Back to Town

The next time Kris awoke, he could see lightbeams drifting through the window. Is it the next day? Did I spend all of yesterday in bed?

Adjusting his eyes, he saw that he was wedged between Mibu and Paddy, both of them hanging onto him.

Kris had a moment of serenity. This. This is what I wanted.

After enjoying the moment, he slipped out so he could grab some water, as his throat was unbelievably parched. After downing a glass, he poured another, then got dressed and went outside to stretch his legs a bit.

The fire from the previous day was smoldering, only some hot coals still burning in it. Most people had left back to their houses, although it looks like a few had passed out in the square, lying in the grass.

Drinking his water, he went and sat down on the same log as yesterday, staring into the coals. He began to think of the tasty bear meat again, when he thought he noticed someone watching him from behind a fence.

When Kris turned to look, the hooded figure was gone. Who...? He rubbed his eyes.

His thoughts were interrupted by a voice behind him.

“Ready to go, sonny?” It was their carriage driver, taking a few puffs from his pipe. “The instructions to get paid were very clear, 'to get all of them back home in one piece', so I'd like to go while you all still are.”

Kris chuckled, imagining Corinne's face and demeanor while giving those instructions. “Yeah, let's both get back and get our payment.” Looking over at the fence, the figure hadn't re-emerged. Probably just a curious villager. Or maybe I just need more sleep.

Getting back to the room, Mibu and Paddy were up and talking in bed. Both stopped and looked at Kris when he entered, before giggling.

Playing along, Kris threw their clothes at them. “Let's go! We gotta go get our payment.”

They quickly got dressed while Kris packed the few things they had out into the chest in his room, before bringing it out of the inn. The carriage was already waiting outside, so he heaved the chest in, waiting for the others to come out.

As he was standing there, watching the smoke rings the carriage driver was puffing, several people gathered, thanking him again. A couple even walked up and gave him small gifts.

“Here's some smoked bear meat for the road.”

“A few peach trees grow near by, so have a basket.”

Kris thanked them, putting each inside the carriage.

Then, a short, hooded girl came up (Kris thought she was probably around his age) with a small bouquet of Noxbliss flowers that matched her hair. She looked at him nervously, then bowed, holding them out. “Please, take this!”

This garnered a murmuring from the crowd.

What!? These are valuable, but I'd hate to decline a gift. “Are you sure?” Kris asked.

The girl nodded.

Kris took them, “Th-thanks then.”

The girl let out a sigh, then smiled, before retreating into the crowd.

Mibu and Paddy then came out, and also received words of thanks from the crowd, before boarding the carriage.

Waving bye through the window, they rolled out of the village.

“What's this stuff?” Mibu asked.

“Some of the villagers gave us extra rewards, I guess,” Kris explained. He took one of the peaches and took a bite, That's pretty good.

Paddy pointed to the flowers in his other hand, “What's that?”

“Ohh, that's Noxbliss! That brings back memories...” Mibu mused.

Paddy nodded, “I know, but, why does Kris have some?”

“One of the villagers gave it to me,” he responded, shrugging.

Mibu wagged her tail, “We could sell that many for almost a silver!”

Kris shook his head, “I feel a little bad just selling it, though...”

“Isn't that why she gave it to us?” Mibu asked, like it was obvious.

I guess it'd be a waste to just let them go bad instead...

Maybe because of all the sleeping they had done, but Mibu and Paddy were very lively. Paddy especially was much more active in conversations, talking more, and overall just seemed less nervous.

Maybe she feels like she fits in more, now? Kris thought, shaking his head. It's not like we were trying to exclude her. I guess I'll need to be more careful about adding party members in the future.

Mibu poked Kris's face. “Hey are you gonna answer?”

Kris snapped back to the present. “Sorry, I was thinking about something. What's the question?”

Mibu asked (again), “What kind of girl do you prefer, Corinne or Misty?”

Kris did a double-take. “Wait, you're comparing them? Well, I guess it's better than comparing each other...”

Mibu seemed confused, “Why would we compare each other? We already know you like both of us.”

Oh...I guess that's true. And an easy way to dodge that issue.

“So, which one?” Mibu asked once again. Paddy also nodded in agreement.

Hmm...maybe I'll give a semi-serious answer. “Well, Corinne is very smart and adept at running things in the guild, so having her would help us out a lot on the administrative side. Especially when our party gets larger. For Misty, she would help a lot more on the combat side. It would probably open up a lot more options on requests, and I'm sure once we get to trying Dungeons she would be immensely helpful.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Kris and Paddy both blinked, looked at each other, then looked back at Kris.

