After-party

“Thanks to Rei we were able to get out of there alive” Brad was reporting the battle to Roxy

“A Goblin King is a really big problem...Armor, can you do me a favor and scout Corola to see if the monster’s still there?” she talked to the guy I bumped into the day before.

“I’m on a quest already” this was my first time hearing his voice even though it was muffled under the helmet.

“I’ll pay you the usual”

“Ugh, ok then” Armor immediately went to work.

“The most I can give you guys for risking your lives is a bonus and a day off. Deal?”

“Deal”

Roxy went to the counter, checked if the number of necklaces was the same as the report, and gave us the rewards. We made a total of 800 Karses, 300 went to me, Brad and Gray took 200 each and Lua the rest. I didn’t think it was fair to give Lua less than the others so I chose to give her some of my share of the money.

“Do you remember you have a debt to pay?” Lua asked me when I offered her the sum.

“I know what I’m doing” she took the small leather pouch and thanked me.

I had to pay for the weekly rent, I had to spend the rest of the money before my personal tax collector gave me a visit. I figured the marketplace to have pulled up stakes already and decided to head out to a specific job.

“Don’t you wanna party with us for your first quest?” Gray stopped me before the door.

“Maybe later, I have a thing to do right now”

“You’re such a party-pooper! Keke” I didn’t know how he was already drunk. We just got back.

“Let the Rookie have some freedom, Gray” Brad took him away from me “At least come back before we eat everything”

“Sure, Captain” he let out a smile as I called him like that for the first time.

I left the Full Moon headed to the slums and found Roxy standing outside. She was lost in thought and was mumbling something about other Units that went missing in the forest where we had fought the King. She was waiting for me.

“Oh there you are” she noticed me “Going to spend the money I just gave you so you don’t have to pay back?”

What a monster…

“I just wanted to give you these, I picked them up in one of the Huts”

I handed her a bunch of metallic plates, they were all Guild’s Brooches.

“Thank you, we can now inform some of the families” she was visibly distressed.

Some of the Warriors we fought wore human armor and also wielded forged weapons. I guessed they stole them from the mercenaries that fell in battle against them.

“If we only chased the King away before...” we could have saved them.

“Don’t let it get to you Rei, you did nothing wrong. When someone joins the Guild he already knows that his life is endangered. We lose many brave men and women every year”

“But still this doesn’t feel right”

“It’s pretty common for mercenaries to take difficult jobs in need for money, some get back others don’t”

“I’m not talking about that, why did the King run away when he still had an advantage on us. How did a Bronze Unit like ours defeated a monster that even Silver mercenaries struggle with”

The whole battle passed before my eyes again, that strange feeling in the monster's eyes before he ran away. The King wasn't angry, enraged monsters fought until they were dead, he was letting us go.

“You got lucky Rei, nothing much” Roxy shoved the Brooches in her pockets “Now go spend every single Kar you have”

I walked away leaving that uneasiness for another day. The battle with the King made me realize that I was ages behind every other mercenary in existence. My ass got saved by my quick instincts but I couldn’t just rely on them forever.

I was back at Lyria’s archive. I waltzed in Clara’s office without even knocking.

“Are my books ready?” the Archive’s Mistress got scared and threw her book at me.

“Don’t scare me like that!!” she placed a hand on her heart to check the pulse “I told you to knock before coming in”

“But you didn’t”

As if she didn’t hear my words, Clara got up and hugged me tightly. I couldn’t breathe since my face was squeezed on her. A nostalgic sweet aroma entered my nostrils and put me at ease.

“How was your first quest, Honey?” she finally loosened her grip “Did you defeat every single one of those scary Goblins?”

“I wanted to talk to you about that”

“Mh, a Goblin King you said...Have you informed Roxy already? This is a serious matter” we were now sitting face-to-face. Clara was sipping a cup of herbal tea.

“Yes, we got back to the Full Moon a couple of hours ago. I came here to tell you since you were the one to give me the job” Clara smiled

“So you wanted to see me”

“I came to get my books” I had priorities. The ‘Man-eater’ could wait.

“You’re so mean”

She got up and bent right in front of me to get the books, my eyes were open and I could understand every move she made to try and charm me. My heart wouldn’t have faltered just from that.

