Coye 4.2

Massive chapter this time. In general, vol 4 has less chapters but the chapters are way longer lol.

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They didn't have any trouble making it home, arriving a little past nine in the morning. As he approached the Guild, Coye witnessed a group of adventurers departing for a quest, judging from their stuffed packs filled to the brim with supplies. There were two Humans, both men and generic-looking knights, and two girls, a Catfolk Brawler and an Elven White Mage. He didn't know these four personally, but he'd seen them around, the same as many of his other colleagues. He waved politely to them as he moved out of the way, even summoning the courage to wish them good luck.

The party gave him an awkward thanks but then exchanged strange looks at each other and a laugh or two after they passed him. Coye froze up, his social anxieties getting the worst of him. He shouldn't have even bothered. In the past, he wouldn't have, but he was in a good mood and figured he might as well attempt to spread it a little.

His Pixie jumped on the chance to improve his spirits.

'Hey, who gives a rat's ass about them, anyway?' Shayla insisted. 'One of these days, you'll be the top dog around here, and everyone will be lining up to say hi to you! Those losers will look back and feel like idiots. Just you wait and see, baby.'

Coye smiled a little, even if he couldn't see what Shayla proposed ever coming to fruition. He didn't want to be in the spotlight like that, anyway. He was just fine keeping to himself and slowly expanding his little world at his own pace… yet, he did catch himself wondering what it would be like to be that popular.

Not counting all the attention and longing glances he received from the women of Cransmere, but for people around him to actually know and respect him. A strange thought, that was.

"Thanks, Shayla…" he mumbled in return, leaving his musings behind him as he entered through the front door.

He expected to find Tammy sitting at the front desk, engaged in something to keep her preoccupied. Maybe Dorothy if he was lucky. That morning it turned out Coye was indeed lucky, as his Guild Mistress was present behind the counter. The odd part about the scene he witnessed was that Dorothy was currently entertaining a most curious guest.

"Well, do you have any idea when he'll be back?" Suzette asked, sighing as she rested her hand on her creased brow. She was wearing a black frilly dress with flowing white lace and an expensive patterned red sash tied into a neat bow around her waist.

Dorothy, who was wearing her typical uniform stained with ink, coffee, and tea, responded in a sympathetic manner. "N-No, I'm… sorry. Coye was here last night, and he hasn't taken on a quest today, so if he's not with Byng, then I imagine he's likely training right about… oh," Dorothy's tired eyes perked up when she saw the boy in question standing at the opened doorway at the end of the hall. "Speak of the Demon Lord, and he shall appear."

"Suzette?" Coye called out to his lover and walked forward.

'Huh, weird. Wonder what's the occasion? Maybe mommy brought her growing baby boy a lunch to take with him while he's off on his job?' Shayla teased, bringing a momentary frazzled expression to Coye's face that he managed to fight off.

Suzette turned, her magnificent dress twirling behind her like the tail feathers of a luxurious bird as she sashayed towards him in heels hidden behind her folds. "Oh, my. What wonderful timing, Darling! Just who I was looking to see."

"Hey, Suzette. Morning, Miss… um… D-Dorothy," Coye caught himself before he went and called her by her last name like he used to. He went through this surname-to-name transition before already with Suzette herself, but so far, it was proving even more challenging to do the same when it came to his Guild Mistress. "What's going on here?"

"This acquaintance of yours came in with a quest she needed registered, and she wanted specifically to recruit you for it," Dorothy stated. "If that's alright with you, Coye, then-"

Suzette closed the distance between her and her man, a lovely smile spread across her mature face. The smile of a maiden in love. Disregarding the time and place entirely, she leaned down to bridge the gap in their height and placed her hands on his shoulders, pressing forward until their lips met in an inappropriate kiss.

Coye was deeply embarrassed by the sudden explosive display of affection, but he was put on the spot. It was either kiss or be kissed, and Coye chose to be a man and kiss his lover back full force.

'Hot damn,' Shayla exclaimed.

Dorothy stood there behind the counter, looking on at the portrait of romance being painted before her eyes. It was totally at odds with the suffocating atmosphere of the reception room, with its lack of proper lighting and its overabundance of grisly monster trophies. She knew she had to look away and give them privacy, it was the right thing to do, but Dorothy was too shocked to take that action. Instead, she merely stared on in confusion.

This was Coye's other lover?

Byng, Dorothy could understand. They were coworkers, and if Byng's pranks were all just a misguided attempt at flirting, it made sense that Coye could change his outlook on her and begin dating the Gengaggi. She couldn't understand Suzette Lillis. This older woman wasn't just in another league from Byng and herself. She almost looked like a resplendent Duchess or a beautiful Baroness at worst. Suzette wore expensive jewelry, her dress was immaculate, and every strand of her perfectly curled hair sparkled with a flawless sheen.

