"I have some free time this weekend-"
My ears instantly perked up. "You do?!" I exclaimed as I popped my head out of the covers and gave Ronak a suspicious look. What was his definition of some free time? Like twenty minutes or a few hours? W-wait… what does he have planned? It better not be anything nefarious.
Ronak's brow knitted together, and he gave me a slight glare. "Why are you acting like I said something bad?"
"What do you have planned?" I tucked the blanket around me nervously, and Ronak smirked.
"While that is tempting, I'm afraid that it'll have to wait. No, usually when I have a bit of time during the weekends, I like to go questing. You acted like you wanted to go as well, so I'm willing to tolerate some orange quests for you." Why did he have to say it like that? Couldn't he have left it as let's go quest together?
"I can come?"
"Is that not what I just said?" Ronak reached out and poked my forehead.
"But… What will I wear? I don't have any adventuring gear." Since I only cast spells, I'd probably wear cloth armor, but I knew it was nicer stuff than a simple shirt and pants.
"I had something prepared for you… I hope you don't hate the design I came up with…"
"You designed it?" The tops of Ronak's cheeks turned a bit pink as I gave him a wide-eyed stare.
"I only gave the designer input…, and I thought it would complement your fighting style…" Ronak scratched the side of his head. "Olivia will be here in a second to help you change. I've gotta go sign a document, and I'll be back." Ronak got out of bed and melted into the floor. Hehe, is Ronak a little embarrassed? It didn't happen terribly often, but it was terribly cute when it did happen. I liked seeing that side of him; it made him seem… like he really was only a little older than me. Sometimes he acted like such a stiff old man. You'd think he was older than the emperor some days.
There was a quick knock, and the door to the room opened. "Are you ready to get dressed, or do you need a moment?" Olivia called over to me.
"I'm ready." Mostly, I'm curious about the outfit. What did Ronak pick out for me?
After getting out of bed, Olivia and Tisha hauled me off to the bathroom for a quick bath before setting me down in front of the mirror. Olivia skillfully braided a portion of my hair and brought it up into a high ponytail while Tisha worked on my nails. She rounded out all the edges and made them look as pretty as they were for Ronak's birthday. It all felt like a bit much to go hunt monsters, but I wasn't going to say anything.
Back out in the main room, Olivia and Tisha started getting the outfit ready. "That seems like a little bit of fabric for how cold it is outside…" All the trees have lost their leaves, and you're going to send me out in that?!
Olivia glanced my way and snickered. "My lord had it enchanted for the little lord, so it will keep you plenty warm." He had it enchanted?! That had to cost a fortune! Ronak always spends too much on me!
"I-I see…" Tisha pulled the last item out of the box, and I froze. "Are those heels?"
"Just kitten ones. You'll be fine. The ones that you wore to the party were taller." What was Olivia's version of kittens?! Those were like two inches! I was expected to run and fight in those?! I'm going to trip and face-plant it before we even leave town.
"Why's there so little fabric?"
"Just trust the process. You trust us to get you dressed properly, right?" Olivia paused what she was doing and gave me a questioning look.
"Well, yeah…" But that didn't mean I wasn't worried…
They started by having me put on the pants, which were rather tight yet stretchy. I thought for sure they'd restrict my movement, but they didn't. I was surprised that Ronak was choosing to dress me in dark colors; I rarely wear dark colors. I did wear them on his birthday, so apparently that made quite the lasting impression on him.
The top was interesting. It had a long hem that went down to my knees. Honestly, it fit me more like a robe because it only had one small button in the front that clasped. Its sleeves were large and almost consumed my hands. Of course, it was a dark crimson with black embroidery along the hems. How… was this going to work? Also, my chest and back are mostly bare! Why did Ronak dress me like this?! The only part that wasn't robe-like was the shoulders and neck. The fabric was a bit thicker and was black, not dark crimson. It flowed up my shoulders to my neck, where it wrapped around snugly.
I opened my mouth to question the top when I turned to see Olivia holding a rather frightening item in her hands. "You want me to wear a corset?"
"I thought you said you trusted us." Olivia narrowed her eyes slightly, and I gulped nervously.
"I-I do… It's not you that's the problem. I'm just surprised by the outfit."
"You're not even wearing the completed thing. Save your worries for then." I nodded my head and decided to keep my mouth shut.
She wrapped the corset around the outside of my outfit, and with Trisha's help, they got the back tied. It made the top look far less like a robe and far more like a proper top. It wasn't actually that tight. It was snug, but based on Terra's complaints when she wore corsets, it didn't seem that bad. Maybe this one was different?
Next came a set of bracers that tamed the large sleeves. The hem tucked under each one, but the fabric pooled at the top of the bracers, still giving the look of a large sleeve, but leaving my hands free to use.
To my surprise, they pulled the prettiest sparkly black fabric out of the box. It was like the night sky was trapped within its threads. I wasn't sure how it was being achieved, but it was impressive. They clipped it to my back near my shoulders, and I realized that it was like a cape that flowed when I moved. Though it swooped in the middle, so my back was still on display.
I thought I was fully dressed besides my shoes, but Tisha kept handing Olivia things from the box. First, there was a golden chain belt accessory that had large red gems hanging from it. The moment Olivia clasped it around me, a warmth overwhelmed me. Whoa, that warming enchantment is nice, like being snuggled in a blanket… She attached another smaller gold chain that hung above the second before attaching a third golden chain that draped across the cape.
I was rather surprised when she clipped a large ruby pendant to the front of my collar. It hung down, accentuating my pale skin, almost like a necklace. I wasn't sure what it was enchanted with, but a tingly sensation washed over me when she clipped it on.
Lastly, we're a set of gold chains that draped around each of my arms. Gosh, there was a lot of jewelry for an adventuring outfit. We're slaying monsters, not going to the palace…
Once my boots were on, Olivia pulled me over to the large mirror in our closet, and I was surprised to see the outfit completed. "How does it look now that it's done?"
