Capítulo 15: Signing Up With the Guild
(A/N: Chapter released earlier than expected! I guess that's a reward for not posting in a while. As I've been busy with school and life, I've barely had time to focus on chapters. So, sorry if this one isn't on par with previous chapters. Discord: https://discord.gg/ck4XzBC6jt)
[Timeskip - 1 Day]
[Narrators POV]
It was a beautiful day outside. The birds were singing, flowers were blooming. On days like this one, people like Citrinitas … should get out of bed. The plague doctor's eyes struggled to open, refusing to function and wanting that extra minute of sleep we all crave for.
'Ugh … I'm so fucking tired …' Citrinitas thought to himself, trying to find the will to get out of bed. For a being like Citrinitas, sleeping isn't a necessity compared to regular humans. This is because Citrinitas is a homunculus, an artificial human. However, that doesn't mean that he is unable to sleep such as a certain skeleton. It's an optional choice.
One thing to note is that while homunculi don't require sleep to properly function, they do have a rather large appetite. For example, the homunculus maids are dependent on additional nutrition due to a racial debuff. However, unlike those maids, Citrinitas does negate having to consume a banquet's worth of food by being level 100 and using the Ring of Sustenance.
'Sleeping is cool but waking up in the morning just sucks. My body is abnormally sore. Oh well, I should be getting up now. Need to sign up with the guild and shit …' Citrinitas was going to get up, but he found himself immobile. It was as if a hefty weight was placed on the lower part of his body.
'Huh?' Confused, Citrinitas pulled his upper body forward only to find a certain vampire gripping his legs like a child would grip a teddy bear. 'No wonder I felt like my body was being constricted by some snake. I was being hugged by a vampire with 90 physical attack.' Concluded the alchemist, pulling the blanket covering him and Shalltear off the bed frame.
Though it wasn't a surprise, Citrinitas was slightly taken aback by Shalltear's … positioning. The petite vampire was … drooling over a certain area on Citrinitas's body, to say the least. 'Well, at least my clothes aren't ripped off. Still, drooling over my genitalia is quite … extreme, is it not?'
Not wanting saliva over his private parts, Citrinitas lightly tapped the head of the vampire, trying to waker her from her sleep. "Shalltear, please wake up. We have a mission to complete." The vampire only responded with a light groan. "Hmmmmm … Cit … rinitasss … harder … hmmmmm …"
"If you don't wake up, that's fine by me. However, I'll remind you that if you don't, Esdeath will be spending the morning with me … alone." Comically, Shalltear sprang up from her daze with eyes wide open. "[Clean]." Citrinitas made sure to clean up the vampire's slobber that was on his pants.
"Well, at least you're awake." He said, finally being able to move his legs and get out of bed. "Mou, don't scare me like that! I was having an amazing dream about how you pounded m-" "Please, spare me from the details." Citrinitas said with slight annoyance, making Shalltear slightly bite the side of her lip. "On an unrelated note, where the hell is Esdeath?"
The ice demoness was nowhere in sight. The bed she slept in was empty. The blankets and bedsheets were perfectly made as if nobody slept on the bed at all. 'Did Esdeath leave?' Was Citrinitas's first thought. 'Most likely. The question is, where? She better not be making trouble …'
"Where's Esdeath?" Shalltear asked, before turning to the empty bed next to her. The vampire grew a sly smirk before turning to Citrinitas. "Hmph, I guess she couldn't handle us being together. How wea-" Shalltear's talking was interrupted by the door of Citrinitas's Inn room opening.
And from the door frame came Esdeath, fully geared in her adventurer outfit. Her snow-white hair complimented her gorgeous face and crystal-like eyes. "Citrinitas," Esdeath called out in a sweet and loving tone. However, Citrinitas interrupted her before she got the chance to continue.
"Esdeath, where were you?" If Citrinitas had the ability to stop time just like Ainz, those words would have done so perfectly. The previous sweet look Esdeath had frozen in place as Shalltear grew a maniacal grin of satisfaction.
'Hahahahahahahaha!!! Esdeath is in SO MUCH TROUBLE! Just going off on her own without informing my beloved?! What was she thinking?! Hahahahah, I'm sure that Citrinitas will punish her by not having her sleep with him. That means I can have Citrinitas all by myself …' The vampire thought, trying her best not to laugh out loud.
