Chương 48: Chapter 46 – Conflict of Interest

"So you weren't just playing games," Adriane said as they walked back through the merchant district. The afternoon streets were crowded now. Merchants shouted prices from storefronts while wagons rattled past over uneven stone.

"What do you mean?" Chelsea asked.

"I thought you were messing around with that test," Adriane admitted.

"The way you answered questions, it looked like you were just writing things down randomly. Both that proctor and I wanted to stop you." Chelsea laughed.

"Nope." Adriane shook her head slowly, still looking mildly disturbed by the entire experience.

"Was it wise to invest so much into businesses we don't know? What if they don't pay us back?"

"Then the same thing happens to them that happened to the Wixx before I got here," Chelsea replied matter-of-factly.

"There will be a garnishment on their transactions through the three major guilds. The Financial Guild is the big one." Adriane looked horrified.

"Chelsea, you can't put people through that hell!" Chelsea winced slightly.

"Big difference between the two loans." Adriane crossed her arms.

"These are business loans," Chelsea explained patiently.

"I'm not about to become some evil loan shark charging impossible rates to desperate people. The interest is fixed and honestly only moderately high. We make money, and businesses that need funding get what they need to grow." Adriane still looked uncertain.

"Okay," she said slowly.

"But what about the ones that weren't loans?"

"Those were stakes. We bought percentages of their companies." Chelsea gestured lightly while she talked, slipping naturally into explanation mode.

"Basically, they get a large amount of money upfront to expand operations, buy materials, hire workers, stuff like that. In return, we get a share of the profits afterward." She glanced sideways. Adriane had the exact same expression she got during math conversations. Chelsea snorted softly.

"I lost you, didn't I?"

"No, I..." Adriane sighed.

"Yeah, I have no clue." Chelsea smiled.

"Easy version. We bought tiny pieces of several companies I think will survive and make lots of money eventually." Understanding finally hit.

"Oh." Adriane nodded once.

"So we own companies?"

"Parts of companies," Chelsea corrected.

"Ah." Adriane considered that quietly for a moment.

"Can we visit those companies?"

"We sure can." Chelsea smiled.

"But first I get to do my very first Adventurer Guild job." They reached the inn a few moments later. The dining area was empty now except for Marie wiping down tables.

"I'll go change. Don't want Dewey falling in love with me or anything," Chelsea joked lightly as she headed for the stairs. The hallway was quiet when she reached their room. Chelsea stepped inside, shut the door behind her, and started changing quickly. Her nicer clothes came off first before she reached for the battered remains of her armor piled carefully near the bed. The metal looked even rougher now in daylight. Scratched. Bent. Burned in places.

As she pulled the leather and chain mail pants into place, a soft sound drifted through the wall beside her. Chelsea froze. Another sound followed. Then another.

"Oh my gods." Bea's voice carried through one wall in soft, breathy sounds that left absolutely no room for interpretation. From the opposite side came Fiona's quieter noises, mixed occasionally with what sounded like an awkwardly restrained Dewey grunt. Chelsea slowly closed her eyes. Good for them. Seriously. She actually meant it. She grabbed her gloves and pulled them on mindlessly. Dewey deserved happiness. Fiona did too.

Honestly, Bea somehow seemed less homicidal after, which was probably healthy for everyone involved. Still... Chelsea sat down heavily on the edge of the bed. Nineteen. It kept catching her off guard how young Dewey actually was. Sometimes the beard and giant axe made him seem older than he really was. Her thoughts drifted unwillingly toward Henry. Not romantically exactly. Well... Maybe a little. But more in the practical sense of what that would even look like. She couldn't date him. Not safely.

One accident with her claws and she could cut him open by mistake. One bad loss of control and maybe she bit him. Maybe worse. Chelsea stared down at her gloved hands. Was she seriously going to have to date a demon someday? The thought made her grimace immediately. Everything she'd heard about demons made them sound unbearable. Arrogant. Cruel. Obnoxiously self-important. The noises through the walls continued. Chelsea slowly laid back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.

Her chest hurt in a way she didn't fully know how to describe. She and Adriane really were similar in some ways. Adriane was too physically dangerous. Chelsea was dangerous in entirely different ways. Neither of them fit properly around normal people. This couldn't seriously be it. A lonely immortal demoness whose greatest talent was being really good at math. Another muffled sound came through the wall. Chelsea grabbed a pillow and shoved it over one ear. It barely helped.

