Chương 40: Chapter 38 – Operation: Scare Clerk

Chelsea and Edgar exited the store once more. As they walked, Chelsea noticed Edgar's mask subtly turn toward a group lingering across the street.

"Problem?" she asked quietly.

"A couple of E-rank adventurers had been following us since the blacksmith," he replied casually. Chelsea blinked.

"Why?"

"You are not officially registered with the guild yet, which means you do not currently fall under guild protection." His mask shifted slightly toward her folded wings.

"Demon wings sell well. Yours would probably fetch around fifty silver each. There's an ongoing demand for them as alchemical reagents."

"Ah. Should we be worried?" She asked.

"No. I had a polite conversation with them explaining the situation." Chelsea gave him a look. Polite conversation? More like he vaguely threatened them and maybe dropped Adriane's name.

"So," Edgar began, "how much did your Charisma increase?" Chelsea blinked.

"Not a single point."

"That doesn't make any sense," he replied immediately.

"Maybe we should go back. She said it was common and…"

"Oh no, that's not the reason." She waved a hand dismissively.

"I need to be set on fire or rip the dress or something. It's likely too high level for my enhancement to kick in." Edgar tilted his mask toward her.

"You say things so casually that would horrify normal people." Chelsea grinned.

"Let's just call it spooky demon magic." She wiggled her fingers dramatically in front of him.

"Ooooo." A nearby woman walking past nearly tripped over herself trying to avoid getting too close to the terrifying demon villainess who was 'casting' spooky demon magic. Chelsea noticed and immediately looked guilty.

"Okay, maybe I shouldn't do that in public."

"Probably wise." Edgar nodded.

"Are we heading back to the inn?" Chelsea asked.

"Actually, let's stop by the guild," Edgar replied.

"I need to report the adventurer incident. As it stands now, it appears I interfered with their hunt." Chelsea looked at him.

"Oh." That sounded exactly like the sort of stupid thing guilds would have rules about.

"Ah. Okay." She nodded.

"I'll see if anyone needs help at the job board." The two entered the guildhall together. The usual noise rolled over Chelsea immediately. Conversations, laughter, arguments, mugs slamming against tables, armor rattling, boots scraping wood floors. A few heads turned. Then several more. Today's whispers were noticeably different from yesterday's. Yesterday she had been the strange demon womannext to Adriane Wixx.

Today she was the beautiful demon villainess in the red and black dress walking beside a masked A-rank fae spirit. Honestly, Chelsea thought the upgrade in public opinion was nice. Edgar walked directly toward the front desk while Chelsea started toward the request boards again. She only made it a few steps.

"Miss Wixx, may I have a word?" Chelsea turned. The guildmaster stood near the staircase leading upstairs. She looked composed at first glance, but there was frustration tucked into the tightness around her eyes. It still felt surreal seeing someone who looked barely older than a high school student acting with the authority of an entire guild branch behind her.

"Sure." Chelsea glanced back toward Edgar.

"Edgar," she called. His mask rotated almost completely around to face her without the rest of his body moving. She pointed toward the guildmaster.

"I'm going to talk to her." He studied the guildmaster for a brief moment before nodding once. Chelsea followed the young elf upstairs again, the chatter downstairs slowly fading behind them.

"So, what can I do for you?" Chelsea asked as they walked up to the second floor. The guildmaster did not answer immediately.

"We'll talk in my office." That probably wasn't a great sign. Chelsea followed her inside the familiar cramped office. The moment they entered, Chelsea shut the door behind her automatically this time instead of being asked.

"Please, have a seat, Miss Wixx." Chelsea sat.

"Tea? Water?"

"No, thank you. I don't drink anything." She replied. The elf moved behind her desk but didn't sit right away. She looked tired. Not physically tired. More like the sort of exhaustion that came from too many problems stacking on top of each other. Finally, she lowered herself into the chair and leaned forward, elbows resting on the desk, fingers interlocked.

