Ogre Tyrant

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 02 - An endearing indenture - Part One {Rewrite}

There were only three adventurers in all, but they looked a great deal more capable than Nadine, Clarice and Emelia. For starters, all three of them were wearing matching chainmail armour and holding their weapons in a way that made it clear they knew how to use them. Only Clarice seemed capable of the latter.

“Don’t think you can hide it!” The tallest of the three adventurers growled accusingly from beneath his helmet, “We saw you steal our monster!”

Nadine stepped forward with her hands open at her sides to try and show them that she had no ill intentions, “Ah, I am sorry about that. My teammate got a little carried away and ordered her minion to capture it. We were too far away to see that it had already been injured. Please forgive us.”

“I forgive nothing!” The adventurer fumed, “How are you going to make this right?!”

Before Nadine had a chance to answer, one of the other adventurers chimed in, “Hey they are all pretty cute right? How about you girls keep us company tonight and we call it even?”

I really couldn’t help but feel disgusted hearing such a proposal and judging by the flash of anger in Nadine’s eyes, I could only assume she felt the same.

“We will take this matter before the Guild and they will sort it out!” Nadine replied coldly.

“Yeah,” Clarice chimed in, “I would rather sleep with Tim before sharing the same room with the likes of you ugly bastards,” she hooked her thumb back towards me to make it clear who she was talking about.

I tried not to wince at being used as a frame of reference for low standards.

“Yeah!” Emelia agreed emphatically, “At least Tim smells like candy!”

I assumed this was a comment related to the overpowering stench of licorice whose fumes were still burning my eyes.

“Y-you bitches!” The adventurer who propositioned Nadine cursed angrily and brandished his longsword threateningly.

Seeing things were quickly going south, I took a firm grip on my club and limbered up a little. I wasn’t sure if I could bring myself to actually hurt any of them, but they didn't know that.

“Hey, calm down you idiot! That’s an Ogre!” The adventurer who hadn’t spoken yet insisted to his companion.

I flinched, clenching my teeth and curling my lip out of habit.

Nadine retreated back to our group and glared coldly at the other adventurers, “I am willing to ignore what you said and settle this at the Guild office. If you try to attack us, we will not hold back!” She hissed, drifting closer to my side to make the point clear as to who had the greater advantage in an open fight.

“Fine!” The leader spat angrily, turning and heading back to the town from the opposite direction.

Nadine let out a long sigh of relief, “Well that could have gone better,” she murmured.

“We could take 'em,” Clarice grunted with dissatisfaction.

“No way they could beat Tim,” Emelia agreed enthusiastically.

“And what about the Guild? HRM?!” Nadine interjected, “Do you think they would look so kindly on breaking the rules about fighting so close to the foothold?!”

Clarice and Emelia glanced at one another and didn’t answer.

Nadine sighed and shook her head, “Forget it, what’s done is done. Let’s just hope the Guild evaluates Toofy as low value...”

“I don’t think they will,” Clarice chuckled.

“Hrm? Why?” Nadine asked worriedly.

Clarice grinned antagonistically, “The Goblin has a Class and is already level two.”

Nadine’s expression grew dour, “Show me, Emelia,” she sighed resignedly.

“Alright,” Emelia agreed guiltily, “Sorry Nadine, I didn’t know I just-”

“-I know, I know...” Nadine interrupted. “Scavenger huh? At least that should be useful once we go a little deeper in the Labyrinth.”

“What’s it do?” Clarice asked greedily.

“You’ll love this,” Nadine sighed, “Its starting Class Ability detects treasure in a radius determined by its Intelligence stat. It’s a lot like the Thief ability.”

“What other Abilities does it have?” Clarice asked eagerly.

“You mean its Racial Abilities?” Nadine asked.

“No! The other class abilities of Scavenger!” Clarice insisted impatiently.

Nadine frowned, “I don’t know. Most Classes monsters qualify for only get one Class Ability per tier and I am not familiar with this particular monster Class.”

“Monsters only get one Ability per Class tier? Lame!” Clarice huffed dejectedly.

“You would rather boss and special monsters had more Abilities?” Nadine asked icily.

Clarice stiffened, “Ah, actually you’re right, one Ability is fine.”

“What about Tim then?” Emelia asked, “What Class should we give him?”

Nadine was thoughtful for a moment and then shrugged apologetically, “I don’t know how to unlock any of the monster classes for Ogres. The Guild might know, but that information is probably expensive.”

“What about the Taskmaster?” Emelia asked, “It’s like another monster taming class isn’t it?”

Nadine thought about it for a moment and nodded, “I think that is the beginner Class for the Slaver. If I remember correctly, it makes other monsters stronger or something like that.”

“Oooh, really?! So Tim would make Toofy and any other monsters I tame stronger?” Emelia asked excitedly.

“Maybe, I am not really sure, it has been a while since-” Nadine tried to explain but was interrupted.

“ALRIGHT! TIM YOU’RE NOW MY TASKMASTER!” Emelia declared emphatically, the proclamation accompanied by a sudden burst of golden light.

