The journey back to the gates of Lumeria city felt twice as long for Rent. Because Kaensista truly put his words into practice. The purple girl walked stealthily right behind the young man's back, sticking close like a shadow.
Every time an adventurer or merchant crossed paths with them on the main road, Kaen would grip the hem of Rent's shirt and lower her face deeply so her transparent shirt wouldn't become a free spectacle.
"Don't stick too close, you're making it hard for me to walk," grumbled Rent, who felt his steps hindered. Especially since he could feel (though very faintly) something soft pressing against his back every time the girl stumbled over a rock.
"Shut up! If you had a jacket, I wouldn't have to do this!" Kaen whispered sharply from behind his back. "Walk faster! I want to get to the magic laundry right away!"
Rent could only roll his eyes lazily. At his side was Fyra-Bunn, hopping along casually, occasionally letting out small burps after eating the leftover monster jelly in the forest earlier.
This rabbit is truly beyond prediction. But if she hadn't come at that time, maybe I wouldn't be here, Rent thought while glancing at Fyra.
Upon arriving inside the Guild building, the atmosphere was quite lively with adventurers returning from their afternoon missions. Rent walked straight toward the receptionist's desk, while Kaen remained hiding behind him like a duckling afraid of getting lost.
Mila, the bespectacled receptionist, raised an eyebrow seeing the strange formation of two people with identical faces in front of her.
"You returned alive? Impressive," greeted Mila with her signature monotonous tone. "And Miss, why are you hiding back there?"
"I-It's nothing! Just process our mission quickly!" Kaen replied from behind Rent's back, her face still flushed with embarrassment.
Rent placed five glass bottles on the wooden desk. The clinking sound of the bottles sounded a bit different, more solid.
Mila picked up one bottle and examined it against the light of the Guild's crystal lamp. Her usually drowsy eyes instantly widened. "This is... Clear Slime Gel? But why is its shape perfectly crystallized without any mixture of water or dirt at all? This is the highest quality I've seen this month," Mila muttered in amazement. "How did you process it?"
"Kitchen secret," Rent answered flatly, glancing briefly at the orange rabbit beside his leg, who was scratching her ear with her hind leg. "So, the payment?"
Mila cleared her throat softly, fixing her posture. She took out a small pouch and counted the coins on the desk. "As agreed. Rank F mission, gathering Clear Slime Gel. Total reward is fifty copper coins. This is for you."
Rent took the copper pieces. He deftly divided them into two equal piles. "Twenty-five coins for me. Twenty-five coins for you," Rent said while holding out half of the coins behind his body.
A slender hand quickly snatched the coins from Rent's palm. "Hehe~ Finally! My laundry money! Move aside, Fake Doctor, my business with you today is done!"
Kaen immediately turned around, crossing her arms tightly in front of her chest which was still clearly outlined by the wet shirt, and got ready to run. However, Rent held Kaen's shoulder with one hand.
"Where are you going?"
Kaen, startled by the sudden touch, turned her head slowly. "To wash my clothes, of course! Let go! I'm freezing!"
"Are you... sure about going in this condition? I don't mind if that's what you want."
Kaen raised both eyebrows, "Huh?!"
Rent let out a long sigh seeing Kaen still looking confused. "I'll walk you home," he answered briefly.
"I can go home by myself! Just mind your debt!"
"Do you want to or not?" Rent's eyes still stared flatly, "If you don't want to, fine, I don't want to hear you complain, understand?"
Hearing Rent's offer to walk her home, her face instantly turned red again because her embarrassment doubled. "Y-You... are walking me home? Really?"
"Yes," Rent said briefly. "Answer quickly before I change my mind."
Kaen completely surrendered, she turned around quickly. Due to Kaen's sudden movement, Rent could briefly see her black bra underwear beneath that thin white shirt. Instantly, he turned his face away again.
Kaen, realizing Rent had just seen her underwear, quickly crossed her chest, "Don't peek, idiot!"
"You're the one who suddenly turned around, idiot," Rent replied without looking back.
"Ugh!" Kaen walked back behind Rent, pressing her face and chest against the young man's back again. "Let's go... I'm starting to get cold here..." she answered softly.
Seeing that, Mila could only shake her head quickly. "You two are the weirdest couple I've met so far," she commented while turning the pages of her reading book.
"Haaah... alright let's walk, and don't step on my heels."
Kaen nodded slowly. The two of them finally walked away from the receptionist's desk.
