Chapter 27
I exited the bathhouse and was greeted by Alm, who was waiting against a wall outside. In his hands, an earthen pot.
“Here is the pot that you asked for. I wasn’t sure what size you wanted, but this is the biggest one that I could carry,” Alm said with slightly strained breaths.
“Thank you! This is perfect,” I smiled and took it from him. It wasn’t too big or heavy, but Alm must have rushed here with it. Or I was underestimating how fit I was compared to a baseline human.
I made to put the pot into my ring, only to stop halfway when I realized that Alm was standing right there, and having the pot suddenly disappear might raise some questions.
So, I decided to just carry it in my arms for now. I just put it in my ring once I leave the village.
“The other adventurers are waiting for you. They wanted to meet you once you were done bathing,” Alm said while massaging his forearms. He glanced at the pot, now easily held in my arms, before turning and walking away.
“Please follow me,” He called over his shoulder, and I heard him mutter something under his breath that I didn’t catch.
“Lead the way,” I said cheerfully and followed him, happy that I finally got my pot. Now just deal with the Ishtar adventurers, and I’ll be all set.
I followed Alm to where the Ishtar adventurers were, back in the Chief’s house. I don't know why they had walked away from the house and then came back after I went to the bathroom. Maybe they wanted to check out the village before settling down?
Whatever the reason, they had made themselves at home in the Chief’s dining room. Layla and the twins were seated, while Dalia stood against a wall. The Chief was seated across the table from Layla, and there were a few bags of valis in the middle.
“Ah, Leon! You’re looking nice and refreshed. I trust that the bath was to your liking?” The Chief greeted me with a wide smile and got up.
“Yes, it was very nice. Thank you once again,” I said as the Chief came over and gently guided me to sit at the table across from the Ishtar adventurers.
“Of course. I understand you and these fine ladies have something to discuss, so please allow me to take my leave.” The Chief smiled and bowed before leaving.
The door shut with a gentle click, and all that was left were the Ishtar adventurers and me with a pile of valis in between us. Alrighty, negotiation time.
“So I guess we need to figure out how to split the money?” I asked, slightly nervous. I was never great at negotiating anything.
Last time I haggled for some jewelry on a trip, my friends nearly strangled me when they heard how much I paid. I didn't have my friends to help me this time, though now I can punch things that get in my way, so that balances things out.
“Indeed, tell me, do you have the magic stones?” Layla smiled and asked.
I nodded. I had made sure to collect them, though they were too small to be useful in my cultivation. And I couldn't go to the guild to exchange them since I don't want a repeat of last time.
“Then how about this, let's split it 60/40. Since you have the magic stones, you'll be able to exchange them at the guild, and that should make up for the loss,” She said happily, though I couldn’t let that happen.
“How about I give you the magic stones, and I take sixty percent?” I asked hastily. The magic Stones were useless to me, but they could exchange them. You know, on the count of them actually having a familia
I reached behind me and pulled the magic stones out of my ring. I then place the bag in the center of the table with all the valis.
“Oh, is there any reason why you don't want to exchange them at the guild?” Layla asked, puzzled.
“I'm too busy to stop by The Guild,” I lied quickly. It was a flimsy excuse, but Layla didn't push anymore.
“I see it must be so hard to be so busy. That you found time to come and help these people is rather honorable,” She said and started to divide up the spoils.
“As I said, I was just in the area, and I wanted to help,” I replied. Though looking at the valis now, they certainly make a nice reward. I'm surprised the village has this much to give us.
I guess the monster subjugation was very important to them, makes sense.
“Yes, quit the little hero, aren’t you?” She smiled, and I had to fight off the urge to squirm
in her words. Being called a hero by someone else, someone who I didn’t even help, just felt wrong.
Especially since I just did her job for her.
“All right, all done,” she said after she split the bags apart, “Now to hold up my end of the bargain. What can I do to make it up to you since you helped me out so much?”
“Well, I was hoping you could tell me where I could get a job. Preferably at a clinic since I have experience working there, but anything would work for me really,” I said as I pocketed my portion of the bags.
