“200 Denurs is it enough?”

“… I don’t mind.”

“Really?!! I don’t think that would be enough. You should demand for more you know!”

Sitting at one of the tables in Turil’s Foodhouse, Zecruix was facing with Vaneri and Hervan, who sat opposite towards him. They were currently negotiating the reward for the job.

The negotiating part was actually over as of now and Hervan took out 200 denurs from the bag he was carrying and handed it to Zecruix.

Zecruix took it and nodded his thanks.

“200 denurs is fine. Someone else is also paying for me too. By the way, why are you asking me to charge you more?”

“Because I thought the reward doesn’t commensurate with the job… who is it that will also pay for you?”

“It’s the Farvath household apparently.”

Vaneri cheerful mood was dampened upon hearing that and she bit her lip. Hervan put on a weary smile too.

“Haaa, even though I knew what the answer was I’m still gonna go visit them for a formal answer. Don’t you think it’s foolish, Zecruix?”

He heard of the answer when Sylelia was retelling her story.

“… Not really. The resolve you have is that you wanted to hear it in person. I can’t say that it is foolish…”

Vaneri smiled faintly at Zecruix and she got up from the seat along with Hervan.

“We’ll be visiting the manor. Since you wanted to get paid by them too, would you follow us?”

“Nope, I’ll be visiting them later. I’m meeting up with Roschev and Varius at Varius’s place after this. Did you pay them already?”

“I did. It was last night when they accompanying us back to the cabin.”

“I see. Well farewell, Miss Vaneri.”

“You should say ‘Goodbye’ not ‘farewell’. Farewell is like saying we will never see each other again! Me and Hervan came from the town of Keshkanium just north of this town about two days of travel, so if we needed a demonhunter service, we’ll be meeting again you know?”

Vaneri admonished Zecruix while pouting childishly. Zecruix chuckled in return.

“Is that so? Then this is Goodbye, Miss Vaneri.”

“We wish you well until we meet again.”

Both of them bowed towards Zecruix and left, leaving Zecruix standing on the spot.

--

“Hey there, take a seat.”

A seated Roschev invited Zecruix.

Zecruix approached a table where Roschev and Varius were sitting. Varius restaurant doesn’t open at morning so only the three of them were in the dining area.

“You got paid already?”

“Yeah just now, anyway- so how’s the progression?”

“Eh?”

Zecruix asked Varius with a faint smile as he leaned closer to Varius. Roschev too leaned closer to him.

“What are you guys getting close about?! Don’t we have other things to talk about?!”

“Heh, you know we cared about that because we gave a solid advice each and we wanted to know how it works out.”

“Solid advice.”

“… We had better interaction… sort of.”

Surrendering to the pressures emitted by the two, Varius relented.

“In details.”

Varius sighed as Roschev demanded for him to explain more.

“… Yesterday, she asked for me to send breakfast cooked here and this morning, we talked or rather argued about the content of the breakfast… It’s an improvement in a way.”

“…”

“Well, you can’t expect things to happen in a short time.”

After that, the table went silent again.

“Well, let’s cheer for job well done.”

“Aye.”

“Huh, I didn’t do much though.”

--

After merrily spend some times with both of the men, Zecruix made his went to the manor.

Standing in front of the gate was Volkara who seems to be waiting for him.

“Good morning, you look much better the first time you came here.”

“Have to look professional, one of sensible things my master had told me once.”

“Well come inside.”

Both were smiling since they had greeted, Volkara led Zecruix inside.

She led him up stair and into the owner’s room.

The sight that greeted him was the bedridden but conscious Farvath, the peckish and annoyed Minara and the gentle-looking Sylelia who was sitting beside each other and on the left side of the bed.

“Uwah, I didn’t realized how young you were!”

“Big brother, he’s the one who saved you, show some respect, you ingrate!”

“Oh my bad, I’m truly grateful that you saved me from my love-obsession and reduced it to only love-struck!”

Farvath, from his bed, bowed down in an exaggerated manner. After he did that, Minara jumped from her seat and chopped down on her brother’s neck.

“…Eh?”

Zecruix stood dumbfounded, looking at the scene in front of him.

“They’re always like this.”

Volkara sighed beside him.

“What do you think you’re doing to a fragile big brother who is currently infirmed on his bed?!”

“Shut up!! You were so near to death and you have time to be acting so casual?!”

With that, Minara eyes went teary. Farvath, caught off-guard by that, reeled back in confusion.

Minara, losing to her emotion, went onto the bed and hugged his still confused brother. Sylelia got up from the chair and sat at the bed beside Minara and she was stroking her back as to comfort her.

“Well… thank you… a lot… Zecruix was it?”

Farvath said them with a careful tone filled with gratefulness as he also broke into the tears.

For Zecruix, there was the feeling inside telling him that to him personally, this was the result that he was looking for.

Both Zecruix and Volkara looked with heart-warming gazes at from the side.

--

The initial amount of denurs that Farvath had insisted was too much for Zecruix so they lowered it almost the same as what Vaneri had gave. Still, Farvath decided to hold a party for him and so Zecruix accepted on a condition that he could bring two persons which were Roschev and Varius along.

On that night, it was quite extravagant amount for them to indulged especially the alcohol, so they drunk themselves with much delight.

The next morning, in his room where he stayed, Zecruix opened his eyes groggily as he lie on his bed. The hangover he had as of now was discouraging him to get up but he managed after a while.

He went down stair to get something to cure his hangover but along the way he stopped in shocked.

“V-volkara?!”

Sitting across the counter chatting with the bartender was Volkara.

Both of them looked bewildered upon seeing Zecruix and after they erupted into a burst of laugh.

“Eh?”

Was there something odd about him? He had thought. It was then he realized that the cloth he was wearing felt different. It was smooth and silky.

He looked down.

Black and white with frills but the most notable was the dress. It came to him…

He was wearing a maid outfit.

“……”