Chapter 2013: Introductions

The dogkin squeezed forward from among his companions, her fluffy ears high with interest.

"The troll threw Blossom very hard."

"After you poisoned it thoroughly enough to stop it healing," Black replied, reaching out to stroke between her ears. "We’d have died without you."

Her tail began to wag.

"Master helped too!"

Blossom leaned into his glove with a blissful little sound. Watching her, the short-haired adventurer had to remind herself that this woman’s poison had helped keep a war troll from killing him.

"I didn’t know it could take that much to put a troll down," her braided friend murmured.

"We were lucky to walk away from it," Black replied.

His hand lingered in Blossom’s hair while Ayame watched them both with a warmth that made the short-haired woman feel foolishly happy. After hearing how badly that fight had gone, she wanted to keep looking at them here, safe and together.

She’d been gossiping about who slept with him. They had survived this together, and he remembered exactly what each woman had done to keep them alive.

"So," Black said, returning his attention to the three adventurers, "no, I do not believe you to be incompetent. But I’d still rather come along. If the nest holds exactly what the report says, good. If it doesn’t, you’ll have more people beside you when you find out."

"We thought..." Her braided companion glanced at their badges again. "After what you asked earlier, about us being adventurers..."

"I was joking."

The short-haired woman stared at him.

"You knew?"

"Of course."

A strangled laugh escaped her freckled friend. She covered her mouth, but that only made the short-haired woman want to elbow her.

"You thought he meant it too!"

"I know!"

Across the aisle, the clerk bent over her counter with a fresh burst of laughter. The short-haired woman’s face burned even hotter at the realization.

That bitch had understood immediately.

"You sounded so serious," her braided companion complained, though she was laughing now too. "We thought you hadn’t noticed anything about us."

"I don’t know much, not even your names," he replied. "But this place would be considerably less colorful without you. Hence my words."

Her breath caught.

She’d been bracing for another remark about their abandoned mugs. Instead, he’d told them he wanted their table occupied.

By them.

The happiness that filled her was ridiculous. She knew that, and it did absolutely nothing to help. A smile spread across her face while she stared up at him, overwhelmed by how much she wanted to hear him say it again.

"Della."

Her voice came out softer than she’d intended. She cleared her throat.

"My name is Della, Lord Black. I’m sorry, we should’ve introduced ourselves properly."

"Tavi!"

Her freckled friend caught his free hand between both of hers.

"I’m Tavi. It’s such a pleasure to finally... properly..."

She looked down at the gauntlet she was holding and appeared to forget what she’d meant to say.

"Brena," their braided companion supplied, stepping in beside her. "I’m Brena. We’ve been meaning to talk to you for ages."

"You have talked to him," Della pointed out.

"More."

Brena’s smile was hopelessly adoring. She reached for his forearm above Tavi’s hands, and Della discovered that her own feet had carried her close enough for the edge of his breastplate to brush her sleeve.

Well.

There seemed very little reason to move away.

"Thank you," she told him, looking up into the red glow. "We’d be very happy to have you with us."

"Extremely happy," Tavi confirmed, drawing his hand closer to her chest.

"Ahem."

The three of them looked toward Vex.

The witch was smiling. Her red eyes followed Tavi’s hands until the freckled adventurer stopped pulling.

"Hands where I can see them, ladies~"

"You can see mine," Tavi offered hopefully.

"I can also see where you’re taking his."

"Ah."

Della caught her friend’s elbow before she could make matters worse. Brena let go of his forearm with a reluctant little laugh, though she stayed close enough that her braid brushed his armor.

Vex slipped her own hand beneath his freed one and smiled up at him.

"Shall we get the contract sorted?"

Della hurried to take the posting down. Holding an actual piece of work helped her remember that she was supposed to be an adventurer, and she led the little procession across the aisle before Tavi could find another excuse to attach herself to him.

The clerk waved them forward as her previous customer left, making room for Della and Black at the counter. Della handed over the quest notice, and the clerk set it beside a blank registration form, still struggling with everything she’d heard.

