken out all the nearby zombies.

“Alright, time for phase two then. Paddy, I want you to run around hitting them with your shield.”

Paddy looked a bit nervous. “Re-really? By myself?”

“No, Mibu and I will be behind taking out any you don't,” Kris reassured her.

Paddy nodded slowly, before vaulting over the fence (surprising Kris at her ability to move her large frame), letting out her cute non-intimidating roar, and charging at the nearest zombies.

Kris and Mibu looked at each other, nodded, and followed after.

After a while, Paddy was still running around, smacking zombies left and right, Kris asked Mibu, “Do you smell anything? Besides zombies, I mean...” as he cast Scorch on one that was crawling nearby.

Mibu sniffed, “No, though it's a bit hard to tell with the zombie stench everywhere...”

Kris nodded. They were currently walking down the paths of the cemetery, finishing off any zombies that were still moving after having been bulldozed by Paddy. She was still running down one of the lanes, although her roar seemed a bit softer.

Hmmm...Corrine was worried enough to mention the possibility of a necromancer, but they must not be here. Well, anymore, at least. She made it sound like we shouldn't fight them if they were, though. Kris assumed a necromancer powerful enough to raise all these zombies was probably out of their league.

Looking around, he couldn't see Paddy anymore. He turned turned to Mibu, “Where did...” he was cut off as out of the corner of his eye, he saw something gleaming barreling towards them. Quickly grabbing Mibu, they dodged out of the way.

Paddy noticed as she passed them, sliding to a stop. “I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry...” she kept repeating.

Getting a blushing smile from Mibu, Kris helped her up. Turning to Paddy, he held his hands up to stop her. “It's okay, just watch...” he paused, realizing the dilemma. “Actually, I guess it's my fault, I told you to hold up the shield so you couldn't see in the first place...”

Paddy blushed, looking away, not having a response.

While this exchange was going on, Mibu pulled up her status screen. “Look, the request completed!”

Kris looked around too, seeing there wasn't any zombies moving, at least that he could notice. Giving a thumbs up to the other two, he smiled, “Nice job, both of you. That was pretty easy with our teamwork.”

Mibu gave him a hug, while Paddy smiled and nodded.

Heading back to the city, they stopped and turned in the request.

“We didn't see any sign of a necromancer,” Kris said as Corinne closed it out.

She nodded, “That's good. They must have left as soon as they raised the zombies.”

“What...was the point then?”

Corinne shook her head, “Could have been using it to practice. Or maybe they just wanted to cause a ruckus...”

After receiving their payment, Kris deposited a few in his box, keeping the rest.

Mibu was suspiciously curious, “You don't normally keep that much. Are we getting something? Another pa-”

Kris cut her off, forming an 'X' with his arms. “No. We are getting something nice though. Just wait...” he trailed off with a smile.

Kris led them away, stopping at the armorer. “I think we need to upgrade our armor, Mibu,” Kris explained.

Mibu looked down at what they were wearing. It was the original leather armor they had bought almost a month ago, well-worn and filled with gouges and scratches. She gave a fist pump, “Yeah, that's definitely an Adventurer thing to do, right?”

Kris nodded. Turning to Paddy, he said, “Sorry, Paddy, I don't think we have enough to upgrade you too, yet.”

Paddy shook her head, pounding her armor. “It's fine, everything hits my shield anyway instead of my armor.”

That's true. Her shield level is already level 5.

Looking around the store, he asked Mibu, “What do you think would be a good replacement? I'm assuming we both want to keep wearing light armor.”

Mibu nodded. Looking around, she pointed to a row of dragonscale armor. “We could try that, if we can afford it.”

Kris nodded, I've seen a lot of Guildmembers in dragonscale armor. Looking at the prices, it was...quite expensive. Kris groaned internally, Ugh...should we just upgrade Mibu and have me wait?

Mibu grabbed a set of green dragonscale. “These are five silver each, we could get these!”

“Why are the green ones cheaper?”

Mibu explained, “Different species have different scale hardness'. The green ones are the 'softest' dragonscale, although its still way tougher than leather.”

Kris nodded, and they both tried on sets, purchasing them once they were fitted properly.

Walking out with the new armor, Kris thought Alright, this feels like some progress! I think we're ready to take on more dangerous enemies, now.

