Chapter 16 – Leaving the Restaurant

“Excuse me.” A girl with the group of four stops Eva.

“Yes? What can I help you with?” Eva smiles, balancing the platter in her hand.

“Can we speak to the white haired girl?” The girl asks pointing to Senna.

“Senna? That shouldn’t be a problem. Senna!! Someone is looking for you!” Eva yells out across the room drawing many of the customers’ attention. Senna stops speaking with a customer and looks at Eva. Eva points at the girl’s group.

Senna nods. “Just a minute!”

Eva smiles at the girl and heads back to work. “She will be right with you.”

Senna finishes speaking with the customer and appears in front of the four. “Yes, what can I help you with?” The blond haired girl closest to her is dressed in light leather armor covered by a cloak. A fiery red haired girl dressed in mage’s robe sits next to her enjoying her food. Across from the girls sit two men, one dressed in full heavy armor with dark brown hair and the other with blonde hair dressed a gaudy blue coat lined with yellow trim with a long sword.

“We saw your display and want to recruit you for our group.” The blond girl replies.

“You’re really strong for a healer. It would really help to have someone else protect the rear.” The red haired mage comments.

“A beautiful woman like you would be a great fit to our group.” The blonde swordsman adds.

“Strong and beautiful.” The heavy warrior mumbles.

Senna secretly uses [Identification] to bring up some basic information about the group.

StatusNameInnar EvesLevel14RaceHumanAge16DescriptionA narcissistic fallen noble and novice swordsman that considers himself the best fighter in town. He hopes to be a world famous adventurer and build a great harem. He likes to flaunt his ‘noble’ status to take advantage of woman that catches his interest. Senna has greatly drawn his attention.

StatusNameOller TurnerLevel13RaceHumanAge16DescriptionA fully armored warrior that doesn’t speak much. He is in love with Helen and wants to confess to her, but always diverts the topic at the critical moment. He frequently acts as the muscle for his best friend Innar when he causes trouble.

StatusNameHelen DeanLevel13RaceHumanAge15DescriptionA mage focusing on . Her family is currently in debt due to her father leaving them with his gambling debts. Her mother is currently bed-ridden with a broken leg making her unable to work. She is currently desperate for money to stave off the loan sharks. She deeply hates Innar, but is afraid that she would be unable to find a new group to help her and of Innar’s revenge.

StatusNameKristel EvesLevel12RaceHumanAge14DescriptionThe scout for the group and new to being an adventurer. Innar’s sister and the youngest of the group. She deeply loves her big brother and everything about him. No matter what he does, she supports his actions and assists him, even in bed.

After seeing their levels and motives, she takes a quick glance at their skills, but finds basic skills no greater than level 2. Senna smiles brightly. “I apologize. I belong to a clan already and have no interest in clan solicitations.”

“What?! How can you say ‘No’ to ME?!” Innar stands up slamming the table.

Senna calmly points to her left and right. The group turns looking in both directions to see many of the customers staring at them. Many of the customers are whispering to one another about how reckless Innar is. “I hope you remember where you are. I do not have an obligation to help you if there is no good reason to.”

“Wait! If you need a good reason, I do have one.” Helen stands up frantically. “My mother is ill and we need to pay off our debt. There’s an expedition we want to do that will earn us the money we need.”

“I see. Well… if that’s the case, it would not hurt to listen to the details. It will have to wait until after I finish working. I can’t promise I will accept anything though.” Senna bows and walks away.

“Thank Remilia, she helped us.” Helen mutters to herself.

“Tch. She should have dropped to her feet since I was in the group.” Innar grumbles to himself.

“Haha! You got her attention. Nice job!” A man comments from the neighboring table. “She’s a human lie detector. If she finds out you’re lying or has lewd intentions, she typically avoids dealing with them.”

Hearing these words, the three of them turn and stare at Innar. “What?” Innar returns the looks. The three of them are forced to spend their time convincing Innar not to try and attempt anything towards Senna. He reluctantly agrees when Kristel whispers something in his ear.

As the restaurant clears out for the evening, the cloaked person from the earlier order approaches Senna. Senna looks at the figure with a smile. “Yes? What can I help you with?”

“Want…cheese recipe.” The person sticks out one hand while gripping their money pouch in the other. The petite hand makes Senna amazed that she can exert any strength at all.

“I don’t mind giving it to you. It’s a lot of work though, so it’s quite difficult if you travel. It would be faster to buy some from the stores than make your own.” Senna explains to the figure.

“Don’t care. Yours better” The cloaked person persists.

“Okay. Just a minute.” Senna quietly takes out a piece of paper and begins writing the recipe. “Ah.” She pauses looking at one of the ingredients. “Do you not eat meat because you don’t like it or because you don’t want to hurt animals?”