The loneliness grew with every reminder that everyone around her seemed capable of having something she couldn't. Her eyes burned suddenly. Chelsea curled slightly onto her side as tears started slipping down her cheeks. Forever alone. Never knowing what it felt like to really be loved by someone without fear attached to it. People always said it was better to have loved and lost. But what if the losing happened because of your own claws? Your own teeth? What kind of future was that supposed to be?

"Miss Chelsea?" Marie's voice came softly from the other side of the door.

"May I come in, hun'?" Chelsea wiped uselessly at her face with the backs of her hands. She didn't want anyone seeing her like this. At the same time, the thought of being alone right now somehow felt even worse.

"Uh huh," she managed between uneven sobs. The door opened carefully. Marie stepped inside carrying a small basket of folded laundry against one hip before immediately stopping at the sight of Chelsea curled on the bed.

"Oh honey." Her expression softened instantly.

"What's the matter? Who did this to you?" Chelsea shook her head weakly.

"No... one..." She said through sobs. Marie set the laundry aside without another word and sat down beside her on the bed. The mattress dipped warmly beneath the added weight.

"You let it out, sweetheart," she murmured. Her hand moved gently through Chelsea's hair in slow strokes, the kind people used on children who can't stop crying. Eventually curiosity seemed to win out, and Marie's fingers brushed carefully against one of Chelsea's wings. Chelsea tensed for half a second, then relaxed. It actually felt... nice. Nobody really touched her wings except accidentally or while one was being used as a blanket.

Marie's touch stayed gentle though, smoothing lightly over the dark velvet while Chelsea's crying slowly started to calm from outright sobbing into shaky breathing.

"What's got you so upset, hun'?" Marie asked quietly. Chelsea swallowed hard.

"I'm..." Her voice hiccuped through a sob as she tried to speak.

"Marie, I'm going to be alone forever." Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. Marie clicked her tongue softly.

"Oh, you stop that. No you're not." She sounded almost offended by the idea.

"You're beautiful. Any man would be lucky to have you." Chelsea let out a miserable little laugh.

"I'm a demon."

"And the nicest girl I've ever met," Marie replied immediately. Chelsea shook her head harder this time.

"You don't understand." Her hands tightened against the blanket.

"I eat people. I would always have to hold myself back. What if one time I can't?" That finally made Marie pause.

"Ah," she said softly. She finally understood.

"Can't say I have much experience there," Marie admitted with a small sigh. Chelsea stared downward at the blanket bunched in front of her face.

"But," Marie continued gently, "I believe you could." Chelsea frowned weakly.

"Could what?"

"Hold yourself back." Chelsea looked up at her finally, waiting for some deeper explanation. Marie simply smiled.

"Gods know I want to murder my Pete at least twice a day." Chelsea snorted despite herself. Marie laughed too, and the sound pulled another shaky laugh out of Chelsea. The weird kind that only happened in the middle of crying.

"Hun'," Marie said once the laughter faded, "when you find somebody you truly love, you'll want to protect them." Her hand continued slowly combing through Chelsea's hair.

"The thought of hurting him won't even cross your mind." Chelsea stared quietly at the wall for a moment.

"Do you have someone in mind?" Marie asked. Chelsea hesitated before giving a small shake of her head. Marie nodded like she understood anyway.

"One day you will." Her voice stayed calm and certain in a way that reminded Chelsea strangely of a mother soothing child.

"And when that day comes, you'll do everything you can to keep harm from reaching him." She squeezed Chelsea's shoulder lightly.

"Including from yourself." Chelsea sniffed hard and nodded.

"There you go," Marie said softly. She stroked Chelsea's hair one last time before standing from the bed with a quiet groan in her knees.

"Your family is waiting downstairs. Probably best not to keep them waiting too long." Chelsea gave another small nod. Marie offered her a warm smile before quietly letting herself out of the room. The silence afterward felt different now. Chelsea sat there for another minute staring at the floor. Was Marie right? Would there really be someone someday she trusted enough not to fear herself around? Someone she wouldn't constantly worry about hurting?

Someone she wouldn't look at and immediately wonder what they tasted like? The thought still made her stomach twist with guilt. Eventually Chelsea pushed herself upright with a long sigh. Only then did she realize she was still half dressed. Pants. Gloves. Nothing else. She closed her eyes out of embarrassment. She had just spent the last several minutes sobbing through a heartfelt emotional conversation while completely topless and Marie hadn't reacted even once.

