A Lot To Do

The refurbishing of the manor started with removing most of the ruined furniture within it. Emelda and Jinx didn't have to do any heavy lifting thanks to Raiden.

"You don't have any servants at all?" Jinx asks as she and Emelda drag a heavy deteriorating curtain behind him as he carries half a couch on his shoulder.

"The king sent some when I first got here. But they kept trying to kill me so I got rid of them." He shrugs his unburdened shoulder.

"You killed them?!" Jinx gasps.

"No. I fired them each time. Though by the end... I thought about killing them." He admits darkly. Emelda peers at his back then.

"You did seem ready to snap at the ball." She recalls.

"I was... Been dealing with people trying to kill me since I took the Grand Duke title... Then ignored at the first ball I attend... I probably would've killed you if I had tasted that poison you brought me." He breathes.

"Wait. What?" Jinx looks at Emelda in confusion.

"Jack poisoned a drink then told me to bring it to Raiden as a greeting." She answers.

"It's a relief you didn't drink it then..." Jinx says to Raiden.

"Yeah... Emelda drank it instead." He responds.

"Emelda!" Jinx gasps scolding.

"I wasn't sure if it was... And I wanted to piss off Jack." Emelda shrugs.

"You could have just thrown it at the bastard's face!" Jinx scolds.

"I wonder what that would've done to his eyes." Raiden ponders as they reach outside, adding the junk to a pile of ruined furniture.

"Probably would've melted his eyes," Emelda remarks making Jinx shudder.

"... You should've thrown it at him." Raiden nods, smirking devilishly at the thought.

"Maybe next time then." She agrees.

"No! No No No! Forget I said anything please!" Jinx gasps in horror. The other two share an amused look at that.

"Anyway. Was this the last of it?" Raiden asks Emelda.

"Just the destroyed bed on the third floor is left." She answers.

"I'll get it." He nods heading inside.

"Then we just need to wash the clothes and bedding as well as sweep and mop," Emelda tells Jinx.

"I'll do the laundry if you got the floors." Jinx mock salutes.

"Alright, but we need to uncover the well first." Emelda looks at it, instead of a wooden cover, there was a stone slab. The women share a nod before going over and pushing it off together.

"Alright. Lets... Oh. The bucket doesn't have a bottom." Jinx holds up the bucket, looking through the bottom at Emelda.

"Perhaps there's one in the kitchen?" Emelda offers heading for the manor. Jinx nods and follows her swiftly, they get inside just as a crash sounds outside. They pause and stop to look back out, finding the bed from the third floor now on top of the pile.

"I guess he got the window open." She hums.

"It's nice having a strong guy to help with this," Jinx says as they head for the kitchen.

"True. But it's a big manor. I wish we had some more help." Emelda says lightly.

"Yeah. This will take a while." She agrees as they reach the kitchen, separating to search for a bucket. Nothing but abandoned pots and a few dishes.

"Is it safe to cook with these?" She mutters.

Jinx comes over to respond but a scuttling nearby makes her jump and scream. Emelda swiftly turns, raising a pot as they look at the creature. Emelda squeaks slightly at the sight. A small creature that could be mistaken for a mouse at a very brief glance. But when she looked at it, she really wished it had been a mouse.

Chujuns are the size of a normal rat, Grey fur, a round head and face with fangs, two pairs of beady red eyes, three pairs of legs with grabby hands, and a rat tail.

Emelda was too horrified to move, she had never seen anything so horrible in her former life. She had no idea what it was capable of or how it behaved. The creature shifts, little grabby hands twitching before it charges them. Jinx shrieks and Emelda pivots backward, not wanting to kill it.

Something blurs by and scoops up the creature. The demon holds it up by the scruff of the neck. "You two okay?" Raiden blinks at it.

"KILL IT!" Jinx shrieks.

"Or just." Emelda does a throwing motion at the window. Raiden blinks and goes to the window, opening it and throwing the creature out.

"Better?" He asks them.

"Are there more?" Emelda whispers.

"Usually," Jinx confirms quietly.

"Why are you whispering?" Raiden asks.

"Fear." She and Jinx answer together. After a swift search of the kitchen, they don't find any other chujun and decide to relax.

"Anyway, I don't see a bucket so we'll have to get one." Emelda looks around.

"Alright... I'm broke though." Raiden points to himself.

"... The king needs to get his shit together." Emelda shakes her head. "I have some money, but it won't last if we gotta keep buying simple things... Do we have anything to trade?"

"I did. but that was all spent on food." He admits.

"How about these pots?" Jinx looks at them.

"Maybe." Emelda closes her eyes briefly. "Yeah, I'll take one to trade." She decides, grabbing a big one they wouldn't need anytime soon.

"I'll go with you," Raiden tells her.

