The four lightly bowed towards Gerard expressing their thanks, but the old man waved them away, done with the headache of a discussion. Rin brought up the rear and ushered everyone down to the counter where they saw Reed once again.
He seemed a little star struck as Rin was the one up front to do the talking.
“Hey Reed! We just finished up a meeting with the Guild head and he’s approved bumping these guys up to B rank. Could you adjust their cards, and take care of some of the materials we brought back?”
“S-sure, but I’d need confir-” Before Reed could finish his sentence, a strict middle-aged woman with a blonde bun so tight Adrest wondered how she stood it appeared to the side of him. The severe woman handed a paper to Reed who seemed to be standing as straight as his spine would allow.
“Sir Gerard has personally confirmed their abilities, adjust their rankings to B and issue them an official Guild endorsement.”
“Right away, Ma’am!”
Reed slumped as soon as the woman was up the stairs and let out a deep breath.
Adrest had seem this act play out hundreds of times before on Earth so he sympathetically said, “Demanding job, huh?”
Reed looked up from the letter and sheepishly smiled, “Every job has its troubles, just have to take what you can.”
Adrest admired Reed’s attitude and stepped back to let him finish looking over the document.
Just a few minutes later, Adrest and his party were admiring their shiny new IDs. The metallic plate was about as thick as a few pieces of velveteen paper and about the size of a deck of cards. The bronze-like material was much tougher than one would think and Adrest felt he would have to seriously try with magic to bend it.
The cards were much the same, the exceptions being their strength was updated, the cards now had a photo of each individual taking up nearly a quarter of the space, and there was now a very obvious golden sword stamped on it denouncing that the guild has sponsored them, a guarantee for foreign countries and faraway cities to give them entry with no hassle.
It was essentially VIP treatment for an adventure, Adrest was shocked it came so easily. Starting out, one of his goals had been to get this symbol for when Alissa and himself explored the continent, but he had prepared to take years getting it. Most recipients only earned it at the peak of B rank and after proving themselves capable and trustworthy several times over.
Truly, the power of connections was amazing. Thanks to Rin, all it took was a few days camping, a quick talk with the Guildhead, and boom! The three had cards that allowed them to travel almost anywhere they desired with ease. Adrest made up his mind to slip out and find a gift for Rin as thanks for the huge help.
As Belle was still gawking at the piece of metal, Adrest guided her a few feet away from the counter and waved to get Alissa’s attention.
She knew what Adrest wanted so she saved a hand to unload the first and most mundane batch of trophies they’d collected over the previous few days. Out popped fangs from the Mantula, their poison was an expensive alchemy ingredient. Next was the still bloody pelts from various D and C ranks, some had cuts and holes from where someone inexperienced had harvested it.
Some vials of multicolored blood, each clearly labeled and dated, teeth, and a few heads that completely took over the dwindling surface area. Blood still dribbled from the severed necks and as it trickled over the other items, it made a macabre scene.
Reed was in wide-eyed shock at some of the items casually taken out, and the overall quantity was astounding. As a fairly seasoned Guild worker Reed quickly calculated that there were at least 2 dozen different monsters here, ranging from D-B rank. On average in a monster rich area such as this, a C rank group would still only kill maybe 10 or so beasts a month. Reed was staring at an average group’s half years work.
He wasn’t the only one surprised by the sight as the few adventurers populating the space looked over at the commotion. One even let out a low whistle of astonishment, focused on the head at the top of the pile.
“Is that a mature Sturge? Can’t believe you all are in one piece. I ran into one during a routine merchant group commission and half the guards were put out of commission before we finally took the bastard down.”
Adrest grinned, a feeling of pride coming over him as it was one he had fought with and killed himself.
“That’s right! A real nasty piece of work, but we handled it pretty well.” Adrest reached his hand out towards the mountain of a man who’d walked over to get a closer look at the head. The man reciprocated and covered Adrest’s hand with his own callused club of a fist.
“Haha, I’d say so looking at the four of you. Name’s Cress, good to meet you.”
“Adrest. We ran into a few tough guys but it’d say it was worth it.” He gestured to Reed calculating the worth of everything.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
The man laughed and left after saying, “If you ever need a hand I’m happy to join for a Guild Quest or two.”
As he finished the small talk Reed was getting around to counting out their profit and filling out a transfer receipt to show it was added to their funds. Alissa was signing it as he came back to the group.
“You’re all set. Have a great day, and congratulations again on the promotion!” Reed cheerily sent the group off who regrouped at the inn.
As usual, Rose was behind the bar, and being dinner time actually had a few group scattered around. The four took a table close to the bar and Alissa went up to order for the table and get drinks. The meal passed quickly and as Rin kept drinking, feeling especially good as she’d started to resolve her feeling towards Adrest and Alissa, and got the meeting with Gerard out of the way.
Naturally, Adrest and Alissa had to accompany her and before they knew, the three were rosy and feeling like they’d really relaxed for the first time since returning from the dungeon, taking turns playing a tumbling tower game with Belle now that it’d mostly emptied out. Rin and Alissa took turns regaling Rose with stories form their little adventure, and before anyone knew it, it was already well past midnight.