“Don’t kill.” The person firmly replies.

“Understood.” {Animal rennet is impossible then. She won’t kill a calf to get it from the stomach. Mmm… What was the name of that plant? Ah, got it!} Senna writes down a few plants that can be used as a substitute in the cheese making process. She passes the completed recipe to the cloaked figure. The cloaked person opens their pouch, but Senna shakes her head. “It’s fine. I’m not interested in money. I like to craft potions though, if you have an interesting herb that can be used, I’ll happily take it.” The figure pauses before handing her a bundle of herbs.

“Thank you.” Senna gratefully takes the herbs. “This seems interesting.” She has a bright smile on her face as she identifies the herbs. The figure starts to walk away. “Ah! Just a second!” The cloaked person stops and looks at Senna. Senna leans over to whisper to the person’s ear. “There’s been a few people eyeing you since this morning. Slave traders that capture non-human races. They think you’re one because of your concealed appearance. I advise you leave town soon.”

The cloaked person backs away from Senna. The person stares at Senna warily. “How?”

Senna makes a quick map and places it at the table. “It’s just advice since this isn’t the safest area. This is a map that can help you evade them and escape from town quickly. If you use it is up to you.” Senna turns away and finishes cleaning up. The cloaked figure stares blankly at Senna. Gritting their teeth, the person grabs the map and escapes from the restaurant.

“Good luck…”Senna looks at the exit with a bitter look. {If she wasn’t so wary, I could help her more. If she keeps the map long enough, the should help her escape faster.}

Maria and Ellen depart first with a generous payment from Senna. Senna, Eve and Eva finish cleaning up the restaurant until everything shines. “All done!” Senna smiles as they look at their hard work.

“We made it!!” Eva cries out as she sits down and sprawls her body on the table.

“Somehow.” Eve sits down with her back to the table, equally exhausted.

Senna hangs a message about her quitting the restaurant next to the exit. “Continuing the conversation from this morning. Have you two thought about what you want to do?”

The sisters look at one another and nod. Full of conviction, they answer simultaneously. ““Yes. We’re quitting too.””

“I see.” Senna replies taking out several letters. “Do you want these then? Since it’s technically my fault you’re quitting, I wrote these letters of introduction to some shopkeepers I’m acquainted with. I asked them the other day and they were willing to hire someone. But, they need to assess you first before they decide to hire you.”

“Please.” Eve readily accepts the letters.

“Thank you Senna.” Eva takes the letters a moment later. “Let’s see here. A weapon shop, an armor shop, a magic shop, apothecary, library, and the last one ...”

“These are…” Eve mutters staring at the letters.

“Sorry, I only visit these places…” Senna replies awkwardly.

“Aren’t these the best shops in town!” Eva cries jumping out of her seat.

“Possibly. I just frequent these places since I was introduced to them by a clan member.” Senna shrugs.

“This is really generous of you Senna. I feel a bit guilty that we can’t pay you back somehow.” Eve stands and bows to Senna.

“It’s fine. It’s fine. You’re exaggerating.” Senna waves it off.

“Thank you!” Eva jumps forward hugging Senna. Eve joins in hugging both them. Senna flinches from the contact, restraining herself from any outbursts returning the hug awkwardly.

“Ok. We should get moving. Here. Your pay for today.” Senna hands them two Gold Triton coins and one large Silver Triton coins to each of them.

“Senna! This is too much!” Eva yells out.

“Besides, Dassler should be paying us not you.” Eve retorts.

“And part of that is in there. He’s not going to pay any of us since we’re quitting anyways. I took it from the profits for today.” Senna smiles mischievously.

“Isn’t that bad? If you take all the profits, he’s going to go crazy.” Eve offers the money back to Senna.

“Who said I took all?” Senna tilts her head. “I properly left the 90% of the profits that he normally holds and distributed the rest to us.”

“But… there’s no way that we earned this much money with what was left.” Eve thinks about the money they collected from orders. The restaurant is on the lower end, so the food only ranges from 20 Triton to 200 Triton. It wouldn’t be possible to earn the 20,100 Triton that Senna is offering without taking the majority of the money.

“I properly left money plus a bit extra for the food he supplied us. It’s almost double the normal profits, so he won’t notice. This is from my money.” (Senna)

“Then we really shouldn’t be taking this!” Eve and Eva forcefully try to return the money to Senna, but she pushes back trying to make them take it.

The money moves back and forth repeatedly until Senna gets irritated and hugs them from behind binding their arms. “Haa…Calm down and listen to me. This is money I owe you for putting extra work on your shoulders.”

“What extra work? If anything, we make more work for you?” Eve bitterly comments. Eva awkwardly mumbles in agreement.

