Chapter 3: Delivery Day.

"Alright! I got the fireball! Now what?!" I screamed over the roar of flames spinning between the iron forceps I was holding.

"Hold still. I need to take some notes." Fina shouted back. "Tell me if the machine starts to melt again."

"I'm pretty sure the glass is already melting!" Even with forging equipment, the heat was getting umberable. "And also getting stronger!"

The experiment Fina needed help with, as it turns out, was trying to create a battery with the mana crystals they had found in this continent. The crystals here are apparently way stronger than the ones in Europe and those places. Só strong that the last few batteries had fucking exploded.

We had been here for a little short of four hours and twelve devices. with Fina making little adjustments on the battery mechanisms and reducing the quantity of crystal fragments in each test. But for some reason the batteries kept exploding after a few seconds.

"Hold a little more… And done." She finished her notes, giving me my cue to drown the flames on the barrel I had got after the last explosion.

For obvious reasons we were not in the Research Headquarters. Instead, she had called me to the blacksmith workshop, near the northern wall. On an open space behind the building with some smithing tools better suited for open air.

"It seems that I will need to call a specialized craftsman." Fina said as calmly as it gets. Unbothered by the four hours of explosions. Don't know if I envy or fear this woman.

She pulled up the darkened googles. The skin around her eyes was tones lighter than the rest of her face due to the smoke. This time she was wearing gloves. Really battered leather gloves with wore our fingers and even one in the left pinkie.

I pulled the device out of water when I thought it had cooled down enough. The battery consisted of two machine cones connected by the glass tube and a metal piece on each side. More or less the size of my middle finger. Now the glass had partially melted along the metal parts and the mana crystal had shattered to almost sand. Whatever runes or mechanisms used to make the battery work were obviously destroyed when it exploded.

"Any chance of you getting me some of these? They would make excellent grenades." I joked. For once, Fina didn't seem any amused.

"No. I need to put the parts away until we either find a way to contain the energy or build a better device." She picked up the destroyed machine. I could tell something about the situation that was bothering her.

"Hey, don't stress too much about it. I'm sure you and your guys will find a way to make it work." I took the smithing gloves out to give her a thumbs up. That, at least, brought up a meek smile.

"I appreciate your faith in me. I mean it." The Alchemist finished gathering everything. A box with her clipboard and notes, the destroyed batteries and some maybe four or five devices still intact. "And at least we still have the bioweapons research…"

I tried to cheer her up a little more, but she was already saying bye and thanking me. I was already used to that at this point. She has this habit of sprinting away when she needs to do something, often cutting short her farewells.

Welp. Free again… I thought to myself. Too late for a second breakfast, too early for lunch. "I hope there's a new job on the board."

I took the nearest path between houses and alleys to the Guild Headquarters, around the middle of the town. At least the day was pleasant, neither too hot nor too cold. The habitual smell of saltwater reminded me of the time I lived near the sea back in Brasil.

So, of course something happened on the way there.

"Thief! Thief!" I heard someone yell right as a black thing shot past me. In my surprised state, I just stared as the small creature ran some more and disappeared on a side alleyway.

"What?" I mumbles after a few moments. I turned to the previous voice. A man running my way, already slowing down as it was pretty obvious the thief had escaped.

The man turned out to be a devilkin. this world's equivalent to a tiefling. A tall, lean man with skin the color of dried blood, black eyes with yellow irises, black horns sprouting from his short black hair. His clothing was simple. White shirt with a matching light-brown apron, dark oak pants and simple black shoes. He also had a thin tail that ended in black furr.

"That damn thief! Stole a whole basket of bread." The demonkin looked at me. "Hey. You are one of those mercenaries, right?"

"Eh, yeah. Names Edward. Bard and amateur entertainer." I introduced myself with a slight bow.

"That thief's been pissing everyone off for a while now. Little shit's been stealing from most food vendors across town, my market included. And even from random places like the Blue Wolf and the RedLine."

"Me and the guys were gathering money to offer a reward for the thief. If you manage to capture him, it's yours."

I hummed to myself, putting a face of considering and pondering his offer.

"How much?"

"20 florins per delivery, the standard. Plus 100 for urgency." He said.

"I will see what I can do." I said, not compromising on anything. Hunting criminals isn't my thing. But if I ever come across that thief again I'll try to catch him.

After that, I went to the Guild. Nothing really caught my attention. I picked a simple job: A temporary delivery gig with the couriers. The money was nice for essentially running around town delivering packages.

The couriers HQ was located near the docks. Probably so the packages could be sent straight to them for delivery. It was essentially a post office. I walked inside a thin but wide waiting room. Directly in front of me was the counter, and to my right, some small rows of chairs. They had put the counter on the left wall, so my left was just a white wall.

"Welcome. What can I do for you, Mr…" The person behind the counter greeted me with maybe the thickest russian accent I had heard. It was a dwarven, a man if the long beard was any indication. Maybe 1,20 high and wide as a boulder. His skin had a pale white tone very similar to gravel. While his braided hair and beard were of a very dark brown, similar to his eyes. His outfit was the courier's uniform: Light brown, long sleeved shirt and dark trousers.

