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After the nerve-racking audience with the Guild Master, the three received the rest of the quest’s details from Sam. They were tasked with locating the Goblin’s nest, scouring their patrol and hunting routine, their equipment, their numbers, and most important of all, the source of their spawn. Lyra was still a bit hesitant at accepting such a tedious and demanding quest but at the mention of the possibility of gaining a star, her face lit up like a festival and accepted the quest without a stammer. The time limit for the quest was unspecified but Sam told the three they would need to submit a report of their progress periodically.

“You may start the investigation now but I will recommend starting it in the morning on the morrow,” Sam had advised them. “I won’t dictate the ways on how the three of you will go about this but frankly speaking, I’ll recommend the three of you to work separately to avoid suspicions. Once again, just a suggestion. And of course, I don’t think I need to remind you all, not a word about these circumstances, understood?”

They all nodded.

After that matter was settled, Erin received her reward for the Kobolds she eliminated in her test. Forty-eight copper coins for the normal Kobolds, six copper each. A silver coin for the Kobold Leader, that was the official name dubbed by The Guild for the chief Kobold. And finally, two copper for a Goblin. Though they may be an abhorrent bunch but the quality of their Cores were not even adequate. Which was why it was only two copper.

With this amount, Erin returned the four silver balance to Lyra. She even repaid Lyra the silver she spent on her armor and also five copper for the tunic and trousers she was currently wearing.

Lyra was insistent that Erin could pay her back through other means, such as entering a partnership with her. Erin did not miss the glint in her eyes when she said “partnership”. It was obvious Lyra meant that specific word in more ways than one. While Erin saw her as a good friend, she didn’t see Lyra as a “partner”, or even a potential interest. When prompted for a reason by Lyra, Erin pointed out her frivolous nature without a stutter.

“As you can see, Miss Lyra,” Nivia cut in between the two, “I am the better choice to be Erin’s companion, compared to someone as flippant as you.”

“Oh shut up,” Lyra shot back. “I don’t want to hear that from someone who hasn’t even touched her own cunt outside of cleaning.”

“Oh my, how uncouth.” Nivia’s expression twisted sourly but she immediately assumed back her composed expression and tittered. “But I guess that is to be expected from a loose woman like you.”

“Loose!?” Lyra flared up. Despite her liberated nature and how self-aware she was about it, she did not like being called loose, not when she had only been bedded by a single man until now. “Listen here, you long ears of a hag, I—”

“Enough!” Erin raised her voice. They were outside The Guild building, thankfully. It would have been extremely awkward otherwise and Erin was not looking forward to drawing more attention to herself. “Lyra, I appreciate your help in… various aspects but I don’t think I am comfortable with someone of your particular nature.”

“So you think I’m a loose whore too?”

Seemingly mildly flustered at the w-word, Erin promptly responded, “I did not say that.”

“You might as well have.” Lyra sighed exasperatedly with her gaze cast down. “You don’t think people like me are trustworthy?”

“It’s not about what I think, Lyra. I’m speaking from experience.”

At her words, both Lyra and Nivia threw curious glares at her.

Why did I say that? Good lord, I’m throwing myself into the frying pan. Well, the arrow is loose.

“I may not have been an adventurer but I was adventurous,” Erin recounted. “Along my journey, I came across many people and made many acquaintances. I had all sorts of company, or parties as you would call it. The parties that last the shortest were always the one with… frivolous companions. Their liberated tendencies kept causing troubles in ways that you would not expect it to. There was even a time when I was accused of being a consociate of my frolicsome partner.”

“I-I see…” Lyra responded. Erin’s words weren’t without logic. In fact, it hit too close to home. Lyra had experienced some of the unexpected troubles she mentioned. She got herself into the red a few times by over-treating her potential night companions. She knew this was not a feasible habit should she wished to be more than just a small town adventurer.

“Lyra,” Erin called out. “I don’t wish for any of this to belittle our friendship. You were the one who offered me a hand when I was lost. I know you had ulterior motives for your assistance but it doesn’t dismiss the fact you did helped me. And I will always remember that.”

“It’s alright, Erin. You don’t need to say anything anymore.” Lyra waved her off. “You’re right about me. I’m just going to get us in trouble.”

“L-Lyra… I didn’t mean—”

“I said it’s alright, Erin. Besides, I became an adventurer to fill the void in my heart.” Lyra smiled in a self-deprecating manner. “Remember the friend I told you about, my childhood friend?”

Erin nodded with a stern expression.