"Uhm .. well …" Contradictory to her previous confidence, Esdeath found it quite hard to formulate proper words in her mouth. Stuttering and saying filler words in their place. It took her a moment to calm down before she was able to properly say anything. "As you were sleeping, I took the liberty of surveying the surrounding area and gathered information from locals of Clebus."
'Oh? That's … actually pretty helpful! I thought she'd be crying or something as she didn't sleep with me. I didn't even ask her to do that! I guess I was wrong about her …' Thought Citrinitas, taken back by the usefulness of Esdeath.
"Oh my … I appreciate your practicality, Esdeath. You've saved me quite a bit of time that can be used for other minor activities. Well done." If there was a button that helped a person switch emotions, Esdeath, with no hesitation, slammed that button to pieces.
'Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes … CITRINITS IS IMPRESSED!!! TAKE THAT, SHALLTEAR!!!' Esdeath screamed internally whilst doing her best to keep composed. 'FUCK!!!' No words could express Shalltear's despair after realizing Esdeath one-upped her. 'Dammit, the icy bitch got me. I'll find one way or another to impress MY darling …'
"While I was out for a short amount of time, I was able to grab a map of the surrounding area from a wandering merchant. It's nothing much as it only maps the current and former areas of the Dragon Kingdom. Nonetheless, it is useful to have." Esdeath explained, elaborating on her mini outing.
"I can agree to that. It would be beneficial to us and for Nazarick to have a map of the surrounding area this far east. Make sure to send a copy off to Demiurge as the arch-devil hasn't set up an information network in the Dragon Kingdom as of yet. You can show me the map once we go to the adventurers guild." Citrinitas summed up for the duo.
There was a momentary silence within the room before Esdeath broke it. "Does this mean I can fuck you?" "N-" The plague doctor didn't even get to formulate any words as he was cut off by an enraged Shalltear.
"WHAT?! NOOOO!!! CITRINITAS IS MINE!!!" Citrinitas was thankful for the powerful spells which he cast the moment he arrived in the Inn's room. If not for the magic, Shalltear's voice would have surely been heard throughout Clebus. Though, that may have been a slight exaggeration.
Within an instant, the relatively calm room was filled with two powerful auras that could suffocate any regular human alone. 'Holyyyyyy shiiiiiiiiit …' Was Citrinitas's first thought. 'I should do something before these two rip each other's faces off …'
"Please, ladies, calm yourselves," Citrinitas said with his usual professionalism and well-mannered tone. Despite that, Esdeath and Shalltear didn't react to his warning. In fact, they moved closer to each other, ready to kill the other in the most painful way possible.
"This is getting out of hand … ENOUGH!!!" The duo froze in place from Citrinitas's outburst as their clashing and suffocating auras ceased. "The last thing I want to wake up to is petty arguing. Both of you know that you'll be … sharing me at different and fair intervals. Any more pettiness like this and I'll reconsider everything."
"Yes, Citrinitas. Please forgive us for our measly missteps. It won't happen again, my love!" Esdeath and Shalltear spoke in unison. Their tone filled with the utmost sincerity a being could physically have. "Hmph," Citrinitas slightly huffed before using magic to instantly get his AMAZING adventurer armour equipped.
"Good, if I catch any misbehaviour during our time building a reputation here, there will be severe consequences. Am I clear?" The duo gulped before quickly nodding. 'It's annoying that I have to act like some parental figure for these women. Oh well … I should be heading out to the adventurers guild.' Citrinitas concluded.
"I'll be heading to this Inn's reception now. I expect the both of you to be ready and meet me there within … 5 minutes. Shouldn't be too hard, right?" "There's no need to wait!" Shalltear quickly shouted as she snapped her fingers and equipped her adventure gear. Esdeath followed suit.
"Shalltear is right. We've wasted your time that could have been spent elsewhere. Let's go now." The icy demoness said with politeness. Citrinitas almost doubted her and the vampire's words. 'They better not be trying to butter me up. Though, considering it is Esdeath and Shalltear, that's probably what they're trying to do. Meh, at least they're ready …'
The plague doctor only replied with a "good" before teleporting to the reception. The duo of troubling women followed in pursuit with their own teleportation magic before arriving in the Inns lobby. Sophie, who was fidgeting with her pen with a bored expression, jolted with surprise at the sudden appearance of the trio.
