81 Rappor

By the time Linnaeus' Party reached the Guild branch office, the day had started to gradually give way to the night. Despite this, there was still plenty of activity around the Guild as people which, in the evening, served as a tavern where people could celebrate the day's earnings.

Since Parties affiliated with the same Guild often worked together in order to complete difficult Quests, building rapport was instrumental to most Party's success. As a result, it was common to find dozens of Parties mingling together, each discussing various tactics and bragging about their individual exploits.

When his Party passed through the double-doors of the Guild office, Linnaeus noticed they had drawn a fair amount of attention but, after a brief moment, most people just ignored them. The only exceptions to this were men eyeing up Emilia, as she was quite the beauty, but the presence of Krone was enough to deter most of them.

Though there were several stations to receive and report Quests, most of them were only open during the busiest times of the day. Since the evening rush had yet to kick off, there were only three stations open, one of which contained the same red-haired woman from before.

Linnaeus would rather avoid trouble than go seeking it out so, despite Eliza's insistence to join the woman's line, he had them go procure a table while he lined up elsewhere. This didn't exactly sit well with Eliza but, understanding Linnaeus' character, she ultimately gave up her petty endeavor and instead alighted to secure them a table along the periphery of the room.

With his diminutive size and his ability to obscure his presence, Linnaeus managed to approach the desk of a handsome man with fair skin and long, pointed, ears. Each was tipped with tufts of white fur and, though it wasn't noticeable at a glance, Linnaeus noticed the back of the man's neck was also covered in a similar coating, indicating he was a hybrid species between an Elvaan and one of the various bestial tribes.

Seeing a little kid arrive at his booth, the receptionist raised his brow in curiosity before asking in a polite tone, "How might I be of service, young sir?"

Just as Linnaeus was about to report the completion of his Assessment Quest, the red-haired woman located further down looked toward him. This caused Linnaeus to internally sigh as, after spotting him, she shouted, "Hey, Alexi, let me take care of that kid. I dealt with him earlier in the day."

Hearing his colleague call out to him, Alexi turned his attention toward the woman and, finding her smiling, a shiver ran through his body before he turned to Linnaeus and explained, "It seems your matter will be handled by Miss Renka. Please, if you would make way for the next customer, I would be grateful..."

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Though he was tempted to just leave and come back in the morning, Linnaeus got the impression that 'Miss Renka' was an influential woman within the branch office. Thus, while internally cursing the fact he seemed to draw unwanted attention at every opportunity, Linnaeus trudged over to Renka's counter with a deadpan expression on his face.

After basically shooing away her previous customer, Renka tapped the top of her counter with the palm of her hand, saying, "Place the goods on the counter. We have a pressure sensor built in that can check the weight of objects. Since you arrived late in the day, you'll have to wait until morning for the quality check to be complete."

Without bothering to respond verbally, Linnaeus hefted the two large bundles of herbs onto the countertop. He was curious about the pressure sensor but, correctly assuming she wouldn't just let him inspect the counter's construction, he resisted asking about it.

Seeing the weight displayed on the small dial beneath her dest, Renka gave an approving nod before saying, "Your Party seems pretty competent. Most idiots only bring in the listed amount, causing them to have to venture out a second time when the quality of their goods didn't pass the Guild's evaluation. Since all of your herbs are neatly wrapped, you'll be getting a bonus for any excess Blacksweed."

Since this was within expectation, Linnaeus just gave a curt nod before saying, "We will return in the morning to learn if we have passed successfully. Thank you for your assistance, Miss Renka..."

Hearing the unnaturally pretty boy refer to her by name, Renka blinked in surprise before realizing Alexi had mentioned it previously. She made a mental note to punish him the next time they went out drinking but, for now, she stopped Linnaeus from leaving by saying, "You know, it isn't a good idea to act cold toward Guild representatives. We don't just keep tabs on whether or not a Party is skilled enough to complete Quests but, as we often work with civil and military officials, we have the duty of ascertaining the character of our affiliates. Do you think you'll get a spot on the main expedition if nobody likes you...?"

Though he hadn't particularly cared about the first part of her statement, Linnaeus couldn't help but frown slightly at the latter half. Even if it made sense from a broader perspective, it was easy to interpret Renka's 'advice' as a veiled threat. Thus, after taking a long and deep breath to keep his calm, he turned back to face Renka, saying, "I appreciate your counsel, Miss Renka, but I'd rather not keep the rest of the line waiting. Unless there is something important to discuss regarding the assessment, I should be going..."

Linnaeus was doing his best to be as polite as possible, something he had gradually been picking up through his interactions with Eliza, but it seemed to backfire this time as Renka just smiled in a knowing manner before saying, "You're a really level-headed kid, ain't ya? Being cautious is good and all but, a word of advice, learn how to introduce yourself properly in the future. You called me by name without ever saying your own. If you want to pretend you have manners, learn the basics of etiquette first, okay?"

