I knocked on the door and waited for permission to come in. When I got it, I entered and walked up to Ash's desk. It was just him in the office today; Victor was absent from their shared office, for once.
"You called for me?" I broached.
Ash put down his pen and looked up at me. "You know about the dungeon raid, yes?"
I nodded, and he continued. "I have a task I need you to do for me while we're gone. As well as a few things I would usually do throughout the day that you'll have to handle in my stead."
Oh?
"It's nothing too difficult. There'll be some mail you'll have to pick up and some financial documents that need to be checked for accuracy. They just had to schedule an audit for the day we come back," he muttered the last part with no small amount of irritation. "Do you have a driver's license?"
"Um, no. I… lost it, in a dungeon. I just never had a chance to get it replaced, I guess," I replied. Yet another fib told to hide my lack of memories. I'm going to have to start writing them all down so I don't get my lies mixed up.
"But you can drive?"
"Yes."
"Great. I'll leave you the keys to a car you can borrow," Ash didn't seem too concerned about my lack of license.
"But what if I get pulled over?" Ash may not be worried, but I was. I'm a law abiding citizen, you know?
"Just don't drive crazy and you'll be fine." And what if I get into an accident? That's not exactly something I can control.
"But-"
"Grey," Ash cut me off. "Can you handle this or not?"
I froze when I saw the hard look in his obsidian eyes. I swiped my clammy hands down my jeans and nodded hesitantly. "I can."
"Good. I was starting to question whether I could rely on you for this," he didn't look completely convinced, but I breathed easier as he relaxed his intensity.
Since the greenhouse incident, Ash had been a lot more open with threatening me. He no longer pretends to be a good guy when it's just us, but he still keeps up appearances with the other members. In a weird way, I guess you could say he's more comfortable around me, since he no longer needs to hide his true nature.
It sucks for me, though. Every conversation is a damn minefield where I have to worry about slipping up and saying the wrong thing. I wish I could go back to the days when I thought Ash was actually human, where he confided in me about his insomnia and found some crackers for me just because I was hungry. It may have been false, but I wasn't fearing for my life like I do now.
Ash had already moved on while I was reminiscing. "The other thing I need you to do is very important, so pay attention. You'll be delivering a package to a buyer. It'll be a quick exchange, just hand over the package and make sure that the cash is the correct amount. Simple."
Why does this sound illegal? Like, he just described the stereotypical drug deal. Hell nah.
"What's in the package?" I asked tentatively.
"None of your business," Ash replied rudely. "It will be sealed, so the buyer will know if you tried to look inside. If I find out you've tampered with it, you won't get off easy. Am I clear?"
I bobbed my head in fear. "Y-yes," I stuttered. Drug deal or not, at least I won't have to know. I hope I don't regret agreeing to this.
"On the day of, I'll leave out everything you'll need. I won't have my phone on me, so if you have any questions either ask them now or figure it out yourself," Ash finished.
I thought it over, knowing I wouldn't get another chance after today. Nothing was really coming to mind at the moment. That's how it works, though. You think you're all good until performance time comes and suddenly you're at a loss of what to do.
I could take the moment to ask about the pay situation. However, I wasn't going to. I know I told Jesper I would, and I did mean to when I agreed, but it was just the wrong moment to do so. It didn't feel right after the responsibility Ash had just dumped on me.
It definitely wasn't because I wanted to get out of having that conversation, that'd just be ridiculous.
"I don't think I have any questions."
"Alright," Ash was already pulling a stack of papers back in front of him. "That's everything, then. You can leave now."
Having been dismissed, I made my leave quietly. My next stop was the basement. I needed a distraction from thinking and mindless cleaning seemed like the perfect solution. It might also go the other way and give my brain enough leisure to start overthinking, but at least I could say I tried.
It was my own curiosity that I was trying to push back. Like the need to know what was in that package. It was that desire to know that tended to get me in trouble, so I've been attempting to suppress it. Every day it seemed I was given a new nugget of information, a piece to a puzzle I wasn't sure I was ready to start putting together.
One thing was clear though, this world was more complicated than the standard transmigration blueprint I thought I was getting.
Taking an early turn, I avoided the hallway with the lounge where I had previously been hanging out with Jesper. He would ask me a ton of questions that I didn't feel like answering at the moment. I'd catch up with him later. After I came up with a good enough excuse for why I didn't ask the question I was supposed to.
Being extra vigilant as to not be seen, I finally found myself at the door to the basement stairs. I breathed easier after I shut myself inside, even though the basement smelled sort of musty. Unconsciously, the place had become a sort of safe haven. Since no one ever came down here besides me, it was the one place I didn't feel the burden of my struggles.
I mean, I had nothing to show for all my painful time in this world. My body was stolen from the previous owner, my dorm was a result of Angel Boy's charity work, and my life belonged to the guild. The basement, though, felt like mine. Maybe it was a silly, but I couldn't help getting attached. It was my reminder that I had been working hard to make my way in this world.
Plus, I had fixed it up to be kind of cozy, in its own way. The fight against the spider invasion was a never ending battle, but the number had dwindled enough that they were no longer the first thing you noticed. I had also replaced some of the light bulbs, which made it feel like less of a dungeon.
I was even working on rearranging some of the shelves to make a space for a fort in the back. It was coming along rather nicely. I'd found some tarps that just needed a good wash to be usable again and there was plenty of old furniture around that I could bring in.
The idea had struck me while I was doing my usual organizing. I had found a string of fairy lights in one of the boxes and immediately set them aside. I knew Ash would have no need for them, so I took them for myself instead of throwing them in the garbage.
Originally, I planned to put them up in my bedroom, but I nixed the idea when Jesper and Angel Boy started inviting themselves into my dorm more often. As much as I loved the two of them, I didn't need to give them a reason to stay longer.
So then I had to do some thinking. As I continued my work, I kept finding more and more things I liked: a collection of old books, a cute lamp, etc. The previous owner of the building was quite the hoarder, but it worked out for me because I was getting some good stuff from it.
When I settled on the idea of making a fort down here, I started to have something to look forward to. It was a bit of childish whimsy, but it staved away the worst of my thoughts. I was keeping it a secret so it didn't get ruined for me.
I came down here when I needed a break from everything. Sometimes I actually worked on cleaning up the place and sometimes I just needed a place to lay out on the floor and dissociate. It was nice to have options.
Heading to the back corner, the only area I had yet to tackle, I pulled down my first box to start on. I quickly got into the zone and relaxed. I had come down here for a distraction, and it was working.
For now, I'll wipe away dust and separate out the trash. Tomorrow, I'll face reality.