Dorothy instinctively began to twiddle with her own curly black mop of hair. Compared to this mature, older woman and her numerous charms, the overworked, overstressed mess of a Guild Mistress who rarely found time to bathe felt like a Bog Hag straight out of the deepest, dirtiest swamps of Drerland.

Wait. Dorothy's cheeks began to redden as she caught herself. Why exactly was she comparing herself to Coye's lover and becoming depressed over coming up short? It shouldn't be any of her concern, and yet…

She forced herself to look away, only to find that Tammy was now at her side. With her was now a pot of fresh coffee on the counter, a small tray of sugars and cream, and an empty mug for Dorothy to use at her discretion. Tammy was taking a long, loud sip from a matching one as she studied the femboy making out with his lover.

"The plot thickens as wide as the bountiful milf's very bust," Tammy observed.

"W-What?! O-Oh, um… h-hey, excuse me, but…" Dorothy awkwardly snapped back to reality as she called out to Suzette, feeling that this kiss had long past bordered on gratuitous and now found itself firmly in the territory of obscene.

Taking her cue, Suzette pulled away with a loud mwah and left one lucky boy with a dazed expression in her wake. "Goodness, forgive me. I'm so dreadfully embarrassed," Suzette giggled like a woman half her age, grabbing Coye by the wrist and leading him to the counter. "It's just that it's been a full two days since I've last seen my precious Darling here. Surely you understand that any woman in my position would be hard-pressed not to do the same, don't you agree?"

"Tooootally," Tammy agreed.

"Er, uh, um… I-I suppose?" Dorothy also agreed, looking around awkwardly as Suzette bared into her soul with piercing golden eyes.

Suzette smiled. The virginity in the air was so thick she could practically taste it. That poor, poor Guild Mistress.

"S-Sorry about that," Coye bowed his hand in deference to his employer. "Maybe we should take this somewhere more private?"

"W-What do you mean by that…?!" Dorothy flushed even harder as she took a step backward. Her hands found a clipboard, and she lifted it up, partially obscuring the bottom half of her face behind it. "I've already told you, Coye, if you need to get something out of your system then… p-please, do it somewhere besides the Guild! Didn't we have a nice, long talk about this the other day?"

"Pretty sure that Killer over here was just talking about registering the quest, Boss." Tammy sipped.

After a short period of extended awkward silence, realization dawned on Dorothy's face.

'What a total wreck…' Shayla cringed.

"Oh. Oh, yes. I'm so sorry, I… Just haven't really been in the right frame of mind these last few days…" Dorothy apologized, and it was true.

Ever since that talk she had with Coye, So many little details in her life had felt off, and Dorothy was continually struggling to try and figure out what it was that was driving her so mad. Given that, on the best of days, the poor woman was already flustered and at her wit's end, this new state of mind had led her to commit multiple blunders, each costing her precious time or resources. The errors on her paperwork became more numerous, her arithmetic and calculations had been more prone to mistakes, and when negotiating the fees for new quests, she often found herself distracted and more easily taken advantage of.

It had been rough, and she didn't know how much more she was going to be able to take.

Tammy tugged on Dorothy's sleeve, noticing her employer's head in the clouds as it had been so often. "This is just a suggestion, but why don't you take them to the back room and do your thing?"

"Yes," Dorothy nodded in agreement. "Of course. My thing…" she stared straight at Coye for a moment before fixing her glasses, which were slowly slipping off her nose. "If the two of you would just follow me," she instructed, and after fixing herself a cup of coffee, she lifted the bar to the counter and allowed them both to enter the room beyond.

Suzette stared over at Tammy for more than a moment, Trying to make sense of who was really in charge around here. In response to her inquisitive gaze, Tammy shrugged her shoulders. From a drawer in the front desk, she pulled out a book full of puzzles and a quill. As Coye passed by, the receptionist gave him a nudge with her elbow.

"Real smooth there, Killer," she said in that soft monotone of hers.

"T-Thanks?" He said before following the others.

Coye had rarely ever visited the records room. There were only a few occasions in the past where Dorothy needed to speak with him as urgently as possible and had called him back there. Otherwise, it was a room for the staff and not so much the adventurers. It was a cozy space, its walls lined with shelves of reference books, office supplies, and envelopes upon envelopes of blank forms just waiting to be filled out and filed.

Sitting atop a dull-patterned green rug in the center of the room was a square wooden table with six chairs, where Dorothy would occasionally entertain guests registering quests. On the back wall, there were two opened windows where a dim light trickled in and relieved the dreariness of the room by a marginal amount. In the nearest right-hand corner, Coye could see the magical shipping container where his and everyone else's proof of kills and quest completion paperwork were warped straight to the Association of Adventurers HQ at the royal capital of Imperalis.

'Guess this place still has a bunch of rooms I haven't seen, huh?' Shayla pondered as she took it all in.

