"Donkey, I'm going to beat that ugly face of yours to a pulp. Crack, crack!"
Edward cracked his fingers.
"Edward, you're a disgrace to our class."
"Are you calling me Donkey?"
Edward clenched his fists and looked ready to punch my quadruped friend's face.
"Is there another Donkey here?"
"Hahaha!"
The people in the guild started laughing.
I wasn't going to interfere with those idiots' argument. I already had enough problems to deal with.
"Hey, Aiko, aren't you going to answer me?"
She hid behind the guild counter.
"Kaela, there's no point in insisting that Aiko cooperate. When she decides to stay quiet, nothing will make her change her mind."
Seven Paths was cleaning armor with a rag older than he was.
"Could you help me?"
"That depends. How much is it going to cost me?"
"You think I'm rich? I don't have a coin to my name."
Why was he charging me now?
"You just completed a ten-thousand-Asterium quest. Are you going to deny it?"
He picked up a silver suit of armor from the shelf.
"I. . . I don't have anything left."
If I still had that money, I would rub it right in his face.
"What did you do with the money? You managed to spend ten thousand Asterium in less than twenty-four hours."
"Please don't make me explain that incredible accomplishment."
I wanted to forget that glorious disaster.
"Please help me. Are you really going to deny help to a helpless girl like me?"
"Don't say it so loudly, especially in such an embarrassing way."
"Look at that. The guild master hurt Kaela."
Two girls standing beside me began supporting me.
"I just wanted someone to help me."
"Waaah!"
So, old man, what were you going to do now?
I had two beautiful girls supporting me, and everyone was staring at you.
"Fine, I'll help you. I don't want a reputation as a pervert."
"Thank you!"
The girls beside me went somewhere else.
I needed to thank them later. It was great to know that intelligent people existed in this world.
"Come on, Donkey. Have you given up on fighting me already?"
The people in the guild were holding Edward back while Donkey sat there, enjoying his beer.
"Kaela, I already finished feeding Mortar."
"And did you eat too?"
"Hahaha!"
Now Seraphine was going to go hungry. I had no money to buy more food.
I hadn't told her to give Mortar everything.
"Kaela, finish organizing the armor. Then we can talk."
"All right!"
We went to the same place where I had been talking to Aiko.
I didn't want to interrupt the people writing, but some people clearly didn't understand that.
"I killed the demons exactly as my master taught me."
"And how did you do it?"
The group Lyra had joined listened closely to every word she said.
"You need fertilizer."
"Fertilizer? I'll write that in my story. . . What else did you do?"
"Coffee!"
Silence.
I assumed they were going to hit her now.
"And after the coffee?"
Well, I got my hopes up too much.
At least I tried, right?
"So, old man, I want to know a few things about this city."
"Old man?"
The muscles and veins in Seven Paths's body bulged.
"Ah, I was joking."
Phew. I almost got beaten up.
"What do you want to know first?"
There were so many things that I didn't know where to begin. . .
"Would you like a drink, Kaela?"
"Of course!"
"GLUG, GLUG!"
Wow, look at this beer!
Just looking at it made me want to drink it. It had a beautiful golden color—bright, crystal clear, and perfectly clean.
And the foam on top? Perfect. Dense, creamy, and refusing to disappear. It even clung to the side of the glass as it slowly slid down.
"Cheers!"
Wait. I couldn't drink.
"Why don't you want to drink?"
"Come closer."
"Are you going to put this drink on the King's tab?"
"I would never commit such blasphemy against our wonderful King Asterium Pegasus."
Hmm. . .
"Has this guild always been like this?"
I brought the glass close to smell it.
Man, what a fresh aroma! There was a strong citrus note—somewhere between passion fruit and lemon, probably from the hops.
But underneath that, at the very end, there was a sweet scent that reminded me of freshly baked bread and cookies.
It was perfectly balanced.
"Like what? Be more specific."
"GULP!"
Man, I had only taken two sips of beer and I was already hallucinating.
Since when did I know so much about drinks?
"Has this guild always been like this? Have the adventurers always been both writers and adventurers?"