"It complements me rather well," I did a small twirl so I could see all the different details. It was a beautiful outfit, far nicer than what I was worthy of wearing. I don't even want to consider how much it cost Ronak to buy all this. "But… it just feels like a lot of skin is showing…" I couldn't deny that it looked good on me, but I was a bit too shy to be waltzing around with most of my chest and back on display. Not even the cape covered me.
"My lord wanted people to be able to see your bond mark so they'd stop approaching you for nefarious reasons." N-nefarious seemed like a bit much, but it wasn't too big of a surprise to hear that Ronak was trying to send a message. He was pretty mad over what happened last time.
"I see…"
The handle to the closet began to turn, and I was rather surprised to see Ronak entering. His eyes looked me up and down as a small smile began forming on his lips. "That suits you well."
I was hardly paying attention to his words because my heart decided to cause quite the stir in my chest. Ronak looked like a suave adventurer who would whisk you out of danger like a knight in shining armor. His, I wouldn't call it a shirt, it looked more like a crimson wrap that hung down from his hip with similar black embroidery on it that my top had. Of course, it was open in a deep V like mine was, but his rippling muscles looked excellent compared to my slender, undefined body. I could barely peel my eyes away to look at anything else. He layered on a long jacket over top with a long coat tail that went down to his ankles. It was black with a crimson interior that matched the red theme we had going on. His sleeves were rolled up on the jacket, and thick bracers with golden decorations protected his forearms. Ronak's pants were black, and his boots came up to his knees. A wide leather belt wrapped around his stomach, holding the wrap and jacket in place, but many golden chains and decorations hung from it along with those eerie black swords of his. They were in their sheaths, crossed behind him like an 'x' on his hips, but they drew my eyes. Oh… my…
"Do you like my adventuring outfit?" Ronak walked towards me, and the chains around his hips made a pleasant little tinkling sound.
"It… looks good…" It looked better than good, I-I don't think I've ever seen Ronak look so… so hot… I had to look away, anywhere else. It was too much for me to take in all at once. It was like he was made to wear an outfit like that.
Ronak snickered and grabbed my hand. "Come, let's go before the day is wasted staring at each other."
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I thought he would have whisked me off to the guild, but instead, he took me to the estate's empty grand hall. Okay, it wasn't empty. Ronak had stuff amassed in the center, but the room was oddly barren of furniture you'd expect in a grand hall. "What's all this?" It was as if all the spare tables had been plucked from the estate, because none of them matched. Each one, though, was stuffed to the brim with items ranging from medical supplies and herbs to food and camping supplies.
"I've been meaning to replace the supplies I've been using out of your storage," Ronak said proudly as he walked me towards the stuff.
"Th-this is far more than necessary… You didn't use that much." I couldn't believe all the stuff in here. Is that… a new tent? I don't need new stuff like that.
"You're right, but it's never bad to be prepared. Not that I want something similar to happen, but if you have space in your storage, then there should be no problem." I understood the logic, but I was still feeling shocked by all the stuff. "We can go, one table at a time, so you know what stuff is, and if you don't want it, that's fine." It didn't feel fine. If I rejected anything, it would be incredibly rude…
Ronak first walked me over to the table of food. It all smelled amazing. There was a range of fresh dishes to dried, and cured meats. There was even a large tray of fruit that made my mouth water. I couldn't believe how much food there was.
"I had the chefs go all out."
"Yeah, you did…"
"What have you done with all the dirty dishes?" I pulled my gaze away from the food and sheepishly glanced over to Ronak.
"I've been meaning to clean them, but there hasn't been time-"
Ronak pointed to the ground. "Cough them up. The staff can take care of them, and if you want the dishes back, you can have them."
"But someone else shouldn't-"
"Micha," Ronak leaned over and gently grabbed my face, putting his thumbs over my lips. His thumbs then traveled from my lips over to gently rub my cheeks. "The staff are here to help you. That includes doing simple tasks like dishes we caused during the dungeon, and afterwards. It also includes letting the maids help you, my little independent omega." My cheeks turned pink as he spoke. Olivia! You can't keep tattling on me to Ronak! I-I'm not used to her wanting to wait on me hand and foot! It's uncomfortable!
Ronak released me, and I awkwardly looked away. "I'm not used to staff being there all the time to help me with things…"
"I'm aware, but don't feel afraid to accept help. I'd be upset to know that the staff weren't helping you properly." Ronak reached over, and his hand ran down my arm until he could lace his fingers through mine. He kissed the back of my hand, drawing my attention back to him. "That includes accepting things from me." In other words, he really didn't want me arguing about accepting any of this stuff, did he?
"It's a difficult adjustment to make, but I'm trying."
Ronak scoffed lightly and released my hand. "I swear you're the only person on the planet that would say that. Do you not contain an ounce of greed?" Greed?
I blinked a few times and curiously looked up at Ronak. "Do you have lots of greed?"
"Scads." Ronak snickered as he leaned down to sniff my head. "I was so greedy that I stole the sun from the sky."
My poor face turned an even darker shade of pink. "I-I feel greedy towards sweets-" Ronak's rich laughter filled the air, cutting me off. He was close enough that the strong thrum of his diaphragm shook me as he laughed. Hey! I was trying to be honest with you! "D-don't laugh!"
"And here I was saying you don't have an ounce of greed. How could I forget about the black hole that resides within my sun?"
"B-black hole?! I'm not a black hole!" That's so rude! That spell consumes everything in sight! I-I don't do that!
"Then where does all the fat go? If anyone ate sweets like you do, they'd be the size of a barn." Ronak teasingly pinched my sides with a massive grin. "Can you even go a day without sneaking cookies from the kitchen?"
"I didn't do that!" It would have been more convincing had my voice not jumped in octaves. Olivia! You said you wouldn't tell him!
"Mhmm." S-stop grinning like that! "You might have more greed than I do."
"No, I don't!" I squealed. Ronak's laughter was not helping my red face in the slightest. Listen to me! You're far greedier than I!
"Okay, little black hole. It's time to put all this stuff away." I angrily puffed up my cheeks, but eventually held out my hands and brought the hot dishes into storage. "And the dirty ones."
