Juia_Darkcrest

  "So please John, Nanael, can you help me?" Kururu asked, bowing her head towards them.

  John stared at her for a half a minute, processing her request. When he first heard that some healers were potentially selling people into svery, he felt nothing but disgust. With this new information that the head of the Healers Guild in Meritoni might be colluding with the svers, hiding the involvement of the local healers from headquarters, his disgust turned to anger.

  However, he already had a mission, a party to lead despite not meeting all of them yet. He needed to get stronger, to prepare for future conflicts. An impromptu stoning from a bunch of regur townsfolk was hardly a gauge of his abilities.

  He was about to speak, but Nanael's touched his arm, causing him to pause. "Nanael, do you have an idea?"

  "Yes." She said then looked at Kururu. "Come to the back of the adventure's guild tonight, with whatever information you have. We have someone who would be very interested in correcting this issue immediately. In fact, if you can make a copy now for us to bring with us, I will make sure it gets into their hands."

  "I don't have it on me. I have it stashed away. I don't know if he is aware I am on to him, so I keep it hidden." Kururu whispered.

  John took a good look at her now he wasn't distracted by her near-wardrobe malfunction and the incident outside. She was beautiful, but he could see the bags under her eyes, the makeup she was wearing barely concealing her obvious exhaustion. The whites in her eyes were slightly bloodshot, and her nails appeared to have been chewed on, not cut neatly. Her anxiety was pin to see, the stress of the situation beginning to negatively affect her health.

  "If you feel like you are in danger, just lock up the shop now. It's not like this pce is busy, and if you are worried about your safety, we can protect you at the Adventurer's Guild until the vice-guild master takes your boss down." John added, making a guess that Galba is whom Nanael is referring to. Between Brod, Galba, and all the resident adventurers, they could easily protect her there.

  "Ahh... I don't know..." She said, waffling a bit.

  John grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. Maybe his blood was still up from the earlier encounter, but he wanted to make sure she was safe. "You are going to come with us. We will stop by wherever you hid your notes and head to the Adventures Guild. You will be safe there. I guarantee it."

  Her resolve seemed to be weakening so he continued. "You discovered and investigated this issue alone with no one helping you, no one to lean on. You must have been doing it for awhile as every time I come in here you are always exhausted. Now, you have reached a point you need help and asked us, a healer you barely know, and a Rabbitman whom you just met.

  So with that same trust you have shown by telling us, come with us and we will help you get to the bottom of this. You are not alone anymore, you got it?"

  She stared into his eyes for what felt like forever, her grey eyes boring into him, like they were trying discern his intentions. Finally, she slumped forward, colliding with his chest. "Thank you... Thank you so... so much John. Nanael. I... *sobs*" She started to say, but broke down, crying in his arms.

  John just held her, wrapping his arms around the woman, rubbing her back as she let out her pent up emotions. He looked over at Nanael, who was also hugging the woman from behind. She just nodded to him, approving of his actions.

  After a few minutes she calmed down, then pulled away from him. Her face was a mess of snot and tears, his armour unable to absorb any of the moisture. Nanael pulled out a handkerchief from somewhere, and started to wipe her up.

  "Go grab your stuff, and we will get you out of here okay?" She said, cleaning up the receptionist as best she could.

  "Alright." Kururu replied, her cheeks flushed from her outburst and being cleaned up by Nanael. She stood up to go to the room behind the counter when John stopped her.

  "Before we go, can I grab the spell tome for E Rank? This pce might be closed for a bit, and I will need those spells sooner rather than ter." He asked. He felt a little scummy doing so, but that was the only reason they came here.

  "I'll do you one better." She said, and pulled out a half a dozen tomes from the shelf behind the counter. "Here, all the tomes we have up to Rank A. Just remember they are limited by your mana pool and magic control, not just your holy magic affinity. You can cast higher ranked spells than your holy magic affinity level, but it will be at a greater cost with reduced effectiveness."

  John just looked at the pile, his mind churning through the possibilities.

  This, this is what I need to become more powerful in all worlds.

  "Thank you Miss Kururu, this means more to me than you can possibly imagine." John said, bowing his head slightly in her direction.

  "You're welcome. And don't worry about paying. I will take the cost out of the money the guild master has been embezzling." She said, a smile on her lips for the first time since they arrived.

  John ughed at that, and they got ready to depart.

  After they locked up the Healers guild, they made their way to her residence, a modest apartment in a good part of town. Nanael received a few looks, beastfolk not common in that part of town, but no one said anything, which was probably for the best with John's mood. It did not take her long to grab some clothing and the notes. They had another pit stop, where Kururu left a note for Monica, the other receptionist, warning her not to come into work for the next few days.