“Here they are, I made the package myself” Clara giggled as she let the heavy pile of books fall on my legs “Be careful! Those are one of my favorites. I even left you a note in there” she winked.

I had to get out of there soon.

“Thank you, I’ll come back once I’m done reading them”

“A, speaking of which, I took on a job recently and will be out of town for a couple of days so you’ll have to wait for when I come back”

“I’ll just leave them to the receptionist” I waved goodbye and left.

I had another place to stop by and no time to waste. I had to go back and at least party a little, just to get to know my future coworkers better. The lights inside the building were still on and the “open” sign was hung on the door handle. I opened it and the heat suddenly embraced me.

“Oho! Long time no see” Larce was placing new items on display “Perfect timing, mind helping me set up for tomorrow?”

“No problem”

I laid my books and bag down and grabbed a couple of swords from the pile behind the counter.

“Those go there” Larce pointed me the way “So, what brings you here Rei?”

“I have some things to ask you and maybe something you might be interested in” everything was in the bag on the floor.

“You sure know how to keep me on the hook” Larce looked at the stuff I brought with me “You’re getting pretty close with Clara aren't you?”

“I just went there to get some books” I placed another sword on the rack

“I’ve seen plenty of men visit the Archive just to get a glance at her, you’re the only one so far who managed to get her to pack books personally”

“How do you know that?”

“You can call it a feeling” he smirked “I heard you got your license, how’s the life of a mercenary?”

“You can call it ‘eventful’. I just got back from a job where the whole Unit almost got wiped out by a single monster” I sighed trying not to remember the fight.

“You’ll get used to it eventually” Larce handed me another bunch of weapons “These are the last ones”

The shop was now set and done. I placed my bag on the counter and showed Larce what I brought him. I salvaged the equipment of some of the fallen mercenaries: daggers, swords, pieces of armor, and even some intact arrows. I decided not to use them for myself out of respect. The rest were a bunch of Goblin masks, including the King’s one.

“I hoped you could do something with these” Larce was inspecting the goods with his goggles on.

“This dagger is still in great condition, I can work on it a bit and make it as good as new. The arrows can easily be sold at 5 Karses apiece. For the armor and the rest I guess I can smelt the iron to make something new…” he was considering something “How about 160 Karses for everything? Masks included”

“Done deal” that was an extremely good price and much more than what I expected.

“I’ll hang this to bring in customers” Larce took the King’s mask and rejoiced “You sure you don’t want this as a trophy?”

“Just say that I gave it to you if someone asks” I grabbed the money on the counter “Now onto the other thing” I unsheathed my sword and put it in front of Larce.

I asked him to show and teach me the correct ways to take care of my sword. He sat near his whetstone and began polishing the blade which had dulled during the fight. He passed a wet cloth on the sword to get rid of any chips. Larce explained that the best way to make a sword last was just thinking a bit more when using it. Avoiding using the plate of the blade, drying liquids on the blade, and things as such, complimenting me for having done a good job so far.

“The first time I saw this, I thought this was Black Iron for sure, but see” he pointed with his pinky on a little crack on the hilt “Black Iron never wears off. This has to be an imitation after all”

“Black Iron? I got this sword from a random bad guy”

“You told me already, Black Iron is a legendary material that every blacksmith has desired getting his hands on at least once in their lifetime. Weapons made out from Black Iron never broke nor wore off. To destroy one of those bad boys you need ‘Ancient-Dragon-level’ force”

“So there are weapons like that out in Berulea?” if I really got my hands on one of those by chance, imagine the money I could make.

“No, Black Iron is a thing of the past” Larce seemed sad all of a sudden “But that story can wait another time! You helped me out with the shop so I’m gonna treat you to some alcohol tonight, dude”

I got my sword back. Larce turned off every lamp in the shop and told me to wait for him outside while he locked the place. Once done we walked together towards the Full Moon. Larce wanted to meet my Unit and possibly land some good businesses with mercenaries.

We spent the whole night partying with my Unit. I decided to try a drink just to join in the festivities but didn’t want to cut loose too much. Larce on the other hand, ten minutes in, had finished his already and ordered a second one. He tried to flirt with Chey in the process but an ice bullet landed in between his legs and made him think twice. Brad and Gray started a race with Larce to see who could last longer only to give up three mugs later. The blacksmith, who was already drunk as a skunk, started advertising his Forge to the mercenaries challenging them to an arm wrestle competition. If he lost he would have made them a custom weapon for free, if the challenger lost he would have bought a custom weapon from Larce. After a 20+ winning streak, he collapsed on the table laughing.