The group except Rose headed up together and Rin drunkenly asked Alissa whom she was leaning on. “How much longer are you staying here? Where are you going after this? I don’t want to have to make new friends again so soon.”
“we’re staying for another day or two, then going home.”
Rin was tearing up and clung to Alissa like a child begging, “Please don’t leave me?”
Alissa longed to be an older sister like nothing else, Rin had attacked her weak spot unknowingly. Alissa patted the girls head that rested just above her chest. Before even consulting Adrest she said, “Of course we can’t abandon you Rin, just come live with us, though Rose might get lonely again.”
Rin stopped the tears that had started leaking and looked up surprised, “Really? Are you sure? What about the monsters and the school?”
Alissa waved the concerns away, “It’s not so far away that you can't check in when you want, and the monsters should start dying down soon, but the school doesn’t need to know that right?”
Rin’s eye’s lit up in delight, “Yeah, that’s right! Are you really okay with me staying with you?”
“We’d love to have you Rin, as long as you don’t mind helping us with training.”
“I’d love to! Thank you so much!”
Adrest was silently standing behind Alissa, pondering who’s name it was on the Lodestone exactly, but he didn’t really care. Adrest liked Rin well enough, it was a little sudden, but he was happy to spend more time with Rin and learn how Heroes fight.
“We’ll talk about it more tomorrow, Belle’s about to fall asleep in the hall.” Alissa gestured to Belle who was in her pajamas and had her eyes closed, not even realizing what Alissa had said. Adrest squeezed her shoulder and she jolted awake, blushing at the attention.
Inside the room Alissa sat on her bed, and said to Belle on her own, “What would you think of Rin staying with us for a while?”
Belle who was ready to go back to sleep perked up excitedly, “That wasn’t a dream? Is she really? It’ll be so much fun!”
“Then it’s settled! We’ll all head back the day after tomorrow.”
The excitement from the news quickly wore off the exhausted teen, and sleep overtook her again in just minutes, still smiling in her dreams. Seeing this, Alissa turned a teasing smile to Adrest who was propped up beside her.
“Well Ady, are you excited to have another beautiful young girl move in with you?”
As Alissa spoke with a teasing tone and a cat’s smile on her lips, Adrest spoke with a dramatic sigh.
“There’s nothing to be done about it now. I guess I’ll just have to suffer another cute housemate. Looks like I’ll need to upgrade the bath again though.”
As he feigned sadness, inside he was giddy at the thought of a blueprint he’d found in the lodestone a month or so back. It was exorbitantly expensive, but would turn a plain square room into a fully equipped bath house. There would be a small room to change before and after, a wall with faucets overhead that poured down as much water as you wanted. Adjacent was a thick and smooth stone tub that could fit 6 people, on the last wall was a row of stone sinks and a long mirror running atop them, though still expensive to make, with magic mirrors weren’t as rare as Adrest may have guessed in this world. The best part was how easy it’d be to clean with a small grated hole in the center of the sealed floor so he could just scrub it out and flush all the water down. It also happened to be the perfect size for their current bathroom.
The only downside was the price. For the bath house renovation, Adrest would have to spend over 30,000 (lp). He hadn’t been able to justify it, but Alissa gave him the perfect excuse to splurge.
“Ady?” Alissa saw he wasn’t paying much attention to her, so she started poking his face.
Swatting at the immature dragon, “What? What!?”
“It’s been almost a week, and no one has tried touching Belle. I think it’s safe to assume Randier was the one behind the mercenaries and they’ve already left like every other merchant here. We can go fishing again, but I’m starting to miss our little home.”
As Alissa pouted at the end, Adrest found he too had a fatal weakness. Alissa in the low light, with her perfect face occasionally being lit up by sparks surging inside her horns, and her full lips stuck in a pout like a spoiled child trying to get her way, she could’ve asked for anything and he’d be unable to refuse.
Not even thinking, Adrest leaned in for a kiss. Alissa’s eyes went wide and she stiffened like she was attacked. But quickly Adrest felt her relax and her pout turned into something else as the corners of her lips twitched up.
Adrest was just realizing what he’d done and opened his eyes to see if Alissa was angry. He was stunned to see a beautifully flushed maiden staring back at him with wet eyes. Alissa winked as she noticed him staring and Adrest jumped when her tongue forced its way past his defenses, the velvet soft tip exploring the unknown and finding his own.
It was the start of long battle for Adrest, their tongues clumsily striking at each other, occasionally bumping teeth from the exchange. Each time that happened, there would be a muffled laugh and their efforts redoubled.
Soon, Alissa released her hostage and Adrest leaned back gulping down air. Even at C rank he still needed to breathe, and he felt he’d been at his absolute limit. Giddy and nervous, Adrest said somewhat lamely, “Any longer and you might’ve killed me Ali.”
Alissa batted her lashes at him, “Just another thing to work on then, right?”
Adrest was sure Rose could hear the gulp he took on the floor below him. Alissa, having found a new and exciting way to tease Adrest was thrilled. She giggled, gave him a kiss on the cheek as he was still stunned, and said, “Goodnight Ady, sweet dreams.”
Coming out of his stupor, Adrest laid down as well, putting an arm under Alissa’s head as usual, “Goodnight Ali, I’ll see you in the morning.”