"Miss Wixx," she began carefully, "today has been quite eventful." Chelsea offered a polite smile.

"Busy days tend to make time fly."

"Oh, time has indeed flown today," the guildmaster replied dryly with a touch of sarcasm. Chelsea immediately sensed the danger in the tone.

"I've received eleven complaints from various sources at the practice field alleging that a demon was fighting a small healer woman and that the demon was being tortured by said healer." Chelsea blinked.

"That could be any demon." The guildmaster stared at her. Chelsea cleared her throat.

"Granted, statistically probably me."

"Indeed," the guildmaster continued.

"Then I had a rather unpleasant meeting with our resident job post reader. It seems a demon woman has been reading the postings at an alarming rate and suggesting posts based on adventurers' preferences, all for free."

"Oh…" Chelsea winced slightly.

"Right. That."

"And just as I thought the day couldn't get any more complicated, a new complaint landed on my desk." The guildmaster rubbed lightly at one temple.

"It details a rogue A-rank adventurer interfering with the affairs of two E-rankers while they were working on the guild's demon bounty."

"Technically, I wasn't directly involved in that," Chelsea pointed out.

"Miss Wixx," the guildmaster said calmly.

"And Edgar is downstairs giving his report on that situation," Chelsea added quickly.

"Miss Wixx."

"And what, they think they can just kill me and take my wings without repercussions?"

"Chelsea!" Chelsea physically recoiled in her chair.

"Sorry." The elf let out a long breath through her nose. For a moment neither of them spoke. Then the guildmaster leaned back in her chair and looked at Chelsea with open frustration.

"Miss Wixx, you're a smart, beautiful young lady. You come from a very powerful family. According to our accountant, that contract you inquired about was completely revoked less than an hour after you walked out of my guild." Chelsea stayed quiet.

"Which means," the guildmaster continued, "you somehow made a contract worth millions disappear from our records effortlessly." Chelsea tried very hard not to look proud of herself. She failed a little. The guildmaster noticed.

"Do you think it would be too much to ask for you to avoid causing more trouble for me?" Chelsea opened her mouth, but the guildmaster raised a finger first.

"Technically, you didn't break any guild rules," she admitted.

"But you certainly upset some people." Chelsea sat there for a second, wanting to reflexively apologize just to smooth things over. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized she genuinely didn't think she'd done anything wrong.

"May I explain?" The guildmaster gestured for her to continue.

"The incident on the training field was just part of our training routine. I don't feel pain, so if she cuts me, it's not a big deal as long as she heals me back up." Chelsea shrugged lightly.

"The blood might be unsettling, but if they don't want to see it, they don't have to watch me train." The guildmaster's expression twitched slightly at the bluntness.

"And as for the reading matter," Chelsea continued, "he charges guild members one silver per job he reads."

"I'm aware of his fee," the guildmaster admitted.

"There's not much we can do about it. Him, our accountant, and I are our only readers. Neither me nor the accountant have the time or energy, so we have to allow it." She folded her hands atop the desk again.

"Unless you would like to take over his job." Her eyebrows lifted expectantly. Chelsea immediately shook her head.

"I'm not authorized to make those types of decisions without Adriane's approval." The guildmaster accepted that answer instantly. The Silver Sword apparently outranked common sense in most social situations.

"Right," she replied.

"So if you're not going to take the job long-term, then I will have to ask you not to read the board for anyone anymore." Chelsea opened her mouth, then quickly raised a finger.

"Does that apply to my family?" The guildmaster sighed through her nose.

"No."

"And what about corrections?" Chelsea pressed.

"I was told that if this reader guy doesn't know how to read a word, he will make up another word." The little elf leaned back slowly in her chair and fixed Chelsea with a long look. Chelsea smiled innocently back at her. The guildmaster looked unconvinced by the innocence.

"Very well," she relented.

"You can read for your family, and if you notice any errors, quietly inform the person." Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"No need to make a scene."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Chelsea assured her immediately. That answer somehow inspired even less confidence.

