Chapter 4: 4. Herbs and a dark elf
AT THE LATE EVENING
ALEXANDER
By the time we returned to the guild, the sun was already setting. I was exhausted. Apparently surviving goblin psychological warfare took energy. The moment we stepped inside, several adventurers immediately moved out of Scarlet’s way again. Honestly, I was getting used to it, the receptionist from earlier noticed us approaching and smiled slightly.
"Oh. You’re back alive." A register said.
"Your confidence in me is inspiring." I sighed.
"Greenroot leaves confirmed. Quest complete."She laughed a little at that while taking the herb bag from me.
"Twelve silver."She handed me a small pouch of coins.
I stared at the money in my hand, my first earnings, tiny. Embarrassingly tiny, but still mine.
"I actually did it."I smiled.
"Master succeeded."Scarlet looked happier about it than I did.
"Not bad for your first day."The receptionist smiled again. Then she leaned slightly closer over the counter.
"Honestly, most new adventurers panic during their first goblin encounter."
Scarlet suddenly stepped between us, not aggressively. Just... very directly. The receptionist blinked as Scarlet smiled politely.
"He did very well."She said.
The temperature around us dropped slightly and I immediately recognized the warning signs.
"Scarlet."I said.
"Yes, Master?"She asked.
"Why are you glowing?"I asked.
"Sorry."Her holy aura disappeared instantly.
"Right. Anyway. Payment processed."The receptionist awkwardly cleared her throat and quickly slid the guild card back to me.
"Alexander?"That’s when I noticed familiar voices behind me.
I turned. Three academy students stood near the guild entrance. Former classmates. Their eyes widened instantly when they saw me.
"No way." One muttered. "He actually became an adventurer."
"Wait. THAT’S his summon?!"Another looked at Scarlet and immediately paled.
"Didn’t they expel him yesterday?"The third laughed nervously.
Something twisted in my chest again. Embarrassment, anger. I looked away first.
"Yeah." I muttered. "They did."
Silence, then Scarlet stepped beside me. Very close. Her expression remained soft, but her voice changed slightly.
"Master is succeeding perfectly well without them."She said.
The room became quieter again. One of the students took a step back instinctively.
"We didn’t say anything bad."He said.
"You were thinking it."Scarlet smiled.
Okay, that was somehow worse.
"Scarlet. Relax."I grabbed her shoulder quickly.
"Understood."She looked at me immediately, expression softening again.
The students left very quickly after that.
"My social life is dead."I sighed heavily.
"Correction: it died yesterday."The system appeared instantly.
"Thanks."I said.
Eventually, I rented the cheapest room the guild offered. Calling it "cheap" was generous. The bed looked emotionally damaged. I sat at the tiny table while Scarlet stared at the bowl of stew the innkeeper gave me. The stew looked gray. That couldn’t be healthy.
"This might actually kill me." I muttered.
"Master should not eat poison."Scarlet frowned slightly.
"It’s not poison."I sighed. "Actually, maybe."The stew moved slightly.
Scarlet suddenly snapped her fingers. Holy light flashed across the bowl, I blinked. The gray sludge transformed instantly. Now it smelled incredible. Perfect roasted meat. Fresh vegetables. Rich broth.
"How did you do that?"I stared at it in complete shock.
"I fixed it."She looked confused.
I slowly took a bite then froze.
"This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten."I said.
"You looked unhappy." Scarlet looked proud of herself.
"Cooking skill detected: Divine flavor enhancement. Warning: User may become emotionally
dependent on summon cooking."The system appeared again.
"Too late." I admitted.
The next morning, I woke up to the system screaming directly into my brain.
"DAILY TASK AVAILABLE"The system said.
"WHY ARE YOU SO LOUD?!"I nearly fell out of bed.
"Good morning, Master." Scarlet sat calmly beside the window.
"Morning."I rubbed my face.
"Daily objective: Accept one new adventurer quest
Reward: 1 Random summon ticket."The system screen expanded.
"Wait. Another summon?"I froze.
Scarlet immediately looked at the screen too. Her smile disappeared.
"Another?"She asked.
I pretended not to notice that tone. An hour later, we stood at the guild counter again. The receptionist looked nervous the moment she saw Scarlet.
"Welcome back."She said.
"Daily task." I said quickly.
"Quest: Berry gathering. Difficulty: D rank" She handed me a quest paper almost immediately.
"I’m getting paid to pick berries."I stared at it.
"Welcome to early adventurer life." She sighed.
"Daily task complete. Reward distributed."The system chimed happily.
A glowing card appeared in front of me. Scarlet stared at it, very intensely.
"Master."She said.
"Relax."I said.
"I am relaxed."She nodded.
The air pressure said otherwise. I swallowed nervously and pulled the card anyway. Dark energy exploded outward, the guild lights flickered. Several adventurers screamed, when the smoke cleared, another girl stood there. Tall, dark elf. Long black hair. Crimson eyes. A dangerous smile. She looked around once then directly at me.
"Ara."She said. The dark elf slowly walked closer, very close. "So you’re my master."Then grabbed my hand immediately.
Scarlet’s holy aura exploded instantly. The dark elf smiled wider, interesting.
"New summon acquired: Dark Elf - Noa. Personality analysis: extremely possessive. Warning: Current household stability has dropped catastrophically."The system appeared one final time.
I looked between Scarlet and Noa, both smiling. Neither friendly.
"I am going to die, aren’t I?"I asked nervously.
I had to figure out something before things went out of hand, or I would die because of these two women.