“Eheh dude, I feel like I made some pretty good money tonight, hic”

Roxy forced me to escort Larce back home.

“Seeing how much you drank, you just repaid what you spent”

“Rei, Rei, Rei...My boy hic” I had to catch him before he fell to the ground “You don’t have eyes for business, nor for women”

“You’re one to talk”

“Chevy is a beauty amongst many, hic. I have to fight for her with every other guy there!” he started laughing again “I showed off tonight just to get her attention eh eh, did I do good?”

“You did great, Larce” we were almost to his shop.

“Dude, you Unit is kinda ass, you know? Those dudes, Chad and Trey or whatever...They’re not as good as you think they are”

They say that in wine lays the truth so I considered believing what Larce told me. I would have kept an eye open for any strange actions from them.

“We’re back”

I let Larce go off my arm and watched him as he unlocked the door and entered the forge. I saw lights ignite and a drunk blacksmith taped on the window waving me goodbye. I took that as my sign to leave. I got back to the Full Moon slowly walking through the nightlife of the city. The two moons up in the sky were not so abnormal now.

“Man, I’m dead tired from today” I searched for the key to unlock my room’s door.

“Crash!”

I heard a wooden stool breaking and someone shouting in one of the other rooms. The alcohol had got to someone’s head. Everyone drank lots that night and a lot of fights broke. Roxy and I managed to stop some of them by forcing people out of the place. Maybe one of those fights broke again. It was not my problem. I heard strange noises every night from the same room anyway, the customer must have been pretty problematic.

As I was putting the key in the lock, ready to go to sleep, the door of that room opened and Lua came out, bathed in light. She was wearing a simple nightdress and she seemed surprised to see me. I connected the dots.

“What happened there?” I grabbed Lua’s arm. She was visibly shaken.

“Nothing” she avoided looking me in the eyes.

“What did they do to you?” Larce was right after all

“Nothing, I already told you”

She tried to let go of me and flee to her room but I didn’t let my grip loose and forced the sleeve of her dress up to the shoulder. She was full of bruises. Looking more into it I could see them on her legs too. Most of them were shaped like a hand of different sizes, around her ankles, wrists, and neck. The sight reminded me of the girl I saved before.

“I’ll have a chat with both of them”

I was going to force my way in and most possibly get beaten up like a pulp. Even landing a single hit would have relieved me from the anger that was rising inside me.

“Please don’t” Lua was now grabbing my heart “Please”

“Is this what they did to one of their Unit members? Weren’t we supposed to be a team? I heard noises of a door opening at the same time every night, were they doing this while we were on the job too?” the sudden realization was too much to handle.

I just noticed I had raised my voice. Lua was shaking, trying to protect herself with her arms. How did it come to this?

“They have to pay for this” I had my hand on the hilt of my sword.

“Why do you care so much about me Rei, don’t you know they’ll do the same thing to you if you go inside there? I tried to avoid getting you hurt”

“I don’t care about myself”

“But I do” Lua’s arm moved quickly and slapped me on the face.

She covered her mouth with her hands seeing what she had just done. Her eyes teared up on her face and she ran to her room locking herself in. I got to the door and sat down leaning on the wood. I could hear her cry from inside.

“I’m sorry” was the only thing I could say.

A few minutes later, the door unlocked and opened behind my back.

“Can you come in for a moment, I would like to talk”

Her room was the same as mine. Different clothes were hung in the closet and a pile of books was placed on the desk near the window. Lua was sitting on her bed and I decided to sit next to her.

“We are both Nameless” she started talking “It’s not easy to live in a place full of Nobles who mistreat you every day just because you didn’t have a surname”

“I thought it was different here. Everyone talked to me normally”

“Roxy didn’t let your info out. To the mercenaries, you’re just another one of them. Even Chevy would be in the same situation as us if it wasn’t for Roxy...In this kingdom, demi-humans are nothing different from Nameless”

“I didn’t know that”

“You’re her personal source of income, she wouldn’t want you to quit” Lua laughed “I grew up in an orphanage here in Lyria. My parents are nowhere to be found and even the Headmaster didn’t know their faces. I spent my days with the other kids as a big family until I found out that I could use magic. Everyone was scared of the light coming out of my hands at first but then we all managed to adapt and continued living as if nothing happened. Then the city knew of my power when I healed one of my brothers that got hurt in the middle of the streets. This was two years ago”

She curled up on the bed sheets covering her face with her knees. Her eyes were still red from the tears and her cheeks wet.

