Julius Rictor - Chapter 34 - Independent Contractor

I awoke the next morning alone. Surprisingly, I slept really well, considering how bad my insomnia was, especially as I got older.

Remi and Gai really did make me feel a lot better. I owe them.

Observing a life I never experienced and pouring out the darkest parts of my past gave me a subtle sense of closure. Not fully, but my heart felt significantly less dead.

My hand leaped to my lips as I remembered my parting gift to Gai. It wasn’t something I’d planned and was entirely impulsive. I barely realized it was happening until I was already in the middle of the act.

But I didn’t hate it.

“Gods, am I gay now?” I groaned. Testing that theory, I thought of doing the same thing to Nigel or Alexander and cringed. “Nope.” I paused. “Would that even be gay with my new body? That just makes me straight, right?”

I desperately needed a therapist.

“Whatever.” I jumped out of bed, fists primed and energy renewed. “Enough of the pity party and sexual confusion. Helping people always made me feel better. Gai was right. I should just do that because I want to, and I want to.”

Instinctively, I prepared my clothing.

“I should go get Gai. We can pick up a fun job, and—”

I hesitated.

We’d made a promise. Every time I went to the Guild, I’d go with him and keep Remi and Talbert in the know. We wouldn’t do anything massively dangerous, and we’d leave and return during reasonable times. That meant no leaving the city for days-long missions. It limited what I could do, and it was fair for something Talbert and Remi were knowingly hiding from the baron.

But—

“If I take a really easy, quick job, it shouldn’t be a problem,” I muttered. “Besides, I think I need to do a different kind of mission just for me. Hmmm. Yeah, it’s worth the risk.”

I dressed and fled the castle, alerting no one to what I was doing.

•

I sat alone in a secluded corner of the Guild Hall, silently listening to the people around me. I wore my usual attire, consisting of tight and functional black clothing.

The only difference was my hair. It was strawberry blonde.

Tyla advised I buy a concoction made from a slime-like monster’s skin. The creature was very weak and its parts were predominantly used in cosmetics. Her logic was that, while no one would have expected me to be Scarlet Embers at a glance because the very notion was absurd, very few people were Dyads with red hair. Sooner or later, people would put the pieces together if I acted too recklessly. Even an idiot would put the pieces together eventually. So, at her suggestion, I stuck to one power, my dark gifts, and dyed my hair with the slime solution, which easily washed out with soap and water.

The cosmetic at least explained why there were people with pink, green, and blue hair in the world. As a non-girly girl, I wasn’t very up on the fashion and makeup world, much to the baroness’s and my maid’s chagrin.

“You saw the Voiced, didn’t yah?” said a person at a nearby table. “What’d yah think? What happened?”

My ears perked up.

“Yeah, I saw her,” replied one of the three men at the table. I referred to him as Two in my head. “And I got thoughts.”

“What kinda thoughts? Was she dangerous?” said the first man, whom I referred to as One.

“Beautiful,” said the third, nicknamed Three in my mind.

“All of the above,” Two said. “Made an enormous amount of fire the size of a building come out of her hand just like that.” He snapped his fingers. “Even a non-Eater like me knows that’s not normal. Gifts still only work with the energy a person’s got. Power like that’s too much.”

Kind of true. I probably eat two to three times my normal daily calories when I’ve trained my powers a bunch. They take up a lot of energy. Can’t keep an ounce of fat on my body because of that.

Gifts still had limits. We trained them like muscles and fed their powers with our bodies. Some people are born with more inherent energy, and others are not. Genetics most likely played a part in that. Cores could boost one’s abilities, as could certain items, but they were expensive, rare, and inconsistent in their outcomes.

“Did you run?” asked Three.

“Hell yeah, I ran,” Two said, slamming his fist on the table. “I’m not an Eater. What was I supposed to do to her, huh? She’s a Voiced!”

Totally fair point, honestly. It was the smart thing to do.

“I’d have liked to see her,” One said. “They’re Gods. Who doesn’t want to see a God?”

Definitely didn’t seem like a God.

That wasn’t the only Voiced-themed conversation I’d overheard. Everyone was chattering about it. For the most part, the people who’d seen her initially ran away. But then she began walking through the town, greeting and blessing people. The ones who’d seen her fire feared her. The ones who’d met her after did not. That contrast was evident in the conversations and created an interesting rift among the people, which I couldn’t help but feel was intentional on Astria’s part.

But there were other conversations I found interesting, too.

“Wonder when those two newbies are coming back,” said a person at another table, whom I dubbed Person A in my head.

“Which ones?” his companion, Person B, responded.

“The redhead and the dark-haired guy. The ones who took out that trio of bastards,” Person A said.

“Not a redhead. She’s got that blondish-dark hair.”

“I thought it was red.” Person A frowned. “Whatever. Don’t know. They seemed like tourists. Probably won’t be coming back after the experience they had.”

“Pretty sure the girl’s right over there,” Person B said. I felt him point at me.

