Book 2: Chapter 21 (1/2)

Alice grinded her teeth against the hard biscuit in her mouth as she stared at the report on her table, quill in hand. The ink on the page was dried, but there were only a few sentences written down. She crunched down, breaking the biscuit, and muttered, “Dragon patriarch…” She dropped her quill and leaned back, running her fingers through her dark-brown hair. “Do I tell the king?”

She sighed as she swallowed the biscuit and stared up at the ceiling. Since when had she become like this? Was it when she reached the peak? Was the peak even a peak or was it a wall? Her head lowered and she adjusted her glasses as her gaze shifted to the massive shield hanging on the wall. Maybe she should go on an adventure.

A knock on the door drew her attention away. “Guild master,” a voice said from behind the wood. “The party Tafel x Vur is looking for you.”

“Those three?” Alice asked, raising an eyebrow. “Bring them here.”

A few moments later, the door opened and the boy with golden eyes and the girl with ten horns stepped into the room. “Back so soon?” Alice asked. She flinched as Vur glanced at her, her body remembering the placement test she had given Vur. It had been a long while since she lost that badly. “Don’t tell me you finished the commission you accepted already.”

Tafel glanced at Vur. He turned his head away and inspected the weapons on the wall. Tafel cleared her throat and stepped forward. “We’re lost.”

“…Pardon?” Alice asked. “Didn’t you say you knew where you were going next?”

“He knew the name of the destination but not how to get there,” Tafel said, her face red.

“It would’ve been fine if we let Stella drive,” Vur said, making a face. “If we explored the whole continent, we would’ve found it eventually.”

Alice’s gaze shifted from Tafel to Vur and back again. “And you’re here because?”

“We want a guide,” Tafel said with a nod.

“Make a commission downstairs?” Alice asked.

“By a guide, I mean you,” Tafel said.

“What? Why? I’m the guild master,” Alice said. “Anyone can guide you to where you want to go.”

“Well, that’s because you’re a freak like us,” Tafel said and smiled.

“Hey,” Alice said and pursed her lips.

“That’s a compliment,” Tafel said. “You see, Vur tends to do … extreme things, and normal people might not be willing to accept them.” She lowered her head and spoke while coughing, “Meaning they’d die.” She raised her head and smiled. “But you’re sturdy! You took over a dozen of Vur’s hits before fainting.”

“…”

Tafel continued to smile at the silent guild master.

Alice sighed and rubbed her temples. “You could get some written directions, you know? There’s no need for me to go with you.”

“I need someone to balance out the voting count,” Tafel said, taking a step closer.

“The what?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Tafel said as she teleported beside Alice and wrapped her arm around the guild master’s shoulder before she could react. “What do you say?”

Alice shrugged off Tafel’s arm and frowned. “I refuse,” she said and gestured towards the papers on her desk. “I have many responsibilities as guild master, and I can’t just abandon them on a whim. I’m not as free as you two.”