“A couple of days later a group of guards came to the orphanage and forced me to take that glass cube in my hands and discovered I wasn’t only a Nameless who could wield magic but my element was one that few people had. They forced a choice on me between the Royal Academy and the Guild...We didn’t have enough money to afford me to live and study in the capital”

“So you got your license”

“Roxy tried to hide my past from the others but after a year someone found out that I was Nameless and spread the rumors. Every party I tried to join rejected me saying that I wasn’t needed. I am one of the best healers here and they put me aside for a stupid reason. How crazy is that aha” I could feel pain under her laugh. “Then I met Brad, he wasn’t like the others and I joined him and Gray to form a Unit. Things started off good at first but after a few months, they started asking for a ‘protection fee’ and abusing my magic with the excuse of kicking me out. I needed the money to survive so I agreed”

“Those bastards…”

“As time passed, the money wasn’t enough anymore. They started asking to stay in the same tent, then they wanted me to take off my clothes before sleeping, and then…then” Lua started crying again. She didn’t need to go further for me to understand.

“Why didn’t you tell the others, or at least inform Roxy and have the Guild act somehow. You could have told me sooner, I-I would have thought of something”

“Roxy is always busy, I didn’t want to bother her. The Guild and the mercenaries don’t care about the words of a Nameless like me. I had the thought of letting everything go and getting myself killed during a job, but as many times as I tried, the other two kept protecting me. I had just decided to end it myself then you joined the Guild and, shortly after, our Unit. I didn’t want you to get the same treatment as me so I stayed. They would have hurt you anyway so I was thinking of a way to make you leave...but I couldn’t”

I had been a fool all this time. If only I had noticed sooner...Lua might have suffered a bit less. Something had to be done one way or the other. If talking it through didn’t work I was ready to cross swords. Leaving this as it was, would have just left me a bad taste in my mouth.

“Why did you take my side?”

“Do I really have to say that?” Lua giggled and sniffed “I feel so relieved now that I talked with someone. I think I’ll sleep soundly tonight”

I got up from the bed to let Lua rest.

“Don’t go Rei” she took my hand “Please stay here with me…”

I sat on the floor with my back against one of the bed legs. I started thinking more about what happened around me searching for any little details that could help. Lua fell asleep almost immediately. I got enough resolve to convince myself to stand by Lua’s side for as long as my life granted me. I felt the fatigue build up in seconds and fell asleep too.

I didn’t let go of Lua’s hand until the following morning.

[Clara, Archive’s Office]

As my Honey left the room, I felt the need to calm down from the stress I had just accumulated.

“Why isn’t it working anymore!”

I threw my cup on the wall as strong as I could, it crashed spilling the tea I specifically made for that encounter. Rei just needed to drink it and he couldn’t have resisted me anymore, but he refused my offer.

The whole room was coated in my perfumes, anyone entering here should have the instant will to bring me home. How was he different from anyone else? Did he have a girlfriend already? Maybe that Lua girl in his Unit…

Rei had to be mine, only mine! The girl had to disappear.

I picked up a small metal disk on my table and opened it. The magic circle inside glowed and a disturbing sound could be heard from the other side.

“Are you there Magnus?” no response “Magnus? MAGNUS?”

“Woah calm down ‘Man-eater’”

“Don’t call me like that” that title was revolting “Did you come up with a plan to get rid of the boy?”

“Not really, we’re thinking about it but most of my men are out searching for the King” I heard him scolding one of his underdogs for slacking off.

“Focus on that then, I have something in mind. I’ll have to use your moles”

“Go ahead, you know how to contact them already. Now get that deafening voice out of my ears, bye” the magic circle turned off.

“I’ll show you that I’m the one worthy to be by Greed’s side”

Hey! Ecspo here. Hope you liked this chapter!

Since this is my first serious work and also my first work in English I would very much appreciate any tips, critiques, comments of any kind. Tell me if the chapters are too long, short, or whatever, it would mean a lot to me.