Elise jogs my way while dragging a person I’m not yet familiar with by the wrist. It looks a little comedic, to be honest. It wasn’t that long ago that she was the more timid one while interacting with me, save for the moments we shared in the guild, but right now, she beams at me joyfully while pulling a shy, blushing girl behind her back.
Well, I guess our little fun together got rid of that awkwardness. Not that I’m complaining.
Nevertheless, our black-haired receptionist is accompanied by a slightly shorter girl with ruby-red eyes that seem to gleam mysteriously. To add to that mystery, her long, straight hair has a similarly mystical, silvery shade. I’m not sure if it’s just my brain playing tricks on me but as her light grey strands flutter behind her back, a faint sparkle adorns the motion. As for her attire, she wears the same Adventurer’s Guild uniform in which I’ve been introduced to our dear Elise.
I think I can already guess what this charming newcomer’s occupation is.
The mystical girl does her best to avoid my gaze as I look their way, but fails to do so completely, and I do catch her glancing at me a few times. To say that she’s skittish would be an understatement. It doesn’t exactly look like she is too uncomfortable, but it’s obvious that Elise is pretty much forcing her assumed friend to come here. We’ll see if it’s really for her good.
Expecting another brief conversation, I move slightly to the side so that we don’t inconvenience the people working on the interior and such. The sooner the headquarters are finished, the better. We need to start taking commissions and making ourselves known so that Lianne can trust us with her jobs. It would look quite suspicious if a newly established company were to suddenly immediately start working with the kingdom.
So, I lean on the decently free wall and wait for the duo to get to me. They dodge and weave through the small crowd of construction workers and artisans. While Elise manages to avoid bumping into anyone, in her excitement, she doesn’t really take her companion into consideration. The silver-haired lady fails to match her evasive manoeuvres while being dragged like a piece of wet cloth, stumbling at least a few times and brushing her shoulders against some innocent bystanders, which evokes some frowns and vocal displeasure.
Sighing lightly, I raise a brow at the airheaded receptionist as they finally stop in front of me, both catching their breaths. “You know you didn’t have to run all the way here, right? I could have very well come to you if you just sent me a word that there’s something you need from me.”
“Sorry! I didn’t plan this encounter! At least not yet.” She smiles apologetically. “I was just showing the place to my friend here and thought it was the perfect opportunity to introduce her. She’s currently on a short break at the guild so I wanted to get to you as quickly as possible.”
“That’s more or less fine, but I think you should pay a bit more attention to your friend here. With how absorbed in your objective you were, she must have collected a fair set of bruises and scrapes.” I tilt my head to look past them and hint at the small chaos they created.
“Oh! I’m so sorry! I got a little too excited there! Are you okay? You are not hurt, right?” Elise faces her friend and pats the shorter girl all over with a concerned expression.
“It’s alright…” the person in question answers with a quiet, gentle voice, barely audible to me with how shy it sounds.
“Thank the Goddess. I promise to make it up to you. Sorry again,” Elise adds with a wry chuckle.
“So, may I know the reason behind your sudden distress? You mentioned showing your friend around. I’m not really against that, but we aren’t yet open here and I think it would be wiser to save such activities for after we are done setting things up. Or at least give me a heads-up about the visitor. Unless you did notify Ria or someone else,” I address her again as they both turn to me.
“Her being here is connected to why I wanted to speak with you.” She slips her hand into her friend’s palm. “After everything is ready, you are going to put someone at the reception to be the face of the company and to handle the introductions or requests, right?”
I nod at her. “Yes. Definitely.”
“And… Did you already find someone for that role?” Elise asks while softly biting into her lower lip.
“Honestly, I haven’t thought about it yet. I assumed there would be someone interested in taking the spot amongst the girls at the mansion. I would be fine with anyone Cornelia, Ria, or Elea assigned here. They had much more insight into this than me,” I answer while stroking my chin.
“Perfect!” she mutters under her breath while stealthily pumping her free fist. “I mean, I spoke with Ria and they don’t have anyone locked in yet, so I thought that maybe, you know, I could recommend someone myself? In the brothel, the only Humans amongst all the women are the receptionists, which is me and Cornelia, now I guess also including Ria as our accountant, but that is still in the shadows. We could perhaps make it a choice of style for all our establishments and also hire a Human girl for the headquarters, don’t you think? So, long story short, this is Lyona, and I think she would be perfect for us!”
The overexcited receptionist shoves her friend forward with a gentle push and a wide smile, relinquishing the stage to the other actress. I didn’t expect to be conducting any interviews today, but a brief chat can’t hurt, right? I have to admit that her idea isn’t that bad. As long as we pick the right person for the job.
Lyona keeps her pretty eyes glued to the ground as she curtsies politely with her short skirt. “My name is Lyona Altcroft… It’s my pleasure, Mister Alastair…”
And she ends at that, continuing to blush faintly and avoiding my eyes.
After taking one more look at the shy girl, I move my gaze to Elise. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but… That’s it?”
She rests her hands on Lyona’s shoulders from behind and gives me an awkward smile. “I swear, while she is a little bit quiet, Lyona doesn’t usually act like this. She is an experienced receptionist, one of the most popular too. She’s always been able to keep calm and collected while handling her adventurers, to the point where many registered with her just to gaze upon her ethereal beauty. But, she’s also super smart and hardworking. I know you would want someone talented for the spot rather than just a pretty face, but why not have both when you can? I assure you she’s worth it.”
“I admit that she certainly fulfils the first criteria perfectly, but there’s not much I can tell about the second part from our brief if not somewhat awkward introduction,” I reply while trying to find eye contact with the person in question and not really succeeding. “Are you alright?”
“It would be an honour to work with you, Mister…” Lyona whispers without changing her stance.
