Chapter 14: Chapter 12.2: A dream, soap making, and Mia’s family. (Part II)

Echoes of Fire and Shadows

Chapter 12: A dream, soap making, and Mia’s family. (Part II)

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A few interesting things have happened today…

The day started quite normally, I woke up, I helped my mom make breakfast, had breakfast with her, Liliana, Luna, and Mia, then we went shopping shortly after.

My dad and my Auntie were long gone. They actually went to train really early in the morning…

Anyway, we went to a really nice and expensive-looking store. We spent most of the early morning there because my mom and sisters were insisting on making me try on some clothes they liked and trying some themselves.

Because of my lack of sense of fashion, I was and still am really grateful for their help.

After we were done there, we left our new clothes back home since the store was close by and then we decided to go to the market.

There, while I was admiring the strange yet appetizing food and the goods that the local merchants had for sale, I noticed a very particular problem that made me extremely concerned.

Hygiene didn't seem to be a big concern for the regular people and for good reason… Soap and other hygiene products were absurdly expensive…

Now, I think I should explain how the currency of the Empire works before telling you the price of soap.

The Empire's currency is called "Des". The currency mainly consists of five types of coins of different sizes, materials, and values.

There's the Copper Coin, which is worth 1 Des and it is the smallest coin. This is the most used coin. If you get ten of those copper coins, then you get a Silver Coin, which is worth 10 Des. After that, there's the Red Silver coin, which is 10 Silver Coins and it is worth 100 Des. 

With 10 Red Silver Coins, you'd have a Gold Coin. A coin which is worth 1000 Des. This coin is mostly used by nobles, merchants, or well-off individuals. With a hundred of these coins, you will be able to use a Red Gold Coin. Which is worth 100,000 Des. Only the Emperor and the richest noble families have access to them.

The currency is not really that difficult to understand. Common people use copper, silver, and red silver coins while well-off individuals use the rest of the coins.

Now the price of soap, which is one of the most vital products that one must buy in order to avoid diseases and to keep oneself clean, is roughly 1,467 Des per bar.

For the common farmer, that would be like paying almost all of their earnings from the year's harvest.

So, it is outrageously expensive…

The soap that I saw on the stalls and stores that sold hygiene products was not that good either… It had a strong smell of lye and the PH level seemed terrible for one's skin...

Mom then told me that the one we have at home was double the price than the one I saw since it had a better quality. That soap was bought in the capital from a master artisan who had a high-level skill for his craft, something which of course makes it reasonable for the soap to be so expensive.

I really felt like I had a big problem on my hands and that got me thinking: "I'm sure there must be an inexpensive way to make a more affordable soap with better quality."

That's when I remembered when my Dad from Earth got into soap making when he saw an internet tutorial. He asked me if I wanted to give it a try and I agreed.

Since it wasn't that long ago, I still remember the process, the materials needed and some general information about soap making.

I then told my mom what I wanted to do and asked if we could buy some materials for it.

She agreed, but… She went a little bit overboard… Not only did she buy the ingredients, but she also bought cooking utensils and alchemy equipment to use for soap making exclusively. 

In hindsight, that was really intelligent on her part, but a bit unnecessary as well… I only really needed a big pot, a bowl, a few spoons, several molds, a ladle, and the ingredients…

Of course, I thanked her profusely for it. My mom said that the only condition for me to use those materials and equipment was to teach the twins, Mia and her, how to make soap as well.

I obviously agreed to teach them since I thought it would be fun making soap together.

After we bought everything I needed, we returned to Auntie's house and immediately started making our own soap. I even got the [Crafting: Soap Making] skill.

Everything went fine until… Well… Mia's family came to see us… Their visit revealed something that I was completely unaware of…

Apparently, asking to touch the ears of a rabbitfolk is considered a marriage proposal…

Since I asked Mia if I could touch her ears and she accepted, that means that she accepted to get married to me…

Yep… I'm currently engaged to Mia…

As soon as I was told that, I ended up being speechless due to the cultural difference and the shock provoked by knowing that I had suddenly gotten engaged…

However, I was not the one who had a strong reaction…

Mia's father, Harold, was as shocked or possibly even more shocked than me. He had a panic attack and everything.