"Edward. I'm here for the delivery jobs. Mr. Cobalt I assume?" I showed him the copy of the job poster I had got from the guild. Along my Adventurer badge. "Is it still up?"

The dwarf nodded. He picked my badge and pulled the copy of my status screen engraved in it. After almost a minute he said, "It is and I am. We're a bit understaffed here, you see. Not many stay in this job, especially when stealing deliveries is almost a hobby for some people. I can't do all of them myself and take care of the office. I can offer a 10% bonus if you start right now."

10% right now? That's strange. "Is it that bad?"

"Just clogged. It's that part of the year when the ships come from the continent with everyone's parcels. I'll get the packages and the addresses."

He gave me a special inventory ring with some of the packages and a list of where to drop what. I didn't waste time and went right away.

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The day came and went relatively uneventful. Maybe it was because it was still near noon, or maybe my luck. Anyway, no one saw me as a target, at least not a worthy one.

My first stop, funny enough, was back at the Guild. A big package for one of my fellow Adventurers. The motherfucker who, if street tales are to be believed, suplexed an Alpha Dingo at some point. The berserker simply known as "Solo".

I found him right as I arrived. Not really that hard, since the guy is built like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Easily beating 2,00 meters, with muscles the size of my head. As always, his outfit consisted of light-armored leg armor, sleeveless leather armor and his face was concealed under a leather mask with metalic details. The back of the mask was open, leaving his long, messy, blond mane flowing down his back.

"Oe, Solo." I waved as I approached him. He turned to face me and waved back. Solo never actually talked to anyone as far as I knew. It was unclear if he was mute or just didn't like to talk at all.

"I'm doing some jobs for the Couriers and there's a package for you." I explained quickly. "Please sign here." I offered him the clipboard and pen for signatures.

Solo nodded and I brought the package off the ring as he signed. It was a heavy rectangular crate labeled with some warnings along the lines of 'heavy', 'move carefully', and 'keep secure'.

"New warhammer?" I asked. Solo had an unfortunate historic with his weapon of preference.

The bezerker nodded. The giant of a man returned the clipboard but gestured for me to stay as I turned to walk away.

I should have expected what happened next, but it was still impressive. He kneeled in front of the box and, with his bare hands, pried open the side of the wooden box. He carefully placed the board to the side, with the side with the nails facing down. And pulled the hay stuffing it to the side.

The warhammer inside was impressive, even for me and my lack of knowledge about weapons. Thick wooden grip, as long as a broom and as thick as my whole arm. The double-head resembled two massive bricks made of what seemed to be pure iron.

Solo slowly and carefully waved the hammer, testing its weight and balance. Only then he nodded, maybe to himself, and waved me away.

I waved him goodbye as well and took off to continue to my next job: The Flower Garden house. The name was more of a funny nickname, nothing official. It was the house of an old senior gardener. The man was as much of a grumpy goat as one gets, but his garden could as well be a world wonder. Man had the greenest thumb.

He lived outside the town's walls. I had to walk some good fifteen minutes to find his place. It was a simple hut made of stone and wood. No second floor, few windows, no fireplace. The definition of minimalistic.

The eye-catching thing was the flower bed growing around the hut. Must have been hundreds of flowers. Stripes of different species, of each color of the spectrum. Growing around his house. Except for the narrow trail in front of the front door whicj I took.

"Good day. Mr. Rogers? Couriers guild. I have a delivery to you." I knocked on the door. There was a window right to the door. And by the light inside, chances were someone was home.

I waited for around 30 seconds before knocking again. Then a third time. Maybe he wasn't home after all? I don't really know what he really does for a living.

Suddenly yelling from behind the door. "The hell do you want?!" I jumped back a step. Holy shit, man shouts like the Dragonborn.

"Ehn... Delivery. You ordered…" I brought the clipboard and the small wood box to read the label. "Tasatsu Kaneshon seeds."

The old gardener opened the door rather abruptly. His hair was gray from age and the skin was tanned and leatery from constant sun exposition.

"Please sign here." I extended the clipboard before he could yell more at me.

He looked at me, then to the clipboard, then took it from my hands to sign.

"Thank you." I offered the box and he snatched it from my hands before closing the door. "Jesus..."

I prepared [Haste] again and dashed back to the town as my next stop was Marie at the RedLine. This time, it took a lot more because I had to stop some times to rest. Damn those short legs.

"Ay... Jag..." I waved at the security enforcer, but had to stop to regain my breath. Shit, my legs hurt like hell. "I... just... gimme a sec..."

"You ok?" The man simply asked. It touched me knowing he cared.

"Just... ran from outside." I answered. "Doing some delivery jobs. Have something addressed to Marie."

"Uhum." Jag nodded. "Wait a second."

The bodyguard disappeared inside the building. Maybe a minute or two later the door opened again.

Jag returned to his spot. But right behind him was a woman I had seen like three times before. A fairy around 30 centimeters tall dressed in a red dress with green details. Her hair was the color of tree skin. Despite her size, she had that aura of command about her.