[You have acquired the Basic Class: {Taskmaster}.]

[Class: Taskmaster. +1 Willpower, +5 HP.] [Exp: 0/1000 ]

[(Class Ability: Word of the master): The Monsters and Slaves in your party obey your commands as if you were their master. Disobeying your direct commands requires a contest of (Willpower). Degree of failure will result in pain being administered until the command is obeyed or the command is rescinded.]

I almost blinked and missed the sudden messages.

“What did you DO?!” Nadine demanded.

Emelia shrank back and awkwardly smiled to try and break the tension, “Well you said Taskmaster was a good class and I remember my trainer saying something about how Taskmaster was unlocked...” She explained apologetically.

“Emelia...” Nadine looked like it was taking everything she had just to remain civil, “We could have found a way to make Tim an Ogre Mage! Not only is it a race-exclusive class but it's an incredibly powerful one that would have made the most of his high Intelligence!”

“Oh...” Emelia replied dejectedly, “I’m sorry, I just got really excited...”

Nadine sighed and shook her head, “It’s fine, what’s done is done. Once we get rich from the lower floors of the Labyrinth, maybe we can pay for a Class retraining or something.”

“Could be worse,” Clarice added snarkily, “Emelia could have made him a Barbarian or something. Just imagine trying to keep a handle on him the moment he flies into a rage.”

“That’s true,” Nadine sighed, "Could you share his stats with me Emelia, so I can see what his class does?”

Emelia nodded, “Done.”

“Oh, well this isn’t so bad at least,” Nadine commented.

“What is it?” Clarice asked curiously.

“Tim can now command any other monsters or Slaves Emelia manages to take in just the same as she can. At least now there is someone else to keep a tight rein on things.”

“Sure,” Clarice agreed, “I mean at this rate we could practically start our own adventuring charter by the end of the week.”

“Please use the Ability responsibly,” Nadine asked me quietly, so Emelia couldn’t hear, “Also, try and keep that Goblin from mischief.”

I nodded to show I understood, but I wasn’t actually sure what exactly Nadine expected me to do. After all, Emelia could just supersede any commands I give to Toofy any time she wanted. This just seemed like I was being punished for Emelia’s mistakes.

Since I was now responsible for Toofy, I supposed it would probably be a good idea to patch her up somewhat while on our way to the Guild office. Then again, until we had made it back into town, I couldn’t remove her from the sack without drawing in more of the Vrabbits again.

I cleared my throat to try and get Nadine’s attention, “Uhm, shouldn’t we patch-up Toofy’s injuries? Wouldn't it be bad if she bled out before we made it back to town?”

Nadine gave me a curious look for a moment before turning her attention to Emelia “Emelia, has your new Goblin been losing HP?”

“Hrm...ah, I’m not sure,” Emelia admitted with a little embarrassment.

Nadine sighed and nodded, as if she expected as much, “Why don’t you share the status with Tim so he can keep an eye on it?” She suggested.

“Alright!” Emelia agreed.

A few moments later a fresh wall of text appeared in front of me.

[Toofy - Goblin: 1 ] [HP: 3/19] [MP: 0/3 ]

[Emelia’s Slave*] [Class: Scavenger 2. +2 Intelligence, +1 Toughness, +5 HP. ] [Exp: 7/3000 ]

[Strength: 7 ]

[Agility: 13* ]

[Toughness: 6 (7) {+1} ]

[Intelligence: 6* (8) {+2} ]

[Willpower: 6* ]

[Presence: 5 ]

[(Class Ability: Treasure Sense): Detects and highlights items of value within a predetermined range. {Intelligence} increases range.]

[(Racial Ability: Vicious {Rank 0}): Deals additional damage to fallen enemies and those with {Negative Status Conditions}. {Willpower} increases the amount of bonus damage.]

[(Racial Ability: Underfoot {Rank 0}): Takes less damage from Larger enemies. {Agility} increases the level of damage resistance.]

“Status,” In addition to my own information, I could now see Toofy’s information by looking slightly to my right. In order to keep an eye on her HP, I would need to keep bringing up the information screens as we walked. I found it profoundly irritating that blinking caused all of the information to disappear. “Nadine?” I asked politely to get her attention again, “Is there some way to keep some of the stat information even after blinking?”

“Oh, right, I hadn’t told you about it yet. Thanks for reminding me. You should be able to keep a basic cut down version of the stat screen for yourself, Toofy and Emelia by saying Master Status Core,” Nadine explained helpfully, “Also, and I am not sure this will work, you can try replacing Master with Party instead. If it works, you should be able to see the basic information for Clarice and I as well.”

“Thanks," I nodded politely, “Let's try the first one then, Master Status Core.”

Immediately three small panes appeared in the lower periphery of my vision.

[Tim - HP: 45/45 - Normal ] [Emelia - HP: 25/25 - Normal ] [Toofy - HP: 3/19 - Bloodied ]

I experimented with blinking a few times and was happy to see that the information panes remained. “Alright, let’s try the other one. Party Status Core.”

Nothing happened.

“Did it work?” Nadine asked curiously.