I just put them in my pot before putting them in my ring. Smooth sleight of hand that no one was ever the wiser to.
“A clinic, you say? The only two I can think of are run by the Dian Cecht familia and the Miach familia. Though I don’t think they would like someone who’s not part of the familia working there.” Layla tapped a finger to her chin before she casually killed my hope.
Well, there goes that idea. If they didn’t mind an outsider working, I might have given it a shot, but I'm definitely not joining a familia.
Once I get better at manipulating Qi, maybe I can open my own clinic. One without all the potential slavery to a higher power.
“Oh, well, that sucks. Then, do you know any places that could use an extra hand? Doesn't matter where, as long as the pay is good,” I asked again, pushing my dreams of healing people aside for now.
I have to find another way to get knowledge about medicine and healing. Whether that’s through a teacher, or just plain old trial and error. I teach myself if I have to.
Hopefully, Meteria can wait that long.
“I believe I do know one job that you would be interested in. The pay is quite nice and the hours are flexible, so long as you don't mind working with people,” Layla says and smiles.
“Oh, I wouldn't mind working with people at all. What's the job and how much does it pay?” I asked eagerly. It seems that I might be in luck.
“The job is being a host of sorts. You would mainly sit with the customers and talk with them. It is rather intense on the body, so as long as you're okay with that, then it would be perfect for you,” Layla leaned forward and said.
“So kind of just like a bartender? How are the hours?” I thought that I didn’t sound too bad. In fact, it sounded right up my alley. I was always better at moving my body than trying to do other stuff. I like math. Blah.
“You would just work when you felt like it. We mainly need help on the weekends, since that’s when we get the influx of customers, though you can work weekdays as well, if you are eager to get started.” Layla gave a small giggle at that before continuing, “As for payment, it is mostly based on tips, but we guarantee a salary of 10,000 valis a week. So long as you work at least two days that week.”
My eyebrows shot up in surprise at the amount. I think that translates to about $100 a week back home, meaning I would make $400 every month. Not including tips, of course.
"That sounds rather good. Where would I be working? Is it a restaurant?” I asked, trying to figure out where you would work to get tips. I wonder if they have a tipping culture for waiters here.
“Well, we do serve food. But you would mainly be interacting with customers by chatting or drinking with them. You would only be pouring them drinks. The food would be served by someone else,” Layla looked around and thought for a moment before answering.
“Drinking and talking with them?” I was confused. I'd never heard of a shop where you drink with the customers. Usually, you’re serving them drinks, and they're drinking.
“Yep~,” Layla said, popping the ‘p’ at the end. “ It's pretty easy money, all things considered. So long as you can deal with drunks, that is. They can get kinda wild sometimes, but if that doesn’t bother you, then it’s perfect.”
“They can be really funny sometimes, honestly,” Mira jumped in and said.
“It's kind of like watching a drunken circus,” Her sister said a moment later. Dalia still had yet to say a word since I’ve met her, and it was starting to creep me out.
“I assume that means you guys work there too?” I questioned.
“Yeah, I’ve worked there for about a year now. It's been a ton of fun, and I've gotten a nice payout. Seriously, once they start drinking, people tip like crazy,” Layla supplied happily, and I filed that away for later.
“And you think I could make a lot of tips too?” I asked and avoided looking at her clothes. I think I knew why they were tipping so well, and I wasn’t dressing like that. Way too embarrassing.
“You would fit in perfectly. Talk about how you go and kill monsters in the dungeon or save helpless villages, and they would eat it up. Not only that, but you're just so fun to talk to. Honestly, you're a natural at it,” Layla leaned in a bit and smiled again.
“So, what do you say, handsome?” She put her chin on her elbow and beamed at me.
I suppressed the smile and embarrassment that came with that compliment and tried to focus. She was being incredibly friendly, and I can only imagine it's because she wanted to do the sales pitch.
And I hate to admit it, but it was working. The place sounded perfect for what I wanted: a good base amount for pay, but the potential to earn more. It also seemed like the hours were pretty flexible.
