17. A Cold Welcome

Despite the hard fight against something as weak as a slime, Bao felt like he left the scene as a winner, his bruises and wounds being the prove of fought battles. Covered in mud and blood, his appearance had changed once again to that of a poor beggar with nothing better to wear than old used rags, immediately attracting the attention of the guards at the city gates. Only the adventurer's plate allowed him to be let through without any more complications.

Upon entering the adventurers guild a mixed stench of sweat, alcohol, iron and tobacco welcomed him. He found himself in a giant hall crammed to the brim with experienced adventurers, which were probably the source of the stinging smell in his nose. No one noticed or even cared about his weak presence, not when he entered and neither did they when he walked towards an empty counter.

"Good evening, how can I help you?" The man behind the counter asked with a monotone voice.

"I finished my quest."

Bao emptied the contents of his satchel on the table with exception of the improvised bandages. A small, rolled piece of paper was also between the gems and grass, it seemed to be from the quest he accepted.

"This is all the grass I could find and the cores are from three slimes that attacked me out of nowhere while I was busy picking herbs, can I sell those too?

"Yes, of course, we buy everything from adventurers that could be of use to craftsmen of any kind, from pelts to scales, minerals and even more! Furthermore, things like goblin ears and paws are often asked as proof for subjugation quests."

The receptionist put everything in a box including the paper and disappeared for a brief moment in a room behind the counter. When he came back he only held a stack of copper coins and the paper in his hand which he both placed on the table.

"Five coins for completing the quest, three for the surplus of collected Wildfire Grass and only two for the destroyed cores making a total of ten copper coins. For the future, if you can leave the cores intact then they would be worth far more."

"I un...understand thank you."

His good mood immediately sunk when seeing the low pay he received for putting his life at risk. This much would be barely enough to pay a one overnight stay in the cheapest tavern not to mention that he needed a new sword since the rusty one has been melted through the acid of the slimes, and at least three meals per day. In short, he still needed to rely on the holy maiden if he wanted to stay in the city. He had nothing against her but accompanying an idolized person like her in his current state could mean trouble, and in the worst case even death, the bad looks of the knights during their travel was proof enough for him. The daylight already started to dim towards the darkness when he left the guild and started his walk back to the mansion.

"I'm back!" He shouted upon entering the house.

As a response came nothing but his own voice that echoed through the corridors.

"How come that not even the maids and butlers are around?"

While searching for a hint from the missing personnel, he heard the sound of footsteps coming from the floor above his head. Was it a burglar or worse an assassin? One quick move and he had already unsheathed the knife on his waist which somehow didn't dissolve during the fight against the slimes. By slowly placing one foot in front of the other he tried to sneak up the stairs, at the time he reached halfway he could hear the faint sound of voices coming down the hallway. Without hesitation, he sprinted over the remaining steps and jumped around the corner, his dagger ready to stab anyone who might be there.

"Aaaah" One of the maids screamed; surprised upon his sudden armed raid.

Other personnel immediately stormed out of a nearby room, attracted by the scream.

"What happened..." The head butler reached them first and interrupted his sentence midway when witnessing the scene in front of him.

"I'm sorry, I thought a burglar might have entered the estate." Bao put back the dagger and made a small bow.

"Please follow me, Mister David, there is something you should see." The butlers face turned serious.

Bao followed him into the room everyone just stormed out of. Everyone he searched for stood there around a giant canopy bed on which Elincia lied, her skin paler than it should have and big black bags underneath her eyes. The silky hair spread over the bed like an ocean of gold but it wasn't as pure as before, the ends slowly started to fade into black.

One of the maids looked in his direction with tears in her eyes.

"Please save her."