Ch 52. Re-education

After a refreshing night, I was feeling great. 

Tammy was the first to wake up aside from me, given she had her job to get to. I understood the dilemma somewhat. She wanted to leave but the guild was operating on minimal staff at the moment. With the guild master out of town, she was practically the only one keeping it together. Her resignation should be reaching the capital soon, being sent by dove, and the response should take a similar number of days.

I was a little apprehensive, I've never personally met the guild master, but I probably knew the type. And I wasn't looking forward to butting heads, unsure how exactly he would react when he got the news. 

He basically dumped all his responsibilities off on Tammy who was just a clerk, while he was living it up in the capital. The overall impression I had was already negative.

Seeing the morning light peer in through the windows, I got ready with Tammy. Escorting her on the way to the guild, I brought up something I had been contemplating. 

Asking her to elevate my status up from a copper plate. The perks from a bronze plate didn't mean much to me at this point, being exempt from city tolls not being quite as exciting when I was now counting gold by the hundreds. 

But still, the commissions and missions board was something that certainly appealed to me. Maybe not for the money, but definitely for the information on valuable monster locations.

I honestly should be capable of promoting to silver rank, but given that this was supposed to be the discretion of the guild master, Tammy was concerned it might look bad if she were to do this for me. Every time an adventurer moves up in rank, it's announced on the board, and objections can be lodged. In the worst case you can end up receiving challenges to the promotion, although that rarely ever happens since nobody wants to rock the boat with people who might be watching your back at some point.

I understood the worry, but I doubted anything would come of it. I was confident for the same reason anybody would suspect foul-play in the first place. If they thought I was influential enough to pressure for an unwarranted silver plate promotion, then I doubted someone would be brave or dumb enough to raise an objection. 

With the silver plate I would get access to more rewarding commissions, and also the qualification to attend guild auctions, something that I was potentially interested in participating in at the capital now that I had some 'capital' of my own. 

After some begging and cajoling, I was soon walking back to the mansion with a silver plate in hand. Whistling to myself in a great mood. 

Having scanned the board, I even picked up a mission that seemed rewarding enough. 

A living grove had been discovered in the forest and reported to the guild. Meaning magical plants, even if they were of the man-eating variety. I was somewhat interested in inspecting them for any undiscovered uses, not to mention the experience. 

A look through some of Cal's items yesterday and the 'monster' meal of auroch steaks had given me some ideas. Realizing that I wasn't utilizing identification to the best of its potential. 

I especially wanted to raise my non-physical stats, given I hadn't invested anything in those yet, I should still have a lot of potential points I could get through non-system based methods. 

When I was back at the mansion, I chose to rouse the two other girls. Giving Marcella another round as her new wake-up routine before leading her and Belle to the dining room for breakfast. 

Belle supporting Marcella as she walked gingerly. 

It seems my father in law was already up early, sharing a meal with his two wives. 

"Is it alright for us to join you?" I asked tentatively, not to presume too much around the one man who I had to respect here. 

He just simply waved us in. 

"Come in, come in. Not a bother at all. In fact you're the very man I was hoping to talk with." He spoke in between bites, his wives competing to feed him forkfuls of eggs and bacon as they doted on him.

We all took our seats. Marcella, sitting on her side painfully to avoid the delicate regions. Belle's actions especially having done a number on her. 

"Keaton, I heard from Anya... Marcella gave you some trouble again last night?"

The head maid, I recalled. 

Marcella shot me an evil glare, gone in a second when I looked her way.

"I've been good..." She said quietly, complaining to no one in particular. 

Jagen looked at his daughter Marcella with sympathy, seeing her so upset after her first night. He was definitely a doting father, but he also seemed to be a pragmatist above all else. And given that I seemed to be a real catch for this family, he was willing to make some sacrifices. 

"I'll see that it doesn't happen again." He said after a pause.

Marcella looked at me with doe eyes pleadingly, but I was more or less aware that her feelings wouldn't have changed that quickly.  Seeing as she tried to abandon the marriage up until the last moment, any feelings she had towards me would be shallow at best. 

Seeing that I didn't stick up for her, Marcella's face soured immediately. Not bothering with pretense. 

It was obvious enough that even Jagen realized the problem immediately. Calling over a maid to get Anya and ushering Marcella out of the room, sending her to receive more 'instructions' on how to become more wife-like.

"I apologize for that." He said finally. Letting out a deep sigh. Promising to me that she'd behave soon enough.

Cal walking in for breakfast just late enough to catch the last of Marcella fuming unhappily while being led away by bevy of maids. 

Grinning his widest grin after seeing the spectacle. 

Kaguro