"I'm working on it!" I grumbled. I can't put stuff in and take stuff out at the same time, or at least I don't think I can. I've never tried. Despite not wanting to make it someone else's problem, I brought out the dirty dishes. There was an embarrassing amount. Between the dungeon and all the times Ronak and I had a little picnic on my bed or he asked me not to leave the dorm, it added up.
"While you're still welcome to harvest what you want from the greenhouse or use the dried supplies, I want you to have these," Ronak said as he walked me to the next table. Whoa, there was so much stuff. Bottled aloettle, herbs galore, and even potions that Ronak probably made. There were at least three tables of herbology supplies, and even a new knife sat amongst the stuff.
"I-I don't need a new one…" I mumbled as I poked the knife. Were those actual gems in the handle?
"I want you to have nice things." Admittedly, as I picked up the knife, it had a nice grip and felt good in my hand. "If it makes you feel better, you can donate your old things to the commoners." I gave Ronak a bit of a dull look. Okay, okay. I get it, Mr. Moneybags. You want me to use the things you give me.
"I'm not giving my favorite knife to someone," I grumbled under my breath as I put the stuff into my storage.
It was the same situation with the medical supplies. Ronak gave me a whole host of new products from Elutra that, while I was curious about, I didn't really need. I did accept it and put it all in my inventory to appease Ronak, though. I didn't want him to be upset with me all day.
Now this… this felt like a bit much. "Was there something wrong with my tent?" It was weird seeing a tent set up in the grand hall, and gosh… it was a pretty big tent…
"No, but go inside. I'm sure you'll like it." I nervously glanced at Ronak and took a step inside the loose flap. While my tent was basic and rectangular, this one was more octagonal with a domed roof. As I entered the tent, I had to blink a few times. Was that an actual bed, and a small dining set inside? It wasn't too big, but big enough for two people to comfortably live in. Admittedly, it would be far more comfortable sleeping in this rather than on my old bedrolls… "I figured since you keep a table set in there, it could probably handle this."
I slowly turned to stare at Ronak. He's lost his marbles. "Space isn't the problem…"
"Oh, calm down. This tent is horribly basic compared to the one I travel long distances with. Mine has a desk in it, and multiple rooms. This only has one chamber." What sort of behemoth tent did Ronak have?! Also, he literally travels with a desk?! Talk about being addicted to work. "Besides, think about how much more comfortable it will be to get into trouble in here." As Ronak spoke, he got closer and closer until my calves were touching the bed. He leaned forward like he was going to push me into the bed, but he didn't. Instead, he grabbed my waist and pulled me into a kiss.
"I-I thought we were going questing!" I yelped as he pulled away with a grin. Ronak acted like he was going to get into trouble right here, right now.
He let out a sigh and took a step back. "Fine, we can break in the bed later." My cheeks turned warm as Ronak left the tent. H-he wanted to do what?!
After managing to exit the tent with my pink cheeks, I put the new tent into my storage, and brought out my old one along with the old table set. "I-is that everything?" I was rather hesitant to ask what else Ronak wanted to give me, but I didn't see anything else in the room.
"That's it for now. That new stuff isn't using all your mana, is it?"
"No, very little actually." I stared off into the distance for a second as I checked on my storage. It wasn't like it was much more than usual. When I had the monsters in my storage, they took up more space. "Do you want me to teleport us to the adventuring guild?" I asked as I took a step towards Ronak. Instead of answering me, he simply pulled me in closer. I took that as a yes, and snapped my fingers.
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The adventuring guild was bustling with people until we arrived. The moment our feet touched the ground, the full room fell silent, and eyes slowly turned towards us. Oops. I forgot how startled people get when I teleport places, and this place couldn't be any busier. I couldn't handle all the eyes on us, so I tucked my face against Ronak, who snickered. "You don't need to stress. People just need to mind their own business." Ronak let out a soft growl, and as I peeked out from his chest, I saw that many people had whipped around and stopped staring at us.
"I forget that people aren't used to me teleporting places…" I even spooked staff at the estate all the time. I felt really bad about it… It was just not a thought that ever crossed my mind…
"Who cares. I use my travel spell to get here all the time." Yuck… Okay, yours is worse than mine. Jade told me that there's simply a gold sparkle where I'm going to teleport to, and a soft tinkly sound before I appear. It's rather faint, though, and before you know it, I appear out of nowhere.
"It seems busier than before." I was trying my best to ignore the people still staring at us, but it was pretty hard. One guy even had coffee dribbling out of his mouth.
"That's because it's the morning. People come to get the quest they're going to take for the day." Oh, that made sense. I pulled away from Ronak and peeked around curiously. I'd hate to come here alone. I liked how busy the trade district was, but these people all looked rough and tough. Most of them were wielding weapons, and many had old battle scars. Ronak might have fit in, but I was the complete opposite of all these people. "Shall we go take a look at the quests?" Ronak asked as he extended his arm to me.
"Okay." How exciting! "Orange, right?" That brightened my mood a bit. I loved how Ronak was always holding my hand or offering me his arm to hold. It also lets me hide my very overexposed chest.
"I'll let you pick it out, but I don't particularly want to do a fetch quest or escort anyone." I gave Ronak a confused look, and he scoffed. "I don't want to run errands for people, and I don't like being a guard." I couldn't help but stifle a laugh. Of course, Ronak wouldn't want to run errands or guard anyone. I didn't mind at all, but if he wants to hunt monsters, we can go hunt monsters.
As we approached the quest board wall, people got out of our way. I-I guess Ronak does have quite the reputation. I even heard people whispering in surprise about us approaching the orange section. Despite the disturbances around us, I focused my attention on the wall. Hmmm… there's not a ton of options once you remove the quests that Ronak doesn't want to do… "What about this one?" It was for a town a bit south of the capital, but it shouldn't be too big a problem. I think it was close enough, and it would be fun to leave the capital for the day.
"Ironjaw hyenas in Dellmoor? We could probably get that done and be back to the capital for lunch." Ronak scratched his chin and looked over a few other quests. "Yeah, I'd say that's the best pick on the wall. It will probably earn you a decent amount of stamps, too."