She’d liked Lord Black already. Seeing him approach usually meant a completed contract and a pleasant conversation.

But she’d been laughing at those women herself. He’d stood beside their notice and worried about whether they would survive it.

She wanted them home safely too, of course she did. But until he’d said it, she’d been far more interested in watching them finally get off their asses, and she felt ashamed of how much she’d enjoyed their embarrassment.

She admired him with a tenderness that was entirely inconvenient for someone who needed to ask him routine questions.

"The greenskin extermination, then?"

"Together," Della confirmed. "Our party and Unbound."

"I heard."

The clerk listed both parties on the registration form and passed Della the pen. While Della checked the details and entered her companions’ names, Black waited beside her with his hand resting on Vex’s shoulder.

"And how would you like the reward divided?" the clerk asked.

"They can keep it."

The pen stopped in Della’s hand.

"My lord?"

"The three of them can have our share as well," Black said. "Money isn’t my concern this time."

The clerk looked from his visor to the women beside him. Della was staring up at him, still holding the pen above the unfinished line, while Brena had pressed her lips together with an expression of helpless delight.

Tavi bit her lower lip.

"I thought chivalry died a long time ago," she murmured.

"Apparently it’s been busy elsewhere," Brena whispered back.

Their shoulders touched as Tavi leaned closer to her, squeezing her thighs together beneath her skirt. The clerk could hardly blame her. She was having considerable difficulty maintaining a professional expression herself.

"That’s very generous of you, Lord Black," she managed.

"It’s not happening."

Della put the pen down.

The clerk blinked at her.

"You’re already coming with us," Della told him. Her cheeks were still burning, but her voice had recovered some of its usual firmness. "We can’t have you do that and hand us the earnings as well."

"I don’t mind."

"We know," Brena said, looking as though the reminder might undo her. "Believe me, we know. But you should have the reward. All of it."

"Yes," Tavi agreed immediately.

The clerk’s gaze passed over the three of them. These were the same women she’d practically threatened into finding work, and now they were competing over who could give up their pay first.

"The whole reward?" Black asked.

"And whatever else we make from the clearance," Della said. "You and your party can have it."

"You’re the ones who found the contract."

"And you’re the ones we’d be very lucky to go with."

She glanced toward his companions before meeting his eyes again. The clerk could see her struggling to put the rest into words; Brena reached out and touched her shoulder while Tavi stayed unusually quiet.

"We get to kill greenskins," Della continued. "We get to do it with you and your family beside us. You could be somewhere else entirely, but you offered to come with us. That’s already..."

Her voice softened, and the clerk wished she could finish the sentence for her.

"That’s already a privilege, Lord Black. Please don’t make us take your money too."

For all the blatant admiration on their faces, the women meant it. Della had even pushed the form away from the clerk, as though she feared the surrender of Unbound’s share might slip into the agreement while she wasn’t watching.

Brena moved her hand from Della’s shoulder to the counter.

"We’ll earn our part out there. We know we won’t be doing what your company can do, but we’ll work. You can have the proceeds."

"Gladly," Tavi added. "And you really don’t have to pay us to spend the day with you."

Vex grinned, her fingers curling around Black’s wrist where it rested on her shoulder.

"That much was becoming quite clear."

Tavi’s answering smile had very little shame left in it.

The clerk looked at the empty space beside the reward clause. At the next desk, her colleague had stopped sorting forms to listen with her full attention.

"We’ll decide on the division once the mission is completed successfully," Black announced.

"That doesn’t mean we’re accepting your share," Della warned him.

"It means we’re agreeing to finish the job before arguing about the payment."

She studied his helmet, plainly suspicious of how reasonable he sounded. Then she looked to Brena and Tavi, who both nodded to her.

"All right. We can agree to that."

The clerk recorded the payment arrangement and stamped the contract once Della and Black had signed. Della held her copy where Brena and Tavi could read their names alongside Unbound’s, her friends crowding against her shoulders.

Tavi looked up at Black with a radiant smile.

"We’re ready whenever you are, my lord."

And just like that, it was time to venture out with the three professionally yapping fangirls!