The morning sunlight illuminated the entire city of Lumeria. Its rays pierced through the window crevices of room 304, Arvia House. However, Rent didn't wake up to the sound of chirping birds or the warm sunlight. He felt a tremendous shortness of breath and the temperature around his face rising, as if someone were roasting him alive.
Rent opened his eyes; all he got was a dark view, but there was a sensation of soft fur tickling his nose.
The first sight he encountered was a clump of orange fur covering almost his entire face. There was a soft snoring sound coming from that orange fur.
Without thinking much, and a bit roughly, he grabbed the clump of orange fur and shoved it to the side of the mattress. Thud.
"Grrrrr..." Fyra-Bunn, the fire rabbit, woke up instantly. Her fiery red eyes glared sharply at Rent. Thin smoke billowed from her nose, a sign that she was completely unacceptable to having her peaceful sleep disturbed. The rabbit readied her stance to spew fire.
However, before a single spark of fire could escape her mouth... Grumble... grumble...
A high-pitched stomach-growling sound was heard from the small rabbit's belly. The fire on Fyra's back immediately dimmed, replaced by a pitiful look begging for her breakfast ration.
Rent, who had just woken up, sat up and was gathering his consciousness as well as the remaining oxygen after being smothered by Fyra. He patted his forehead slowly. His eyes stared blankly at his new (quote-unquote) pet. Fyra's previously sharp eyes were now round and slightly teary. "Pyuuu?..." her mercy-begging mode was activated.
"She sleeps all day and now she wakes up only needing food," Rent muttered with a hoarse morning voice. "Damn, why is there always something in this world that drains my soul and my money... Haaah..."
Rent got up from the mattress. He walked toward the clothes hanger where he had put his shabby jacket yesterday. His hand had barely touched the brown leather jacket when his nose immediately wrinkled. The pungent smell—a combination of sewer mud, sweat, and rat blood—instantly pierced his sense of smell.
"Damn, the smell is too strong," Rent hissed. He left the jacket hanging there. His logic ran; wearing that smelly jacket to a public place was tantamount to announcing to the whole city that he had just crawled out of a sewer. Today, Rent decided to only wear his plain white short-sleeved t-shirt and cargo pants. Simple, but at least it wouldn't give other people air poisoning.
Rent walked toward the door to go out and find a cheap breakfast (and feed the gluttonous rabbit). Click.
The moment the door opened, Rent's steps halted. His eyes fell on an object on the doormat. The wooden bowl containing the mushroom soup he had left at the building next door last night had now returned right in front of his door. However, its condition was astonishing. The bowl was shiny and clean. Completely slick without a single drop of broth left, as if it had just been polished.
Under the bowl, there was a reply note with neat and elegant handwriting:
"Lacks salt. But decent enough for a poor person's standard like yours. I've cleaned (licked) the bowl slick so you wouldn't be bothered to wash it. Thank you, Mr. Stalker. - The Beautiful Neighbor."
Rent's eyes twitched reading the note. The tips of his fingers holding the bowl immediately trembled. "When... did she come here? And this... was licked...?" Rent shuddered in horror, imagining the girl with the exact same face as his licking this wooden bowl like a starving dog. "What a gross girl." Even though his mouth cursed, strangely... there was a very thin smile, almost invisible, at the corner of Rent's lips before he hurriedly threw the paper into the trash can.
A few minutes later, Rent was walking down the alleyway between Arvia House and Luna Manor toward the main street. Suddenly, his sense of smell was assaulted by an extreme floral aroma.
Rent reflexively covered his nose. "Ugh. What is this smell? It's so pungent."
"Shut your mouth, Mr. Doctor." The curt voice came from behind. Kaensista walked toward him with a maximum pout on her face. The girl's appearance this morning was slightly different. Her signature black furry crop-top jacket was gone. Instead, she only wore a thin, long-sleeved white inner shirt paired with her pleated blue skirt.
Rent glanced at the girl's appearance from top to bottom. "Where's your weird jacket? And did you just bathe in perfume or fall into a barrel of lavender flowers?" Rent sneered flatly.
Kaen's face turned red, holding back her annoyance. "Shut up! This is all because of you forcing me to take that sewer mission yesterday! My jacket smells like trash and is hard to wash! I sprayed my entire bottle of perfume to cover the smell! I need money for a magic laundry service today too!"
"I didn't force you. You followed me on your own because you were hungry," Rent replied nonchalantly, then continued his steps, parting the morning crowd of Lumeria city.
"Hmph!" Kaen snorted roughly, but her feet kept moving, trailing behind Rent.
Rent arrived in front of a bakery. He ordered 2 dry breads and some chicken meat to go.
He stared at his remaining coins, which were now only 5 pieces. "Haaah... I'm broke again in just one day, again," he muttered softly.
Kaen glanced slightly at the remaining loose change in Rent's palm. "Hoo... you're quite the spendthrift, Mr. Kaenda. Just one day after payday and you only have 5 coins left? Fufufu~," she replied with a small laugh while covering her mouth.
"Shut up, you don't know anything about the other burdens in my life."
Rent resumed walking back to the inn, and Kaen, who was following behind him, raised an eyebrow slightly. "Where are you going? Isn't the Guild in the opposite direction?"
"I want to drop this off. There's another burden that loves to eat just like you, the difference is she's also a heavy sleeper," Rent replied while continuing to walk.
"Tch. My food portion is normal! You're the one who's insensitive!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
The two of them arrived back in front of Arvia House. "Wait here, I'll be right back," he instructed while opening the door.
"Don't take too long! People here are more diligent than you think, Rent!"
Rent hurried up the stairs of Arvia House toward his room, ignoring the stares of some residents who had just woken up.