“When we run out of food, I start using my own ingredients to fulfill all the orders. That increases the work on your plate don’t you think?” Senna replies. Seeing them calm down, she releases them from her hug.

“Your food? I don’t understand.” Eve asks. The two of them have a confused look at Senna’s talk.

“Do you think that stingy man would provide enough food to last the entire day?” Receiving a silent response, Senna continues talking. “Today, we ran out of food before even the first hour of the special menu. After that I provided ingredients from my own supply to keep the customers happy. In that situation, it’s only fair I pay you instead of Dassler, don’t you think?” The sisters look at one another blankly. “Right? So please do me this favor and just accept your payment.” Senna pushes the money back to them.

““Thank you!”” The two of them finally accept the money as tears form in their eyes. They hug Senna again crying in her arms. Senna returns the hug consoling them.

When they calm down, Senna has them leave first as she does a final check of the restaurant. Content, she locks up the store and starts walking home. Not far from the restaurant, she finds the group of four adventurers waiting for her.

“FINALLY!” Innar yells angrily.

“Oh yes. I forgot about you~” Senna answers with a teasing smile.

“WHAT?! How dare you forget about…Mmph!” As he starts to retort, Kristel and Helen hastily cover his mouth. Kristel whispers something to her brother forcibly calming him down.

“I’m sorry about my brother. Can you please listen to our request?” Kristel anxiously replies.

“Go ahead.” Senna nods. Kristel starts to explain about a dungeon they found. The location is untouched and found about one week away on foot from town. They would like Senna’s help in acting as the healer for the group and to protect Helen when she casts spells. With her help, they can enter the depths of the dungeon and obtain all the treasure making them rich.

“What does the inside look like? What types of monsters are inside? Any traps?” Senna asks.

“Oi, isn’t taking the trip with someone as wonderful as me enough?” Innar retorts.

“Don’t know.” Helen ignores Innar and responds. “We hid the entrance after finding it. None of us scouted any further and fell back to make more preparations.”

Senna frowns hearing their vague information. “How do you know there’s any treasure?”

“It’s a dungeon. There’s obviously treasure!” Innar replies with irritation. Senna looks at the girls waiting for a response.

“What he said?” Helen answers meekly.

“I see. Where is this dungeon located?” Senna asks.

“Oi you! Listen to me!” Innar yells at Senna, but no one turns their gaze his way.

Kristel rejects Senna’s question. “That’s private information. We can’t trust that you won’t run away with the information. We’ll take you to the place, but won’t tell you anything about it until we arrive.”

Senna holds her head listening to the talk. “I see. I’ll need to think about it.” Innar’s face flushes with anger that he’s been ignored to such an extent. Before he can criticize Senna, she asks another question. “If we find treasure, how will it be split?”

“Helen is in debt, so she’s going to take 40%. We will split the remaining 60% between the four of us.” Kristel explains.

Senna’s frown deepens. Using both [Identification] and [Analysis], Senna follows the conversation to screen for lies. “If you want me to help, you’ll have to pay 30% of the treasure.

“Wha…” Helen gasps hearing Senna’s excessive demand.

“How shameless!! We’re the ones with the information! How dare you such a large share of our treasure?!” Kristel’s polite tone vanishes as she yells at Senna.

“You can take it or leave it. I’m not obligated to help you after all.” Senna replies bluntly.

“You BITCH!” Innar runs up to Senna punching at her face. Senna steps to the side. One hand grips his outstretched arm while the other hand presses against his armpit. She performs a leg sweep tripping him as she pulls his arm down and pushes the core of his body upward. Using her strength, she lifts him into the air. Innar’s legs form a large arc as Senna performs a back throw. His back slams into the ground at full force rattling this head and knocking him out. Senna discreetly heals his head to prevent any lasting injuries.

“How could you?!” Kristel dashes to her brother’s side. She relaxes when she does not find any blood. Glaring at Senna, she yells out, “We’re hiring you!! You shouldn’t be touching him with your filthy hands!”

Senna shrugs. “He attacked me first. I just threw him in the air. It’s his fault that he didn’t defend against a weak attack like that.” Senna starts walking, but the tall Ollar stands in her path. “Do you really want to fight me? I already have a lot of reasons to avoid helping you. It’s not like I seriously hurt him.” He looks back and forth between Innar and Senna with a conflicted look, but reluctantly backs down as Senna walks past him. “Good answer.” Senna pats his shoulder demonstrating a small show of strength. Ollar’s body tilts as he feels the force of Senna’s push. The crushing weight feels as if a boulder was placed on his arm before letting up. The pressure quickly lets up as Senna removes her hand. A cold weak runs down the silent Ollar’s back as he clutches his shoulder.