Everyone else apparently took our sudden engagement really well. Mia's mother, Natalie, took it extremely well…

Perhaps a bit too well...

She ended up hugging both me and her daughter for quite a long time while I was recovering from the shocks of the news…

For a second, I thought that my spine would shatter into a million pieces…

Luckily for my spine, I was saved by my mother.

After that, my mother, Mia's mother, Liliana, Luna, and also Mia herself talked for hours about our future wedding.

And that would basically bring us to what is happening to me right now…

All of us, with the exception of my sisters and Mia, are back inside Auntie's house having tea and some cookies.

Liliana and Luna took Mia somewhere because they wanted to have a girl talk or something like that…

I'm currently sitting on Natalie's lap. She insisted on it…

"You're pretty huggable, you know that? You're so soft and warm!" Natalie hugged me tightly while rubbing her cheek against my own cheek…

I can see why Mia is so clingy... It is most probably due to her mother…

Sigh… This is one of those moments where I wish I could be a tall and muscular Monster Hunter like my dad…

Getting called soft all the time is starting to hurt my pride… I want to have some muscles dammit!

"That's what I have been told…" I smiled bitterly while thinking of my own mother and older sisters.

Well, At least I was able to pour our future soap into the molds, so I don't need to worry about it until tomorrow.

What worries me a bit is what to do about my sudden engagement… It is a very concerning problem...

Saying something like: "I didn't know I was asking for marriage" or "I didn't mean to do that" would surely backfire in this situation…

Why?

Because: A) Mia would definitely be hurt and I would like to avoid that, and B) Mia's Father, Harold, is looking at me with the very recognizable "I'll kill you if you hurt my daughter" look on his face…

"..." Harold was still looking at me very intently with a menacing look on his face…

I'm not really scared… I'm simply proceeding with caution while deciding how to deal with this...

I don't think he would try since my Dad wouldn't allow him to do something harmful to me, but I still need to be careful...

Sigh… I’m going to be honest with you, I'm not really sure about what to do about this situation...

I couldn’t help but look at one of the culprits of this particular problem, my Mom…

She had her usual gentle expression on her face. Her eyes were sparkling as well…

(I would have liked her to tell me about this tradition of the rabbitfolk, you know…) I thought while looking at her.

I guess my only choice right now is hoping that the problem will fix itself eventually...

"Well, now that we are all reunited with the exception of my husband, what do you guys think about moving to our village?" My mother asked Harold, Natalie, and Klein.

"Hmm? I don't really care. If it is quiet, then I'm okay with it." Klein spoke with an uninterested tone while reading a book.

Klein is apparently a year older than me, but he's also a bit shorter than me. He's 1.25 meters tall.

For the record, Natalie is over 1.86 meters tall and Harold is around 1.95 meters tall. So those two are currently the tallest people in the room.

"I want to get to know my son-in-law, so of course, I want to move in!" Natalie was playing with my hair for some strange reason that escapes my understanding…

"I expected as much~" My mother smiled at Natalie and me. "What about you, Harold? What do you think?" My mother asked the tall rabbit man.

"I don't want to move." He declared with a serious expression.

Huh… I thought for a second that all of them wanted to move… That was a bit unexpected...

Natalie and Klein didn't seem surprised… In fact, they didn't even react at all!

"I understand. May I know the reason why?" My mother kept her usual gentle smile while looking at Harold.

"I was born here. My wife and my children were born here as well. Our home is here." He looked really determined for a moment. "Moving away is also very expensive…" He averted his gaze while smiling awkwardly.

"It is still less costly than having to keep paying for your gambling addiction and your debts." Natalie retorted with a deadpan tone.

"Ugh…" Harold immediately shrank into his chair, as if he was trying to hide from his wife.

