<~> Chapter 78After rec from being caught pletely ftfooted I cleared my throat. "I'll... sider talking to them about it but it's probably too soon for that. Not that I'm... pletely disied..."

  He grinned with a smile that looked ge I couldn't help but interpret as smug. "No problem! I don't mind waiting and if you and yroup aren't ied that's fioo. No hard feeliher way."

  My face felt a bit warm so I quickly decided to move on from this subject. I felt a little bad about waking the twins but I was feeling rather unfortable leaving Bel alone for too long. I decided to prepare a couple of bowls of food for Bel and her mother as a peace . I had no idea if it would help but it couldn't hurt either.

  I set them aside aly woke the twins. They were both up quickly and were on their feet, barely ag as if they were tired. I suspected they had been traio be light sleepers but I decided not to ask about that right now. The two girls eyed the bowls of stew and I could tell they wao take them from me. I didn't offer them up and carried them myself. Tarklin quietly fell in with us, not so subtly watg everyone we walked by. As roached the medical tent I could hear someone raising their voice.

  "-no longer have a son. I gave up all of my ties when I joihe church. And good riddance, all that little girly boy ever did was give my ex-husband a reason to beat me more often. I wouldn't care if I never saw that freak again."

  Before we could enter Bel ran through the dht into me, spilling stew all over the both of us. Before she could say anything I just ed my arm around her and pulled her away from the tent and into a dark space between two tents around the er.

  "Shhh." I whispered in her ear and pulled her into a hug.

  "Lilith! I'm so sorry, your clothes..." Bel started fussing with my clothes, trying to wipe off the bits of stew.

  "It's okay, I don't care about that. Are you alright?"

  Bel looked down before burying her fa my chest. "...no." Her voice essentially came out as a sob. I ed my arms around her again and kissed the top of her head.

  "...how much did you hear?" she whispered.

  "Just the end but probably enough to know what happened."

  Her hands balled into fists in my shirt. I just kept holding her, I would keep holding onto her as long as she needs it. She quietly sobbed into my shirt for a while. None of the others spoke. I notiora had e over at some point and was making sure no one came near us.

  "H-how long before we leave?" Bel whispered .

  "We should leave soon, I'll go ask Yefen if we leave right away." She nodded quietly into my shirt while I stroked her back.

  Torien stepped forward. "Lilith, I go ask for us. He probably wants to send a letter back with us. I go hahat for us."

  I looked over at Nora, she nodded iurn. "I'll go with her."

  "Thank you Torien, Nora."

  Torien and Nora quickly walked off while Man shifted unfortably. She looked like she wao help somehow but she also didn't want to butt in unwanted. 'It's okay' I mouthed to her while tinuing to stroke Bel's back.

  After a few minutes Bel pulled away. "Thank you Lilith." She sniffed and cleared the tears from her eyes. "I... I don't know what to do."

  "It's okay, you don't o do anything. Let's just wait for Torien to e back so we all go back ho- back to the inn..."

  She quietly nodded iurn. Man stepped up to her, looking meek and apologetic. Rather than say anything Bel just smiled and pulled Man into a hug too. "Thanks for g Mori. Thanks for being here..." Bel's voice fgged at the end, Bel was fighting off falling into another g fit.

  "You're wele Bel." She kissed her on the cheek. "I know I don't know the full story but I want you to know you rely on me. I'm yirlfriend too you know."

  Bel smiled aurhe gesture, kissing her on the cheek as well. After a moment she smiled apologetically, "Kissing feels a little strange as a beastfolk."

  Man ughed it off but I saw Tarklin's eyebrow raise at that. I was starting to notice a tell. The two turned looking at Tarklin and froze, only now realizing what they did in front of him.

  I patted Man on the shoulder. "Don't worry, he told me this m he was a follower of Morkinnen. He won't judge us for our retionship."

  "Quite the trary, I do judge you to be all the more appealing for it," he said.

  I rolled my eyes. "Uh huh. Don't push your luck, it's not really the time."

  He cleared his throat. "Right. My apologies."

  We sat in the awkward air for a couple minutes before Torien came back holding a stack of letters. "Good news! Yefen said he briefly talked to the Tamin church padin from yesterday and they quote 'are satisfied with the results in the dungearding the team of adventurers.' so we're free to leave. He also gave me three of those mana potions as additional pensation for Bel's healing and asked us to go with this stack of letters to the guild. Reports, casualty letters, and a few other things for the guild master."

  I sighed in relief. "Thank god." I noticed a few fused looks before I realized my slip of tongue. I thought it was better to brush past it ahem stay fused. "Alright everyone, lets get out of here."

  We didn't have that much to carry, we quickly picked up the bags we had left at the campsite and began to leave the dungeon area. Nora was her same old self but Tarklin looked signifitly more rexed than on our . He still looked ready for anything, one hand on his sword at all times. But he wasn't as chatty as he was on the or looking around stantly like he had been when we first ehe dungeon camp. I felt like this pretty much firmed he was trying to take the attention of the Tamin church adherents away from us. That or he just felt like annoying them the eime, based on his behavior it could probably be either.

