C45-Serious Talk

Name: Aizel Kadashi | Age: 19 | Level: 42

Title: Gold-rank Hunter (S-)

SE: 0 | HP: 541

Race: Crimson Were-dragon

Redvelia — Hunter's Guild.

「 The morning, of his 36th day on Geas. 」

"That's so crazy it might just work."

"Any questions?" The guild master asked.

"Will the use of the scrolls be charged to us?"

"No, the Temple will get a fixed sum for them from the bounty. But do not get smart and choose to keep them when they can save your life." The Dwarf said.

"Hunter Master. There will only be three rescue squads; that is too low for the number of parties in Redvelia's Alliance. It's more than a hundred Hunters for one responder."

"No. Is not. The rescue and 'shock' squad is called Legion, and is just one. It's the party of Hunter Aizel that consists of three angels and a Were-Dragon that have the talent of flight. They hunt regularly in the Orc territories and have the capacity to move wounded at speed to the healers… yes - you, silver with the ponytail."

"No, nothing you just answered. I was about to say that the healers are way too far back and that people could probably bleed out before reaching them."

"Two members of the legion squad can use the healing arts. That is why the scrolls with Fomes are color-coded and have notches to be identified in the dark.

Red is one notch; that is immediate rescue needed. Blue is the call for aid; if you get overwhelmed, find a mid-tier monster, or simply manage to get a nice group together - but can't kill on your own."

"How about the reward?" A murmur ensued after that question; it was probably the most important one for every hunter in the northern lands.

"A week's worth, 30 silver for participating. The rest will be divided by merit, not by kill count. Do your job, and you might be able to have a winter's worth of silver."

"Am Sir? The 'bunny' squads?" A Were-Cat raised his arm.

"What of them?" The guild master replied.

"If this stuff to attract goblinoids is so potent as to make them move at night and resist the dungeon call… How will we get rid of it?"

"A simple (Clean) will take it all off. It has already been tested, and no, you will not be paying for it. As soon as you reach the target spots, you take the bait out of your ring and start running like a bunny chased by a horde of goblins. Once you return, there will be mages waiting to heal you and clean you. Also, as part of the deal."

"…"

"The yard will be open to train the defensive formations until tomorrow at noon, then it will be closed to everyone as the people start to return and hide inside the town. The walls are finished, so if this is too much for you, just stay the fuck inside."

— — —

「 Noon, of his 36th day on Geas. 」

"Ugh…"

"Was it that bad?" Vanessa asked.

Yes, in Aizel's opinion, it was that bad, boring and repetitive. The meeting had taken his whole morning, and he already regretted opening his mouth in the first place. Just leave the savages be savages and not bother with them; that was his new motto. They were lucky he made the vow to the crying lady, and the semi-god noticed, or he would already be back camping in the north.

They were all sitting in the yard as some of the parties had followed the guild master's advice and were training their formations. Hunters were no army that you could just tell what to do. If they died even after being warned, and with the safety measures, it would be their fault.

No one expected there to be no casualties. But everything was being done to reduce them to a minimum; if everything went according to plan, no one would be required to be sacrificed or left behind. But things rarely did.

A simple rock tripping one of the bunnies would have them being devoured on the spot by all the goblinoids giving chase.

"No, Nessa, it was worse. Much fucking worse."

"Where are you participating, Neine?" Valerie asked as she played with Neine's blonde hair.

'The advantages of being a small, pretty woman.'

"Hey Vanessa, come here, love. I need you."

Vanessa obliged and went to hug him. He started to just play with her hair and lose himself in her smell, not even getting excited, just relaxing after facing something worse than a horde of Oni… Meetings.

"~I will be bunny number seven. I depart in the morning and expect to reach my target at noon, and then run all the way back from like thirty clicks away? Right, Aizel?" Neine said.

"Yeah, and you will be part of the ones running from furthest away. Be careful out there, woman. Is the only part of the mission I won't have eyes on. I do not want to lose a new member of the group before even testing them out. "

"~testing her out." Lisa whispered. And Vanessa playfully bit his neck.

"Silvia, did you find a reliable party? I'd rather you don't rank up if it means working with idiots; there will be other chances." Aizel said, ignoring the Seraphim.

"Yes, I did. We will be with Bulwark North."

"I will be with Bulwark South. But I think you will be on the wall; my party will be with the turtles." Blaze said.

"Believe it or not, the wall is more dangerous. The shields will be tight together; the wall can be reached by spears, especially the one facing north. Hobgos are accurate with those."

"~Mira was pissed off. Hehe…" Neine said, referring to the were-leopard.

