บท 35: Mercenary Guild
The mercenary guild.
It was one of the largest structures in the entire town. Made entirely out of large stone bricks and standing four or five storeys tall, it loomed over the other stores and guild houses.
Once I entered the building, I noticed it wasn't nearly as crowded as I expected it to be. However, there were still a few people sitting around at tables, it had more people than the other stores I had been too today. It was just a lot larger in size, making it seem empty. It was almost evening so I assumed most people would have have headed home by now.
At the back of the first floor, a few counters with varying signs resided along the wall. Two of the counters had 'Reception' written underneath so I walked to the one that had a staff member behind it.
"What can I help you with?" The orc woman asked just a moment before I reached the counter. She didn't even bother to look up at me as she flipped another page in her book.
"I'm looking for an escort to get through the pass."
"For yourself?" She replied with indifference again.
"Myself as well as one other person."
She flipped through a folder quickly before pulling out a sheet of paper. "Here are the public escorts in the next week. The price is for individuals and only for one-way trips."
The receptionist slid the paper against the counter over to me, before returning to the book she was reading. The list was over a dozen names long. Along with the mercenary team name, there was the date of departure as well as the price. The cheapest team was only fifty silver while the more expensive ones were a couple dozen gold.
Near the end of the list was a name I was able to recognize. The Crescent Moon Warriors with a date of departure five days from now. Supposedly the best escort team in town, at least to the woman that sold me my new clothes. The price made my heart lurch though.
A platinum per person!
And that was for a one-way trip. It was almost ten times the cost of every other mercenary team available.
"Why are the Crescent Moon Warriors so expensive?" I couldn't help but ask.
The orc gave a sigh of exasperation, likely having heard the question plenty of times before. "It's simple. They have an A-rank leading them. And the rest of the team is composed entirely of B-rankers. Most other teams are lucky to even have a single person at that level. The price is worth it if you can afford them, but only the wealthy people ask for the them. They have never failed a single escort mission yet, and they've been doing it a lot longer than most. While Red peak path is one of the safest routes into the south, we still lose on average a dozen people a week." Her voice was monotone, almost sounding like she was reading off a script.
"I will take the Crescent Moon Warriors then. For two people."
Kitty wouldn't be able to fight at all if their was any danger but at least I could give her the bracelet. As for me, I would be a bright target for any bandit that came around. Even if my rank raised a little before we set off, it wouldn't be enough to protect myself.
The receptionist looked at me, a little shocked, before regaining her normal indifferent demeanour. "That will be two platinum."
I handed her the coins. She quickly went to put them away as if she was scared that I might take them back.
"Alright, I'll sign you up for their next trip. Show up here in five days at sunrise."
"Do you know how long the trip will take?"
"Normally, it would take a week, but with the Crescent Moon's you will probably get through in five or six days." This time she was much more respectful when answering my question. The receptionist was a lot more polite after I pulled out two platinum.
"Alright, thank you."
"It was my pleasure."
I left the mercenary guild after securing the escort team, grinning from ear to ear. It would be a weight off my back when we left this place.
Since my purse had already been emptied so much, I decided to return to the inn. Not only was my wallet much lighter, my legs were also tired of walking around all day.
*******
When I returned to the inn, I found Kitty asleep on the bed, the book on an open page next to her. It seemed my entrance had awoken her, as she hastily got up with a red face.
"Did you sleep well?" I couldn't help but tease her a little.
Her embarrassed look as she mumbled a response just made me want to eat her. But I repressed my lustful desires for the moment. I wasn't the Demon lord of Lust after all.
I gave her a grin. "We have a way to the southern continent now."
Her cat ears instantly perked up at my statement. It was quite cute how her emotions were so transparent and yet she didn't seem to notice it all.
"Really? When are we leaving?" She asked as she stood up and grabbed my hands into hers.
"Five days from now. I bought the best escort team I could."
"Finally, I can't wait to leave. Once we're in the southern continent, it will be much harder for either demon lord to catch us." Her face broke out into a wide smile.
Too cute! My cold heart was shattered instantly.
Unable to resist, my hand want pat her head and she closed her eyes in contentment as I scratched her ears. That was another thing I had noticed when travelling with her that she did not. She acted a lot like a cat sometimes.
"Oh yes. I also bought you a few things when I was out," I said as I started pulling things out of the storage bag to hand to her. The red cloak, a pair of boots and finally some books.
"Is this all for me?"
"Of course. It's not much, at least not compared to what I bought for myself. When we get to the southern continent, we can buy you some more clothes."
She gave me another toothy smile and I almost had to clutch my heart. Dammit, this girl really was my weakness. Maybe I should just marry her.
I hadn't even brought out the best gift yet. Just thinking about the 'other' stuff left in my bag was making me even more excited. Was I really this much of a pervert?
No, it was only when it came to Kitty. That was fine though. After all, she was all mine.
"Kitty~" I whispered into her cat ear as I wrapped my arms around her waist. "Do you want to have a little fun?"
"R-right now?!"
"Mmm, right now. I have something that I want you to try." I reluctantly removed one of my hands from her as I pulled one of the two potions from the bag to dangle in front of her.
"What does this do?"
"Just have a sip. Only a third of the bottle," I said as I handed it to her.
My body was already quite excited. Knowing Kitty would love to have some part of her former self back, even if it was only temporary. I myself was probably even more eager as I thought of her taking me. It had been so cute when she tried to dominate me last time.
Minutes past though but nothing changed. Kitty was looking at me with a confused expression as I stared intently at her crotch. But nothing seemed to change.
"Let me check something."
"Hey! What are you doing?" Kitty squealed as I grabbed the hem of her dress.
"Just checking something, sweetie."
Lifting Kitty's skirt, I grabbed her panties and brought them down to her knees before giving her womanhood a prod with my finger. It brought me joy that she was just as wet as I was, but I was also quite confused. Why was there no change happening? Had I been ripped off?
I stretched out my hand. "Hand me that vial."
Opening my mouth, I drained another third of the blue potion. It only took seconds before I felt something change. Something grew beneath my hip, sticking out and pressing against my panties. In just a few seconds, Kitty was staring intently at the new bulge in my pants.
"W-what!?"
"So the potion did work! I wonder why it had no effect on you though…"
Kitty lifted her head to stare at me, her eyes wide open and had her mouth gaping like a fish. "D-did you just grow a penis?"
"Yep! Well, this is what the potion was supposed to do. It's only temporary though. I thought you would like trying it, but for some reason it didn't work on you. Maybe because of your previous transformation?"
"Oh," Kitty looked sad for a second before perking up. She threw her arms around me and gave me a hug. "Thank you anyways, Elaina."
"You're welcome, Kitty." I gave her a pat on the back. "But maybe you could let go. This transformation will last for hours and I don't know if I'll be able to resist with you hugging me."
She blushed as she looked down at the tent in my pants that was poking her belly.
"Umm…maybe I can help with it right now?"
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง