19 Chapter 19

I decided to stay in the dungeon for a few hours longer before heading out. By the time I exited, I was very impressed with Fateweaver, and I could practically feel the power inside me, just waiting to be released with my next status update. To celebrate the day's accomplishments, I refrained from burning some of the magic stones I collected in favor of turning them in for money so that I could visit the Hostess of Fertility. So, when I emerged from the dungeon, I headed straight for the guild building.

I got some odd looks due to my partially tattered armor and clothes, but that wasn't anything too strange in this city. I even got a few flirtatious looks, but I simply ignored them and focused on my walk. The cool evening breeze whistled through the streets of Orario, a soothing caress across my warm body. I was so caught up in the present temperature that I barely realized that I had reached the guild building. I walked inside, finding the building mostly devoid of adventures. That allowed me to go through the line to exchange my goods quickly.

I was just about to leave when I turned and found an angry werewolf staring at me. I looked over to one of the counters where Rose stood, glaring at me. It was then that I realized I had never really been in to greet my guild advisor, Rose, mostly because I never really ventured to the guild building. I found it more efficient to simply burn magic stones to increase my own power rather than turn them in for money. I sheepishly scratched the back of my head as I walked over to her. 

I looked her over as I approached and came to the conclusion that she was incredibly beautiful. Her long red hair was like a shiny crimson waterfall that fell over her shoulders and streamed down to the small of her back. Her eyes were golden, and she had two wolf ears sticking up out of her hair. Her dark guild uniform vest and white collared shirt just accented her beauty even more, making it distracting.

"I thought you were dead." she stated plainly, "An indication that you were alive for the past week and a half would have been nice."

I just raised an eyebrow as she spoke, "We don't know each other. We haven't even officially met yet. Why care so much?" I asked, genuinely curious about her reaction when we had never really met before.

She paused for a moment before speaking, "Every adventurer who I become the advisor of is partly my responsibility." she said resolutely.

"Well, I apologize for my lack of consideration then. I will warn you in advance that I don't plan to frequent the guild building too often, so our interactions may be sporadic, to say the least." I warned her. 

"Don't you want to go over details of the Upper Floor monsters?" she said coldly, most likely assuming that I was arrogant. 

"I have an experienced member of our familia go down with me when I explore new floors to show me the ropes," I lied, just to make her feel better.

I knew that she cared for the adventures she advised, so I lied so that I wouldn't worry her. I felt bad for the woman, so I chose not to add to the burden she was silently carrying. I watched her shoulders loosen a little bit at my mention of having help in the dungeon. I honestly just signed up for an advisor because the guild attendant seemed to be getting heated and was insisting that I do it. However, when I reach the deeper floors, I will ask her for help in getting information on the monsters I will find there.

"If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask me," she said with a half smile.

"I won't," I said, beginning to walk away.

"I can also be the one to exchange magic stones and drops for money if you like. You can come and see me to skip the lines. It's the least that I can offer for the adventurers under my care." she said with a small bow before heading off into a backroom.

'That is probably the most useful thing she can offer me,' I said internally as I made my way out of the building. I was glad to be back out under the cool sky. As I walked, I reflected on everything that had happened today, but the memories of me burning the two adventurers alive kept surfacing for some reason. The more I thought about that moment, the more uncertain I became. I didn't think I would do something like that so freely and wanted to blame the influence of the Prince of Pleasure, but I wasn't so certain.

"Maybe I'm just changing. This isn't a happy-go-lucky world, unlike a slice-of-life anime after all. Perhaps I am just adapting to this world," I whispered to myself.

The alternative was that the rune given to me by the Changer of Ways was somehow opening my mind to chaotic influence, but I doubted that. I trusted in my immense willpower and mental protection. I felt that it would require something more serious to allow any cracks to spread through my defenses. I shook my head and dismissed the thoughts. 'I am my own man and make my own decisions,' I repeated in my mind like a mantra. 

As I approached the Hostess of Fertility, I activated my Witchsight carefully. It seemed I was extraordinarily lucky since I saw no blinding light that indicated that Freya was present. I walked in confidently and sat down at a table, ordering a large meal and drink. After my isolation and then dungeon run, I felt like taking my time and soaking in the active atmosphere of the bar. I waited a few minutes until Ryuu emerged from the kitchen and brought my meal and drink.

She set the tray down carefully on the table and then handed me the food wordlessly. Before she picked up the tray and walked away, I began to speak, but she seemed not to hear me over the din of the room, so I instinctively reached out and grabbed her hand. As soon as my large hand wrapped around her small one, her head snapped around to look at me. There wasn't a specific emotion on her face, but there was an intensity to her look. 

I quickly remembered the whole elves not liking to touch other races thing and dropped her hand. I blushed scarlet, which was something I rarely ever did, and gave her an apologetic look. That seemed to mollify her slightly, but the intense look was still on her face. 

"Sorry," I said quickly, "I just wanted to personally thank you for the help you gave me last week," I said with a small bow of my head, mostly done to hide my embarrassment of making the mistake of grabbing an elf's hand.

Understanding dawned in her eyes, but I noticed that the hand I had touched was clenching and unclenching rapidly. She noticed where I was looking and grabbed and clasped her hands together. She looked down at the hand I had touched with a complicated expression before looking back up to me.

"It's no big issue," she said, gesturing to her hand, which clearly wasn't true, but I wasn't going to press her on it, "I am glad I could help, Mr..." 

"I'm Augustus Ahriman," I said with a wide smile, "You can call me Augustus or Ahriman, whichever one you prefer."

"I am Ryuu Lion, but you can call me Ryuu if you want," she said, still glancing down at the hand I had touched occasionally.

"I am sorry if I offended you," I couldn't help but say again.

"No," she said, looking away, "I am not as worried about being touched as other elves."

"It is still no excuse," I said, "I should have been more mindful. Can I make it up to you somehow?"

"Buy a few more drinks, and we'll call it even," she said, completely deadpan.

I tossed a few more coins on the table, "I'll take a dozen," I said, equally non-expressive.

After a moment, my mask broke, and a grin split my face. Ryuu looked down at me passively, but I could see a small smile lining her face. Before any more words could be exchanged, a loud voice called for Ryuu from the kitchen, so she turned and left. Along the way, I saw a cat girl approach Ryuu and whisper to her while looking back at me. Ryuu was still looking down at her hand and opening and closing it rapidly as she walked into the kitchen. I ignored the glances I was receiving and dug into my food.

I truly hadn't meant to grab her hand and offend her, but I think that the situation had turned out alright. I could feel that she and I were one step closer to forming a friendship. However, I wasn't sure how many more steps there would be until we ended up as true friends.