A tall elf with tan skin stands in the street, her short, purple locks rustling softly in the breeze. Her violet eyes are on the guild’s front door, the look on her face indecisive. She slightly lifts her right foot but then places it back down, not sure if she should head for said door.

[Name: Irie

Class: Elf

Strength: Lvl 2

Mind: Lvl 3

Soul: Lvl 3

Skill: Burn]

“Hi, Irie! What are you doing here?!” you call out as you approach.

Irie jolts at your voice, quickly spinning to face you, finding a certain cat girl (Koko) at your side. “Oh. It’s you two. Hi, Ako. Hi, Koko. I was just …” She glances back to the guild’s building, a rosy tint to her cheeks, a slight hint of uncertainty to her voice. “I was just going for a walk,” she finally finishes.

[Name: Ako

Class: Waifu

Strength: Lvl 3

Mind: Lvl 2

Soul: Lvl 3]

[Name: Koko

Class: Cat Girl

Strength: Lvl 4

Mind: Lvl 1

Soul: Lvl 3]

“A walk?” Koko queries, a bit of a smirk on her face. “Do you usually stand in place and lovingly gaze at the guild while walking?”

“I-I wasn’t …” the elven woman stammers. “I was just …”

“Actually, we’re heading for the guild,” you interrupt her before she gets even more flustered. “You want to come with?”

“Sure,” she pipes up, relaxing. “Why are we heading for the guild though?”

“Well, we were heading back from the weapon shop …” you begin.

“We saw a murder!” Koko cuts you off. “She went splat right in front of us!”

“W-Went splat?” Irie repeats in confusion, her purple eyes blinking. “Someone went splat?”

“Well,” you continue, crossing your arms, your blue twin tails bouncing, “I suppose that is one way to put it. Don’t know what it actually was. Could have been murder. Could have been something else. She fell right onto the street, leaving her drop behind.”

At the mention of the drop, Koko fishes the [Waifu’s Tear] out of her pocket. “Here it is,” she adds solemnly. “Poor waifu went splat and turned into this. We’re heading to the guild to notify them and turn this in.”

“I see,” Irie comments, her eyes on the drop Koko holds. “In that case, why are we standing around? Let’s go.” She doesn’t wait for a response, instead heading right for the door she had previously been indecisively staring at. Guess she just needed an excuse.

Stolen novel; please report.

“D-Don’t just run off without us!” Koko whines, chasing after the eager elf. You join her in the impromptu chase.

A moment later, you rush into the guild, the building’s door slamming shut behind you. The slam seems louder than it should have been, but that’s probably just your imagination. Heading further into the building, your shoes patter against the place’s flooring as you and your companions make your way towards Anna’s station. For whatever reason, the place proves rather empty with no line for seeing your desired receptionist.

Irie reaches Anna’s counter first, her eyes lighting up. She leans over said counter, sticking her big rump out as she starts talking. “Hi, Anna,” she says, smiling pleasantly, her elbows on the counter. “How have you been?”

[Name: Anna

Class: Succubus

Strength: Lvl 2

Mind: Lvl 2

Soul: Lvl 4

Skill: Drain

Skill: Heal]

“I’ve been good,” the busty succubus replies, her gold eyes on the elf, a friendly smile on her face. Anna isn’t short, but she is shorter than Irie. “What can I help you ladies with?”

“Well,” Irie starts, fidgeting a tad, “it has recently come to my attention … Eep!” She suddenly finds herself getting pushed aside by an overly animated cat girl.

“We saw a murder!” Koko blurts out, her red ponytail bobbing. “Or a suicide. Or something.” She turns her green eyes to the [Waifu’s Tear] and places it on the counter’s top.

Anna blinks before gently picking the drop up, the cream-colored skin of her fingers lightly pressing against the bluish jewel. “This is … a waifu’s drop,” she says, looking it over. “How did you three get this?”

“Well,” you step up to the counter as you start to speak, “Koko and I were heading back to our place, and a waifu just falls right onto the street. She turned into that drop.”

“So you didn’t see anyone kill her?”

You shake your head, earning a sigh from the cream-skinned succubus working the counter. Casually, said succubus places the drop item back down onto said counter. “You know,” she comments, “that makes the third one this week.”

“Third what?” You look up from the [Waifu’s Tear] to Anna’s face.

“The third presumed waifu suicide that I’ve been alerted to this week,” she clarifies. “Something’s wrong. I don’t know what exactly, but this isn’t normal.” Her golden eyes lock onto your pink. “There’s also been an increase in the number of waifus reported missing.”

“Y-You don’t say.” Your face pales, and you feel a knot forming in your stomach. Waifus committing suicide and waifus going missing. Not the kind of thing a waifu wants to hear.

“There’s also been …” Anna continues, her gold eyes still on your pink, “reports of waifus having … strange dreams.” She leans closer to you. “You haven’t been having any strange dreams have you?”

“S-Strange dreams?” you stutter, a rather bad feeling coming over you, the knot in your stomach getting worse. “Funny you should say that. Actually, I did have an odd nightmare last night.”

Her eyes are still on yours, but there’s something different about them now. Is that a look of worry you see? Leaning even closer, she asks, “Was there a Val in this nightmare?”

“Y-Yes,” you squeak, hardly able to talk from sheer unease.

Anna closes her eyes and sighs, her wings and tail drooping. “So you too.” She looks at the [Waifu’s Tear] and then back at you. “Would you be interested in a quest?”

“A quest?”

“Yes. Stopping whatever this is. Waifus are dying and disappearing due to it. Something must be done.” The succubus crosses her arms before bringing a hand to her chin. “Are you interested, Ako? It seems you are involved in this anyway.”

You turn to look at Koko and Irie, getting a thumbs up from Koko and a nod from Irie. You aren’t in this alone. Your friends have your back. Smiling, you turn back to Anna, who still waits for your answer.

“We’ll take that quest,” you say confidently, Koko patting you on your back after you do.

“Great.” Anna’s bat-like wings do a happy little flutter. “Maybe you three can get to the bottom of this.” Her eyes then lock with yours again. “Ako, do you have a cellphone?”

“Uh … No …”

She bends over, her long black locks swaying with the motion, and retrieves what appears to be a smartphone from beneath the counter. Actually, it doesn’t just appear to be a smartphone. It is quite literally a smartphone. Guess they have smartphones in the dungeon.

“Here,” she says, handing the cellphone to you. “We keep a few spares on hand. You can keep that one.”

You take the offered device, your face lighting up. For some reason, it feels good to have a smartphone in your hands. With a gleeful smile, you thank the beautiful succubus and pocket your new cellphone.

“I’ll send you the quest info. Good luck.” Anna bids your group goodbye, and you, Koko, and Irie turn to leave.