"Speak with your sister," the guildmaster continued.

"Maybe you can convince her to let you take the job. It pays seventy-five silver a day, plus whatever you make from reading the posts." Chelsea winced dramatically.

"I appreciate the offer. Unfortunately, the bank did offer me a better job that Adriane wouldn't let me take." She let out a theatrical sigh.

"Her little sister will be an adventurer or die trying." The guildmaster actually snorted softly at that.

"I would expect nothing less from Adriane Wixx." She gestured toward the door.

"Well, that is all I have. Again, please, Miss Wixx, stay out of trouble." Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Chelsea rose from her chair.

"Yes, ma'am." The guildmaster looked vaguely disturbed by how sincere that sounded coming from a demon. Chelsea slipped out of the office and descended the stairs back into the main guildhall. The noise downstairs hit her immediately again. Edgar stood waiting near the base of the staircase with his arms folded behind his back.

"You got me in trouble," Chelsea informed him accusingly as she approached.

"Next time, let them have the wings. I can handle that," he replied with a laugh. Chelsea gasped dramatically.

"You would sacrifice my beautiful wings?"

"They would grow back eventually."

"That is not comforting." The mask tilted slightly toward the front desk.

"Your boyfriend was asking about you." Chelsea groaned immediately.

"Seriously, why do you two keep calling him that? The poor guy has a name. I don't know what it is, but I'm sure he has one." She glanced toward the clerk. The young man was very aggressively pretending not to look at her. Unfortunately, he was doing it so hard that it somehow became more obvious.

"Go talk to the poor lad," Edgar said.

"At least let him down gently instead of constantly teasing him with your charm." Chelsea blinked.

"I have not been teasing him." Edgar's silence was deafening.

"He's clearly smitten with you," he continued.

"And your attract ability is probably hitting him hard."

"Damn," she muttered under her breath. Then she slowly looked up at the doll mask.

"Really? Even if I've barely talked to him?" Edgar shrugged.

"Spooky demon magic, remember?" He wiggled his white-gloved fingers dramatically at her. Chelsea narrowed her eyes.

"You're enjoying this way too much."

"A little." She glanced back toward the clerk again. Chelsea felt her cheeks warming as she crossed the guildhall. She wasn't interested in the guy. Not really. But the fact that he was interested in her made something flutter unpleasantly and excitingly in her stomach all at once. It felt embarrassingly nice. As she walked toward the front desk, she became painfully aware of just how many people were watching her. Granted, people had been staring at her all day. Today, though, it felt different.

It had to be the dress. The stupidly perfect villainess dress. She could practically feel eyes tracking her as the slit in the skirt shifted with each step and her tail swayed behind her. Even the way her horns matched the colors made her feel strangely put together. She was hot now. Something she could never say back on earth. That was still deeply weird to think about. By the time she reached the desk, the clerk looked moments away from passing out. Or fleeing. Possibly both.

"Hello there, Miss Wixx, how can I help you?" He blurted out while she was still several steps away. The words came out too fast and slightly breathless. Chelsea slowed down in front of the counter and finally got a good look at him up close. He wasn't especially handsome. But he wasn't unattractive either. Scrawny. About her height. Scruffy brown hair that looked like he ran his fingers through it instead of combing it. Nervous eyes. Guild uniform slightly wrinkled from sitting at the desk all day.

Honestly, kind of cute in a pathetic way. Chelsea also noticed something else. Even the guildmaster wore the same uniform. That somehow made the entire guild feel more official in her head.

"Hi," Chelsea said sweetly.

"My name is Chelsea."

"I, yeah, hi, I know," The young man stammered immediately. His face turned bright red. Chelsea noticed his eyes darting around her face nervously before flicking upward toward her horns, then quickly back down again. He looked terrified of getting caught staring while actively staring. It was honestly kind of adorable. An awkward silence settled between them. Chelsea finally decided to save him.

"And you are?" He blinked, panicked for a moment.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I'm Henry."