"Do you think my card will change colors?" I excitedly glanced up at Ronak, but his slight snicker dampened my mood.
"I doubt it. It takes more than one quest to make it change." He reached over and patted the top of my head with an amused look. "Pull it off the wall. We have to take it over to the front desk for approval." Y-you're taller than me! Why can't you grab it?!
Despite wanting to complain, I stepped up on a golden platform and pulled the thick piece of parchment off the board. "I should just walk around like this all day, then I can be as tall as you are." I snickered as I turned around and noticed that I was eye level with Ronak. Huh… I guess I am always looking up at Ronak… He's so dang tall compared to me.
"Not happening." I let out a little yelp as Ronak grabbed me by my waist and hauled me off my platform. I was joking! Y-you're making everyone stare again! Gah! I hate it when people stare! Thankfully, when he got to the front desk, he sat me down, but that didn't make people's gazes leave us. "We'll be taking this quest," Ronak grunted as I set the quest details down on the counter.
"Ah, of course." The woman looked a bit nervous, but looked over the quest we picked out. She gave Ronak a slightly strange side eye before returning her attention to the quest. "If you're interested, we also have a quest that just came in. It's a delivery quest for Dellmoor. I was just about to hang it up next to this one, but if you're interested, I can mark you down for it." She turned around to the far counter for a second and came back with an additional quest paper.
"Having to haul a cart with us will only slow us down-"
"But Ronak!" I grabbed his arm excitedly and looked up at him with wide eyes. "We wouldn't have to haul anything, and I'd get additional stamps for my guild card!" We can just shove the cart into my storage and take it with us that way!
"Can't believe that slipped my mind. Fine, we'll take the additional quest."
"Okay, I will mark you down then." She looked a bit confused, but the woman assisting us at the counter didn't ask any questions. She probably knew better than to annoy Ronak. Especially after what happened last time. "Alright." She pulled out a map and pointed to part of the capital that I had never been to before. "The pickup is located here in the lumber yards. You'll want to talk to Forman Johns when you get there. Have a safe journey, and best of luck, adventurers." She transferred all the documents to us, and I stashed them away in my storage.
Ronak simply grunted and pulled me away as I beamed excitedly. "Thanks!" I called over my shoulder to the lady who helped us.
"Teleport us back to the estate for a moment," Ronak said as he pulled my chin back towards him.
"Why?" I asked as I tilted my head to the side. Didn't we need to go to the lumber yard? Did Ronak forget something? That's totally unlike him…
"While we both have travel spells, you've never been to Dellmoor, and I don't particularly enjoy going long distances with my spell. It can turn into quite the mana drain. We'll need a different mode of transportation." That made sense. I nodded my head and took a step closer to Ronak so I could teleport the two of us.
"Oh. Guess I'm not thinking straight because I'm excited. I get to go on my first quest with you." I glanced up at Ronak, who was watching me with a warm gaze. "It'll probably be rather boring for you, but I'll work hard so that I can catch up to your blue rank."
"I'd like that a lot…" A small smile played in the corners of Ronak's lips as I snapped my fingers and teleported us away from the buzzing capital guild hall.
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I stared at Ronak's horse in shock. "Th-that's a horse?!" Its back was far taller than I was, and had it been wearing a saddle, I doubt I would even be able to get my foot in the stirrup. Its coat was a beautiful inky black that glistened in the sun. I wanted to run my hand across it, but resisted the urge. Someone dedicated a lot of time to grooming this magnificent beast…
Ronak took the reins from the knights who brought the horse around. "Yes, what else would it be?" Ronak gracefully mounted the horse like he had done it hundreds of times, and leaned over to offer his hand to me. W-we were riding the same horse? I mean, I did notice that they only brought one horse around, but… isn't that a bit awkward?
I didn't want to stand there staring at Ronak's hand like an idiot, nor did I want the knights to snicker at me struggling to get on this giant behemoth of a horse, so I created a few platforms to step on as I took Ronak's hand. I went to sit behind Ronak, but he pulled me into his lap as I stepped up. I was rather embarrassed to be seen riding like this, but I tried to ignore my feelings.
"We'll be back later today," Ronak grunted as he pulled on the reins and directed his horse forward. I jolted in shock a bit as the massive steed took a step, and Ronak grabbed my hips. "I guess I didn't ask if you could even ride a horse." He said as his arms wrapped around me.
"I-I can! This doesn't count! This is hardly a normal-sized horse! It's so massive!" I nervously leaned forward and ran my hands along its neck. It didn't seem to hate it, so I kept doing it just to watch its coat shimmer in the sun.
"It's a shire horse." Ronak chuckled behind me. "We breed them in my dukedom, and this guy was the pride of the herd." Ronak leaned against me and patted the horse's neck before sitting upright again.
"Why would you take him if he was the pride of the herd?" Wouldn't the breeders want to keep him to sire more offspring?
"He was given to me three years ago as a birthday gift by the breeders. I wasn't going to deny such a spectacular gift." Oh, I guess that makes sense.
"Why doesn't he have a saddle on?" That would make riding him far easier if I had somewhere to put my feet. Though… I guess Ronak's feet would go into the stirrups, not mine.
"My saddle only fits one person, unless you want to be wedged between the horn and my lap… though…" Ronak made an odd growling sound, and I shivered from head to toe. H-he's totally thinking something dirty, isn't he?! I've gotta change the topic!
I couldn't help but notice that Ronak kept referring to the horse with basic pronouns… "D-did you… not name your horse?" Don't tell me he didn't give it a fitting name.
Ronak's odd growling came to an end as he let out a grunt. "Guess I never cared or thought about it…"
"Ronak! You just call it horse?!" I pivoted enough to give him an exasperated look. That's so mean! I reached down and pinched Ronak's thigh as if that was going to do anything to him. "You've gotta give it a name! My family's horse is named Chestnut. He's kind of taupe and white colored."
"Mmm," Ronak snatched my hand from his thigh and brought it back to my shoulder, where he gently kissed my fingers. "You can name this horse if you're so inclined." He released my hand, and I clutched it to my chest for a moment. G-gosh! Does Ronak need to make people stare no matter where we go?! We had just entered the nobles' district, and of course, like always, Ronak drew everyone's attention. This massive horse didn't help. C-can we just get out of the capital already?!