After fighting the zombies, and buoyed by their new armor, Kris decided they needed to start branching out a bit in terms of fighting different enemies. Taking requests to fight oozes, a harpy, and even a giant toad, they were working together well as a team. Mibu rarely even had to use her Healing, although it was nice knowing they had that in an emergency.

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After a few days of this, Kris was feeling pretty good about their situation. They were already halfway to the next payment a week into the month. Paddy was gaining enough confidence to sometimes peek around her shield in combat. And he and Mibu were...well, they were good. Too good, almost.

“Kris.”

Okay, I can't put it off much longer, I should-...

“Kris.”

Kris whipped around as he realized someone was calling his name. He had been spacing out standing in front of the request board. Over at the desk, Corinne was calling him over.

“You got another request for me? Zombies again?” Kris asked, slyly.

Corinne nodded, “Yes, but not zombies. We're going to have another Rank-Up request for your party.”

Kris was taken aback, “Re-really?”

Corinne nodded. “Your party has been performing excellently. We're preparing it right now, and should have it for you by tomorrow. Why don't you rest today and prepare?”

“Rest!?” Kris asked, incredulous. I don't think I've taken a day off since I got here.

“And prepare,”Corinne added again, emphasizing her intentions. She then leaned in, whispering “The request will be a few days by carriage from here, so why don't you get some traveling clothes with the others? I'm sure Mibu would enjoy dress shopping with you.”

Kris blushed a bit, causing Corinne to giggle.

Walking back over to the other two, he announced the good news, as well as Corinne's suggestion (minus the embarrassing last bit).

“Yeah, let's do it!” Mibu asserted with her trademark fist pump.

Paddy smiled and nodded.

Going to the local dress shop (one that Misty had dragged Mibu too before) Kris felt out of his element. Mibu was scurrying around everywhere, looking at all of them, not able to actually pick anything.

Paddy, however, seemed out of her element as well. She just looked down nervously, standing next to him.

“What's wrong? Don't you wanna get a couple, too?” (For monetary reasons, Kris had asked them to limit their purchases to two traveling outfits, each).

Paddy blushed, “I won't fit any...”

Ah shoot, I didn't think about that. Do they have special bearkin clothing stores?

However, as he was thinking this, the orc lady managing the shop came over, tapping Paddy on the shoulder. “Miss, we have a selection of clothing for our taller clientele in the back.”

Paddy got stars in her eyes, following the lady excitedly away.

Before Kris could say anything, Mibu was tugging at this side.

“Hey, I'm gonna try these on...”

“Okay,” Kris responded, nodding.

Mibu wagged her tail a couple times, “So...don't you wanna see?”

Kris blushed, “Oh...yeah, of course,” he said, covering with a smile.

Mibu nodded excitedly, pulling him along to the changing rooms.

Mibu's two picks were a white sundress, and a light-blue blouse and dark-blue skirt combo, both of which received top marks from Kris.

As she was finishing, Paddy came in to the changing area as well. Her choices were...a shirt and overalls, and a pair of pink pajamas, both large enough to fit Paddy properly.

I was hoping she'd pick something like Mibu, but I at least appreciate the utility of her selections.

After paying for all of them, they walked outside.

“Where to next!?” Mibu asked, excited to keep shopping.

Before Kris could respond, Paddy asked, “Um...could I go back to the inn? I actually wanted to catch up on some sleep before our trip. I can take your clothes back, too.”

Kris nodded, “Of course, if you ever need to rest you can,” Kris asserted.

Paddy smiled and nodded.

Maybe we should take more days off. Well, maybe after the loan's paid off...

After Paddy left, Mibu dragged Kris to a book store. “Since the trip is a few days, I was hoping I could get a book to read along the way.”

“Yeah that should be fine,” Kris responded. I was more of a watcher than a reader, but maybe I could get one too?

Arriving at the store, they entered, and Mibu immediately dashed off to the romance section.

Kris facepalmed, I'm just...not surprised in the slightest. Shaking his head, he started to look around himself. I'm gonna guess they don't have isekai novels in an actual isekai world, right? Looking down, he saw a novel titled 'In Another World with my Toothbrush'. Kris's eyes widened, before forcing himself to walk away.

Maybe some manga? Or just anything with pictures? While most of the selection looked like regular books, in the corner he did see a few that looked like they had pictures. Walking over excited, he got near only to realize...they were children's books. Shaking his head, he was about to walk away from that section too, when one caught his eye.