I shook my head, “Nope, nothing changed,” I replied disappointedly.

Nadine shrugged, “I guess we'll just need to keep in mind if a fight is going against us.”

Clarice's helmet shifted in such a way that it seemed like she was exaggeratedly rolling her eyes.

Thankfully, Toofy’s HP did not decline during our walk back to town, although she did squirm about in the sack every so often.

It was my first time being brought to the Guild office and I was a little disappointed by how unimpressive the building looked from the outside. It just seemed like pretty much any other building in town, made from rough wooden planks and red bricks with open unglassed windows.

The inside was much the same, although it was apparent that at least some attempt had been made to make it more presentable. The ground floor looked very similar to a small bank. There were chairs against the far wall, an advertising bulletin board and a row of desks with professional formally dressed staff seated behind them.

Besides the Guild staff, the only other people present were the three adventurers from earlier. They were currently engaged in a heated discussion with what appeared to be the bank-erm Guild manager.

“They just stole it right out from under us!” The leader grouched.

The manager nodded with an expression of tested patience, “You have said as much a dozen times already sir. Please take a seat while we wait for the accused party.”

“Accused?!” The pervy party member chimed in, “Bloody guilty! More like! We even offered them a fair deal to settle the matter!”

“FAIR DEAL?!” Clarice roared indignantly, instantly drawing the attention of everyone in the room, “You tried blackmailing us into sleeping with you! You disgusting slimeball!”

The initially surprised expressions from Clarice’s outburst now turned to poorly concealed disgust as the female Guild staff members shifted their attention from Clarice to the three adventurers.

“Urk, well...It was a special Goblin! It’s valuable!” The pervy adventurer insisted defensively.

“Dude! Shut the hell up!” The tactful party member hissed.

The manager was not amused, “Mister Andros! You have been warned about soliciting fellow adventurers before! Pending the outcome of this investigation, you may find yourself blacklisted from the adventurers Guild!”

The pervy adventurer Andros staggered back a step as if the manager had struck him in the gut.

The manager gave an exasperated sigh, straightened his vest and approached us with an apologetic smile, “Due to the nature of the accusation, I would please ask that you temporarily relinquish the monster to our custody. While the assessor determines the value of the monster, we can conduct interviews to determine the truth of the matter. I trust this is agreeable?” The manager asked politely.

Nadine nodded, “I have an additional request, that Tim-” she motioned to me, “-be allowed to stay with the Goblin during the assessment. He has the Taskmaster class and can make sure the Goblin is compliant.”

The manager was a little surprised by Nadine's request, but nodded, ”Alright then. If you would please follow me upstairs the assessor will retrieve Tim and the contested Goblin momentarily. Feel free to leave your bounties and belongings with any of the staff if necessary.”

Following Nadine's lead, Clarice and Emelia handed over their practically bursting sacks of Vrabbits to one of the Guild staff like the manager suggested.

“So many for such a small group,” the staff member commented in surprise, “You think maybe they have been stealing from other parties after all?”

Another staff member came over to take a look inside one of the sacks and shook their head, “I don't think so. Most of these Vrabbits look half crushed and they do have an Ogre. Hunting even this many was probably child’s play.”

“Really?” The first staff member asked with surprise, looking at me as if they had just noticed me for the first time.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about being overlooked like that. A part of me felt overjoyed at a sense of normalcy I had only experienced a handful of times before in my life.

A woman in a long coat and tightly bound dark hair entered the room from the back area, “Alright, where is this Goblin I am meant to be assessing?” She asked a little sleepily.

“Ah, over there,” one of the staff pointed in my direction.

I walked over and held up Toofy’s sack, “Toofy is in here,” I explained.

Perhaps more shocked than Clarice’s earlier outburst, the Guild staff that had been assigned to the counter were surprised, to say the least.

Did they not expect me to be able to speak?

The newly arrived woman who I assumed to be the assessor mentioned earlier, did not seem surprised so much as curious. “You seem rather articulate for an Ogre,” she commented curiously, “Perhaps I should assess you as well?”

“Ah, Miss Celia, they did not consent to that...” One of the Guild staff reminded her before adding more quietly, “Wouldn’t doing something like that get you into more trouble? And don’t you only have a couple more days to go?”

“Hrmph!” The assessor Celia crossed her arms and pouted, “Fine! Bring out this Goblin and let's get it over with!”

I nodded and reached into the sack, after fumbling for a handhold, I pulled Toofy out from the sack and got a better grip by the back of her overly large belt.

Toofy just hung there limply as if she had fallen unconscious or died. Unfortunately for Toofy, her ruse was undermined by opening her eyes every couple of seconds and furtively looking around the room before playing possum again.

“Put the Goblin down on the table,” Celia ordered and took out a black leather collar from her coat.

“Ah, Ms Celia, the command collar shouldn’t be necessary. Ms Nadine said the Ogre is a Taskmaster.”

“Oh really?” Celia shrugged, “Alright, Ogre, Command the Goblin to stay still and then put it down on the desk.”