Click. Room 304 opened. On the mattress, Fyra-Bunn was already sitting sweetly with a deadly hungry gaze. Thin smoke puffed from her nose every time she sniffed the air.
Rent threw the paper bag containing the two dry breads and chicken meat onto the wooden table. "Eat that, gluttonous rabbit," Rent said flatly. "Guard this room well. If I come home and see this mattress scorched, I swear I will slaughter you and turn you into furry rabbit satay. Understand?"
"Pyuuu!" Fyra replied with a small snort, her eyes completely locked onto the package of chicken meat.
"Good. Moro, let's go." Rent turned around and closed his room door again. Blam.
However, what Rent didn't know was... a moment after the door closed, the true nature of his Spirit Servant emerged. In less than three seconds, Fyra-Bunn devoured the chicken meat and dry bread without leaving a single crumb. Chomp, chomp, chomp! She let out a small burp, emitting a spark of fire.
The rabbit stared at the closed door. Her tiny nose flared, sniffing the lingering scent of Mana and the presence of her Master. Because her gluttonous instinct wasn't fully satisfied yet, Fyra decided that she had to follow her "Food Factory." With one light leap, the fire rabbit darted out through the slightly open gap of the room's window.
Down below, Kaensista stood with her arms crossed over her chest. Her right foot tapped the ground impatiently. "Took you long enough! Who were you feeding, huh?!" Kaen scolded when she saw Rent finally exiting the Arvia gate.
"Stop complaining. Let's go," Rent replied lazily, shoving both hands into his cargo pants pockets.
The two of them walked side by side toward the center of Lumeria city. Their appearance today attracted quite a bit of attention from passing adventurers. Rent with his deadpan face, the plain white t-shirt subtly outlining his arm muscles, and Kaen with her thin white shirt that inadvertently exposed the curves of her body due to the absence of her reliable thick jacket. Rent had to try hard to focus his gaze forward so he wouldn't be branded a pervert by "his other self."
Upon arriving inside the Guild...
Kaen's earlier words proved to be true. People in this world were indeed too diligent. As soon as they arrived in front of the Rank F Mission Board, the large wooden board was completely empty. Only thumbtacks were left stuck there.
"Empty?" Rent furrowed his brow. "Sold out at this hour?"
"I told you, didn't I?! This is all because you took too long!" Kaen smacked Rent's arm in annoyance. "Now how are we supposed to get money for the laundry?!"
"Could you two lower your voices? It's still morning." The monotonous voice came from the receptionist desk. Mila, the bespectacled officer who served them yesterday, stared at both of them with a sleep-deprived face.
Rent approached the desk. "Are there really no missions left for Rank F? Delivering letters? Pulling weeds? Anything."
Mila sighed, then reached into the drawer under her desk. She pulled out a piece of paper that looked crumpled, as if it had been pinned up and then pulled down repeatedly by other adventurers because no one wanted it.
"There's only one left. Rank F. Rejected by ten beginner parties since this morning because it's considered too troublesome and... ruins one's appearance," Mila said as she placed the paper on the desk.
Rent and Kaen leaned in to read the writing on the paper.
[Rank F Mission: Slime Valley Gel Harvest] Target: Clear Slime (Collect 5 Bottles of Gel). Location: Whispering Forest. Reward: 50 Copper Coins. Note: Warning! Slimes are immune to blunt attacks. The slime is sticky and hard to wash out of clothes.
Rent analyzed it for a moment. "Slimes... immune to physical attacks. No wonder no one wants it. But the reward is 50 Coins. Enough to pay off the rest of the debt and eat today. I'll take this one."
Smack! A slender hand suddenly slapped the wooden receptionist desk right next to Rent. "I'm taking the same mission too!" exclaimed Kaensista with fiery eyes.
Rent turned his head slowly. His brow furrowed deeply, staring at the purple girl beside him with the most deadpan look he had ever mustered. "Do you have no stance of your own?" Rent asked with a tired tone. "Go find another mission, why do you keep following me? Didn't you say you need money for the laundry? If you get attacked by this slime, your clothes will be even more ruined."
Kaen puffed out her chest—making her thin white shirt stretch even more. Rent hurriedly averted his face slightly toward Mila's counter.
"Who's following you?!" Kaen retorted in a high pitch, her face flushing with burning enthusiasm. "Moro told me this morning! Clear Slime Gel is a substitute ingredient for laundry soap! My clothes... ugh! I can't clean them manually because the smell is so hard to get rid of, after you dragged me into that smelly sewer yesterday!"
Moro, who was floating above them, only whistled silently, pretending to look at the wooden carvings on the Guild's ceiling.
Rent massaged the bridge of his nose, which suddenly throbbed. "You want to fight a physical-attack-immune jelly monster... just for soap? Don't you have laundry soap?"
Kaen immediately looked away, hiding her reddening face. "U-uh, that's because... I forgot to buy laundry soap..."
"Hah, what a spendthrift."
Kaen quickly turned around, lightly smacking Rent's chest. "You shut up!"
Mila let out a long sigh, watching the argument between these two weirdos in front of her. "So, are you two going to take this mission together again or not? The reward is 50 coins, it can be split in two. 25 coins each. If you don't want it, step aside, the line behind you is still long."
Rent and Kaen glared at each other. Imaginary lightning bolts seemed to strike between their purple eyes. Debt vs. Natural Soap.
"Tch. Whatever. As long as you don't become a burden in the forest later," Rent clicked his tongue softly, snatching the mission paper.
"Hah! You're the one who better not be a burden, you fake doctor!" Kaen retorted, refusing to lose, turning her body and walking ahead with haughty steps.