I tried to distract myself by turning my attention back to Ronak's horse. He wants me to name this horse? Ummm… I fell into thought as I watched the majestic beast make its way through the nobles' district. As his coat shimmered, I glanced over to see a jeweler's shop. "Oh! What about naming him Onyx? Onyx stones shimmer just like he does, and they're inky black."
"That seems fitting. Onyx, it is then." That felt… almost too simple… Would Ronak have agreed to any name I came up with? I thought he would have given me some input.
"Are you saying that just to please me?"
"Mmm, no. Had the name been horrendous, I would have said something." Gah! W-well… at least he's honest…
"Are you sure then? It was rather spur of the moment…" I didn't want Ronak to regret letting me name his horse.
"I would have never named him had you left it up to me. So Onyx is fine."
Thanks to Onyx's massive size, people quickly got out of our way, and his long legs made faster progress than your average horse. Making it from the nobles district all the way over to the industry district wasn't bad at all. "I've never been to this part of the capital." The people around these parts seemed incredibly busy as they rushed from one place to another with raw materials not quite made into usable goods.
"You wouldn't have a reason to. The only vendors over here are lumber mills, coal suppliers, metals refineries, and tanneries." Ronak teasingly ran a finger down my exposed back, making me shiver. "This should be our destination."
Ronak brought Onyx to a stop next to a large lumber yard. They had things from small pieces of timber to entire trees that hadn't been cut yet, and everything in between. I had seen places like this before, but never had I been so close. It was fascinating to watch as a team of men maneuvered a log over to the massive saw and started sending it through to cut it up. "What brings you two to my mill?" A large, gruff-looking guy asked as he approached us.
"Micha, where did you put the papers?" Ronak asked as he poked me in the side. Oh! Oops, I wasn't paying attention to Ronak at all. I looked over to him with a blank look, and he gave me a slightly dull one in return. "Papers?"
"Oh! Right! Sorry!" I held out my hand and brought forth the quest details. Right as I handed them over to Ronak, my attention was drawn to some shouting.
"Hey! Watch out! What do you think you're doing over there?!"
"Get out of the way!" The logging men went scattering in multiple directions as one of the large stacks of tree trunks shifted. The log that had been precariously perched at the top ended up tottering for a second before falling to the side. It hit another log at an odd angle and went bouncing down the stack at a rapid pace.
My eyes widened in shock as the youngest guy of the bunch froze in fear from the large trunk tumbling his way. H-hey! Watch out!
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Ronak
I reached out as quickly as I could to grab Micha before he did something foolish, but he disappeared from before me, and my hand closed down on nothing. Damn it! Your life is more valuable than his! I darted forward and rammed my foot into the ground, causing two spikes to burst out from the dirt as Micha grabbed the idiot. Thankfully, Micha disappeared again as the log crashed into my spikes, but the sheer force the log hit them with almost broke one. Fuck, that was too close for my liking. Had Micha not teleported away, and my spike had broken, then that would have been awful.
Micha appeared near me along with the jackass that endangered his life. He thought the log was scary? He hasn't had to deal with me yet- "By the gods! An angel has saved my life!" The jackass collapsed down onto the ground in a heap of tears, and Micha awkwardly scratched his neck. I wanted to bring my foot back and smash it into the jackasses face, but didn't want Micha to watch me hurt him.
"I-I'm not an angel…" Micha mumbled.
Micha let out a bit of a squeak as I pulled him over to me. "Don't do anything so foolish ever again." My heart was still racing like crazy. "And you," I angrily snapped as I turned to the idiot on the ground. "Don't fucking stand there gawking when there's plenty of time to move, you dumbass!" I turned back to Micha. "I can't believe you saved the likes of him." I snarled into Micha's ear.
"But he was-"
"I care more about you." Then dumbass fucks like this. Look at him pathetically crying. I angrily squeezed Micha's cheeks as I scowled at him. Back to his little hero charades it seems. Damn, maybe letting him do quests was a bad idea.
The logging foreman approached along with his idiotic workers. "I can't thank you two enough-"
"Don't fucking stack the logs that high." I snapped. It didn't take an expert to realize the cause of the problem. Anyone with a brain could see that the stack was getting too tall.
"Ronak-" I squeezed Micha's cheeks again, causing him to stop talking.
"It was my oversight that caused this mess. I must apologize for the inconvenience, but thank you for handling the problem." The foreman bowed politely. "I would like to compensate you with these. While it is not a monetary reward, I'm sure the guild will accept them as a token of our appreciation." He held out his hand and presented us with four wooden guild coins. Why the fuck does he have them on hand?
"Micha's life is worth far more than four of these," I grumbled under my breath as I snatched the coins and handed them over to Micha. "Put these into your storage."
Micha rubbed his cheek where I had pinched him, and stared at the coins curiously. "What are these?"
"They let the guild know that you've completed a quest. They have no monetary value, thus they make them out of wood." I slowly turned to glare daggers at the foreman, who flinched. "They best not be fake." It would be a little absurd to think that they were, but we were in a lumber mill, and I've heard of far more outlandish things in my lifetime.
"I wouldn't dare think of giving you anything fake. Ah, and about that other quest. The cart of supplies is over there. I'll have it prepared for you." The foreman turned and shouted to his men. "I want that stack split into two by the end of today's shift." The crew nodded in response and headed off to get things done. I couldn't help but notice the sniveling cockroach, that should have gotten squished, rise to his feet.
"I can't thank you enough. Is there any way that I can repay you? I don't have much but-"
"No thanks. I don't need anything in return." Micha held his hands up and took a step away from the guy. Must he always flash his kind smiles at people? Those were for me, damn it. I should reach over and pinch his squishy cheeks again.
"Truly, an angel walks amongst us!" The fucking cockroach kneeled again as if praying to Micha, and a wave of uncomfortableness washed over me. He wasn't alone. I, too, felt uncomfortable, but I had a stronger desire to step over and kick the prick as hard as I could.