Every time they said the word, I couldn't help but flinch.

Wanting this to be over as quickly as possible, I did as Celia asked, “Toofy stay still,” I commanded and carefully put her down on the desk.

“Kay!” Toofy replied, her act at playing possum now forgotten and her beady eyes intently watching Celia as she drew closer.

“And no biting, keep your jaws shut” I hastily added.

“Grrr!” Toofy growled angrily at her plan being thwarted.

“Assessment!” Celia pressed her hand against Toofy’s forehead. A few moments later she sighed and shook her head, “It’s about what is to be expected in a case like this. It’s a Named Goblin with two levels in a basic class,” she drew her hand back again and began washing it in a prepared basin of soapy water.

One of the other Guild staff members transcribed what Celia said and then went upstairs.

“Just leave the Goblin there for now,” Celia sighed dismissively, “The manager will decide what is to be done with it.” She dried her hand on her coat and then hopped up to sit on the desk, giving me a rather disconcertingly intense stare.

Time passed slowly and a few other adventurer groups came and went, buying supplies or making inquiries with the Guild staff. It seemed to be just as Nadine had told me it would be. Pretty much all the adventurers in the area were as new to this as they were and don't know much more than I do.

“You are pretty smart aren’t you,” Celia commented quietly, “Has to be almost human level Intelligence at least.”

I realised that perhaps I had been too obvious in my eavesdropping and tried my best to look inconspicuous.

“Tib, Toofy node itches!” Toofy complained through gritted teeth.

I sighed and carefully scratched Toofy’s nose for her.

“Toofy mouth tired,” Toofy whined her beady eyes watering pitiably,

It seemed cruel to just leave her like that, so I decided to be more specific with the command “Alright, you can unclench your jaw now, but no biting!”

“Grr, Tim no fun!” Toofy complained grumpily, “Toofy hungry!” She wailed, tears running down her cheeks.

Now I really felt bad. If Toofy was that injured, it made sense that she would become hungry as her body tried to replace all the blood she had lost. Unfortunately, I didn't have anything to feed Toofy.

Nadine, Emelia and Clarice all had emergency rations in their backpacks, but all I had was the clothes on my back and the sack I had been using to carry her around in.

“Waaaah,” Toofy continued to wail pitiably like a small child.

Actually, that raised an important question, how old is Toofy?

The way she has been behaving is very reminiscent of a child. Well...a child with a mouth full of sharp teeth and a shiv hidden somewhere on its body, but still a child.

Celia glared at Toofy irritably, “Shut up."

Toofy whimpered at the sudden rebuke but quickly rallied. “Grrrr!” Toofy’s expression hardened and she began angrily growling and baring her teeth at Celia, “Bite you! Eat you!” Toofy growled menacingly.

Hrm, perhaps my assessment was a little off?

Toofy was perhaps not childlike so much as driven by basic needs, lacking in self-restraint and shame. “Is there something I can feed her?” I asked no one in particular.

“If you are willing to answer a few questions, I will bring something for the Goblin to eat,” Celia offered with a smirk.

I hesitated, the way she had been staring at me was unnerving.

“Tim? Toofy hungry” Toofy sniffled, apparently more than aware of what was transpiring around her.

“Alright,” I agreed reluctantly.

Celia grinned wolfishly and hopped off the desk. She disappeared into the backroom behind the desks and returned with a plate of cooked meat. Judging by the size of the meat, I assumed it was roasted Vrabbit. Celia handed me the plate and sat back down on the desk again.

“Ahhhhh,” Toofy opened her mouth expectantly.

Picking up one of the boneless pieces of meat, I dropped it into Toofy’s mouth.

Toofy’s jaws slammed shut like a steel bear trap and she gulped the piece of meat down whole, “More! Ahhhh,” she pointed her filthy fingers towards her mouth.

“So, I have upheld my end of our bargain, are you prepared to answer my questions?” Celia asked.

I nodded, “Assuming I know the answer and it isn’t too intrusive,” I agreed.

“Interesting...” Celia withdrew a clipboard from under the desk and quickly wrote something down, “We shall start with something easy. What are you?”

I frowned disapprovingly, knowing what she meant by that particular question, “I am Tim,” I replied belligerently as I fed Toofy another piece of meat.

“Hrm? No, I didn't ask for your name, I asked what type of monster you are,” Celia clarified condescendingly.

“I am Tim,” I repeated stubbornly.

Celia frowned, “Fine, moving on, do you know what your Intelligence stat is?”

“I do,” I replied “And it’s ten,” I was fine giving away this information since she had just about guessed as much already and I had technically refused to answer the previous question.

Celia’s eyebrows rose in surprise, “Ten...Well, that makes sense...” She murmured, taking a full half a minute to write more notes before preparing to ask another question. ”What level of the Labyrinth did you come from? And from which Labyrinth?”

I wasn’t quite sure how to answer this question. I had the impression that telling the truth wouldn’t be a good idea at all, so I decided to be deliberately evasive, “I was captured on this floor, yesterday,” I replied somewhat truthfully, avoiding bringing up the subject of my true origins.

