The First Dragon of Marble

19) Can’t seem to Catch a Break



Chapter 19

[Lucy’s POV]

I wake up and feel arms around me and I am confused for a moment until the memory of what happened last night comes back to me. I look over my shoulder to see Ladon still asleep but somehow still hugging me closely. I smile to myself as I feel butterflies in my stomach. “I have never felt this happy in my life.” I turn over carefully in his arms and just look at his facial features. “Why would someone so amazing ever love me?” I trace my finger along his jaw to his lips. “If we are together, then I have to work hard to keep up with him. I want to explore the world just like in the books I read. I want to stay by his side no matter what. Ladon, I swear I’ll stick by you no matter what comes our way.” I look past his head and see that the sun is already pretty high, so I decide to wake him up with a kiss. His eyes flutter open and when he sees me kissing him, he returns it with his love. “Good morning.” He smiles and gives another kiss bringing me closer making the kiss deeper. “Good morning.” He says when we finally part.

He props his head up and just looks at me, so I ask, “What?” He just smiles and says, “Nothing, just thinking how lucky I am to finally find someone so beautiful and adorable as you.” My body heats up from blushing and I am glad that I have fur to hide my skin. “I’m the lucky one Ladon. You, loving me is something I have always fantasied about. Never did I think would I find someone to accept me and care so much for me.” “I will always accept you, Lucy. I will keep you by my side as long as you will have me.” I nod my head vigorously. He smiles and then turns serious. “This may kill the mood but before we continue our relationship further you need to know things about me. And if you think I am too crazy to stay beside then I will understand.” “Ladon nothing you say will ever make me think you are crazy or push me away from staying with you.” He just smiles and says, “Well I haven’t told you anything yet, so hold that thought.”

[Ladon’s POV]

I take a deep breath and tell her how I used to be human and how I died as human. I mentioned how Cowe was a psychopath and hid his nature from me before pushing me off the cliff. I also told her about Amy and how Cowe and she were messing around behind my back. I then told her about first arriving in Tiamat and Odin’s domain and how they wanted me as their child. Understandably she was confused but I continued on to talk about how I hatched from an egg and my journey through the forest to Melcox. Then came my struggles making coin while making friends with Cliff and Helen. Eventually the part about going to the dungeon with Noah and his team. I take a deep breath before continuing.

Lucy speaks up and while lying beside me she puts her hand on my cheek. “Ladon if this is too hard for you. You can stop I don’t need to know everything. I don’t know if I deserve to know everything.” I shake my head and say, “No Lucy you are the only one who will know the whole story about me because you deserve to know. Soon more and more people will know that I am a dragon and a new race and that will put you in danger.” She shows a worried look on her face and I could not tell if it was for herself or me, but I continue. “I will destroy those who will do you harm. I can’t say do not worry but I’ll be sure to protect you with every ounce of my power Lucy.” She smiles smally and mutters, “I am not worried about me, Ladon. You are so powerful but there is always someone stronger.” I stroke her dark pink hair and whisper to her. “Then I will become the strongest and be second to none.” She giggles and just nods.

I continue my story about going to the dungeon with Noah and the rest and tell how we were ambushed and how they used me as bait. Her face distorted with so much anger that it scared me a little. I then tell her of how I survived being trapped in the dungeon and how I defeated the Ancient Wyvern. From then on, I told her how I ended up with my parents this time around again and how they trained me to use my dragon body and magic. I wrapped up my story by telling her how I came to meet her at the slave trader and about my nightly visits to the slums to take down the Stray Dogs.

“Thinking about it now, I still do not know how they tracked me.” I say to myself. “They must have had someone with proficiency in mana tracking.” I look at her confused and say, “Damn I thought I was the only one who could do that.” Now she looks at me confused and asks what I mean. I pass mana into my eyes to use my Dragon Eyes and look at her and ask, “Do you notice anything different with my eyes?” She looks at them and gasps, “The colors don’t look like they are swirling but actually are swirling together!” I chuckle and say, “Yes, when I pass mana into my eyes, I can see the flow of mana in my surroundings that lets me track someone’s mana signature, my father and I call it the Dragon Eyes spell.” “Wow…but I don’t think the person they used to track you could do that. I have read a lot of books, and I have no memory of coming upon such a method. It is very hard to track a person’s mana. I wonder how they did it.” Lucy says while digging through her memory of the books that she has read. “Well, it is just another thing I have to research soon.” I then look into her eyes and get an idea. “As a matter of fact, talking about Dragon Eyes. I think you may be able to do it as well.” Her eyes go wide and ask, “What do you mean?” I give her a playful smile and kiss her eyelids. “I mean because we have similar eyes. Besides the spell is not just good for tracking people. I’ll keep that a secret for now and leave it as a surprise for when you can use it.”