"Kudos to Marie," Chelsea muttered to herself while reaching for her armor.

"We seriously do not pay that woman enough."

"How the hell!?" Bea yelled the second Chelsea handed over the metal guild card. Bea turned it over in her hands like she expected it to reveal itself as fake at any moment.

"You?" She pointed accusingly.

"Little demon girl. A fucking A-rank merchant. Who the hell did you have to suck..."

"Beatrix," Adriane warned immediately as they continued down the street. Bea ignored her completely.

"You watched her take the examination?" she demanded, turning toward Adriane instead.

"She actually took it?" Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"I did," Adriane replied. Her expression grew distant for a moment, like she was reliving the experience.

"It was... unsettling."

"Unsettling?" Chelsea repeated in disbelief.

"Really, Adriane?" Chelsea threw both hands into the air dramatically while weaving around a cart full of vegetables.

"It was just a bunch of basic fourth-grade math."

"I don't know what fourth grade means," Adriane replied flatly.

"Neither do I," Bea added.

"The guildmaster said she performed better and faster than all of their S-rank merchants," Adriane continued instead, and there was unmistakable pride in her voice now. Chelsea immediately looked embarrassed. Bea, meanwhile, looked delighted.

"So she's going to make us disgustingly rich?"

"That is the goal," Edgar said dryly from nearby. Dewey reached over and pulled Chelsea into a side hug hard enough to nearly lift her off the ground.

"I'm so proud of you, Little Sister!" Chelsea laughed despite herself.

"I know a few adventurers who took that exam," Dewey continued.

"They made F-rank. Said the examination was grueling and took them hours."

"She finished the entire thing in fourteen minutes," Adriane said. Bea stopped walking.

"What?"

"Then she went back and checked her answers before handing it in," Adriane added with an increasingly amused laugh. Bea stared at Chelsea like she had suddenly become some kind of dangerous magical creature.

"You're horrifying."

"I heard you did something similar with the F-rank adventurer assessment," Edgar chimed in.

"One of the proctors is a friend of mine. He said you finished all three stages and handed them in around the time the second fastest participant completed their first stage." Chelsea pointed at her wings.

"Wings." That explained absolutely nothing, but she said it confidently enough that Dewey nodded like it made perfect sense.

"Speaking of wings," Chelsea said suddenly, "I got a new title. Let me check it real quick." She pulled up the status screen while they walked. The Bird of Prey (minor): Acquired by killing a target with a melee weapon while in free fall from less than five meters above the ground. Flight skill +2 Aerial combat skill +3 Race requirement: Winged race. Chelsea's eyes widened immediately.

"Oh yes," she whispered. Then much louder:"Oh yes! Flight can go up to thirteen now!" She pumped a fist excitedly into the air.

"I already feel way more comfortable flying. That'll help a ton." Fiona blinked at her in confusion.

"I don't understand. How does it go to thirteen?" Chelsea's stomach dropped for half a second. Right. Normal people. Normal people didn't have skills naturally exceeding ten.

"Spear," Chelsea answered quickly.

"New spear. Gives extra skill points." The lie came out almost automatically.

"Oh!" Fiona smiled immediately.

"That's a good spear." Adriane glanced sideways at Chelsea. Not angry. Just cautious. The look. Chelsea knew it intimately because Bea usually received it at least six times a day.

"I am going to buy so many things when we're rich," Bea announced.

"Chelsea, when will we be rich?" Chelsea glanced sideways at her while the group crossed the street toward the Adventurer's Guild.

"Investments take time," she explained.

"If you want to help speed things along, keep taking high-paying jobs." Bea groaned dramatically.

"So much waiting."

"That is generally how long-term financial growth works," Edgar replied. Bea pointed at him accusingly.

"You sound poor on purpose."

"I am beginning to understand why your previous money disappeared so quickly," Edgar said dryly. Fiona laughed softly before turning toward Chelsea.

"You're welcome to join us on a quest today," she offered.

"We would love to have you." Chelsea smiled at that.

"No, you two lovebirds go have fun. I'll probably aim for something solo."

"Smart," Bea said immediately.

"If Dewey accidentally falls in love with you, Fiona might stab you."

"I would not," Fiona replied calmly.

"See?" Bea pointed.