"Why is that girl hiding and gripping that young man's shirt? Are they doing a formation?" asked an innocent young man sitting at a wooden table.
"You don't understand the aesthetics of role-playing art, they are doing the train movement," answered a green-haired young man eating bread carelessly.
The journey from the Guild to their inn block took about a dozen minutes. Lumeria's late afternoon sun began to emit an orange glow, camouflaging the silhouettes of the two of them walking closely together once again.
Arriving in front of the wooden fence of Luna Manor, Rent finally stopped walking. Kaen, who had been looking down while holding the hem of Rent's shirt all this time, accidentally bumped into the young man's back quite hard.
"Ouch! Why did you stop so suddenly?!" complained Kaen while rubbing her nose.
"We have arrived in front of your luxurious nest, Miss Spendthrift," Rent answered without turning around. "Go inside quickly before any of your neighbors see and think I'm kidnapping you."
Kaen peeked from over Rent's shoulder, making sure the front yard area of Luna Manor was empty. She slowly released her grip from Rent's shirt. The cold afternoon air immediately swept her body, which was only clad in a wet shirt.
The girl hurriedly crossed her arms again in front of her chest. She stepped sideways toward the gate, her face still flushed red but there was a hint of relief in her eyes.
"U-Uh... thank you for waiting for me and being my... walking shield," Kaen said softly, her face turned away in her signature Tsundere style. "B-But don't get the wrong idea! This is all your fault for not bringing your smelly jacket!"
Rent only let out a long sigh hearing that. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Go inside quickly."
"Tch, you insensitive man!" Kaen clicked her tongue softly, then ran quickly into the courtyard of Luna Manor, disappearing behind the main door of her inn.
Rent stood still for a moment, making sure the girl had really gone inside. He rolled his neck which felt stiff, then looked down at the remaining money in his hand. Five leftover copper coins from breakfast, plus twenty-five coins from the slime harvest. Total: 30 Copper Coins.
My debt for the Fried Rice is 50 coins. If I go there now and only pay half, that muscular man might turn me into stir-fry ingredients tomorrow morning, Rent thought pragmatically. He decided to take the safe route. Tonight, he would fast and avoid the main road to keep from smelling the aroma of food.
With sluggish steps and a stomach that began to rumble, Rent walked toward the building next to Luna Manor—Arvia House, the cheap inn where he rented a room. Fyra-Bunn hopped casually beside his leg, seemingly unbothered by her master's financial suffering.
As Rent pushed the creaking wooden door of Arvia House, he crossed paths with Mr. Arvia—the old man who had given him a meal coupon on his first day. The old man was sitting in his rocking chair near the dim lobby.
"You look like a living corpse that just crawled out of a sewer, Young Man," greeted Mr. Arvia with his hoarse voice. His wrinkled eyes stared at Rent's appearance which was dirty, covered in dust, and looking extremely exhausted.
"I feel worse than a living corpse, Sir," replied Rent flatly, getting ready to climb the stairs to his room.
"Wait a minute," called Mr. Arvia. The old man got up from his chair with difficulty, walked toward a small wooden table, and picked up a brown paper package tied with hemp rope.
Mr. Arvia threw the package. Rent caught it with fairly good reflexes. The package felt light but slightly warm.
"What is this?" Rent furrowed his brow.
"Leftover dry bread and a little peanut butter from the residents' breakfast ration this morning," answered Mr. Arvia as he sat back down in his rocking chair. "My wife doesn't like throwing away food. Take it to your room and eat. You look like you're going to faint if you don't chew on something tonight. Don't die in my inn."
Rent was stunned. He stared at the brown paper package in his hand, then looked at the old man who was now closing his eyes while rocking his chair.
Rent, who usually always harbored suspicion toward the kindness of others in this absurd world, this time couldn't hide his gratitude. The 30 coins in his pocket could be kept entirely to pay off his debt tomorrow.
"Thank you, Mr. Arvia," Rent said softly and sincerely.
The young man turned around and walked up the stairs toward room 304. Fyra-Bunn darted ahead of him. That night, inside the small and dim room, Rent sat on the edge of his mattress. He bit into the dry peanut butter bread in silence. It tasted ordinary, a bit hard, but for the exhausted and starving Rent, it was the most luxurious meal he could get today.
This world might be full of crazy monsters and troublesome girls, Rent thought as he chewed slowly, staring out the window that displayed Lumeria's full moon. But it seems... not everything is bad