  It was still early m so it was a bit cold out. Despite the... light nature of most of my party's clothes it didn't seem to bother any of them. The few mohat popped out were quickly killed by Nora or Tarklin depending on who was closer at the time. It was a little odd being escorted by adventurers as adventurers but I didn't mind sidering the emotional rollercoaster this short trip had been. I put my hand in Bel's, happy that I no longer had to worry about stantly being watched. Along the way she had handed Mimi's sheathe and sword belt bae and I refaste to myself.

  Torien and Ma yawning on the way back but Bel seemed the most tired of the three. It had been a really long night and none of us has really had time to recover. I didn't feel sleepy but my muscles were pretty sore by now, all of us have been up for more than 24 hours and it really showed. I briefly sidered staying at the bathhouse again but I think at this point everyone would rather just colpse on a bed and sleep for the rest of the day.

  The trip took several bells, a bit lohan usual with our sluggesh pace. Since we left so early in the m we at least didn't o keep a for a rider, we would make it well before the guild master expected us to return. Soon enough the walls of the city started to e into view. It was maybe a few bells before noon still so there wasn't mupetition to get into the city, especially from this side. Behind us was the frontier so the only people that really e and go from this side are other adventurers and most would be uo be either ing oing at this time of day.

  The six of us walked into the quiet adventurer's guild. Mirianna was quick to spot us and waved us ood to see you guys back safe and sound. The guild master wanted you to debrief when you got here, so please follow me upstairs to the meeting room."

  I inwardly sighed, I kind of hated this meeting room by now. The six of us tiredly climbed the stairs and sat down at the table. The four of us were wiped out but our two escorts looked perfectly fine as if they hadn't been up all night fighting along side us. I wonder if it's a level thing.

  "You guys look like crap," Raksha'va said when she walked into the room.

  I smiled wryly. "I feel like crap." She snorted in amusement and sat down.

  "I take it there were no issues? The Tamin church get what they wanted?"

  "Hardly." Tarklin ughed and Torien walked over handihe stack of letters.

  The guild master's brow furrowed when she looked down at the Yefen's personal seal oter before opening it. We all just sat quietly as the tiger womahrough his letter. When she was done she sat the letter aside and looked up at Tarklin. "This is serious? Yefen's not fug with me?"

  He nodded. "We fought off demons all night. We'd only been finished for maybe two bells before we decided to e right back. I suspect a rge portion of the people w at the dungeon camp now have the demon huitle and I guarahe six of us sitting here have it too. They were absolutely swarming out of there, it's the first time I'd ever seen a dungeon break in person."

  She sighed. "And the bigots?"

  "No way they think this group here are demons anymore. They might still want to question them but it's obvious their priorities have pletely ged. I also now know why the church were so suspicious of them. Now that I have the demon huitle myself I see some of the miasma ging to them. Moreso than the amount you might expect from them clearing the dungeon. The whole thing was a ruse to interrogate them just like you thought. There's obviously a demon hunter in town, probably has been for a while. They watched us cut down demons all night st night though and these four were one of the first people to throw themselves at the horde of them. Good thing too, this cute doe here was the first to put up barriers and light them on fire. We were in sight of each other for nearly the entire dungeon break. They would be crazy to think this group are demon summoners now, more likely to be demon hunters previously, though I doubt that as well."

  Raksha'va looked at me. "Care to expin?"

  "Uhh..." I just kind of dumbly looked to my party for support but none of them really had an excuse for it either.

  The guild master just waved it off. "Fet it, there's no way a demon summoner would kill demons till they got the demon huitle just to throw people off their trail. That'd be stupid."

  I was fused. "Why not?"

  She smiled. "And that question firms it. Demons tell when someone is a demon hunter. Summoning demons is rather risky in the first pce, I doubt you would want to increase the risk by getting that title and attempting to summon a demohey would know you've killed over a hundred demons." She shrugged. "I suppose I don't think very highly of demon summoners' intelligen the first pce but that just seems too far fetched to me. you would be asking to get killed for it."

  "Is the demon huitle dangerous too?" I asked.

  Raksha'va shook her head. "No. If anything it would be wele here on the frontier sihere are so maed demon sightings tely. It might be enough to get the church off your back too. They are more likely to be at least courteous with you because of it, beastkin or not. They may dislike beastkin but they hate demons even more. I wouldn't do anything to provoke them of course but they should give you some space, at least for a while."

  I looked over and noticed Bel was on the verge of passing out o me. "Is there anything else or we go now? As you see my party members could use some sleep after st night."

  She nodded. "This whole mess with the dungeon would be a good excuse to leave for the capital. I could have you deliver some letters for me and you could get that cartography training. e baorrow and I'll have the job for you. You four are dismissed. Tarklin, Nora, I still want to talk to you."

  The four of us finally got to stand up and leave the guild. It was time to go get some sleep.

  Saine

  Hello! Poor Bel, she has it sh right now. I hope you enjoyed reading, see you ime!

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