“Gahh!” Celie dramatically leaned against a wall as I gazed at the aisles of food and accessory stalls and barrels of spices I’ve never seen before. 

“I don’t want to beg again! That’s so embarrassing!” she cried, falling and sobbing on my shoulder.

“What else can we do? We have absolutely zero money.” I made a 0 shape with my fingers, but Celie swatted it away. 

We made our way to every stall we could find, begging for food. Sometimes we’d find ourselves begging alongside old men and young children. 

Before Celie’s stomach could rumble for it’s 75th time, I placed my hand in front of her, bringing her to a complete stop.

“What’re you doin-” 

“Look!” I pointed at a sign nailed on the door of a narrow, logged tavern.

 

[Ward and Tucket’s Guild and Tavern]

 

I pulled Celie- who still didn’t get any hints- as I bursted the front door open.

Inside, there was a long smooth countertop with some of it’s stools being occupied by dwarves and elves whose curious eyes strayed from our brash entrance and back to each other as they continued their conversation.

On the hollow roof above us hung copper chandeliers. 

Celie swatted my hand off of her and made her way to a fireplace that hadn’t burned any ordinary flames, but violet flames, and it’s smoke rose into the stone chimney. 

“Damn kids.” said a raspy voice from behind the countertop. “Get the hell out of here!” Now all eyes were back at us.

I turned to the voice which turned out to come from a thin, short man with no hair.

“I’m sorry sir, but do you have any easy missions we could take? We’re in dire need of money and-” before I could finish, the man laughed hysterically. 

“Honestly… it’s hilarious how the years age and the more stupid kids become!” He wiped his teary eyes on his sleeve after his ferocious laugh died down. “Swore I’ve seen a 6 year old come in here the day before, wanting to go adventuring and defeat some monsters!” He went back to his hysterical laughing and wiping his eyes. 

Exhausted and starving, I had little patience.

“Look, just give us a mission. Any mission. I don’t care what kids have done or said in the past. All I care about is getting enough money to eat and find a decent place to sleep! So for Christ’s sake, give us a fucking mission!” I blatantly ranted. 

“Well, pardon me.” The man teased, waving his hands in the air, pretending to surrender. 

I sighed, ready to turn around and leave before his hand pointed at a pinboard next to the countertop. 

“Don’t get yourself killed now, alright?” He chuckled, going back to cleaning the top of the counter and refilling the men’s cups. 

Now standing in front of the pinboard, scanning through the countless papers of missions pinned on it, I snatched a paper off the pin, nearly ripping it in half. 

Celie patted me on the back and came in closer to read the paper, but failed to do so as she couldn’t read. 

“Honestly…” I was about to complain about Celie’s incapabilities but she cut me off and asked me about the mission. 

“Ah…” I scanned the paper more thoroughly. “It’s a mission just outside of the city… we’re supposed to… kill The Mammoth Bear?” 

“The Mammoth Bear? What the hell is that?”

“As if I’d know. But the reward is great with an outstanding 1 silver coin and 62 copper coins!”

We took the mission and slammed it into the countertop, drawing weary eyes from all the attention we’ve drawn in already.

“Are you sure about that?”
“Hm? What’s wrong with it?”

“I mean, just look at the name.” The main point was at The Mammoth Bear. “It must be a humongous bear, and the reward for it’s head isn’t enough for a C+ mission.”

“Hm…” Remembering how I embarrassed Mason, I had some confidence in my final decision. 

 

Celie’s prancing turned into a slumped walk as we made the outskirts of the city. 

We didn’t know where to find the bear, but it had to be in the area we were in because it was entailed in the paper. 

“Ughh! Why can’t it come to us?” Mysteriously, Celie’s wishes may have come true as there was a large rumbling in the ground and rustling in the bushes. 

Celie desperately and urgently reached for her dual broadswords. 

With the little mana I had left, I sat back, ready to aid Celie at a minute’s notice.

Then, there was a roar.

Celie’s arms and my jaw dropped to the sight of the bear.

This is The Mammoth Bear?

It was certainly the size of a mammoth, but I was pretty sure most of it was fat. 

The bear was… well… fat.

“What the hell has this guy been eating?” Celie said, slumping down even further as if she had been disappointed. 

The bear yawned into it’s paw, and turned its back to us. 

“Well… go and kill it already!” It was almost like the bear heard me because it took off into the bushes. We followed in pursuit. 

“Celie! Come back into my arms!” I shouted at Celie who was far ahead of me.

“Come back into your what?”

“INTO MY ARMS!” I shouted larder so she could hear me.

“What, why?!”

“Just do it!”

“Fine!” She finally gave in and slowed down. I hugged her tightly around her chest to which she responded with a squirm and a moan.

“Sorry!” I slid my arms down to her hips and used the last remaining bit of my mana and thrusted us in the air towards the bear, stalking it from above. 

“I’m going to drop you onto the bear!”

“Alright!” 

The bear was steaming through the forest like a train. 

It took minor difficulty to catch up to the bear, but to get Celie in the right position to jump on the bear was a whole other story. 

“Let me go right here! I can do this!”

“Are you sure?”

“Trust me!” In the very instant of her response, I let her go.

The rest was up to her as she glided through the air and aimed her swords at the bear.

.

.

.

The shaking of the forest came to an abrupt end. Celie had successfully stabbed the bear as she landed on top of it.

Celie jumped off just in time to avoid being crushed underneath the bear as it fell over. 

With the bear still panting, Celie finished the job by slicing and stabbing it a few more times. 

After a soft landing on my face, I was helped up by Celie, and we both patted each other's shoulders, both of our smiles sparkling in the sun. 

__

We returned to the tavern sweaty and dirty, but we had brought back the bear’s ear. 

I felt as if we wasted that bear’s body, but I couldn’t move it and I certainly didn’t know how to cook it. 

Although they missed an opportunity, we were rewarded with both the money and a shock on the men’s face in the tavern. 

We also had a free stay there for the night as the man had apologized sincerely for underrating us as we fed them all with lies on how we conquered a large bear that nearly rampaged a nearby crop field and it’s workers.

We feasted and sang that night.

The tavern also had a bath in which Celie went in first without letting me know, ultimately leading me to walk in on her. 

She threw a bar of soap at my forehead, surprising me with an earlier bedtime than I had expected as I was knocked out. 

And I admit to being guilty about this, I’d seen her chest at that moment. I knew she was only eleven, but she had a very flat chest. 

Er- anyway, I had forgotten everything else I saw in that fateful bath scene, but her chest was deeply engraved in my head against my own will.

Pedophile… pedophile… I regretfully called myself, drifting into the void of darkness that I called Earl’s house.

I had a lot of questions in store from him, and I felt obliged to be answered with every single one.

‘Alaric.’ Earl called from the darkness, greeting me.

My flurry of questions were ready to begin!