"Who's Mira?" Silvia asked.

"A bitch." Neine and Aizel replied in unison, and smiled at each other.

"~(Bind) her already!" Lisa teased.

"Why was she mad?" Valerie asked.

"Because she will not be getting any extra payday; she needs to come back inside at noon with the rest of the town, or be left outside," Blaze replied.

"Even the dog already knows who she is; thank the heathen gods that there is another Mithril that came. Or the fucking Dwarf would probably be offering the Hunter Master job to her instead."

"Heathens?" Silvia asked. And was ignored.

"Is it official that he is stepping down?" Lisa asked.

"No. But it's pretty obvious that he's tired of running the guild. He will probably be participating in the big raid after stepping down. But since the leeches will want in on it, they will not let him just throw it away until the little one is completed."

"Leeches?" Neine asked.

"Nobles." Silvia and Aizel said at the same time, and look at each other with a frown.

"~See what I mean!? Not the same!" Vanessa whispered, a bit too loud.

"The same as what?" Neine asked.

"I honestly have no I—" Aizel tried to deflect.

"Lie."

"…"

"hehe…" Neine laughed, all cute like.

"…"

"Aizel. The same as what?" Neine asked. And her ears twitched a little.

"I need to release some steam," Aizel said and walked towards the middle of the field. Stripping down.

"~Wha— What! whathefuckishedoing!?" Neine got all flustered.

Aizel just stored all his clothes and was in his boxers. He just materialized everything and took to the sky. Not caring about the snail population, it would even be better if they were spooked for the siege-raid, aka the mini-raid.

— — —

Name: Lisa Kadashi | Age: 27 | Level: 74

Race: Seraphim Angel

"And—he's gone. He took the ring, right?" Vanessa said.

"Yes, but I have money you can use. He said, in case this happened, that he would repay me with interest. So please use my money." Blaze said.

"Oh, no, I was just asking; I had a book there."

"We can probably just buy a few normal ones now," Lisa said

Neine had walked to the middle of the yard to try and find him.

"Can you all do that?" Neine asked.

"Fly? Yes. That fast? No, not even close." Lisa said.

"~He went north!"

"Probably to harass the Oni," Vanessa said.

"~Is he fighting - Oni!?" Neine said with a terrified face.

"No. I forbade it. I will know if he fights them. But he's been flying at his maximum speed and scaring the creatures. Since if they attack him, it's technically not against what I told him." Lisa said.

"~Can't you just tell him not to… go there?"

"Yes, but then he would find a way to go around my order…again."

"He's just like you in that way, you know?" Vanessa teased her.

"~How would he go around it if he can't go near them?" Neine asked.

"He's pretty creative," Valerie said with a blush.

Neine tried to find him in the sky, but gave up soon after. Taking a seat besides Valerie.

— —

Thump!!

~Igh!

Aizel came back with his scales charred and drenched in black blood. With a flash of red flames, he was cleaned, and his Dragon traits dematerialized, scaring Neine.

He dropped the clothes from his ring and caught them with ethereal red hands before they hit the ground, dressing and taking a seat as if nothing had happened.

'He doesn't need to do that. He can clean before returning, or before he lands, and even dress while he lands, but he knows the three of us get horny when he does that. And now his food came directly at him, from far away. And another exotic delicacy is begging him to fuck her. We are going to have a fun night.'

"Zup. Blaze, 4 standard orcs with a shaman, 6 hobgoblins, all without their balls, clean."

"Sir."

"Please tell me that you burned the bodies of the ones that did not fit the ring."

"…"

"You forgot."

"I forgot." Aizel pouted.

"A royal and a plat, tops. You should sell them right away, sir. The prices will fluctuate. I can't tell you if they will get better or worse, but the raid will affect it."

"Sure, here, take care of it and take a plat for yourself as a reward for overtime." Aizel gave their ring to Blaze. Sneakily adding a (Monitor) to it, that only the wives and he could see, and only because of their angelic traits, and he had taught them how to see it in the first place.

"Aiz. We need smaller rings, the normal kind, to have books and other stuff." Vanessa said.

"There should be more than enough there for three normal in medium size, or small ones at worst. Go with him."

"Yay! Come, Val!"

Vanessa took their new toy and went with Blaze and Silvia to sell the bodies and buy the new rings. As Aizel kissed them goodbye, he also placed (Monitor) on them, and they just smiled when they noticed.

"~How are you still gold? I recall you had silver tags when you saved me." Neine asked Aizel.

'She remembered his name, and even that detail. And she's not too shy with him, and Vanessa was right; she's really good-looking. I would place her alongside the leopard and the blue-haired fox.'

