A New Companion

Gwen nodded approvingly at her reflection, the purple accents catching the sunlight. She gave a slight twirl and took a step back. She enjoyed how unrestrictive the outfit was; it was made out of silk gathered from a tamed spider monster. Compared to her old robes, this fabric felt cool against her skin and light.

A small victory, one well earned.

With one last glance, she turned and walked out the door. It took her a few seconds to make it to the street and start walking her way towards the Adventurer’s Guild.

Her mind wandered back to yesterday. It had been odd running into Cedrick, knowing he made all the outfits for the heroine in the show, but she got over it once the old man bowed to her.

Apparently, the villainess had funded his shop months ago but didn’t come to the opening. It was something the anime hadn’t explained, or maybe she had just forgotten. She’d only watched it once after all.

Who remembers minor details when you’re busy being bored?

Happy to see her, the old man gave her the outfit for free and charged half price for a set of three. The set was 250 silver in total, which she immediately paid. After extending her stay at the inn, she had 200 silver and 100 bronze left.

Right, I almost forgot I need to buy a new staff before taking on a new mission, she thought, her hand feeling slightly empty without the weight. Maybe I was too hasty in spending on fancy clothes.

She shook her head. No, she’d rather have new equipment than walk around with second-hand stuff that could break at a moment's notice, like the last one… that still stung.

The guild was mostly empty when she arrived, save for a few stragglers hanging around the job board. Not really caring, she approached the middle receptionist desk, where Mel stood there, cat ears dropped slightly with dark bags under her eyes. Seeing Gwen approach, she gave a little wave and a tired smile.

“I didn’t expect you to keep your word,” Mel admitted.

Gwen raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know what gave you that impression… actually, never mind. You probably listened to those rumors.”

Mel’s cheeks turned red, her ears flattening against her head; she didn’t give a reply.

“Can you just introduce me to your sister so I can get going?” Gwen sighed, keeping her frustration in check.

“Right, sorry, just give me one second.” Mel turned toward the back.

She returned with a girl slightly younger than herself. She had short, messy orange hair and a white shirt with black shorts. On her back was a worn, yellow bag.

“Lady Vanderick, this is my little sister Kira.” Mel introduced. “Kira, this is the person willing to hire you.”

Kira let out a yawn and glanced up at Gwen. “Yo”

“Introduce yourself properly and show some gratitude, brat!” Mel roared, slamming her fist into the back of Kira’s head.

Kira’s head snapped forward, hitting the desk. “What the hell!” she rubbed the back of her head, glaring at her sister. “Since when do you care? Plus, she’s a fallen noble… why should I respect her?”

Mel’s eyes turned dark as she grabbed Kira by the back of her shirt. “If you mess up this job, I’m not feeding you for a week!”

“Don’t take my food, I promise I’ll behave!” Kira pleaded, her voice rising slightly.

Mel threw Kira across the desk, her body landing in front of Gwen. “Apologize! Now!”

Gwen's lip twitched, amused. She crossed her arms and leaned back slightly to get a better view of the sisters.

Kira sent Mel a quick look before looking at Gwen, bowing. “I apologize if my words upset you; I honestly didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Can you dissect monsters and identify the most valuable parts?” Gwen asked, her tone icy.

“Of course! I’ve been training for the last six years!” Kira replied, standing up straight. “I’m sure you wouldn’t be able to find a better porter than me in the area.”

Gwen gave her a critical look. She noticed that Kira seemed to be uncomfortable as she shifted back and forth, her fingers fidgeting with the strap of her bag. After a moment, Gwen finally nodded.

“Then, I’ll give a full silver coin for the day, along with fifteen percent of the monster sales.” She said.

Kira's eyes widened. “A silver coin… and fifteen percent?”

“Are these terms acceptable?”

“Yes!” Kira replied, slightly out of breath. She grabbed Gwen’s hand, shaking it violently.

Gwen pulled away and handed over the coin.

Kira took it with shaking hands before turning and handing it to her sister. “Please keep this safe for me until I return this evening.”

Mel nodded and put the coin in her pocket.

Feeling the tension was leaving, Gwen rubbed the top of Kira’s head, ignoring the pout on her face. “For a test run today, go pick out a quest on the board, one that doesn’t involve us going to the dungeon for today.”

Kira nodded and took off to the quest board.

“You know porters usually only make ten-thirty coppers a day, right?” Mel said, keeping her voice low. “I know it’s not my place, but you didn’t have to give her one silver coin; even half that would’ve been fine.”

Gwen shrugged. “Fifty coppers would be cheap to hire someone worthy of trust to my party.”

Mel stared at her, a strange glint in her eye. “Despite your cold tone and icy face, you’re a lot nicer than what I was expecting.”

“Thank you…” She trailed off, not knowing if what she said was an insult or not.

“Yeah… if you give me one second I got a gift for you. Before you say no, an adventurer that used it died, and it’s just been lying around the guild for months.” Mel said, bending down. When she stood, it was a staff, made of dark oak.

Gwen glanced down at the staff and back up at Mel. “Are you sure I can have this?”

“Yes! Plus, you don’t have a weapon, so even if you don’t want to accept this gift, then call it even for giving my sister such favorable terms.”

“Okay…” She hesitantly reached out and grabbed the staff.

Once Gwen’s hand wrapped around the wood, a flash of purple light shot upwards. She felt a rush of energy before it all faded. Huh, that didn’t happen with my first staff.

Mel clapped her hands together, a smile on her face. “Oh good! I’m glad that the staff accepted you as its owner!”

“Thank you so much; this saved me time on finding one for today,” Gwen said, grateful.

“No worries at all…” she trailed off, cheeks dusted red.

Gwen, not having anything else to say, turned and found an empty table to sit at. The smell of breakfast made her want to eat some. Ultimately, she decided not to, since she wanted to keep her stomach clear in case they went on a monster hunt today.

She wouldn’t have to worry about throwing up a bunch of food. She could see Kira’s tiny frame, examining the board, taking her time going through each quest.

Five minutes after Gwen sat down, Kira finally approached her with a huge smile. “I can’t believe they had a D-Rank subjugation quest still available.”

“Are they usually not?” Gwen wondered, tapping her finger on the table. “I thought monster hunts made up the majority of quests.”

“That’s true, but ones like these are usually gone quickly unless you get here when the guild first opens.” She replied, waving the paper around.

“Right, well, lucky us,” Gwen muttered, standing up. “Let’s hurry up and get going then. I assume you already ran the quest past your sister?”

“Yes!”

Gwen nodded and took the quest from Kira’s hand. She glanced over it and quickly set off. They exited the guild and left the city gate. Thankfully, all they had to do was flash their guild badge and quest to the guard before they were able to leave.

Another thing Gwen took note of now: they’re checking people entering and exiting the capital. It makes her wonder if she should check out the gate on the east to see if they’re doing that as well.

The quest was only an hour's walk away, near a farm that had been overrun. Gwen cleared her mind, excited at the chance of being able to leave the capital for the first time.

They walked past in silence as the trail opened, and the slight morning chill turned into what was going to be a blazing afternoon. After a couple more minutes, and dealing with annoying bugs. The trail opened, and the gut feeling began to grow worse. There was no sound; the world was purely quiet.

Gwen came to a stop; her eyes opened in shock.

In front of her, where the farm was supposed to be, was nothing but destruction; animals lay dead on the ground, with all the crops pulled up, half-eaten. The farmhouse was burned to the ground, with barely a shell standing.

“What the fuck happened here?” Gwen whispered in horror, the icy tone leaving her voice. Her hands tightened around the new staff, her knuckles turning white.