It took us about an hour to finally see the guild staff. "Miss Kaelira, right this way." A bunny woman with a green choker said. I looked at her and smiled; she had to be in her late twenties or early thirties.
Her figure suggested she'd clearly given birth before. As we walked into a room, I noticed a small, round, puffy tail. My hand was itching to play with it, but I held back as we made our way to the table.
Kaelira sat down, and the woman sat across from her. Only two chairs were available, so I stood behind Kaelira and watched as the woman spoke. "What is the business of the request you desire?" The bunny woman asked.
"I wish to inquire about an escort mission; I am looking for at least two B-ranks and five C-ranks. It will be for the next three days as we travel towards the Capital city of Yevil." Kaelira said.
As the bunny woman wrote it down and started to speak. "For an escort mission for four days, with two B-ranks and five C-ranks. The down payment will be 28 gold coins. Depending on the issues that come up during the travel, more payment may be needed." The bunny woman said.
Hearing this, I nodded, understanding that the down payment in gold is the baseline amount if everything goes alright. Depending on the issues that came up, it could increase the price afterward.
This made more sense than the ones in the novels I read back on Earth, which had only a flat rate. They could earn more if the job they signed up for turned out to be harder than expected.
Kaelira pulled out a bag and opened it, counting out 28 gold coins before putting them on a small plate and sliding it over to the bunny woman. She pulled out a small scale and set it on the table, then pulled out a small metal cube.
She placed it on one side of the scale, then placed a gold coin on it. I watched the scale level out before the bunny woman took the gold coin off and did it again. Looks like they are checking that the gold coins were real, at least by weight.
The bunny woman also checked the royal engraving on the gold coin each time she took it off. "Uhm." I was about to ask something but stopped as I didn't know if this was the right time.
"She is making sure that the gold coins aren't fake. The engravings have magic inside them, so it's hard to fake. She is also checking the weight of the coin to make sure it isn't copper or silver filling." Kaelira explained.
The bunny woman looked up at me and smiled before speaking. "It's extremely rare for someone to fake money with the guild, as we have our own ways to punish people like that. Cutting off both their hands isn't out of the question, and we have a lot of powerful people. It would be a death sentence, but we always double-check everything. We don't want our people to die for no reason." She said.
I nodded, so the guild makes sure the payment is solid. "Now, what risks could be involved with this request?" The bunny lady asked.
"We are traveling with a Baroness, and maybe attacked by another noble-ranked person. So please inform the ones who take the request that they could be involved in a noble feud." Kaelira said.
The bunny woman nodded, then spoke again. "How many people will need to be guarded?" She asked.
"We have five children being guided to the Academy, so they will take priority in being guarded. Followed by the Baroness, then me." Kaelira explained.
I listened and understood that they laid out the mission guidelines before someone took it. This was much more in-depth than the novels; I was surprised that seeing it firsthand was more interesting than reading about it.
The bunny woman wrote it down, then stood up. "I will go inform the higher-ups to see if they will stamp the request to be posted. You may have to wait a day or two to get people to sign up for it." She said as Kaelira stood up and nodded.
"We will wait in the bar area; please inform us of the status." She said before the three of us left the room and returned to the bar area.
Kaelira walked towards the bar area while she spoke. "You can go see the city if you want, but be back in two hours." She said, but I shook my head no.
"I would much rather hang out with you, as I want to know more about you, Miss Kaelira," I said with a smile, making her roll her eyes.
"Suit yourself, but don't think your sweet words will sway me." She said with a grin, knowing this boy was a flirt.
I hadn't used my skills on her, as I wanted to play around for a while. My mind was already set on using it when I asked for my reward once we got to the Academy. I placed my hand on my chest and acted shocked.
"Miss Kaelira, what kind of man do you think I am? I would never." I said with an innocent look on my face, only for Kaelira to chuckle.
"Say that to Jessica; you would be fooling yourself if you didn't think I knew what the two of you were doing." She said as they took a seat, and a woman with a black choker walked over and spoke timidly.
"Can I take your order?" She said.
Kaelira looked at the girl indifferently as she spoke. "Slave, I wish for a mug of ale, along with your best stew. As for this young man, he will have an ale and the same." Kaelira said with a grin, looking at Tim.
He was old enough to drink, and she wanted him to get drunk and tell her his secrets. Or at least that was what she planned on trying to do.
I nodded my head to the slave, who bowed and walked away. "You'd best get used to addressing slaves as slaves, or it will come bite you in the ass," Kaelira said.
"Why is that?" I asked, making her speak.
"Anyone with a green collar, you can address them by their name. Red collars, you address them by their job. At the same time, slaves are nothing more than slaves. If you don't follow that, it will be a sign of treason, as that was one of the founding king's royal decrees." She explained.
He had no idea about this; he grew up in such a small village, far from other races. So this was the social norm in his kingdom, though he didn't really care.
I wasn't planning to end the citizen hierarchy; that wasn't my place, and I didn't really care. "I understand. I will make sure to fix that. As I didn't ever see anyone with a choker before." I responded to her.
She nodded; the village he was from was so far out that it made sense he wouldn't see chokers. "Good, I will help you get a better understanding of the social norms, as you will be going to the Academy and will run into noble children. Granted, they don't have a title, but their parents do. So you should try not to rock the boat too much." She said, just before the slave brought their drinks and placed them on the table.
"Your drinks." She said, then bowed deeply and walked away.
"There are several ways you can become a slave. The most common is that you are weak and a slave trader grabbed you off the street; you can gain your freedom if your master frees you. The second most common is that you or your family has debt and you have to pay it off; in this case, you can earn your freedom back." She said before taking a sip.
I followed suit as she spoke once more. "Then there are two more, which you can never earn your freedom from. One is if you are a race that humans enjoy as sex slaves; those races can't be freed and end up dying after being used their whole lives. This ends up putting their children into slavery. The last group is people from enemy kingdoms and empires; they never gain their freedom and are worked to death." She said.
"But the most important thing is to have power. Those with it will use those without it. As nature has always done." She muttered before taking another sip.
I see this world really is: the strong get what they want, and the weak get nothing. Just like nature, it is cruel.
"Enough of the talk." She said, downing the ale before yelling for another one. I followed suit, as this was the perfect time to spend with her.