Before the two’s fight could go any further, Ichika raised her hand and waved it in a square motion. Blue flames instantly enveloped the two girls and when the flames cleared they were trapped in blue translucent boxes that fell to the ground. Inside, Althaia melted into a puddle, while the oni girl kept attacking the barrier in an attempt to break out.

“Damn, they should just kiss already…” Ichika said with a lewd expression on her face.

Suddenly, I felt warmth surrounding my body. I could tell that the source of the heat was intense, but something was preventing it from completely scorching me. It was evaporating the water that had soaked me and warming my body back to a comfortable temperature.

Looking to my left, I saw Zahra producing a small flame from her outstretched palms. Seeing her outfit once again, I still wasn’t sure how to feel. The outfit obviously wouldn’t provide much protection during a fight and it just felt disconcerting to see someone like her wearing it. However, seeing how kind Zahra was, I didn’t want to hurt her feelings by mentioning anything about it, so I left the subject alone for now.

“Thanks Zahra, I appreciate the assistance.” I gave her praise for helping me.

“You appreciate Zahra? Now Leone gives Zahra something in return.” Zahra spoke with a smile while reaching down for the waist of my pants.

Before she could get any further, however, Ichika looked in our direction and performed the same gesture as earlier. Zahra was then engulfed in blue flames and placed into a similar box as the other two.

Shocked and confused, I asked, “What the hell was that?”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with that girl, her heart is in the right place, but she goes about it in all the wrong ways.” Ichika shook her head.

“That doesn't answer my question…” I responded.

“Hmm, well it's quite a sad story, so let's not get into it for now…” Ichika spoke with a somber voice while thinking about something.

“Alright then…” I replied, still not sure what that was all about.

“Well then, onto a less depressing topic, let’s have you meet Kanna, that feisty little one over there.” Ichika pointed at the box that the oni girl was trapped in.

“Let’s.” I agreed.

Following Ichika over to the box, she opened a small hole in the cage. Kanna immediately ran towards it, and as soon as her head was through, Ichika collapsed the cage around her neck.

Kanna’s stuck head was quite funny to me. I could tell she was beautiful in a strange way with her flawless reddish skin, soft-looking short black hair—tied up in a loose bun, along with her toned physique hidden beneath loose fitting black robes and bandages that covered her nearly flat chest. In addition, her deep red eyes, two oni horns, slightly pointed ears and small fangs, made her even more eye-catching.

“Hey, hey, Ichika let meeeeee out” Kanna begged as she wailed her arms and legs around, unable to move.

“Only if you agree to introduce yourself to our leader.” Ichika teased.

“No, I don’t want to.” Kanna said as she began to blush.

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“Oh, have you developed a little crush on young Leone here?” Ichika grinned while looking over at me.

“Of course I have, just look at how he’s built.” Kanna said as she pointed to my arms.

Although I had gained a lot of muscle mass and a nice physique from all the hours of combat training with my father, I never really thought anything of it. I have looked like this from a young age, and my father always had an even better physique for as far back as I can remember.

“Oh Kanna, is that all you care about in a man?” Ichika shook her head.

“I mean look at him Ichika, his muscles are just so well shaped and finely crafted.” Kanna spoke about me as if she was appraising a weapon.

“While I have to admit they look nice, there's gotta be more to a man or woman for me.” Ichika said.

“Whoa, hey, I've got more to me than just muscle. I am also well versed in multiple forms of combat.” I jokingly bragged.

“Even better.” Kanna said as she started to drool.

“Hey can you stop gawking over me, my physique is not that big of a deal. Plus everyone else should be similar in order to be combat ready for adventures.” I spoke while looking at the oni’s lustful eyes.

“Have you seen the other men in the guild? They are all fat and lazy slobs, with few exceptions. How’d you get those scars anyway?” Kanna asked while closely examining my build.

“Haha, well… let's just say my father had to get me ready to fight and adventure somehow.” I shuddered while reminiscing about certain memories.

“Even hotter.” Kanna said as the crazed look in her eyes intensified.

“Alright that's enough of that.” Ichika said as she pushed Kanna’s head back and closed the gap of the cube prison.

Not too long after, Lena emerged from the restaurant with a long piece of paper.

“Well look at what this little commotion has caused, here’s the list of all the damages that we now owe.” Lena announced with a disappointed voice.

“How much is it going to cost?” Ichika asked, giving a slight wince.

“Around twenty-thousand gold.” Lena replied.

“That doesn’t sound like too much, only two or three missions.” I said ignorantly.

“Well yes, if every mission was the same difficulty rating of the one we have been given. We were only given that mission because no one else was available to do it. In reality, missions above C rank around here are not all too common, at least in the past…” Lena explained to me.

“Well how many regular missions is it going to take?” I asked.

“After this first one, about thirty more.” Lena said to me.

“You gotta be kidding me… So you’re telling me I won’t get any actual payout until I complete thirty missions?” I was devastated.

“That’s correct Leone.” Lena replied.

“Why exactly does this debt fall on me?” I asked, feeling wronged.

“Because members of your party caused the damage.” Lena sighed.

“Well that still seems unfair, why should I have to pay for it, can’t they pay for it themselves?” I felt that was the least they could do.

“I mean, they will be paying for themselves, but as the party leader and their only source of income, it pretty much falls onto you.” Lena said.

“Well that’s fantastic, if that's the case we should probably get going then.” I responded.

“We should probably retrieve Asayo before we go anywhere.” Ichika chimed into the conversation.

“You’re right, this squad seems shitty enough as it is, we might as well pick up the sleeping cat.” I replied, irritation evident in my tone.

“Try not to be so harsh on Asayo, she’s had a lot to deal with lately… Not to mention she's the one who saved you in the first place.” Lena reprimanded my attitude.

“Yeah, yeah, my bad. I'm just frustrated that I gotta supply the money for this stupid debt that those four dumbasses caused. You know what, each of you is gonna find another source of income as well.” I turned to face the dumbasses in question.

“Ooh! Zahra has an idea!” Zahra exclaimed in excitement.

“No you don’t.” Ichika responded while playfully chopping Zahra on the head.

“Alright, enough conversation. Let's go get the final member of our squad so that we can get to the mission at hand.” Lena announced.