Celia was surprised and gave me an intense scrutinising look, “No collar,” she mumbled excitedly and began furiously writing more notes across several pages.

I was getting the feeling that perhaps I should have attempted a greater degree of vagueness in the answer I had given.

Toofy had now eaten the last of the meat and there was nothing left but the bones, leaving nothing left for Celia to bargain with.

“Where-” Celia began to ask but I interrupted her.

“No,” I said flatly and placed the plate down on the desk.

Celia frowned, “I can get you more meat,” she offered enticingly.

My stomach rumbled in response, “No,” I repeated firmly.

“Hey, be reasonable-” Celia began asking but was interrupted by Toofy this time.

“Tim say no!” Toofy growled menacingly. It was actually rather endearing and reminded me of a dog protecting its owner.

Celia was about to say something else when Nadine, Clarice and Emelia returned downstairs accompanied by the manager. None of the girls looked particularly happy.

In contrast, the three adventurers seemed relatively upbeat when they descended the stairs a few moments later, except for Andros. Andros was even more dejected than Emelia. The three of them took a seat near the stairs and appeared to be waiting for something.

A few moments later, it quickly began to make sense.

“I need the Vrabbits in these sacks quickly sorted and valued,” the Guild manager announced, clapping his hands to accentuate the importance of the request.

The Guild staff quickly decided amongst themselves who would remain on regular duties and who would handle the priority sorting. I had learned earlier that the staff receive certain incentives like a sales commission for handling monster remains. So naturally, it required some compromising amongst themselves to determine who would benefit from this opportunity.

No less than five of the seven staff members pulled on thick leather gloves and began sorting through the Vrabbits inside the sacks. Besides keeping their hands relatively clean, it just made sense that they would wear sturdy gloves considering the sharp teeth of the Vrabbits haphazardly bundled into the sacks.

“Ugh, no way there is enough,” Clarice moaned, watching the Vrabbits get laid out on one of the desks.

“Sorry...” Emelia apologised gloomily.

Nadine said nothing, just pursing her lips and watching the sorting with a tense expression on her face.

It did not take long for the Guild staff to work their way through all of the Vrabbits and double-check their work. “One hundred and three rank one Vrabbits in close to prime condition, worth forty-one copper coins. Four rank two Vrabbits in prime condition, worth twenty-two copper coins. Assuming the mana stones are all harvested and sold, the total projected value stands at sixty-three copper coins,” the Guild manager summarised.

”Not even close,” Clarice snorted in annoyance.

Nadine cleared her throat and addressed the Guild manager, “I would like to take out a short-term loan please."

The manager appeared to have expected as much and nodded with a concerned look on his face, “Are you sure? For this amount at your level it will need to include the indenturement clause and both of your party members would need to co-sign. Unless you are considering putting up your other monster as collateral?”

Even though the Guild manager could not have been nicer about it, I still couldn’t help but shiver at being treated like a literal commodity.

Nadine looked to Emelia and Clarice for confirmation.

“Of course!” Emelia nodded emphatically, “This is all my fault, but I’ll make sure to pay you both back later!”

Clarice had seemed to be on the fence, but after hearing that Emelia planned on paying them back, she sighed and nodded “Fine, but I want interest, Emelia!”

“Alright, we will all sign for the loan,” Nadine confirmed.

“Very well, please accompany me to my office and we will fill out the required paperwork,” the Guild manager politely gestured back to the stairs.

“One moment please, is it alright if Tim and Toofy accompany us?” Nadine asked, glancing deliberately at the trio of adventurers in the corner.

The manager nodded in understanding, “It should be alright,” he agreed, “Just please make sure they behave themselves. It would be unfortunate to add the repair costs of damaged furniture to the amount of the loan after all.”

Nadine nodded and gave me a telling look.

I sighed and picked up Toofy, “Do you want to go back in the sack?” I asked.

Toofy considered this for a moment before shaking her head, causing the weathered copper pot that was serving as her helmet to fall off her head and revealed her big pointed ears. Well, one of them was pointed, the other had obviously been viciously assaulted by a Vrabbit and was half the length of the other. “Toofy be good,” she insisted.

“Ah okay...” I agreed, picking Toofy up and carefully replacing the pot on her head. Because of her small size, I was easily able to fit Toofy into the large pocket on the front of my leather apron.

Toofy immediately gave the leather an experimental lick, “Pig!” She declared excitedly and began gnawing at the lip of the pocket.

Relatively confident that the apron would be fine, I ignored Toofy and followed the others up the stairs and into the Guild manager's office.

The Guild manager sat down at his personal desk and pulled out a form from one of the drawers. He placed it down in front of Nadine, who was now sitting opposite him, so she could take the opportunity to read it first. “So, just to make sure you are clear on the most important aspects of the loan, I would like you to ask now if you have any questions. Of course, the indenturement clause in the event of multiple missed payments is particularly important.”

“What’s that?” Emelia asked.