“Sorry. She really isn’t like this most of the time. Maybe she is a tad nervous right now, hahaha.” Elise tries to smile cheerfully while gently shaking her friend but I can tell that even she is getting slightly worried.
“What is there to be nervous about? She hasn’t lost her job and is struggling to quickly find a new one to support herself, right?” I glance at her before returning my attention to Lyona. “I swear there’s nothing to be worried about. I don’t bite.”
“No, she is still working at the same guild as I was in the past. We’ve been close friends. And still are. I’ve been keeping up with her since the day I quit. And well, we’ve been besties pretty much, so I shared a lot with her, like about my work for you, the establishment, the others, but also, you know, you. Including the fact that… Ummm… We are kind of together… And how happy I am… And how this exactly works for us with all your other wives… And such…” Elise explains, getting a bit embarrassed herself near the end.
That certainly clears up a thing or two. If they are as close as she’s suggesting, I’m sure there aren’t really that many secrets between them, and plenty of those have to be related to yours truly. It’s not that hard to imagine how embarrassing it might be to meet the person you’ve heard so many improper things about.
Anyway, I didn’t think she had any other best friends besides Ria from how she has introduced herself in the past, but maybe she’s just overselling this girl to help her out. Or she just didn’t feel like it was important to mention her close contacts in the guild. In the end, it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is what we are going to do with this situation.
“So, Lyona is still a guild’s employee, but she is looking for another job? May I know why?” I ask out of simple curiosity.
“You see, it all comes back to me quitting,” Elise begins her story. “As I mentioned earlier, Lyone was already quite popular, but when I suddenly disappeared, many adventurers that have been frequenting my station switched to hers, and I think I told you how common it was to be hit on during our work, at the very least. She enjoys this profession just as I do, but it gets a bit tiring sometimes. Lyona isn’t really the person to actually complain and even I had to literally wrench anything bad from her polite lips during our chats. I just know that she could do so much better, and when I realised that we would soon have an open spot, I wanted to bring her here to talk about the possibility of her joining us and introduce her to some of the girls, but well, we suddenly ran into you and it kind of spiralled out of control.”
“I see. And it’s not just Elise pushing you, right? You’ve been considering switching workplaces on your own?” I have to ask just in case there’s been a bit too much external influence.
Lyona nods faintly and it looks like that’s going to be all I get so I turn back to our current receptionist.
“Well, I can promise you to keep this in mind while looking at our available options. Since Lyona’s time here is limited right now, I would hate to bombard her with questions and make her late for her next shift. We’ll talk about this together later if you don’t mind, and I’ll naturally be in touch with your friend as much as possible, alright?” I smile at them kindly.
“Yeah, that’s fine. Sorry for springing this onto you out of the blue. Just let me know when and I’ll be ready to chat with you about anything you might want to know.” Elise reciprocates the smile while tenderly brushing Lyona’s shoulders. “We’ll excuse ourselves now, then. I’m going to accompany her back to the guild if that’s alright. I’ll be back in a moment. It’s my night today anyway.”
“Feel free to escort your friend back, of course. Have fun.” I wave at them as she pulls the blushing girl away and starts whispering into her ear.
I do catch a few questions about what happened back here and a bunch of apologies answering them, but I don’t intend to listen in on their conversation so I quickly tune out so as not to eavesdrop unintentionally. But, that doesn’t mean I’m yet fully finished with the peculiar duo.
“Hecate?” I glance towards one of the upper corners.
My sneaky bodyguard reveals herself and descends to the floor in front of me, surprising a few people with her unexpected appearance. She looks up at me with her usual, pretty cold expression, but it’s more than apparent that she is eagerly waiting for any command or request to aid me with my plans.
“Come with me. I need to stay out of sight for a moment. Do you think you can manage?” I ruffle through her hair as she nods in response.
We stroll out of the reception hall shortly after Elise and Lyona, making sure that they are far enough not to notice us. Then, Hecate latches onto my back like a koala and her spider legs get to work immediately. I catch a few glints and flashes of refracted light and the workers moving in and out next to us suddenly jerk in surprise, staring in our direction with visible confusion.
They jump again when I chuckle to myself, realising that we’ve literally vanished from their sight in a blink. Before someone walks right into us, I hastily make my way to the streets. Hecate spots the interesting pair first and points at them even though I can simply feel Elise’s presence. I start following them while hoping that she doesn’t notice mine through the bond, too focused on her friend.
From what I can tell, Lyona isn’t blushing as much as before, and while she still seems just as quiet and withdrawn, she does actually engage in a mutual conversation with Elise. The latter is doing most of the work but that’s a quite common arrangement between an introvert and an extrovert. Or at least some degree of those archetypes. Nothing is really that simple to categorise in the world.
The important thing is, the previously timid and shy girl does actually switch to a more refined, almost distant personality that Elise hinted at during our short introduction. I’m able to catch only a few glimpses of her calm and truly daydreaming face but it’s enough to understand where the appeal comes from. While not acting like a skittish bunny, she does have this unapproachable allure of a cool princess. The silvery-white hair and ruby eyes certainly add to it.
It doesn’t take long before we reach the guild and I follow the girls inside. It proves to be a challenge to sneak in without grazing against someone as a constant flow of people almost blocks the front entrance. I’m not sure how Hecate’s active camouflage threads will work in contact with something physical so I aim to avoid any. A person appearing out of thin air in a crowd would definitely cause at least a slight scene. Not to mention the spider-legged backpack I’m currently wearing.
I watch Elise escort Lyona to the very doors leading to the staff area and the two part ways with one last hug. It doesn’t look like our own receptionist has figured me out as she returns the same way we’ve all come in.
Good for me.
