“First off, according to Fleetfoot, Abner- the town Mayor- is dead.”

“No shit? That’s just about the best news I’ve heard all week!” Sam tilts her head from confusion before busting out and smiling. News of the old man’s death clearly perked the Princess up. No wonder why, considering our awkward encounter with the old bastard shortly after Sam and I first met. Her Highness isn’t the only one happy at Abner’s unfortunate and sudden demise, though.

“Fucking FINALLY,” Opalina says with a long and satisfied groan, almost sounding like a colossal weight was lifted from shoulders. Everyone stares at the old witch who only moments before just got done telling us how she doesn’t want to use violence ever again. “...What? He was an awful, perverted old lecher of a man. A true blight upon the Realm if ever I saw one.”

Moving on from Opalina’s sternly worded celebration, I say, “Yes, well... they mentioned that the Butcher got his hands on Abner. The Duke of Dewhurst apparently dislikes how the Guild has started solving people’s problems. I threatened Abner into giving us local quests again, and he was likely punished because of it... huh...”

“Ya doin’ ok there, Lad?” Gwin tilts her head.

“It just hit me that a man is dead because of me...”

“That’s... so sad...!” Meri sniffles, despite how much we were all just talking about how the man in question was a total piece of shit while he still walked this Realm.

“Actually, no. It’s odd to say this out loud, but this decrepit bastard really, really had it coming.” I shrug my shoulders. My reaction is likely more indifferent than it should be, but ah well.

“Oh.” The awkward girl withdraws once more in a charming, embarrassed manner.

‘Hold up a moment,’ Zutiria speaks suddenly. ‘You said it was the butcher who killed Abner? Does that mean he’s on the Duke’s payroll?’

“That’s what I was getting to, actually. Meri, a brief bit of history...” I run over Sam, Zutiria, and I’s dealings with the mad butcher and explain the sort of man he is. Meri is horrified as I tell her about the exploits of this deranged, catboy-obsessed pervert. “The long story short is that when you came home that night, Sam, you told mentioned him saying something that struck me as odd. I speculated from it that Bludman intended to go and kill our client at the time- a man by the name of Spliffert-”

“Fuckin’ hated that stinkin’ cunt...” Gwin grumbles and narrows her thick eyebrows out of anger. “Fucker hit on me an’ tries ta sell me his junk-arse steezweed a few times.” The Dwarf’s expression sours the more she thinks about the annoying drug farmer.

“He was indeed a character, alright...” I’m not too fond of the man myself, but I couldn’t stand by and just let him get killed even after what he did. He was a desperate man, in more ways than one it sounds like.

“Unfortunately for Bludman, by the time he left to go ‘visit’ Spliffert, I had already advised the client to skip town. Spliffert owed a large sum of money, and in exchange for completing his quest, I agreed to let him keep his gold and pay us with his fully grown steezweed field, which we would harvest and sell for ourselves.”

“Ah...” Opalina nods her head in confirmation. She’s already figured out where this is going.

“Awful nice of you, Chief. Not sure I would’ve done the same.” Nikita gives me a severe glare as she raises her eyebrow.

I adjust my glasses and look away, slightly embarrassed but mostly just not wanting to dwell on the moral choice I made that day. “I have my moments. But, putting that aside, the next day, I was out on the town with the lovely Miss Hart. By chance, I saw Bludman, who was now very roughed up and downright miserable-looking. I think the implications are obvious, but is everyone on the same page now?”

“Oh, I get it! I think...” Meri strains her face.

Sam stands up, slamming her gauntleted fist on the table. “Bludman was going to kill Spliffert over his debt and sell the weed! But... not only did Spliffert make it out of town, but we also already cleaned the field out! So Bludman musta got beaten up by the Duke or whoever for failing his mission, and then that damned butcher told him all about us! Gods, it’s all so obvious now!”