“The indenturement clause will become active after missing three consecutive repayments or five non-consecutive repayments. In that eventuality, you will be forcibly required to repay your debt by working for the Guild at a fixed rate according to your level. While indentured, your debt will not grow, but many of your freedoms will be restricted. As none of you have criminal histories or demerits on file, the dormant slave mark will not be necessary,” the Guild manager carefully explained.

“Slave mark?” Emelia balked, “We would be Slaves?!”

Nadine sighed, “No Emelia, he just explained that we would NOT be Slaves. If we missed too many repayments we would basically be employees of the Guild until we worked off the debt.”

“Oh...” Emelia mumbled with embarrassment.

Clarice shook her head, “Still at the rate we would be paid at our level, it's almost a matter of semantics.”

The Guild manager made no attempts to correct her, instead, he nodded in agreement, “Even with your recent level up Ms Clarice and assuming that Ms Nadine and Emelia are not far behind, it would still take a little over a year to pay off the debt, assuming you missed the next three repayment deadlines. So please consider this loan seriously.”

“Sheesh, a whole year,” Clarice hissed, “You sure about this Nadine? I mean, it's just a Goblin.”

Nadine nodded with a determined expression, “A named Goblin that has already unlocked a basic class. While not as valuable as Tim, Toofy will become more valuable when we go a couple of floors deeper and monsters start dropping valuable equipment. It’s much easier to make the investment now,’ she explained rationally.

“If you say so,” Clarice grimaced.

“It's not that bad,” Nadine Insisted, “Ten per cent interest is actually a rather good rate considering we aren’t putting up any collateral.”

“I suppose so,” Clarice agreed reluctantly, “I mean, what am I even worrying about? Tim almost earned one silver this morning without breaking a sweat. We should be able to pay back twenty-seven silver in no time!”

Nadine wavered her hand somewhat, “Well, not for a few days. We need the smell to subside first.”

Clarice stiffened, “Ah, yeah, right...”

“Is there anything else pertaining to the loan that you would like explained?” The Guild manager asked patiently.

Nadine and Clarice looked sidelong at Emelia.

Emelia blushed and shook her head self-consciously.

“Alright then, one moment while I fill out the form and prepare it for your signatures,” the Guild manager quickly filled out the form, double-checked his work and set it down on the desk again, “Please make sure everything is correct before signing,” he insisted.

“Wait, why is the amount only twenty-six silver and eighty-one copper?” Emelia asked when it was her turn to sign.

The Guild manager politely cleared his throat, “The value of the Vrabbits was deducted from the required loan before applying the interest, resulting in a net savings of nine copper. The processing fee in this instance has of course been waived due to the special circumstances.”

“Oh...” Emelia blushed again and signed the form.

I am actually rather impressed with this Guild manager. When the subject of a loan had come up I thought that he would try and bleed the girls for as much money as possible. Apparently, that was not the case.

Now that everyone had signed the form, the Guild manager double-checked it to make sure everything was correct and nodded. Stamping the form in the top corner he smiled, “Alright, with this everything is now settled. I will make sure that the other party is compensated, so please let me know if anyone attempts any funny business,” the Guild manager warned them, “Oh, please remember that repayments are due at the end of every month!”

“We will, thank you!” Nadine bowed respectfully and led them out of the office and back downstairs.

Before the three adventurers had a chance to make trouble, Celia immediately ambushed Emelia “Hey, sell me the Ogre!” She demanded.

Emelia backed hurriedly away and hid behind Clarice.

“Name your price!” Celia insisted, pursuing Emelia with complete disregard for Clarice’s personal space.

“Oi get off!” Clarice huffed, shoving back against Celia with evident discomfort.

“Tim isn’t for sale!” Emelia stated, less intimidated with Clarice serving as a buffer between them.

“Ms Celia!” The Guild manager declared aghast at the spectacle, “You will stop harassing the Guild’s adventurers this instant! Behave with decorum befitting your position in this office or I shall inform headquarters of your non-compliance!”

Celia hissed and backed off, “I was just offering to buy-”

The Guild manager cut her off mid-sentence, “Not another word! Please return to your office at once!”

Celia looked like she had plenty of unpleasant things to say, but kept her mouth shut and stalked away.

“We should go take a short break at the inn,” Nadine suggested and led them outside.

Going back to the inn, the three of them took seats and the table while I sat down with Toofy on a nearby bench by a window.

“So what is the plan?” Clarice asked, removing her helmet for the first time since I had met her, revealing her short red hair and fierce green eyes.

Nadine drummed her fingers on the table while she thought about it, “Hrm, well, we can’t hunt any more Vrabbits for a few days until the smell wears off. So maybe we could try hunting Goblins near the edge of the forest? But that is still somewhat dangerous with our equipment at the moment.”

“We have Tim to keep us safe though! So we should be fine right?!” Emelia insisted.

I was surprised that Emelia was in such a rush to go back into the forest after what happened last time. Then again, she was rather impulsive.

“We can’t just rely on Tim to keep us safe,” Clarice interjected, “What if more than just that one Orc shows up? We can’t just hope they all attack Tim.”

“But didn’t you level up? Can’t you fight an Orc yet?” Emelia asked, visibly disappointed.