  They then moved back to the market, grabbing Nanael's armour and a few things on her list for their trip. It was all on the way, so they didn't waste much time. Kururu was confused at first, but after John expined their party was about to leave on a job, she nodded.

  "What will happen with me then?" She asked, distraught at the thought of them leaving her alone. She thought John and Nanael would be there with her at the guild.

  "We need to talk with Galba first, to see how we will handle this. If it comes down to it we will dey our departure, but you will be welcome to stay there as long as needed. Nothing we are buying will go bad if we dey a few days." He replied, trying to reassure her.

  She nodded, and they waited while Nanael filled their bags with dried goods. Soon enough she finished up and they made their way back to the Adventurers Guild. It was nearly noon, the guild mostly empty compared to the mornings and evenings, with most adventurers out on jobs. Still, compared to the healers guild it was busy, the din loud enough you needed to speak up to be heard.

  "Here, let me take that John-Sama, I'll run it down to our room. Go find Galba and Brod, I'll meet you back up in their office."

  "Sure." He said, handing her his back pack.

  She carried them both like it was no big deal, vanishing into the basement moments ter. John turned to Kururu then, the healers guild receptionist looking very nervous to be here. "Come, lets go find the bosses." He said, holding out his hand.

  She looked at it tentatively, then took it. It felt soft, softer than Nanael's, no callouses from holding a weapon for years on end. She blushed for a moment but John was already walking, heading towards the meal hall.

  Inside, Brod and Galba were talking at their usual table, their meal already finished. Galba spied him immediately, frowning for a moment at Kururu holding his hand. John ignored that and walked over to them.

  "I thought you and Nanael were out shopping. Why are you here with a receptionist from the healers guild?" He asked. Brod just watched them, taking a drink from his mug.

  "We discovered something when I went to renew my guild card. Nanael will meet us in your office. She said you would find this intriguing." John said, not betraying what that something was.

  Brod sat his mug down and stood up. "Let's go."

  A few minutes ter they were all in the office, sitting around Brod's table. Galba and Brod on one side, the three of them on the other, Kururu sitting between John and Nanael. The pile of papers Kururu brought on the table between them.

  After a quick round of introductions, she expined everything she discovered, the odd transactions in their accounts, the te night meetings, people entering buildings but not exiting them. Galba flipped though her notes as she expined things, nodding along. Brod was sitting back, listening to her story, an impassive expression on his face.

  When she finished, she sighed, a weight visibly coming off her shoulders. Nanael had held her hand throughout the expnation, supporting the older woman in front of two powerful men. Both of them noticed this, but betrayed nothing in their expressions.

  After a moment, Galba spoke up "Your investigation has unearthed a few things I haven't been able to discover yet. This... this is enough Brod. I want to confirm a few things first, but with this we can move on him now and the church won't be able to object."

  "As long as you are sure, I approve. This trafficking ring has be a stain on this city for too long." Brod said, then turned to Kururu. "Miss, we will be moving on them shortly. Do you have somewhere safe to be for a few days? Coming here has likely put a target on your back."

  "Well... John said I could stay here." She replied, the nervousness in her voice returning.

  "Did he now." He said, looking at him. "And why would you offer that?"

  John looked at him, some of his anger returning "Seriously? She is handing the svers of both the residents of the slums and some adventurers to us on a silver ptter, and you won't offer her a room and protection for the time being?"

  "Its not just the time being John. Think about it. She just betrayed the head of the Healers Guild here in Meritoni and exposed the criminals in the underground, people who make a living ensving people I might add. Yeah, we will probably get a lot of them, but there are bound to be a few people that will slip our grasp. They will be looking for revenge, and who better than the lone woman who aided in the arrest of their leaders." He said, making John now question his choices.

  Fuck he is right...Fuck! I need to get stronger!

  John was still trying to piece together a coherent reply, but Nanael, still holding Kururu's hand, came to his rescue. "Well, we need a new receptionist don't we? If she is willing, I can train her in my old job."

  "What?" Kururu said, still shaking from Brod's statement.

  "Nothing needs to be decided today Kururu. Let's get you a room for now, and once the operation is over, we can look at your options then." John offered, gncing meaningfully at Brod.

  "Right. Miss Kururu, you are welcome to stay here for as long as needed. Please, show her around Nanael. John stay back a minute please." Brod said, back pedaling a bit, his tone changing probably due to Nanael gring at him.

  The two women left the room, leaving the three men sitting in silence. Brod stood up, and moved over to a cabinet near his desk, pulling out three gss and a bottle of some sort of alcohol. He returned to the table, and after pouring them all a drink, he leaned back in his chair, the back creaking loudly as the massive man settled into it.