"Let's get out of here," I grumbled as I grabbed Micha's hand and pulled him along with me.
"Is something the matter?" Micha asked as he looked up at me with concerned eyes. I couldn't bring myself to respond, so I looked away from him. Really? Is something the matter? He's joking, right? Had I not rushed forward to help, there was a chance that Micha wouldn't have been able to cast his spell fast enough, and he would have gotten hit by that log. I agree with his mother. He has no sense of self-preservation because he's so used to healing everything. My gut twisted uncomfortably inside of me. I just hope I don't have to see the day that he can't manage to heal himself… I don't think I'd be able to witness something like that… Dread overwhelmed me for a moment as an incoherent memory resurfaced. Micha was wearing bloody white robes… What?... I peeked over to Micha for a second before looking away. Gosh, what am I thinking? Micha has me all stressed out.
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Despite the foreman wanting to ask Micha too fucking many questions upon seeing his storage spell, we managed to return to Onyx in a decent time. I sure as hell ensured that we'd be fast when leaving the capital, too. I didn't want to deal with other people for a while, and I sure didn't want any more disturbances to our day. "Are you upset that I saved that guy?" Micha finally asked now that we were alone.
I sat up a bit so my nose wasn't pressed against the top of Micha's head. I had him wrangled in my arms and was enjoying the pleasant scent of his hair. "I'm upset that you endangered yourself. There were other options besides teleporting directly in front of the falling log."
"Th-that was the first thing that popped into my head-"
"My dual blades can barely fracture your shields when you're trying. I doubt a log would have smashed through one, or you could have angled your singular shield so the log deflected away from him. There were options besides putting yourself in the line of fire." I let out an annoyed growl and dug my nose back down into Micha's hair. Had I not been so annoyed, I would have enjoyed him shivering from head to toe.
"I… didn't think about that…" No shit.
I sat up a bit so I could respond to Micha. "If you ever do something so reckless again, I'll personally revoke your guild card."
"What! That seems harsh! I-" I pulled Micha in tighter against me, and let out an even louder growl. "Y-you're growls don't scare me, you big meanie!" Good… I wasn't even trying to scare you. I'm just pissed. Where's his fucking neck? "Ack! Ronak!" I sank my teeth into the top of his neck while letting out another loud growl. I should have designed his outfit so it didn't cover up so much of his shoulders. Like always, the moment I bit down into Micha's neck, he became like soft clay in my hands. I wasn't sure why it happened, but it was rather charming.
I made sure to pull Micha in closer to me so he didn't accidentally fall off Onyx. "The only thing harsh here is that my omega doesn't care that he made his alpha concerned. I should bite you even more, you brat." I grumbled before running my tongue over the now very visible mark under Micha's ear.
"You were… concerned? Ack-!" I bit down on Micha's neck again in irritation. Of course, I was concerned. Don't tell me he's that dense.
I sat up and let out an annoyed huff as I held onto Micha. This brat. I can't believe him.
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We rode in silence for a while. The plains were slowly taken over by meadows, and the sun shone through the barren branches. I wonder if Micha is warm enough. I made sure to have Benedict put a rather strong warming enchantment on Micha's belt.
My thoughts were interrupted as Micha cleared his throat. "I-I'm sorry… I acted before thinking and did something reckless. I didn't mean to make you worry so much. I just didn't want to see that man die…" I let out a bit of a grumble and buried my nose back down into Micha's hair. "I'll try to think of alternative solutions that don't endanger myself."
"It will come with practice." At least it fucking better. I don't want him doing stupid ass shit like that in the future. Otherwise, I really will prevent him from going on quests. "We were a bit slower than I wanted to be, but look, there." I pointed past Micha to the houses that were hidden amongst the trees. Had it been a different time of the year, the village would have been hidden by foliage, but since plants had lost their leaves, it was easy to spot.
"Oh, is that Dellmoor?" Micha asked.
"Yes. It's a small farming town with not a lot going on." I assume it relies heavily on the capital since it's so close. There would be no need for vendors to set up shop here when you'll get better profits in the capital.
"It's rather quaint." Micha held out his hand and brought the two quest information papers out. "We've gotta go to the local lord's house for both of these… How are we supposed to know where that is?"
"You ask someone." I pulled on Onyx's reins and approached a house where someone was working in their garden. "Where can we find the lord's house?"
"My, what a steed that is." The older gentleman stood up and brushed the dirt from his hands while giving Onyx a wide-eyed stare. "His house is west of here. Go past that house, and take a left. It sits a bit further in the meadows."
"Thank you." Micha chirped as I spurred Onyx along. Ugh, he's way too polite…
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Micha
We managed to find the lord's estate just as we were told. It was a bit odd seeing such a fancy house sitting amongst commoner ones, but maybe that's how it was for the average noble.
Ronak tied Onyx up, and before we could even approach the door, it swung open, and a rather pompous-looking man came out. His mustache was… a choice… It was thin and spindly, wrapping up onto his cheeks. It wasn't something that I enjoyed. Ew, just the idea of Ronak with facial hair seemed odd to me. I'm glad he stays clean-shaven. I was even surprised to find out that he shaves his chest every once in a while. Which explains why it's so spotless and perfect for me to run my hands over. I can't believe he calls me a hairless cat. If anyone is hairless, it's… well, it's mostly Ronak. He doesn't exactly shave his… goods… Ugh! I-I have hair! I-it's just very thin peach fuzz that's blonde. "Do my eyes deceive me? Is that the Archduke?" Ronak let out an annoyed grunt, but that didn't deter the man. "The pleasure is mine! I heard that you took quests, but never did I think that you'd accept one of mine." Annoyance hit me like a title wave from Ronak. J-just don't hit the guy…
"Where would you like your delivery dropped off?" I asked, trying to draw his attention away from Ronak.
The lord gave me a strange look. "Did you also accept the delivery quest I put out this morning?"
"Just answer the damn question." Ronak snapped.
"I would like it here in the drive, but-" Before he could question us, I turned and held out my hands. The air sparkled gold for a second before the cart of materials appeared before us. I glanced back over to the nobleman and held in a snicker. His mouth was hanging open in a rather unsightly way.