"Then I'll sweep up around here. Stay safe." Jinx smiles.

With that, the pair leaves the manor. The coachman had left with the carriage so they had to walk to town.

"So much to do... No funds to do it... What to do..." Emelda breathes, carrying the pot.

"Need a job... Or jobs..." Raiden agrees.

"Hm... Oh! Isn't there an Adventurer guild nearby?" She asks.

"I wouldn't know, but that sounds fun." He smiles.

"Let's see if we can find it while we're out. We're going to need food anyway." She nods.

"This would be so much easier with servants." He grumbles.

"We'll figure it out," Emelda assures, looking ahead in thought as she tried to figure out the cheapest meal they could make. Their food was rather similar to her former world, so probably bread, the pipeto (like a potato but a bit sweet), and some type of meat for a stew.

"Emelda? Hey, Emelda someone is waving at us." Raiden nudges her out of her meal planning, and pointing to what seemed like a merchant cart. A man wearing what Emelda could only describe as star-themed Hatter attire. He tips his starry top hat to her when his amethyst eyes catch hers.

"Alright..." She mutters detouring from their path to go talk to the man. "You want something?"

"I would like you to take a gamble with me." He gives a bow and smiles.

"Sorry to tell you this. But we're pretty much broke." Raiden tells him.

"Ah, but it only costs a coin to pull something out of my mystery box." The man says simply, patting a large cloth-covered wooden box beside him. Emelda looks at it as he leans on it, tilting his head for her to meet his gaze again. "I promise it will be worth it."

Emelda brings out a coin, flipping it in thought. "What do you think Raiden?"

"... What do we have to lose?" He shrugs as they look at each other.

"Alright." She gives the merchant the coin. With a grin, the man flips the coin into the air where it disappears mid-flip before he uncovers the box. At the center is a large hole, she could probably stick her head in it if she wanted. She hesitates briefly, wondering if it was a trap.

"You can only gain from this Emelda." The merchant presses.

"Alright then." She murmurs reaching inside. It sure was filled with many things. Metals, cloth, sacks, probably gems from what she could tell. She debates for a bit before deciding to take a chance on a sack. It was fairly heavy, probably filled with rocks. She sets it on the box, hearing coins within.

Emelda and Raiden perk at the sound, looking at the sack. Emelda looks at the merchant with big eyes. He smiles in return at her, tipping his hat.

"Seems to be your lucky day." He rumbles. Raiden peers into the sack at that and gasps, tail swishing slightly.

"They're all gold!" He tells Emelda as she peers in, indeed there were gold coins, along with gems. Emelda picks up the sack for a closer look, unable to register it.

"Wait. This is too much-" She looks towards the merchant but he's gone, along with the box and the merchant stand. "... Raiden..."

"... I saw him too Emee..." He breathes before they both look back at the sack.

"Still looks real..." Emelda breathes.

"Guess we can get everything we need then." Raiden smiles. "So where do we start?"

"Still need a bucket. But we can get a tub or two with this... We're gonna need a carriage." She tells him.

"We can rent one over there. I had to do that for the ball." He points. Emelda blinks before peering at his attire. Unlike her, he hadn't been able to change his clothes yet. She silently adds clothes to her list.

"Alright. Let's get to it."

They visited various places after getting the carriage, practically filling it up so they had to sit with the coachman on the way to their last stop.

The Adventerer's guild was a giant rounded building near one of the main gates that lead to the Wilds. The pair let out an awed huff at the sight of it before sharing a grin and getting off the carriage to enter the building excitedly.

It was noisy inside, but the moment Raiden caught some attention it became silent. Raiden shifts at that, it was something he had forgotten to be used to. Emelda simply steps forward.

"We've come to join the guild." She announces. There's a pause and some chuckles after a moment.

"Sure. Having the Grand Duke would be great." A scruffy man with auburn hair rumbles standing up.

"And what about Emee?" Raiden inquires, stepping beside her.

"She can... Cook." The man offers, earning a glare from Emelda. "Look, we end up with dangerous jobs all the time. Women... Don't normally cut it." He gestures over her body pointedly. Emelda frowns in annoyance at that, she had forgotten about the sexist treatment. 

"Bet she could kick your ass." Raiden folds his arms. Emelda pauses and glances at him at that while the other man laughs heartily, a few others joining in.

"Tell you what. If she can bring me to my knees and beg. I'll let you both join on a job tomorrow." The man decides.

"Deal." Raiden nods. While she was grateful he had faith in her, she still felt uneasy.

"Raiden... This might not work." She murmurs to him unsure.

"You can do it. If not I'll make them all beg for you to join." Raiden whispers back with a shrug.

"Alright." She can't help but smile at his logic before moving forward as the crowd quickly forms a ring around her and the man who seemed to be in charge.