Chapter 9: Victorious return

 Vincent: Archer, finally getting ranked. Unhappy, for not being the one for Augustine. 

"Is that... slime jell-o?" The guild master asks, and I smile up at him. If the jell-o is good for something, then it is as proof. I barely managed to talk Augustine into bringing it here before he tried to peddle it to one shop or the other. 

"I...see," he says, but something tells me that he really doesn't. 

"It is our belief that we must use a dungeon to its fullest," Augustine says next to me, and hands the guild master a spoon. "Do eat. It is like a fruit salad." 

The guild master takes the spoon, and then scoops up a bit of the jell-o and eats it. He closes his eyes, and hums. Then, he opens them, and eyes Atha from head to tail. 

"By using the dungeon to its fullest, you mean taking the dungeon core for a party member, as well?" He asks, as he shoves even more jell-o into his mouth.

"It has been done before. The hamster dungeon core..." I begin, but then the man snorts. 

"You shouldn't try and copy the Try Hard Party. Let me guess, one of you had the bright idea to start an in-party harem?" The guild master levels us with a look. I see from the corner of my eyes that Augustine shifts in place. He chuckles, and that is all that is needed, to give us away. "Just don't start too much trouble. The Adventuring Union might be a thing of the past, but Huergaz is still rich from its guild, and can crush our backwater town without too much trouble." 

"We understand," Atha says, but I can see that he neither wants to believe it, nor is he ready to give up. 

"I guess, you want to be ranked now?" The guild master asks, and we nod. 

What sort of rank will we get? Not only did we clear out the dungeon, we recruited the dungeon core. Surely, our charisma is so off the charts, that our rank will be...

"F," he says simply, and we all deadpan. 

"I beg your pardon?" I ask, and the guild master chuckles. 

"You want to unhorse the one and only wonder healer. The one that made it to the rank of Hero, when he turned 18. And that was only because heroes can't be named, unless they are legal. So, you will start where he started. You are all ranked F. Good luck on your quests," with that, the man left us in the lobby. 

"But, but..." Augustine was at a loss for words, and I can understand him. I mean, his skills with the harp are top-notch. When Leander started his career, he was fat, and didn't even know the quick heal. It is unfair to start us off at his level. 

"That is ok, we just need to work hard," Atha says, and claps us both on the backs. He is between Augustine and I, so he can easily take point, when we are about to begin fighting. Or, at least, that is what we discussed on our way back. Personally, I think he likes being in the middle, so he can swat us on the asses whenever he pleases. 

"That is so unfair. We are not kids, like how Leander was, when he started," Augustine grumbles. "I am twenty-three, for crying out loud!" 

The two turn to me, and I blush then. 

"Twenty," I say, and look down at my feet. I wait for the teasing, but it never comes. 

"I feel like a leacher," Atha says suddenly, and I glare at him. 

"Five years is not that big of an age gap," I protest, but he just shrugs. 

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"It is still an age gap," he protests, and then bites his lower lip. "At least you are both legal. Harem rule number twenty: Only people aged twenty and up are allowed to join the harem." 

Augustine nods, and I look between them. 

"Are you telling me that I almost didn't make the cut for the harem, of which I was the first member?" I ask, and Atha chuckles. 

"I am suggesting twenty years, because of you. You, my adorable silver-blonde cuteness have a too neat of an ass, for me to pass up," Atha tells me with a smirk, that leaves me at a loss for words. Huh, so Augustine is not the only pervert in the harem. 

"So, we agree that the harem is mine?" Augustine asks, and I poke out my tongue at him. 

"You are the glue that keeps us together. Now, we must plan for my expansion," Atha says, and he wraps his arms around our shoulders. I let him bring our heads closer, and he continues. "There is this dungeon that has been pissing me off, but it is in the Dungeon Union." 

"We can't tangle with the Dungeon Union," Augustine shots him down, without any mercy. "Wait until you have leveled to a proper level, or rank." 

"Oh, come on! It is the Dungeon of Flies. The flies there are as big as a head, and like to eat slimes," Atha whines, but Augustine just scrunches up his nose at him. 

"We can't cook flies," he says. 

"They are considered delicacies in some countries," I say, but then he glares at me. 

"We are not cooking flies," he says, setting his foot down. 

"They collect honey. Special Blue Bell honey. The dungeon core created them especially for that purpose," Atha says, and then leans in, so he can whisper in Augustine's ear. I make out the words: sweeter, and herbal, and Augustine's face splits into a grin. 

"Let us ransack the Dungeon of Flies!" He yells, and we get a couple of looks from the other people in the lobby. 

"That is the spirit," Atha kisses Augustine on the cheek, probably to butter him up, and then turns towards me, and looks pointedly at me. 

"I can't stop him from gathering ingredients," I say, and Atha nuzzles his nose to mine. Hm, I can get used to this. Maybe, this whole harem thing is not a bad thing? 

"We leave tomorrow," Augustine declares, as he pats his bottomless bag. "First, we need to sell all the slime jell-o." 

"Seeing as it is my slimes that you farmed," Atha says, all business-like. "I demand 50% of the shares." 

Augustine nods, and looks at me. 

"I'll give you 30%, seeing as you were the one that knocked out the nucleus from the slimes," he tells me, and my shoulders relax. With the money, I can go and buy a new bow.

There is this model, called the Firebolt, designed by both Jean and Armaros, that takes less mana to form an arrow than usual, and has a self-maintaining rune on it, devised by Dorian himself.  

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