"Nice to meet you, Henry." She leaned casually against the counter.

"So, why are you always staring at me, Henry?" The poor man looked like she had just shot him. His face somehow became even redder.

"Uh, um…" Chelsea genuinely thought he might run. Off to Henry's right, another clerk had completely stopped pretending to work. A woman around her mid-twenties openly turned to watch the interaction with the expression of someone witnessing the greatest entertainment of her week.

"I, uh…" Henry struggled desperately.

"I like looking at you." Chelsea felt immediate sympathy for him. He sounded so sincere and miserable.

"Uh huh," Chelsea replied, raising an eyebrow playfully.

"How old are you, Henry?"

"Eighteen, Miss," he answered sheepishly. Chelsea perked up immediately.

"No way! Me too." That seemed to short-circuit him briefly.

"Are you an adventurer? Or training to be one?"

"Oh no, Miss. My parents forbid it. The closest they allow me is working here."

"Ah. Smart." Chelsea nodded knowingly.

"It's a pretty dangerous life." Henry swallowed hard before trying very bravely to continue the conversation.

"I… I like your dress. Is it new?" Chelsea brightened visibly.

"It is! I just picked it up at a shop in town."

"Oh." His eyes flicked downward briefly before immediately darting away again.

"It matches your, uh…" He gestured vaguely upward with his eyes. Chelsea waited.

"Horns," he finished weakly.

"Your tail too." Chelsea gasped dramatically and leaned forward over the desk.

"Henry," she whispered loudly enough for the other clerk to hear, "have you been looking at my tail?" The nearby woman snorted so hard she nearly choked trying not to laugh. Henry, meanwhile, looked moments from death.

"I didn't mean… I wasn't trying to…"

"Hey, hey." Chelsea laughed softly, holding up a calming hand.

"I'm kidding." Henry stared at her like he wasn't convinced this wasn't still somehow a trap.

"You can look at it anytime."

"Oh," Henry let out his own nervous chuckle.

"I thought I'd offended you somehow. You scared me for a second." He shuffled his feet against his stool awkwardly.

"I saw your wings when you opened them today. They're incredible." Chelsea furrowed her brows slightly, trying to remember when exactly she'd spread them fully. The training field… Oh yeah. The training field had spectators. Before she could reply, the middle aged woman beside him cut in, "On his break, he snuck off to the training field. It's all he's been talking about since he got back."

"Miranda," Henry groaned, covering his face with both hands.

"Please stop helping." Chelsea laughed softly.

"Aww, you went to watch me train?" Henry lowered his hands just enough for one eye to peek through his fingers.

"Miss Chelsea," he said, taking a steadying breath, "Your sister… eh… the younger sister… not Adriane said you were not with anyone. Would you be interested in spending…"

"Excuse me, demon girl." The voice cut through the conversation from behind her. Chelsea immediately knew from the tone alone this was going to be annoying. She smiled apologetically at Henry and held up a finger.

"One moment." She whispered to him. She turned around and unfortunately, the man standing there was absurdly attractive. He looked like someone had magically combined a prince from a fairy tale with a '90s boy band lead singer. Long blond hair framed a face so symmetrical it looked sculpted. His jawline could probably cut stone. Even his smug expression somehow worked on him. Chelsea hated him already.

"How can I help you?" she asked politely.

"I do believe you owe me some money," he stated smoothly, one eyebrow lifting as their eyes met. Chelsea immediately noticed the exact moment he actually looked at her. His confidence hit a tiny speed bump. Not enough to derail him, but enough to notice. Interesting.

"I'm Easton Counterfort," he continued. Then he gave a small self-satisfied laugh.

"Yes, of those Counterforts." Chelsea noticed the women behind him almost melting at the introduction. There were four of them clustered nearby, all dressed well and watching him like he'd descended from the heavens personally to bless them with jawline and hair. One of them was genuinely pretty. The others mostly just looked rich.

"Chelsea Wixx," she replied easily.

