Seeing the unfamiliar woman angrily stomp over to Elizabeth, I reacted by placing my palm up, ready to use Astral Ice Wind. As the magic circle forms, I felt a hand on my arm and tracing it down I saw Aubrey shaking her head at me.
“That’s Claire, a Guild attendant. It’s okay.”
Looking at the woman who now stood before a nervous looking Elizabeth, I slowly lowered my hand. Watching as Claire grabs Elizabeth's arm, I watch as she drags Elizabeth away, towards a corner of the lobby. Watching nervously, I heard Elise near us.
“Oh my. Claire is very protective of her adventurers. She also gets very angry if they rush off into a dangerous situation. Well, at least she found you two. Now, let's go get dinner, you have to tell me everything that happened.”
“As long as it’s at the Guild. I want to go bathe and sleep.” Saying this, Aubrey stretches as I hear a shout from Claire.
“YOU WENT TO THE SIXTH FLOOR?!”
“Ah, that…that’ll take a while. We should go to the Guild first. And don’t worry, Claire will drag her there once she’s done here.” Smiling towards me, Elise makes a gesture to follow her. Following behind, I felt the fatigue setting in as well.
“We’ll get your loot sorted first. Since I forgot to mention it before, I went ahead and found a few requests for materials from the sixth and seventh floor, and judging from Alisha’s level you guys must’ve had great success on the seventh floor.” Speaking while leading Aubrey and I, Elise sounded oddly proud and turned to smile at me before facing forward again.
“Actually…we never got to the seventh floor.” Speaking with a bit of shyness in her voice, Aubrey’s expression turned slightly meek. “W-we had to l-leave for a reason w-we’ll discuss with you.”
Perhaps picking up the serious tone in Aubrey’s voice, Elise simply looked towards us and nodded. We walk back to the Guild in silence, and upon entering, we go to a side room on the ground floor. Sitting at the table, Elise excuses herself for a moment and leaves before returning with another Guild attendant.
“Alisha, when you return from a dungeon or expedition, we’ll be able to take any loot that you have and buy it from you. I can not do it for you, since I am technically your teaching attendant. That is why I’ve brought Marcus here, and he’ll be able to do it for you.”
Looking at the middle aged man with white hair, he offered a bow. Placing her bag on the ground, Aubrey starts handing him the loot we obtained within the dungeon, including the armour and adventurer platers. At first Elise seemed calm, but became rather shocked then concerned.
Taking it in stride, Marcus pulled out a notepad and started writing something down and organising the loot. After several minutes, everything had been checked by Marcus who seemed very excited.
“Alright, all of the materials come to 8 Gold coins. The armour and weapons I can do for 5 Gold coins, I would usually do 7 Gold coins however there is wear and tear and some damage to them. A few pieces have dents in them, something like a Golem must’ve wacked them good.”
Looking away with a bit of guilt at these words, I felt Elise stare at me before I quickly turned to face her with a slight blush, distracting myself by patting Alice who sat on my lap. Marcus continued speaking.
“The monster cores come to a total of 7 Gold coins, though I suppose you wish to keep half of them?” Aubrey nods to his question as he says “Alright, 3 Gold coins and 50 Silvers. Now, the adventurer plates…eight Silver plates and one Bronze. Sigh, too many dead…” Shaking his head with some sadness, he looks back at us “2 Gold coins and 50 silvers as a reward for bringing them back to us, thank you.”
Seeing Aubrey shrug, I wasn’t sure how to react and simply nodded instead. “Now, altogether that’ll be 26 Gold coins, a very rich exploration. As for the Guild's share for processing all of it…I would normally take 6 Gold coins, but this time since we have a newbie here, I’ll do 4 Gold coins instead, so you’ll receive 22 Gold coins all up. 11 Gold coins each.”
Putting all the loot into a small bag, one of those dimensional bags that seemed to have a lot of room, he pulled out another pouch and handed Aubrey and I 11 Gold coins each. Looking at the Gold coins, I wondered how many nights I could stay at the inn.