Finding a somewhat empty spot near the back wall of the lobby, I make myself as small as possible and simply wait. There are a few empty stations at the entire row of small windows so I keep my eyes peeled for our star of the show. Thankfully, the mysterious lady doesn’t make me wait long and I spot her unique features stepping into one of the free posts. Same as on her trip back here, she welcomes everyone with a collected expression, starting to shuffle through some documents under the counter.
Almost immediately, a quite decent number of adventurers head her way as if waiting for the girl herself. The majority are young guys, as expected, but she does attract some older dudes, as well as a bunch of girls too.
I never honestly thought about it but if cute female receptionists are this popular with male adventurers, why doesn’t the guild hire some handsome boys to appeal to the women? I bet some of them would still choose to register with the girls just for the peace of mind and not having to speak to a guy, but considering the typical female adventurer, that would attract even more attention to the guild.
Nonetheless, I observe as Lyona assists everyone with their reports, requests, and whatever other dealings an adventurer can have in the guild. While almost all the other receptionists smile warmly to welcome their protegees, she instead makes no real change to her serene expression. It doesn’t seem to bother her conversation partners either. Quite the opposite.
Still, just as Elise said, she takes her work very seriously and does her best to fulfil her responsibilities without a hitch. She looks to be well-organised and tidy from the glimpses of her notes and other things she hides on her side of the counter that I catch. I can’t really hear what she’s talking about but I think it’s given that she’s just as smart and knowledgeable as presented by her friend.
Ah. Right. I can read lips. I totally forgot about that.
After finding a good angle on the scarlet-eyed lady, I try to focus on her almost equally vibrant lips. Yet, I can tell that it’s just their natural shade, without the addition of any makeup or other supplements. Those plump, soft bumps definitely charm more than just a few people a day.
And that proves to be a tiny problem for me too.
It’s just damn hard not to absentmindedly stare at her sweet lips moving while missing eighty percent of words that I should be deciphering.
But, with some brief internal struggle, I manage to focus on the message rather than the messenger and listen in on the pretty receptionist. I quickly confirm that she is just as knowledgeable and sharp as Elise has made her be. Skimming over any more personal information, I admire her clear and simple explanations of quest details, what the area might entail, what kind of entities one could stumble on during their journey, how to best prepare for an encounter, and so on. She seems just as resourceful when it comes to the topic of the city itself and the guild’s rules and regulations.
Naturally, besides doing her job, she also experiences her fair share of less professional interactions, obviously initiated by the adventurers that approach her, either with an excuse of looking for their next quest, or more honest intentions which still somehow end up shoved aside in front of the delicate beauty. Even so, she handles any attempts to flirt with her exceptionally well, rarely batting an eye on different kinds of advances and strategies. I catch her supple lips twist into the faintest grimace only once or twice amongst the dozens of chats she shares with the adventurers.
I swear, some of this world’s pickup lines are ten times worse than the ones random dating expert dudes share on the Internet back home. It makes me cringe while listening in from afar without the actual sound and she has to deal with that face-to-face. My opinion of Lyona definitely rises by quite a lot just from that fact. Her ability to tolerate bullshit is praiseworthy. Maybe she really would make a good addition to our roster.
Deciding that I’ve stalked Elise’s mysterious friend long enough, I drag my attention away from the gorgeous receptionist and head back. Let’s maybe call it a field interview. A secret field interview. With a hidden camera. Just making sure that our upcoming employee is up to the company’s standard. Yeah.
Since I’m already in the city, I figure out that it won’t hurt to let Lianne know about the recent developments in person. I could of course discuss it all with her through our bond, but I know she appreciates my visits. Even if she ends up all over me during the majority of them instead of listening to my news or requests.
Dismissing Hecate and thanking her for her help, I move towards the castle, seeing just how fast I’m able to run through the capital with the use of my quite insane stats and godly body. It’s a real shame there are no magical speedometers here because I’m definitely breaking the carriage speed limits a bunch of times over. Thankfully, there are also no speed cameras to snap me a speeding ticket so I guess things balance out rather well.
And, maybe Sirgia will be able to put something together after my brief explanation. Even if it won’t really have much use besides for shit and giggles in this realm. Nothing would really change with me being able to know that I’m going fifty kilometres per hour and I don’t think there are illegal street carriage races during the night where the participants care about such measurements.
Maybe someday in the future after my little genius revolutionises the method of transportation with her brilliant ideas.
Anyway, I make it to the castle in a flash and a cloud of dust, spooking the guards a tiny bit. But, after they recognize me, they just laugh it off and offer a safe passage. Learning about my intentions, they send someone to inform the Queen and check if she isn’t busy with some important matters while I’m escorted to wait in one of the usual chambers.
It takes Lianne about twenty minutes to show up so she must have really been in the middle of something crucial. She enters the room wearing one of her amazing royal dresses and a pleasant smile on her angelic face. Standing up from my chair, I welcome her into my embrace after she rushes to my side.
“Back so soon?” She chuckles daintily after the brief kiss we share as a greeting.
“What can I say? I missed you really hard.” I smirk at her and steal one more peck before we sit down.
“What brings you here, then? I hope it’s not trouble.” She pours us both some fragrant tea.
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it trouble. It goes like this…”
As she gazes excitedly into my eyes, I briefly recount everything that happened since we split up after the cordial welcome I received from all my wives and mates. That includes the stuff with my unexpected ascension to demigodhood and our progress with the mercenary headquarters.
“Shoot! I knew I should have stayed behind! I missed so much fun stuff!” She wrinkles her nose in irritation after I finish up. “So, it looks like you are going to expand your little business much more than you first assumed. Not just into the mercenary market but even faith. What a time to be alive.”
“Do you think it will even work?” I run my fingers through my hair.
“It’s hard to say. But, we are definitely going to try, at least. After Lumina sends out her divine message, of course. Having the support of the most important religious figures in the capital will be of huge help,” Lianne replies with a grin. “I don’t think too many people will think badly of the kingdom trying to act according to the Goddess’ will, which is to welcome you into our realm as a second figure to direct our prayers to. It might actually be less of a problem than you think.”