I sit up and stretch my arms sitting back against the bed frame. Lucy does the same and leans on my shoulder. “What are we doing today?” she says grabbing my hand and traces my scale tattoos. “Hmm…well there is one last thing I want to show you. I want to show you my scroll with nothing hidden.” She looks up into my face. “Okay. Do you want to see mine?” “Only if you want to show me.” She nods and we show each other our scrolls. Mine is still the same from what I saw last night so I focus on Lucy’s.

 

 

Personal Scroll

Name:

Lucy

Titles:

Race:

Moon Rabbit Mink

Cursed One (Removed)

Possible Mate for the Dragon Son

Possible Mate of the First Dragon of Marble

Age:

18

Level:

16

Attributes:

Feats:

Strength:

50

Lone Hunter

Bookworm

One against Many

One who Conquers Unhappiness

Agility:

67

Intelligence:

79

Endurance:

81

Mana Capacity:

34

 

Companions:

 

Status Effects:

 

Slave bonded (Removed)

 

“So, her race is actually Moon Rabbit Mink, interesting. Her stats are better than mine when I was around the same level. I’m glad to see the Cursed One Title and Slave Bonded status effect shows that they are removed. I’m guessing gods are not the only ones who are able to give titles. I have read that if enough people refer to you by a certain title, then you could gain said title. I’m sure I will gain more titles from people soon after what happened last night as word spreads. Hmm, seems like she has a feat that is named like mine… Bookworm?” I chuckle to myself when I see that feat. “Not surprising. She asked me for new books every week having finished the ones I got her the week before.” I open my eyes to see Lucy having the same expression as Sherry and Jon from last night, only it looks cute on her. She takes a little longer before she finally opens her eyes and looks at me with awe. “I knew you were amazing Ladon, but how are you so powerful and only level forty-five. And is Tiamat and Odin your parents. Are they the gods you mentioned?” I nod with a serious face and say, “Yes, I know I have bombarded you with a lot to think about. I’ll understand if you want to lea…” “NO!” I am surprised by her shout and look at her confused.

“I will not leave you Ladon!” Her face shows determination and will. “I do not care what circumstances you have. You have accepted me more than anyone ever has, and I have finally felt what love truly is. No matter the enemies, no matter what situations you find yourself in, I will be by your side.” I blink a few times digesting her declaration. “Are you sure, Lucy?” to which she narrows her eyes at me and nods, “Yes, for the first time in my life this is the surest I have been about anything.” I smile and grab her head and bring her lips up to my lips. We kiss deeply and I risk tongue which she flinches with surprise but opens her tiny mouth for me to explore her mouth. I taste her saliva and immediately know that I could become addicted to her taste alone. She shyly plays with my tongue, and it feels different from mine as it is very smooth. After a few minutes of basically making out I feel my little brother stand up and decide to break the kiss as I was about to lose control. I do not want to proceed to a physical relationship to fast. I am sure that Lucy is truly the one for me, but I do not want to pressure her.

Out of breath Lucy opens her eyes and looks at me with a glazed look. “What was that?” I raise an eyebrow and say, “It’s called French kissing back in my time. I know you have read a lot of books did none mention it?” Lucy looks around embarrassed until finally she says, “Kind of, though I never read it had a name.” I smile. “Did you like it?” She nods shyly. “I’m glad. Just so you know if I ever do anything you don’t like you must tell me, okay. I am not into forcing anyone into doing something that they do not like or comfortable with.” She seemed confused but then seemed to understand what I meant as the inside of her ears turn a deep red. She looks away and says, “Thank you.” “So that is how she blushes. Good to know.” I grab her and pull her into a hug. We snuggle up to each other and just enjoy each other’s company for a few minutes before she says she needs to use the restroom.