"AHHHH!!! I … I mean …" The receptionist cleared her throat. "Ordan, it is good to see you this morning!" Sophie quickly collected herself, changing that previous boredom to cheer instantly.
"Good morning, Sophie. Sorry for catching you off guard. But, due to circumstances, we were late when preparing to head out today." Citrinitas spoke apologetically to the slightly less startled receptionist.
However, that didn't last long as Sophie began to blush an impossible red. 'Oh for fucks sake! Sophie probably thought 'circumstances' meant morning sex with Esdeath and Shalltear! Is this just going to be a common gag between us now? Oh well, it's harmless. At least I think it is. Oh well …'
"I … I … I …" Sophie was speechless, to say the least. Due to sheer embarrassment, words couldn't formulate for the life of her. "Welp, we'll be heading to the adventurer's guild now. See you later, Sophie." Quite simply and comically, Citrinitas, Esdeath and Shalltear just walked out of the establishment. Leaving Sophie to her own, embarrassed, devices.
The adventurers guild wasn't too far away from where the Inn was located. This was because the Inn was constructed with adventurers in mind. If the Inn was further away, it would earn less as tired adventurers wouldn't want to walk so far to get into bed.
Soon, Citrinitas, Esdeath and Shalltear arrived at the front of the adventurers guild. Just like the Inn, they stayed at, the guild's architecture was different from the surrounding buildings. But, unlike the Inn which had a few unique details, the adventurers guild was full of oddities. So much that it stuck out like a sore thumb because of how different it was.
Intricate etchings of lines were carved into the walls themselves as they flowed wherever they wanted. Grand pillars of dark wood that were everywhere held the massive 2-floor building firmly. Simple, yet expensive windows were mounted, giving an inside view of the guild. In other words, the adventurers guild was your typical guild seen in fantasy anime or manga.
'Huh, this building looks really expensive and well built. Surely this was made before the Beastmen Nation started to mess with the Dragon Kingdom. The Dragon Kingdom wouldn't waste such expensive resources on one adventurer's guild.' Citrinitas noted to himself, before entering the guild.
With a swing of the door, the small interactions between adventurers already in the guild temporarily ceased as they focused on the trio entering the place. "Aye bro, who the hell are those guys?" Said a random adventurer to one of his pals. "Beats me. I've never seen these folks in Clebus before …"
"Sheeeeeeeeeeeeesh!!! The one with white hair is to DIE for!" Said another adventurer in a loud whisper. "Heh, like you'll attract any bitches, hahaha!" Laughed another, jabbing his friend in the gut jokingly. Esdeath, overhearing the conversation did her best not to stab the adventurer in the heart with an icicle. 'Calm yourself, Esdeath. Don't mess this for darling …' She said to herself.
One adventurer who was leaning on the side of a wall took a careful and long glance at the trio before finally realizing who they were. "Holy shit …" The adventurer muttered under her breath. "What is it, Abby?" Questioned an adventurer close by, sipping a beer.
"Ya know about those villagers that came in here yesterday? The ones which were attacked by Beastmen?" "Yea, wait …don't tell me …" The female adventurer named Abby slightly huffed. "Yep, those are the guys that dealt with that mess …"
Citrinitas looked around the guild as he walked to the reception, eyeing the adventurers gossiping about his group with slight interest. 'All seems normal so far, which is good. I must commend that Esdeath and Shalltear are handling themselves well in this public space. I can only hope this lasts …'
The trio quickly arrived at the guild's reception which was opposite and to the right of the building, making it hidden from a typical glance. However, what surprised Citrinitas, along with Esdeath and Shalltear for that matter was the receptionist herself.
To keep things short, the receptionist was Sophie. The same one that manages the Inn Citrinitas currently resides in. 'HUH?! That can't be Sophie, can it? Does she have an identical twin? This one here looks like a carbon copy of the one in the Inn.' Citrinitas thought to himself curiously.