“That would be a welcome surprise.” I smile wryly. “But, we should always expect the unexpected and prepare as much as we can.”
“True. I’ll discuss this matter with Ross and his advisors.” She takes a gentle sip to moisten her lips. “What about the place for your… office? Base of operations? Residence? I take it’s not intended to be a temple. Do you think any of the other buildings I suggested will fit?”
“I’m sure the neighbouring one either on the left or right will be fine. And yeah, I would rather not start with a sudden appearance of extremely characteristic symbolism and decorations that scream suspicious cult.” I nod at her. “We’ll take care of it after the headquarters are up and running. Plenty of other projects came up with them which also need some time and effort. There are big changes coming for the establishment.”
“Speaking of which, I think I found you your first job. If you are interested, that is.” Lianne waggles her brows at me.
“Already? Weren’t we going to gain some experience in the field first before moving on to our direct cooperation?” I furrow my brows.
“Oh, I’m just acting as an intermediary here. This isn’t a kingdom’s official request but just any normal commission that would have most likely made it to the Mercenary Guild and one of the companies registered there.” She waves it off. “If not for the fact that the petitioner was hoping to hire some of our royal knights for his cause.”
“What?” I snort at her.
“There’s a noble who is hosting a birthday party for his daughter and made a polite request to lend him a bunch of our knights to stand guard during the celebration, more as one of the entertainment factors than for safety concerns. He just wants them to stand around and look good, perhaps interact a little with the guests by showing off a tiny bit or such. Nothing too complicated,” Lianne explains.
“And he and the rest of his family would be okay with demi-humans from a completely fresh mercenary group?” I raise a brow at her.
“With how incredible the uniforms your girls wear are? Definitely!” She giggles softly. “As I said, it’s mostly about looks, presence, and appearances. I know them and they don’t belong to the extremist front. You shouldn’t need to expect any trouble or tension. A quick, simple request with decent pay and a good word making it into the noble circles. What do you say?”
“I’ll have to run it through the girls first, but if you are sure about this, then why the hell not?” I shrug and we raise our cups in a light cheer.
“Great. I’ll send them to you after your headquarters are ready so that they can make it fully official.” She beams at me happily. “I look forward to working with you and your girls in the future.”
“And so do I.” I wink at the Queen, evoking another cunning giggle from the scheming minx.
“Well, then. Returning to the previous topic for a moment, do you perhaps have any free spots left among your Devotees?” Lianne bats her eyelashes at me as she brings it up.
“Yeah, I do.” I shake my head with a wry grin. “I saved one for you while expecting this. Just promise me not to abuse your position and powers, alright?”
“I’m only going to find you some kind believers amongst the castle staff, nothing more,” she reveals her intentions. “And, of course, make sure I pray to you as much as possible so that you can grow into a big and healthy God of Sex! Speaking of which, how do we do that?”
I cough into my fist while roaming my gaze over her lithe frame and the Queen guesses the answer almost immediately. We end up registering her as my next Devotee, which soon enough evolves into a quickie on a sofa as Lianne insists on practising her prayers with me. We do confirm that it actually works and Lumina wasn’t just trolling me alongside Ailish. I can sense the generated divinity, which is then transferred to me through the quite intimate ritual.
To clear up any doubts and possible misunderstandings, I explain the prayers and rituals to her once more and we go our separate ways. Without wasting too much time, I jog back to the mansion and find Elise clearly waiting for me in the lobby, resting on one of the comfy sofas. She stands up as I approach her, holding her hands over her navel.
“I wanted to talk about Lyona but noticed that you’ve left for the castle so I waited for your return. Do you maybe have a moment?” she asks expectantly.
“I was going to find you for the same reason so let’s get straight to it.” I gesture at her to sit back while joining her on the opposite side of the coffee table.
“I would just like to say that I’m sorry for earlier. Please, don’t be too hard on Lyona and blame me instead. I had no idea she would react like that in front of you and I know I should have first consulted her rather than dragged her straight to your face. She really is an amazing girl and she was more than alright after we left, returning to her usual self,” Elise starts to explain.
“I know,” I interrupt her with a raised hand. “And that’s okay. It was something you didn’t expect. That happens from time to time, no matter how well we think we know others. I’m not going to immediately cast her away because of this single interaction. I can tell that you are telling the truth, but still, I would like to at least speak normally with my potential recruit before making the final decision. It will be a little tough if we have trouble communicating on a day-to-day basis, don’t you think? Still, I’m willing to give her a chance. Perhaps more than one since you are endorsing her so much.”
“Of course. It’s your right as the boss. Just pick a date and I’ll make sure she is prepared this time. We’ve already talked a bit and I’m going to meet with her tomorrow morning to continue.” She bobs her head eagerly. “Thank you. I truly appreciate this. It would be fantastic if she could enjoy working for us. And I’m sure she will be very motivated to do her best for the upcoming best mercenary troupe in the whole world!”
“We’ll see about that last part.” I chuckle lightly. “Now go. I bet you still have lots of stuff to do. Just like all of us.”
Elise jumps to her feet, salutes me with a big grin, and marches out of the lobby with a happy step. Before someone else approaches me with whatever query they might have, I locate my proud mercenaries in their barracks and explain the opportunity of our first-ever job given by Lianne. They are all too eager to prove themselves in the field and everyone initially agrees.
Leaving them to their own machinations, I slip out of their temporary locum as they lively discuss the mission amongst themselves.
Now, as for me, there’s still so much to do around the establishment and all other areas. But, the evening is quickly approaching and I would love to take part in one of the open nights after a long time of absence, just like in the good old times.
So, it’s time to prepare.
Saileri
Some fresh blood on the horizon.