I move so she can go and look at the sun. “Hmm…seems to be around ten or so. We slept in more than usual.” Lucy comes back dressed for the day in clothes that I have bought her. They are a simple red tunic and black pants that are easy to move in for her. Since she has recovered from malnourishment, I can see how attractive her body is. She is mostly shaped like a human only with cyan blue fur except a patch that is white that starts at her neck and I assume trails down her abdomen. Her hands are like a humans, but she has pads on the palms, but her feet are shaped more like a rabbit’s hind feet. Her thighs are thick showing off a rabbit minks’ ability to leap high and run fast. They are pleasing to the eye as well. I am a sucker for thick thighs. Her breasts seem to be around a C cup under her clothing. She just radiates beauty and cuteness all in one.

“Ladon?” Lucy calls out to me as I snap out of my admiration for her. “Ah sorry you are just so beautiful I couldn’t help but stare.” Her ears turn red again as sits beside me on the bed. “Gods, Ladon. Why do you like to tease me so much?” I smile at her and stand up bringing her with me. I lean down as the top of her head only reaches my chin and kiss her on the nose which is slightly wet being a rabbit’s nose. “I am not teasing you at all. I only tell you what I and everyone else sees, my love.” I see her shiver when I kiss her nose. I raise my brow and ask, “Does me kissing your nose make you uncomfortable?” She shakes her head and says timidly, “No it’s not that…um…for rabbit minks and in fact for most minks our noses are very…sensitive…I like it.” I grin and say, “I see.” I kiss her again on the nose getting the same reaction.

I chuckle and ask, “Do you want to register as an adventurer and make a team with me?” Lucy looks up excitedly and nods, “Yes, of course.” “Awesome. Let’s see if Cliff and Helen need help with the inn. If not, then we will head over quickly they usually do registration assessment around noon.” “Okay!” We go downstair where we see Cliff behind the bar which surprises me. “Cliff! What the hell you should be resting!” I say seriously. He just waves his hand dismissively at me and says, “I’m fine Ladon stop being a worry wart. I have already told Helen I am more than able to sit behind the bar.” “Haa…I was the one who healed you last night. I know how truly bad it was even if you are a robust mink, you need to rest.” I say exasperated. He just rolls his eyes stubbornly. “I was an adventurer too Ladon. I know my limits. Besides whatever you did has me feeling better than I have in years.” My eye twitches as I think to myself in annoyance with my friend’s stubbornness. “I know! I healed your older injuries from the inside!” I just give up since he is a grown man. “Fine, just take it easy. Do you need help with anything before we head to the guild?” Cliff finally smiles under his trunk and says, “Nah, I appreciate it though. Go do what you need to do. Oh, and Lucy.” “Um…yes, Barkeep Cliff?” Lucy says softly. Cliff smiles and says, “Cliff is fine. I am glad you resolved your confliction. A friend of Ladon’s is a friend of mine. Look after him for us. He seems to get into trouble at every turn.” She smiles brightly and says happily, “Of course. I love him after all.” We turn to leave the inn and head towards the guild.

We reach the guild to see it packed with people taking the registration assessment. We push through the crowd and arrive at Sherry’s counter only to see a different receptionist. Confused I ask, “Hello, where is Sherry?” The human woman with a strict looking face says, “The Vice Guild Head is taking care of some business in the city. I am filling in for her. My name Camlia.” “Ah she must be taking care of the evidence I gave them last night.” I thought to myself. “I see. My name is Ladon and my companion here, Lucy, wants to take the registration assessment.” Lucy steps forward and says, “Hello Receptionist Camlia. My name is Lucy.” The woman looks at Lucy and makes a slightly displeased expression. “Very well. Here,” She thrusts a registration form at Lucy as she continues, “Fill this out and wait for the assessment to begin in a few minutes." I narrow my eyes at the woman but decide to let it go for now. Lucy just fills out the form and hands it back to Camlia. Then we find a free bench to sit and wait. Once seated I ask Lucy, “Do you know why she was rather rude to you?” Lucy looks around and then says, “I’m not sure. Maybe she doesn’t like minks. Most other races don’t like minks in general.” I tilt my head and ask, “Why not? Most of the minks I have met have been nothing but kind and welcoming towards me.”

