I decide that there’s no better time than now to leave. I get up from my bed and leave right behind Anya.

I guess the infirmary was just more sound-proof than most of the other areas, because I could perceive all the actions of the average adventurer downstairs. Our footsteps echo throughout the hallway, but after I get to thinking a bit, they blend in with the sounds of adventurers below us.

I have to work out how I’ll be even acquiring the means to live around here.

I don’t plan on camping out in the woods anymore, it’s too much of a pain in the ass to get in and out of the city. Those guards will undoubtedly become suspicious of my activities very quickly, knowing how diligent they are in regards to their work.

I barely have enough money to sleep in the inn for a couple more nights, and I’m lacking on anything even related to foodstuffs. I won’t be able to eat any humans since I can’t hunt them out in the field, so sustenance purely supplied in the city will have to be my go-to.

Except I don’t have any sort of income. What the fuck am I supposed to do now?

Also, what was that surge of power I felt earlier? I’ve never felt such strength from my body, not even once in my whole existence. It couldn’t just have been a coincidence that it had to do with my anger, right?

Engrossed in my thoughts, I don’t even realize that I’ve reached the guild entrance until Anya opens the door for me. The guild is still just as lively as it was before, only everyone’s helping to clean up the area I destroyed. I must’ve been super focused to not have noticed their glances.

Anya closes the door behind us, and then it’s only us in the torchlight.

I guess now’s about the time we go our separate ways. She’s the first one to speak up.

“Have a safe trip home. Please take care.”

“You too", I reply dryly.

We both begin to walk home, only, we’re still walking along the same main road.

This is awkward.

We both look at each other and offer a weak smile, acknowledging the situation as silly and uncomfortable. I’m the first to turn my attention back to the cobblestone path. I’m sure that our paths will diverge soon.

We walk.

And we walk.

“Ummm… I don’t mean to be rude, but are you following me?” Anya asks.

“What? No! Absolutely not. I’m just walking home, same as you.”

And we walk some more.

Okay, this is just dumb.

We’ve turned several times at this point, and this place is fucking huge. There are a ridiculous amount of four-way paths that we could’ve separated at, but we just haven’t yet. There’s no way that we should still be walking in the same direction, but here we are, nearing the inn. I pray that what I’m thinking is about to happen just doesn’t.

Unfortunately, it does.

We both stop at the same inn, under the same torchlight, just as awkward as we were back at the guild infirmary. This time, I’m the first one to start a conversation.

“I’m not from here, so it’s understandable that I would have to take residence in an inn, but what’s your story? I thought you were a local.”

“I am! I swear I’m a local… I just have some unusual circumstances. We can talk about it inside if you would like.”

“Let’s do that.”

I have to make absolutely sure she’s not on to me. With how those people earlier just gauged my mana instantaneously, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were at least a couple of adventurers who could differentiate between monster and human.

I can’t just ignore the chance that she may be a person with such talents and decided to follow me home to find out where I was hiding out. It’s too big a risk to take, and I don’t want hundreds of adventurers breaking down my door in the morning.

Anya grasps the handle of the wood door and pushes it open. The sound of a small bell rings, alerting the inn receptionist.

Or at least it would have if she wasn't sleeping.

She has her head resting in her arms, face down on the desk like a professional. Was there always a bell, by the way?

Anya giggles to herself lightly, then runs through the door to wake up the receptionist.

She leans over the front desk and pats the receptionist’s head. Her hair is a pure blonde color, as bright and shining as any gold coin that I’ve ever picked up from an adventurer’s corpse. Perhaps that wasn’t the best comparison to make, but it’s the only recollection of gold that I have, so it’ll have to do.

“Hey, Lillia. Lillia. Wake up, you dummy. You have customers.”

The woman mumbles unintelligibly into her arms.

“Mmmmmmmffffffffmmmmmm…” She turns her head to the side, revealing a pretty face covered in freckles. Drool is dripping from her mouth, though, slightly ruining her image. She seems happy enough, so I suppose it doesn’t matter too much what I think so long as she's enjoying herself.

I scratch my head. I feel like I would’ve remembered the face of the woman whose business I was giving patronage, so it’s sort of odd that I don’t recognize her at all. Anya must be well-acquainted with her, however, because she shows no restraint in her next couple of actions.

“LILLIA WAKE UP!”

My heart jumps into my chest from the sudden yell, and I reach at my bag for my spear instinctively.

Gaia above, that was loud. I didn’t take Anya for someone who could even raise her voice, let alone shout like that.

The woman has it much worse, though. She starts from her sleep so hard that her chair tips back on its legs, and she falls EXTREMELY clumsily to the floor. I didn’t think it was possible to look so positively ungraceful during any sort of fall, but today I was proven wrong.

She collides with the floor, her arms sprawling all over the place, and her legs get propped up in the air by her seat. She starts to moan in pain.

“Ow…”

Getting up, she vocalizes her disdain at Anya’s attempt to kill her in her sleep via heart attack. Her voice is whiny and annoying.

“That’s really just too cruel, you know how easily I get scared, Annie. Couldn’t you have tried to wake me up gently first?”

Anya frowns.

“I did. You didn’t wake up.”

Lillia looks mildly embarrassed, but not enough to admit defeat quite yet.

“Well, try harder next time.” She pouts.

Looking past Anya, she seems to notice me for the first time, tolerantly waiting for the two girls’ actions to play out.

“Oh, and who’s this?”