"Yes, of those Wixx." That got him. The smugness slipped for half a second.

"Like I said," he continued after recovering, "you owe me some money." Chelsea folded her hands politely in front of her dress.

"Oh?"

"You see, I am the only reader in the guild, and I was told you assisted seven guild members in finding jobs at the board today." Ah! So this was about his income.

"I don't know what sort of lies you had to tell to convince them that you could actually read," he continued, "but there's no way a lowly little succubus such as yourself could read any of those postings." Chelsea's eye twitched slightly at succubus.

"I was told," he continued dramatically, "you even did it for free."

"Two of the seven were Wixx," Chelsea explained calmly.

"I have express permission from the guildmaster to assist any Wixx with reading the job board." Then she cupped a hand beside her mouth and stage whispered loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear.

"She doesn't want Adriane Wixx's little sister to be banned from helping Adriane." Henry immediately snorted behind the counter. One of the nearby adventurers choked on his drink laughing. Easton's jaw tightened slightly.

"Secondly," Chelsea continued sweetly, "it wasn't free. I have a five silver bounty on all human hearts they bring me." She tapped her bag lightly.

"Only have about ten left in there. I was reading for them as a way of aiding my own investment." Easton visibly recoiled in disgust when she glanced down at his chest and slowly licked her lips. Honestly, Chelsea was starting to enjoy herself.

"You want me to believe you're related to Adriane Wixx?" he laughed.

"A demon?"

"Yes." She replied flatly with a smile on her face, mocking him.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Her father would have a thing or two to say about that." Chelsea almost told him Jared was dead. Then remembered Adriane specifically saying not to talk about him casually.

"Though," Easton continued, recovering his swagger again as he smoothed back part of his hair, "how would you like to join my family instead?"

"Actually," Henry piped up nervously from behind the counter, "she is Adriane's little sister." Easton's head slowly turned toward him.

"Nobody asked you, little Henry." Henry visibly shrank a bit under the attention. Chelsea immediately hated Easton more.

"Now," Easton continued smoothly as though nothing had happened, "why don't you become one of my wives, sweetheart?" He spread a hand toward himself confidently.

"Could always use a woman with powerful connections, even if she is a demon." The women behind him giggled softly. Chelsea stared at him for a second. Then, before her brain could stop her, words came flying out.

"Actually, Henry and I were just discussing where we were going to go on our first date." There was silence from their immediate bubble of eavesdroppers. Henry looked like someone had struck him with lightning. Chelsea herself wasn't entirely sure why she'd said it. Maybe because Easton annoyed her. Maybe because Henry seemed nice. Maybe because she wanted to watch Prince Charming's ego crack a little. Honestly, probably all three.

"I'd appreciate it if you left us alone," she added sweetly. Easton blinked once. Then slowly looked over at Henry like he'd just discovered mold growing on expensive cheese.

"Really?" he asked.

"Him?" Henry's ears were turning red enough to glow.

"His father couldn't even make it to C-rank," Easton continued dismissively.

"A pitiful pedigree to be sure." Chelsea's eyes narrowed slightly. Very well. If you won't be one of my wives, you owe me for reading to the five guild members."

"Seven," Chelsea corrected automatically. Easton ignored her.

"Since you supposedly chose jobs for them by preference, you had to have read a hundred postings. I'd say you owe me one gold." He adjusted one of his sleeves.

"You have until sixth day to pay me." That was a hilariously absurd amount. Chelsea immediately understood this wasn't actually about money anymore.

"Come along, girls." Three of the women followed him immediately. The fourth lingered just long enough to glare daggers at Chelsea before finally turning and storming after the others. Chelsea watched them leave. Then she slowly turned back around toward Henry.

"Sorry for the interruption."

"Miss," he stumbled over his words completely, "did you mean…"

"Sorry, that's where this conversation was going anyway, right?" Chelsea paused.

