Chương 63: Chapter 61 – Under the Shade Tree

"Adriane," Willow called as she approached the table.

"A word when you have a chance." Chelsea immediately looked up. Willow's expression was neutral, but Chelsea still felt her stomach sink. That demon missing notice. It had to be about the demon king.

"Sure," Adriane replied calmly as she stood.

"Let's head to your office." Chelsea tried not to visibly panic as Adriane walked off with the guildmaster. Ivy noticed anyway. She quietly scooted a little closer on the bench beside Chelsea while pretending to reorganize one of the blank letter sheets. The tiny gesture relaxed Chelsea more than she cared to admit to herself.

"Probably nothing," Ivy murmured softly. Chelsea nodded trying to not focus on it. Thankfully, the first few adventurers were normal. Simple jobs. Then Chelsea spotted a familiar face approaching the table.

"Hello, uh… Will," she greeted carefully. She had to be careful not to out him as a prince. Prince William laughed while smirking awkwardly, he was dressed plainly today in practical guild gear with his shield on his back.

"Hey Chelsea," he said.

"Hey, I never got the chance during the labyrinth to say sorry about my dad trying to marry us off."

"Nah, you're good," Chelsea replied with a wave.

"Honestly, I barely remember it." Ivy shifted slightly closer beside Chelsea at that. She was very subtle but Chelsea was hyper aware of Ivy's presence. William either didn't noticr or politely pretended not to.

"Same stuff as usual?" Chelsea asked while sorting through a stack.

"Guardian, D-rank, solo?"

"Yeah, that'd be perfect." Chelsea quickly picked out a job and handed it over.

"This one's clean work. Escorting a caravan through wolf territory." William glanced over it and smiled.

"Thanks."

"No problem, Will." He stepped away, and the line continued moving smoothly after that. Until Easton approached the table. Chelsea had been expecting this all morning.

"Tali," he said calmly, though his voice practically vibrated with restrained anger.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" Tali visibly shrank in her chair near Adriane's empty spot. Chelsea smiled pleasantly before Easton could continue.

"Good morning," she said brightly.

"Role and rank? Or are you still trying to make 'little bitch' a viable role?" His eyes snapped toward her.

"This is your doing." He pointed a shaking finger at Chelsea.

"Where are the other three?"

"Oh!" Chelsea said as if she had nearly forgotten.

"Them." She casually sorted another paper before continuing.

"Well, when the beautiful Tali here removed you as her master, the other three vanished." Chelsea gave a tiny flourish with her fingers.

"Poof." Easton's jaw went slack for a moment. Around them, a few nearby adventurers suddenly became extremely interested in the conversation.

"You ruined everything," he hissed. Chelsea tilted her head slightly.

"No, Easton. I think you did that part yourself." Tali stared at the table while clutching her sleeves nervously. Without making a big deal out of it, Ivy shifted her chair slightly again until her leg rested against Chelsea's under the table. Subtle enough that nobody else would think anything of it. Chelsea noticed again.

"You're her master now?" Easton snarled.

"You little demon whore. All I have to do is kill you and she'll be m…"

"Nope," Chelsea interrupted cheerfully. She pointed upstairs vaguely with one of the guild requests.

"I have absolutely no use for wishes. But my wonderful oldest sister thought your idea was fantastic. She used her wish to learn how to read." Chelsea smiled brightly.

"So yeah, all you have to do is kill Adriane Wixx and Tali can totally be yours again." The color drained from Easton's face. Tali looked both horrified and impressed. Ivy, meanwhile, looked completely satisfied. The little man stood there seething in silence. Chelsea could practically see the reality settling in around him. The girls were gone. Tali was gone. The leverage was gone. All he had left was reading. Ivy leaned closer beside Chelsea, arms slipping loosely around her shoulders from behind.

It looked casual enough to anyone watching, but Chelsea noticed how Ivy's eyes stayed fixed on Easton the entire time. She really was being protective and maybe just a little possessive.

"Go away, leech," Chelsea said while trying to recover some dignity.

"You're holding up the line." Easton looked like he wanted to strangle someone.

"You will pay for this," he hissed.

"You and your entire family." Chelsea waved him off dismissively while Ivy remained comfortably pressed against her side. Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

"Bye, leech." Ivy called with a dismissively, happy wave. He finally turned and stormed off through the guildhall. Adriane stayed upstairs much longer than Chelsea expected. Additionally, Ivy didn't remove her hands. Chelsea finished the line completely and started to genuinely worry about what was happening. Thankfully, they stayed at the table anyway because one exhausted-looking adventurer came sprinting through the doors late. The poor man nearly cried when he realized Chelsea was still there handing out jobs.

By the time Adriane finally returned downstairs, the guildhall had quieted considerably. Chelsea immediately sat up straighter.

"So?" Adriane sat beside them with a sigh.

"There's a job for me. A big one." Chelsea rubbed her hands together eagerly.

"Big job? A big profitable job?"

"Yes."

"That's my favorite kind."

"You and Ivy are coming with me," Adriane continued.

"And we're splitting the reward three ways?" Chelsea asked playfully.

"One way," Adriane replied with a small smile.

"It's all yours." Then Adriane leaned forward slightly. Her expression changed to something more serious. Chelsea noticed and immediately stopped smiling.

"That's not the important part." Ivy subtly moved closer again as Adriane lowered her voice.

"The demon king from the voice replicator is on his way to Junstruce." Chelsea's stomach dropped.

"What?" she whispered.

"What do we do? Adriane, what do I do?"

"We don't panic," Adriane replied calmly, holding up her hand. Chelsea was already panicking.

"Why is he even coming here? Adriane. I hadn't even decided for sure if i wanted to reach out to them."

