First Job Done! Now time for clothes!

Gwen felt exposed walking through the city without her staff and in a tank top. Though she had to admit not wearing the robe felt so much better. The cool evening air against her neck was a relief after hours of itchy fabric.

Her stomach growled, a loud sound that made a passing merchant glance her way. She patted her midsection gently, a red tint to her cheeks. “Don’t worry, we shall feast soon, my child,” she whispered, trying to appease it.

Why did I just say that out loud, Gwen thought, her cheeks now burning bright. She sped up, cutting through the crowd and ignoring the looks they sent her way.

It didn’t feel like Gwen had been in the dungeon long, but she ended up spending a full twelve hours down there. Her legs ached slightly; it would’ve been worse if she hadn’t healed herself.

Even the rush of energy from defeating the goblins didn’t refuel her empty tank.

The crazier part about her day was that she never reached the end of the hallway. She didn’t even know if she made it halfway before turning around and heading back.

“I might have to pack for an overnight stay and train all night one day to see how long the hallway goes,” she muttered, adding to the mental list that seemed to be growing longer by the minute.

Gwen reached the guild after almost ten minutes of walking. She glanced up at the huge building that was almost the size of a mansion. She pulled open the door, and the smell of liquor hit her immediately, thick and sour, making her nose wrinkle.

She walked to the counter, weaving through the crowd of adventurers, and got into the middle line. The worker, the one who had allowed her to go into the dungeon without being D-Rank—alerting Mel that she’s back would be nice.

Wait, I’m the villainess anyway, she grumbled. Don’t have to be nice if I don’t want to.

Her gaze wandered as she waited in line.

The guild hall was plain, nothing special: white walls, tile flooring, and a yellow ceiling with lights embedded into it. The dark brown oak door matched the receptionist counters. The bar and tables took up most of the room, with a giant job request board standing in the center.

Gwen reached the desk after a few minutes. Mel looked exhausted; her light green hair was a mess, and her cat ears flopped downward. Her white guild outfit, with green stripes, was disheveled.

“I’ll be with you in just one moment,” Mel said, without looking up, her voice strained.

“Hurry up, Mel; I’d like to go shopping before the merchants close,” Gwen said impatiently.

“If you would…” Mel trailed off, her head snapping upwards as she stared at Gwen. “You’re supposed to be back earlier; what the hell happened?”

Gwen shrugged. “I got lost.”

“Not funny; do you not realize how much trouble I'd be in if a noble went missing after I’ve given her a job, despite her rank being too low?” Mel’s ears twitched nervously, and Gwen felt a pang of guilt twist in her gut.

“Chill, Mel, I returned just fine!” Gwen said, forcing a lightness into her voice. “See, no injuries.”

“Don’t call me that!” she hissed. “Also, what happened to your staff and robe?”

“Eh, the staff broke fighting a goblin, and I gave the robe to someone whose clothes got ripped.” Gwen’s fingers curled slightly at the memory.

Mel shook her head, her ears flattening. “I can’t believe you’d help someone.”

“I resent it!” Gwen argued, crossing her arms, and she felt the familiar cold mask sliding back into place. “I’ll have you know I can be very helpful to others.”

“Sure you can!”

“I can!”

“Whatever! Do you have anything important you need help with? If not, move aside.”

“Yeah, just give me one second.” Gwen dug around her bag. She pulled out five slime jars and placed them on the counter, the glass clinking softly. “I got these, plus another forty more in my bag.”

Mel’s eyes widened, and she picked up one of the containers to examine it, turning it in the light. The purple liquid inside swirled lazily. “Man, we have so many people looking for these. If you have a total of forty-five, you’re getting at least two gold coins today!”

Gwen’s breath caught. Two gold coins… that was much more than what she had been expecting. Her fingers tingled with the sudden, giddy realization that she finally started making her own money, and wouldn’t have to rely on Duke Vanderick for funds.

“Can you set aside money… I would like to offer money in exchange for having someone party up with me? The words came out awkward, and she winced internally.

Smooth, Gwen, real smooth.

“Is your reputation so bad you need to make a quest?” My eyebrow arched.

“So far no one has wanted to party with me, and I’d like a porter, preferably one that is knowledgeable about monsters we are hunting.”

Mel bit her lip. “My family has been having issues, so I’m wondering…”

“Wondering what?” Gwen frowned.

“If you’re willing to hire my little sister, then maybe she could act as your porter. Mel paused, and her face went pale.

Gwen pressed her lips together. Mel is the first person to be nice to me since coming to this world, she thought, tapping her foot. It could be nice to build up my status amongst the beastfolk by willingly partnering up with one.

Before she could speak, Mel hurriedly added, “I’m sorry for asking; it was rude of me as a receptionist to be so forward.”

Gwen shook her head. “No, I was just thinking it over. If your sister is good at dismantling monsters and knows which parts are valuable, she can be my porter.”

“I can assure you she can!” Mel said earnestly, her ears perking up. “She has been studying monsters for the last few years along with going on small hunts with practice squads!”

“Then I’ll meet her tomorrow! If she’s a good worker, then I’ll hire her and give her fifteen percent of whatever we sell!”

“F-fifteen percent… are you serious?”

“Very!” Gwen reached into her bag and set all the slime cores on the counter. “I’d like most of it in silver, but convert five of the silver into bronze.”

Mel nodded, grabbed a container, and placed all the cores inside of them. “I’ll be back in a moment.” She turned around and walked into the back.

Gwen stood there, ignoring the feeling of harsh stares on her back. Mel came back relatively quickly with hefty bags that clanked together.

“You have four hundred fifty silver and five hundred bronze coins,” She said, pushing the bag on the counter and pushing them gently towards her.

“Thank you, Mel!” Gwen took the bags and dumped them into her side pouch without counting.

Mel raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you going to count them?”

Gwen shrugged. “There’s no need for me to do that. Anyways, I’ll meet you and your sister in the morning.”

She didn’t wait for a reply, turning on her heel and walking out of the guild. She heard Mel call out, but by the time she was out the door, the noise of the guild faded behind her. She took a deep breath of the fresh air and hurried forward, wanting to at least get a new outfit before the merchants closed.

Luckily, she had time to reach the section that held tailors. She looked through shop windows and street stalls, but so far nothing caught her attention, though she was hoping it would change soon. Most of the stuff was basic clothing or armor, none of which she was interested in.

After thirty minutes of walking, Gwen began to give up on finding something she would be interested in.

“Maybe I’ll find something tomorrow.” She muttered, her stomach growling again. At the moment, she thought it was best to get food and try again tomorrow.

She moved towards the end of the street when something caught her eye, and paused.

No way they have that here, she thought, staring into a glass window.

In a small, run-down shop, a white hoodie with purple accented with symbols hung up next to a black skirt. It was so out of place, something like this being in a medieval fantasy world, but then again they had running toilets and water.

“Yeah, this is my outfit!” She pumped her fist in the air and darted into the building.

The elderly shopkeeper looked up from behind the counter, his eyes widening. “Lady Vanderick?”

Gwen froze, her hand still raised in triumph. “What are you doing here, Cedrick?”