Oh… So what Mia said the other day at dinner was true…

"Harold, stop trying to appear cool or keep up appearances with Lilia. We have been friends long enough to know that those things don't matter." Natalie said with annoyance. "Lilia, as you might have imagined, we are broke. Like extremely broke… We can't even afford to open our business past this week." Without any shame, Natalie immediately admitted that to my mother.

I think I admire Natalie now…

"Some thugs even came to our house the other day. It is a good thing that we live right beside the quarters of the guards." Klein said with the same uninterested tone from before.

Oi… Don’t say something like that so casually…

I could only look at Harold and wonder what kind of people he was gambling with…

Not the good kind, I am at least sure of that…

"But what are we going to do then? We have no way to pay for a wagon or to even build a new house!" Harold facepalmed.

"That's not really a problem, you know? Fred and I were actually talking about going to buy horses and a wagon or two for ourselves, so you don't need to worry about that part. And about a house, we can just help you build one. Fred and I built our own house in just a few days. It is actually very easy." My mom smiled warmly.

So the two of them actually built our house? That's actually incredible!

"And about the matter of your debt... Fred is already handling that part." My mom took a sip from her tea.

"I don't know why, but I have the feeling that he's not handling that in a peaceful manner…" Harold smiled bitterly while looking at his own cup of tea.

"Who cares about some random thugs being beaten into a pulp!" Natalie scoffed. "Besides, we have a new family member and that's a good reason for me to want to move out!" Natalie suddenly started nuzzling against the back of my neck.

I got caught off guard by that and I ended up flinching… 

Jeez… My mother-in-law is more clingy than my fiancée…

Oh well, at least my mother-in-law is nice to me.

"But…" Harold still seemed unsure.

"Harold, let's face it. Our life here was good, but it has stagnated. I really think we can do much better being close to our family friends. You know that both the kids and I are on board about having a new beginning, why aren't you?" Natalie got a bit emotional. She started crushing my spine again thanks to her sudden tight hug…

It hurts…

"…" Harold opened his mouth to say something back, but he couldn't. He simply stared at Natalie for a while with a conflicted expression.

"Peace and quiet would be great. Living in a forest and only hearing the sounds of nature would be amazing!" Klein closed his book and looked at his dad with a pleading expression.

Harold looked at his son for a moment with a serious expression… He then closed his eyes and crossed his arms.

"I guess It should be fine to move out from here and start anew." He admitted with some difficulty.

"See? It wasn't so difficult!" Natalie stopped crushing my spine… But she then started ruffling my hair with excitement…

At least I can breathe properly now...

Anyhow, I guess Mia and her family are moving to our village now...

"Although I don't want to stop being a merchant, we should at least try to keep some business here. We just need the right product to be successful…" Harold got lost in his own thoughts after deciding that they were moving out from Norvek.

"About that… " My Mom suddenly grinned from ear to ear. "I think I know someone who can give you some interesting ideas." My mom looked directly at me.

Harold, Klein, and Natalie also started to look at me very intently.

It really doesn't take a genius to guess what my Mom is suggesting.

"We'll talk about business when you guys are settled in your new home. For now, how does a welcoming party sound?" My Mom showed us her smile which was full of excitement.

Mom sure loves parties huh…

"I'm on board with that idea!" Natalie hugged me tightly to express her excitement.

"I don't see why not, how about if we play some card games? I can think of some amazing prizes!" Harold asks with a smile on his face.

"If it involves gambling, then no." Klein immediately rejected his father's proposal.

Both my mother and my future mother-in-law nodded in agreement.

Well, at least we know that our new neighbors are good people. I'm actually a bit happy that I was able to meet them.

I'll have to think of a way to solve my current predicament with Mia though...

Also, that reminds me… I wonder how Dad and Auntie are doing.

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-----Martin's POV-----

Seriously… How did I get involved with this?

I was walking through an alleyway that was filled with corpses and blood.

"..." I tried to ignore the disaster in front of me while walking towards a door at the end of the alleyway.

As I got closer to that door, the sight of corpses and blood started getting more and more frequent.

It was hard to keep my lunch in my stomach thanks to such a violent carnage.