"That tone means she'd absolutely do it." They stepped through the guild doors into the usual controlled chaos of the main hall. Adventurers crowded the job boards while workers moved between tables carrying papers and drinks. Somewhere across the room, two armored men were arguing loudly about monster classifications. Chelsea had barely taken three steps inside before a familiar voice cut through the noise.

"Miss Wixx. A word." Chelsea looked over toward Guildmaster Willow. Of course.

"Sure," Chelsea replied politely. Internally, she rolled her eyes. What was Willow's deal with her lately? These private conversations kept happening, and they always had the same strange energy to them. Not hostile exactly. Just... intensely interested. It almost felt personal.

"Follow me to my office, please," Willow said.

"No need for company." Her eyes shifted briefly toward Adriane. Chelsea gave her sister a small reassuring nod. It's fine. Adriane didn't look thrilled about it, but she stayed behind while Chelsea followed Willow upstairs.

"Please close the door," she said, which Chelsea did. The guildmaster moved behind her desk but didn't sit immediately.

"Miss Wixx," she began carefully, "I was informed approximately half an hour ago that the chain of command within the Merchant's Guild has experienced... a slight shift." Chelsea's stomach immediately dropped. Oh no. Was there some sort of conflict of interest between guilds? Did she accidentally break fantasy insider trading laws?

"Uh huh?" she said cautiously. Willow finally looked directly at her.

"Chelsea." She rubbed lightly at her temple.

"Merchant Guildleader informed me that a young demon girl, a certain Wixx no less, took an examination and completely outclassed some of the finest merchants on the gods-damned continent." Chelsea winced slightly.

"Chelsea," Willow repeated slowly, "what is going on with you?" Chelsea blinked.

"I needed to make some investments," she explained carefully.

"And they said the only way to do that was to take the exam." Willow stared at her.

"It was just an easy little test."

"She requested I dissolve your membership with the Adventurer's Guild." Willow let out a long sigh as she finally sat back in her chair.

"It would be so easy," she continued, rubbing at her forehead.

"So, so, so easy." Her eyes lifted toward Chelsea again.

"Except you're the baby sister of one of the most powerful adventurers alive, and now I don't know what to do with you anymore." She pointed vaguely across the desk.

"Help me out here." Chelsea blinked.

"I, uh... I just took a test." Willow stared at her flatly.

"A test," she repeated. Chelsea shifted slightly in her chair.

"Yes?"

"A test," Willow said again, slower this time, "that apparently demonstrates a level of intelligence only seen once every thousand years according to the Merchant Guild." Chelsea immediately laughed.

"Okay, that's ridiculous. I'm smart, but I'm not that smart." Willow's expression did not change even slightly. Chelsea's smile weakened.

"Okay," she said carefully, "what exactly are you asking me here? You want me to choose between guilds?" Willow spread her hands helplessly.

"Do you know how much paperwork would disappear from my life if you just became a merchant?" Chelsea snorted despite herself.

"Unfortunately, I'm kind of stuck too." She slumped back into the chair slightly.

"I'm trapped between a rock and an Adriane. I have to do the investments, but Adriane also says I have to be an adventurer."

"But why?" Willow asked genuinely.

"Why do you have to? Is it for the glory?" She laughed softly under her breath before Chelsea could answer.

"Let me put that fantasy to rest immediately. There is no glory in adventuring unless your name is Adriane Wixx." She gestured toward the guild hall below them.

"The rest of us are just mercenaries trying to make rent." Chelsea pointed at her emphatically.

"That's exactly what I've been saying!" Willow blinked.

"But every time I question it," Chelsea continued, "I just get told 'because you're a Wixx' and then everyone acts like that explains everything." She threw both hands into the air before letting them drop again.

"I don't know." For a moment, both women just sat there in mutual exhaustion. Then Willow let out a breath of laughter without actually smiling.

"S-ranks in the two largest guilds in one family," she muttered, shaking her head.

"At this rate your loudmouth sister is going to become an S-ranked banker too." Chelsea immediately perked up.

"Oh, is that a thing? What would I need to do to…" Willow leveled a completely deadpan stare at her. Chelsea raised both hands defensively.

"Kidding. Only kidding." Willow continued staring another second anyway. Chelsea sighed dramatically.

"Look, for now, I'm only doing jobs with either Adriane or Edgar following me around anyway. They don't want their money source dying any more than the Merchant Guild does." That earned the faintest twitch at the corner of Willow's mouth.

