NOVEL NEXT 31: A weird quest
*Clap clap*
"That's enough!"
As I was midway across the staircase a clap followed by a voice interrupted everything. In the next moment it felt like the building itself shifted. My slaves were separated from the dwarves and pushed into one corner. I also felt a pair of rock hands trying to pin me onto the wall, but one look with my Ruin Eyes and they vanished into thin air.
I finally looked up. On top of the staircase there was a woman dwarf. A short woman with grey long hair and long floppy rabbit ears. She were extravagant jewelry and her clothes were really revealing. She could pass as a belly dancer, since she wore a harem type outfit that reveals lots of skin. Her orange eyes were glittering like gems and her dark skin just accentuates her voluptuous body. Her breasts might not be that big, but she is alluring that's for sure.
"Guild master, we're sorry, but these girls started it. They caused a major ruckus. That one even wanted to come up to you."
She brought her hand to her head and let out a slight sigh.
"Your lack of judgement never ceases to amaze me. You guys are no match for them. Especially this one. They could destroy this place if they wanted to."
Hou? Can she sense my power? To be honest I am still surprised that the guild master is a girl. Specially one as pretty as her.
"Miss, would you please come with me in my office? Your friends can have a drink in the meantime. On me."
"You heard her girls. Take it easy. But if they try anything funny… squash them."
After giving my instructions I walked behind the female dwarf into her office.
------
"First allow me to introduce myself. My name is Shizudelia Dummdelia Dinluludim Yamdeena."
"Umm… you lost me there. Shizulia… dimlulu dum… what din?"
"Nono. Shizudelia Dummdelia Dinluludim Yamdeena. But I guess it is a bit of a mouthful for your race. Feel free to address me as Shizu."
"Okay. I can work with that. I'm Yurishia. Nice to meet you Shizu."
"Likewise. Please forgive my staff. But understand, in order to maintain order, we have a big emphasis on protocol. As you can see from the mountain of paperwork on my desk we tend to be busy."
"You have quite nice judgement. You even realized my strength."
"Yup. Since you cancelled my little spell my instincts told me it wouldn't be wise to go against you. So tell me, what brings you here?"
I want a slave. Is what I wanted to say. But obviously I can't put it like that. Up till now I sort of had a plan. But over here I just went with the flow. I'm not sure how to put it.
"Well… it's hard to explain. I was hoping to find something."
"Can you be more specific? What exactly are you looking for?"
"It's not exactly an object. It's complicated. It's…"
But just as I wanted to finish the sentence, I was interrupted. The door burst open and another female dwarf came in.
"This is terrible!? Guild Master, another one disappeared!"
"Hey, hey. Can't you see that I'm with someone now? I am well aware of the crysis. I'll talk to you when I finish with this girl."
Shizu quickly pushed the girl out the office. What was that all about?
"Sorry for that."
"It's okay. But what was that thing about a crysis?"
"Ahem, well… women that ventured out of the town started to disappear. We have located them and but…"
"But what?"
"Fine. I'll come clean. Have you ever heard of blossom nectar?"
"Sure have. It's an incredibly expensive drink."
"Correct. But do you know how it's produced?"
"Hmm… no."
"The parasite plant. It's a vile tentacle plant that draws females close with it's pheromones. Then the plant would send one of it's seeds into the girls brain and make her numb. It will violate the girl over and over. The mix between the plants'… juices and the woman's will fall on the ground helping the plant spread. Like pollination. And so it's flower is also allowed to bloom. And the flower is what's used to make the blossom nectar."
Eek. That's one creepy story. This world is full of weird shit.
"And recently women kept disappearing. There's a nest of parasite plant nearby."
"Why don't you just send a man then to burn that thing?"
"Well… that's the issue. Men can't find it. It's so well hidden that not even the best of our scouts could track it. The only way to find it is by following the pheromone trail. But the plant only releases it when a female passes by. And as you would expect… girls who took on that quest never came back."
"I see…"
"Hey! Wait. I just got the most brilliant idea! You are really strong. I can tell. How about it? Can you go on this quest?"
"Huh? Don't just go deciding things randomly!"
"Oh. Sorry. It's just that this problem has been bugging me for weeks now. You wanted something right? I'd generously reward you. Normally you would have to be registered to the guild for this, but I'll make an exception for you. If you can get rid of that plant nest, you can have anything you want as a reward."
…!!
"Anything?"
"Well you came to me for a reason right? As long as it's in my power to grant, I'll give you anything you want."
Perfect. Things couldn't have turned out better.
"I want to put this down on paper. Don't expect I'll trust your words."
"That's fine."
She pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down all the quest details. Writing in this world is done with ink and quill feathers in case you were wondering. After a while she bit her thumb and placed it on the paper next to her signature. Like a stamp. Of course, once I read it to check everything was ok, I did the same.
Quest: Parasite plant extermination
Difficulty: A
Issued to: Yurishia
Quest details: locate the nest of parasite plants that is causing females to disappear and eradicate it; bring back any survivors
Reward: Anything Yurishia desires as long as it's within the Guild Masters' power to grant
Seems ok to me.
"This might turn out to be quite amusing."
"Eh, before I forget. If you feel yourself in danger or can't resist, quickly cover your nose and run away. There's no shame at all if you can't complete it."
"Who do you take me for? I'll be back soon."
And with that I left the office and headed back to my servants. We then headed outside to have a more calm talk.
"Aneue, isn't this a bit dangerous?'
"It's nothing I can't handle. Besides, the reward is totally going to be worth it."
"Are you after the moon stone?"
"Wrong. Bessie, I'm glad you noticed that when Shizu stopped that bar fight she was using a moon stone, but that's not what I am after. You should know by now."
"Lady Yurishia… you want to make the guild master your slave too, right?"
"Bingo! Obviously if she becomes mine, the moon stone will also be mine. It's too good to pass."
"But Yurishia, where should we start?"
"You guys can start by going at an inn. I'm soloing this one."
"Eeeh!!?" (x4)
"Look, no offense, but now that I awakened your sexual feelings for me, you won't last against that thing. Lust will easily take over you. So it's better if I go alone on this one."
After all, I have years of experience with abstinence.
"...You had sex with everyone except me…"
Nelia murmured something in a very low voice. I didn't quite catch that.
"Did you say something, Nelia?"
"No! Don't mind me. I was just talking to myself."
"O...Kay. Anyway, this is an order. Go to an inn and wait for me there. I'm going alone. Got it?"
"Understood!" (x4)