Men… Women… It didn't matter for those two… There wasn't a single corpse here which was intact…

It was almost impossible to ignore the piles of limbs and the spilled organs that belonged to the corpses.

If I hadn't been an adventurer in my youth, I would probably be extremely traumatized by now…

Well, it doesn't matter if I was an adventurer or not… I'm still pretty grossed out about this violent display…

"I need a new job…" I muttered while I did my best to ignore the carnage.

It didn't take long for me to finally reach the door.

I stopped for a second before going in. I hesitated about going inside after witnessing what those two did outside… 

(Is it really a good idea to go in?) I asked myself that question while looking at the door.

Sigh… Staying here and facing the wrath of that lunatic bitch will probably be worse than this…

I quickly prepared myself for any possible gruesome sight and went into the building.

A mountain of a man and a petite woman were fighting against a group of thugs.

The previously luxurious furniture and decorations of the building were completely ruined by the battle and the blood of the thugs...

"C'mon! This is not nearly enough to be called a warm-up!" Tiria was grinning from ear to ear. 

As soon as she said that, she disappeared from view…

After she disappeared, one of the thugs let out a blood-chilling scream…

When I looked in the direction the scream came from, I saw Tiria repeatedly stabbing a thug to death with a dagger.

Yeah... The lunatic bitch known as the [Demonic Wind] is back at it again…

I think I'll see how things play out from a safe distance…

You are reading story Echoes of Fire and Shadows at novel35.com

"Johan! No!" One of the thugs yelled when they saw his companion being murdered.

"We gotta save him! We need a healer!" Another thug shouted with an expression filled with fear.

But despite their desire to save their comrade, it was already too late for him.

Tiria used her incredible strength and kicked the dying thug towards the wall

As soon as the thug's body hit the wall, a loud "CRACK" was heard. The thug had been launched so fast and so hard that he went through the wall, leaving a massive hole in it.

Tiria simply watched while dusting her clothes.

"That's one down! Now… Do we have any other volunteers?" Tiria asked innocently.

How could the gods create someone so terrifying…?

"A healer! We need a healer for Johan!" A thug shouted while looking at the injured man through the hole in the wall.

All of the thugs looked at Tiria and the unmoving Fred with both fear and anger…

One of the thugs immediately came forward and prepared his longsword.

"Stop being bitches! Johan is dead, so what!? I won't stand being killed by this traitorous bitch!" He looked at Tiria. "You're gonna regret betraying us like this!" He then pointed his sword at her.

"Nathan is right! I won't be killed by that bitch!" A large thug prepared his battle axe.

"Me neither! We gotta teach her that no one betrays our group and walks away unpunished!" Another thug grabbed a javelin from the floor and prepared himself to launch it.

The rest of the thugs immediately started joining their wrathful companions. Their battle cry resounded all across the room…

I'll pray for the poor bastards who don't know what they are getting themselves into…

However, I can only find admirable how determined they look despite having witnessed a small glimpse of Tiria's strength.

"Hoh… You guys seem pretty motivated! Are you sure you guys will be up to the challenge?" Tiria took her battle stance and prepared herself to face the thugs.

But before she or the thugs could even do anything, Fred placed his hand on her shoulder.

"It's my turn now." He grinned while holding an enormous axe with his other hand.

The previously motivated thugs were now extremely cautious of the pair. No… Some of them look as if they have already fallen into despair.

“But I haven’t even started with these guys yet!” Tiria protested with an expression filled with annoyance.

Lunatic...

“You took care of the guys outside, so you’ve had plenty of fun already. Besides, I think that the guy from before should be far enough to make it interesting for you to chase him.” Fred quickly pointed at the door behind the group of thugs.

Tiria quickly went from annoyed to somewhat excited.

“I don’t know if that fat guy could have run that far, but I guess I’ll have to see for myself.” Tiria started stretching while the thugs looked at her and Fred with a mix of fear and caution. “Let’s see who is the fastest. If I capture the guy first and return here, I win. If you take care of these guys before I return, you win. The prize will be the same as usual, the loser has to pay for all the drinks of the winner for an entire night.” Tiria smiled warmly at Fred.