"If it isn't our resident bard. Strange seeing you here so early." Said Florenza in a playfully teasing tone. "Normally you just come here at night."

"Courier job. This is for Marie." I pulled out the letter addressed to the golden girl.

The playfull smile left her lips. Her body language instantly switched to business mode. "Badge on the table and be quick. Where's Marie?" The fairy lady shouted to the back.

"I'm here. You called, boss?" I heard Maries voice coming from the upper floor. Florenza floated to the side for me to get inside.

The first floor worked as a pub of sorts. The door opened between the multiple tables to the right and the bar itself built on the left wall. A small staircase adjacent to the bar led to the upper floors with the rooms where the girls provided their services. Marie was just coming from upstairs when Florenza called for her.

"Yo, Marie. Letter for you." I called out.

"Hey Edward!" She jumped the last steps to talk. "Hum, hey. It's nice and all that, but since when do you do mailman work?"

"Just doing some jobs to pass time. Earn some coin." I said. "Please sign here."

The succubus girl signed the paper and I gave her the letter. Only then I realised how thick the envelop was. Like as thick as my pinkie finger. However had wrote to her really had something to say.

"Let me guess, some lovestruck boy?" I asked in a joking tone. I had heard stories about the younger lads and girls who had fallen for the Night Maiden. Not that someone would fault them.

"No... It's from my family." She mumbled.

The light tone was gone just like that. Turning into something heavier. I couldn't tell if her tone was surprised, dreadful, anxious or any other adjective. The only thing clear was that it wasn't my business.

"So, I have more work to do. See ya, Marie." I raised my fist for a fistbunp out of reflex. Luckily for me, her reaction was to smile and hit her own fist against mine.

"Hey, don't worry. It's nothing serious, really." She did her best to reassure me, but the unsaid "I hope" lingered in the air like light fog. Barely visible, but still there. Still weighing on the lungs. "See ya, Eddy."

Again, I had just left the RedLine and was on my way to the next delivery when more yelling behind me. Again a small black dart of a person rushed past me and disappeared in some alley before I could process the whole thing.

"Come back here you little fuck!" Thalia dashed past me right after with her bow ready. That finally snapped me from my surprised stupor. I followed her until we reached the side alley, which couldn't be more than like 10 meters long and ended in a solid wall. The thief was nowhere to be found.

"Bastard!" Thalia drew an arrow on her black bow. [Hunter Senses]!"

The mark around her eye started glowing, and also her irises as the Skill activated. I kept silent to not disturb her, carefully reaching for my side bag and my violin.

"That sly son of a-"

A second. For a single second, the worls just... stopped. Like a disk scratching. The thief had jumped out of his hiding spot. The knife he head throwed froze mid-air, no way I could stop it from hitting me square in the eye.

"-DUCK!" Next moment I knew, I was flying to the side. I felt something sharp scratching my cheek. I'm sure what Thalia wanted was to only push me to the side, but she really just kicked me away.

The thief flew between us again. Dodging arrows, crossing the street and climbing a building in record time before disappearing on the roofs.

"What... the fuck was that?" I said, still trying to catch my breath. Theres no way that knife didn't hit me.

"Fucking rogue skills." She grabbed my arm and lifted me to my feet. "Sorry for the kick."

"No- no worries." I'm just glad I didn't lose an eye there. "He stole something from you?"

"My fucking garlic bread. I swear, if no one puts a bounty on that fuckers head, I will." She hung the bow over her shoulder again. "Can't have shit in this town."

I was about to ask her something else when it crossed my mind. I raised my hand to check and for my relief the ring with the parcels was still here.

"Oh, good. It's still here." I noticed Thalia staring at me with a weird look, so I quickly explained. "I'm doing some delivery jobs. The packages are in this inventory ring."

"Huh." She tilted her head a little, looking at the ring in my fingers. "How much they paying ya?"

"20 per delivery." I said.

"Nah. too little. Good for you, though. Go fourth, delivery boy." She finished the mockery by saluting like I was from the army.

"Ha ha ha. You should be a comedian, really." I deadpanned. "Would ear you way more than hunting."

She gave me some more shit, I gave her some more shit, and we went on our separate ways. I still had some deliveries to make.

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The day was already ending. The warm light of the sunset bathing the city in gold. I had just arrived back at the Couriers, ringing the entrance bell and already placing the ring and clipboard on the counter.

"I'm back. Made the deliveries."

The old dwarf appeared from behind a door. He seemed almost relieved that I had returned at all.

"Oh. Let me see..." Cobalt took the clipboard. I waited for him to confirm all the signatures and all. "It seems everything is in order." He continued. "Good job. Here is your payment."

I left the Guild with my good earned money. 200 for ten deliveries plus the 100 for urgency. I had the slight impression that this wouldn't be the last time I worked here.

I hope it's sweets night on the Wolf today. I'm up for some cake today."

I made my way to the Blue Wolf. Ready to end the day and start preparing for tomorrow. For the spider problem tomorrow.