This Used To Be About Dungeons полностью

“You’d just get in the way,” said Mizuki, her hands covered in suds. “I mean, it makes sense that a dungeon out here would be safer than a dungeon in the city, but what doesn’t make sense is why you’d come out alone. You were just hoping to find four people to rip up from their jobs and go adventuring with you?”

“No,” said Alfric. “You would all keep your jobs, whatever they might be. It was my understanding that you were in the business of odd jobs anyway?”

“Well, me I understand,” said Mizuki. “But you’re asking a healing cleric to first take a day off from the temple, then several days if things go your way. And I know for a fact that Verity plays at the Fig and Gristle almost every day. Seems like it would have been easier to gather up a bunch of people in the city, then have you all move out to Pucklechurch together.”

“Might have been,” nodded Alfric. He didn’t want to say too much and hoped that she wouldn’t take his silence the wrong way.

“Sorry if I’m pushing things,” said Mizuki. “It’s a bad habit.”

“No,” said Alfric. “They’re good questions. I just don’t have good answers.” Not at this stage, at least. Maybe later, once they all knew each other, once the party was together, after their second or third dungeon.

“Fair,” said Mizuki. She put the last of the dishes on a drying rack and wiped her hands on a towel that hung on the handle of the oven door. She briefly looked down at her robe and cinched it tighter with a sheepish look. “Well, I should probably change into something more acceptable before we leave. It shouldn’t take long. Make yourself at home, but don’t snoop.”

Alfric waited patiently in the kitchen, looking around, but trying to do it in a way that didn’t constitute snooping. There was a large dining room through one door, but it looked as disused as the rest of the house. The obvious question was why Mizuki was living in such a large house alone, but Alfric hadn’t asked because it seemed like the kind of question that might have a difficult and painful story attached to it. The house was far too big for one person, and Mizuki obviously hadn’t kept up with either repairs or cleaning. The kitchen was the only place that Alfric had seen that had obvious love and attention applied to it.

Mizuki came back into the kitchen not long after she’d left, wearing a similar outfit to the day before, a wrap on top that left her arms bare and wide-legged pants that ended at her calves, this time a dark blue. In addition, she had a small belt that provided an anchor for a dagger in a sheath, which she hadn’t had the day before. She had also spent some time fixing her hair, and she’d applied lipstick, making her look much more put together than she’d seemed while making breakfast or the night before. Her bag was her final addition.

“I thought it would help me look serious,” she said, gesturing to the dagger. “Like an adventurer.”

“Your job won’t be to stab things,” said Alfric, frowning.

“Durr,” said Mizuki, sticking out her tongue. “But it looks cool, right?”

“I guess,” said Alfric.

“Verity will think it looks cool, I bet,” said Mizuki.

“Well, let’s hope so,” said Alfric.

The Fig and Gristle didn’t open until noon, but the proprietor, a sturdy woman with a streak of gray hair, answered the door when they knocked and brought them up to Verity’s room when they explained that they had arranged to meet with her.

“You’re not planning to take her away from me, are you?” asked the woman, Cynthia.

“We were hoping to go into a dungeon with her,” said Alfric, who had always considered honesty to be the best policy.

“Well, you protect her,” said Cynthia with a nod. “I always thought she wouldn’t be here long. I’m paying her a pittance, compared with what she can do.” She came to the door and knocked on it twice, hard. “Verity! Visitors!” She turned to Alfric and Mizuki. “You might have to knock again,” she said. “Verity doesn’t like the mornings, but I’m not going to sit here all day waiting for her to get up.” She turned and went down the stairs, leaving Alfric and Mizuki standing there.

After a full minute had passed and Alfric was contemplating knocking again, there were sounds from the other side of the door, including a fair amount of banging. This continued on for some time, until finally Verity opened her door and poked her head out. Alfric was surprised by how similar she looked to Mizuki, with her hair messy, a frown on her face, and a squint. Unlike Mizuki, she had gotten into a dress instead of a robe, one that had a pattern of white flowers on top of lavender fabric. It was slightly wrinkled.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“Just past second bell,” said Alfric.

“Oh,” she said, looking between the two of them. Her bleary eyes finally rested on Mizuki. “I don’t usually get up until at least fourth bell.” She stared at Mizuki. “There are two of you now?”

“Three makes a party,” said Mizuki, quite cheerfully. She held out her hand. “Mizuki.”