Realizing he had, indeed, never introduced himself, Linnaeus made a show of exhaling before adopting his best 'apologetic' look as he said, "You're right...I guess I'm just a little stressed out at the moment. If I offended you, know that was never my intention...also, my name is Linnaeus. It is nice to meet you, Miss Renka..."

Hearing Linnaeus' response, Renka gave an approving nod before picking up her journal and saying, "It's nice to meet you, as well, Linnaeus. I have some expectations for you and your Party so I'll be looking forward to your exploits over the next few weeks."

With her words finished, Renka began writing something down in her journal, though not before waving Linnaeus away in much the same way she had her previous client. This made it seem as if she was lackadaisical about her work but, considering nobody stepped in to try and correct her, it was safe to assume her status was marginally higher than the rest of the Guild staff present...

After parting with Renka, Linnaeus made his way over to where his Party was sitting, a small table on the far end of the Guild's dining area. There, Eliza could be seen watching his approach with a mildly annoyed expression on her face. When he finally got within comfortable speaking distance, she wasted no time in asking, "What did that vixen want? You didn't make any strange promises with her, did you?"

Before responding to Eliza's interrogation, Linnaeus took a seat at the table, his back facing the wall so he could see out over the entire hall. Only after he confirmed there were no people trying to listen in on their conversation did he answer, "I can't be certain but she seems to have a higher status than most of the other Guild personnel. She noticed me when I approached the far counter and forced the man to defer me to her. If possible, you should avoid antagonizing her, Eliza. The thing you are worried about won't happen so don't let her rile you up so easily."

Though he hadn't exactly been harsh with his words, Eliza couldn't help but pout after Linnaeus had basically reprimanded her for jealousy. She puffed out her cheeks slightly but, deciding not to make a scene, she opted to just flag down one of the waitresses to order something to drink.

Linnaeus knew Eliza would have some choice words for him once they returned to the Inn but, as there really wasn't anything to worry about, he wished she would stop antagonizing others. Even if someone actually tried to seduce him, it wasn't as if he was easily taken advantage of. Rather, if they approached him with those kinds of intentions, the likelihood of them getting anywhere near him was slim.

Though he had made a few compromises when it came to dealing with Eliza and Emilia, Linnaeus didn't particularly care about the relations between men and women. His experiences with Saht had left an admittedly positive impression on him but, generally speaking, sex wasn't considered a 'significant' thing to most Slum dwellers. Though there were some people that fully committed to their deviancies, these were generally perverse people who wielded more power and authority than they deserved.

Since he was no stranger to being propositioned, Linnaeus had an extreme tolerance towards the seduction attempts of licentious women. He had come to learn that most women who behaved in such a way were either very powerful or, at least in the Slums, acting as an agent on behalf of the various gangs or criminal organizations. There had even been a few female assassins who tracked him down so, contrary to his exploitable appearance, Linnaeus wasn't exactly a soft target when it came to being wiled by women...

After eating a small meal and enjoying a few drinks, all while discussing their battle against the Monster Ants, Linnaeus ended up having to carry a drunk Eliza back to the Inn. Krone had also gotten a little drunk but, with his Blessing, combined with the cool evening air, he sobered up pretty quickly. As for Emilia, she was virtually immune to ingested chemicals and toxins so, even though she had proactively participated in a drinking contest, she was just as alert as usual.

Fortunately, the public order even in a frontier settlement was surprisingly good so, while it made him a little uncomfortable having half his Party under the influence, Linnaeus' worries ended up being for naught. They reached the Inn without incident and, after a small 'battle' to get Eliza to prepare for bed, he ended up sandwiched between her and Emilia shortly thereafter.

While some men proactively sought a harem, as it was a sign of prestige for the powerful and affluent, Linnaeus couldn't really see the point. He wasn't even in a relationship with Eliza and Emilia but, in spite of this, they created a fair amount of drama. Even now, while it was somewhat comfortable, their combined body heat caused him to sweat a considerable amount. This could be prevented if they wore proper attire to bed but, after obtaining lingerie, both Eliza and Emilia generally wore nothing but their bras and panties to bed.

Though he wasn't completely immune to their charms, Linnaeus never even considered having any untoward thoughts toward either woman. Until he returned to the Tower and discovered the fates of Saht and his sister, he couldn't afford to be distracted by such things. It wasn't difficult to imagine Saht trying to kill Eliza and Emili, as she could be very overprotected, so, in the hopes of avoiding unnecessary drama, Linnaeus resolved himself to remain chaste until they were able to reunite.

Linnaeus didn't want to become the type of man who betrayed the people he cared about, so, unless Saht herself was okay with it, he would never give in to the passion and whimsy of other women...