11 Chapter 11: Morning Dew

In the morning, Alice woke up first and stayed awake for the first time since coming into this world. She looked over at Braydon who is sleeping peacefully. She stood up and walked to the door.

When she opened it, she was met by the neck of a girl she knows. "Oh, hi." Alice said without looking up. The girl looked down, then promptly jumped back out of surprise.

"H-hello..." She said.

"If you're here to speak to Braydon, he's asleep." Alice said as she exited the room and closed the door.

"I'm not here for that." She said.

"Oh, then what were you doing standing outside of our room door?" Alice asked.

"Don't phrase it like that!" The girl yelled. "Anyway." She said as she cleared her throat. "I would like to speak to you. My name is Kenna." She said as she held her hand out and stepped towards Alice. Alice looked at Kenna's hand, then her face.

"Oh, right." She said as she shook her hand. "I'm Alice." She said. The girl nodded. "Anyway, what do you want to talk to me about?" Alice asked.

"Not here. Let's go to the tavern portion of the inn." She said as she took Alice's hand and guided her down the stairs and to the right, where a large dining area is. "We haven't opened this portion for the day yet, so we can talk her for a bit." Kenna said as she took a seat at a nearby table.

Alice followed her lead and sat across from her. "Okay, we are no longer upstairs, what is it you would like to speak about?" Alice asked. The girl lightly blushed.

"I was wondering what he likes..." She said shyly.

"Ah, I see." Alice said. "In terms of gifts, behavior, or other things?" She asked.

"Anything that will be useful in garnering his attention." She said. Alice nodded. She looked toward the front of the inn and saw the innkeeper.

'It would probably be a bit risky for her to be around us for too long... But I want to help her...' Alice thought. "He enjoys eating good food, especially with rice. But just giving him food would be..." Alice paused as she searched for the right word.

"It would be strange since I don't really know him, right?" Kenna asked. Alice nodded.

"Yeah. A small gift would be an easier way to get his attention at first. But honestly, just talk to him and get to know him. You don't know much about him and should get to know him before you decide on doing anything else." Alice said.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Think about it this way. Emotions are erratic, you won't know if they are real until you get to know the individual. You don't know anything about him yet, so you should get to know him and decide later if you like him." Alice explained.

"I see..." She said. "I really didn't expect to hear something like that from someone younger than me..." She said.

'Technically I'm older, but whatever.' Alice thought. "I've been told I'm overly insightful for my age before." Alice said blandly.

"Well, thank you for your insights." Kenna said ass he stood up with a light smile. Alice nodded.

"I should probably tell you this, though." Alice said. Kenna looked at Alice, who now has a serious expression. "We are likely to travel a lot. Not only that, but we are adventurers, that job is dangerous. Lastly, we have recently been invited to the lord's manor, I do not know what the nobility of this nation is like, but we are beginning to get involved with them whether we want to or not." Alice said.

"What do you mean by that?" Kenna asked.

"Don't get too close unless you think it's worth it." Alice said as she stood. "Because it may bring you more misery than happiness." Alice said as she walked away.

As she reached the stairs, the woman spoke. "A bit harsh, wasn't it?" She asked.

"She probably didn't understand most of it. I just figured it was a valuable warning. I don't want her to get hurt because I gave her hope." Alice said. The woman sighed.

"I suppose that's fair." The woman said as Alice walked up the stairs. When she got back to the room, Braydon had woken up.

"What were you doing?" He asked.

"Talking to the owner's daughter. She's nice." Alice said.

"Ah, I see. Anyway, did you find anywhere that we could afford?" Braydon asked as he picked up his bag from the floor.

"A few places, but the quality is subpar. It may be better to make clothes with magic, but I could easily make it in the wrong size." Alice said.

"I see. That reminds me, we should probably learn some basic mending and stitching." Braydon said. Alice nodded.

"Agreed. And if we do enter into noble society at some point, learning an instrument isn't a bad idea." Alice added.

"True. So many things..." Braydon said. "Well, let's go and see about getting some clothes made." Braydon said.

"Right, I could probably make a fine fabric with magic... Of course, it would be a fabric made from whatever we are able to buy." Alice said.

"Alright." Braydon said.

"Wait, no. I can manipulate the properties of plants to produce specific materials and use time magic to speed it up. I can also use elemental magics to fertilize the ground." Alice said.

"Magic is absurd." Braydon said.

"Only when you have an inane amount of mana." Alice corrected.

"True, anyway, let's go to the forest nearby. We should take a quest while we are at it." Braydon said. Alice agreed and they went to the guild.

"Welcome to the guild." The receptionist said. Braydon waved as a hello. Alice went straight to the quest board. After a few moments, she selected a quest and brought it to Braydon.

"Are you sure? The quest is ranked higher than we are." Braydon asked. Alice nodded and placed it on the desk.

"Are we allowed to take this quest?" Alice asked as she put the quest on the desk. The receptionist thought for a moment.

"Allow me to ask the guild leader." The receptionist said, then went into the back. After a few moments, the receptionist returned with the guild leader.

"Why would we allow these pipsqueaks to take on this quest!?" He asked with a gruff tone.

"Sir, they are the ones who-" The receptionist started.

"I don't give a fuck how quickly they did something, tell me how capable they are!" He said angrily.

"Guild master." Alice said, which drew his attention. "I challenge you to a duel." She said before he could respond. He bellowed with laughter.

"A little girl wants to battle me? Alright, what are the rules?" He asked sarcastically.

"If your opponent passes out or gives up, they lose, we are not allowed to kill the other. If I win, you will allow us to take this quest." Alice said.

"Little girl, I was ranked as an elite grade adventurer before becoming a guild master, do you really think you could beat me?" He asked. She emitted magical pressure as she stepped forward.

"I think you misunderstood. I was not asking. I challenge you." Alice said with an evil tone. A shiver went down his spine as the pressure began to fill the room. His expression became flat.

"Fine. We're using the colosseum. Anyone who wants to watch, follow us." The guild leader said as the receptionist opened up behind the desk and he walked into the back room. Alice followed him and Braydon followed her.

After thirty minutes, people stopped entering and the seats had many people. "Ready, set, begin." The receptionist said. Right as it started, Alice charged and appeared behind the guild master.

"I said no killing, but nothing about bone breaking." Alice said as she karate chopped his arm, breaking the bone. He turned around, facing his good arm toward Alice, ready to defend. "Wow, no wonder you were ranked so high, despite the pain you are experiencing, you retained a level-headed mind." Alice said as she stepped forward, then used space magic to teleport behind him.

'Fuck, this girl is stronger than she looks.' He thought as he looked around to find her. When he turned around, Alice kicked his knee, breaking it.

"Oh, also, I don't like being called weak or talked down on." Alice said as she walked over to the now-collapsed man. She kicked his stomach sending him flying into the wall.

"I give... I give up." He said after coughing. Alice sighed and appeared in front of him.

"Sorry, I got a little angry." she said as she cast healing magic on him. Within a few seconds, he had been healed into perfect shape.

"If that's a little angry, I don't want to see you furious." He said lightly as he calmed his nerves. "Anyway, yeah, you can take that quest." He said as he stood up and held out his hand.

Alice shook his hand. She looked at the audience which looked on in terror. 'Ah, I might have overdone it.' She thought as she left the colosseum. After a few moments, the quest was accepted. Braydon and Alice quickly left to go and complete it.