Dorothy seated herself on the table's far side and had the others sit on the opposing side. Although uncalled for, Suzette felt the need to send a message. After she had settled down, her arm wrapped around Coye's waist as if to show that this boy was hers. It wasn't in a domineering or threatening way, simply a statement.

Whatever the intention was, the statement continually rattled the Guild Mistress. Her eyes repeatedly looked at the pair, and she blushed at the sight. The worst part was how it nagged her. She couldn't understand why it did, making it all the worse.

"So, about this quest you had in mind…" Dorothy started after downing a sip of her coffee in the vain hope that it would steady her mind. "Do you remember how this went the last time you registered a quest here, Mrs. Lillis? If you need me to, I can offer you a refresher, or-"

"Please, dear. Call me Suzette. I see you often enough poking around in my shop that I personally don't feel the need for such formalities." To try and settle the poor girl, Suzette gave her a gentle smile. "If I recall, I just need to tell you about the situation to the best of my knowledge, and then your present a baseline fee which you think is fair, and we'll negotiate from there, yes?"

"Y-Yes, that's exactly right, um… Suzette," Dorothy nodded, pleased to skip straight ahead despite the awkwardness that came from addressing the beautiful woman so casually. "There's just something I need you to know before you begin. Depending on my judgment, I, um... can't promise you that I'll want Coye to be the one who ultimately accepts your quest."

Suzette tilted her head. "And why pray tell, might that be?"

"My rank might not be high enough," Coye spoke up. "I might not have the right skill set for the job, or maybe she thinks it's not a job for one adventurer in the first place."

"Yes, that's exactly right," Dorothy smiled, happy to have some backup.

"I see. That's perfectly understandable. I don't want to send you off on something too dangerous for you, Darling. I intended to give you a bit of work since I thought you would be best suited from my experience."

Suzette comforted her lover before turning all of her attention to Dorothy. The loving and gentle persona shattered like glass before a thrown stone. Her eyes narrowed, and she cupped her chin.

It was time to get down to business, and Dorothy nervously gulped at the merchant's threatening aura.

"Now, then… where exactly do I begin? I suppose I should start at the very beginning. I've been expecting a shipment of various goods from Dewhurst. These were due roughly five or six days ago, and I was expecting the worst at that point. You remember when I told you about this, don't you?"

Coye did. "Yeah, actually. You were pretty stressed about it, if I recall…"

'More like she looked like she was gonna kill someone over it…' Shayla shivered.

"Luckily for me, you came around that day and gave me the best news of my life," Suzette blushed bright red and twirled the bangs covering her hidden eye, her serious composure gone as the memory of her beloved officially asking her out came to mind. Just as quickly as it did, it was gone, and she resumed her business-mode transformation, leaving Dorothy speechless at how Suzette could balance between flirty and domineering. "Anyways. Earlier this morning, I found the reason why my shipment never arrived. My transporter arrived in town, which ordinarily would've been excellent news if it weren't for the fact that he came in without a wagon. Ordinarily, I'll pay the transporter a fee to hire an escort service, but I don't think I need to explain to you of all people how good help is all but impossible to find these days as far as that rotten city is concerned."

"Yes," Dorothy frowned. "I hear that its Guild has ceased activity for all intents and purposes, and I can understand not wanting to try hiring some of the… um… local color."

"See? I knew you would understand." Suzette smiled momentarily and clasped her hands over her breasts. "An associate of mine proposed this deal to me, assuring me that the transporter had much experience making quick trips between here and Dewhurst without need for an escort or a caravan. I knew that it seemed too good to be true, but I didn't stand to lose much gold compared to the amount I would gain so long as something unfortunate didn't happen. Lo and behold, something unfortunate happened."

Dorothy frowned, shifted around in her seat, and adjusted her glasses. She needed to address something, but the thought of doing so made her dreadfully uncomfortable.

"Are you ok, Dorothy?" Coye asked.

"Oh, yes… It's just…"

"You're worried about whether or not I'm smuggling a shipment of stolen goods, aren't you, dear?" Suzette brought her hand to her mouth and stifled a few giggles.

'Well, that just came out of nowhere,' Shayla laughed.

"N-No! Of course not! It's just, um, On the off chance that you were, I would have to report you to the local Barony a-and, oh Goddess, above…" Dorothy sucked in air to steady her nerves as she waved her hands in a tizzy.

"Relax, Dorothy. You don't mind if I call you that, do you?"

"N-No,"

"Well, Dorothy. I assure you everything is above board. That being said, I know how it looks. I would be skeptical of an unescorted shipment of goods coming out of Dewhurst as well, and I understand that this is just part of your job. Here." Suzette took out a series of folded-up notations and paperwork from the fanciful sleeve of her dress which proved this transaction was perfectly legitimate, at least so far as Dorothy could tell. The goods consisted of little more than cheap clothing, discount books, and a small amount of non-perishables.

