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Thompson looked them each in the eye.

The door opened, and an officer with a very short skirt brought in a tray with coffee. She placed the tray down, and as she bent over, her ass showed. She had no panty on, and her flower graced their lucky eyes.

Thompson sighed with a happy grin. His hands folded on his desk. She blew him a kiss and closed the door behind her.

Wendy had a big grin, and Lucy blushed, averting her gaze as Ethan looked down at her.

"Alas, will this be dangerous, and what can we expect as payment for this quest."

"We will supply the equipment for the job and pay all enrolment fees. In addition, you will each receive two silver coins a week. You will keep the equipment, of course."

Thompson looked at Wendy, switching his gaze to Lucy.

"This might be very dangerous for the girls. Are they confident enough to take on this quest? There will be nobles involved, and we all know how they treat demi-humans." 

Wendy and Lucy scowled at Thompson, their thoughts plain as daylight. They had witnessed the cruelty firsthand all their lives. They looked at Ethan, who touched their hands to assure them.

"Alas, how may I protect my companions from such people, and what avenue do I have to pursue in case of a noble offending me? Where I came from, an offence gives me the right to slay the person as I please or grant them forgiveness."

Thompson swallowed loudly.

"Challenging the offender to a dual is the correct way to handle it. They can decline, of course, but then they will forfeit their claim and lose face. I have never seen one noble decline a dual."

"Hail, Ethan does not know what magus are, and he does not know about magic."

Thompson's eyebrows almost left his forehead for the sky. His eyes were as wide as saucers. He coughed a bit.

"That would make a dual difficult to win for someone like him."

"Hail, Ethan had defeated a magus in the woods and rescued me."

"How did he manage."

"Hail, I don't know. One second, the Magus staff glowed, and then he vanished. The next moment, a loud crash, and he became part of a tree. Ethan did not move one step till the end. He fought four men and did not use his sword, only one hand."

Thompson's jaw dropped. He stared at Wendy, then composed himself. A malicious grin that only villains in fairy tales gave as they thought of an evil plan appeared on his face.

"Those bloody idiots will rue the day they mocked my gut feeling."

Thompson gave them the rundown on reporting and a document to take to the smith. He told them to register for the dungeon trial tomorrow.

The smith will outfit them with gear, bags, shoes, and whatever else they need. Thompson closed the file and asked them to update him about their progress. He explained the public phone system and gave them his office number.

On the train trip home, Ethan fainted as soon as the train started moving.

They walked to the inn, the streetlights illuminating their path.

Ethan could feel he would find the Skinwalker, but he needed to be alert. Ethan would keep it a secret from Thompson and wanted to build trust first. One hundred feet from the inn, the first drops started to fall.

Flashes of lightning lit up the empty street, and the thunderclap made Lucy jump and spring into action. They ran the last part of their journey home, reaching their inn just in time as the heavens opened the floodgates.

They arrived, and Penny greeted them with a big, warm smile. The aroma of meat and pepper filled the inn—a faint smell of baked potatoes wafted by them. Three stomachs growled as they sat down.

A catkin girl brought them grape mead. A basket of freshly baked bread rolls was placed on the table with a big block of butter.

Lucy and Wendy spread the thick butter as they sighed, taking the first bite.

"Alas, we have one bed."

Lucy stopped chewing, and her face turned red. She drank the mead for courage, took another roll and spoke like she was telling them about the weather. It would have looked very mature, but her hands were shaking violently. She buttered her hand instead of the roll.

"Squee, my life is yours. You can do with me as you please."

Lucy held her hand before her mouth. Her face turned redder as she spoke.

"Squee, if you need to plunge deeply into me tonight, please do not hesitate."

Her voice turned to a whisper. Her face was turning deeper shades of red by the minute.

"Squee, there will be no resistance from me."

Wendy giggled, and Ethan turned red as well. Clearing his throat, he took Lucy's hand. She jolted as he touched her.

"Alas, I was thinking of sharing my essence with you. Wendy has already had my essence and will receive more tonight."

Wendy excitedly explained.

"Hail, Lucy, I don't know what happened, but afterwards, I felt amazing."

Ethan wondered if he should explain what was happening and if he should look at Wendy's status. Since her core had solidified, she had become a level-two regenerator. Wendy would quickly recover from minor scratches and ailments. The fantastic fact for Ethan was that Wendy didn't notice that her body had changed. Wendy didn't notice that her body had healed in record time.

Ethan felt guilty for changing her body without asking permission. He wanted her to be stronger and able to defend herself. How would he be able to justify what he had done to her? He wondered if he would go down the wrong path if he empowered fewer people. Ethan would have to be very careful about handling his subordinates and what he made them do. The last thing he wanted was to make people suffer to achieve goals.

As they walked upstairs to their room, eyes followed them with stares and grins.