Moments after Hari broke Katsu out of custody:
"Heavy breathing… oh god… that was… something," Katsu said, trying to catch his breath.
"Okay, now that you're out, give it back to me," Hari said, arms crossed.
"Give what?" Katsu asked, tilting his head.
"The money I dropped earlier—when we bumped into each other," Hari said, his tone sharp.
Katsu froze, then smiled nervously. "Oh… about that, I don't have it."
"What… do you mean… you don't have it!?" Hari's eyes narrowed, slightly ticked off.
"Well… that annoying guard guy who took my sword… also took the money," Katsu added, still smiling nervously.
Hari's jaw clenched. "So… let me guess… it's back in the room where your sword was, right?" His voice dripped with menace.
Hari stepped closer, gripped Katsu's shoulder, and leaned in. "It took me a week of planning to get that gold—100,000 pieces! All my efforts—wasted! And now… blondie (Matsumura) or some other guard is probably returning it to the people I stole it from!"
Katsu gulped. Fear made his heartbeat loud enough to drown out all other sounds. I'm going to die. He's going to kill me… sell my organs… and use the money to buy himself a castle!
Then Hari's tone shifted unexpectedly. "Here, take this."
Katsu blinked, cautiously opening his eyes. "What's this?"
"A flyer for the Adventurers Guild. Go on quests, earn money… and you can pay me back that way."
"Oh… oh, okay," Katsu said, letting out a nervous sigh of relief.
"So… first quest. Let's go right now," Hari said, walking off without looking back.
After a long walk across the village, they finally reached the guild building. Laughter, music, and the clinking of mugs spilled into the street.
"Can we get something to eat first? I haven't eaten all day!" Katsu complained.
"You eat after the quest," Hari said, barely glancing back.
"Sigh… fine," Katsu muttered.
They approached the bulletin board, crowded with flyers, guild applications, and colorful announcements. Hari scanned quickly, pulled one flyer down, and handed it to Katsu.
"Take this one."
Katsu squinted. "Oh… OH MY GOD…! There's no way I'm fighting a fire dragon for 5,000 gold pieces!" He shoved the flyer back at Hari.
"You owe me a lot of money, so we're taking the quest with the highest reward!" Hari barked.
"No way! At least let me choose a quest that doesn't burn me into ash!" Katsu muttered, moving toward the board.
He scanned other options. "Hmm… high risk, high reward… easy, low reward… wait, what's this?"
Katsu grabbed a smaller flyer. "Defeat a monster in the East Forest—reward: 500 gold pieces."
Hari squinted. "Hmm… not a lot, but a start. Fine."
They walked to a table where an old man lounged with his legs kicked up, snoring loudly.
"Hey! Yasuo! Wake up!" Hari shouted.
The old man jolted upright, nearly falling out of his chair. "Ugh… what do you want?"
"This kid wants to take this quest," Hari said, pointing at Katsu, who was trying (and failing) to flirt with a passing waitress. She promptly slapped him.
Yasuo rubbed his eyes, grabbed the flyer, stamped it, and handed it back. "Fine. You're approved. Go get your monster."
"Quest accepted! Let's go!" Hari said, grabbing Katsu by the arm.
Katsu rubbed his face. "That kid is going to get eaten out there," Yasuo muttered to himself.
Some time later, deep in the East Forest:
"When do we find the monster hoard?" Katsu asked, voice trembling.
"Stop asking. We'll find it soon," Hari snapped.
"It's taking forever! It's getting late!" Katsu fretted.
"Then hurry up and get it over with," Hari muttered, drawing his sword.
RUSTLE… RUSTLE!
"What—?!" Katsu yelped, but Hari clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Shh! Sneak. Don't make a sound." Hari crept toward the noise.
"Hello?" a timid voice called from the bushes.
Katsu exhaled in relief. "Oh… it's just a girl."
"Why are you out here alone? Where are your parents?" Katsu asked gently.
"I came to pick vegetables with them… but I got lost. They got lost too," the girl sniffled, wiping tears.
"Don't worry! We'll get you back to the village safely," Katsu said, offering a smile.
Hari raised his sword. "Kid… don't trust her."
"What? She's just a scared little girl! Her parents could've been eaten by the monster!" Katsu protested.
"She's the monster!" Hari shouted. "She's tricking us! Kill her now!"
The girl screamed and clung to Katsu's arm.
"What is wrong with you—?!" Katsu shouted.
"DON'T LET HER GET CLOSE!" Hari yelled, rushing forward.
BITE!
Katsu screamed as the girl sank her teeth into his arm.
"AHHHHHHHH!!"
Hari grabbed him, pushing him behind a tree. The girl cackled, and suddenly her appearance shifted—growing taller, horns curling from her head, long pointed ears stretching upward.
"Hari… what is she?!" Katsu cried in horror.
Hari gritted his teeth, eyes narrowing. "Not… exactly what you think."
FUN FACT:
The name Yasuo means "Peaceful One".