"Thank goodness," Dorothy let out a deep, deep sigh. She could only imagine what Coye would think of her if she had to turn in his girlfriend. There was always the chance of these notations being illegitimate, but so long as they looked accurate enough, that was good enough for her.

'Something shady is going on here…' Shayla looked at Suzette with suspicion. She didn't really buy all this about the transaction being legitimate. 'Don't you think, baby?'

In truth, Coye was actually barely here at the moment. The business talk went over his head, as he knew it would. Rather than wasting his mental capacity, the boy was more or less just waiting for the part where someone would tell him where to go and what to kill when he got there. Even so, Coye did think that this deal of Suzette's was somewhat suspicious, but he trusted her implicitly.

Now satisfied, Dorothy took out a notepad from one of her pockets and a quill pen from behind her ear. She opened the pad and dipped the pen into an already opened inkwell, her attention turned solely to the merchant. "So, let's get down to it. Are we, um, talking bandits or monsters here, exactly? I need to know precisely what your transporter told you."

"If only it was so simple as bandits. No, I've been informed that a Lindwurm of all things wandered onto the Greatway and attacked my wagon. It devoured the horse and carried off the wagon, leaving the transporter to abandon the cargo and run for his life. He made his way along the road for a day or two before a caravan picked him up- a very, very slow one, I might add. He arrived in town two days ago," a look of irritation appeared on Suzette's already intimidating face. "Regrettably, he spent those days away drinking at some tavern before coming to report in with me last night. Suffice to say, I was immensely displeased and will no longer be working with this individual."

A chill ran through the air, along with a silence that proved difficult to break. It settled only because Dorothy's obsession won out in the end.

"I'm, um, very sorry to hear all of that… but…" the woman paused her scribbling down on the notepad and looked up, a momentary glimmer of joy twinkling in those downtrodden and baggy eyes. "A Lindwurm? Really? What a rare occurrence! You rarely see any venturing outside their caves in this day and age, at least around these parts! I wonder what it could've been doing…" Dorothy tilted her head, and her hand went to work, transitioning from taking informed notes to scribbling an intricate doodle of the monster in question. "Perhaps it was looking for a mate, or- no… it's not the right season for that… Lindwurms only mate in fall… oh, maybe-"

"Maybe it was hungry?" Coye offered, mainly as an attempt to get her back on track in a way that wouldn't embarrass her too much.

"Ah- yes, I… I suppose that would probably be the reason…" Dorothy flushed as she looked down at her notes, only now noticing what she had been up to. Then she looked up at her client, finding Suzette's business persona entirely cracked and replaced by a rather amused grin. "That… um… that poor horse… s-sorry…"

'Some dude almost died, and all this chick can think is 'wow, cool monster!" Shayla rolled her eyes.

Suzette quickly glanced over at her lover and found it rather adorable how the boy enjoyed Dorothy's passionate outburst. Before today, all Suzette had known of this specific customer of hers was that she was a bookish, introverted girl who stopped by mainly to pick up trading cards in bulk or, more rarely, to order large amounts of provisions for the Guild. She was meek and soft-spoken, to the point where it reminded Suzette of the way she used to be all those years ago.

However, Suzette now had a better frame of reference when it came to Dorothy Whittle. She understood precisely why Coye had a crush on her. Whatever Dorothy lacked in elegance or basic self-care skills, she made up for in personality and passion by the shovelful.

"You're absolutely fine, dear. Whatever the Lindwurm wanted from my cargo is of no concern. For all I care, it may as well have just wanted to drag everything back to its hoard."

"Actually, Lindwurms don't hoard things at all," Dorothy adjusted her glasses. "It's a common misconception that they're related to Dragons, which are famous for their vast collections of treasure. This simply isn't the case! They're much more closely related to snakes than they are… to…" she blinked and looked around, this time catching herself in the act and lowering her head in shame. "Ahaha… ah… sorry… I tend to ramble if I get a chance, so…"

Suzette continued to smile. Passion by the shovelful, indeed. "That's quite all right."

"If I had to guess, the Lindwurm likely took your wagon to see if there was anything worth using as nesting material. Otherwise, I don't really see what it would want from it…" Dorothy looked off, deep in thought. "Can I ask what you're hoping to accomplish with the quest you want to register, Suzette? I shouldn't have to tell you that as reliable as he is, Coye is only one adventurer. In the best case scenario that he finds your wagon, he obviously isn't able to bring it back by himself."

"I could try," Coye offered half-jokingly as Shayla scoffed.

Suzette giggled at his kind offer but shook her head at it. "I merely wish for my darling or whoever ends up being posted to this quest to track the beast down, slay it, and determine the status of my wares. Mind you, I'm already expecting the worst. If I happen to be proven wrong and my wagon is found with its cargo intact, I just need to know its location, and I'll hire some scavengers to go and fetch it for me. Otherwise, I'll be content knowing I paid to make the Greatway that much safer."

