“You want to come to the soiree and pretend to be one of the king’s heroes to save my daughter’s reputation?” Frome brought me into a tight hug. “You’re such a sweet boy.”
Penrin groaned. “He doesn’t need to pretend, Mother. He is a hero. Loftus told me so.”
“Oh my, even better.” Frome squeezed me tighter.
With my face pushed into Frome’s neck my voice was muffled. “If you keep hugging me like this, I’ll fall in love.”
The mother let out a disbelieving belly laugh. “In love with an old lady like me? You are a funny one. You’d be much better suited to my daughter.”
“Stop it, Mother!” Penrin shouted.
As Frome released me from her hug, I lightly touched her hand. “Whether you believe it or not, you and I are far closer in age.” My fingertips brushed against her fourth finger. “I see you don’t have a wedding ring. Does that mean you’re available?”
Penrin shot up from her seat and dragged me away. “Don’t flirt with my mother in front of me!” With her considerable strength, she chucked me out of the house. “The soiree starts at evening. Whether you come or not, I don’t care. Now leave.”
I lied face-up in the garden after being tossed out. I wondered how my love life would work when all the women my age thought of me as a child. There was no way for me to convince them of my true age, so they unknowingly infantilised me.
Well, it wasn’t like my luck was any better on Earth. It hardly mattered.
I got up and deliberated over how to spend the rest of the day. The prince was on the to-do list. I also had to tell Mushy about the spore situation. I dreaded that. I didn’t know how I was going to admit that I lost the spores she entrusted me with. I knew the longer I procrastinated, the harder it would become to admit my fault.
The walk to Mushy’s shop was difficult. There weren’t any crowds or obstacles in my way, but my mind couldn’t think of an excuse to tell her. There was no excuse. I simply lost the pouch. Saying anything other than that would be a lie.
I entered the shop and the bell above the frame rang.
“Oh, hello!” Mushy said gleefully. “I’m so happy to see you back my little assistant.”
“Hello, Mushy.” There was a lot of tension in my shoulders. “I’ve got some news about the errand you had me run.”
“There’s no need to say anything. I already know what happened.” Mushy smiled so earnestly at me.
“You do?” My shoulders relaxed a little upon hearing that.
“Yes! I know you found a lovely grassy area to spread my spores, and you let them loose in a big gust of wind, didn’t you?”
My lower lipped pulled down and to the side. “Erm, well…”
“I know my beautiful little babies are growing big and strong out there.” Mushy hummed a ditty to herself.
“The truth is—”
“I’m so pleased with you. I knew I chose the right person for the job. I was really worried about putting in a mission at the guild. I thought the quest-taker would pretend to spread the spores and instead just throw them in the trash. They wouldn’t know that it took me a whole month to collect those spores. It’s so much nicer having a trustworthy person like you complete the task. Thank you for helping me spread my babies, boy.”
How the hell was I supposed to tell her the truth now? There was no way that I could. All this happiness would turn to misery. Wasn’t it better for her to think that they had been spread? What she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. I couldn’t tell her.
That was wrong and I knew it. To lie about something that meant so much to her would be brutish behaviour. My conscience wouldn’t allow it. I couldn’t tell her the truth, but I also didn’t want to lie to her. There was only one option left.
I’d have to find those warriors and get the pouch back. Maybe they passed it on to lost-and-found. Or maybe they sold it. I did tell them it was pixie dust.
“I know I already gave you a discount, but I’m sure you’d like another reward for your effort,” said Mushy.
“No, no! Not at all.”
“I insist!” Mushy looked around for something to give me as a reward.
I quickly changed the topic. “Can you tell me about other countries, Mushy? I mean ones other than the human and monster kingdoms.”
“Other countries?” Her eyes drifted upwards. “What do you want to know about them?”
“You mentioned a Kingdom of Avians once before. Different types of half-birds live there, right? What about humans and monsters? Are they allowed entry to the country?”
“Yes they are, but humans probably wouldn’t want to live there.”
“Why not?” I asked. “Are they racist or something? Are only birds welcome there?”
“That’s not the case. It’s more like only birds would feel comfortable there. For example, there might be infrastructure built around flying, so you may find it difficult to access certain places. Also, the food they serve might not be to your liking. I hear they eat a lot of berries and seeds. Food, clothing, culture, architecture: there would be so many things different from human society. That said, there are humans that live in half-human countries. It’s just rare.”
“Interesting.” The exotic sounding nature of the place only made me want to visit it more. “What about slaves? Do they have those?”
“Of course. There’s not a country in the world without slaves.”
I no longer wanted to visit. The task of ending slavery felt less and less likely to happen. It was a lofty dream to begin with.
I left the shop and headed towards the school. Correctional classes would’ve been over by now. With the help of my Lockpicker title, it was a breeze to break into the teachers lounge and find the student records.
With the young prince’s schedule memorised, I ventured to his current class. I decided to wait outside for him to finish. I peered in through the classroom window and saw Newmill, the prince, demonstrating some magic. His white hair was tied into one big braid.
His spell seemed to keep fizzling and the students laughed at him. The teacher became increasingly more annoyed with Newmill’s incompetency. The prince was clearly not enjoying the public humiliation.
The class had just begun, so I would have to wait outside for an hour. That was too long for my impatient mind. I entered the classroom. The students and teachers turned to look at me. I said, “Newmill, the haemorrhoid cream you gave me isn’t working. Can you come and help me out?” It was the ultimate strategy. I had put myself in an embarrassing situation so that no one questioned me taking Newmill away.
“I didn’t give you any—”
Before Newmill could protest I grabbed him and walked out. The teacher was in a daze, and the students mocked me for my fake condition.
“What are you doing?” asked Newmill. “Wait, you’re that boy from before.”
“Come with me to the training dummy near the correctional classroom. I want to chat with you in a secluded place.” To my surprise, the boy didn’t resist.
When we arrived at the location, Newmill had a strange expression.
“Got something you want to say?” I asked.
“Yes!” he said excitedly. “I’ve been wanting to see you. I was worried we may never meet again.”
“You wanted to see me? Why?”
“To thank you. What you said before meant a lot.” Newmill had a very appreciative look.
“I see.” I had no idea what I said before. I couldn’t remember it at all. The boy seemed to value whatever I said, so I wasn’t going to extinguish his gratitude by admitting I had no memory of it. “Anyway, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to join my party.”
Newmill seemed surprised. “Why would you want me in your party? I’m not strong at all.”
“Because you’re the only human I’ve met so far that doesn’t hate monsters.” The next sentence I spoke very quickly and quietly. “And also to complete a quest.”
Newmill was hesitant and took some time to reply. “What would be the purpose of the party? We wouldn’t be killing monsters, correct?”
“We’d be striving towards certain virtues: justice, kindness, compassion, charity, playing the lottery, altruism, welfare, liberty, and more.”
Newmill raised an eyebrow. “You snuck something strange into the middle there.”
“So, is that a yes or no?”
Newmill fiddled with the pendant around his neck for a few moments. “It’s a yes. Please send me the party invite.”
“Awesome.” I pulled up my System. “How do I do that?”
“You went out of your way to invite me, and you don’t even know how to do it?” Newmill retorted. “Never mind. It’s ok. I’ll do it.”
[Newmill has requested to join your party.]
I accepted the request.
[Charmer Quest Completed]
[Reward: +1 Level-Up Slot Token]
[New Charmer Quest: Add a monster to your party.]
[Charmer Quest Completed]
[Reward: +2 Level-Up Slot Tokens, +3 Acupuncture Darts]
[New Charmer Quest: Add a half-human or half-monster to your party.]
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