“Seems like you’re prepared to lose a lot of money then, Tiria.” Fred sneered at Tiria.

“You’ll see! I will win like last time!” Tiria spoke with confidence before she completely disappeared from view.

A gust of wind assaulted me as soon as I noticed the disappearance of the lunatic bitch that is my boss. 

I was left with her even crazier mentor…

“Now then…” Fred lowered his axe and drove into the ground. “Who’s first? A little warning though, if you don’t come to me, I will go to you.” He smiled at the thugs.

It was just as I thought, both Tiria and Fred are both crazy people… I regret the day that I involved myself with them…

Just as I was questioning my life choices, I noticed that Fred had started walking towards the group of armed thugs while leaving his axe behind.

The thugs quickly prepared their weapons to face him, even though most of them knew who they were dealing with. Some of the thugs were already trembling in fear because they knew how screwed they were.

“Fuck this! If I’m gonna die, then at least I’ll be going to the realm of the Goddess of War!” The most tough-looking thug immediately took a step forward and readied his long sword.

Fred kept walking towards the group with confidence. He only stopped when he was just outside the attack range of the previous thug.

“Take this you asshole! I won’t stand here being afraid of you! Fuck that!” The thug screamed at Fred as loudly as he could before dashing at him.

The thug raised his sword into the air and infused mana on it, which made the blade emit a pale yellow glow.

He used [Elemental Haki: Earth] huh…

[Elemental Haki] is a skill that allows the user to coat their weapon or even their own limbs with one of the [Six Primordial Elements] in order to enhance the power and the speed of their attacks or even the durability of their weapons.

As the name implies, [Elemental Haki: Earth] uses the Earth Element to increase the durability of a weapon as well as the defense of the user. This skill is often used against opponents with heavy armor.

The thug made a smart move, but it is nothing but futile.

“Fucking die!” The thug shouted as he swung his sword downwards towards Fred’s head. The veins on his arms became even more visible because of the amount of effort and mana he was putting into his attack.

The attack was extremely fast… A newbie adventurer would have no chance of avoiding it, much less deflecting it.

But the one receiving the attack clearly is not a rookie adventurer…

I witnessed how the sword quickly approached Fred’s neck and he simply stood there doing nothing about it. He wasn't going to dodge it or counter the attack of the thug… He didn’t need to do any of those things.

The sword clashed against the neck of the [Skull Crusher]... A loud metallic sound was heard all across the room as soon as the sword hit Fred’s neck. Yet… There was no blood in sight.

As expected, it was futile.

“Huh…” The bandit stood there, looking at the man known as the [Skull Crusher] with befuddlement.

The sword of the bandit had not only been bent and then broken in half like a twig, but it had also separated itself from its handle. The blade ended up falling to the ground, making a loud crashing sound as soon as it landed.

The arms of the thug looked no better… They were twitching and trembling a lot, it was as if he had hit a wall entirely made out of Orichalcum with his sword.

“It was a nice attack. I actually felt that! Good job!” Fred smiled innocently and even gave a genuine compliment to the thug. “It is a shame someone with potential like you decided to work for people like the Laurents though.” Fred spoke with disappointment while shaking his head.

The thug and his group immediately looked at Fred with despair.

Hell! His tone even made me feel chills down my spine!

“As the law of the Empire dictates, I will carry out your execution. For the crimes of human trafficking, sex trafficking, ownership of slaves, murder, and some other crimes, I sentence all of you to die.” Fred looked at them with a serious expression while preparing his knuckles.

“M-M-Monster! W-W-We must... R-Run away! Quick!” The thug who had his sword obliterated by Fred shouted with an expression filled with terror.

He was about to turn around to run to his companions, but Fred grabbed his shoulder.

“May the Goddess of the Death find an appropriate punishment for you, scum!” Fred suddenly showed his anger.

The [Skull Crusher] then launched a devastating punch to the stomach of the thug.