"Hm, alright. Do you know whereabouts the incident occurred?"

"Not too far out, or so I'm told," the irritation returned to her face. "The caravan he hitched himself to belonged to a group of hunters, and he idled his time in their company as they stalked the grassy plains."

'Yeesh, you really get what you pay for, huh...?' Shayla laughed.

Suzette gave a further account of the area where it happened, giving Coye more than enough of a lead to start on if he was assigned to the quest. Dorothy finished the last of her notes, which were now neatly formatted to accompany the unplanned sketch of a Lindwurm in the center of the page.

"Alright. That should be all the information I need to file this into a proper quest, barring the price. Before we get started on that, though… do you mind if I ask you something… um, o-off the record?"

"By all means," Suzette gave the Guild Mistress another friendly smile.

"It's just that I was wondering why you were even going to the effort of registering this formally through the Guild at all when you and Coye are…." Dorothy bit her lip as she looked at the closeness of her favorite adventurer to this beautiful woman. "Together, and all…?"

Coye broke out of his trance long enough to admit, "I was curious about that too, actually…"

"It's simple, Darling. I don't want our relationship to become transactional. Does being with me come with perks like discounts on certain Dwarven trading cards? Certainly, but I wouldn't ever ask you to perform free labor for me in the same way that you would never go taking what you please from my shelves."

"Discounts on… trading cards…?" Dorothy mumbled to herself as she turned her focus over to Coye, her face mixed with jealousy and interest.

Shayla had been struggling to remain faithful to her word that she would try and ease up on her distaste for the Guild Mistress. Right then, she saw an opportunity to help him out a little bit and offer a bit of advice that might go a long way toward making them closer.

'Seems as good a time as any to tell her you're into that card game, too.' Shayla advised.

Coye was nearly on the verge of telling her already, but Shayla's persistent guidance was enough to push him over the edge. "Yeah, recently I started collecting RealMonster cards…"

That got Dorothy's eyes sparkling even brighter than when she was thinking about the Lindwurm. "Coye, I had no idea!" She smiled and thoughtlessly leaned over the table with excitement, dropping her pen and nearly spilling the ink as she clasped her hands together. "You'll have to show me your cards sometime! I've got… well, I guess you could call it quite the collection, ahaha…"

Even after all his experience with women in the last two weeks, the idea of bonding with Dorothy even just a little more made his cheeks red, and his heartbeat sped up. "I had no idea you were into them, too," he said, despite already having a pretty good feeling about the chances she was a fan. "I only started around a week ago, so I don't have that many yet, but-"

"That's ok. I'd love to see it anyway! Why don't you just bring your collection to the Guild sometime? You know where to find me." Dorothy giggled.

"S-Sounds great…" Coye stammered, staring down at the floor with a dopey grin.

Shayla felt conflicted over her actions. It was great to see her partner so happy, although she thought it bordered on cringe just a little bit.

Suzette was more positive. She looked between Coye and Dorothy, her intuition making her dead certain that something would happen between them sooner or later, whether Dorothy knew that or not. There was chemistry here, and she looked forward to seeing what ended up coming from his little crush.

Dorothy once again became aware of her client and removed attention from Coye. She blushed and clasped her hands on both sides of her temples. "Dammit, Dorothy… I'm usually not this bad… I'm so-"

"Dear, if you apologize even one more time, then I promise I'll give you something to truly feel sorry about," Suzette said in just the sweetest tone of voice, reaching across the table to pat the younger woman's shoulder comfortingly. Before Dorothy could even process the vague threat, she moved on by saying, "Besides, once my quest is all neatly wrapped up, I would love for nothing more than the two of you to have a nice little play date together with your cards… emphasis on the date, and not so much the cards."

"S-Suzette…!" Coye blushed, feeling like a son embarrassed by his overly pushy mother.

'Man, what do you even need me for anymore?' Shayla laughed. Suzette seemed to have this matchmaking thing down.

"Wh… what…?" Dorothy blinked, believing she must have misheard.

"Oh, nothing… It's just you're clearly not the only one with a habit of getting ahead of themselves, I suppose…"

So Suzette did actually say what Dorothy thought she said. This beautiful woman suggested she go on a… a date with Coye. That was beyond silly. Silly, silly, silly. This woman was his lover, wasn't she? So why in the Realm would she… no, wait. Dorothy recalled the other day during their heart-to-heart that Coye randomly put it out there that he wasn't satisfied with only Byng and his other lover and that he was open to more down the road.

Not like it mattered. Even if Suzette implied that it's not like she thought about Coye in that way or anything… and even if she did, which she was certainly certain beyond certainty that she didn't, it wasn't like it would work out between them. Guild Masters and Mistresses weren't allowed to date their adventurers for many reasons, all of which were covered in the extensive Code of Conduct.

