"Hahhh."
"Is everything alright?"
"Bwah!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, but really...you are a Mid Tier Adventurer now, try to be more aware of the world around you."
"Ah...y-yes...I'm sorry..."
I had just finished dealing with the drunken Rockfort and had been a bit distracted after entering the guild. I was so distracted that I didn't even notice Brianna in front of me. If she was a monster I'd probably be dead by now. While her tone was a bit sharp, I knew it came from a good place, she was just looking after me.
"So, why the long sigh?"
"O-oh...well..."
I hesitated whether to tell her about the events with Rockfort just now, but in the end I figured I might as well. It wasn't like I had done anything wrong or had anything to hide...this time. As I told her about what happened her face slowly turned a bit scary by the end. ๐๐ช๐ฅ ๐ ๐ด๐ข๐บ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๏ฟฝ๏ฟฝ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ?
Before I could ask what I had done, her face had shot by to her normal tranquil expression.
"So you didn't end up doing anything with her?"
"Huh? U-uh n-no nothing."
That question threw me off a bit, but I guess she wanted to make sure I didn't try any funny business on a woman who wasn't conscious. ๐๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต, ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ด ๐ข๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ! ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ!...๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ.
She gave me an intense stare for a few moments, but then immediately broke it off and returned back to her normal expression again. There even seemed to be a happy bounce to her voice.
"Well that's good, I'm glad you aren't the type of guy who takes advantage."
"Hahaha...o-of course n-not."
I could only weakly laugh and reply as the thoughts of what happened with Taleena ran through my head. ๐ ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต. ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ค๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ท๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐จ๐ฆ! ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ! ๐'๐ฎ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ด!
Then I suddenly remembered what happened with Rockfort in the back of her shop.....๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ต ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ต.
Before I could continue contemplating my past indiscretions, Brianna's voice interrupted my thoughts.
"So what can I do for you or did you not come here for me?"
"Ah! N-no, I mean...yes I came here for y-you. Wait! Not like that!"
The moment I said "I came here for you" I saw one of her eyebrows raise ever so slightly. I immediately tried to backtrack my words and explain.
"I-I am leaving tomorrow for The City of Walfrey, s-so I just wanted to s-say goodbye. Also, to th-thank you for everything."
For a moment I thought I saw a hint of sadness in her eyes, but it was quickly wiped away and replaced with her normal appearance.
"I see...well I know we started off a bit rough, but now I truly am glad to have met you."
"Mm...I-I also think th-the same."
I could see her face show that she was hesitating to ask something.
"Umm...will you come back to visit me- I mean the guild, will you come and visit the guild sometime? With the waypoint...it shouldn't be too bad...right?"
"Of c-course! Th-that was my plan all along!"
"Mm that is good to hear. Don't forget your origins even when you become famous."
"Ha...I th-think you overestimate me. An-anyways I definitely couldn't not see you a-and Rockfort...ever...again...is something wr-wrong?"
Everything was going fine up until my final words, but now her brows were a bit scrunched. When she spoke, she spoke in a monotone.
"I see, of course you would want to see Rockfort again, I see..."
"Uh...wh-what do you see?"
Her eyes became sharp and she stared daggers at me. I felt like I was a bad kid that had gotten caught with his hands in a cookie jar. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ?!?
"D-did I do something wr-"
"OF COURSE NOT."
For some reason she slowly and deliberately enunciated every single part of those words. ๐ ๐ถ๐ฑ, ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ง๐ถ๐ค๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ....
"W-well then...see you around."
I stuck out my hand to give her a handshake to express my gratitude. For some reason she looked at my hand and hesitated, scrunching her brow again. I thought I had messed up again, but then she reached out and grasped my hand.
"Yes...SEE YOU AROUND."
"Agh!"
She heavily emphasized the words "see you around" this time, and suddenly I felt a vice like grip crushing my hand. I had forgotten, but she used to be a High Tier adventurer so her strength was definitely nothing to scoff at. She continued to grip my hand tightly while shaking, and giving me a pleasant smile.
"Brianna c-could you l-let go? We n-need to finish packing-"
"WE? Do you mean you and that pretty girl you bring around...you are going together?"
"Y-yes you met her. Fiona and I are- Agh!"
The pressure on my hand suddenly increased. I then found myself being pulled closer to Brianna and then she set her free hand on my shoulder. Suddenly I felt a crushing pressure on my shoulder as she continued to shake my hand. By this point her pleasant smile had also turned into what I could only describe as an insane murdery clown smile. I felt my spine tingling as my instincts told me to flee. The last time I felt like this was when I faced the demon at the grotto. ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐!
"I see...I see...well do take care not to GET INTO ANY TROUBLE traveling alone."
"Hah...hah...of-of course. I ne-need to take care of Fiona and I'm a m-man of high morals after all. N-nothing to worry about!"
"Yes, be sure to take care of her and KEEP UP THOSE HIGH MORALS."
With those final words I suddenly felt all the pressure release and the feeling of encroaching death vanish. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต?!?
She had returned to her normal demeanor, as if everything up until now was an illusion. Her happy voice greeted me once again.
"Well then, have a safe trip, please see us when you return!"
I was afraid to lose sight of her, so I backed away toward the door and waved back as I spoke.
"Y-yes...th-thanks...goodbye Brianna..."
The moment I felt the door behind me I swung it open and quickly went outside.
"Hahhhhhhhhh"
I let out a huge sigh of relief. I only felt slightly safer now that there was a thick door between us. Still unsure about what the hell just happened I could only mumble a few words under my breath.
"Women...are confusing creatures."