Flora convinced Abis not to stop a passing wandering soul to ask for directions, and they inquired about the location of the Mercenary Guild from a passerby.
Flora's forty years of slumber had not deprived her of her ability to interact with people. Even though she was no longer the revered saint, her good manners made people willingly give directions to her and Abis. They easily found the Mercenary Guild located on the outskirts of the city.
"You ask for directions like a rabbit's heart beats," said Abis, excitedly, for some reason. "If it's possible, I'll leave all the direction asking to you in the future."
"Do you have difficulties when you ask for directions?" Flora looked at Abis in surprise. Although Abis had pale skin and often looked tired, his appearance was still handsome, and he seemed to have a cheerful personality.
"I'm not good at interacting with the living," Abis pointed to the passersby. "As soon as the living see my eyes, they instinctively feel sleepy, and they don't like the way I speak either."
"I see... I understand now. Leave it all to me from now on," Flora quickly realized what was going on. Abis had a penchant for adding vulgar humor between sentences, which most people wouldn't appreciate.
"My Flora, you're such a great teammate! Let's go inside quickly, find a mission, and once we're done, we can go to the library and get paid," Abis pointed at the sign of the Mercenary Guild.
Flora had no objections and even walked faster than Abis.
As soon as they pushed open the door of the Mercenary Guild, a strong smell of alcohol hit them. Many mercenaries were sitting inside, drinking cheap beer and uttering vulgar curses and laughter. This place seemed more like a tavern than a guild, but instead of a boss behind the counter, there was a receptionist holding a book. The Mercenary Guild was just an organization that provided convenience for mercenaries to earn money, with no discipline imposed on its members, as long as they followed the local laws. Flora, who walked in first, quickly became the center of attention—she was too beautiful and had delicate skin, looking nothing like someone who would be in the mercenary world.
As for Abis by her side, he was ignored by everyone because of his thin and weak appearance, as well as his black attire.
"Hey, girl, you're at the wrong place. This is the Mercenary Guild, the Girls' Club is on the other side of the city!" shouted a mercenary with armor still stained with dried blood.
"Hey, maybe you're here to look for your brother?" someone laughed. "If your brother doesn't return for a few days, maybe he's already dead!"
"Or maybe let me be your brother instead, or even your husband. I'm really good in bed, ahahaha..." A muscular man with a stubble and bared chest burst into a deafening laughter, which made the other mercenaries stop teasing.
Flora's face immediately turned red. When she was a saint, no one dared to speak to her like this, not to mention such lewd jokes.
"Big guy, pay attention to how you speak to a lady," Abis said calmly, blocking the path between Flora and the muscular man, staring at him with his green eyes.
The muscular man was interrupted and seemed very unhappy, but he inexplicably felt a bit tired, so he didn't burst into rage. Instead, he snorted at Abis with his nose and sat down to continue drinking his beer.
"Sorry, what can the two of you do at the guild?" The receptionist, well aware of the nature of these blood-soaked mercenaries, looked displeased and walked up to them, politely asking.
Abis immediately answered, "We're here to take on a mission and earn some money."
"Please tell me the Fighting Spirit and Magic levels of both of you, so I can assign a suitable mission for you," the receptionist asked as a routine.
"No need, just show me all the missions," Abis shook his head, grabbed Flora's hand, and walked towards the mission posters fixed on the wall, checking them out.
The receptionist didn't say anything. Mercenaries often lived on the edge of life and death, so it was rare to find ones with a normal mindset. He didn't bother correcting the quirks of these guys, as it wouldn't be worth it if conflicts arose and they ended up with knives against their throats."Abis, this request to hunt wild boars is exactly 30 imperial coins," Flora happily tugged on Abis' clothes, "Just kill the four wild boars that have been harassing the farmers and bring back their right ears, and you can get the money. It seems quite simple."
Abis glanced at the request that Flora was interested in, then nodded. "Receptionist, please take note of the request we're accepting."
"Hunting wild boars, right? Please tell me your name or title," the receptionist nodded, and pulled out a charcoal pencil from the pocket of his shirt, ready to record in the book in his hand.
"Ah, it's not hunting wild boars, it's a request to exterminate the ghosts in this ancestral home," Abis said lightly, "The reward for this is 20,000 imperial coins."
The receptionist couldn't help but start sweating. Who is this young master? He doesn't even consider the difficulty of the task and goes straight to see the reward?
"Well... sir, let me remind you that this is an S-class request, and it's been temporarily upgraded to extremely difficult. There have been about ten people who have taken the request in the past few days, including two or three teams, but none of them have come back."
"How far is the haunted house?" Abis asked.
Does this guy not listen to others at all? The receptionist resisted the urge to go crazy and continued, "Sir, you don't look like a warrior, let alone a magician. You don't even have a mage staff, and you're too young. You will die if you take on this kind of request, you will really die!"
"You're saying I'm weak?" Abis narrowed his eyes and walked towards the receptionist.
The receptionist immediately regretted why he had kindly advised this guy not to take on the request. Shouldn't he have just let him die? Did he touch this young master's pride? Is he in trouble now?
Abis grabbed the receptionist's wrist and pulled hard -
The receptionist's body didn't move an inch.
"To be honest, I am indeed weak," Abis smiled, showing his white teeth to the receptionist, then pointed at Flora with his hand, "But she's different, she's amazing."
"Huh? Me?" Flora never expected to suddenly become the focus, and quickly waved her hands, "I'm not amazing! I don't know anything..."
"Hahaha, are you two here to entertain us?" At this moment, the big man who was just disappointed by Abis suddenly stood up and walked over towards them with large strides. He seemed to be drunk, his nose as red as ripe strawberries, "I thought you were someone formidable, but you're just an idiot! What are you still doing here? Get out of our guild, if this little beauty wants to stay, she can!"
"Flora, slap him," Abis sniffed, and said to Flora.
"No, no!" Flora dare not slap such a strong man, her height only reached the big man's chest, she would have to tiptoe just to slap him.
"Oh? You even need a woman to protect you? Whether she's your wife or maid, if you don't leave, your woman will be mine today!" The big man became even more complacent, reaching out and grabbing Flora's wrist.
Abis was Flora's master, so it was nothing if he held her, but now that a stranger suddenly grabbed her, she became angry. However, the education of a saintess didn't make her struggle desperately like a frightened deer, but she quickly calmed down, and then gave the big man's face a very elegant slap, showing her graceful lady-like manner.
Smack!
Boom!
When Flora realized what had happened, the big man was already groaning on the ground. He seemed to have been slapped and flown out, with a body weighing at least two and a half Flora, crashing through two tables, and finally leaving a human-shaped hole in the wall, before finally landing heavily on the ground. He couldn't get up, spitting out a few teeth and his mouth was full of blood.
"You see, I told you she's amazing," Abis shrugged at the stunned receptionist, "We don't have money right now, we'll compensate you when we come back."
"Ah... okay..."
"Flora," Abis suddenly called.
"Mas... Master?" Flora widened her beautiful golden eyes and looked at Abis.
"Exciting, isn't it? Punishing ruffians with your own hands?" Abis smiled slightly.Flora unconsciously shook her head, paused for a moment, and then nodded again.
"Hmm!"
"This matter is not over yet. Help me carry him to the alley outside. I have an important question to ask him - I might have encountered a colleague." Abis mysteriously pointed to the big man who was still groaning over there. "I'll come to find you after taking on the mission here. Don't worry, he is not qualified to resist."