Dorothy's face became as red as the tie around her neck. She felt great shame in her thoughts trailing into stranger and stranger directions. Card games and dates that most definitely wouldn't ever happen needed to be pushed off, there was still work to be done, and they hadn't finished registering the quest.

As things stood, there was a problem.

"Ahaha… very funny, Suzette. Jokes aside, I'm afraid to say that I don't feel comfortable sending Coye off to track down a Lindwurm and potentially battle it alone on his home turf. They live deep inside caves, where any number of things could happen. I could get into the reasons as to why this isn't a job for one silver-ranked adventurer, but…"

"Oh," Coye hung his head in disappointment, frowning.

'Lame. If she knew I was with you, I bet we'd be good to go!'

"Hm, I see… that's too bad…" Suzette sighed.

"And what if he didn't go it alone, huh?" A familiar, scratchy, tomboyish voice called out to the group from behind the closed door. The next thing they all knew, Byng had kicked the door open as she entered the room dramatically, her hands on her hips and her legs spread wide as she struck a heroic pose. All that was missing was a breeze flowing through her dark, violet hair.

"Ah, hello there, dear," Suzette said, nonplussed.

"Hey, Byng." Coye smiled casually and waved.

"O-Oh. Byng. How nice of you to invite yourself to this private meeting?" Dorothy added awkwardly.

Byng's wide smile began to devolve into a frown after a few awkward seconds of silence passed. She crossed her arms and groaned heavily. "Geez, don't act too excited to see me… it's not like I waited for the exact moment my entrance would have the most impact or anything!"

"Why would I be surprised? You always suddenly showed up around me, even before we started dating." Coye replied. "It would be weirder if you weren't hiding around the corner."

"Tch. Got too used to me and my bag of tricks, is that it? Guess I'll need to be even sneakier…"

'Last time I checked, kicking down a door and announcing your presence isn't all that sneaky.'

"How exactly did you even know we were back here?" Dorothy asked.

The answer came surprisingly when Tammy poked her head into the record room long enough to inform her boss, "By now, I think it should be obvious that I do things based on whatever would most amuse me. I thought it would be funny if I told her where Coye was. I am occasionally wrong in my judgment and I apologize for Byng's lameness." Tammy then closed the door, resuming her activities in the other room while presumably eavesdropping.

"Yeah, well, eat my ass, Tam!" Byng flipped the receptionist off, then walked over, bent down, and hung her arms around Coye's neck from behind. From there, she gave her lover an affectionate peck on the cheek, bringing out a nice red color in him before she looked forward at their boss. "Anyways, do you think I can help with this, Dotty? Well? Do you? Never hunted a Lindwurm before, whatever that is, but hey, it might be fun! Gahaha!"

"Well, isn't that convenient," Suzette smiled at the new development. "I'm sure the two of you together could handle just about anything!"

'And the three of us are way, way past overkill!' Shayla declared to the only person who could hear her, desperately trying to remain relevant.

Coye thought as much, himself. "What do you think, Dorothy? I'd have no problem with it."

"Huh? O-Oh," Dorothy was too embarrassed after watching Byng hug and kiss Coye so casually that her attention was cut short once again. She tried to not pay too much mind to the surreal sight of him and both of his girlfriends, but that was easier said than done when she was sitting here tired, stressed, and overworked as ever while these three were nothing but smiles and flirtations. "Well, Lindwurms are a frightening C-tier monster, and you might have trouble piercing its scales with your arrows, but… yes, I think you would be able to serve as a decent enough support role for Coye to handle the frontline fighting. If this is what the both of you want, then I see no reason not to send you off toge-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold the fuck up for a second there, Dotty! Decent enough? Decent? Enough?!" Byng stomped her feet and tightened her fist, pointing her sharp, black claw at the Guild Mistress. "I'm wounded to hear that's how low you think of me. You hear that? Wounded!"

Dorothy looked as if she was about to have a stress headache just from how much energy Byng brought into the room with her presence.

"I'm sorry, Byng, but unless you're very advanced with your Arts or your arrows are made of an extremely powerful material, then after a certain point being an archer won't get you very far…" Dorothy said, even though she really didn't want to.

Byng shrugged her shoulders and then waved a dismissive hand. "Nah, you're right," she groaned. "I've been slacking with my Arts training, and on top of that, there's only so much I can do with the flimsy crap you Karnallians use to make arrowheads."

"I could help train with you sometime," Coye offered.

"And I could talk with some of my sales acquaintances and see if I can't set you up with better materials to make your arrows, Byng, dear," Suzette followed up.

"Aw, you guys are too much!" Byng blushed and scratched the back of her head.

Dorothy stared. Was this what it was like to be in a happy, loving relationship? Moreover, is this what it was like to be happy in general? She thought to herself what an odd, odd feeling that must be.