"Honestly, with my kill count, scouting and leading experience, I should be Plat already; but since I do not report all my kills, and I just got promoted…"

"~Why!? Why do you not report them!?" Neine asked, getting closer to him.

To his credit, Aizel did not react; he was calm; he really had vented on the Orcs and their kin.

'And he says, I have bloodlust.'

"He's too Lazy. The butchers and the temple already pay him the bounty for the kills, so he doesn't bother reporting them to the guild until Kira asks him…very nicely." Lisa said.

"Heh." Aizel chuckled.

"…"

"~Aizel," Neine said.

"Hello."

'That is exactly what happened with Valerie; he acted all indifferent, and the girl lowered her guard!'

"~I never thanked you. I do not think I could have lived with myself if that thing had…"

"Thank me by not dying tomorrow; how does that sound?"

"~I'll do my best!"

"Just focus on coming back, look at the ground and do not stumble, Travel light, and return safely."

"Okay."

"By the way." Aizel stopped staring at the training men and turned to her with that whole barely contained lust look he could do, just looking at the features in her face and without being creepy.

'And that is how he got me… Who am I kidding? He just walked into the room, and I was already his…'

"Where did you get those boots made? I have some ideas, but I don't think the shoemaker in this town is up for it. The one who made yours is really talented."

"Thanks! These are from Lantervil, West of Melverida. I think it might even be outside the Horen Duchy."

"The map opens up, huh."

Neine got closer to him; she probably remembered that he was a married man, because her ears shot up, and she glanced at Lisa, who played dumb and just looked at the distance.

'No need to spook her. I will take a page out of his book, as he says.'

— — —

Redvelia — Hunter's Guild training yard.

Name: Silvia | Age: 23 | Level: 41

Title: Silver-rank Huntress (A+)

Race: Were-Wolf

「 It was the last night before Redvelia's insane raid…」

Silvia watched in morbid glee as her lover decapitated a goblin using nothing more than a pair of daggers and a single throw.

"Holy gremlin, you got good with that!"

"Thanks, Silv. Though, I'm still too far from where I want to be." Blaze said as he walked towards the dead monster to retrieve his weapons while giving off orders to his alliance. "Non-perishables only. If the other hunters want a piece, they can go and harvest it themselves. The crazy dragon would rather leave us with the loot than deal with it, so it's almost free silver."

"Sir!"

"Don't even start. Please." Silvia said to Blaze once the other silvers under his command went to work on the corpse. "Don't compare yourself to that lunatic."

"I'm not, heh." He chuckled-shrugged. "It's easier to keep pushing forward if I know what I might be able to do one day. He's just faster."

"Good." She nodded. Her opinion of Blaze grew with every interaction they had. Aizel had brought a few goblins for the Hunters to train in preparation for the insane raid that would take place the next day.

"Dame Silvia. Can I ask something?" One of the girls from her temporal alliance approached her and asked a question.

"I'm not Gold yet. Stop that. And besides, you just did, Silver."

The girl chuckled. "You say that. But you also killed a goblin on your own… My question was more for sir… I mean, your partner. Blaze."

Blaze raised his head and cutely looked to the sides as if there was anyone else with that name that Silvia was sleeping with.

"Ask away. You see, he's shy when pretty little things are around."

"Hey! I'm not that shy…"

"Then finally knot me you—"

"Silv!"

Silvia began to laugh at his antics; it was quite cute. He was not a small man by any means, but when it came to sealing the deal in the canine-kin way, he always pulled back a little.

'I guess dragons also do it that way… Stop it, Silvia! You have a man now. If he approves, then it's different. But don't you dare fantasize with another man in the meantime. Blaze deserves better.'

"Sorry… Please, Silver. What can I do for you? And please call me Blaze. We are not even in a gold ranking mission yet. That will come after the raid… If we survive, that is."

The mood turned a little somber at that. Other parties heard him say that and began to train even harder. There were a few healers posted nearby to help them out. Somehow, Aizel managed to convince the guild to cover their expenses until after the raid, just to get the new defensive formations drilled into the hunters that poured in the last few days.

"I have pretty keen mana senses because I have diluted blood from something that was good at it. Don't ask me what; I don't know. My point is. I can sense that you are using (Guide) on your daggers, yet there is something else? But it's not skill layering." The girl asked.

Blaze turned to Silvia and gave her a look. They did not know if sharing Aizel's advice was allowed, so she just shrugged.

"I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you… So please say something nice at my funeral if I break an unspoken rule."

The girl thought that he was joking, but after seeing his and Silvia's dismal expressions. She straightened up and spoke up.

