(Attendance… plz…)
….
The next day began as peacefully as the one before it. Today was the day they would leave for their new mission, even though they had just returned from a surprisingly short, but high-yield, extermination quest the previous evening.
This new job was just an escort mission. Nothing too serious, though it would take a few days to complete.
Reinhard was already up, as expected of him. They were still staying at the same modest inn. With the money they had earned, they could easily afford a high-end establishment where Felt could be more comfortable. But she had refused. She argued that since they were leaving on a mission today anyway, changing inns wasn't necessary. They just needed a place to sleep, so why waste the coin?
Reinhard couldn't argue. It was clear she didn't want to debate the issue, so he dropped it.
After waking up, Reinhard did what he usually did. He walked to the window and opened it to let the morning sunlight and fresh air into the room, listening to the faint chirping of birds. It was still somewhat chilly, the sun having not fully risen yet.
He hadn't slept much, but for him, it didn't matter. His body was always, at any time and in any place, at one hundred percent.
He turned his attention back to the room. Felt was still sleeping, clutching her blanket tightly like it would run away if she let go. She even had her leg thrown over it to block it in place, a little drool pooling on her pillow. Reinhard looked at her and smiled.
After a few moments of quiet, he decided to go downstairs to get some food for himself and Felt for when she woke up, along with a glass of hot milk. He paid the innkeeper for the meals, Felt had strictly instructed him to eat with her, and so he waited for food to be made and arrived.
A few minutes later, the food was ready. He carried the plates up to their room, pushed the door open, and set the food down on the small wooden table.
"Lady Felt, it is time to wake up," he said, stepping near her bed.
Felt twitched a little. She stretched her body like a cat under the sheets before even fully opening her eyes. "Five more minutes," she mumbled.
"Lady Felt, the food will be cold by then and wouldn't be good. Not to mention your drink," Reinhard replied gently. "And you said to wake you up early in the morning. It is time."
Felt groaned. After a few more moments, she forced herself to sit up on the bed, letting out a massive yawn. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't be such a…"
yawn...
"whatever."
Once she was sitting up properly, Reinhard took a plate from the table and handed her the food, setting the glass of hot milk on the side.
Felt dug in. The food, and especially the hot milk, gave her the energy she needed to fully wake up. As she ate, Reinhard informed her to get freshened up so they could go buy supplies for the escort mission.
He had offered to go get the supplies alone so she wouldn't have to worry about it, but she immediately shut him down. She insisted on going with him. If she didn't, she argued, some scammer in the market would definitely overprice the items and rip him off.
Reinhard didn't deny the company. On the contrary, he was perfectly happy to play the role of the pack mule and carry the bags, which he didn't mind to begin with.
What followed was a massive hassle of bargaining and negotiating in the market for rations, travel supplies, and some new weapons, specifically, a few sharp daggers for Felt. Once the shopping was done, they decided to head to the Adventurer Guild. Today was the day they collected their payout for the Goblin nest quest.
…
Even though it was still early in the morning, the Guild was packed. Some adventurers looked like they had just woken up and come straight to the board to grab a quest, while others were slumped over the side tables, somewhat asleep.
Just as Reinhard and Felt entered the building, a few members glanced at them. Some quickly withdrew their gazes and went back to what they were doing. However, two people in the Guild stood out immediately.
Momon and Nabe were already there. Even though the escort mission required them to leave early, it wasn't this early. It quickly became obvious that they, too, were here for the reward money. Peter's party, the Swords of Darkness, wasn't present yet. They probably intended to come by later in the day. Since they had a big, multi-day quest done with them, they were likely still resting at their inn, even if they hadn't done much physical fighting yesterday.
Seeing Reinhard, Momon raised a hand, signaling that they were there, even though Reinhard had already spotted his massive build and armor.
Nabe's expression remained entirely neutral. She looked like she didn't care at all. To Momon, the fact that she wasn't openly glaring or showing hostility, keeping her disgust inside, was a massive step forward. It was way better than before.
Reinhard and Felt walked over to the counter where the two were standing.
"Good morning, Momon. Good morning, Miss Nabe," Reinhard greeted cheerfully.
"Good morning, Reinhard. Good morning, Felt," Momon replied, his deep voice steady.
Nabe just gave a stiff nod.
Felt sighed. "Yeah, good morning, metal man. So did you get your money, or did you just arrive before us and are just waiting?"
"We have informed the receptionist," Momon answered. "She went to the back to check something and should be coming back soon."
"Haha, finally, the fruit of our labor," Felt grinned. "Those Darkness guys didn't come yet?"
"They will probably come later today," Momon said. "It's not like they have any quests to complete yet, unlike us. It is almost time to depart. Hmm, it seems you have already taken care of supplies." He nodded toward the heavy bag slung over Reinhard's shoulder.
"Yeah," Reinhard said. "Lady Felt and I are just coming from the market. We also got some weapons too. We will be going straight to the meeting location right after we finish here."
"Good," Momon said. "We too have bought supplies for the quest already... actually, we took care of it yesterday before going to the inn. Our supplies are still in our room. Since there was still time, I thought of coming here to take the completion reward first."
