“Wait, what cases?” Fayette asked, looking between the two.

“Class-up anxiety.” Mireille replied, and Elise back winced from the words.

“What’s that?” Fayette asked, still not understanding.

Mireille sighed. “Remember when [Caretaker] Lavigne started being super nice and active with everyone?”

“Ooh, I remember that. She started making all sorts of new foods and taking us all out to play. Did it for a while, then suddenly stopped.”

Mireille nodded. “Right, I overheard later that she had just hit level 15, and only gotten common class options.”

“Ouch, that’s gotta hurt.”

“Right, so she held back from class-upping, tried for a while to be better, and to get something more. Didn’t work—usually doesn’t from what I hear. Got depressed afterwards. A common thing, apparently”

Fayette turned to Elise. “You’re nervous about your class-up?”

The woman had sat still, winding her braid up tight as she had listened to the two. Her expression had grown embarrassed. She looked at the two in front of her. “You two don’t get nervous?”

“No.” Fayette instantly answered. “I have faith in myself. No point worrying about stuff like that.”

“A bit.” Mireille admitted. “Though I don’t worry too much. Something I’ll deal with when it comes.”

Elise sighed, then slumped down onto the table. “Well, I can’t help it.”

She raised her head up, looking towards her bedroom. “Ange tried for a few years to get an uncommon class, and never managed it. My time is coming up soon, but my life has been as common as can be. I like leveling fast. My progress slowing down so much from the penalty—I don’t want it. Mother got a common class, and she’s only barely reaching level 30 now.”

“So, you think this would be special enough, uncommon enough to raise you up?” Fayette asked.

Elise pointed at her two guests. “Look at you two. A [Maid] and a [Seamstress], just doing this kind of stuff. Like it was natural. Why not a [Labourer] too?”

Fayette frowned in thought. She didn’t really know whether a [Labourer] could do such things, she hadn’t gone on her path for such reasons after all. She was first and foremost a [Maid], and would always be so in the future. She was only going rat-hunting in the undercity because that was where her path as a [Maid] had brought her. Would the path of a [Labourer] lead there too? Or was that forcing things too much?

“I don’t know.” She finally said. “What do you think, Mireille? I think she might as well come along.”

Mireille was still examining Elise quietly, not saying a word.

“Look, it’s not just about the levels!” Elise finally said. “I mean, it’s about them too, but I just—I want to do something. Something to really help people. This is a real issue here. If you two can do something, why not me?”

“Mireille.” Fayette said, turning to her friend. “It’s not like you’ve got a lot of experience on her either, right? We’re all pretty new to this. Except me of course.”

“Hardly the veteran yourself.” Mireille shot back. “Two weeks ago I was listening to you mope about how stupid and mean your [Head Maid] was.”

“Well, she’s certainly not so anymore.”

The [Seamstress] sighed. “Well, fine. I guess we could use an extra pair of hands.”

“Yay! Thanks for having me, I’ll try hard to be useful!” Elise shouted out, jumping up from her seat.

Fayette smiled too. She wasn’t sure where this would lead, but she would at least give this woman a chance.

 

---

 

The group agreed to head out to the undercity after Elise got done with her shift at work, which would give Fayette and Mireille some time to make preparations of their own. They walked off towards the market district in search of supplies.

“So... Are you sure this is a good idea?” Mireille asked as they walked.

“Hm? Is there an issue?” Fayette answered.

“Well, this whole taking Elise along thing... Will it really work out?” Mireille said, casting a glance backwards. “That girl’s head has been clearly filled with some foolish stories, so she’s in a rush to try them out. This is proper hunter stuff, we can’t just take anyone along.”

“Well, she said her skills were good for endurance and carrying things around, so even if she can’t fight much, she should be useful.” Fayette pointed out.

Mireille sighed. “Well, I guess you are right. So, do you have any special needs for going down there? We could split up for the supply shopping.”

Fayette thought for a moment. “Hmm... I guess we’ll need something to light the way. Maybe an oil lamp? A few of them? Other than that, I think I’m pretty much set.”

“If you are adamant about going in that uniform, then I guess you really are...” Mireille said, looking over Fayette’s clothes. She turned to look at herself. “I think I’ll need to prepare some clothing better suited for this stuff. If these rats are carrying diseases, I don’t want them biting me. Something thick for the legs, probably.”