“Krk, hey! I only went up one level! Swordsmen aren’t expected to fight Orcs until at least level five you know!” Clarice bristled defensively.

I felt like perhaps I should say something since they were overlooking Toofy’s Bloodied Condition, “Uhm?... Hey, shouldn't we do something about Toofy’s injuries?” I asked.

Nadine nodded, “Maybe we should leave Tim and Toofy at the inn and do some Vrabbit hunting on our own today?”

“Yeah, better to start chipping away at that debt as soon as possible and we need to pay for our stay at the inn anyway,” Clarice agreed.

“Alright, Tim, do you think you could get Toofy cleaned up and dress her wounds if we organised a bath and some bandages?” Nadine asked.

I scratched my head nervously. I had a senior first-aid certificate and was most of the way through my qualifications to become a registered nurse, so cleaning and dressing wounds was not that big of a deal. The problem as I saw it was that Toofy was a member of the opposite sex, assumedly. Her size being close to that of a child only made it worse. “Ah, is it really alright for me to do something like that?” I asked nervously, hoping they would realise the problem without me needing to spell it out for them.

“You are both monsters, so it's fine,” Emelia waved her hand dismissively.

I couldn’t help but cringe, even though such an opinion from Emelia should have been expected.

“Ah, but no babymaking!” Emelia scolded sharply.

[Your master has given you a command. ]

What the hell is wrong with this person?! How could she both understand the nature of the problem and completely disregard it?!

“We are already in debt, this is not the time to have more mouths to feed,” Emelia added sagely.

“You seriously think that I would do something like that...to Toofy?” I asked incredulously.

“Of course not!” Emelia replied in an offended tone, “I just forbid you from doing it, so how could you?”

I had no words...

Is this what it feels like to have a stroke?

Clarice began laughing so hard that she fell off her chair and began rolling around on the floor.

Nadine was struggling to keep a straight face, “Ah, I will go organise the bath and bandages,” she quickly got up and hurried over to the innkeeper while covering her mouth and trying not to laugh.

When Nadine returned a few minutes later, she was much more composed, “Everything has been arranged, so you can just wait in your room if you like.”

“What about clothes?” I asked, Toofy was currently wearing a jumbled assortment of filthy cloth and leather scraps. To say nothing of the risk of infection, there was no telling whether the materials would even maintain basic structural integrity if I tried washing them.

“Ah...” Nadine obviously hadn’t thought of that.

“Toofy can wear some of my old clothes,” Emelia offered. Although Emelia was shorter than average, there was still a significant size discrepancy between Emelia and Toofy.

“I guess I could just roll the sleeves and use a belt?” I muttered in defeat, remembering the current money problem.

“Alright, I’ll quickly go put them in your room,” Emelia jumped up from her seat and ran off up the stairs.

“Sorry,” Nadine apologised, “But with your Class Ability and Racial Ability, you should be able to wash Toofy without getting injured. I would not be so confident if it was one of us. I hope you understand.”

I sighed and nodded, Nadine had a point. I had no trouble imagining Toofy getting at least one good bite in before Emelia remembered to command Toofy not to.

Emelia returned a couple of minutes later, “Alright you can give Toofy her bath now, just no funny business!”

I hate you...

Clarice snorted and sighed contentedly, “Come on, let’s go hunt some Vrabbits before all the good hunting places are taken,” she chuckled.

“Kay,” Emelia agreed enthusiastically.

“Alright,” Nadine agreed, but before she left the inn, Nadine hung back a moment, ”Oh, I paid for three meals already, they should be brought up to the room in a few hours,” she then disappeared out the door.

I released a defeated sigh and slowly began making my way upstairs to my room. I would have been worried that Toofy was so quiet, but she had been chewing on my apron since we left the Guild office.

The innkeeper had already filled a large wooden bath with hot water by the time I entered my room. After closing the door, I pried Toofy’s teeth off my apron and put her down on the floor by the bathtub, “Alright, Toofy, you are allowed to move again but you are not allowed to leave the room, okay?”

Toofy nodded and began stretching like a cat, “Okay, Toofy do.”

I took off my apron and tunic then gave myself a quick hobo bath using my hands and towelling off with the blanket from the bed. I then picked up the bucket left by the innkeeper and filled it with water from the bath, setting it aside for later.

Toofy cocked her head curiously at me, “Why Tim do?”

“Ah, I was just getting myself clean,” I explained.

“Clean?” Toofy was confused, “What clean?”

Given that Toofy was practically caked in grime, I should have guessed that she didn’t know about personal hygiene. “You use water to wash off dirt so you don’t get sick,” I explained.

Toofy nodded, “Okay.”

Well, that was easier than I thought it would be.

“What wash?” Toofy asked.

“There it is...” I sighed and tried to remind myself that Toofy wasn’t doing it on purpose, “Washing is when you rub your body with water. It gets rid of all the dirt, mud and grime.” I explained and demonstrated by washing my arms with the bathwater.

