AT THE LATE EVENING
ALEXANDER
By the ti we returned to the guild, the sun was already setting. I was exhausted. Apparently surviving goblin psychological warfare took energy. The mont we stepped inside, several adventurers imdiately 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 is inspiring." I sighed.
"Greenroot leaves confird. Quest complete."She laughed a little at that while taking the herb bag from .
"Twelve silver."She handed 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 imdiately 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. Paynt processed."The receptionist awkwardly cleared her throat and quickly slid the guild card back to .
"Alexander?"That’s when I noticed familiar voices behind .
I turned. Three academy students stood near the guild entrance. Forr classmates. Their eyes widened instantly when they saw .
"No way." One muttered. "He actually beca an adventurer."
"Wait. THAT’S his summon?!"Another looked at Scarlet and imdiately paled.
"Didn’t they expel him yesterday?"The third laughed nervously.
Sothing twisted in my chest again. Embarrassnt, anger. I looked away first.
"Yeah." I muttered. "They did."
Silence, then Scarlet stepped beside . Very close. Her expression remained soft, but her voice changed slightly.
"Master is succeeding perfectly well without them."She said.
The room beca 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 sohow worse.
"Scarlet. Relax."I grabbed her shoulder quickly.
"Understood."She looked at imdiately, 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 . The stew looked gray. That couldn’t be healthy.
"This might actually kill ." 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 transford instantly. Now it slled incredible. Perfect roasted at. 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 enhancent. Warning: User may beco 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 imdiately 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 mont she saw Scarlet.
"Welco back."She said.
"Daily task." I said quickly.
"Quest: Berry gathering. Difficulty: D rank" She handed a quest paper almost imdiately.
"I’m getting paid to pick berries."I stared at it.
"Welco to early adventurer life." She sighed.
"Daily task complete. Reward distributed."The system chid happily.
A glowing card appeared in front of . 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 scread, 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 .
"Ara."She said. The dark elf slowly walked closer, very close. "So you’re my master."Then grabbed my hand imdiately.
Scarlet’s holy aura exploded instantly. The dark elf smiled wider, interesting.
"New summon acquired: Dark Elf - Noa. Personality analysis: extrely possessive. Warning: Current household stability has dropped catastrophically."The system appeared one final ti.
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 sothing before things went out of hand, or I would die because of these two won.
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