The blow was so powerful that it sent a gust of wind in my direction…

I could already tell that the thug was done for. Since it was an attack from the [Skull Crusher] himself, as a minimum, the thug should have several broken bones.

"Guuugh…" The thug ended coughing up blood.

Fred, with an emotionless look on his face, launched another punch at the already defeated guy.

This punch was going to be way more powerful than the last…

"I hope that the Goddess Skell is able to reform you." Fred spoke as his punch was approaching the man.

As soon as it came into contact with the face of the man, a loud SNAP was heard.

The man was immediately sent flying due to the sheer strength of Fred's attack.

Just like the other thug from before, the man ended up going through the wall and making another huge hole in it.

There was no doubt in my mind that the man was dead.

"Well, I don't really like drinking much nowadays, but I do like winning bets against my former student. Because of that, I'm going to send you all to the afterlife quickly. I hope you don't hold a grudge about it." Fred spoke with a warm and friendly tone while walking towards the terrified group of thugs.

Of course it was going to end like this... 

There are few people alive who can fight the [Skull Crusher], and there are even fewer people who can claim to have defeated him.

From the moment he and Tiria set their sights on this group, these men were doomed.

"Just think of waterfalls, Martin…" I muttered to myself as I turned around in order to avoid watching the carnage.

I tried to get lost in my own thoughts in order to ignore the dying screams of the group of thugs…

After what seemed like an eternity, the screams finally stopped.

"Phew… It's been a while since I had to do some cleaning like this." Fred sounded relaxed.

I turned around only to see that the walls of the room were all covered in enormous holes… 

There wasn't a single corpse in sight, but I knew that it was impossible for those guys to survive.

"Sigh… At least you make my job and the guards' job easier since you don't leave much clean-up to do. Unlike a certain someone…" I sighed heavily as I approached Fred.

"Hang in there. I know she can go a bit overboard at times, but she's working on it." Fred scratched the back of his head with an uncomfortable expression.

"That's a lie if I have ever heard one…" I muttered, but I was convinced that he heard me.

There's no way that the [Demonic Wind] would be able to control the trails of destruction left by her…

Just as I was thinking about my boss, she suddenly appeared in front of us with a fat, short and bald man in tow.

The fat, short and bald man looked completely traumatized. He was missing a foot and a hand.

"Victory is mine!" She proclaimed her victory as soon as she arrived. "Ehh?" She was then left dumbfounded as soon as she saw what Fred had done.

"It's my win, Tiria. I hope you have a lot of savings!" Fred patted her shoulder and showed her a teasing smile.

"Dammit! If it wasn't for this fat fuck and his fucking magic tool I would have won!" Tiria quickly pinned the blame of her defeat on the fat fuck who was beside her. "How the fuck did you get your hands on a [Spatial Ring]!?" Tiria started kicking the bald man repeatedly.

Ah, so he escaped from her using teleportation… That was not very smart on his part…

[Spatial Rings] only work once and they can only teleport you less than a kilometer away from your original location. It would be useful if we were talking about common guards or rookie adventurers, but he was dealing with Tiria, thus it was a foolish move on his part. He should have just surrendered without offering any resistance

I can understand why my boss looks angry and frustrated. She must have run at full speed to catch him and then tortured the guy for making her put in some effort…

I can already picture the situation in my mind, since I, unfortunately, know my boss very well...

"Ugh! Stop! I'll talk! I'll talk! Just don't kill me!" The guy immediately started crying and pleading for his life while being kicked by Tiria.

Tiria stopped kicking him as soon as he started pleading.

Fred simply watched silently

"Tsk... I won't kill you yet just because I went through all the trouble of gaining the trust of your gang. In return, I want each and every single one of our questions answered." Tiria smiled innocently.

That smile immediately made me feel chills down my spine…

Gods, I hate seeing this woman's smile…

"I'll do it! I'll do it! Just don't kill me! Please let me live!" The man begged with tears in his eyes.