“Oh, yeah. That’s her,” Person A said. “Where’s that guy? What’s his name? Nyte?”

“Dunno? Maybe nearby? Maybe she’s alone?” Person B paused. “I’m gonna go talk to her.”

“No, you’re not.”

“She’s hot. Look at what she’s wearing.” 

“Sit down!”

A few people chattered about the trio that Gai and I killed. Apparently, that group had been suspected of such crimes in the past, but they were never caught. It explained why everyone was so hostile to them when they confronted us in the Guild Hall that first time.

But neither topic really interested me as much as the one people whispered, like they were afraid to even speak it.

“Did you hear?” a female adventurer whispered to her colleague. “They think they found a body part belonging to one of those girls who went missing.”

“They did?” her companion replied.

“Apparently. Clean cut, like she’d been attacked by a butcher. It was horrible!”

“Do you know that for sure?”

“I’ve got a brother who’s friends with a knight. He said he saw it.”

“So you don’t know for sure.”

“Then you explain why all the girls are missing,” hissed the first. “Five gone. Where are they going? Someone’s taking them.”

“Listen,” her friend said. “I don’t think it’s weird. I’m scared too. But I don’t think it’s good to spread rumors and make things worse.”

Oh? It’s got to be the killer Talbert mentioned a while ago.

I strained my ears, trying to find other people talking about it. And I found them.

“You think he’ll come for me next?” whispered another girl, shivering.

“He won’t come for you.” Her friend nudged her. “He only takes pretty girls.”

Ouch. But she’s trying to get her mind off things, I suppose.

Another table chatted about it, too.

“That’s five girls gone this year, isn’t it?” a man asked another. “What’s the Baron doing about this? Why hasn’t he said anything?”

“Bet they’re trying to wrap it up quietly,” his friend replied. “Before people get scared.”

“People are already scared, dammit.”

A tavern girl came my direction with a flagon of ale. I watched her greedily, awaiting my order.

Tyla suddenly cut her off, took the mug, and walked in my direction. She slammed the tankard in front of me and sat in an open seat beside me.

“How’s my favorite new adventurer?” Tyla asked, staring at my face.

“Gai’s not here. Just me,” I teased.

“Good.” She stared at my hair. “Strawberry blonde’s what you’re sticking with?”

“For now. I can always change it.” I paused. “Wonder what else would look good? Pink? Blonde?”

“Literally anything you pick,” Tyla said while looking me over. “Must be nice.”

I looked her over in turn. “That applies to you, too.”

“I know.”

“Ha!”

“Where is lover boy?” Tyla asked casually. She played with her hair.

I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair. “Like I said, I made the conscious decision to come without him.”

“Oh, really? Why? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I’m trying to take a more active role in my life, both big and small,” I said. “Ever since my engagement, I’ve felt like I’ve had very little control over my decisions. And after... recent events, I wanted to do something that was mine from start to finish.” I dragged my finger in a circle across the table. “I woke up, decided I wanted to take a job and help some people, snuck out, and here I am. Listening to the gossip’s been fun too, I’ll have to admit. I’m a little isolated from it all, so it’s interesting.”

“Isolated is an understatement,” Tyla muttered with a sly grin.

“Yes, yes, I’m a noble rich girl with no perspective on how the common folk live,” I said. “Don’t worry, I’ve got a friend from here who’s told me as much.”

“Friend?”

“She’s my guard, but I’d give my life for her in a second if I had to.”

Tyla stared at me. She let out a low whistle and leaned forward. “You are an interesting person.” She rapped her knuckles against the table. “It’s kind of surreal I’m talking to you, honestly.”

“Because I’m famous?”

“Yeah.”

“Learned that very recently, too,” I admitted. “My friend’s sisters kept badgering me with questions like they admired me.”

“I can’t say I don’t either. You’re like a mythical creature.”

“And now that you’ve met me?” I teased.

“More so,” Tyla said, shocking me. “On your first day, you helped take out some dangerous monsters and removed a trio of killers we’ve been trying to root out for a while now. In less than half a day. That’s remarkable. Competence is in low supply in a work environment like this.”

A quick glance around the Guild Hall would have any sane person reach the same conclusion. There were several dozen people in the building. Of them, maybe a tenth were actively looking for jobs while the rest were drinking and chattering. I’m sure the Guild didn’t mind. It was a source of revenue. But for their core business, the contracts, their supply of people that could take jobs over C-rank was probably extremely limited.

“Really getting a lot of confidence boosts recently,” I muttered. “Maybe I’m too hard on myself.”

“You’re not alone there.” Tyla leaned back and stretched. “So you’re here for a job. Let me help with that. What kind of job do you want? I can grab one for you.” She paused. “If you just want to help people, I’ve got a nice, easy one. It’ll be boring, but it’s the definition of a good deed. Only you’re getting paid.”

“Perhaps.”

“I’ll go get it.”

Tyla bounded over to the boards and came back with a contract, already reserved for me.