Lucy makes a sadden expression and says, “I have read that when the minks were born into Marble we were thought of as monsters along with some types of the mythical race. We look a lot different from human like races like dwarves and elves. Because of this there was and still is a lot of wars and skirmishes between minks and the human like races, none more so with humans themselves.” “Hmm I see. I would have thought humans would have learned by now that race shouldn’t matter but it seems that not much has changed in that department.” Lucy nods and asks, “What do you mean you thought humans would have learned by now? I thought back in your time there were only humans on Marble…er…I mean Earth.” “Yes, but we fought each other for reasons such having a different skin color, different cultures, or just different religions.” I look back at Camlia who was looking around and seemed to be keeping a special eye on the minks in the building. I sigh and say, “Haa…I guess my old race will never truly learn from history.” Lucy was about to say something but then a guild employee announced for the people taking the assessment to proceed to the training grounds. “Good luck. Just remember to be careful. You may have recovered but there is no need to push too much for the assessment.” She nods and heads to training grounds. 

I moved to the entrance for the stands that surround the grounds and decide to watch the assessment. I remember fighting Beau for mine and start to wonder if he is here today. I look around but, do not see him in the group of assessors. Then I hear a voice behind me say, “Hey man how are you doing?” I look behind me and see the one and only wolf mink, Beau. I grin and say, “Speak of the devil. I was wondering if you were here or not.” He grins back and says, “Aw the Dungeon Conquer was thinking about me. Haha. How have ya been? I haven’t seen you around for a while unless you were with that rabbit mink girl.” “I was busy taking care of some stray dogs that had been inhabiting the slums for too long.” His eyes widen and he moves closer to me and asks, “That was all you?!” I nod looking for Lucy in the crowd of new adventurers and find her waiting her turn to take part in the combat portion of the assessment. “I need to warn you Ladon. The boss of that gang is crazy and won’t take kindly to any…” “He is already dead along with most of his subordinates.” I interrupt him not wanting to think of that scum. He just looks at me and then says, “How do you know that?” I finally look at him and say, “Have you not heard yet? I figured everyone would know by now.” He shakes his head, so I continue, “His thugs attacked the Drunken Elephant where Lucy and I are staying. So, I and some other adventurers that are staying there defended the inn. Then they kidnapped Lucy and took her to their boss outside the city to lure me out where I massacred, Every. Single. One.” I stare at him to let him know that I was not joking. “I have yet to figure out how they tracked me. Lucy said that they could have had a mana tracker but doesn’t exactly know what method they would have since it is so rare to find someone able to do so and even rarer for a magic tool to have such a capability.”

He says nothing so I turn back to the assessment and see Lucy sparring with an assessor for the combat portion. I have not seen her fight yet since I have focused on getting her back into shape with only mild exercise. We started off with her walking and mild weightlifting while gradually progressing to more vigorous exercises like running. Lucy picks out two training daggers with blunt edges and soon begins fighting. Her style of fighting seems to be more focused on speed.  She is using her nature as a rabbit mink to perform hit and run attacks on the assessor. Even though she has been in the worst condition in her life she seems to be holding her own impressing me. “She has told me that she fought monsters in the forest near her village, but she seems more experienced than I thought.” I smile glad to see she will be able to hold her own to an extent in our future jobs together. Soon the spar comes to an end and the assessor walks up to Lucy most likely giving her pointers and advice. Lucy nods and makes her way to the magic assessment to wait for her turn.

“Ladon, if what you say is true, you need to be extra careful.” I turn to look Beau as he spoke up from the silence that fell between us. I grin and say, “I know, Beau. Thank you for your concern but I am quite confident in my abilities now. The only thing that bothers me is that I do not know how they found out it was me.” Beau shakes his head and says, “I know that you are more capable now after surviving that dungeon. I’m saying that someone in the guild may have had a hand in telling that gang where you were.” I think for a moment about what he has said. “That is true. Noah’s team a prime example of using people to save themselves or earn extra coin on the side. Maybe some members of the gang are adventurers for Melcox. Hmm.” I nod slightly and say, “Thank you Beau. I guess being around Jon, Sherry, the Planters, and you that I have become a little complacent with adventurers since you all seem too honorable.” Beau grunts in affirmation. “Most adventurers are honorable to an extent but at the same time we are all expected to look out for ourselves.” “Yes, it seems that way since death is more likely after stepping outside the walls.”