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Elise jogs my way while dragging a person I’m not yet familiar with by the wrist. It looks a little comedic, to be honest. It wasn’t that long ago that she was the more timid one while interacting with me, save for the moments we shared in the guild, but right now, she beams at me joyfully while pulling a shy, blushing girl behind her back.
Well, I guess our little fun together got rid of that awkwardness. Not that I’m complaining.
Nevertheless, our black-haired receptionist is accompanied by a slightly shorter girl with ruby-red eyes that seem to gleam mysteriously. To add to that mystery, her long, straight hair has a similarly mystical, silvery shade. I’m not sure if it’s just my brain playing tricks on me but as her light grey strands flutter behind her back, a faint sparkle adorns the motion. As for her attire, she wears the same Adventurer’s Guild uniform in which I’ve been introduced to our dear Elise.
I think I can already guess what this charming newcomer’s occupation is.
The mystical girl does her best to avoid my gaze as I look their way, but fails to do so completely, and I do catch her glancing at me a few times. To say that she’s skittish would be an understatement. It doesn’t exactly look like she is too uncomfortable, but it’s obvious that Elise is pretty much forcing her assumed friend to come here. We’ll see if it’s really for her good.
Expecting another brief conversation, I move slightly to the side so that we don’t inconvenience the people working on the interior and such. The sooner the headquarters are finished, the better. We need to start taking commissions and making ourselves known so that Lianne can trust us with her jobs. It would look quite suspicious if a newly established company were to suddenly immediately start working with the kingdom.
So, I lean on the decently free wall and wait for the duo to get to me. They dodge and weave through the small crowd of construction workers and artisans. While Elise manages to avoid bumping into anyone, in her excitement, she doesn’t really take her companion into consideration. The silver-haired lady fails to match her evasive manoeuvres while being dragged like a piece of wet cloth, stumbling at least a few times and brushing her shoulders against some innocent bystanders, which evokes some frowns and vocal displeasure.
Sighing lightly, I raise a brow at the airheaded receptionist as they finally stop in front of me, both catching their breaths. “You know you didn’t have to run all the way here, right? I could have very well come to you if you just sent me a word that there’s something you need from me.”
“Sorry! I didn’t plan this encounter! At least not yet.” She smiles apologetically. “I was just showing the place to my friend here and thought it was the perfect opportunity to introduce her. She’s currently on a short break at the guild so I wanted to get to you as quickly as possible.”
“That’s more or less fine, but I think you should pay a bit more attention to your friend here. With how absorbed in your objective you were, she must have collected a fair set of bruises and scrapes.” I tilt my head to look past them and hint at the small chaos they created.
“Oh! I’m so sorry! I got a little too excited there! Are you okay? You are not hurt, right?” Elise faces her friend and pats the shorter girl all over with a concerned expression.
“It’s alright…” the person in question answers with a quiet, gentle voice, barely audible to me with how shy it sounds.
“Thank the Goddess. I promise to make it up to you. Sorry again,” Elise adds with a wry chuckle.
“So, may I know the reason behind your sudden distress? You mentioned showing your friend around. I’m not really against that, but we aren’t yet open here and I think it would be wiser to save such activities for after we are done setting things up. Or at least give me a heads-up about the visitor. Unless you did notify Ria or someone else,” I address her again as they both turn to me.
“Her being here is connected to why I wanted to speak with you.” She slips her hand into her friend’s palm. “After everything is ready, you are going to put someone at the reception to be the face of the company and to handle the introductions or requests, right?”
I nod at her. “Yes. Definitely.”
“And… Did you already find someone for that role?” Elise asks while softly biting into her lower lip.
“Honestly, I haven’t thought about it yet. I assumed there would be someone interested in taking the spot amongst the girls at the mansion. I would be fine with anyone Cornelia, Ria, or Elea assigned here. They had much more insight into this than me,” I answer while stroking my chin.
“Perfect!” she mutters under her breath while stealthily pumping her free fist. “I mean, I spoke with Ria and they don’t have anyone locked in yet, so I thought that maybe, you know, I could recommend someone myself? In the brothel, the only Humans amongst all the women are the receptionists, which is me and Cornelia, now I guess also including Ria as our accountant, but that is still in the shadows. We could perhaps make it a choice of style for all our establishments and also hire a Human girl for the headquarters, don’t you think? So, long story short, this is Lyona, and I think she would be perfect for us!”
The overexcited receptionist shoves her friend forward with a gentle push and a wide smile, relinquishing the stage to the other actress. I didn’t expect to be conducting any interviews today, but a brief chat can’t hurt, right? I have to admit that her idea isn’t that bad. As long as we pick the right person for the job.
Lyona keeps her pretty eyes glued to the ground as she curtsies politely with her short skirt. “My name is Lyona Altcroft… It’s my pleasure, Mister Alastair…”
And she ends at that, continuing to blush faintly and avoiding my eyes.
After taking one more look at the shy girl, I move my gaze to Elise. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but… That’s it?”
She rests her hands on Lyona’s shoulders from behind and gives me an awkward smile. “I swear, while she is a little bit quiet, Lyona doesn’t usually act like this. She is an experienced receptionist, one of the most popular too. She’s always been able to keep calm and collected while handling her adventurers, to the point where many registered with her just to gaze upon her ethereal beauty. But, she’s also super smart and hardworking. I know you would want someone talented for the spot rather than just a pretty face, but why not have both when you can? I assure you she’s worth it.”
“I admit that she certainly fulfils the first criteria perfectly, but there’s not much I can tell about the second part from our brief if not somewhat awkward introduction,” I reply while trying to find eye contact with the person in question and not really succeeding. “Are you alright?”
“It would be an honour to work with you, Mister…” Lyona whispers without changing her stance.