“I want to give it a shot. I look forward to working with you,” I said and shyly held out my hand. Layla grinned and shot forward, shaking my hand with both of hers.
I made sure to rein in my Qi when we touched, not letting anything escape for a movement. Don’t want what happened with Aisha to happen again.
“Then I’ll guide you there as soon as we get back to the city. Come on, let’s go!’ Layla excitedly got up and started going towards the door.
I held on to my pot and stopped her at the door. Almost dropped it; that wouldn’t have been good.
“Um, I still have something to do out here. Do you think you could give me a map, and I could meet you in the city later?” I asked as I adjusted the pot in my arms. I went through so much trouble for this; I’m going to get that plant.
“Oh, we can wait for you to get everything done. Actually, if you want, we can come with you and help you with whatever you need,” Layla said hastily, which gave me pause.
Why did she want to come with me?
“Well, it’s not really something that other people can help with. And it would take a bit, so I wouldn’t want to keep you guys waiting,” I said casually and observed her reaction.
A small flicker in her smile and slight tensing at the shoulders before they relaxed. What that meant, I have no clue, but something changed as she looked me up and down.
“Oh, I see. That’s a shame, but I understand. Then, Dalia, can you draw him a map? You’re the best artist here after all,” Layla said, and Dalia nodded before she took a piece of paper and a pen from her bag and began drawing a map for me.
While that was happening, Mira turned to me and asked, “Hey, I was wondering, where are you from? You have an accent that I can’t quite place.”
“Oh, me? Uh, I’m from the Far East. Well, near there at the very least,” I scrambled to come up with something only to say the first thing that came to mind. I mean, it wasn’t even a lie thinking about it. I just panicked since it took me off guard.
“Really?! That’ so far from here. How did you manage to get all the way to Orario then? It must have been super dangerous,” She exclaimed and leaned forward with sparkles in her eyes.
I guess she wasn’t that mad that I stole their job anymore? Well, they did get some of the money, so that helped. Wait, was it her or the other one that was mad? Why did they take out their braids? I can’t tell the difference anymore.
“Oh, it took a while. First, I had to get on a ship and…” I killed some time and briefly retold my travels from the Far East to Orario. Mira, I think it’s Mira anyway, gave oh’s and ah’s when I told her about the monsters I ran into, but really perked up when I mentioned the caravan.
“A caravan? Did you meet anyone there? Make any friends?” She asked noisily. Why she was so into this part, I don’t know, but maybe she just wanted to hear about some human interaction.
Most of the story was me being alone for the most part after all.
“I didn’t really talk to many people there. I only talked to those in my group. There were the two merchants, Octavious and Otto, and the other guard, an Amazon named Aisha. They were nice, I liked talking to them,” I said, reminiscing about chatting over the campfire with them.
They were the second group of people that I got to know, the first being Ouka and his family, of course. They would hold a special place in my heart.
“That’s nice. I’m glad they were able to make such an impression on you. The companions you met in life are very important after all. Hopefully you will meet again soon,” Lina said with a smile, and I nodded.
I wanted to make more friends. It would be nice not to live alone in the church anymore. Meteria was a breath of fresh air whenever she dropped by, but she couldn’t be there all the time. It would be nice to have someone to keep me company when she couldn’t.
Our little chat lasted long enough for Dalia to finish the map and hand it over to me. I looked at it and was surprised by how detailed it was. Also, the ink was kinda glowy, so that was neat too.
Afterwards, the Ishtar adventurers said farewell and left the village. I promised I would head there as soon as I got back to the city, and they seemed okay with that, though Layla asked once again if I was sure I didn’t want them to come with me.
A little after they left, I gave my thanks to The Chief, who seemed very relieved that everything was over, and went out to retrieve my plants after putting the map in my ring.
The walk was short, and the plants were still just as vibrant as when I left them. The pot was big enough that I could fit a few in it, so I did exactly that. I then tried to put the plants into my ring, only for nothing to happen.