"Our fucking coins." Ronak snapped as he extended his hand forward.
"I will have to have them prepared by your return-"
"Then where the hell's the cave?" Ronak grumbled.
I couldn't blame the guy for flinching; Ronak was being particularly grumpy. Was it… my fault? His mood seemed to improve after I apologized, but maybe he was still upset with me…
"It's just east of here. Our village has a small iron mine, but it's been swarmed by ironjaw hyenas. I'm sure they'll find you far before you find the mine. I'm not sure why they're breeding so quickly, but it's causing us quite the problem."
Ronak started growling, so I tugged on his sleeve to get him to stop. "Just have the coins ready by our return." He grabbed my hand and spun on his heel, leaving the baffled noble behind.
"Is everything okay?" I asked once we had resumed traveling on Onyx. Ronak was silent, so I continued to prod. "Are you mad at me?"
"No."
"Then why are you so grumpy?" He was fine until- oh wait…
Ronak scoffed and lightly pinched my side. "That bastard is going to try and tell everyone that he got the archduke to fetch his firewood and kill the monsters plaguing his area." Is that why he hates fetch quests and guarding jobs? People view him as beneath them. "It won't be a problem, though. He won't be opening his mouth after the quest. At least for a while." A shiver ran down my spine. I-I don't think I want to know what Ronak has planned…
"I've never heard of ironjaw hyenas before," I said, trying to change the topic.
"Mmm, I don't think they like cold climates. I'm actually surprised they're in this area." Ronak's arms slowly wrapped around my waist as he spoke.
"We've never learned about them in class." My hands wandered down to fiddle with his as we left the town.
"Of course we haven't. That damn pitiful excuse of a professor has only taught us about monsters found in dungeons. The few that do live in nature are so rare, I'd be surprised if you ran into them." Ronak grumbled a bit more under his breath, but I was focusing on not snickering, so I didn't catch what he said. Pft, he gets invested in the oddest things. Ronak lifted his head and looked into the distance. "It's time to get off Onyx. They're near."
I looked around the very empty meadows with a confused look on my face. "You can tell?"
"Honestly, I'm surprised that you can't... I have a spell, incoming assailant, that lets me detect hostile energy that's in an area. If you can't sense this, then how are you able to dodge so well?" Ronak asked as he helped me down from Onyx.
"My spell is different; it's called combat sense." I took a step back as Ronak gracefully dismounted Onyx. "I get a shiver down my spine when I'm about to get hit with an attack."
"Do traps set it off or only living things?" I was a bit surprised to see that Ronak was bringing Onyx with us, but I figured he knew what he was doing.
"I-I don't know." Why would I know something like that?
"Oh, right, I guess you wouldn't have any experience with that." A growl that didn't belong to Ronak drew my attention. "They're here."
I looked up to see a large dog-like beast reveal itself from the brush. Its back was sloped, and its fur was shaggy brown with the occasional dark brown spot. The most distinctive part, though, was its face. Its bottom jaw didn't look like that of a living animal; instead, it looked like it was wearing metal armor to reinforce its jaw. I guess that explains the name…
"You got this." Ronak patted me on the back, and I looked over at him in surprise. Huh?
"You're not helping-" The hyenas let out an obnoxious yip and lunged at me with their mouths wide open, ready to bite. I wasn't going to let it have a free meal, so I raised my hand and shot a light arrow straight into its gullet. I wasn't expecting to take it out in one shot, though. With a loud yip, the hyena fell to the ground motionless.
"I don't need to." Ronak pitifully looked over at the dead monster while holding Onyx's reins.
"Do they have a dark attribute?!" How was that so easy?! I scooted a bit closer and poked the beast with my foot just to check if it was really dead.
"No, they're earth attributed actually. This is an orange quest, and I'd say skill-wise you're probably about a green if not blue like me. You need experience, though, so starting at orange will be good for you despite being boring." I was a little flabbergasted, but I nodded my head. "You've gotta remember anyone who can wield a weapon can sign up to be an adventurer. The guild isn't going to send teenagers and greenhorns after extremely dangerous beasts. You have to prove yourself with each level. You just happen to have some experience from the academy and a decent skillset." Right. What Ronak was saying did make sense. "Be on your guard, more are approaching."
"Okay." We headed further into the meadows, and hyenas would appear, but honestly, I almost felt bad about killing them. They stood no chance against my spells. We took out far stronger beasts during class. All I was doing was waging a single-person onslaught against the monsters.
"Hmm, I think that should be all of them," Ronak said as I put the most recent hyena corpses into my storage. "Twenty-eight, I guess that is quite the pack of them."
"The quest papers say we only needed to turn in seven of the jaws," I said as I brought the papers out to look at them.
"You can still have them broken down into alchemy ingredients or get paid for their parts. Either way, leaving behind the corpse when you have the ability to take it with you seems foolish. They only put that in there because that's what a normal person could carry." Ronak was looking rather bored as he stood next to Onyx. I felt a little bad that he got all dressed up just to follow me around. I thought we would have a bit more excitement on our first quest together. "Shall we go retrieve our coins so we can go get lunch in the capital?" Ronak extended his hand to me, and as I accepted it, he pulled me over to him. "You did a good job on your first quest."
"Thanks." I snickered. Nothing I did was that impressive, but it was pleasing to be complimented.
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Ronak was looking beyond furious as we informed the lord of our success. To be fair, the guy really was making quite the show out of the situation. "Micha." He snarled. "Please take Onyx, and go into town. I'll meet up with you in a moment. Seems I need to have a talk." I nervously released Ronak's hand that I had been holding hostage, and accepted Onyx's reins that he thrusted in my direction. The dummy lord gulped as I gave him a foreboding glance. I feel like the talk is going to involve a lot more fists than actual words.
"But-"
"Did I say I was going to beat the shit out of him?" Oh, so he's aware of how he's acting…
"Well, no…" But it sure seems like you're going to…
"Then don't worry about it." I did feel worried, but I didn't want to risk making Ronak mad, so I did as he asked…
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Ronak
"Y-yes, sir! I-I won't do anything, I promise!" I glared at the sniveling mess on the ground for a moment before scoffing.