"Wait, are clerks allowed to date adventurers?" Henry looked instantly panicked. His head snapped toward Miranda behind the counter like she was some kind of legal authority on romance and the ethicality of interworkplace couplings. Miranda nodded so aggressively Chelsea worried her neck might snap.

"Uh, yeah," Henry answered quickly.

"Er, yes. Yup. We are allowed to." Chelsea internally groaned. She didn't think she actually wanted to date him. She didn't even know why she came over. Shit. Yes he was a convenient way of breaking that tool but… actually dating him? Chelsea had to think fast. Possible escape route acquired. When in doubt…

"A couple of things," she said seriously.

"We will most likely have a chaperone. My oldest sister is a bit overprotective of me. I hope that's okay."

"Yes!" he answered immediately. Too immediately. Then realization struck him.

"As in Adriane Wixx?" he asked carefully. Chelsea waved a dismissive hand.

"Don't be such a worrywart. She will most likely be there to keep me safe and possibly keep me from hurting you. It will be fine." Henry froze.

"Hurting me?" Chelsea nodded thoughtfully.

"Think of it this way. What's your favorite food?" He looked completely blindsided by the question.

"Uh… Fresh bread right out of the oven."

"Okay," Chelsea said.

"Imagine going on a date with a warm loaf of bread." Miranda immediately stopped pretending not to listen and turned fully.

"You can smell the bread next to you the whole date," Chelsea continued.

"The bread wants to get intimate and romantic with you. The date progresses wonderfully, so you press the bread to your lips." Henry's face was becoming progressively more alarmed.

"What's one bite?" Chelsea reasoned.

"There's still plenty of bread left. The bread won't mind, will it?" She held up a finger.

"Just to be clear, you're the bread in this scenario, and I hate how much sense this is making to me right now." The color drained from Henry's face so quickly Chelsea worried he might faint.

"You would do that?"

"No, no, no," Chelsea said quickly.

"Well, not intentionally." Which somehow did not help.

"But sometimes instincts can take over, and well, that's what Adriane is for." Henry looked even more terrified somehow.

"And if something does happen, Bea, uh, you might know her as Beatrix, the sister you talked to before, can heal you right up. She's used to dealing with my bitey nature." Miranda suddenly burst out laughing behind the counter.

"I need to turn in this completion," a familiar voice beside Chelsea announced, pulling Miranda completely out of the conversation she had been silently enjoying far too much. Chelsea turned immediately.

"Chelsea," Fiona sing-songed proudly.

"I have a present for you." Chelsea held up a finger toward Henry. Perfect timing! This was it. The final phase of Operation: Scare Clerk.

"You didn't!" she gasped dramatically. Fiona grinned and produced a small sack roughly the size of a grocery bag. Dark red stains soaked through parts of the fabric. Henry immediately regretted existing nearby. Chelsea took the bag eagerly and peeked inside. Her expression instantly softened.

"Aww, Fiona! You didn't have to get all of this."

"What is it?" Henry asked weakly. Judging from the stain, every survival instinct in his body was screaming at him not to ask. Unfortunately, curiosity won.

"She was supposed to bring me hearts," Chelsea explained happily.

"But she was so sweet. It looks like she grabbed me their livers and eyes as well." She reached up and gave Fiona a quick side hug. Fiona puffed up proudly at the praise. Henry suddenly very much did not want to know what animal those organs came from. Miranda answered for him before he could even ask.

"Your account has been updated. The necromancer cultists have been killed, Miss Fiona. Great work today." Oh. Humans. Fantastic. Henry's soul briefly attempted to leave his body. Chelsea rummaged through the bag for a moment before pulling out one of the eyes. Without hesitation, she popped it into her mouth. The sound it made when she bit down nearly killed Henry outright. Chelsea turned back toward him while chewing thoughtfully.

"Sorry about that," she said pleasantly.

"Where were we?" Henry stared at her in absolute horror. Miranda was openly crying laughing behind the counter now. Fiona looked between Chelsea and Henry in confusion.

"Did I interrupt something?" She asked.