Handing a pouch with half the monster cores we received back to Aubrey she accepts it and puts it away. Bowing to us once, Marcus left the room as Elise sat down, resting her chin on one hand.
“Alright, fess up. What happened.”
Knowing Aubrey had become her shy self, I started explaining our exploration into the Tomb of Lilith, and the events that unfolded there.
***
Leaning her head back, Elise stared at the ceiling as I finished retelling my story, tapping the table. After a few minutes passed, she looked back at me and said “Well done. In your position, I may not have killed Henry. In saying that, I do not blame you for doing so. He knowingly led you into a trap, something that is a crime outside of the dungeons. We have two problems now though.”
Sitting up properly, she looked at us seriously. “First of all, these enslavers you killed. They were under the level threshold for Silver Grade, yet they were all Silver, none of them Bronze Grade. It’s highly likely that someone within the Guild is responsible for it, and not just a lowly attendant either. We can not rule out the possibility of it being a powerful family, after all you said the slave collars did not deactivate upon the deaths of the enslavers. You two need to be careful next time you go in, I’ll investigate on my side as well as inform the Guild master.
Now the second problem is you’ve pissed off the Firebrand family. Now, they’re not exactly powerful, about middle rank I’d say, but that’s enough. They’ll attempt to hunt you two down and your friend as well. Thankfully Alisha you have that hood. I’ll arrange something similar for Aubrey and Elizabeth as well.”
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Shrugging at this news, I didn’t mind. I already had assassins from the Church after me, having more people come after me didn’t really affect me.
“Now, I have some advice for you, Alisha. Move from the inn. You need lodgings to call your own, and while I’m sure Floof will offer you some protection, he’d be limited in protecting you from the shadows. Plus, you don’t want to rely on strangers to keep you safe, right?”
Pursing my lips, I nod at her words. “H-how much would my own house cost?”
“Well, if you’re planning to settle down and work your way to Black grade, it’ll be best to get something small for now and work your way up. You also need something that offers you protection. A plot of land in an area with good security will set you back about 20 Gold, not to mention the cost of living either. Ideally, you’ll want 30 Gold.
“Don’t think it’ll be as easy as today to get that much money though, you guys got very lucky with your trip in, usually adventurers get about 10 Gold coins upon coming from a dungeon, you guys got this much due to running into that ambush. Work hard from here and you’ll get a place in no time. You have Elizabeth now, get her some levels and head back to the seventh floor as soon as you can.”
Thanking Elise for her advice, I knew she had my best interests in mind. I should have another seven or eight days left at the Lily Pond Inn, and I could get more days with the coins I had now. Just as I store the coins away, the door opens, revealing Claire who was dragging Elizabeth behind her.
“This is where you are. Good. I’ll leave this idiot with you, I need to help another one of my clients.”
Quickly turning and leaving, Claire slammed the door behind her with a bit of force. Giggling, Elise mutters “As caring as ever.” Turning back to us, Elise smiles. “Right, dinner first and foremost. Those rations you eat in the dungeon must be as disgusting as ever.”
Feeling my lips twitch, she hit the nail on the head. The rations were filling…and flavourless. Looking forward to a good meal, we follow Elise who had a rather mischievous smile.
***
While we walked down a snowy road, Elise looked over her shoulder at Elizabeth. “First of all, let's head to Mama Crow’s Inn so Elizabeth here can get her belongings and check out, then we’ll head to my favourite restaurant. Of course, if you want to stay at that inn, we can just head to dinner now.”
Shaking her head, Elizabeth told Elise she wanted to check out of the inn first. Glancing at her, I had to admit I still felt strange seeing her here suddenly. It wasn’t that I still thought she was a Mimic, but it felt strange to have someone from Crater Hell with me here.
We arrived in front of a building with a sign that read Mama Crow’s Inn, and after going in for a few minutes, Elizabeth walked out with a simple bag. Saying she was done, we once again follow behind Elise. Making small talk while we walk down the streets, I started finding the streets around me become familiar, and it wasn’t long before I realised our destination.