“Oh, okay,” Toofy nodded her head in understanding. She began climbing up on the nearby chair to get a better look at the bath. “Toofy go in water?” Toofy asked with uncertainty.

“Yes, but you need to remove your clothes and armour first,” I insisted awkwardly.

“Oh, okay. Toofy do!” Toofy sat herself down and promptly began stripping off her assorted rags,

I looked away to give Toofy at least some small measure of privacy.

“Okay, what Toofy do?” Toofy asked. “Toofy no reach water, Toofy small!” She complained after a short pause.

Reasoning that this would be little different from the job I had been training for in palliative care, I turned my attention back to Toofy. However, I reflexively looked away again almost immediately. After reminding myself several times more that my intentions were beyond reproach, I sufficiently overcame my discomfort to get to work.

Toofy was hanging off the chair backwards and paddling her filthy feet in the water, “Can’t reach!” Toofy began wailing in frustration, “Tim help Toofy!” She demanded.

Gritting my teeth, I moved around the bath and over to Toofy. I lifted her off the chair with almost no effort whatsoever and slowly lowered her into the bath.

Toofy began squirming almost immediately, “AH! TIM NO DROWN TOOFY! TOOFY GOOD! TOOFY OBEY TIM!” She shrieked and scratched at my arms like a drowning cat.

“Toofy, it’s okay. I am not drowning you, this is a bath, remember? We use the water to get clean,” I reminded her. It was understandable that she was freaking out. By my approximation, the water would be just about deep enough to reach her armpits.

“Tim promise?” Toofy sniffled miserably, a bloody trail of snot dribbling down from her right nostril.

“I promise, it's all going to be alright,” I consoled her. I made sure not to let go until I was certain that Toofy’s feet had touched the bottom. “There see? It’s a little deep, but you won't drown.”

Toofy’s little chest was still heaving as she slowly began to calm down, “Water scare Toofy,” she sniffled pitiably.

“It's okay, everyone gets scared sometimes,” I picked up the small thick-bristled brush and began carefully scrubbing the grime from Toofy’s right arm and hand. Unsurprisingly, getting Toofy clean was no easy task. With so many small cuts and abrasions on Toofy’s arms and hands, I had to be incredibly careful not to aggravate her injuries further while cleaning around her wounds.

In many respects, I considered Toofy to be far braver than I was. She was certainly holding up better than I would have in her situation and condition. That was, of course, assuming that I was understanding her correctly at all in the first place. After all, Toofy was the first human-like monster I had seen and I was making a number of assumptions based heavily on her appearance. For all I knew, the little Goblin might be a murderous unrepentant killing machine.

*****

Clarice watched the grass around her like a hawk, slowly shifting her weight as she transitioned from one stance to another.

Clarice hated fighting Vrabbits. Not only were they far more dangerous than a monster their size had a right to be, but they were capable of extreme bursts of speed, making them difficult to hit.

Truth be told, Clarice would very much have preferred to hunt Goblins or Orcs in the forest. However, she wasn’t nearly so stupid as to think she would last more than an hour or two at most with Nadine and Emelia as her backup. The Ogre would be able to pull his weight, at the very least diverting attention away from herself, and the Goblin would probably do some real damage if given a proper weapon.

Even so, Clarice wasn’t going to risk it. There wasn’t any reason to take a risk like that when Tim was already set to level them up through culling the Vrabbits.

The grass to Clarice’s right began to rustle.

Clarice was already beginning her thrust as A Vrabbit erupted from the grass, lunging towards her throat. Gritting her teeth, Clarice took on a burst of speed and drove the point of her sword through the Vrabbit’s open mouth and into the back of its skull, impaling its brain.

Normally, Clarice wouldn’t have taken the risk in attempting a thrust when a sweeping cut or slash would have worked just as well. However, the pressure of her potential enslavement to the Guild was justification enough to take the relatively minor risk.

Blinking away the notification out of reflex to maintain an unobstructed field of view, Clarice warily eyed the grass around her for another Vrabbit.

“Clarice, behind you!” Emelia cried out in warning.

“Not this one,” Clarice grunted to herself, knowing when and where she could afford to take risks. Keeping the tip of her sword low, Clarice widened her stance and pivoted her hips as she began sweeping her sword in a ninety-degree arc. Spotting the Vrabbit dashing for her legs, Clarice accelerated her momentum and caught the Vrabbit on the side of its head, cleaving into its skull and killing it almost instantly.

Blinking away the kill notification, Clarice took a deep steadying breath. Her blade did a great deal of damage to small monsters, but it was tiring having to move it around so quickly. Clarice was in good enough shape to keep up a concerted attack without flagging for a solid five minutes, but the stopping and starting required in fighting Vrabbits exacted a toll all of its own, tiring her faster than a proper fight would have.

“Do something useful and fetch these dead ones!” Clarice barked, deliberately moving away from the dead Vrabbits as she continued watching the grass. “Why did I have to hit the ogre in the face?!” Clarice cursed to herself as she spotted two Vrabbits headed straight for her. Shifting her sword into a striking position once more, Clarice grit her teeth prepared to meet her furry foes.