Looking around the guild building, we spotted a guard standing next to the gates. We didn’t have any leads about Mildreth’s nephew, so we needed some kind of connection, and a guard who looked about the same age as him was the best we had.

“Do you know his name?” I asked Amanda in a low voice.

“No. I was just bragging to a cute elf.”

I shook my head, disappointed.

The guard noticed us approaching and stood at attention, waiting for us to get closer.

“State your business!” he said, his voice trying to sound firm but shaking slightly.

“Sorry for bothering you,” I started. “I suppose you saw my interaction with Mildreth just now, and I was wondering if I might ask for your assistance.”

“It’s none of my business. Move along,” he answered, tightening his grip on his spear.

“Come on, handsome, give a girl a break. We really, really need your help.” Amanda’s voice was sweet, unusually so, and it caught me off guard. I glanced at her, puzzled, and then saw her mana bar drain slightly on her arm. She had cast something on the guard. I silently prayed it had worked.

“Oh, I…” The guard seemed confused by the interaction and blushed. “I guess I could help a little…” He scratched his head, loosening up.

“That’s great! We really need a strong man’s help right now.” She grabbed the guard’s arm, pulling him closer. “We’re looking for Miss Mildreth’s nephew. You see, he did a bad, bad thing,” she pouted as she spoke.

“That’s no good,” he said, the righteous tone returning to his voice.

“Don’t worry. I bet you have better things to do than deal with a poor girl’s broken heart. That’s why my big brother is here,” Amanda said, pointing to me.

“Brother?” he asked.

“I’m adopted,” I answered, trying to stay cool.

“Gotcha. So, what do you need, sweetheart?” he asked Amanda.

“I just need to know where he lives and his name.”

“That’s all? I could go with you and teach him a lesson.”

“Thank you for the offer,” I chimed in, “but I think the kingdom’s resources are better spent with you protecting the entrance. Besides, it’s my duty as a big brother.”

“Oh.” He looked pleadingly at Amanda, who nodded at my words. “Okay. His name is Matthew. He lives next to the market area. I don’t know exactly where, but you could easily find him by asking around.”

Amanda gave him a peck on the cheek, making him blush even more. “Thank you, sweetie.”

We left the guard rubbing his cheek, gazing longingly at Amanda.

“What have you done?” I asked when we were out of earshot.

“A simple charm spell, harmless,” she answered nonchalantly.

“Harmless? What if he found out?”

“Doc, loosen up a little. We deal with the ifs when they come. He didn’t find out, and we got our information. What other alternative did we have? Bribery?”

“No! That would’ve been worse!”

“Exactly. We’re not in our world anymore, remember? We need to act as the situation demands. Look, there’s a girl over there, and we’re close to this Matthew guy’s house. Go ask her; use your charm.”

“I don’t have a charm spell… Oh, you mean… Alright…” I dragged my feet toward the woman sitting on a bench near the market district.

From a distance, I could see long blonde hair draped over her shoulders. Her frame was tightened by corsets, and her dress seemed out of place.

I approached carefully. “Excuse me, miss. May I join you?” She looked at me, her eyes red and her cheeks wet, her brown eyes flickering in every direction as she gazed at me. “I’m really sorry to disturb you, miss. I’ll take my leave.”

“No, please.” She grabbed my hand. “Please, stay.”

“Miss, were you hurt?” I could feel rage boiling at the possibility.

“In a way. My fiancé broke up with me.”

“I’m sorry to hear this, miss. How may I help you?”

“You look like an adventurer. He broke up with me to become one. Can you put some sense into his head?”

“Don’t tell me. Your fiancé’s name is Matthew.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Yes! How did you know?”

“His aunt isn’t happy about him becoming an adventurer either and sent me. Could you point me in the right direction?” She pointed to a house with flickering lights and a shadow pacing back and forth behind the window. “Got it. I’ll talk to him. May I ask you to follow me so he’ll be more relaxed?” She nodded. “I’ll get my partner, and we’ll go.”

I stood up, and Amanda looked at me mockingly. I imagine my face was really showing how displeased I was about the situation.

“You made her cry in one sentence? You’ve lost it, Doc,” she said, shaking her head with a smirk.

“Yeah. Her fiancé, Matt, wants to be an adventurer and dumped her. Ring any bells?”

Amanda’s eyes widened, and she looked from me to the girl and back. “Oh…”

“Yeah, I still got it. He lives that way. Let’s fix this.”

Matthew’s house was nice. The bricks were well-placed, the mortar uniform, and it even had a second story, showing his financial power. The location, one street before the market district, confirmed that we were dealing with some kind of old-money family. We could see someone inside, pacing in front of the window, holding his ear and talking to himself.

“Sending,” Amanda said. I looked confused until she explained. “We don’t have telephones anymore, Doc. He must be talking with someone through magic.”

“Yeah, makes sense. Should we knock?” As I finished, the woman who had followed us barged in, yelling at the young man who was caught off guard.

“You’re ruining our lives! Your mother and my father did everything to bring us together, and you’ll throw it all away for some fantasy?” she yelled at the man, who was standing still, holding his ear.

“Julie, what are you doing here? I thought we were over this,” he answered. “Damn, word limits suck! I was talking to my mom.”