Helen shows some surprise at the display, but remains silent. Innar remains knocked out as Kristel carefully cares for him. Ollar trembles in place staring at the departing Senna. She hesitates for a moment before running after the disappearing white haired figure. Desperately trying to catch up, she finds Senna calmly waiting at a secluded bench.

“Um! Miss Senna! Can you please consider helping us?” Helen desperately asks with tears in her eyes.

“I’m thinking about it. Frankly, I think there are too many problems with the request.” Senna calmly replies. Patting on the bench, she signals Helen to sit down. Helen obediently sits, but her tension remains extremely high.

“If…if it’s about Innar looking lewdly at you. I…” Helen clenches her fists as she forcefully squeezes out the words. “I… can offer my body to him to distract him.”

“That would make me reject you even more. I would feel guilty if you had to put yourself in that position. Besides, he’s too weak to do anything to me anyways. I’m not worried about him at all.” Senna waves out the offer immediately.

“Then why?” Helen weakly asks.

“… ‘Oh look.’” Senna uses a cheery tone as she points to a random store. “‘There’s a mysterious place. It must have lots of treasure. We’ll be rich if we go there. I don’t know if it’s dangerous or anything like that, but we’re chosen heroes, so we’ll be just fine. Hurry up and let’s go pillage this place.’” Helen cringes hearing Senna’s mocking tone. “Frankly, all I hear is empty idealism. When you found the place, the proper response would have been to take a look inside and get an idea of the dangers. As a magician, you could have determined if there was an oddly high magical content that suggests that place is special.”

“I…” Helen wants to refute Senna’s talk, but every point hits a sore point that they’re group is lacking.

“With what you’ve told me, I’m expecting you found a cave to a monsters home that holds nothing in there, other than their nest.” Senna continues.

“That’s not true! It’s a proper ruin!” Helen yells out trying to stop Senna from destroying her hopes.

“But there’s no proof there is anything valuable inside right?” Senna counters. Helen can only groan at that point. “Researching what that place is. Speaking to the guild, learning what they know, preparing yourself for any known dangers. Those are things a proper adventurer would do. Even if that place has riches, having information is the most important detail. Otherwise, you’d lose your life.” Helen’s body seems to shrink listening to Senna’s scolding. “Rather than gamble on a wild fantasy for riches, it would be better to earn money through jobs you can handle.”

“……But I don’t have time…” Helen murmurs dejectedly.

“Haa… Well I’ll think about it. Solely to help you and prevent you reckless novices from dying in a stupid fashion…” Senna replies.

Helen’s face brightens. “Thank you!”

“Mmn…” Senna sighs. “I’ll be at the Adventurer’s Guild tomorrow. I’ll give you an answer then.” Helen gives a bitter look as Senna departs.

Senna falls into her bed after cleaning herself up. Her parents are having a romantic dinner downstairs. Anahid is currently away on a mission with the rest of the . Senna took time away from the clan to refine her [Cooking] skill in the restaurant, so she hasn’t participated in any long term missions recently.

She gives a quiet sigh as she stares at the ceiling. {What to do? I’d rather not participate with that reckless group. They have no experience, and a bit too much pride. But it would leave a bad taste in my mouth, if I let all to them run to their death, even if it’s their own fault. Do I assist them? Should I help Helen with her debt? …I’d have to interact with her more to assist with her debt.} Senna breaks away from her thoughts and sits up on her bed. “No choice. Let’s give it a shot.”

Senna gathers a large amount of magic around her body as she prepares to cast some . {I want to gaze a week into the future. Dungeon and danger information. If there’s treasure? No. That’s not important. Anything notable about that place. …..Hopefully this goes well, I’ve never tried looking so far into the future.} Senna quietly chants the spell to help her focus. “.”

A flood of information fills Senna’s mind as she falls down into her bed. Images of a forest and the four novices flash through her mind. Senna is barely able to process any information from the scene before another one replaces it. As the images darken, she tries to slow down the flood of information catching sight of a few figures. Her concentration falters as she sees certain figures causing the spell to abruptly end. The spell backlashes as it takes even more magic power from her body. Her back falls onto the bed as all the energy leaves her body.

Senna lies quietly on the bed for some time before opening her eyes. {I used 2/3 of my magic on the spell and the backlash. Looks like I won’t have time to try again before tomorrow… I definitely saw them there… There’s no choice. I have to go.}

Author's Note

Just a quick thank you to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and following my story. To Jormungand, I plan to keep up the story for a while, so no worries about me dropping it from lack of motivation.

Thanks again, and I hope you continue to follow my work. :)

P.S. I don't ask for reviews or anything like that. I don't have the self-esteem to consider my casual work to be as great as other works on RRL. XD