Sera picked at her tray of food, mindlessly twirling the noodles of her spaghetti bolognese with her fork. Food, or human food, really, didn't satiate her. Sometimes it was tasty, but more or less, it went in and out of her with no added value to her system. Really, it was more of a hassle, because then she'd need to use her excretory functions. But Sera kept up eating for appearances. In order to look like a human of this world, she needed to act like one, and the humans of this world ate spaghetti. And other things. Like broccoli, or whatever.
She sighed, taking a sip of her piping, hot green tea. After this, she would go take a nap in the lounge as was her usual routine. Sera usually opted to sleep in order to avoid feeling hungry. She tapped at her watch, looking at her afternoon schedule, three more espers and then she was done for the day.
That's probably not enough food for today, she thought. Should I supplement? Should I go clubbing tonight? Man, but I hate flirting - what a pain.
Contrary to the personality Sera displayed to her requesting espers, like Simon, her true personality was more of a lazy, uncouth loafer. Lost in thought, Sera didn't hear the clacking of footsteps advancing toward her until she was abruptly shoved from behind, nearly knocking over her cup of tea.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you" a saccharinely sweet voice lilted from behind. Sera turned around to see a feminine figure with golden eyes and a pink ponytail smirking at her. Oh great, Sera thought, inwardly groaning, her annoyance already steadily creeping in.
Recently, a fellow colleague, a female guide, had taken to occasionally harassing, or at the very least, inconveniencing Sera. Or at least, was it bullying? It feels more like a child's tantrum, Sera thought.
Hibiscus Yaret was an A-rank guide who really, really, really hated Sera. Prideful and part of a prestigious family lineage of high-grade guides, Hibiscus despised Sera for her well-known 15-minute limit of guiding for each esper. True, guides were allowed to set their own boundaries, physical and temporal. But being a guide was a noble calling, a way to protect espers, who protected society, so Hibiscus felt deeply devoted to her line of work.
And Sera was trampling on that.
How could she have that many espers requesting her for such a small dip in corruption cleansing? She was just using guiding as a pretense for sex work. And not to mention, she was doing that with Simon! And Simon was…Simon was… well anyways, Sera was defiling the profession and dirtying the espers with uncouth desire. That's how Hibiscus justified it to herself. Intimacy was for purification, not for…whatever the hell Sera was doing. She was corrupting it!
Well…Sera couldn't argue with that.
She was a guide for entirely ignoble reasons - she was hungry and horny, simply put. So Sera couldn't fault Hibiscus for her hate even though she was getting irritated with her childish pranks. It wasn't like Hib knew she was a succubus or that she only did it out of necessity. So she understood Hib's feelings. One of these days though, Sera might just eat her out of pure spite. I'll press her up against the wall, lean in close and tease her ears with my breath, and watch as she blushes. And when she moans and gives in from the petting, I'll eat every last drop of her life and drop her body in the goddamn lake, Sera thought.
No, no, no, I'm not supposed to kill coworkers, she chided herself. Sera turned around and readied herself. She would troll Hib instead.
"Oh, hey Hib, what's up?" Sera responded sweetly, throwing on an obviously fake smile. What was more pleasurable than riling up an opponent who hated her guts then by giving them the reaction opposite of what they wanted? The more Hib rejected her the more Sera turned up her affections.
"Don't call me that," Hib sneered. "It's Hibiscus."
"Awh, but we're friends, aren't we? I mean, you go out of your way to talk to me every day, Hibbie, darling~." Sera winked at her.
A flush rose to Hibs' cheeks and she was about to retort when a cacophony of rings trilled through the air. Multiple alarms pinged raucously, and guides and espers around the cafeteria simultaneously looked at the announcement blaring from their watches.
< Emergency Announcement >
A 4-star dungeon gate has appeared.
All personnel stay alert and on standby.
Selected raid members will receive a follow-up alert.
- Administrator Takumi Arten
Sera's eyes widened and Hibs' posture stiffened immediately. A 4-star dungeon? That meant a raid was going to occur, nearly one-third of the guild would most likely be deployed. Raids rarely happened, maybe max 2-3 times a year. Not only were they heavy on employee and supply count, but they were incredibly dangerous as well.
Every raid had casualties. This was going to be a serious affair.
Well, serious for Hib, Sera thought, sneaking a glance at the frozen Hib. Sera took a lazy bite of her spaghetti. Hib was an A-grade guide but just like Sera, she was still a relatively new recruit. It was probably going to be her first raid.
Most, if not all high-grade espers and guides, participated in raids unless there were extraneous reasons like preceding injuries or such. Unlike Sera, because of her high-grade, Hib would most likely be deployed for it. Well, that's what she gets for harassing me, Sera thought pettily. Go die out there, you irritating little worm.
Sera smirked and threw a jab at Hib. "Looks like you're going to get deployed, Hib-sweetie. Isn't that great? A noble raid for you to bestow your noble guiding onto your noble espers. What a wonderful opportunity to do your calling, huh?"
Sera relished in the increasingly sunken pallor of Hibs' cheeks and the sweat beginning to dampen her forehead. Hib would need to go out there for sure. But for a C-grade like Sera? A low-grade like her would be useless in a raid. Her low efficacy rate meant she wouldn't be necessary or useful. She could stay comfortable and safe at home watching the raid progression on the news. She would sit back, relax, and-
A secondary ping chimed from her watch. Sera looked down.
< Raid Assignment >
C-Grade Guide Sera Yun.
You have been selected to participate in the 4-star Raid.
Report to the Assembly Hall for further details immediately.
All subsequent work tasks for the day are canceled and will be rescheduled at a later date.
- Administrator Risa Agnato
"Oh, fuck," Sera said, looking dumbfounded at her watch. It was Hibs' turn to laugh.