Nivia on the other hand, was starting to feel uncomfortable. The conversation had taken an unexpected turn and it was too late for her to back out now without coming off as a huge hypocrite in manners herself, although she was already a hypocrite, albeit one in denial.

“We were more than friends,” Lyra continued. “We were close, close enough to give each other our virtue on the first night we were cast out from our village. When he said he wanted to be a smuggler because the gold was quick, I felt so betrayed by him. After I left him, I felt so empty. Even though he wasn’t amazing in bed and he couldn’t even make me cum, he still left a void in my heart during the nights.”

Erin was listening attentively while Nivia could only stand still in her place, trying her best to not disrupt the mood with her internal groans.

“I couldn’t deal with men after that. I tried but it was always his face that came up. So I went with women and girls. It worked but… it was no remedy. It was provisional.”

“Lyra…”

“But last night, with you, it felt different. Oh, it felt good. It felt so good and not because I was forcing myself to and nor was it because I was on some leaves. Even now, I feel so at ease just by being at your side, just from being looked at by you, just from being in your thoughts all day long… It’s like… you have become my drug.”

Erin had no idea on how to respond to that. It was obvious that Lust Deviant was the one at fault here. Although the skill didn’t explicitly state it, anyone who had experienced such a level of ecstasy was bound to be addicted for more. Erin herself was fine but the same could not be said for her partner. Only now, she realized just how dangerous Lust Deviant was. She reprimanded herself for not realizing it earlier but she was a virgin then, how could she have known of such addictive ecstasy?

“Erin… if it means that I get to be your partner, I would gladly abandon that frivolous life of mine. I swear that I would never be unfaithful as long as I can be with you.”

“L-Lyra…” It was getting perilous in a lot of ways. Erin hadn’t known Lyra for that long. In fact, it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since they met. Yet, Lyra was prepared to throw away a life she had been living all this for who knew how long just to be with someone she hadn’t even met for a full day.

Before Erin knew it, Lyra had somehow come so close to her face and her hands were wrapped around hers. It was almost like Lyra was trying to court her. In a way, she was courting her.

Would this kind of thing happen too if I copulated with other people?

“Alright, that’s enough.” Nivia intervened, shoving the two apart from each other. Erin showed no resistance but Lyra was obstinate. However, Nivia was ten levels ahead of Lyra. Resistance was futile against the Elf’s Might.

“Erinthea, lest you forgot, we do have a lunch date, don’t we?” Nivia said, flashing a triumphant smile at Lyra.

Whether Lyra was out of her stupor or not, it didn’t make much difference. She detested Nivia regardless of her sobriety.

“Yes, I did promise to accompany you for lunch.” Erin responded semi-absentmindedly. She was still in deep thoughts about Lust Deviant. While it could be easily solved by going celibate, that was Erin’s last and final option. She enjoyed the arts of the bedchamber more than she thought. Although she had no intention of stopping such acts, Lust Deviant was seriously impeding her decisions. She didn’t want anyone else to turn into her “victim”. Even if she turned celibate, it wouldn’t exactly help as she wasn’t sure what would happened if she entered Carnal Starvation and was left untreated. However, she was sure it would be something unfathomable by her current-self.

“I don’t suppose there’s room for one more?” Lyra suddenly spoke up and directed a smug towards the Elf.

“Excuse you, Miss Lyra but you are being quite rude with your gratuitous intrusion.” Nivia returned a glower that might have seared a hole through Lyra’s face.

“As we, the humans always say, the more the merrier.” Lyra came up with some nonsensical logic. “We believed a meal tastes the best if it's shared by many. Unless of course, you don’t plan to abide by human’s ethics in a human settlement?”

That’s an utter fool’s logic. No way Nivia would— wait. If it’s her, then that is very likely… yeah…

The reasoning and compulsion was severely flawed but Nivia wasn’t the brightest nor the sharpest. Erin realized that and somehow, Lyra had also found that out.

“Fine,” Nivia agreed after much reluctance. She turned to Erin. “I hope this doesn’t bother you.”

Erin tried her best to smile in this escalating chaos of a situation. “Not at all. I’ll be happy with the extra company.”

Maybe this is why I stayed a virgin in my previous life.

****

Awkward. This was the only word floating around Erin’s mind for the entire meal.

They were now in a diner or more specifically, a tavern called Merry Night. Despite its name, it was open during the day too but it didn’t serve any liquor while the sun was still out. Also in contrast to its nighttime, the menu had significantly less choice. Most of the food was plain but quick to serve. It opened during the day solely to cater adventurers who wanted something light and quick.

The business model impressed Erin. In fact, a lot of the businesses in this town were tailor to the adventurers, which pretty much revealed the town’s main dependence.