Everyone else grows silent as we look at the blonde, typically dim-witted Princess. Finally, I start mockingly giving her a slow clap, and the rest of the room follows suit soon after. After it starts to stretch on a bit too long, though, Sam realizes she’s being made fun of.

“Damn it! I’m not that dumb, alright? You’re all fuckers, each and every last one of you!” Her Highness grumpily plops back down on the bench, folds her arms, and begins to pout. “I can be smart sometimes, too...”

I shoot Sam a warm smile to perk her up. “You certainly can be, Sam. You figured it out. To answer your question, Meri, that’s how I believe that the Dewhurst Adventurer’s Guild became a target.”

“W-We’re going to have to fight this crazy butcher at some point, aren’t we...?” Meri’s main takeaway from this was the knowledge that yet another vile Dewhurstian walks these streets that until now she was living in blissful ignorance of.

“Some of ya are,” Gwin laughs, happy to be part of the support camp. While the Dwarf could indeed hold her own in a fight, I understand why she would be thrilled to not have to deal with Bludman of all people.

“I sometimes wonder about what happened to that boy...” Opalina tilts her head and sighs wistfully.

“Oh? I wasn’t aware you knew Bludman.” I suppose it’s not that odd, considering Opaline is one of the few healers in this town, but it’s still surprising to hear.

“He’s not that much older than you, you know. I saw him a few times in his adolescence for medical reasons. He was an odd child, for sure, but his mother was kind, and we got on well enough. Then, when he turned eighteen, he left Dewhurst to become an adventurer for a few years. I don’t know what changed him out there, but... when he returned, all of the lights were off upstairs.”

I stare at Opalina, slightly confused. Bludman used to be an adventurer? Not only that, but he left Dewhurst to become one instead of coming to my Guild? I don’t know whether to be upset or thankful. I’m going to 

From between the comfort of the Doctor’s breasts, Zutiria apathetically says, ‘Are we just about done with all this Duke talk?’ She stares off, distant and cold, with placid eyes hidden behind her thick, cloudy glasses. ‘I’m tired of it and would prefer we move on.’

“Yes, Zutiria. If you need to, feel free to head back up to bed. We can catch you up tomorrow if this is too much for you to handle. There’s still a lot to cover besides the Duke of Dewhurst.”

‘I’ll stay,’ Zutiria continues to stare emotionlessly into empty space to the point where seeing her in such a state starts wearing on my heart.

I try to speed things up to make Zutiria more comfortable. “In summary, we’re going to be looking for chances to attack the Duke’s forces directly from here on out. I’ll have to look into getting more defenses around here, but with our current funding, we can only do so much. Regardless, there’s now no longer any other option but to fight for our chance at a proper Guild life.”

“Don’t worry about funding, Dear. I already told you I would do something nice for you, didn’t I...?” Opalina’s lips turn upwards into a devious smile. Before I can even attempt to tell her I don’t want her to spoil me with charity, the old woman cuts me off, “It’s not going to be charity, you stubborn boy. You’ll have to earn it. It won’t be coming from me, either. Just be patient.”

“Ominous as always!” Nikita laughs uproariously while the Doctor smirks.

“It’s how I keep him coming back for more,” She says in a low, husky voice.

“Ah didn’ know ya had a sugar mum, Lad. Good on ya.” Gwin gives me a robust Dwarven thumbs-up, and Sam joins Nikita in laughter.

“Mysterious promises of help aside, I’ve nothing more to say on our current situation.” I start unpinning the many notes I had posted to the quest board and then replace them with the ones on Luxy. I omit the notes I made about the Demon Lord, as that topic is best left for me to reveal during the conversation. “The next part of our team meeting is going to revolve around the afternoon I spent with the Goddess. I learned a great many things, but that isn’t all we have to discuss.... as well as... a personal secret that I’ve never told anyone before.”

Everyone waits on the edge of their seats, even Zutiria, who, despite her foul mood, can’t suppress her typical interest in personal drama. Not even when it comes to her beloved Sir, I suppose...