“A young priest from Trinity Mountain is completing a residency here at Water Bastion’s temple. He wishes to give out alms to the poor. The temple wanted to give him guards, but he refused. Instead, they settled on a guild contract. The priest was fine with that, and now you have a job.” She tapped the contract. “One guy, Fin, is already at the job site. I said I’d pull another. The guy I had in mind is drunk. Seems like this would be a good fit for you.”

“That’s it?” I quickly read the contract to confirm the details. The priest was only a few years older than me. He went by the name Father Wilson, which made him sound, on paper, two decades older than he actually was. “Sounds easy.”

“It is,” Tyla agreed. “Some people might try to rob him. You might get something thrown at you. At the absolute worst, someone might try to attack him. I doubt it, though. Father Wilson isn’t well known, he doesn’t have any enemies, and he’s giving out free stuff. You’ll be fine. Just stand back, watch, hand out food, do a good deed, come back, and get paid.”

I blinked. “All good to know. You’re great at your job, as always.”

“What can I say?” She nodded, smiling to herself. “Wouldn’t be a competent Guild Master if I couldn’t do something like this.” Tyla looked away from me for a moment. She crossed her arms over her chest. Her fingers tapped against her arm. She was hesitant, like she wanted to say something but was holding back.

“What?” I asked.

“H-How is Gai doing, by the way?” Her voice was slightly more nervous and squeaky.

“Surviving and thriving,” I said. “He kind of bends everyone to his will with sheer charisma.”

“That he does.”

She was clearly holding back something. And I knew what it was. She wouldn’t have slyly mentioned him three times otherwise.

“You like him that much, huh?” I suddenly said.

Tyla went bright red and looked down at her lap. “I wouldn’t... yes.”

Not surprising.

“Bold of you to admit that to me,” I said.

“It’s not like it matters,” Tyla defended. “You’re engaged to the man. You won.”

I lightly tapped the table. “Why do you like him?”

“What?”

“I’m curious.”

“Probably the same reasons you do,” Tyla muttered.

“Indulge me. I won’t get mad. Promise. You knew him first.”

Tyla couldn’t look at me for a while before turning to me, her face burning red. “He helped me get through a difficult patch in my life.” Her voice was faint, as if she were trying to avoid the very words slipping past her lips. “A part of my heart owes him a lot.”

“Hmm, so he took advantage of you at your weakest and slept with you?”

“It wasn’t like that!” she said curtly.

“I know. He’s not like that.” I leaned forward and rested my arms on the table. “Interesting, though. I’m not in the best place in my life either. It’s like he has some sort of sixth sense for that kind of thing.”

“What’s happening with you?”

“What happened with you?” I shot back.

We both said nothing, silently agreeing to drop the topic.

“You should get going if you want to take that job,” Tyla said after a moment. She stood up. “And feel free to come by any time. This was nice.”

She walked away without another word.

I folded my hands in front of me and rested them there, thinking.

•

I neared the temple some time later. I’d been to it many times with my family. We had our own balcony where we’d watch the boring-ass services I did my absolute best not to sleep through.

Out in front, a man in leather armor with, ironically, messy red hair and green eyes was standing out front. Beside him, a young priest I’d never seen before was chatting the man’s ear off. He wore the white robes of the clergy, with dark brown hair trimmed to his scalp and a clean face.

Fin and Father Wilson, I presume.

“Good morning.” I approached the two of them with a wave. “My name’s Eve. Tyla from the Guild sent me this way.”

Fin looked me over, then breathed a sigh of relief. “Perfect timing. We were wondering when someone would show up.”

“Greetings, Eve.” Father Wilson clasped his hands together and gave me a slight bow. “Father Wilson. A pleasure to meet you. You are seen.”

“Thank you, Father.” I respectfully bowed, then glanced at the other man with us. “Then you are definitely Fin.”

“The one and only.” He put out his hand. “Rank?”

“D-rank. Eater with dark gifts.”

“Nice. Same rank, no gifts or core. Guess that makes you stronger! Haha! You usually work with Nyte, right?”

“Right. I’m originally from Sun’s Bastion. Decided to move here for a change of pace for a few weeks or so,” I lied effortlessly. “He showed me the ropes around here. Good partner. Work’s been steady so far.”

“If you say so.” Fin’s eyes darted to the priest, as if emphasizing the job they were forced to do.

“I appreciate the company,” Father Wilson said, interjecting. “May we be off? And could you bring the cart?”

A small two-wheeled cart filled with food was parked nearby. Sacks of food were stuffed into it, along with a barrel of water.

“Looks heavy,” I mused. I patted Fin’s shoulder. “Thank you for your sacrifice.” I quickly moved to stand beside Father Wilson. “I’ll cover you, as needed.”

“Without a weapon?” Fin asked, slightly annoyed.

I made a dark blade appear out of thin air and grabbed it with my hand. “I have all the weapons.”

“Touché.” Fin looked at the cart. “Godsdammit.”

“Language, sir,” Father Wilson chided.

“I’m sorry.”

We trotted off to the outer ring of the city.