I see that it is Lucy’s turn for the magic assessment and her assessor is Don, my first teacher in magic who taught me how to use magic in the first place. I observe him and notice something flash from below his sleeve. I narrow my eyes and watch closely as Lucy and Don begin throwing magic at each other. Lucy seems to favor the darkness element. She cast spells to hide herself in the shadows to get closer to Don. Don counters with light magic to illuminate the area exposing Lucy who casts a light spell as well to blind Don. “Wow she is pretty good at magic for a mink.” Beau comments. “What do you mean for a mink?” I ask since he is also a mink. “We minks do not have a great affinity for magic. We mostly rely on our physical prowess to either overwhelm our opponents with either strength or speed.” I look back to the spar and hum. “Hmm.” The fight begins to conclude with Lucy struggling to keep up with Don’s spells. I notice that Don is not ending the fight, and I become a little concerned and wonder why he is not stopping.

I hear Lucy say that she has no more mana to continue but Don throws a spell right at her chest. I immediately sprint forward and once I was close enough; I stomped the ground producing a wall of stone blocking the spell hitting Lucy. An explosion occurs when the spell hits the wall. “What is the meaning of this Don?” He has a frustrated expression as he sees his spell was blocked. He shifts his eyes to me when he hears my voice and goes pale. I wait for him to answer but receive none. I look toward Lucy who is breathing hard from using her mana so much and ask, “Are you ok, my love?” She smiles weakly and says, “I’m okay, Ladon. Just a little mana overheat.” I nod and look back at Don. “Don’t make me ask again Don. You may have helped me with magic but do not think that will save you from trying to hurt my woman.” He furrows his brow and says, “How are the two of you alive?” I raise an eyebrow and ask, “What do you mean?” He just keeps his mouth shut and begins casting a spell. I quickly punch and kick the air sending fragments of stone shaped as horseshoes at Don. Two stone horseshoes wrap around his wrists and two wrap around his ankles pinning him against the opposite wall stopping his casting. I walk forward and grab his sleeves pulling them up to reveal a rabid dog tattoo. “You piece of shit. Are you the one who connected me to the attacks on the Stray Dogs?” I growl at the man.

He just smiles and says, “It’s too late for you to do anything about it. Even if you kill me the boss is going destroy everything that has anything to do with you.” I feel my anger boiling inside but keep it under control. “Is that why you just tried to kill Lucy in front of me?” He just laughed and says, “I wasn’t trying to kill her, moron. I wanted her weaker so that I could use her to lead you to the boss. Don’t worry though he will take good care of her before he kills you for all the damage you did to our businesses.” My instincts roar inside of me telling me to kill this scum, but I keep it reined in for now. I just smile and am about to say something before I hear a voice yell from behind me. “What do you think you are doing? He is an assessor release him at once!” I look over my shoulder and see Camlia. “Is Sherry back yet?” I ask calmly. Her face distorts in anger and says, “It does not matter if she is back yet or not! Release him now!” Camlia raises her hands ready to cast and send a spell at me. I look away and smile at Don making him shiver. “Camlia right? Think twice about aiming any spells at me. This man just tried to harm a new adventurer taking the assessment. If Sherry is not here, then go retrieve Jon.” As soon as I finished my last sentence, a spell was released and coming towards my back. I sigh and was about to use a spell to deflect the oncoming spell but before I could a small stone wall blocked the spell. I look around and see Lucy panting hard with her hands on the ground. I use my Dragon Eyes and see that the mana in the stone wall had come from her. I smile at her, and mouth thank you. She nods with tired but determined eyes and watches Camlia.

Camlia looks and sees Lucy and her face changes from anger to rage as she yells, “A mink dares to get in the way of a guild employee!” Camlia turns her next spell on Lucy but is stopped by Jon appearing with his shield blocking the spell from hitting her. “ENOUGH!” Camlia goes pale and lowers her hands and says shakenly, “Guild Head! These two have interfered with the assessment and that man has attacked an assessor and threating him!” With narrowed eyes he says, “Enough, Camlia. I know these two personally and they would not do anything without reason.” Camlia looks confused and is about to say something but Jon cuts her off. “But…” “If you know what is good for you keep your mouth shut!” He looks at me and comes forward to see Don still stuck to the wall trying to get free. “So, Ladon. Why do you have Don who taught you magic pinned to the wall?” I simply lift Don’s sleeve to reveal the tattoo and explain what Don had said and did to Lucy. Jon then looks at Don with disgust who just laughs. “Haha…just take me to the guards Guild Head. I will be released soon anyway. We have the guards in our pocket.” “Not anymore Don.” Jon retorts back. Don becomes confused and just looks at Jon. I speak up and say into his ear, “You may have sold me out to your boss but that was the last thing you should have done. Your gang attacked me last night and tried to take Lucy away from me.” His eyes widen with shock and shift his eyes to me. I smiled evilly, continuing, “I slaughtered everyone. Your fellow gang members who attacked the inn and the ones waiting to ambush me outside the walls. I even killed your boss. He is nothing but ash in the wind now. I burned him alive.”