"New blood, huh?" The Sophie copy said without a plight in the world. "Welcome to the guild of Clebus or whatever. How may I help you?" If Sophie from the Inn was bright, energetic and easily embarrassed, this one was the opposite. This Sophie was full of sloth and unenthusiastic. Her voice was akin to someone needing to wake up for work at 5 am.
"Sophie? Is that you? Do you perhaps have an identical twin?" Citrinitas questioned the girl whose head was on the reception counter. "Mmhm, Sophie is my twin. However, my name is Sophia. Parents are soooooooo original with names, am I right?" Sophia sarcastically asked, now giving a more meticulous examination of the people in front of her.
"Wait a fucken moment," Sophia rubbed her eyes slightly. "Are you the people who saved those villagers from a Beastmen attack?" Though her tone did seem to change, it was so slight barely anyone would have noticed.
'Huh, Sophia is the polar opposite of Sophie. Swearing and all. I kinda like it …' "Indeed we are. My name is Ordan Karris. The lady in white is Elsa while the blonde goth is Báthory. A pleasure to meet you, Sophia." Citrinitas offered his hand toward the girl out of politeness. Though he didn't expect a handshake from the girl, he got one nonetheless.
"The guildmaster told me about you late last night. Truth be told, I forgot much of what he said. All that I know is that y'all culled some Beastmen and were going to sign up here the next day." Sophia said in a monotone voice before slouching back on the reception counter.
"I know how the guild works. Register, pay a fee and start from the bottom. However, considering my team's significant accomplishments and power, that isn't the case. Am I right, Sophia?" The emo-like receptionist nodded once.
"Yea, the guildmaster will deal with that stuff. Normally I do the registering but this is the exception. I don't mind it cuz I do less work. Anyways, the boss said he wanted to meet you or whatever. Just go up the staff staircase behind me. The old man's office is marked with his name on one of the doors. You won't miss it. If you do, then you're just stupid as fuck."
"Hmm, very well, Sophia. I greatly appreciate you helping me and my companions." Citrinitas replied as the duo of women behind him only gave a low grumble. 'How dare this … bitch act so improper when conversing with MY darling!!!' They both thought, suppressing the urge to rip Sophia to shreds.
'Heh, Sophia has some spunk to her. If I wasn't here, Esdeath and Shalltear would devour that innocent human to pieces. Meh, I should get going.' Citrinitas concluded as he pushed a mini-gate open that separated the reception desk from the rest of the guildhall and walked up the staff staircase. Esdeath and Shalltear quickly followed in pursuit, not before giving Sophia snarls which the receptionist didn't react to.
It didn't even take 10 seconds before Citrinitas arrived at the door which led to the guildmasters office. Citrinitas knocked on the door lightly before a man from the other side yelled "enter!" Turning the door handle, Citrinitas was greeted by the guildmaster, who was sitting on his chair opposite to the door and waiting patiently.
The guildmaster was a man around his 50s with well-defined features. Things such as grey hair, sharp jawline and toned muscles. 'Is the guildmaster a retired adventurer? Most likely. The aura surrounding him suggests experience on the field. Interesting …'
"Pleasure to finally meet you, Ordan Karris. Elsa and Báthory, a pleasure to meet you too. Please, take a seat." The guildmaster gestured to some chairs that were positioned opposite to him. Citrinitas, being polite, took his offer.
"A pleasure to meet you too. Now, let's … skip formalities, shall we? We all know why we're here." The simple sentence seemed to catch the guildmaster off guard. "O-Of course. As you all know, the Captain of the Clebus guards informed me about the situation that happened yesterday. I must firstly thank you for saving those villagers. If it wasn't for you, my daughter would have probably been used as breeding stock before being devoured." The guildmaster said, gulping some saliva.
"Anyways, Beastmen have always been stronger than humans. It's why they've been able to capture so many of our cities and people. Only trained individuals with experience and power can hope to put the Beastmen at bay. That's why the Queen hires adventurer teams like Crystal Tear or worker teams such as Blazing Crimson to slow their advances."
"But," The guildmaster took a slight pause before speaking. "Even then, things don't usually work out. The best they can do is just make the Beastmen raid parties temporarily retreat. However, your team completely decimated those Beastmen! Ordan, you used 5th Tier Magic, did you not?" The guildmaster asked, with clear hope in his eyes.