"We'll see…" Tiria gave him a vague answer. "First question: Why did that man send your group here, despite knowing what happened to the previous group?" Tiria showed the guy a knife. She even started playing with it…

This is, unfortunately, not the first time that I have witnessed this scene.

Tiria has been working on the shadows to keep Norvek without an underworld. This means that she has taken care of every single criminal gang that has appeared ever since she became a Guild Master.

"I was not sent here by his orders! We came here on our own volition after we stopped working for the Laurents!" The man quickly tried to move away from Tiria.

"I don't believe you at all." Tiria got closer with the knife.

The fat, short and bald man immediately looked at her with terror.

"He's not lying. My father would never waste so much money and manpower in a town like this one knowing that it is under our protection." Fred believed the guy.

"T-thank you so much, o powerful [Skull Crusher]!" The man immediately prostrated himself in front of Fred.

"Hmmm… Is that so? Then I, unfortunately, don't have any more questions for you. How disappointing... Thank you for your assistance though." Tiria smiled at the guy after thanking him. "You and your men suck at gambling and card games by the way." She sneered at the guy.

Without giving him time to react, Tiria stabbed the guy in the back of his head.

The knife immediately pierced the skull of the guy as if it was butter, killing the guy almost instantly.

"Playing cards with them was getting annoying… A few of them were trying to get into my pants while I was gaining their trust. I had to resist the urge to cut off their dicks right then and there!" Tiria spoke with annoyance as she took the knife out of the skull of the guy. 

"It is because of that attitude that you're still single, Tiria." Fred replied with a joke.

"That was very mean, Fred… My feelings were hurt. Please apologize." Tiria looked at him with a deadpan expression.

There's obviously no way she would be hurt by that…

"I'm just kidding. Hehehe! I'll probably stay single for the rest of my life!" Tiria admitted while giggling.

"You're very demanding with the type of person you want to marry…" I said to my Boss without caring about the possible repercussions.

"He's right about that, you should ease up your requirements a bit." Fred agreed with me.

"Nope! I won't marry anyone who's not capable of beating you up, Fred. And that's just the bare minimum!" Tiria replied proudly.

Yeah, she's probably going to end up dying alone. That would be for the best in my opinion… After all, the world doesn't need some miniature Tirias running around.

That's an image that will haunt me in my nightmares…

"Alright let's leave that discussion for another time... Let's go back home. Make sure that the guild returns every single Des to their original owners." Fred walked towards his enormous axe and grabbed it with one hand as if it was nothing…

"Of course! The Guild will handle it quickly!" Tiria nodded in agreement and then smiled confidently.

When she says: “The Guild” she’s actually referring to me...

"That includes giving Harold his money back, Tiria." Fred looked at Tiria with a deadpan expression.

"Jeez! Do you think that badly of me, Fred? That genuinely hurts, you know?" Tiria started shedding fake tears.

"Whatever. Just give him back his damn money. We don't want Natalie castrating the guy before we convince them to move to our village.” Fred simply turned around and started walking towards the door.

“Sigh… Fine, I’ll give him back his money… But there won’t be a next time if he gambles with me again!” Tiria’s fake tears immediately stopped. She immediately ran to catch up with Fred.

“I’m fine with that, but I don’t think Natalie or Lilia would be on board with that though.” Fred shrugged.

“The guy was not a good player anyway, so I'm not going to miss playing with him. His ears actually moved when he had a good hand, so it was easy to know whether to go in or not.” Tiria also shrugged.

“Aye. I guess this is for the better. The guy should simply focus on his business and get a new hobby.” Fred said to Tiria with a hopeful expression.

The two of them quickly left me in the scene of the massacre that those monsters themselves provoked.

“Sigh… I really need to get a new job… I’m getting too old to take care of the messes of those two…” I sighed heavily. “Well, let’s begin… Those corpses won’t be burnt by themselves…” I said with fake enthusiasm as I prepared myself for work.

I want some ale…

I started moving and burning the corpses left by my boss and her mentor while thinking of the sweet nectar made by the gods themselves as my motivation...

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Chapter 12: A dream, soap making, and Mia’s family. (Part II)

END

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