"I will take full responsibility. I, Fina Smithdaughter, of my own free will and cle—"

"Stop! You weirdo…" Blaze cut her off before she could utter a (Vow). "It's just (Infuse)" He shrugged.

"The most basic skill? What do you mean?"

"Learn to silent-call your skills with (Infuse), then just try to call them at the same time. It has nothing in common with skill layering. That method even sounds inefficient when compared with what I just told you… I throw my daggers while infusing my mana on them; once they leave my hand, I call to (Guide) and (Push) at the same time."

"T-Triple calling!?"

"No. Triple Silent-Casting." Blaze added. "Don't ask me what the difference is. The one who taught me doesn't even know. And the one who could tell me is even scarier, so I haven't asked."

Blaze was probably talking about Mistress Lisa. And she could not blame him. There was something in all of Aizel's women that screamed 'death.' Even little Valerie became like this after the man fucked her into a different race. Silvia shivered at the image of their leader going insane on the small woman, remembering his raging erection and the wails from a couple of moons ago.

— — —

Silvia and Blaze trained with their parties well into the night. The healers were chugging mana potions—also sponsored by the Guild—to keep up with the demand. They even managed to make her feel as if she just woke up, as if she had rested a few days after training like a maniac.

"I think they did too good a job." Silva stretched her arms as they walked out of the guild after leaving their alliances behind.

"Yeah." Blaze was staring at her. So Silvia turned her body a little and showed him her curves at a better angle. "I don't think sleep will come easy tonight. The thought of the Raid with the energy we just got will make that impossible." She bit her lip and looked at him, begging the Moon to help Blaze understand what she wanted.

"…"

'Good, he got it!' Silvia thought as she saw him bite his tongue with an open mouth while his expression turned lustful. "That thing you said. About tomorrow. If we survive"

"What about it? No matter how complex and well-prepared the raid is. Or if we will have the Mistresses watching our back. All it takes is one wrong move to…"

"I know. That is not what I meant."

"Then what is it, Silv?" Hearing him say her moniker sent a shiver down her spine. She was already getting wet just from seeing him act all composed, looking at her with genuine care.

"If this is our last night on this realm. I want you."

"Heh. As our crazy leaders like to say. The day I say 'no' to that, you can put me down." Blaze smiled while materializing a fang. It was small and cute compared to a were-wolf fang, but the man was not even in his thirties; not only would they only grow, but the fact that he could materialize more Dog traits than he was born with—at his age—was amazing.

"No. I want - all - of you. I was not joking back there." Silvia said.

"Oh."

"Yes, oh. Why is it so hard for you to do?"

"My family is from the Furax Duchy, the part where they raise Sheepaloids."

"What!?" Silvia yelled.

"Yeah, they managed to tame—"

"No! Not that you, sexy dog! The heck are you doing so far West!?"

"Thanks. And I said 'My family,' Silv. Not me. I was born on Sednira. But the way they think is the same as it was back on their homeland. So, I was raised thinking that knotting someone is the same as—or close to—marriage. My father and grandfather say that the connection you make in that moment elevates sex to a whole new level. And that the feeling should be reserved for someone special."

"…" Silvia's ears went down.

"I told you I would always be honest with you for as long as you were. I want you to be my special someone. I want to go all the way with you… But I need you to know - what that means to me."

Her pulse elevated, and she stopped walking. Coincidentally, they had arrived in front of the gatherer's Guild, so there were a few expensive Inns and hostels nearby. She turned and chose the one that looked the fanciest Inn. It had not been open for even five moons.

"Come. Let's finish this conversation in private."

"…Hahaha! " Blaze began to laugh like crazy in the middle of the cobbled road, since even the crystal lights were sponsored by the guild before the raid, there was a lot of activity nearby.

"Can you lower your voice? People are staring."

"Sorry. Is just that half a fortnight ago, I would have to save silver to stay in this type of place for a single cycle. And now I can probably afford the best room for an entire fortnight."

"Yeah… That is also what I want to talk with you about." Silvia looked down, feeling shame and disgust at what she wanted to ask of him—even after what he said. It was an opportunity that couldn't be passed up.

"Oh. Hehe. Don't look so down, Silv. I think I know what you want to say. And you might be surprised."

"Really? But… You are a very jealous dog."

"Let's find a room and ask for alcohol and food. You said it yourself; this might be our last night in this realm."

—

"Yo. Clerk! Give me your best room, food, and alcohol - One cycle worth of that shit!" Blaze said.