I leaned back from his ear to see terror on his face. “I may let the guards take you alive if you tell me how you figured out it was me destroying your so-called businesses. If you don’t then I will do the same thing I did to your boss only much slower, and you will die in agony.” Don looked at me with even more terror and started telling Jon and I everything. Apparently when he taught me magic, he had hidden his ability to track people’s mana. It was not that same way I do it, but he had noticed how unique my magic was and easily put two and two together when his boss asked him to see if he could find any traces of magic at the sites that I destroyed. I sigh and look at Jon who has a complicated face because he knew what I was thinking. “It would be too risky to keep him alive. If he is turned into a slave, then whoever was behind the boss of the Stray Dogs could acquire him and use him for information and his ability to come after me for revenge.” Before anyone could stop me, I acted like he was about to break his bonds and cast Earth Wall to obscure the view of Jon, Don, and me from the onlookers. I look at Jon who just sighed and then I slit Don’s throat. As he bled out, I whispered into his ear, “You are lucky that you get a quick death, this may be a stain on my honor for lying, but I am sure my mother will understand since I am protecting the ones I love and care about from scum like you.” He was dead when I leaned back. Jon looks at me and says, “I understand why you did it, but this will be a little hard to explain with so many people around.” I nod thinking and then crush the stone horseshoes around his wrists. “Just say that we had no choice since he broke through the bindings and tried to cast a spell at both of us. I am sure people will believe you over me anyway.” He sighs and just nods. I release the stone wall blocking the people’s view and they gasp at the sight of Don’s throat being cut as blood dripped down onto the ground.

Lucy runs forward towards me and hugs me. “Are you okay, Love?” I nod and peck her nose. “Yes, and thank you. That was some impressive magic and quick thinking.” She blushes and looks away mumbling, “Thank you.” I see Camlia rush forward in front of us and asks Jon, “What happened Guild Head! Why is Don dead?!” Jon narrows his eyes at Camlia making her step back a little as he says, “Camlia he was a member of the Stray Dogs who attacked the inn Drunken Elephant last night.” Her face becomes shocked, and she mutters, “What!?” “He is dead because he broke his bindings and tried to attack Ladon and I. Ladon, with his quick thinking put a barrier to protect everyone and finished the man off.” She looks at me and then Lucy with displeasure but says nothing. Jon looks at the other new adventurers and says, “has anyone not taken the magic assessment yet?” No one says anything. “Then I will take what has been recorded already as your assessment. If you have already finished your combat assessment, then proceed inside the guild to be assessed for your knowledge.” Everyone goes into the guild to take the knowledge part of the assessment. Jon turns to Lucy and says, “I assume Don never gave you or the guild employee your assessment.” Lucy nods. I spoke up and said, "I watched her assessment and although she is a mink her magic was very advanced. I would say around a D rank assessment would be accurate.” Jon nods and says, “I’ll take your word for it. Lucy, follow the others if you will.” Lucy hugs me and kisses my cheek before following the others.