"And," Chelsea continued, "if the Merchant Guild really hates the arrangement that much, they can bring it up with me directly."

"Fine," Willow sighed.

"Just please tell them to leave me out of it." She opened one of the desk drawers and pulled out a metal coin roughly the size of a half dollar before tossing it lightly across the desk toward Chelsea. Chelsea caught it awkwardly. Unlike the sleek merchant card, this one was heavier and rougher. Functional instead of elegant. The engraved E on the front sat above the Adventurer's Guild insignia.

"We give these out to signify rank instead of cards like your fancy merchant friends." Chelsea looked up immediately.

"Did you just make a joke?" Willow's expression flattened right back into professionalism.

"Have a good day, Miss Wixx. Please send your sister up when you go downstairs." Chelsea grinned on her way out. The moment she reached the main hall again, Adriane looked over from where the others waited.

"You get in trouble again?" Bea asked immediately.

"Of course I did," Chelsea replied.

"I can't seem to catch a break from that woman." She pointed toward Bea.

"Oh, by the way, she called you a loudmouth." Bea looked deeply offended.

"That bitch. Who does she think she is?"

"Miss Chelsea?"

"Miss Chelsea?" Chelsea turned toward the voice and immediately recognized Ivy weaving her way through the crowded hall toward her.

"Ivy!" Chelsea smiled.

"Hey, how are you? How did you fare on the assessment?"

"E-rank," she replied proudly.

"And I assume you went up to D with those skills?" Chelsea snorted.

"No. My sister wouldn't let me go past E." Ivy looked horrified.

"Oh, no way. That's so unfair." She jerked her head toward one of the lines near the job board while slowly backing toward it.

"Hey, come wait in line with me."

"For what?" Chelsea asked. Ivy laughed.

"To get a job. What else?" Chelsea glanced past her toward the massive request board. Then she spotted a familiar greasy face lingering nearby. Easton. Immediately her mood soured.

"No," Chelsea said instead.

"What sort of job are you looking for?" Ivy blinked.

"Uh..."

"I'm gonna go grab a few for the family," Chelsea explained.

"I'll grab you one too, but shhh." Understanding lit up her face instantly.

"Oh!" She leaned closer slightly.

"Something weak against magic? Fire or wind specifically? Is that possible?"

"Of course." Chelsea gave her a confident nod.

"I got you."

"Ivy!" someone shouted from the line. Chelsea glanced over and immediately recognized her brother. The same guy who interrupted her during registration. Ivy rolled her eyes dramatically toward the voice before turning back around. Chelsea headed for the board. The crowd around it shifted constantly as adventurers pushed in to scan new postings before anyone else could claim them. Paper requests covered nearly every inch of available space. Chelsea started skimming quickly. Escort work. Monster extermination.

Bandits. Gathering jobs. She found the perfect one for Dewey and Fiona almost immediately. A hunt for a massive sabertooth beast that had been attacking livestock north of the city. Chelsea pulled the paper slightly free to read the details. Honestly? That sounded awesome. A literal sabertooth tiger. Part of her was genuinely jealous she wouldn't get to fight it herself. Though admittedly, another part of her was more curious how it would taste.

"Excuse me," a familiar oily voice interrupted, "what do you think you're doing?" Chelsea didn't even look away from the board. Easton stood nearby glaring at her. She tore the posting free.

"Piss off, Easton, before I take your job for free and prevent you from being a leech." His face reddened instantly.

"Oh!" Chelsea brightened suddenly as her eyes landed on another request.

"Perfect." She yanked the second posting down before Easton could even react. This one practically screamed Bea.

"You are cutting ahead of all these people," Easton snapped, gesturing dramatically toward the massive line behind him. Chelsea barely spared him a glance.

"Jobs are first come, first served," she replied while continuing to skim the board.

"That line is to give you money." A few people nearby snorted at that. Easton's face darkened immediately. Chelsea ignored him completely as she moved farther along the A-rank section. Honestly, the selection today was disappointing. Monster suppression. Escort duty. Monster suppression again.

"Edgar," she called across the hall, raising her voice over the crowd noise.

"Slim pickings for assassins today." Edgar looked up from the table.

"You want salamander hunting, guard duty for a traveling noble, or..." Chelsea paused mid-sentence while scanning another posting.