The Goddess and the Status Screen? Picking it up, he flipped to the first page, showing a picture similar to the Goddess he had met when he was transported to this world, looking down from the sky. Below her was a person (the art was blobby and he couldn't tell the gender) with what was unmistakably a status screen in front of them. While interesting, Kris was staring at the person in the book. They were, unmistakably, wearing a tracksuit. 'The Goddess created the world, bestowing each race the ability to use a status screen to use once they reach adulthood.' Is this the creation story of this world?

Flipping to the next page, it showed the Goddess giving the person in a tracksuit a book. 'The Goddess bestowed magic upon the world, giving Tomes to those worthy of the knowledge.' Can't you just buy them or get them out of Dungeons? I guess she did give me one though... he remembered, unconsciously rubbing his head.

Flipping to the third page, this one showed the man surrounded by people of different races and colors. Two of them seemed familiar, similar to a dogkin and a bearkin, next to the person in a tracksuit. Is this...is this supposed to be me!? 'The Goddess left the races to live amongst themselves, until one day she would send a Hero to unite them against a great evil. Kris shook his head, No that's definitely can't be me, right? My goal is much less noble.

“Did your parents read that to you as a child, too?” Mibu asked excitedly, jumping up behind him.

“Uh...no, I just thought the art was interesting,” Kris deflected.

“Oh...yeah I forget they didn't teach you anything about the world. You would have known more if they'd read you this!” Mibu added, shaking her head.

Kris set it down, a bit weary. Did the Goddess just...create this world just for me? Mibu, Paddy, Corrine, everybody? He looked at Mibu, excitedly purchasing the book she had selected, before coming back over. Were they just poofed into existence when I came here?

As Mibu came back over, he gave her a hug, pulling her close. Mibu seemed surprised at first, but then wrapped her arms around him as well.

Whatever, she's real enough for me.

Iron Rank-up Request

The next day, they went over right at opening to pick up their request. Corinne watched as they came over, before handing him the paper.

“There's a village in the forest to the east requesting help with an Elder bear. Unfortunately the village doesn't have a lot of money, so they were only able to put up ten silver, but we're offsetting that by also making this a Rank-up Request for you. We'll also bring Paddy up to Iron-Rank as well, should you succeed,” Corinne explained.

I mean, ten silver is still a good amount, but... “Is that low for an Elder bear?”

Corinne nodded. “We don't have requests for them too often, but usually they're twenty or more.”

Well, whatever, “That's fine. You both good?” he asked the other two.

Both nodded (Mibu vigorously, Paddy as if trying to reassure herself).

Kris put the request into his status screen, the map popping up. Yup, that's a way aways, twice as far as Floberg or the fenrir den.

“The Guild hired a carriage for you already, they'll be outside your inn in an hour,” Corinne added.

“Oh, thanks, that saves us the trouble,” Kris nodded.

Corinne smiled, “Of course.”

After packing their extra clothes in a newly purchased traveling chest, the carriage arrived, driven by an old man smoking a pipe. He said nothing, merely giving a slight nod as they greeted him.

They stashed their chest, before entering inside the carriage, closing the door.

“This is so exciting! We haven't been on a trip like this since that mission to Floberg,” Mibu said as they started to roll away.

Kris nodded, “We also had the mission up the mountain, but I guess we walked on that one, didn't we?”

Paddy asked, “Why did you walk up the mountain?”

Mibu excitedly told the tale of their mission up the mountain to the fenrir, including the attack from the would-be robber and convincing the fenrir and it's pups to leave.

“Wow...” was all Paddy could say, in awe of their accomplishment.

Hmm, I wonder...

“Paddy, are you able to understand bears like Mibu could understand the fenrir?”

Paddy nodded slowly. “Yes...although it's the same as the fenrir, I can only understand meanings, not exactly what it's saying.”

Kris nodded. Hmm...I wonder if we could try and convince the bear to leave the village alone?

Mibu was having the same thought. “Should we try and talk to it, then?”

“I think we should try. If we can get away with not killing it, that would make it a lot easier...and a lot safer.”

Mibu nodded in agreement.

Paddy looked down nervously, “I'll try...”

As the day wore on, Kris watched through the window as the trees got thicker the deeper they got into the forest.

Mibu was engrossed in the book she had purchased, reading with it so close to her face he was worried about her eyesight.

