Feast

As always, the guild was bustling with noise and activity.

I should sell off the goblin corpses fast. A goblin chief and about 120 goblins. Unfortunately, the goblin archer got away. I would've liked to shove his own arrow up his ass. Truly a loss.

After fifteen minutes of standing in silence, it was finally my turn.

"I'd like to turn in a quest and sell a few corpses," I said, handing over the quest paper.

The receptionist nodded. "Of course. Do you have goblin corpses for proof?"

"Yeah." I dumped the bodies from my inventory. A pile of burnt goblin corpses stacked up, one on top of the other.

The guild fell silent for a moment. People turned to stare.

"W-Wait, did you kill all of these yourself?" the receptionist stammered.

"Yes? Wasn't that the quest? Goblin extermination."

"The quest only requires slaying a couple of goblins… That's why it's only meant for a single level five adventurer," she sighed. "What level are you?"

…Oh. Guess I did extra work for no reason. Not complaining, though. Free EXP and money.

"I was level seven before I started."

She blinked. "By the looks of it, you wiped out an entire village." Another sigh. "Wait here while we count the corpses. Here's your payment for the quest."

She handed me a pouch. I opened it, lots of bronze coins.

"How much?"

"150 bronze coins," she replied as the other guild workers started sorting through the bodies.

That's way more than the 30 I got earlier. Guess mass murder pays better.

"Check back in a few minutes," she said. "We can't hold up the line."

"Sure."

I wandered over to the bulletin board, still plastered with quests.

Should I take another? I don't really know the value of money here, but since I'm literally risking my life, 150 bronze coins should be a lot… Probably.

"Yo!"

I turned around at the familiar voice. Ruby.

"Rin!!" Something soft slammed into me. Arms wrapped around me, squeezing tight.

"Renia missed you…" she muttered, burying her face into my chest.

I hesitated, then patted her head. Somewhat embarrassing with this many people around.

"How'd things go on your end?" Mila asked, approaching at a normal pace, unlike her sister.

"Fine. I earned about 300 bronze coins. More to come."

"What about the other guys?" Ruby asked.

"No clue."

"We should turn in the quest. I'm starving," Nova groaned.

"Yeah, my stomach's already growling." Ruby rubbed her tummy.

"Did you bring the corpses? They sell as proof, apparently," I asked.

"Tch tch tch, Vice-Guildmaster, do you take us for fools?" Ruby puffed out her chest.

That's good, then.

"Alright, let's go!" Mila cooed.

I followed behind them. With Renia clinging to my arm, of course.

Naturally, we had to wait in line. Again.

"Wow, that's a lot of goblin corpses," Ruby commented. "I wonder who killed them all?"

"I wonder who." I replied. Still, that stroked my ego a little.

"A party, no?" Mila said.

Five minutes later, it was finally our turn.

"Excuse me, we'd like to turn in a quest," Mila said, handing the receptionist the paper.

"Of course." She examined it. "Elemental wolves, huh? Do you have any corpses?"

"Yes. Nova?" Mila turned to her.

Nova nodded and dumped out nine wolf corpses.

"Here's the reward," the receptionist said, handing Mila a pouch.

Mila opened it. "Fifteen silver coins."

"The corpses sell for one silver each. Would you like to sell them?"

"Yes."

The receptionist added nine silver coins to the pouch.

I turned to the receptionist. "Uh, are you done checking the goblin corpses?"

"Yes. You had about 125 goblins and a goblin chief." She handed me another pouch. "That'll be 40 silver and 50 bronze coins."

A lot less than I expected.

I placed it into my inventory. "Let's go."

"Damn, you killed that many? That's impressive!" Ruby grinned. "Nothing less from our Vice-Guildmaster."

"Renia told you Rin was impressive!" Renia puffed out her chest with a smug smirk. Almost childlike.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I shrugged. Still, I felt pretty damn good about myself.

"Wonder what this'll get us," Nova muttered.

"It's a decent amount," Ruby added. "Probably enough to last about a month for our big family."

"You've been in this world for a while?" I asked.

"Nope! I was born here."

"You homeless?" Nova chimed in.