"Remember, I'll have people watching you for a while. One wrong move, and my uncle will need to find a new noble to manage this area." I wanted to punch him as hard as I could, but I told Micha that I wouldn't do anything brash. Though maybe he'd approve of me ripping this guy's ridiculous facial hair off.
He gulped dramatically as I spun on my heel and left the area. Now, where to find Micha…
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"Wahh! Those are so cool!"
"Do it again! Do it again!"
The sound of children's giggling hit my ears, and I had to roll my eyes. Was Micha a child magnet or something? I peeked around the house I was standing near, and sure enough, Micha was squatting down low with about eight kids standing around him. They ranged from little kids to even older ones. Micha laughed, held out his hands, and blew on them. His mana sparkled a bit before forming into large golden 'bubbles' as the kids referred to them. The children ran around laughing and popping the bubbles as Micha stood back up with a massive grin on his face. Mmm, he's really pretty when he smiles.
I don't know if he was able to sense me, but Micha turned around and flashed his pleased smile at me. "That was fast." He called over.
Most of the kids paused and glanced over at me as I approached. A spike of anxiousness shot through me, and I rolled my eyes. "I didn't do anything, but retrieve our coins." I held up the two large wooden coins and passed them to Micha.
Based on his feelings, it seemed that Micha didn't quite believe me. "Okay-"
"Are you leavin'?" Micha and I both looked down to see a little girl tugging on the hem of his shirt.
"Ah, yeah." Micha squatted down to be closer to eye level with the kid. "Maybe our paths will cross again one day, but for now I have to return to the capital." He held out his hand, and a dandelion crown appeared from his storage. "Here, to remember me by." He carefully put it on her head, and she giggled.
"Bye, Meeka!" She grinned and wandered back to the other older kids. I get that she was slightly cute, but Micha was overwhelming me with his emotions. Shit, he really likes kids, doesn't he?
"Bye-bye. You kids, be good for your parents!" Micha waved at them and turned towards me. "I tied Onyx up over here. The kids were a little intimidated by him." He grabbed my hand and started guiding me, and I followed while feeling amused. He's a lot less tense here than at the academy… not that I can disagree. I prefer being anywhere else besides there.
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Micha
Too bad it wasn't spring or summer. I bet this area would be gorgeous. I was almost disappointed to be leaving the meadows. I grew up in a forested area, so trees overhead made me feel protected. While the capital had some trees, and the campus had the meadow areas, it just wasn't the same.
Onyx was about to put me to sleep with his rhythmic steps. I feel bad for calling him a beast. He's a magnificent horse who's well-trained. Even when guided by me, a stranger, he was so gentle and obedient. You couldn't ask for a better horse.
Ronak lifted his head from my shoulder slightly so he could talk. "Do you want to have kids?" My eyes instantly shot open, and my heart accelerated. Ack! Wh-what?! What sort of question was that?! I had to have heard him wrong, r-right?!
"Wha-?!" I couldn't even find the words; I was so shocked and baffled.
"Do you want to have kids with me?" D-don't say it again! I wish I could face him just so I can clamp his mouth closed! Ronak's arms wound around me, and I thought I was going to jump out of my skin.
"I-I don't know!" I nervously squealed. Even Onyx's ears turned back in annoyance with me as I squirmed around uncomfortably.
"You sure like kids."
"Th-that's because they're c-
cute." Why was he asking such a thing?! I-it's not like I've never thought about having kids with Ronak, but I didn't think he'd ever bring it up. He doesn't seem like the type to care or even want kids. His own childhood was a mess; he won't tell me all the details, but the little I know is awful.
"Does that mean you want cute ones of our own?" Stop asking me that! My stomach does a backflip each time!
"M-maybe one day b-but not for m-many years." I managed to squeak. I thought my heart was going to explode; it was beating so rapidly.
"Mmm, I thought so." Ronak rubbed his head on my shoulder and let out a soft growl.
"D-do y-you?" Gah! Why did I ask that?! Have I gone insane?!
"I've never even thought about children until you came along… Well, I guess that's not totally true." Ronak shifted so he was sitting up, and I stopped squirming around in his lap. "I always told myself that if I was forced into an arranged marriage that I would ensure that there would be no kids. I didn't want a child to have to live like I did or grow up around a fake marriage." Ronak grew silent, and the embarrassment I had been feeling condensed down into a rock in my stomach. He'd let everything he's worked hard for disappear simply because he didn't want to have kids? I guess I can't blame him… Does that mean- "With you in my life, I haven't… no… I guess I have thought about how cute you'd be when you're pregnant…" Ronak leaned against me while lightly growling, and my nerves started going crazy again. H-he's thought about… wh-what?!?! Could my face get any more red?! Stop talking!! "I agree, though, it should be a while until we have kids." Gaaaah!
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Ronak
Micha freaking the hell out was rather amusing. I would have thought, as an omega, that he would have thought about this sort of stuff before. Actually… maybe the reason he's freaking out is because he has thought about this before. Heh. "Unless you want them sooner rather than later. I'd be willing to accommodate if that's what you want." I teasingly reached up and slid my hand into Micha's open top just so I could squeeze his chest. He let out a loud squeal that made Onyx snort.
"N-no! S-stop!" His voice had jumped several octaves, making me grin.
"Why? No one's around." Even if they were, I'd pluck their eyes out before they could see my cute, embarrassed omega. "Do you not want to have kids with me?"
Onyx let out another concerned snort as Micha squealed. I couldn't hold it in any longer, I let out a loud snicker, and before I knew it, I was laughing. Micha squirmed around in my arms, but there wasn't a chance I was going to let him escape. I've never had so much fun. "S-stop teasing me!" He whined. Absolutely not. I'm going to tease you for the rest of our lives.
"No." I let out a satisfied sigh and rested my head on top of his. Damn, I swear his entire body increased in temperature just because he's embarrassed. So fucking funny. Mmm, this is why I love this fucking brat. He invokes emotions I thought had died within me.
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