"R-Right, well… now that we're all in agreement about the personnel, do you want me to go ahead and give you what I think is a fair estimate for the quest?" Dorothy asked, wishing to wrap all of this up sooner than later.

"By all means," Suzette acquiesced, and the game was afoot.

Dorothy first presented an amount that Suzette opposed, as was common in negotiation. Suzette countered with a lower offer, ultimately culminating in a brief back-and-forth over the price. After taking out the Guild's share and the Association's, it was determined and agreed that the reward would be at a nice, even 4,200G. Dorothy had a distinct feeling that she got off lucky. Suzette didn't argue as vigorously as she could have, which frightened her to think about.

'Hey, that's not bad. Not bad at all! Suzette really wasn't kidding about wanting to respect your time, baby. Even after you split it with Byng, You're looking at a pretty decent payday.' Shayla thought aloud.

Even though he really would've done this for free if she had only asked him, Coye agreed it was a more than generous reward, as did Byng.

"Now that we've got that settled, there's one more thing I need to say before you head out," Suzette announced and turned to face the boy. Her expression tensed. She looked off into the distance, her eyes seeming to cut right through him.

Sensing that this was a delicate matter, Coye took his lover's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze as he asked, "Everything ok?"

She was relieved at his touch. Such a thoughtful, caring boy he was.

"Yes… yes, Darling. Everything's fine. I just wanted to tell you that there will be a special reward waiting for you at the end of your quest, so make sure you go and do your best for me. Is that clear?"

'Sweet! I like the sound of that!' Shayla pumped her fists. 'You should ask for some candy on top of it.'

Coye ignored the Pixie's self-indulgent request. "Crystal clear. What, um, exactly did you have in mind?"

"You know… this is regarding that… thing you asked me about the other day. The thing that I was hesitant about and told you I would consider before coming back to you on the matter?" Suzette grew more hesitant, the slightest hint of sweat appearing on her brow.

Thanks to the vague phrasing and the embarrassed tone Suzette adopted in her speech, Dorothy came to a very incorrect conclusion. She assumed this was regarding some sexual favor Coye was daring enough to ask for and blushed bright red at the thought of what it could be.

This confusion was only made far, far worse when Byng spoke up.

"Hell yeah! Now you won't be able to kick me out just because I smell bad!" The huntress exclaimed excitedly by pumping a single fist into the air, though it wasn't enough to reveal her armpit. Slow as she might be, Byng was learning.

Coye, who was slower on the uptake, now realized what his older lover was implying. She was referring when he asked if Suzette had any connections he could talk to about buying a house.

Shayla had trouble not bursting out of Coye's hat and doing a victory lap. 'No fucking way, is it really happening?!'

"Are you sure?" Coye asked, trying not to sound too excited himself. "I know you were really upset about it the other day…"

"I wasn't upset. Just surprised and hesitant. What I had in mind is somewhat of a big deal for me, but it's not like I intend on living in the past forever. I'm ready to move on, and with your help, I'll be able to do so. You'd be doing me a favor, really." Suzette insisted. Then, she looked over at the Guild Mistress, Who she had all but forgotten for a brief moment. "Oh, pardon me. This isn't against your rules or anything, is it? Offering a private reward like this?"

"U-Um," Dorothy mumbled. This sounded like a pretty big deal for a sex thing, making the naïve and inexperienced girl more than a little curious. Still, even though she and Coye had grown closer throughout their talk, it wasn't like she was about to start prying into the details of what she believed was a conversation about his sex life. "That's, um… quite all right. Whatever the two of you get up to in your relationship on your own time is in no way a matter of the Guild, so long as the agreed-upon amount is paid in full…"

'I think someone got a little lost somewhere along the way,' Shayla observed, finding amusement as she wondered what conclusions Dorothy had drawn.

"A-Anyway, before I let you two wander off, let me give you a quick briefing on what to expect from the Lindwurm," Dorothy said, eager to move past the awkwardness.

From there, she gave one of her typical long-winded and passionate lectures to fully prepare for the dangers ahead. Lindwurms were enormous reptiles that ranged from twenty to fifty feet long, and they could easily swallow both of them whole and still have room for more. Similarly to Dragons, the species was able to breathe fire, so Dorothy stressed how venturing into its lair should be avoided at all costs. Fire and long, winding cave tunnels did not mix well. Luring the monster out would be drastically more advantageous.

Once her heavy-handed exposition had finished up, Coye went on to ask his Guild Mistress if there were any particular parts of the monster he should look into harvesting if he wanted to turn an extra profit. Dorothy gave it some thought but didn't believe cleaning out a Lindwurm was a one-person job. Some of the most valuable parts were deep inside its innards and would require a team of skilled butchers, so she suggested he focus on the sort of thing he typically brought back home anyway. Eyes, tongue, fangs, claws, and so on. The one standout she could think of was that he get some of the monster's spines, which were famously used in certain medicines once ground into a fine powder.