"Junstruce was the only city the request was sent to," Adriane explained quietly.

"Somehow they already knew you were here. Then an S-ranker started asking questions about it and requested a voice replicator." Chelsea sank slightly in her chair. Right. That would do it. By showing interest at all in a missing child poster they gave the parents hope.

"When will he get here?"

"A few weeks. Possibly less." Chelsea glanced around the guildhall nervously anyway.

"Oh," she breathed out shakily.

"Why so long?"

"Because he's traveling from the Dryscape Kingdom," Adriane explained.

"And because demons don't exactly move easily through human territory. Most royalty aren't allowed to use foreign teleportation stones," Adriane explained calmly.

"Especially long-distance arrays. Too many things can go wrong, and kingdoms see them as assassination risks." Chelsea nodded slowly. That all made sense.

"For now," Adriane continued, "we carry on as normal. You train, keep working at the guild, and do whatever it is you do all day."

"Chelsea stuff?" Ivy offered.

"Yes. Chelsea stuff." Adriane confirmed. The four went back to the manor, where Tali was amazed by everything she saw. Chelsea and Ivy went to their room to change.

"So why didn't you want me to take Tali?" Chelsea asked as she took off her shirt. You seemed to be very… territorial. Ivy let out a laugh.

"I haven't confirmed it or anything but I heard the wish magic can corrupt you if you aren't more powerful than the djinn it came from," Ivy explained, sitting back on the bed and watching Chelsea with zero shame.

"Being level one…"

"Ah!" Chelsea exclaimed.

"No more explanation needed. I get it." She was feeling both self conscience and… something else under Ivy's gaze. Chelsea put on a casual dress which transformed into one with a skirt that stopped at mid-thigh. She let out a long deep sigh. Ivy noticed immediately.

"What is it?" Chelsea hesitated before awkwardly rubbing at one horn.

"Can you come outside with me for a minute?" Ivy studied her for a second, then nodded softly.

"Of course." The two headed downstairs and stepped out into the late morning sunlight. The field behind the manor swayed gently in the breeze, endless patches of wild flowers stretching beneath the massive shade tree near the center. Chelsea headed toward it automatically. The grass brushed against her thighs while her wings shifted and stretched open once outside. The relief was immediate but it didn't do much for Chelsea's nerves. That was annoying.

Chelsea was getting really tired of feeling nervous around Ivy specifically. When they reached the tree, Chelsea sat down against the trunk heavily and stared out across the field. Ivy settled beside her quietly. Close enough that their shoulders almost touched. For a little while, neither of them spoke. Chelsea watched the flowers moving in the wind while trying to figure out how to start this conversation without spontaneously blurting it out. Unfortunately, no good options presented themselves.

"So," Chelsea finally said weakly, "this is either going to be a really important conversation or the worst thing I've ever said in my life." Ivy's gave a small smile.

"Good luck?" Chelsea smiled at that. Chelsea drew one knee up slightly and rested her arm against it.

"I've been thinking a lot lately," she admitted quietly. Chelsea took a deep breath.

"Back on Earth, I thought I had myself figured out." Her eyes stayed fixed on the field ahead.

"Which sounds ridiculous now considering I'm a demon merchant adventurer… thing… in another world."

"It doesn't sound ridiculous."

"It… I think it feels ridiculous." Chelsea sighed softly.

"I just… I always thought I liked guys. That was never even a question." She paused there before admitting the harder part.

"But lately every time I try to picture that future in my head…" She shook it slightly.

"Nothing's there." Ivy stayed quiet beside her which Chelsea appreciated greatly.

"Then there's you," Chelsea whispered. That finally made Ivy glance over. Chelsea laughed once under her breath, nervous and embarrassed and… all of the emotions.

"Gods, this is awful." She rubbed at her face tiredly before continuing.

"You make me feel calm." Her voice softened.

"And safe. And happy." Chelsea swallowed once.

"And every morning I wake up next to you, I keep finding myself wishing I didn't have to get out of bed yet." Ivy's expression slowly morphed into something hopeful. Chelsea's chest tightened painfully at the sight of it.

"And I think," Chelsea said slowly, "that maybe I've been trying really hard not to understand what that means." The breeze moved softly through the flowers around them. Ivy shifted slightly closer beneath the shade tree.

"You don't have to be scared of it," she said quietly. Chelsea looked over at her then.

"I'm not scared of you." That part came easily and was completely true.

"I'm scared because this feels important," Chelsea admitted.

"And because I don't really know what I'm doing." Ivy's hand slowly moved through the grass between them. It was an offering. Chelsea stared at it for only a moment before taking it.

"I like you," Chelsea said softly.

"Like… romantically. I think." She shook her head.

"No… I know." Ivy's breath caught slightly. Chelsea smiled faintly at that.

"There it is," she whispered.

"That's the thing that keeps happening to me." She laughed quietly.

"You look at me like that and suddenly my brain slows down." Ivy laughed softly too, though her eyes looked emotional now.

"What are we?" Chelsea finally asked.

"Aside from employee and employer." Chelsea joked. The question hung between them beneath the shade tree. The joke did nothing to soften the terrifying importance of the question Ivy squeezed her hand gently.

"What do you want us to be?" Chelsea looked at her for a long moment. At the sunlight catching in her hair. At the flowers swaying around the elf who had somehow become her safest part of this insane world. Then Chelsea leaned forward before she could lose her nerve. Ivy met her halfway. The kiss was soft and tentative at first, both of them careful like they were afraid the other was fragile in some way.

Chelsea's free hand slowly lifted to Ivy's cheek while the world around them faded into warm sunlight and the quiet rustling of flowers beneath the massive shade tree. This was happiness. The perfect moment in this perfect setting.