“Sorry. She really isn’t like this most of the time. Maybe she is a tad nervous right now, hahaha.” Elise tries to smile cheerfully while gently shaking her friend but I can tell that even she is getting slightly worried.
“What is there to be nervous about? She hasn’t lost her job and is struggling to quickly find a new one to support herself, right?” I glance at her before returning my attention to Lyona. “I swear there’s nothing to be worried about. I don’t bite.”
“No, she is still working at the same guild as I was in the past. We’ve been close friends. And still are. I’ve been keeping up with her since the day I quit. And well, we’ve been besties pretty much, so I shared a lot with her, like about my work for you, the establishment, the others, but also, you know, you. Including the fact that… Ummm… We are kind of together… And how happy I am… And how this exactly works for us with all your other wives… And such…” Elise explains, getting a bit embarrassed herself near the end.
That certainly clears up a thing or two. If they are as close as she’s suggesting, I’m sure there aren’t really that many secrets between them, and plenty of those have to be related to yours truly. It’s not that hard to imagine how embarrassing it might be to meet the person you’ve heard so many improper things about.
Anyway, I didn’t think she had any other best friends besides Ria from how she has introduced herself in the past, but maybe she’s just overselling this girl to help her out. Or she just didn’t feel like it was important to mention her close contacts in the guild. In the end, it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is what we are going to do with this situation.
“So, Lyona is still a guild’s employee, but she is looking for another job? May I know why?” I ask out of simple curiosity.
“You see, it all comes back to me quitting,” Elise begins her story. “As I mentioned earlier, Lyone was already quite popular, but when I suddenly disappeared, many adventurers that have been frequenting my station switched to hers, and I think I told you how common it was to be hit on during our work, at the very least. She enjoys this profession just as I do, but it gets a bit tiring sometimes. Lyona isn’t really the person to actually complain and even I had to literally wrench anything bad from her polite lips during our chats. I just know that she could do so much better, and when I realised that we would soon have an open spot, I wanted to bring her here to talk about the possibility of her joining us and introduce her to some of the girls, but well, we suddenly ran into you and it kind of spiralled out of control.”
“I see. And it’s not just Elise pushing you, right? You’ve been considering switching workplaces on your own?” I have to ask just in case there’s been a bit too much external influence.
Lyona nods faintly and it looks like that’s going to be all I get so I turn back to our current receptionist.
“Well, I can promise you to keep this in mind while looking at our available options. Since Lyona’s time here is limited right now, I would hate to bombard her with questions and make her late for her next shift. We’ll talk about this together later if you don’t mind, and I’ll naturally be in touch with your friend as much as possible, alright?” I smile at them kindly.
“Yeah, that’s fine. Sorry for springing this onto you out of the blue. Just let me know when and I’ll be ready to chat with you about anything you might want to know.” Elise reciprocates the smile while tenderly brushing Lyona’s shoulders. “We’ll excuse ourselves now, then. I’m going to accompany her back to the guild if that’s alright. I’ll be back in a moment. It’s my night today anyway.”
“Feel free to escort your friend back, of course. Have fun.” I wave at them as she pulls the blushing girl away and starts whispering into her ear.
I do catch a few questions about what happened back here and a bunch of apologies answering them, but I don’t intend to listen in on their conversation so I quickly tune out so as not to eavesdrop unintentionally. But, that doesn’t mean I’m yet fully finished with the peculiar duo.
“Hecate?” I glance towards one of the upper corners.
My sneaky bodyguard reveals herself and descends to the floor in front of me, surprising a few people with her unexpected appearance. She looks up at me with her usual, pretty cold expression, but it’s more than apparent that she is eagerly waiting for any command or request to aid me with my plans.
“Come with me. I need to stay out of sight for a moment. Do you think you can manage?” I ruffle through her hair as she nods in response.
We stroll out of the reception hall shortly after Elise and Lyona, making sure that they are far enough not to notice us. Then, Hecate latches onto my back like a koala and her spider legs get to work immediately. I catch a few glints and flashes of refracted light and the workers moving in and out next to us suddenly jerk in surprise, staring in our direction with visible confusion.
They jump again when I chuckle to myself, realising that we’ve literally vanished from their sight in a blink. Before someone walks right into us, I hastily make my way to the streets. Hecate spots the interesting pair first and points at them even though I can simply feel Elise’s presence. I start following them while hoping that she doesn’t notice mine through the bond, too focused on her friend.
From what I can tell, Lyona isn’t blushing as much as before, and while she still seems just as quiet and withdrawn, she does actually engage in a mutual conversation with Elise. The latter is doing most of the work but that’s a quite common arrangement between an introvert and an extrovert. Or at least some degree of those archetypes. Nothing is really that simple to categorise in the world.
The important thing is, the previously timid and shy girl does actually switch to a more refined, almost distant personality that Elise hinted at during our short introduction. I’m able to catch only a few glimpses of her calm and truly daydreaming face but it’s enough to understand where the appeal comes from. While not acting like a skittish bunny, she does have this unapproachable allure of a cool princess. The silvery-white hair and ruby eyes certainly add to it.
It doesn’t take long before we reach the guild and I follow the girls inside. It proves to be a challenge to sneak in without grazing against someone as a constant flow of people almost blocks the front entrance. I’m not sure how Hecate’s active camouflage threads will work in contact with something physical so I aim to avoid any. A person appearing out of thin air in a crowd would definitely cause at least a slight scene. Not to mention the spider-legged backpack I’m currently wearing.
I watch Elise escort Lyona to the very doors leading to the staff area and the two part ways with one last hug. It doesn’t look like our own receptionist has figured me out as she returns the same way we’ve all come in.
Good for me.