Fayette walked on silently for a moment, then turned to Mireille with a curious expression. “Say... I think we’ve been neglecting something obvious here.”

Mireille turned from her clothes, curious about what the [Maid] had noticed. “Well, what is it?”

Fayette looked Mireille in the eye. “We’re going to deal with rats, so why don’t we like... get a cat?”

Mireille missed a step.

She managed to stop herself from stumbling, and steadied her walking. She turned away, seeming to give the idea serious consideration. “You know Fayette, now that you say it, that is indeed something. Not sure what, but something.”

They walked in silence for a moment longer before Mireille shook her head. “Alright, I don’t think it’ll work out. First, we would need to get a cooperative cat from somewhere. Second, I doubt a cat would be able to deal with these rats we have been handling. Wasn’t there some talk of dogs being found dead?”

Fayette frowned. She had really hoped they could have gotten a cat. “Alright, fine, I guess. If it won’t work, it won’t work.”

Mireille nodded. “Ok, I will head out to buy some supplies of my own. I want to try using wire for this. Will need to test things a bit. Can you handle the more general stuff? In addition to a lamp, could you get some rope? Always bring rope. I’m pretty sure that’s a saying.”

“Always bring rope...” Fayette muttered to herself. “I do think I’ve heard that somewhere. It is probably a saying.”

Mireille tapped the [Maid] on the back. “Let’s meet up at the inn later.”

Fayette nodded at her, and they separated. The [Maid] walked on silently as a lone thought remained in her mind.

I really had hoped we could get the cat.

 

---

 

Later in the evening, a party of three were standing by a busy street in front of an unassuming looking door, which led into a stone wall. Mireille had put on thick hose and sturdy boots to stay the rodent bites. Elise had chosen to come in her work clothes—a simple but sturdy outfit with some light protective gear. Mireille nodded approvingly at her thick leather gloves and sturdy boots. The [Labourer] had also brought along a simple broom for a weapon. Fayette nodded approvingly at that.

The [Maid], meanwhile, was of course wearing her [Maid] uniform. She stood out quite a bit compared to the other two. It was difficult to picture her as part of the same adventurous group, despite her being arguably the most capable.

Fayette took out a lantern from her [Apron of Holding] and lit it. It cast a light into the dark doorway, revealing the stairs that led downwards.

“Is this really the place?” She asked, looking at the entrance doubtfully. It felt strange to her that such an entrance would just be in the middle of a busy street like this, under broad daylight.

Elise nodded. “It’s no mistake—this is it. These were used as official catacombs for a while, you know. Of course the entrances would be easily accessible.”

Fayette handed the lantern to Elise, she took it in her hand. An ethereal hand spouted from her side, and took it, leaving her other two hands free.

“That [Extra Hand] of yours seems pretty useful.” Mireille said, studying it closely.

Elise motioned at their packs. “You can give me anything extra that needs carrying. My [Carrying Capacity] will help with that. I’ll definitely be useful.”

“Not much need for that—my [Apron of Holding] serves the same purpose. Thanks for the offer though." Fayette answered.

Elise sighed. “Not many of my skills are that useful here. [Store Sleep] and [Energiser] work wonders for shift-work, but don’t do too much on an undercity raid.”

“We’ll see—let’s proceed inside then.” Mireille said, beginning to direct the group. She motioned at Fayette. “Fay, you stay in the front, while I bring up the rear. Elise, could you stay in the middle and make sure to light our path?”

The three moved into the pattern and started descending down the stairs. It was a long, dreary and damp stairwell, and the little light they had did not reveal the end.

It was a bit of a walk down them, the air steadily getting colder and more damp, but it wasn’t too long. They soon reached the end of the stairwell, where a door opened into a sizable, dark stone room. Fayette could just barely make out the edges of the room, where bare stone walls were filled with worn engravings. She moved to step in, but Mireille interrupted her.

“Hey, don’t just go rushing in like that. We have to do this carefully.”

Fayette cast a glance backwards and shrugged. “What? You expect the rats to have like an ambush right here or something? There’s no way.” She looked back towards the room and continued walking through the doorway. “They would probably be guarding their nest or something, we’ll really have to search for the—”

Fayette stopped as her [Dangersense] flared. It took her half a second to make out the blurry, small shape rushing at her. She kicked at it, and felt her boot hitting soft fur, and the shape was thrown back away. Silence returned.

Fayette watched the doorway carefully. “These are some energetic rats.”