Standing outside the familiar Lily Pond Inn, I looked toward Elise who winked at me. “I come here every so often. The food they serve is quite good.” Moving into the building as we keep up with her, she approaches the desk where Lenny stood.
“Table for four, thanks.”
Lenny leads us to a table, the dining hall wasn’t too busy, about half full. Showing us to a table with four chairs, Lenny bows before leaving. Elise smiles and says “I’ll cover the costs for tonight, take it as a small reward for returning to me safely.”
As we organised what we wanted to order, Jessica came to our table to take our order. After taking everyones order and payment, she glances at me and nods. Not sure what she means, before I could ask she left.
While waiting for our food, Elise turns to Elizabeth. “So Elizabeth, are you also from Crater Hell?”
“How’d you know that?” Responding in surprise, Elizabeth turns to me for a moment before looking back at Elise. “I am. How I ended up here is…strange.”
Giggling, Elise turns to me. “So a friend from Crater Hell joins you, you must be happy to not be alone anymore.” Scratching my ear with a bit of embarrassment, I simply nod.
“Well, I do hope you both can return sooner rather than later. Aubrey, how about you form a party with them? I’m sure they can help you more than I can, and it’s better than having to find a party every day.”
Tilting my head slightly, I wondered what we could help Aubrey with as she spoke. “I-I’ll think about i-it.”
“Mm, that’s good. So Alisha, have you decided what you’re going to do? Will you stick around until you’re Black Grade, or will you get stronger and head out?”
Hearing this question, I already knew what I wanted to do, but I knew I couldn’t just do that, I needed to get stronger to face the worries of this world.
“I decided to remain here until either I’m Black Grade or find an opportunity to return home. After all, Sally and Grey are still there…” And I needed to find Olivia.
“Remember, if you need any help, seek me out. Sometimes I might not be available since I do have others under me, but I’ll always try and get to you. Elizabeth, even though Claire is scary, she is very caring. She’ll go above and beyond to ensure you get assistance.”
As we both nod, we continue until our food arrives, and after eating our fill, we make plans on entering the Tomb of Lilith once more. Elise suggested getting Elizabeth up to our levels first then making our way towards the seventh floor, and keep going until we conquer the Guardian on the tenth floor. After some more small talk, Elise and Aubrey leave together, while Elizabeth and I find Floof.
“Ah, young fox, you’ve brought a friend. Do you wish to have an extra bed in your room, or pay for a new room?”
Before I could speak, Elizabeth spoke up. “An extra bed please.” Floof nods and calls out to Lenny, who asks us to wait a moment.
“Oh, young fox. If you’re not doing anything tomorrow, Gordon has been begging me to bring you to the kitchen to help out. I’ll pay you 2 Silver for everyday you help out if you wish to help Gordon.”
Thinking it over, I did want to practise more cooking while I had the chance, and accepting Floof’s offer, he smiles.
“Very well. Whenever you’re free, just let Jessica or I know and we’ll lead you to the kitchen. When you do leave and move into your own place, you’re more than welcome to come by. I believe the practise
will help immensely with your new Subclass.”
Nodding to those words, I see Lenny arrive back at the counter. Letting us know a new bed had been placed down, we bid farewell to Floof as we headed upstairs. Entering the room, Elizabeth lays on the newly placed bed as I head into the bath. Making sure my hair and body had all the blood washed out, I get out and refill the bath for Elizabeth, getting dressed into the dress that Flannery had given me. After taking her bath, Elizabeth wore the same clothing as before. Making a mental note to take her shopping, I sit on my bed, but before I could start talking, Elizabeth fell asleep.
Shaking my head and smiling, I put Alice down next to the pillow as I too laid down while looking out the window. It was a half moon out tonight, and I started to consider if I should try and meet this so-called Moon Goddess. While wrapped up in those thoughts, I dozed off into a peaceful sleep.