Finding a somewhat empty spot near the back wall of the lobby, I make myself as small as possible and simply wait. There are a few empty stations at the entire row of small windows so I keep my eyes peeled for our star of the show. Thankfully, the mysterious lady doesn’t make me wait long and I spot her unique features stepping into one of the free posts. Same as on her trip back here, she welcomes everyone with a collected expression, starting to shuffle through some documents under the counter.
Almost immediately, a quite decent number of adventurers head her way as if waiting for the girl herself. The majority are young guys, as expected, but she does attract some older dudes, as well as a bunch of girls too.
I never honestly thought about it but if cute female receptionists are this popular with male adventurers, why doesn’t the guild hire some handsome boys to appeal to the women? I bet some of them would still choose to register with the girls just for the peace of mind and not having to speak to a guy, but considering the typical female adventurer, that would attract even more attention to the guild.
Nonetheless, I observe as Lyona assists everyone with their reports, requests, and whatever other dealings an adventurer can have in the guild. While almost all the other receptionists smile warmly to welcome their protegees, she instead makes no real change to her serene expression. It doesn’t seem to bother her conversation partners either. Quite the opposite.
Still, just as Elise said, she takes her work very seriously and does her best to fulfil her responsibilities without a hitch. She looks to be well-organised and tidy from the glimpses of her notes and other things she hides on her side of the counter that I catch. I can’t really hear what she’s talking about but I think it’s given that she’s just as smart and knowledgeable as presented by her friend.
Ah. Right. I can read lips. I totally forgot about that.
After finding a good angle on the scarlet-eyed lady, I try to focus on her almost equally vibrant lips. Yet, I can tell that it’s just their natural shade, without the addition of any makeup or other supplements. Those plump, soft bumps definitely charm more than just a few people a day.
And that proves to be a tiny problem for me too.
It’s just damn hard not to absentmindedly stare at her sweet lips moving while missing eighty percent of words that I should be deciphering.
But, with some brief internal struggle, I manage to focus on the message rather than the messenger and listen in on the pretty receptionist. I quickly confirm that she is just as knowledgeable and sharp as Elise has made her be. Skimming over any more personal information, I admire her clear and simple explanations of quest details, what the area might entail, what kind of entities one could stumble on during their journey, how to best prepare for an encounter, and so on. She seems just as resourceful when it comes to the topic of the city itself and the guild’s rules and regulations.
Naturally, besides doing her job, she also experiences her fair share of less professional interactions, obviously initiated by the adventurers that approach her, either with an excuse of looking for their next quest, or more honest intentions which still somehow end up shoved aside in front of the delicate beauty. Even so, she handles any attempts to flirt with her exceptionally well, rarely batting an eye on different kinds of advances and strategies. I catch her supple lips twist into the faintest grimace only once or twice amongst the dozens of chats she shares with the adventurers.
I swear, some of this world’s pickup lines are ten times worse than the ones random dating expert dudes share on the Internet back home. It makes me cringe while listening in from afar without the actual sound and she has to deal with that face-to-face. My opinion of Lyona definitely rises by quite a lot just from that fact. Her ability to tolerate bullshit is praiseworthy. Maybe she really would make a good addition to our roster.
Deciding that I’ve stalked Elise’s mysterious friend long enough, I drag my attention away from the gorgeous receptionist and head back. Let’s maybe call it a field interview. A secret field interview. With a hidden camera. Just making sure that our upcoming employee is up to the company’s standard. Yeah.
Since I’m already in the city, I figure out that it won’t hurt to let Lianne know about the recent developments in person. I could of course discuss it all with her through our bond, but I know she appreciates my visits. Even if she ends up all over me during the majority of them instead of listening to my news or requests.
Dismissing Hecate and thanking her for her help, I move towards the castle, seeing just how fast I’m able to run through the capital with the use of my quite insane stats and godly body. It’s a real shame there are no magical speedometers here because I’m definitely breaking the carriage speed limits a bunch of times over. Thankfully, there are also no speed cameras to snap me a speeding ticket so I guess things balance out rather well.
And, maybe Sirgia will be able to put something together after my brief explanation. Even if it won’t really have much use besides for shit and giggles in this realm. Nothing would really change with me being able to know that I’m going fifty kilometres per hour and I don’t think there are illegal street carriage races during the night where the participants care about such measurements.
Maybe someday in the future after my little genius revolutionises the method of transportation with her brilliant ideas.
Anyway, I make it to the castle in a flash and a cloud of dust, spooking the guards a tiny bit. But, after they recognize me, they just laugh it off and offer a safe passage. Learning about my intentions, they send someone to inform the Queen and check if she isn’t busy with some important matters while I’m escorted to wait in one of the usual chambers.
It takes Lianne about twenty minutes to show up so she must have really been in the middle of something crucial. She enters the room wearing one of her amazing royal dresses and a pleasant smile on her angelic face. Standing up from my chair, I welcome her into my embrace after she rushes to my side.
“Back so soon?” She chuckles daintily after the brief kiss we share as a greeting.
“What can I say? I missed you really hard.” I smirk at her and steal one more peck before we sit down.
“What brings you here, then? I hope it’s not trouble.” She pours us both some fragrant tea.
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it trouble. It goes like this…”
As she gazes excitedly into my eyes, I briefly recount everything that happened since we split up after the cordial welcome I received from all my wives and mates. That includes the stuff with my unexpected ascension to demigodhood and our progress with the mercenary headquarters.
“Shoot! I knew I should have stayed behind! I missed so much fun stuff!” She wrinkles her nose in irritation after I finish up. “So, it looks like you are going to expand your little business much more than you first assumed. Not just into the mercenary market but even faith. What a time to be alive.”
“Do you think it will even work?” I run my fingers through my hair.
“It’s hard to say. But, we are definitely going to try, at least. After Lumina sends out her divine message, of course. Having the support of the most important religious figures in the capital will be of huge help,” Lianne replies with a grin. “I don’t think too many people will think badly of the kingdom trying to act according to the Goddess’ will, which is to welcome you into our realm as a second figure to direct our prayers to. It might actually be less of a problem than you think.”