Shayla noticed that it looked like Dorothy had something else to say but was having trouble expressing herself. The Pixie sighed. In another act of mercy, she prodded the boy into asking her for her thoughts.

'Hey, I think she wants something from you, baby. You might as well get her to open up about it. It might be a… you know, a chance to get closer and all that?'

Coye had a closer look at Dorothy and noticed now that she was fidgeting in place, looking back down at the doodle of the Lindwurm she drew. He was thankful for Shayla supplementing his own poor attention to detail. "Was there anything else you wanted to say, Dorothy?" He asked his boss in a friendly manner with a charming, if somewhat nervous, smile.

"Oh, no… n-no, it's nothing…" she stuttered. "It's just that I was only thinking that if you'll be harvesting some of its parts anyway, then…"

"Come on, Dotty! Spit it out already!" Byng encouraged, slamming her fist on the table and jolting the Guild Mistress. "You're acting more nervous than a Hrurja in a Kollvar nest!"

Dorothy grinned at that, being one of the few people in town who could actually understand a good deal of Byng's cultural references, at least when it came to the ones about the monsters of her Homerealm. Still, it wasn't coming out.

"W-Well…"

Byng pointed at Coye with her thumb. "What's short-stuff gonna do, say no? Have you seen him? I doubt he has it in him."

"It's true," Coye hung his head in shame, thinking of how many drinks Britni made him buy for her with his own gold.

Seeing that this was a team effort, Suzette joined in and said, "Go on, dear. It's like I always tell my Darling, honesty will get you everywhere."

She covered her mouth and laughed softly.

Dorothy blushed as everyone's attention was focused on her. She hardened herself to make a selfish request. Never before had she asked a personal favor from one of her adventurers like this, but if it was Coye, then… well, he was always so helpful and so very kind. Yes, that's right... he was special. She rationalized that it was different if she asked Coye for a favor as opposed to someone else.

"Alright, I'll give," she shrugged her shoulders and scratched her cheek. "All this talk about monster parts made me think about how much I'd enjoy having one of the Lindwurm's scales for myself. I've never seen one, but all the books say they're so shiny and beautiful, and… oh, this is strictly off the books, by the by, it might be seen as improper if the Association knew, I just… um… t-that is to say…"

"Of course, I can do that," Coye smiled, feeling bad after seeing how hard she squirmed. "I'll bring you any part from the Lindwurm you want, Dorothy."

'Careful, if you offer that, she might go and give you a whole damn shopping list…' Shayla warned.

"Coye…" Dorothy exhaled his name, smiling as her emotions started to well up within her.

"Sheesh. Do we need to leave the two of you alone for a little while, or what? Seriously Dotty, just say the word." Byng clicked her tongue and made an 'ok' gesture with her hand. She was smiling ear to ear and wanted to tease while remaining careful not to risk ruining things.

Dorothy burned even hotter. She and Coye had spent plenty of time alone in the past, discussing work and monsters primarily, and she never used to think much of it. She wondered if things would ever be the same between them again, but as she closed her eyes to try and gather her nerves, all she saw was Coye mounting Byng and the massive tent in his pants.

"B-Byng, you can't joke about that! I… I…"

Suzette was much wiser. She knew that Dorothy would be a tough nut to crack and that it would spoil everything if they disrupted the natural order of things. She spoke up and said, "All jokes and teasing aside, thank you for always looking after my Darling and taking such good care of him. Given how thorough you are when it comes to discussing monsters and your work, it's no wonder he always comes home so safely."

"Think nothing of it. It's my job, after all!" Dorothy smiled nervously, watching on to any excuse that would get her away from Byng and her prodding. "I take care of Coye the same as I would anyone else here. There's no favoritism or… or anything like that, really…"

Suzette and Byng traded looks of mutual skepticism while Coye frowned, taking her defensiveness more seriously than it was meant.

"No favoritism at all?" He asked out loud without even thinking.

"Um…" a lump formed in Dorothy's throat. She took a loud and long sip from her lukewarm coffee before changing the topic entirely. "I think it's about time for the two of you to be on your way now, isn't it? Suzette, I need you to stay around for a little while and help me fill out some forms. I'm sure you remember…"

"Yes, of course. Go on. The sooner you get back, the sooner you get that reward." Suzette said as the two adventurers stood up from their seats and said their goodbyes, which for Coye meant another long and drawn-out kiss in front of Dorothy, much longer than he intended.

They left shortly after, leaving Suzette with her mundane task while still in the company of a severely distressed woman. Already, she was feeling greatly relieved when it came to both her business problem and matters of the house.

Even if Suzette didn't end up getting her cargo back, getting to spend some time with her beloved at his place of work and seeing how he interacted with this ever so interesting monster fanatic he loved was worth far, far more than a wagon full of suspiciously discounted wares and a measly 4,200G.