Arc | Chapter. 76: In Search of Monsters (Patreon)

Chapter. 76: In Search of Monsters

And just like that, I watched as Malz took Ceylon by the hand and walked her away, they didn’t seem to be rushing which was good. I did trust Malz to be good to Ceylon, in fact I trusted her more than Regis’karr or any other dragons, and that was because of the simple reason that Malz seemed to care a lot about me.

I wasn’t thick, I had a feeling that her feelings went further than those of friendship or friendliness, but I didn’t intend to confirm or even think about them. In the end, I just knew that she was going to do her best to protect Ceylon, and Ceylon did seem to carry some of my crystals on her person so I was at complete ease with what was happening.

That said, I had gotten irked that Malz seemed to intend to take Ceylon without my permission⁠— not like I had any bearing over Ceylon, but at least notifying me would’ve been the least she could’ve done. Hopefully it wouldn’t be happening again.

With that I turned around and opened the door, entering the mansion again. I had been listening to Ceylon’s conversation with Malz from within Thomas’ office, which admittedly was a breach of privacy, but⁠— well there was no way to justify the fact that it was a shitty action, though I did find it interesting how they discussed my character.

I wasn’t going to deny that I was emotionally unavailable, though as far as mental issues, I didn’t think I had any.

Thinking about random things, I made my way back to Thomas’ study. Where, upon opening the door, the Dragon of Water just nodded at me while Thomas seemed concerned. I raised my brow in confusion.

“Is something wrong?”

The Dragon of Water lightly nodded. “You left before we discussed actual business strategies, I’ve taken the liberty to try to direct Thomas on how to save on costs, however he seems adamant.”

“Adamant is an understatement…” Thomas breathed.

Seeing his somewhat concerned and worried expression and the weird atmosphere around the room, I couldn’t help but ask:

“What did the Dragon of Water suggest?”

“The esteemed Dragon of Water suggested I should cut out worker contracts and employ child⁠—” He shook his head. “There is a loophole in Draliz’s laws that would allow that, but it’s greatly ostracized and⁠—”

“I already explained that they wouldn’t be seen by the public.” The Dragon of Water crossed his arms. “In fact it should be about twenty-percent cheaper for labor costs this way, and efficiency won’t drop more than ten-percent.”

I blinked registering what I just heard before a sigh left me. “Let’s try to stick with Thomas’ wishes and what businesses he’s comfortable in conducting,” I said, massaging my head. “So try to keep that in mind, Dragon of Water.”

“I understand.”

He nodded and he began to talk about things with Thomas once more, skipping his immoral business practices.

So in the end, the Dragon of Water is also one of those…

I shook my head and couldn’t help but wish I had just gone along with Ceylon and Malz instead. But here I was, ensuring everything went well with the Dragon of Water. Which was actually a meaningless endeavor since he was going to essentially launder his money into the Arlow house.

But well, perhaps the Dragon of Water would help Ceylon’s family for generations to come, so it wasn’t all that bad.

In fact, with this she probably didn’t even need to forsake her status as a noble in order to live whatever life she wanted.

That… made me happy.

* * * * *

Ceylon was nervous, it wasn’t exactly because she was going without Arc, but because she didn’t know what to expect. She had just met Malz like an hour ago, and that was just after the Hero of Flames had…

Ceylon just looked around town, everything was chaotic. She didn’t mind going out to relax, and she also didn’t mind using the sense of urgency she had from the situation in order to do something. Well the little sense of urgency she had left. It was hard to digest things right after she had learned of Arc’s adventures.

However, ignoring how she felt, the atmosphere gave a sense of tension. Guards were on high alert, very few people circled the streets and those that were seemed to be gossiping. Even though she was walking along with the weirdly dressed Malz, no one paid attention to them.

Ceylon really wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to go to the Adventurer’s Guild right now.

“So which way is it again?” Malz asked.

Ceylon paused for a moment, still holding onto the dragon’s hand. “Malz⁠— Mally, I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to go right now.”

The Dragon of Shadows paused and turned, raising her brow in confusion. “Why do you think that?”

“Well, everyone is all tense and stuff, the Adventurer’s Guild is probably in a worse state given what is happening…”

Ceylon shifted.

“So it’s probably best to turn back…”

“Oh that?” Malz shook her head. “It’s not going to be much of a problem, we are just there to look for places to hunt monsters, maybe I’ll have to register as an adventurer but it’s not a big deal.”

“Right, but I have a feeling they might not take you seriously…” Ceylon weakly protested. “You don’t look like an adventurer nor have any weapons.”

There was a pause as Malz thought for a moment before flashing a knowing smile. “Don’t worry, a bit of bloodlust makes people take you seriously.”

“Right… I don’t think that’s a good⁠—”

“Just trust me, no harm will come to you.” Malz gave Ceylon a pat on the back. “Let’s go now.”

“Right…”

With that, Ceylon ended up going to the Adventurer’s Guild and reluctantly giving Malz the directions to get there. Hoping that in the end, everything would go well.

* * * * *

Meika had been an adventurer for a few years now, a profession mostly dominated by males it was⁠— a thing that she was used to really, even if sometimes other adventurers would try to chat her up for one reason or another. She⁠— didn’t think she had much appeal at all, not only was she almost thirty now, she also had put on a lot of muscle and had quite lot of scars.