"Excuse me! I have a loving family!" Ruby huffed.

"So you're telling us," Mila said, narrowing her eyes, "that you could've fed us yesterday?"

"Yes! But I wanted to feel the thrill of a real adventurer! Work hard for my food!" Ruby said, beaming.

…Wow.

Mila sighed. No point arguing. Ruby was an open book, there was no getting through to her.

"Anyway, let's wait for Etsu and Gyro before heading back. I wanna eat already," I said.

"That's fine, but I suck at cooking," Ruby admitted. "So who's gonna cook? Vice-Guildmaster, can you cook?"

"I can survive."

"Hm, I can cook just fine," Mila said. "But Ren is better."

"True."

Mila gave me a weird look.

"What?"

"I didn't mean your cooking is bad," I clarified. "It's just that I've only ever eaten Renia's."

"You don't need to explain yourself." Mila giggled. "I was just messing with you."

"If Rin likes it so much, Renia can cook for him," Renia said sweetly. "Just for Rin, though. Hehe." She clung tighter.

"What? Cook for me too!" Ruby whined.

"No way." Renia stuck out her tongue.

Before Ruby could argue, a new voice cut in.

"Yo, guys! You sure took your sweet time, huh? I already finished three quests."

We turned. Etsu stood there, carrying someone on his back.

"Who's that?" Ruby asked.

"Gyro. Passed out after seeing monsters."

"Now that everyone's here, let's go back," I said.

"Wait, we should buy groceries first," Mila reminded us. "No point making extra trips."

"Ruby and I can go," she added.

"What? Why me?"

"You're a local."

I feel like she still wouldn't be of any help.

I pulled out my silver coins and handed them to Mila. "Here. I'll keep the bronze for emergencies." Like snacks.

"Thanks." She smiled, taking the pouch.

"Here's mine and Gyro's," Etsu said, tossing her another pouch. She barely caught it.

"Sure you wanna give away Gyro's earnings without asking?" I raised an eyebrow.

"It's fine. I'll give him mine later if he complains."

You'd have to earn more for that.

"Alright then, let's go, Ruby." Mila grabbed Ruby and dragged her off.

"We should head back too," Etsu said.

"Right. Where's Nova?" I glanced around.

"She left earlier," Renia answered.

"I see. You go ahead with Gyro. I'll follow later."

Etsu flashed a thumbs-up and walked off.

I didn't really have anything to do.

… I just didn't want to clean.

"It's been a while since we've been alone…" Renia muttered, a slow, almost eerie smile creeping onto her lips.

"Has it?" I glanced at her. "It's only been a few days."

She huffed, her grip tightening around my arm as we walked through the bustling streets. "Still too long."

I didn't have a destination in mind, so I just wandered. Renia didn't seem to mind, sticking close as we talked about nothing in particular, pointless chatter that filled the silence. We stopped at a few stalls, grabbing whatever food caught our eye. Thankfully, nothing was too expensive.

By the time our aimless walk came to an end, the sun was already ready to rest.

Renia tugged me toward a bench, settling beside me and leaning her head against my shoulder. A soft sigh left her lips. "Renia feels blissful right now."

"We should probably head back."

"So soon?" She pouted, pressing herself closer. "Renia wants to stay like this a little longer…"

She giggled suddenly. "Ah! Renia forgot Rin is scared of the dark, hehe."

"I was. Not anymore," I replied. Though, I couldn't deny that darkness scared me a lot as a kid. It reminded me too much of the emptiness I used to feel, of being an only child in a home where my parents couldn't have cared less if I existed.

"Don't worry, Renia will always be here to protect Rin! Like always!" She beamed, then suddenly pressed a soft kiss against my cheek.

Jeez.

"Let's go," I said, standing up.

By the time we reached the guild, the sun had set. I could hear laughter inside, voices overlapping in cheerful conversation.

I pushed the door open. "We're back."

The room went quiet for a beat before everyone turned toward us.

"Welcome back," Mila greeted.

Ruby smirked. "Took your sweet time. Don't tell me you two did the dirty!?"