“I don’t care, Matt! You can’t do this to us!”

“Julie, who the hell are these people?” he asked, pointing at Amanda and me.

“Your aunt sent them, Matt. She’s worried sick about this nonsense.”

“Sorry, Mr. Matthew. My name is Doc. I’m a mercenary, and this is my party member Amanda. I guess you’ve met her.”

His eyes sparkled when he recognized Amanda. “Yeah! She’s the reason I can finally follow my dream!” He ran to Amanda and held her hands. “Your tales about your adventures inspired me to pursue this life. This dragon has threatened the lives of citizens for too long, and it’s my calling to defeat this threat and write my name into the Heroes’ Hall!”

I could see Amanda shifting uncomfortably, trying to pull her hands from Matthew’s grasp. She was trying to find the words to respond, but they seemed to get stuck in her throat.

“It’s a shame it’s all a lie,” I called out.

He spun to face me, an ethereal dagger ready in his hand, pointed in my direction. “Take it back! How dare you call such a hero a liar? You say you are her party member, but how do I know that for sure?”

“Matthew? What the hell do you think you’re doing?” An elf woman stepped into the door, her white hair matching perfectly with her pale skin and purple eyes.

“Mother? I thought you were with the king. How did you arrive so fast?” The dagger vanished from his hand, and Julie knelt in relief, sobbing into her hands, praising the new arrival.

“Mages, Matthew. I taught you better than this. Who are these fellows in your house?”

“Pardon me, madam. My name is Doc. I’m a new mercenary, and my friend here was boasting to your sister. Your son overheard her exploits in a fantasy land and got it into his head that he could be an adventurer. I’m here on behalf of your sister, Mildreth, to put him on the right path and apologize on behalf of my friend.”

The woman looked me up and down. I felt a chill inside my soul and felt extremely unprepared to even speak to her. It felt like I was a kid at the grown-ups’ table, with talks of taxes and death while I played Pokémon hidden under the tablecloth.

“Good. I suppose I don’t have to intervene with Mildreth now. Move on; I shall see how you deal with my idiot of a son. If you fail, I’ll intervene again.”

The chill ran out, and I could see Matthew holding his dagger once again, pointing it at me, the elf woman nowhere to be seen.

I sighed loudly. “Show him your tablet,” I said.

“What?” Amanda protested. “Why should I?”

“Oh, you shouldn’t. Go ahead, Matthew,” I leaned forward, putting my neck against the dagger. I could feel the sting as the flesh was cut and a drop of blood dripped from the small wound. “Kill me.”

The sight of blood made the young man flinch. I slapped his hand, and the dagger vanished.

Amanda looked at me in shock. “What the hell, Doc?”

“Show him the fucking tablet, Amanda.” I demanded.

“Fine!” She agreed under protest and reach into her bag to fetch the new leveled tablet.

He took the tablet reading it carefully, his eyes darting back an forth and lingering on the top for a second longer than the rest.

Name: Amanda.

Level: 2

Class: Warlock.

You dug deep into your own soul to find power. Your arcane power is linked to your patron and your bloodline, however, you still can do serious damage in melee. Find your patron in your journey to get stronger.

Charisma +2.

STR: 07

DEX: 06

CON: 08

INT: 02

WIS: 04

CHA: 14

“What does this mean?” He asked. “Level 2? You’re only level 2?” Amanda nodded in confirmation. “How could I believe in you? How could I abandon everything I know to follow someone I had just met?” He looked at his fiance sobbing on his floor and knelled next to her. “Julie, I’m so deeply sorry. I don’t know how I suppose to compensate you with my immaturity. I bet this devilish woman casted a spell on me!” His tone was angry, and he looked with disdain into Amanda. I was ready to step in when a voice came from upstairs.

“Stop this foolishness right now.” I recognized the voice as of his mother, and from the shift of his posture, so did he.

“Mother? Where are you? How could you arrive so fast?”

“Mages, Matthew. And don’t blame others from your own weakness. You’re attached to childish fantasies of heroes and villains, of swords and capes and don’t know nothing about the real world. I’ve heard all, and I must thank you both for coming out of your way to help put sense into my son’s head.” She bowed slightly.

“No, madam.” I responded. “I am the one who shall thank you for intervene in such a timing, I was losing my temper and I shouldn’t. I am too still inexperience and thank you” I bowed more than her initially.

“Such a polite young man.” she chuckled. “You both shall tell Mildreth that you did what you were asked, and I won’t punish her for the faults of my son. I am aware that you didn’t receive your rewards from the first contract, tell her that I’ll double the reward for this service. Ask her where to find me tomorrow, tonight I shall deal with my son.”

“Thank you, madam. And I am, too, sorry for the harm that I had caused” This time was Amanda who spoke and also bowed. I could see the smile on the woman’s face.

“It was a pleasure to meet both of you. I look forward for our next dealings.”

Without another word, we saw ourselves out, not wanting to linger any further into family matters.

“That went well.” Amanda said, reaching to her back and stretching her back.

“As well as we could hope.” I said, cleaning my neck from the speck of blood.

“You know that woman?” She asked.

“Never seen her in my life.”

“So why did she knew you?”

“Magic, Amanda. We’re not in Kansas anymore.”