The guild hall was quiet when Izaru pushed open the doors. Quiet, until he casually dropped a cloth bag onto the counter.
Thump.
The sound of ten severed thumbs hitting the wood made the adventurers nearby whip their heads around. Lily blinked. Blinked again.
"…Please," she said weakly, "please tell me those are not what I think they are."
"Proof," Izaru said simply. "You wanted proof."
Lily's smile twitched. "Yes, but—those were A-rank monsters! You were supposed to bring one back, not—" she peeked inside the bag and visibly gagged—"not start a thumb collection!"
"Efficient," Izaru shrugged, giving her a thumbs up.
The adventurers behind him started murmuring."Ten A-ranks?!""No way, he's bluffing.""…Did you see that bag?!"
Before Lily could explode, another voice chimed in.
"Don't worry, he didn't collect all their body parts. Just the thumbs."
Lily's head snapped up. Standing beside Izaru was… a girl. Violet eyes, fire-like hair, dressed in travel-worn demon garb. She smiled brightly and waved.
"Hi! I'm Liora. Demon. Assassin unit. Totally failed at killing him. Now I'm tagging along!"
The guild hall went silent. Then erupted in whispers.
"No way…""She admitted it!""Why is she so cheerful about this?!"
Lily's jaw dropped. "You—you brought back a demon?!"
Izaru: "She's useful."
Lily: "She's a DEMON!"
Liora leaned against the counter, smirking. "Wow, lady, what gave it away? The eyes? The horns I clipped last summer? Or maybe the part where I literally said 'Hi, I'm a demon'?"
Lily sputtered. "You—You can't just—Izaru, this is against guild regulations! Against common sense! Against basic survival instincts!"
"Then write a new regulation," Izaru said. And got a book to the face.
The receptionist actually slammed her head onto the counter. "I'm going to die young. I can feel it."
Liora patted her shoulder with mock sympathy. "Don't worry, girl. If he doesn't kill you with stress, I probably will by accident."
"SHUT UP!" Lily screamed, half at Izaru, half at Liora, half at the unfair universe that kept giving her headaches.
Meanwhile, Izaru leaned casually against the desk, deadpan. "So… about the next quest."
"You're not getting any!" Lily screamed.