"Yeah, three times. In a dark alleyway. From the back," Renia answered, her expression completely unbothered.

"Oh my god!" Ruby gasped.

"A-Ah!" Mini clapped her hands over her ears, cheeks burning red.

Laughter erupted.

I rolled my eyes. "Where's Gyro?"

"Resting upstairs," Elias said.

"Anyway!" Ruby clapped her hands together. "Feast time! I picked out the best meat ever!"

"And the most expensive one too…" Mila sighed, but there was no real frustration in her voice. "But I suppose it's fine to celebrate our first task as an official guild."

"Come on, now that they're back, let's eat!" Ruby practically bounced on her heels.

"Oh dear, let me plate everything first," June giggled, heading to the kitchen.

"I'll help." Mila followed after her.

The scent of roasted meat and rich spices filled the room as the platters were set down on the table. At the center was a massive cut of god knows what meat. Bowls of golden-brown rice, roasted root vegetables, and thick slices of buttered bread surrounded it.

A sizable pot of stew bubbled nearby, emanating a delicious aroma. A smaller platter held skewers of grilled fish, the skin crisp, sprinkled with salt.

"Alright, dig in!" Mila announced.

Everyone wasted no time.

"Damn, this is so good," Etsu groaned, practically melting into his seat.

"June, you're amazing," Elias added between bites.

"You should thank Mini," June giggled.

"N-No! I barely did anything…" Mini shrank in her seat.

Ruby, in the middle of stuffing her face, gave a loud burp. "Burrrrp! Damn, that hit the spot."

"You are disgusting," Nova muttered, cringing.

---

"Alright, now for the fun part, who's doing the dishes?" Mila smirked, arms crossed.

Silence.

Elias cleared his throat. "Well…"

Mila raised a brow. "Let's split into pairs and take turns washing dishes each night. We'll decide the first pair with rock-paper-scissors."

"Sounds fair," Etsu shrugged.

I nodded.

"As for pairings…" Mila's eyes flicked to Renia.

"She's with me," I said before she could even ask.

Renia hummed in satisfaction, clinging to my arm.

Mila sighed. "Fine. But, Ren, don't wash the dishes for Rin. Don't let him slack off."

"I wasn't planning to slack off…" I muttered. No really. Okay, maybe a little.

We played our game. Ruby and Nova lost.

"Fuck," Ruby groaned, throwing her head back.

"Should've tried harder," I said, standing up. "I'm heading to bed."

"Goodnight."

"Sweet dreams!"

"G-Good night!"

"Wait for Renia!" She hurried after me, latching onto my arm.

"You have your own room," I reminded her.

"Nope! We gave you two the biggest room," Elias said with a thumbs-up.

…Did he think he was being a good wingman? I need my privacy sometimes, you know.

"Whatever." I sighed, heading for my room.

The room was spacious but simple. A large bed sat in the middle, enough for two, maybe three people. A small table and wardrobe stood against the wall, leaving plenty of empty space. It was plain, but I figured Renia would take care of that soon enough.

I tossed myself onto the bed. Not the softest, but it'd do.

The door clicked shut. Renia locked it.

"Hmm, should Renia strip?" She asked, her smile playful.

"No. You shouldn't."

"It's for Renia's comfort."

Without hesitation, she unbuttoned her shirt, sliding it off her shoulders before tugging down her skirt. White.

She climbed into bed, wrapping her arms around me, pressing close.

Then, she looked up with those familiar, sharp eyes and purred, "Want to do it?"

I stared at her. "Do what?"

She smirked. "Do you really want Renia to say it out loud? Cause she will. Loudly."

"Never mind."

"So?"

I hesitated. "…Sorry. I can't."

Renia looked dissapointed. She sighed, nestling her face against my chest.

"Does Rin not love Renia? Is she not pretty enough?" Her grip on me tightened.

"I do love you," I murmured. "But… I'm not ready."

She was silent for a moment. Then, in a soft voice, she whispered, "Rin is always like this…"

But her hold on me never loosened.

"Renia won't force you," she added.

"Thank you."

She won't leave you.

So why are you scared?

I'm stupid.

I let my eyes close, sinking into sleep.