“We meant how they looked,” Mibu said succinctly.

Kris facepalmed, “Why are you asking me that. I mean, they're both pretty...”

Mibu nodded, and started whispering to Paddy, who also nodded.

Kris shook his head, going back to looking outside.

That night, they stopped at the inn with the old half-elf lady again.

“Oh, good to see you again. Returning home now?”

Kris nodded, taking the room key and heading back to their room.

Inside, Kris was immediately attacked by the other two.

“We're all sleeping together tonight,” Mibu whispered.

Paddy confidently nodded in agreement.

“I...” Kris paused for a moment. “I like the idea, but I was hoping we could discuss a few things tonight...”

Mibu seemed confused, “Why didn't you ask us during the carriage ride?”

“Well, I was happy to see you two chatting together, and didn't want to interrupt...” he said, looking bashful and scratching his head.

Paddy and Mibu looked at each other, then went to the side and whispered hurriedly. After a few moments, they came back. “Okay.”

What are they conferring over!? Well, whatever... “He went over and sat at the desk, while Mibu and Paddy sat on the bed. “So, I already said this, but good job both of you with the Elder bear mission,” Kris explained in a serious tone.

Mibu started braiding Paddy's hair. “Why are you talking like that?”

Kris grabbed his forehead. “I was trying to have a serious discussion about our party...”

Mibu nodded, but kept braiding, while Paddy listened intently.

“Since we're going to be Iron-Rank now, I wanted to get your opinions on trying out a Dungeon soon.”

Mibu nodded excitedly. “I think we can do it! And Misty said they usually get a lot of money out of their Dungeon expeditions.”

Paddy seemed less sure. “Um...I'm a little worried about my levels...”

Kris nodded. He and Mibu were getting into double digits with some of their skills, but Paddy was lagging behind. Her Iron Armor was level 9, and shield was 6 (and her ax was only at lv. 1).

Before, Kris could respond, Mibu patted Paddy on the head. “Don't worry, you'll be fine.”

While Paddy seemed to enjoy the petting, she still seemed a bit nervous.

“What if we do a few more requests, and get some of them at least to 10? Would you feel better about that?” Kris asked.

Paddy blushed a bit, then nodded.

“If we're going to a Dungeon, shouldn't we get a fourth member though?” Mibu asked.

Kris grimaced a bit. “I'd like to, but we don't really know anyone that could join us, right?”

“We could buy someone else! Just like Paddy...” Mibu said, this time hugging Paddy from behind.

“We're not going to get someone at our rank in our price range. We need to stock up on supplies for the Dungeon as well, so we really have even less...and we're not going to get a steal like Paddy again.”

Paddy blushed a bit, but smiled at him.

After a moment, Kris asked, “Do any of you want to talk about anything?”

Mibu and Paddy looked at least other, then whispered back and forth for a bit.

After conferring for a few moments, Mibu asked, “Do you want to rest tonight?”

Kris scrunched his eyes. “I...how did you know?”

Mibu shook her head, “I can always tell when you're out of energy.”

I...I guess that's not too surprising.

They both got off the bed, and Paddy set about dragging the mattress off the bed, putting it on the floor. They then dragged Kris over, laying him down on the bed and squishing themselves on either side of him.

“Not that I don't enjoy it, but why are you both being so affectionate?” Kris asked, trying to wrap an arm around each of them.

Paddy answered, “W-we were talking about you yesterday, and we wanted to show our appreciation...” she trailed off.

Mibu nodded. “We wanted to thank you for being a nice owner.”

Kris shook his head, “No, I'm just-” before stopping. No, I should just show my appreciation back. “Well, you did plenty,” he explained, giving each of them a kiss.

Paddy and Mibu looked at each other, before giggling.

The next day was uneventful, and they arrived back to Coburn in the early evening.

The carriage driver dropped them in front of the inn and, with the tip of his cap, drove away.

Paddy and Mibu carried the chest back to their room to unpack, so Kris headed to the Guild Hall to turn the request in.

Inside, Corinne was talking to another Guildmember, so Kris waited a couple minutes, until it was his turn.

Corinne gave him a smile as he walked up. “Good to see you back. I assume you were successful?”

Kris smiled back and nodded, pulling up his status screen.

Corinne confirmed and completed the requested. “Did you...happen to slay the creature this time?”

Kris did a slight chuckle. “Yeah, we did,” he said, pulling up the Monster Log.

Corinne nodded, “Good, Elder bear's are three silver bounties.”