“That would be a welcome surprise.” I smile wryly. “But, we should always expect the unexpected and prepare as much as we can.”
“True. I’ll discuss this matter with Ross and his advisors.” She takes a gentle sip to moisten her lips. “What about the place for your… office? Base of operations? Residence? I take it’s not intended to be a temple. Do you think any of the other buildings I suggested will fit?”
“I’m sure the neighbouring one either on the left or right will be fine. And yeah, I would rather not start with a sudden appearance of extremely characteristic symbolism and decorations that scream suspicious cult.” I nod at her. “We’ll take care of it after the headquarters are up and running. Plenty of other projects came up with them which also need some time and effort. There are big changes coming for the establishment.”
“Speaking of which, I think I found you your first job. If you are interested, that is.” Lianne waggles her brows at me.
“Already? Weren’t we going to gain some experience in the field first before moving on to our direct cooperation?” I furrow my brows.
“Oh, I’m just acting as an intermediary here. This isn’t a kingdom’s official request but just any normal commission that would have most likely made it to the Mercenary Guild and one of the companies registered there.” She waves it off. “If not for the fact that the petitioner was hoping to hire some of our royal knights for his cause.”
“What?” I snort at her.
“There’s a noble who is hosting a birthday party for his daughter and made a polite request to lend him a bunch of our knights to stand guard during the celebration, more as one of the entertainment factors than for safety concerns. He just wants them to stand around and look good, perhaps interact a little with the guests by showing off a tiny bit or such. Nothing too complicated,” Lianne explains.
“And he and the rest of his family would be okay with demi-humans from a completely fresh mercenary group?” I raise a brow at her.
“With how incredible the uniforms your girls wear are? Definitely!” She giggles softly. “As I said, it’s mostly about looks, presence, and appearances. I know them and they don’t belong to the extremist front. You shouldn’t need to expect any trouble or tension. A quick, simple request with decent pay and a good word making it into the noble circles. What do you say?”
“I’ll have to run it through the girls first, but if you are sure about this, then why the hell not?” I shrug and we raise our cups in a light cheer.
“Great. I’ll send them to you after your headquarters are ready so that they can make it fully official.” She beams at me happily. “I look forward to working with you and your girls in the future.”
“And so do I.” I wink at the Queen, evoking another cunning giggle from the scheming minx.
“Well, then. Returning to the previous topic for a moment, do you perhaps have any free spots left among your Devotees?” Lianne bats her eyelashes at me as she brings it up.
“Yeah, I do.” I shake my head with a wry grin. “I saved one for you while expecting this. Just promise me not to abuse your position and powers, alright?”
“I’m only going to find you some kind believers amongst the castle staff, nothing more,” she reveals her intentions. “And, of course, make sure I pray to you as much as possible so that you can grow into a big and healthy God of Sex! Speaking of which, how do we do that?”
I cough into my fist while roaming my gaze over her lithe frame and the Queen guesses the answer almost immediately. We end up registering her as my next Devotee, which soon enough evolves into a quickie on a sofa as Lianne insists on practising her prayers with me. We do confirm that it actually works and Lumina wasn’t just trolling me alongside Ailish. I can sense the generated divinity, which is then transferred to me through the quite intimate ritual.
To clear up any doubts and possible misunderstandings, I explain the prayers and rituals to her once more and we go our separate ways. Without wasting too much time, I jog back to the mansion and find Elise clearly waiting for me in the lobby, resting on one of the comfy sofas. She stands up as I approach her, holding her hands over her navel.
“I wanted to talk about Lyona but noticed that you’ve left for the castle so I waited for your return. Do you maybe have a moment?” she asks expectantly.
“I was going to find you for the same reason so let’s get straight to it.” I gesture at her to sit back while joining her on the opposite side of the coffee table.
“I would just like to say that I’m sorry for earlier. Please, don’t be too hard on Lyona and blame me instead. I had no idea she would react like that in front of you and I know I should have first consulted her rather than dragged her straight to your face. She really is an amazing girl and she was more than alright after we left, returning to her usual self,” Elise starts to explain.
“I know,” I interrupt her with a raised hand. “And that’s okay. It was something you didn’t expect. That happens from time to time, no matter how well we think we know others. I’m not going to immediately cast her away because of this single interaction. I can tell that you are telling the truth, but still, I would like to at least speak normally with my potential recruit before making the final decision. It will be a little tough if we have trouble communicating on a day-to-day basis, don’t you think? Still, I’m willing to give her a chance. Perhaps more than one since you are endorsing her so much.”
“Of course. It’s your right as the boss. Just pick a date and I’ll make sure she is prepared this time. We’ve already talked a bit and I’m going to meet with her tomorrow morning to continue.” She bobs her head eagerly. “Thank you. I truly appreciate this. It would be fantastic if she could enjoy working for us. And I’m sure she will be very motivated to do her best for the upcoming best mercenary troupe in the whole world!”
“We’ll see about that last part.” I chuckle lightly. “Now go. I bet you still have lots of stuff to do. Just like all of us.”
Elise jumps to her feet, salutes me with a big grin, and marches out of the lobby with a happy step. Before someone else approaches me with whatever query they might have, I locate my proud mercenaries in their barracks and explain the opportunity of our first-ever job given by Lianne. They are all too eager to prove themselves in the field and everyone initially agrees.
Leaving them to their own machinations, I slip out of their temporary locum as they lively discuss the mission amongst themselves.
Now, as for me, there’s still so much to do around the establishment and all other areas. But, the evening is quickly approaching and I would love to take part in one of the open nights after a long time of absence, just like in the good old times.
So, it’s time to prepare.
Saileri
Some fresh blood on the horizon.
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