Right, nothing alive can go in there. At least I know I didn’t kill the plants when I was transferring them to the pot. So, I guess I’ll just carry it back. Works for me.
So, off on my merry way I went. I walked back the way I came, making sure to really enjoy the vibrant colors of everything. I then spotted a few deer grazing nearby and decided that more food wouldn’t hurt anybody.
Well, other than the deer. But I made it quick, so they probably didn’t even feel anything before they died. Seriously, I had gotten really sneaky and quick.
After that, I went on a bit of a collecting spree. This part of the forest had a ton of berries and other animals that I decided would serve as my future meals. I may have bought supplies, but the more I can save on money, the better.
Plus, with my ring not allowing decay or food spoilage, all of them are going to stay nice and fresh, so nothing is going to waste.
That took a whole day, so my trip back took three days instead of two, but I should still be able to make it back before Meteria notices I’m gone. I left the note, but I imagine she would still worry about me. She’s nice like that.
I was planning on a speedy return, only to pause when I crested a hill overlooking the path to the city. At the city gate was what I could only describe as an army.
Hundreds of people and dozens of carts all gathered as they slowly made their way into the city. Well, slowly was a relative turn; they were pouring into the city, and I’m pretty sure some of them decided to climb the walls.
Absolute psychos. Why the hell is the city getting invaded by crazies?
I was seriously worried. And as I was pondering what to do, I noticed two, no, three things.
First, the army was very calm and peaceful. They didn’t have their weapons drawn, nor did they seem ready to fight. In fact, it seems like they were talking to some merchants that I assume were there before.
Secondly, all of them were adventurers. Like really, really strong adventures. The Qi in the air was getting deflected away from them, well away from their skin. So they were firmly on the do not fuck with list for me.
Thirdly, and perhaps the worst realization, was that as I decided to get closer once I realized they weren’t an army intent on destroying the city, I overheard the merchants, not a part of everything, talking to each other.
“To think they would return without slaying Leviathan. I wonder what happened,” One of them said to their companion.
“Nothing too serious, I’m sure. They already slayed Behemoth, perhaps they are just here for more supplies,” The other said in response.
Now, if that wasn’t enough for me to piece together who I was looking at, then the next line really shattered any denial I had about the situation.
“That is true. Or perhaps they are waiting for Leviathan to return to shallower waters after it fled. There’s no way the Zeus and Hera familia failed at their task,” The first one responded, and so the conversation went, but I stopped listening.
The Zeus and Hera familia have returned, right as I was coming back into the city. And now I was there, right behind them. Fuck.
Oh, look, one of them saw me and is coming over. He’s waving. I turned around, hoping someone was behind me and… nope. He’s waving at me.
Fuck my life.
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All done, yay!
Leon is getting worked over by Layla and the others, and he doesn’t even realize it. They are playing word games and master level intel extractions, and Leon thinks he’s having a nice conversation.
Chat, is he cooked?
Also, thank you to everyone who commented about the locked falna thing. I’m going to make a change to that for this AU in that there is always a small mark of the familia crest between the shoulder blades, even if it is locked. If it’s unlocked, then you get the whole thing as Bell had in canon before Hestia locked it.
The reason for this little change is to a.) give the adventurers a way to realize that Leon is different, and b.) to further expand the world-building about what Falna is in this world. You think gods aren’t going to mark their adventurers at theirs for all to see? No way.
Bottom line is that yes, the Ishtar adventurers know he isn’t blessed. But if you caught on, they kinda already knew that. They were just looking for confirmation. And boy howdy do they have it. They know Leon, and they want him.
They want him badly.
I’ll try and get the next chapter out before New Year's, but no promises. Take bets on whether I’ll get to it or not. Win an internet cookie if you get it right, lose one if you guess wrong.
Leave comments in general, I love reading them, and it’s fun to see everyone’s thoughts. Whether they are Christian or praise, I like both.
Lastly, Merry Christmas to those that celebrate, happy holidays to those that don’t, and to all a good night!
Until next time, friends!