  "Good work John." He stated, taking a sip of his drink. "Despite not thinking it through completely, bringing her here was the correct choice. In the future though, don't just consider the immediate results of your actions, but look further ahead at the repercussions. If we are going to mold you into a leader, that is one of the many skills you need to have, else you will just become a figurehead for someone else."

  "I should be able to manage that. When my blood is up, I tend to think only of the immediate situation. It has caused me a lot of issues in the past." He replied, thinking of all the times he was fired in previous jobs. "Speaking of, the city guard might be looking for Nanael and I..."

  John reyed their altercation in the street, leaving nothing out. The two men frowned, the human supremist rot in this city were not usually so bold. They both ughed a bit when John, a level 1, stood in front of Nanael, a level 120, to protect her from a few rocks.

  "John, that makes me happy you are willing to protect her, but be careful. Until you get stronger yourself, what would be just a gncing blow for her, will probably kill you. I can count on both my hands the number of people in this town stronger than her, and I would still have fingers left over. And most work for me." Brod said, cautioning him, but happy that John was a good man for his goddaughter.

  "Well, unless you need us for this sting operation, our pn remains unchanged. Long as Kururu is safe here, we can leave and continue our original pn." John replied. They both looked over at Galba then.

  "No need to be concerned John. My teams will investigate this new information, then we will act. Unless the demonlord somehow revived, we have more than enough strength to deal with a few dozen criminals." Galba stated, his hands folded in front of him. "You realize that the Adventures Guild has more power here in Meritoni than the local lord and Healers Guild combined right?"

  "No I didn't, though now that I think about it, it makes a weird sort of sense. I still don't understand how this pce operates or funds itself, but it does. Things work very differently here compared to where I come from." John said, rexing a bit now that he didn't need to worry about aiding Galba in the assault on the svery operations.

  He needed to get stronger before he became an asset in an operation like that.

  "Well, once things settle down again, lets sit down and talk. We need to start filling in your gaps of knowledge soon. Also, I would love to learn more about Earth, and any ideas you have to help improve our world."

  "Sounds like a pn. I would love to introduce you all to the wonders of indoor plumbing." John ughed.

  Despite the rough start, the day was back on track, and they would depart the next morning, ready to tackle a dungeon.

  "Why is this door locked?!?" Lumina growled, standing in front of the healers guild, her regiment and support staff all standing in the street behind her.

  It was te in the evening when they finally arrived in Meritoni, their pace slower due to not wanting to break the carriage further. She left it and the coachman at a wheelwright near the gate, then they stabled their horses with the town guards before making their way on foot to the guild.

  She was expected to use the guilds for accommodations when traveling, otherwise staying at inns came out of her pocket. Not that she didn't have the money, but paying for eighteen people would be excessive for what she brought with her, mainly if they got deyed again.

  "Lucy, Amelia, check around the sides, see if another entrance is unlocked." She ordered, turning towards two of her subordinates.

  "Yes Ma'am." They shouted, saluting her then running off in opposite directions.

  Why would this door be locked? The guild never is supposed to be closed.

  She was interrupted from her musings when two townsfolk approached their group, a middle aged man and woman, the man walking with a limp, and the woman with bandages over her face and head.

  "Lady Knight, thank goodness you are here. There has been a terrible incident!" The man said, pain and panic in his voice.

  Lumina walked towards them, concern and compassion showing on her face. "Are you two okay? What happened to you?"

  "Oh my Lady, it was terrible. A man and a beastfolk woman were snooping around the guild earlier, and when we confronted the suspicious individuals, the man lobbed fireballs at us, injuring me and scarring my dear wife's face. They then went inside and left, the receptionist in tow. The town guard could not find them, so please you must help us, bring that man to justice!" He pleaded, tears openly coming down his face.

  Lumina was shocked. Attacks by a mage were rare, most of them part of a guild or the military, but not unheard of. But for one to just start lobbing fireballs at people in the street, this was an emergency.

  "Edessa, see if you can heal her." She said to another of her soldiers, one who's padin skills extended into the healers realm as well. She turned back to the man "What did these two look like?" She asked.

  "The beastfolk woman was a Rabbitman, dressed in bck, with long blue hair and ears. The man, was middle aged, silver hair. He had a well trimmed beard and was wearing bright blue scale mail. They both were carrying packs and had a variety of weapons on them." He replied, watching as the padin was working on his wife's injuries.

  "Blue scale mail...wait that man..." She said, thinking back to the st time she was here in town. The man whose aura so intrigued her, who called her cute then blew her off. That was who attacked these poor people?

  "I am coming for you... Jenson." She growled. She wouldn't let this injustice slide. He would show her the proper respect this time, just before she threw him behind bars.

  Juia_Darkcrest