Silvia glared and gawked at him. "As much as speaking like him really suits you. I could not help but feel weirded out. It's as if he possessed you, and I would not put Spectroloid skills on the list of things that he doesn't have…"

Blaze shrugged. "Sorry. I just had to. It's fun."

"Right awa'… Hunta. Tha's small disc'nt for ya r'nk." The clerk butchered his sentence and went to the back.

"That's a first…" Silvia said.

"Yeah, he must be a temporary worker. There is no way an Inn this fancy will keep him at the front desk. However, that is good for us. I can ask for more discount, because 'I could not understand shit' Hehe."

Silvia rolled her eyes. "Stop. It does not make it any easier. It's a serious talk."

"Fine…"

—

They had eaten Purified Orc meat with a side dish of twisted-rice and vegetables, just chugging diluted honey-brew to feel a buzz without getting drunk.

"Ohhh… That's how one is supposed to dine." Blaze reclined in his wool-padded chair.

"This place is amazing." Silvia took a deep breath. Even the air felt different. There were no wards that she could see, but the owner of this place sure put in the work to make it one of the most comfortable places in town.

"It's more than amazing. It's a gift from the Moon that we can even find it so close to the White Shield. I bet only Grodvenira has similar Inns because of Heroes' Rest."

"I've never been there, so I wouldn't know…"

"Neine is from Rahaveil, and came through there. We can ask her."

'This is it. This is the perfect opportunity. If he's opposed, I will not even bring it up again.'

Silvia drank the last bit of her honey-brew in a single chug and placed the wooden cup on the table. "Do you think… She will get wings?"

"There's no doubt in my mind that we will see the first flying cheetah in our lifetime. I will write it so our descendants know that their forefathers witnessed the birth of a new race… Well, three."

'Okay… That is too juicy to not ask. And he said our descendants, I just can't! Please, Mother Moon, let me give him a few litters' worth of canine-kin.'

She composed herself and asked about the thing that stood out to her. "New race? But. I thought that they just evolved their blood? Isn't conception needed to create a new race?"

Blaze nodded. "Yeah. And true flight is not supposed to be possible for anyone but the 'Born' races. You know, like the ones who can turn into birds and stuff. And even they can probably only fly an average walled-town distance away before needing to rest a cycle."

"… So?"

"I once read a Kin-encyclopedia my grandfather stole out of spite. It was even thicker than the fancy bestiary Mistress Lisa has, and that's without drawings; it covered most known human-races known to the empire. There was no mention of a Blood-Angel or a Shinigami. There is a Shinigami Spectroloid monster, just like there are Wolfoids. I saw that one in a bestiary from a different region. And there are also a few demons that are born as blood-mages. If their kin existed before, there would be in the Angel-kin pages. There are Archon angels, Cherubim, and of course, Seraphim. That's it."

"…" That was a lot to take in. She loved that he was so well-read; that was not something common among low-rank hunters like them. 'No wonder he was accepted into their party. He's amazing.'

"The question is not if she will get wings. The question is. Do you want wings?"

Silvia swallowed hard; she could not deny the allure of flight. But who's to say that Aizel could not find a way to teach her to fly without having to (Bind) her and turn her into whatever the Sun had planned for a Wolf-Angel-Dragon race. The only sure thing is that Blaze was someone she would give up those wings for. Even in the short time being with him, she had grown to love him.

"I don't."

"Lie," Blaze said.

Silvia narrowed her eyes, took hold of her wooden cup, and threw it at him with all her might.

"Sorry! Hehe."

"I can't deny that it would be amazing. But I don't need anyone else. Only you." She said with resolve.

"Good. Now there's the issue of Dragon blood." Blaze said in a serious tone.

"I can't let the possibility of having a Were-Wolf with dragon blood slip through my fingers. And if I can raise them with you.…" Silvia said.

"If it were any other kin, immortal or not. I would say no. But, after seeing what his blood is capable of… I can't help but agree. Just know that we will have many children before he manages to give you one. Dragons have the lowest conception rate of any kin. Zarnandier is the only other Were-Dragon in written history, and he did not leave any descendants, at least not in public. Who knows how many he left in hiding."

"Yeah, I've also heard that. But if it's similar to Dragon-Born…"

"It usually is. Why do you think the word dragon-egg is used for 'treasure' in so many sayings? The wild dragons will not lift a claw if they don't deem you a threat, even if you lurk inside their nests; they think you a pest that they shove away with their tails, as one would shoo a rat. But they will scorch the entire empire if you mess with their eggs. Is probably because of how difficult it is for them to reproduce."

"Fine. But I… No we will wait until after we are gold-rank. I'm not spending what could be my last night on this realm with him."

"Agreed. Now come here, woman."