"Well, we will be heading straight to the gate," Felt warned him, crossing her arms. "So come back fast after getting your stuff. Or we're gonna leave you this time."
Nabe's eyes snapped to Felt. She looked like she could kill the girl with just a stare, but she kept her mouth shut, her facial expression mostly unchanged.
Just as they were talking among themselves, mostly Reinhard and Momon, with Felt chiming in while Nabe remained perfectly still, the receptionist returned from the back room carrying several heavy pouches.
"I apologize for the delay regarding your completion reward," the receptionist said politely. "The proof count and the total amount were too large to grant instantly without double-checking the logs. I hope it wasn't any trouble for you. This is the full reward for the bounties, and it also includes the completion reward for the Gold-rank quest itself."
While the physical area of the quest wasn't that big, the sheer volume of Goblin and Troll meat they had processed made it a massive undertaking for the Guild staff. To Reinhard and Momon, it had been a quick skirmish, but the numbers were undeniably high. Goblins weren't worth much per head, but the bulk of the payout came from the larger threat: the Trolls and Ogres that were mixed into the group.
So the total amount was large. Not months relaxing without working wealth, but definitely not small change.
Dividing it equally between the three teams meant they all earned enough to live very comfortably for fifteen to twenty days, or maybe over a month and a half depending on how sparingly one spent it.
The reward was split into three equal parts right there at the counter. Felt quickly grabbed her party's share, hers and Reinhard's, while Momon took his and Nabe's share. They handed the remaining third back to the receptionist.
"If it is alright, can you hand this out to the Swords of Darkness party when they come to the Guild?" Momon asked. "It is their share. We would have given it to them ourselves, but we don't know which inn they are staying at, and not to mention we are leaving on a quest right about now that will take quite a few days."
The receptionist smiled, taking the heavy coin pouches. "Please don't worry, I will be happy to do it. I will ensure they receive this when they check in. Is there a message you would want to leave for them when I give them the reward?"
"Thanks. As for a message... not particularly," Momon said. He looked over at Reinhard and Felt to see if they had anything to add, perhaps a reminder or a request to meet up later.
"Nothing," Felt said bluntly. "Just tell them the others already took theirs, and that's all."
Felt turned her back to the counter and looked at Reinhard. "Let's go, Reinhard. We should get moving." She then shot a glance at Momon. "Come fast after picking up your supplies."
"We will be there shortly," Momon nodded.
Felt and Reinhard walked out of the Guild building, the door swinging shut behind them.
Nabe stood there, not looking particularly happy. Momon noticed the subtle tension in her posture, even though she tried not to show it on her face.
"Is something the matter, Nabe?" Momon asked.
He didn't know what it was. Maybe she wanted something. Actually, it would be a good thing if she wanted something for herself, it would mean she was opening up a little and relaxing in this environment. Though he knew that was probably just his own wishful thinking.
Nabe turned to look at Momon. There was pure anger in her eyes, though it wasn't directed at him, but at the door the departing guests had just walked through. "It is..." she started, then hesitated.
"Just say it directly," Momon instructed. "What is it?"
Hearing it as a direct order, Nabe bowed her head slightly and spoke. "That mere human tried to talk so disrespectfully to a Supre... to Momon. It is blasphemy..."
Before she could finish the sentence, Momon quickly clamped his armored hand over her mouth.
"Let's talk outside," he said quietly.
He didn't know if someone nearby was listening. He didn't know if there was a spell in this world that could eavesdrop on them from afar, even though he hadn't detected anything. With the lack of information he had, it was better to be just cautious.
It was a very big problem. The NPCs of Nazarick had far too much respect and fanatical loyalty, to the point of vastly over exceeding normal behavior. Not to mention, they hated humans to their core, viewing them as nothing more than insects to be crushed.
He realized it was his fault for phrasing it the way he did. She hadn't wanted to complain or speak out of turn. But when Momon asked, he had framed it as an order. He had thought she was noticing something tactical, or maybe wanted a specific item, but her silence was just her holding back her overwhelming reverence for him.
He made a mental note right then and there: Do not tell her to speak her mind like an order. If it's an order, she can't refuse it, and she will blurt out dangerous things, especially in front of others.
He sighed internally, even though his skeletal body wouldn't allow him to actually breathe.
Momon removed his hand, and the two of them exited the Guild building. They walked through the streets toward their inn to grab their supplies.
Before they left the inn for the designated meeting location, Momon pulled Nabe aside into the room. He cast a low-tier Silence spell around them to ensure absolutely no one could listen in, and then he educated her a little more on how to behave.
He honestly didn't even know what to do anymore. If he tried to talk even a little roughly to the NPCs to correct them, they went straight to apologizing and offering their own lives to atone for their "mistakes."
Playing the role of the infallible leader was becoming incredibly mentally tiring.
….
A/N: Well its been too long. Dont know if anyone was waiting for the next chapter. But here it is nonetheless. Hope you enjoyed it. Next chaoter in few days.
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