Chapter 13 — Nominated Request

Editors: PROCRASTINATOR & GREETER

 

Before today’s chapter, I have a short sidestory that isn’t long enough for a whole chapter.

 

[Ei’s POV]

 

Hmm… I got some wyvern blood and it’s almost time to have blood again. Should I try it? Well,, let’s hope it won’t ruin normal blood for me.

 

…

 

What is this?! It tastes amazing… Wait! I need to slow down! I’ve already drunk half my supply!

 

…This is why vampires get a reputation for draining people dry, huh? They must get addicted to the taste of high level blood. Let’s just stick with the vultures for now.

 

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

 

One day as I’m lying on my bed at the crack of dawn thinking of new spells, I hear a knock at my door. Who would be knocking at this time? I already paid my “rent” for another day or so. Ah… maybe I should get a house. I have too much money anyways. Well, whatever. I get out of bed and open the door to see Luna standing there.

 

“Ei! Good morning!”

 

Luna is energetic as always.

 

“What’s up?”

 

Ah… My hair is crazy still. I haven’t been able to brush it. I guess Luna gets to see my hair looking more like a storm than hair..

 

“I was thinking of uhh… I dunno! I just felt like seeing you!”

 

“Party bonding?”

“Yep! That! Although fix up your hair first! It looks like an exploded floofer!”

 

What’s a floofer? I have a feeling it isn’t a dog. Maybe they’re giant floating hairballs? That would be funny.

 

“I was in bed right before you came knocking… what do you expect.”

 

“Eh? It’s already like 6:00! Why are you still asleep!”

 

“Because my bed is warm?”

 

Locals get up around 4:00 and go to sleep around 16:00 so I guess I am sleeping in pretty late. Also, yes, I sleep in my adventuring clothes. Well, I don’t really sleep…

 

I got ready and headed out with Luna. As we were walking towards some food stalls, I could have sworn I saw a hooded figure out of the corner of my eye.

 

“Let’s try this place!” 

 

A place that sells orc skewers. Why orcs? Are orcs like the process beef of this world? I swear, everywhere uses orc meat!

 

“Alright. I’ll take the uh… orc with probably safe mushrooms.”

 

That name is definitely not ominous. Either way, this should be a fun experience. I doubt a mushroom can kill me. My regeneration seems to clear out poison really fast. How do I know this? Let’s just say I ate some things I shouldn’t have… (G/N: Short story when?) (A/N: never?) (P/N :P)

 

“Risky choice! I like it. Luna, what about you?”

 

…Luna really does know everyone, huh?

 

“I’ll take my usual!”

 

“Alrighty.”

 

After a few minutes we got our skewers. They actually tasted pretty good. Unfortunately, the mushrooms did not make me see dancing fairies but that’s fine. I didn’t feel any pain either, so it was probably safe.

 

“Where to next?”

 

“Let’s go to the garden!”

 

There’s a garden here? Interesting. 

 

We arrived at the garden and it was really impressive. There were hundreds of flowers of various colors, vines up and down the walls, a few ponds, and even some fountains.

 

“Woah… this place is amazing.”

 

There were even floating plants! How the hell did they do that?

 

“Luna… do you see that guy over there?”

 

A weird guy in a gray cloak is watching us… it’s a bit unsettling.

 

“Hm? I don’t see anyone.”

 

Oh… they’re gone already. What is this? A horror game? (P/N NOT A GAME)

 

“Odd.”

 

For our next spot we decided to go to the Adventurers' Guild. Doing requests is a great way to do party bonding. Although, I don’t think anything we run into will be challenging considering the chimera fight.

 

We decided to go fight some goblins again, since the last time we tried that the goblins were hobgoblins. 

 

Luna created a storm of ice so strong that they all froze over before I could do anything. I had to heal her though since she almost froze off several of her limbs with that attack. It seems her control isn’t the best yet.

 

I put the ice statues into my inventory and we headed back.

 

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

 

“Celes! We’re back!”

 

“Welcome back Ei, Luna. Put the proof of subjugation over in that corner. I’ll process the request. While I do that, please see the guildmaster. He said he had something to talk to you about.”

 

“The guildmaster? Interesting.”

 

I took out the statues and left them in the corner for Celes. Let’s hope they don’t melt…

 

“Boo!” (Jouh)

 

The guildmaster tried to scare us again by hiding behind the door.

 

“How long were you standing there?” (Ei)

 

“Uhh… you don’t need to know?” (Jouh)

 

““...”” (Ei + Luna)

 

“Well, what did you want to see us for?” (Ei)

 

“The lord was impressed by your track record and wishes to meet you. He said he had a request.” (Jouh)

 

“Do you know what the request is?” (Ei)

 

“Nope.” (Jouh)

 

“You recommended us, didn’t you guildmaster!! And you know I hate interacting with nobles! It stresses me out!” (Luna)

 

“Come now, Luna. You’re almost a B rank adventurer now, you had ought to get used to interacting with nobles. By the time you’re rank A you’ll likely be interacting with them somewhat frequently.” (Jouh)

 

“But we don’t have to!” (Luna)

 

“Luna, you know the lord here is a nice guy. I know him personally. If there’s any noble to get used to first, it’s him.” (Jouh)

 

“But he’s an earl!” (Luna) (A/N: Yes, I did use count previously. I like earl better, so it’s earl now…)

 

“... That’s a fair point. I have nothing to say to that.” (Jouh)

 

“Let’s just go Luna. I think I’m more likely to mess up than you.” (Ei)

 

I mean, where I’m from there are no nobles. Well, I guess there are high ranking government officials, but they don’t really interact with the common populace. To me, being a noble doesn’t really mean anything…

 

“Eh? Aren’t you a half high elf? Shouldn’t you have no problem acting all ‘high and mighty’ like a noble?” (Luna)

 

High elves? I thought there were just elves…

 

“Well-” (Ei)

 

The guild master cuts me off.