Sure she wasn’t bulky, nor was she a towering barbarian, but needless to say that she didn’t fit conventional beauty standards which depressed her for sometime, but unfortunately in life one had to make the best of what they had. Now, she still felt some level of depression but nothing that alcohol couldn’t fix, and she was making good money.

She had climbed to B Tier through so much struggle, and it had paid off. So now, her life consisted of drinking herself to death one week of the month before going out for the rest of it. Hopefully she’d retire in a few years and live the rest of her life in peace…

But for now, she was drinking, the next request she had taken was incredibly difficult and she was stressed about it, but the payout was nothing short of amazing.

Though she had to assemble a party first…

She sighed while drinking through the crisis that was happening in town. Apparently an office had burst into flames and people fought, next thing everyone knew was that the entire place had been utterly thrashed. But Meika didn’t really care.

Even as the resident adventurers of the guild called for her to come, she didn’t move from her table nor did she share her booze with others. Apparently things had calmed down, but she still didn’t care much. Adventurer’s were constantly returning to the guild with their own anecdotes, but aside from giving them a glance and listening in, Meika instead  indulged in the buzz that the alcohol provided.

It was nice and comforting.

She nearly dozed off before she saw a pair of two girls enter the guild. And one was quite the catch if she said so herself, though strangely dressed. The other girl and younger one was pretty too, but clearly one attracted more attention than the other. However, Meika didn’t really swing that way, so even though some of the drunken people immediately catcalled she herself couldn’t help but wonder why they were even here in the first place.

It wasn’t a good time, not for nobles to come. The large majority of the guild was stressed out of their minds for what had just happened, since generally threats to a town meant risking one’s life⁠— it was part of the Adventurer’s oath or whatever. So, they wouldn’t really be tolerant of people being dumb for lack of a better word.

The rest of the non drunk people just gave them side glances as they formed in line, while Meika just curiously watched, sipping on the alcohol.

Normally, this would end up in really interesting ways with adventurer’s trying to scare the nobles away, it was all in good fun. Though sometimes the occasional drunk person or angry person got carried away, which was highly likely right now.

“Which will it be?” Meike asked herself, watching them reach the counter. “A peaceful interaction or something bad?”

Perhaps she could even save them for an altercation and ask for repayment⁠— she had done that a couple of times. But first came waiting.

The two girls reached the counter, and the black-haired one spoke casually. “Hey so I’m looking for a place to kill some monsters? Anything is fine really, do I need to be registered for this?”

Meika paused⁠— well she certainly didn’t expect anything like that.

The receptionist quickly made a response but the woman reassured them that it was fine and that they could be responsible for themselves. It was honestly not an unreasonable request, at least that’s what Meika thought until a random person from a different table stood up.

She had no idea of who the no name adventurer was, but the man had a sword at each side of their waist, and had quite the ugly frown. His build was athletically muscular⁠— maybe a C Tier adventurer? Meika didn’t really care.

She watched as he approached the pair of woman by the counter, interrupting their conversation by coughing.

“What is it?” the black haired one asked in confusion.

“I think it’s best you leave, we cannot serve you here, and you’re clearly not even here for the information but something else.”

The girl blinked. “That is… that makes no sense? Look, I'm requesting something very simple.”

The man in response shook his head. “I think you’re missing something here.” Then he gestured around. “You’re unwelcome here, everyone finds your current presence jarring including me.”

Meika blinked as she saw numerous adventurer’s nod in confirmation. That seemed excessive and almost unreasonable, but nothing too bad had happened yet. Where would it even go⁠— and the girl frowned, her voice turning cold.

“Are you saying that no one here is taking me seriously?”

“Pretty much.” The man immediately agreed. “Now leave.”

“I see, well that is easy is it not?” She asked taking a step forward.

Meika at that moment had a bad premonition, and then Meika shivered. A primal fear was triggered in her heart as her head throbbed with pain. Darkness crowded her vision as she saw a gigantic slitted golden eye staring at her. Its presence: overbearing, its might: undeniable and its killing intent: terrifying.

Meika gasped for air as the following words resounded in her ears.

“I just have to kill all of you.”

The feeling got more constricting, more scarier, more painful⁠— and it stopped. Meika broke into a coughing fit as her vision palpitated. Looking up, she saw the man before the woman collapse onto the ground, and then⁠— the large majority of the guild soon followed.

Multiple dozens of experienced adventurers had fainted at the overbearing pressure, and even Meika had completely sobered up.

Just what the fuck was that?

The woman turned to the receptionist who wordlessly gave her a piece of parchment, shaking in fear.

“Oh thank you, I appreciate it.” She then held the hand of the blonde girl and began to walk. “Now let’s go, we must make haste.”

“Right…”

Meika blinked as she watched the two young women leave.

What? In an instant she bolted from her seat. She was going to follow them.

She had to know more, more about who this woman was, more about how strong she was, and if she had companions like that.

Meika was hopeful. Perhaps she could ask for help from that woman to help with the request she had undertaken.

Slaying a dragon wasn’t easy after all.