Dreams of a Warm Bath

I wanted to sleep all day. 

Very unlike me but as I got closer and closer to my inn, still somewhat reeking of alcohol, bad decisions, and whatever perfumed oil the lady had on, I felt so utterly drained.

A nice warm cup of tea, a bit of the bread in my hands that I'd gotten from Miss Isabell—May the saints bless her—with some cheese and eggs, and a warm bath. I needed a break and a relaxing day full of taking care of myself sounded perfect.

So one could have imagined the look on my face when I walked through the door of my inn, hearing the familiar bell, and was met with total chaos.

There were papers flying, adventure guild ones. Guests were rushing around the place in a panic. Sofia stood behind the bar with an uncharacteristic worried expression on her face as she chewed on her thumb. She didn't even notice the food that had flown right past her.

I watched the scene for a moment and closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath as I looked up to the ceiling. I hoped the gods and their saints really could've read minds because I was cursing them with everything I had.

I took a deep breath and yelled at the messy room, "OI!"

They all seemed to settle down bit by bit, turning to look at me with my bag of groceries, messy clothes and even messier hair but at that point, I could've hardly given a shit.

"What the fuck is going on?! The sun just rose and you're already destroying my fucking inn?!" I said as I walked in, slamming the paper bag on the bar's counter before turning back to look at the room full of fairly trained adventurers.

My head was pounding, my body was sore and my mind was in total chaos. That added with my plans for a peaceful day ruined, I was angry.

I hadn't felt that emotion in a long time, me being not the biggest fan of it. Anger was draining, it was exhausting, and it was quick to come and quicker to go. It left me feeling hollow.

Even with all that, at the back of my mind, I was glad to not see Marcellus in the room. I didn't want him to see me this mad. From my years as an adventurer, I knew it wasn't the prettiest sight. And from the words of my old adventuring party, it was downright terrifying.

I leaned my back against the bar counter and folded my arms, asking them the same question once again.

"Now tell me what the fuck is going on. One of you. If all of you start making noise again, I'll be breaking some heads."

———

"Leon's missing."

That was all I was hearing from everyone that surrounded me.

I had finally gotten a grasp on the situation. Leon was missing after going to take another look at that town with the imp problem. For adventurers, especially for a monster mission, vanishing meant he'd encountered something he didn't expect.

That meant he was likely dead.

"There was also talks of a Mind Flayer being spotted around that area."

"Yeah. They've called in adventurers from the main city but that's days away. A Mind Flayer could destroy that village before they get here and move on to the next."

Mind Flayers were tricky and it shouldn't have been anywhere near their part of the nation. They also were never without their hive, living underground due to their sensitivity to sunlight and my kingdom is literally known for being overly sunny.

The presence of such a monster was already weird to begin with but that was another mystery to solve for another day.

If that was the creature we're dealing with, there was a possibility that Leon was still alive but we were losing time.

Mind Flayers were sadistic fucks that controlled the minds of their preys, sending them into a never-ending nightmare and only consuming their brains when the prey had all but given up.

I hoped to all the gods that Leon was as mentally strong as I thought he was, but the loss of his partner would've definitely weakened him.

"Which town was it?" I asked, already sure about what I was going to do.

"You can't!" Sofia finally spoke from beside me, hopping over the counter to stand in front of me as she glared weakly.

"You're a retired old man with.."

I knew why she'd stopped mid-sentence, watching her as she looked around their inn at the patrons whose eyes were on me. Nobody else needed to know my business like that.

She looked back up at me, and the glassy look in her eyes made me smile despite the fury still bubbling at the bottom of my gut.

"There's no healer!" she tried, grasping at straws. "There's no healer here and…and these guys are adventurers too! They can handle it."

"Sofia," I said softly as I placed a hand on the kid's head. "A Mind flayer is a top mid grade monster. If it's without its hive, then that'll be easy enough to deal with, but it's still too dangerous for these fucks to handle."

"Hey!"

"I'll be fine, little cherry."

I moved away from the bar and walked towards the stairs, yelling at the patrons, "Clean up this mess and get Maurice to pack an adventure kit. I'll be leaving in 10."

I climbed up the stairs, not waiting for a response, and sighed heavily while doing so.

"I'll meet you outside."

The sound of Marcellus' voice when I got to the top made my eyes fly open and I almost missed a step, quickly catching myself.

He stood at the top, looking down at me with folded arms. He was already dressed like he was going to accompany me, a simple white shirt and thick leather pants, his black boots looking thick enough to break a man's skull.

"You're not—"

Marcellus bent down and looked right into my eyes, an almost annoyed expression on his calm face.

"I'll meet you outside," he repeated. No, he commanded, and walked past me down the stairs.

I didn't turn my head to see him go, only gulping as I rushed towards my room to get ready for what was about to happen.

I just wanted a damned bath.