"Yes, yes I did." Citrinitas simply answered the question as the guildmaster's eyes grew admiration. "Such power … it is no wonder how those Beastmen died …" The guildmaster muttered, before clearing his throat. "In that case, it is a no-brainer that your team is worthy of Adamantite rank." He said, taking some Adamantite rank chains from a drawer and handing them to Citrinitas.
'Huh? I thought we were going to get Mithril rank at least. But Adamantite? While unexpected, it is certainly welcomed. Though this shouldn't affect Momon's great achievements. Well, it might. Scratch that, this totally will. But, we're too far away to actually steal any of his thunder.'
'While he deals with the Demonic Incursion, I'll deal with the Beastmen here. Humanity will have two great heroes they can rely on before Ainz comes in and makes them submit. I'm just setting this persona up to make Nazarick's future conquest smoother. That and researching this area more.'
"I greatly appreciate the comment. This definitely saves us time climbing up the ranks normally and completing mundane tasks." Citrinitas remarked, taking the chain and putting it over his neck. Esdeath and Shalltear did the same thing. The guildmaster only nodded.
"Don't worry about registering and all that. I'll personally do that for you. All I need is your team name. The fee is on me." He said with a slight smirk. "Just call us Hope." "Hope? That's a pretty good team name. Once you become famous, you'll definitely become the hope of the Dragon Kingdom, hahaha!" The guildmaster laughed before writing some stuff down.
"Great, you're pretty much done. I'll relay this information to some higher-ups. This is pretty significant, after all. You shouldn't worry about jealous adventurers wanting to test their strength on you. Pretty much everyone in the city knows what happened at Carca." The guildmaster noted.
"Thank you, guildmaster. I appreciate your kindness. If that's all, my team and I will be heading out to complete some missions." Citrinitas said, getting off from his seat. "No, no. That's all. I look forward to your accomplishments, Ordan and companions."
[Timeskip - 1 Day]
[Scene Change]
"I appreciate your help, Cerabrate. It means the world to me!" Said a little girl in a cute, high-pitched voice. This was none other than Queen Draudillion Oriculus of the Dragon Kingdom. With her child-like body, she sat on her throne wearing revealing clothes for Cerabrate to admire.
"Yes, your Majesty! Leave it to me!" The man swiftly replied. With short, silver hair, Cerabrate wore a magnificent armour compromised of blue, white and gold. One could perceive this man to be handsome if it wasn't for the fact he was a pedophile and pervert.
Cerabrate gave a deep bow to the Queen before leaving her in the throne room by herself. "Ahhhhh," Draudillion gave a deep sigh of relief once those doors closed shut. "Are all humans lolicons?" She muttered. It wasn't as if she liked doing what she did. Cerabrate is the only man capable of driving back Beastmen attacks who just so happens has a knack for little girls.
'How long must I keep this up? How long until Cerabrate demands more from me?' As the Queen was deep in thought, there was a knock at the door. 'That isn't Cerabrate. That asshole doesn't knock on doors for the life of him.' The Queen thought. "Enter!"
From her command, a simple messenger boy entered the throne room. "Your Majesty," He greeted politely. "Bob? What brings you here? I wasn't informed about receiving a message." Draudillion questioned. "Sorry about that, your Majesty. However, this message is of absolute importance!" The messenger Bob exclaimed.
"Carca village was attacked by Beastmen!" "Another Beastmen attack?!" The Queen exclaimed as shock filled her face. "Was Clebus lost to the raid party?" The thought of another city being lost put her on edge. "No. In fact, though Carca was attacked, reports say that a trio killed all the Beastmen!" "Huh? Is that … true? Killed?!" The words Bob said were almost comical. "Yes, your Majesty. Due to the act, the guildmaster of Clebus made them Adamantite adventurers!" 'Killed? If that's the case, they must be more powerful than Cerabrate. Maybe these people can help me with all these issues …'
(A/N: As usual, please give your thoughts on the chapter! Love it? Hate it? Areas for improvement? Leave a comment and a review as your feedback helps a ton! I also want to thank you readers for bearing with early chapters and for your kind words. I would have probably dropped this fic a long time ago without your support!
Discord: https://discord.gg/ck4XzBC6jt)
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