While Erin was slightly worried about the feasibility of such an economy, her attention was immediately snatched away by the arrival of her meal.

The bread was lightly toasted and the paste that accompanied it was just delicious, for the price they were paying. When Erin asked, she found out that the paste was actually made from red beans which they imported from the next town. And word is, the red bean paste was even more delicious when it was fresh off the stove.

Hmm. This is really good. I can’t believe something so simple and fast can be so delectable. If I went to the next, I definitely have to try it when it's fresh off the stove.

However, no matter how good the food was, it couldn’t douse the animosity between Lyra and Nivia. They were eating their respective food and drinking their own beverage but their belligerent gazes never left each other. They had been maintaining their antagonistic status towards one another ever since Lyra practically invited herself to this lunch date.

Nivia was the first to finish her meal since she ate very little. So little that Erin questioned if she felt satisfied with just that amount.

“You must be really special, Miss Lyra.” Nivia began her insult. “I know humans can be stubborn and slow but you are extremely so.” At some point, Nivia realized that she had been had by Lyra’s simple persuasion and her pride took a serious amount of damage.

Oi. I was a human too, you know?

Lyra chuckled as she gulped down her drink without minding any of her manners and conduct, a stark contrast to Nivia. “We have never met officially but we did pass by each other. And it took you until now to figure that out? Says more about you than me, Miss Elf.”

At that instance, the temperature of the eatery dropped by a few degrees. Nivia let out a contrary warm smile. “You know nothing about me, Miss Lyra. Even if I showed you, your slow mind and heavy bulging limbs won’t be able to keep up.”

Lyra slammed her tankard down onto the table. “I heard tell of many Faerie-kin, especially Elves, have fallen in simple battles or just plain scuffles due to their arrogance of thinking that they are better than every other race.”

“Ah, so you’re saying that you can only win against me if I was being arrogant?” Nivia tittered. “Don’t belittle yourself so much, Miss Lyra.”

[Sixth Sense has been activated. Bloodlust detected.]

Erin raised her eyebrows and turned her gaze to Lyra, who was fiddling with a small knife in her hand under the table. Erin silently moved to grab at that hand of Lyra’s.

Lyra gave Erin a questioning gaze but Erin forcefully pried the knife from her hand, which greatly surprised Lyra due to the difference of their level. Erin put the knife onto the table.

“Oh my, Miss Lyra. What were you trying to do?” Nivia taunted.

“Nivia, that’s enough,” Erin said with a firm tone.

“But she—”

“Enough!” Erin roared, drawing all the attention of every person in the eatery. Erin rose from her seat like a tidal wave and stared down at the arguing two. “I don’t fucking care who started this shit!”

Nivia was staring back at Erin with her eyes widened and jaws dropped. Lyra had the same reaction but her lips were pursed.

“Nivia, you are an Elf. Act like one, not just on the surface. You’re no better than savages if you keep jabbing at someone and play the fool the moment after. And you, Lyra. While I sympathize with your sobbing backstory but drawing a fucking knife in the middle of a meal and public? Where have all your senses gone?!” Erin yelled out her last sentence.

The whole eatery was stunned into pin-drop silence.

Ah. I have done it.

She did not mean to do that. Besides Magic and swordsmanship, eating could be considered her next favorite thing. She couldn’t always eat food that could be called proper since she was almost always in the middle of nowhere in her past life. And so, she came to appreciate food with actual taste a lot more than the average people, not that she was a glutton.

And such precious time of hers was being disrupted by an immature argument between two adults and one of them was even more than a hundred years old, most probably.

It was one of the most vexing things she had experienced in her past life, the belligerent relationship between two unknown acquaintances through a mutual acquaintance. It became one of the foremost reasons that she decided to travel alone in the later parts of her life as Argon Raze.

With all the eyes still on her, Erin was drawing quick breaths from her outburst. She knew when her adrenaline died down, she would be writhing in agony over this memory. But too late, the floodgates were already open. Clearing her throat, she sat back down and dined slowly on her meal.

“She’s right,” Nivia said as she straightened her posture. “That was… infantile of me. I apologized, Erinthea, and to all the patrons of this eatery. Therefore, I have a proposal, Miss Lyra.”

Hearing that, Erin almost choked on her food.

Oh god… this can’t be good.

“Which is?” Lyra raised an eyebrow.

“Duel with me.” Nivia smiled shrewdly. “If you win, you’ll get to be her companion. If I win, you will leave her alone. Deal?”

“Deal,” Lyra answered without a moment’s hesitation.

Wait. I don’t have a say in this?