 

“Do you really think those high elves would want a half elf in their society? You know how arrogant they are. They probably think that half elves are the scum of Andromeda, bringing disgrace to their entire race.” (Jouh)

 

Huh. I wonder if these high elves are called high elves because of how they act… 

 

““...”” (Luna + Ei)

 

“Oh… I’m sorry Ei…” (Luna)

 

“It’s fine. I didn’t grow up with high elves anyways. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one.” (Ei)

 

“““...””” (Everyone)

 

An awkward silence fills the room. I can’t tell if what I said made things better or worse. We stood there for a good few seconds before I spoke up.

 

“Well, let’s just go to see the lord…” (Ei)

 

“Alright…” (Luna)

 

“Here, take this letter. Show it to the guards and they should let you in.” (Jouh)

 

“Got it.” (Ei)

 

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

 

After leaving the guild, we began walking towards the noble district. 

 

“So Luna, who is the lord of Falu?”

“*sigh* Of course you have no idea who rules this place. Well, his name is Acantilado af Klint. He’s very well liked by the people here, with this city being the center of his territory. In his other cities, he’s generally well liked as well.” (G/N: He could have been Count Klint. Missed opportunity.)

 

“Hm… I see.”

 

We chatted about random other things after that, and Luna also tried to give me a course on proper etiquette. Unfortunately, I understood almost none of it. Let’s hope I don’t mess up…

 

“There’s the entrance!”

 

“Halt! Who goes there?”

 

“Two adventurers by the name of Ei and Luna.”

“What business do you have here?”

 

“We are here to see Lord Acantilado af Klint.”

 

“Do you have an appointment?”

 

“We have this letter from the guildmaster.”

 

I handed the guard the letter. He opens it, looks it over, hands it to another guard, and looks back to us.

 

“You may enter.”

 

The portcullis opens and we begin walking towards the mansion inside. The guard from before is guiding us to somewhere.

 

“Please wait here until Lord Klint is available.”

 

The guard then leaves. Luna looks pretty tense. Me? I have no idea what the hell I’m doing but I’m definitely not stressed.

 

After waiting a few minutes, the door opens again and in walks a middle aged man with short brown hair and some very fancy clothes. He has a blue lounge coat on with a gold trim and a white dress shirt underneath. He also has some white pants and black shoes on.

 

“Greetings adventurers Luna and Ei. I am Earl Acantilado af Klint. I have called you here today on request of you to take a commission. If you do not mind, I shall begin explaining the commission immediately.” (Acantilado)

 

Luna looks really, really tense now. 

 

“Calm down, Luna.” (Ei)

 

I whisper in her general direction. Looks like I’ll have to take over negotiations.

 

“I do not mind, Lord Klint. Before we continue our negotiations, I shall introduce ourselves. I am the adventurer Ei of the party Moon’s Shadow, C rank. My companion here is the adventurer Luna of the party Moon’s Shadow, C rank. We are honored for you to have chosen us.” (Ei)

 

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. However, I must inquire, is your companion there feeling unwell?” (Acantilado)

 

“She does not take well to being around nobles.” (Ei)

 

“I see. Seeing as that is the case, I offer a proposal.” (Acantilado)

 

“And that- I mean- What do you offer to us, Lord Klint?” (Ei)

 

“Haha. I see that you do not take well to formalities either. My proposal is simple. The two of you may drop the formalities, as I care little for them.” (Acantilado)

 

Oh. That’s nice. (A/N: It’s definitely not because I want the speaker to be more clear [and then I gave up])

 

“I’ll take you up on that offer then. Luna! Did you hear him?” (Ei)

 

“Eh? Ah! Yes? What?” (Luna)

 

“He said we could drop formalities, if that helps at all.” (Ei)

 

“Really? Thanks, Lord Klint! It actually helps a lot! Now I won’t get beheaded for misspeaking…” (Luna)

 

…I forgot that was a thing that could happen. (P/N Is that foreshadowing I smell?) (A/N: Nope)

 

“Since it is the case we are dropping formalities, please, call me Acantilado.” (Acantilado)

 

“Eh? Is it really okay to call you by your first name? And also, aren’t you speaking all formally?!?” (Luna)

 

“I believe it to be so. As for speaking formally, call it a force of habit.” (Acantilado)

 

“Makes sense. Anyways, what is the commission?” (Ei)

 

“It is a simple task, though it proves most difficult. Recently, the Cult of NULL has been acting up. We believe that they are attempting a summoning ritual to bring forth a great evil.” (Acantilado)

“That sounds bad.” (Ei)

“Indeed it is. Your task is to eliminate the cultists here, or, at the very least, bring an end to their ritual. Due to the recent fluctuations in magical energy, I believe that you will have at most a single week.” (Acantilado)

 

“A week!? You expect us to track down a cult in a week!?” (Luna)

 

“Hm… Luna I think I have a lead already. Remember how I thought I saw some hooded people following us around? That could be them. There was also a similar cloaked person who I followed a while back to a house.” (Ei)

 

“I fear it will not be that simple. However, that indeed seems to be a worthwhile starting point. Here are several documents about the cultists here. Use them as you please. I will speak to the guards here to give you clearance to have an audience with me when you require it.” (Acantilado)

 

“Thank you Acantilado. Well, let’s be going. We have cultists to cut down.” (Ei)

 

The cult of NULL? Is this “NULL” thing like ENTITY? It has a similar weight to it. This could prove to be very troublesome…