Kris was excited after hearing that, “Awesome, I didn't realize they were that much.”

“I thought you might try to convince it leave, like you did the fenrir,” Corinne explained, before heading back.

Coming back with the silver, she slid them over to Kris. “I'll have your Iron badges prepared tomorrow. How are Mibu and Paddy doing?”

“Oh, they're...” Kris paused, remembering their conversation about if he liked girls like Corrine. Blushing a bit, he nodded, “They're good.”

Corrine paused, then blushed herself, looking away.

Kris eyes went wide. Why is she blushing? Wait, did she misinterpret why I was blushing? Although, I guess what she's thinking might not actually be wrong...

Deciding to just leave, he bade her farewell and went outside.

A Talk Over Steaks

As he left the Guild Hall, Mibu was walking over to him from the inn.

“Paddy wanted to nap, so I figured we could get some dinner,” she explained, wrapping her arms around his arm.

Kris nodded, “Yeah, let's...” he paused. Wait, this is a good time, right? Yeah, I'm not gonna put it off anymore. “Let's go for some steaks?”

Mibu started drooling slightly, nodding vigorously before dragging him along.

After they sat down at the steakhouse, Kris waited for the dip to come out, before deciding to launch into it.

“I actually was wanting a chance to talk to you about something.”

Mibu smiled and nodded, after she had started chomping on the crackers and dip, so Kris continued.

“Now, don't get upset, wait until I fully explain everything, okay?” Kris said.

Mibu paused for a moment, then slowly nodded again.

“So, I...really like you Mibu.”

Mibu smiled, nodding. “Ibe reawwy lige you too,” she got as she swallowed the peanut butter.

Kris continued, changing his mind. “Actually, um...I think...I think I might be in love with you.”

Mibu swallowed, still smiling, “Yeah, I love you too, of course.”

Kris was a bit taken aback. I guess she already felt that way? Or maybe it's not a big deal for her to say it...? Kris decided to continue. “Because of...that, I don't want you to be my slave anymore, I-”

Mibu started choking on her crackers. “Wub!?” and then started coughing.

Kris held up his hands as she pounded her chest to help swallow. “Hold on, that's why I asked you to wait...”

Mibu nodded again, now looking at him attentively and not eating.

“I don't...I don't feel right having you as my slave anymore. I-”

Mibu cut him off again. “But, I thought you said you loved me!? I don't-”

Kris grabbed her hand. “Mibu, I want us to be together. Not because you're my slave, but because we want to be by each other's side.”

“Of course, I want to be by your side, too! We're mates, right?” Mibu said.

Kris blushed a bit, hoping no one around them heard. Trying to figure out a way to help her understand, he continued, “Yes, I'm saying, I don't want my mate to be a slave. I want us to be...equal mates.”

Mibu was starting to wrap her head around it. “But...what does that change?”

Kris shook his head, “It means...you can leave if you want. Obviously I want you to stay, no...I'm asking you to say. Adventurer's can die young, and I want us to be together for...for life.”

Mibu paused for a moment, before jumping over the table, knocking him over and kissing him as they fell.

The clientele around them watched in shock. Luckily, the dogkin owner liked them, and just came over and chuckled, “Hey, you two, save it for later!”

Kris and Mibu both blushed, before setting the chairs back up and sitting down again.

Not wanting to wait any longer, Kris went into the status screen's slave menu options for Mibu and terminated it. Besides disappearing from his status screen as a slave, the only noticeable change was the slave crest on her hand faded away.

After they finished eating, they walked to the inn, Mibu somehow managing to intertwine herself even more than she usually did.

We probably look like a couple now, right? Actually, we are a couple now...right? I guess I should make sure. “Mibu...we're together now right? Not just party members, but...”

Mibu nodded vigorously. “You said for life, right? So we're mates for life.”

Kris blinked a few times. I did say that. Wait, wasn't that basically a proposal? Well, she accepted it, so... “Sorry, um, I'll get a ring once we can afford it.”

Mibu seemed confused. “What do you mean? Are you getting a magic ring?”

They must not have that tradition here. “Um, how do I signify that we're mates for life?”

Mibu still seemed confused. “We...mate...”

Well, that's straightforward...

As they got close to the inn, Mibu whispered, “Hey, can you say it again?”

“That we're mates for life?” Kris asked, confused.

“No, no, the part before,” Mibu said, wagging her tail.

Kris thought a moment, then realized what she must mean, “I love you, Mibu.”

Mibu blushed, her tail going into overdrive, and pulled Kris faster towards the inn.