Paddy had...fallen asleep, lightly snoring and not waking up even when the carriage occasionally jostled over a rock or dip in the road.

Eventually, the light wound down, and the carriage driver stopped at an inn tucked into the forest.

Grabbing their chest, they went inside while the carriage driver parked in the stable. Inside, an old half-elf lady greeted them with a smile.

“Good evening, do you need a room? It's twenty copper a night.”

Kris nodded, “Yes, do you have larger rooms?”

The lady shook her head, “Sorry, just one-bed rooms. Do you need two?”

Kris looked at Mibu and Paddy. I can just sleep on the floor. “No just one is fine,” he asserted, fishing out the payment.

The lady smiled again, taking his coins and exchanging them for a key.

Taking the key, they walked down the hall (the inn was one floor and had no bar) and found their room.

Paddy sat the chest down, while Mibu looked at Kris excitedly. “We're all gonna sleep in the same bed!?”

Paddy looked at her, a blush coming across her face.

Kris shook his head. “No, you two can use the bed, I'll just sleep on the floor.”

Mibu seemed a bit put-off. “What about-”

Kris cut her off with a hand raise, whispering, “It's okay, we'll live going a day without...”

Mibu looked disappointed but nodded. Quickly shaking it off, she ran over and hugged Paddy. “Come on, let's get into pajamas!”

Paddy nodded, starting to undress before looking at Kris.

Kris held up his hand, “I'll go get us some drinks.”

Going outside the room, he ran into the carriage drive, who simply nodded as he walked past. Walking back up to the half-elf lady, he asked, “Do you have any drinks?”

She shook her head, “Sorry, I don't normally stock anything, but I can bring you some water.”

Kris nodded, “Yeah, that's fine.” Water's probably better after that long trip anyway. After a few moments, they lady came back with a pitcher and some mugs, and Kris took them back to the room.

Inside, Kris and Paddy were sitting on the bed, talking quietly. Paddy had on her pink pajamas she had purchased, while Mibu had on...just her undergarments. I guess we normally sleep naked, don't we...

They stopped whatever they were talking about as he entered, Mibu breaking out into a giggle. Bringing the water over, he poured them drinks before setting it on the table and pouring himself some as well.

Kris wasn't sure if this was what they were talking about or a new subject, but Mibu asked Paddy, “Have you been in this forest before?”

Paddy shook her head, “No, I'm from the south.”

“Me neither. It's fun exploring new places, isn't it?”

Paddy nodded.

Well, we are Adventurer's Guild members. I'm sure we'll be doing these kinds of missions more often as we rank up.

Kris finished his glass before lying down on a blanket, listening as Mibu and Paddy chatted.

Eventually, Paddy let out a big yawn.

Kris got up, tapping the light crystal to lower the light, “We should probably get some sleep.”

Laying down in the quiet for a few moments, Mibu asked. “Kris?”

“What's wrong?”

“Did you lock the door?”

“Yes, I was worried too, so I checked three times...”

In the morning, they woke up bright and early, getting ready and heading back into the carriage. The day went mostly the same as the previous, with Mibu reading and Paddy napping again.

Halfway through the day, Mibu closed her book.

“Finished?” Kris asked.

Mibu smiled and nodded. “Yeah, it was great! I love romance,” she added cuddling up to Kris.

Kris blushed a bit, but wrapped his arm around her.

After sitting like this for a few minutes, Mibu whispered “Isn't Paddy cute?”

Kris whispered back, “She is, but why are you asking?”

“Don't you wanna add her to the pack? Your harem?” Mibu asked, looking at him expectantly.

Kris rolled his eyes, “You ruined the mood we had going.”

“No, I'm adding to the mood,” Mibu corrected.

Kris shook his head, “She doesn't seem interested anyways.”

“How do you know, though? Did you ask her?”

“Did you?” Kris countered.

Mibu blushed and didn't respond.

Kris closed his eyes in thought. I've been so caught up with things I've been doing a pretty bad job with the harem. I mean...if it's between having Paddy in or not, I'd definitely rather she was in. Making up his mind, he whispered “Now's not a good time, but maybe we can...you know...gauge her interest later. After we're ranked up.”

Mibu broke into a big grin and nodded vigorously, before wrapping her arms around him again and burying her head into his chest.

And we have to deal with you, too...