"Oh. Never mind. Found one tailor-made for you." Edgar immediately stood.

"What kind?" Chelsea grinned.

"The questionably legal kind." That earned an approving nod from him.

"Can you find one for us?" somebody farther back in line called hopefully.

"Oh, me too!" a woman in white mage robes added.

"How much do you charge?" Chelsea winced apologetically toward the crowd.

"I'm so sorry. Due to Easton running and crying to mommy Willow every time I sneeze near the job board, I'm currently not allowed to help with job postings outside the Wixx family." Several people in line immediately looked toward Easton with varying degrees of annoyance.

"Seriously?" somebody muttered. Easton looked ready to explode. Chelsea walked away before he could start yelling. She drifted down toward the E-rank board instead, scanning more carefully this time. Most of the jobs there were pretty standard. Gathering requests. Road patrols. Low-level monster extermination. Then one caught her eye.

"Oh," Chelsea murmured.

"Interesting." She pulled the posting slightly loose to read it better. Fire magic specifically requested. Monster vulnerable to heat. Pair recommended due to environmental hazards. Honestly, perfect for Ivy. Chelsea glanced back toward the long line stretching nearly halfway across the guild hall. At least sixty people. Probably several hours of waiting. This place desperately needed a better system. Or at minimum another person who could read quickly.

She returned to the family table and started distributing jobs. Sabertooth hunt to Dewey and Fiona. Questionably legal assassination work to Edgar. Something extremely violent-looking to Bea, who immediately looked delighted. Then Chelsea glanced over toward Ivy. She was already watching her closely from the line like a woman trying not to miss her only chance at survival. Chelsea gave a small nod. Ivy immediately abandoned the line without hesitation and hurried over.

"You're the girl everyone keeps talking about?" she asked quietly once she got close enough.

"The one who pissed off Easton?"

"Yeah," Chelsea replied casually.

"That guy's an asshole." Ivy nodded instantly.

"Agreed." Chelsea held out the posting.

"Listen. This is an E-rank request specifically asking for a fire mage. You said you use fire magic, right?" Her eyes widened immediately as she took the paper.

"Yeah. Perfect. Thank…"

"That's not all," Chelsea interrupted. Ivy looked back up.

"It specifically recommends two adventurers because of the difficulty." Understanding slowly started forming across her face.

"Ah." She brushed her straight blonde hair back out of her eyes.

"So what exactly are you saying?"

"I'm saying," Chelsea replied, lowering her voice slightly, "want to team up for this one?"

"Team up?" Ivy looked genuinely surprised. Her eyes flicked immediately toward her brother still standing in line across the hall glaring in their direction.

"As long as you're okay with an S-ranker following us around," Chelsea added with a sigh.

"The Silv..." Ivy caught herself before blurting it across the guild hall. Her voice dropped immediately afterward.

"Your sister is actually going to come?"

"Yeah. Babysitter duty." Chelsea sounded deeply offended by the concept.

"She won't interfere if that's your concern. She's literally just there to make sure I don't die." Ivy stared at her for a second.

"Why does she follow you around?" Chelsea hesitated briefly. No way was she explaining the actual reason. Thankfully, current events handed her a perfect excuse.

"There's kind of a dispute happening between the Adventurer's Guild and the Merchant's Guild right now," she explained.

"The merchants don't want me questing." Ivy frowned.

"Why?" Chelsea answered so casually it took a second for the statement to actually register.

"I'm the highest-ranking member of the Merchant's Guild in this city. They're worried I won't make them money if I die."

"You," she said slowly, sounding uncannily similar to Bea suddenly, "you're the top…" Before she could finish, Chelsea pulled the metal merchant card from her pocket and handed it over. Ivy stared down at it. Then stared harder. Then looked back up at her like she'd just revealed she was secretly royalty.

"Who the hell are you?" Chelsea gave her what she hoped was a charming smile.

"Just your friendly neighborhood demon." Ivy continued staring. Chelsea pointed at the job posting still in her hands.

"So? Are you in?" She looked back down at the paper automatically. Chelsea leaned slightly closer.

"And before you ask," she added, "I'm immune to fire." That finally made the full picture click together in her head. Fire mage plus fire-immune frontline fighter plus dangerous E-rank mission. Ivy slowly looked back up at her again.

"Oh," she said.

"That's actually... kind of genius." Chelsea immediately brightened.

"Right!?"