Camlia still remains and Jon gives her a questioning look. “Sir, may I ask why you are trusting these two so much? Especially the mink girl.” I narrow my eyes and say, “Watch your words human. I have been patient with your rudeness towards my partner, but you are pushing your luck.” She rolls her eyes and waits for Jon to answer her question. Jon looks at me nervously and sees that my face is wrapping with anger. “I would listen to him Camlia and as the Guild Head I will remind you that everyone is welcomed into the Adventurer’s Guild regardless of their race. As to why I trust Ladon here, he has done more for the city of Melcox than any person has in years. You may resume your duties Receptionist Camlia.” Jon’s last comment stopped any more questions from the woman as she turned around and went back into the guild building. Once she was gone, I asked Jon, “Is the reason Sherry isn’t here because of what I gave you two last night?” “Yes, there was quite a bit, and the right people needed to be notified before word spreads throughout Melcox of what happened.” I nod and we started walking to the building. “May I ask why you are so close to the rabbit mink girl, Lucy, right?” Jon asks me as we walk. I think for a moment on how to properly answer him before saying, “Because I love her Jon. That is the only reason I need.” Jon smiles and laughs, “I have never seen you like this. Haha. Well, I wish you both well. I assume you will form a team with her if she is here to register.” I nod. “Make sure you register your team and come up with a name for it. I have other business to attend to such as calling the guards and explaining what happened.” He walks away from me, and I go into the main hall and look at the jobs on the board to wait for Lucy.

A couple hours later Lucy comes back into the hall. She looks around and sees me sitting down on a bench. “I’m done Ladon. I just have to wait for my name to be called to see what my rank is.” I grab her hand and pull her into my lap and hug her. “I’m sorry for what happened, Lucy. I never expected Don to be a member of Stray Dogs.” She moves her head left to right and kisses my forehead. “Ladon it is not your fault. You may be powerful, but you cannot account for everything.” I show a complicated face, and she continues, “Besides I’m glad you aren’t perfect. Makes me feel useful and so that I can cover for your faults like you cover for mine.” She smiles softly and I nod hugging her tightly. “Thank you, my love.” Soon we hear a voice call for Lucy, and we go up to counter where we meet Camlia again. “Here is your dog tags mink.” I narrow my eyes at, but she just ignores me. “If there is nothing else make way for the others.” My patience is wearing down with this woman. “There is in fact. Jon told me that I need to register our team.” Her eye twitches and thrusts a form into my hands.” “Fill this out and then give it back. Now step aside.” I see Lucy starting to actually get angry. I put my hand on her shoulder and slightly shake my head. We move aside and fill in the form.

The guild seems to want the names of the people in the team, ranks, and abilities. The form also has a place to write down the team’s name. Lucy’s rank ended up being D rank which is better than what I started out as. I wrote how I fight with multiple weapons and magic not going to in detail. Lucy does the same thing and writes down using a bow and daggers and a little magic. As for the name I ask Lucy. “Any ideas?” She puts her hand on her chin and thinks for a moment. “Not any good ones come to mind.” Is what she tells me. “Hmm. Then how about Draco Oculus.” She gives me a confused expression and says, “What does it mean I have never heard those words before.” “It is an ancient language from back in my day before Earth was Marble. The language is Latin, and it means Dragon Eyes.” Her eyes brighten and nods agreeing with my choice. So, I write it down as our team’s name. We were finished so I bring the form back to Camlia. She makes no effort to hide her annoyance and takes the form roughly. “Ok I am done dealing with this cunt.” I release my aura a little and direct it towards as I softly say, “I am getting tired of your obvious rudeness towards us human.” Her breath is caught in her chest when I hit her with my aura. “If we meet again and this continues, I will personally teach you proper etiquette in dealing with people.” I pull back my aura and walk away with Lucy’s hand in mine.

I sigh when we are outside on the street. “What’s wrong Ladon?” I look at her and say, “I was hoping to get through today without much happening and that woman has been insufferable.” “Yes, it has been rather eventful. Hehe.” She giggles with a cute laugh. I smile at that which washes away my irritation. “Are you up to take a job tomorrow for a few days? I think it would be best if we are away from the city for a while.” She starts jumping energetically and says, “You mean you want to go on our first adventure?” I nod chuckling at her enthusiasm. “Then yes, yes, yes please. I am so tired of being in the city! But I do not have any equipment, and I don’t have that much money left that you gave me that was in this ring.” “Don’t worry about that I have plenty from raiding the businesses of the Stary Dogs. Let’s go buy you some weapons and armor for tomorrow.” She was about to protest but I silence her with my lips. When I part, I say, “Don’t even think about protesting I am going to buy it rather you like it or not. I want to make sure you are well equipped unlike how I only used goblin weapons when I first started taking jobs.” She sighs and just nods. “Fine.” With that we make our way to Vincent’s store, The Adventurer’s Lifeblood.


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