Leveling Up With Monster Girls

Chapter 30: Mudgob’s Contact

When Mudgob had mentioned his contact, Julius had imagined it would be a fellow goblin like him but as he came down the stairs, he saw a woman sitting on the stool talking with Mudgob.

Her ears and tail gave her away. Lycan. She wore a baggy grey tracksuit and was barefoot. A bag sat on the stool next to her. Her back was turned to him so he couldn’t see her face.

She and Mudgob were discussing the work. She was asking questions: what kind of person the client was and the nature of the job but the goblin gave little away.

A nagging feeling stirred in Julius as he listened to her voice. It was familiar. He couldn’t place it or rather, didn’t want to place it.

As he approached, Mudgob turned to him.

"Ah, Mister Julius. This is the contact I spoke about." The goblin motioned to the Lycan. "Lumi, this is Mister Julius."

The Lycan got off the stool in an attempt to bow professionally and that was when Julius saw her face. White hair partly covering silver eyes.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

"You?" The Lycan spoke at the same time he voiced the thought.

Mudgob looked between both of them. A sly grin spread on his face. "It would seem you two are already familiar with each other."

"No." / "We aren’t!" They answered at the same time.

This only caused the goblins’ grins to expand even more. He asked if they would like mudmilk. Julius accepted while the lycan declined. The goblin went into the back room to check on his newest brew but Julius thought it was a ploy for them to have privacy to talk about business.

Julius set the cup down then turned on the stool to face her properly.

"Before we go further. What can you do?"

Her posture settled and she adopted an air of formality. "Close combat. Throwing knives. I’ve worked with groups in the workers guild for some time and I am recommended on the board. "

"Why are you branching to the Adventurer’s Guild?"

There was a pause as she considered before replying. "For the money."

Julius asked for her rate. She stated it. She was open for bonuses and wanted a leave of absence if the contract extended for months.

Julius listened to her talk and for a moment he thought what her profile would have looked like on a resume back in his world.

When she was finished. He held her gaze for a moment as he considered.

Lumi shifted slightly. Her composure flickered for a moment. There was an internal struggle as she chose her next words.

"About what happened at the gym..."

"Don’t."

The word was quiet. Not angry. She stopped.

Julius let the silence sit for a moment before speaking again.

"The apology you’re about to offer isn’t owed to me sitting at this bar."

Her brow furrowed. "But I..." She let the words hang.

"You didn’t disrespect me here. You did it at the gym. In front of others and if your plan is to apologize, you can make it there," Julius said.

There was a long silence that hung in the air. Lumi did not speak for a moment

"So I take it this means I’m not getting the job?" She finally said. Her demeanor had shifted a bit. freewёbnoνel.com

Julius took another sip of mudmilk and set the cup down. "No, I’m hiring you regardless. You’re qualified and I’m in a hurry. The gym incident doesn’t have to affect our working relationship."

Lumi nodded.

Julius stated his request. A party member who would follow him on missions among other things. He would offer leaves and breaks. He would handle feeding and water and payment was given after a job and if she accepted he would give her advance payment in good faith.

"Does that work for you?" He finally asked.

"Yes, it does."

He extended his hand.

She looked at it for a moment and took it. Julius noted her hand was warm to the touch.

"Lumi Silverblood." She said,

"Julius."

They released their hands. Neither of them said anything more about it. A few minutes later, Mudgob was back with his newest alcoholic mudmilk brew for Julius to try.

Yumiko came down the stairs as they were finishing. She stopped on the bottom step. Her eyes went to Lumi. Her ears flattened for a moment. She walked past her and stood close to Julius, her yellow eyes trained on the Lycan.

"Yumiko," Julius said. "This is Lumi. She’ll be our third party member. Lumi, this is Yumiko."

Yumiko nodded but did not extend a greeting.

"Nekari," Lumi said.

"She-wolf."

The exchange was cold but not hostile. Both of them assessing each other.

Mudgob took another small sip of his drink. The goblin seemed to be enjoying himself until he coughed, causing the tension to break. "Too much alcohol."

Julius stood up from the bar and asked Lumi. "Are you able to start today?"

"Yes, I have my stuff with me." The Lycan replied.

Julius paid her the advance and told her the rest would come after they finished the adventurer’s guild quest. She opened the pouch of coins and gingerly separated the Silver from the copper. She kept one of them in a separate pouch. He watched her as she did this and when she was done, she spoke

"Lead the way...Boss."

—

The Adventurers Guild was crowded, far more than the last time Julius had been here. Various kinds of people filled the hall. The space was filled with murmured conversations and the clatter of gear. The notice board across the room was surrounded.

The registration line was longer than he’d hoped.

A more thorough scan revealed Daren and his party. Daren was at the far counter handling something administrative. Joan leaned against a pillar with her usual posture, talking to a younger adventurer who looked uncertain whether to be flattered or terrified. Kieran and Neznala were near the board.

Daren saw Julius. Their eyes met across the hall. He nodded once. Then he straightened and moved through the crowd toward them.

"Julius."

"Daren."

His eyes moved to Lumi, then Yumiko, then back to Julius. "I see you’ve found a party. Welcome to the Guild."

"It’s not official yet. I have to register my third member but everywhere seems busy." Julius replied.

Daren turned and signaled to one of the receptionists. An elven woman with cropped hair looked up immediately. He raised three fingers, then pointed at Julius. She nodded.

Daren turned back. "Third desk. Tell her I sent you."

"Thank you."

Daren shrugged. "Don’t worry about it. Get registered. We’ll talk after."

The registration didn’t take much. All Lumi did was fill a form similar to the one Julius and Yumiko had filled and was asked their party name. Julius was at a loss for a moment. A small smile played on his lips as he answered.

"Mudmilk."

The Elf found it amusing as she paused for a moment before writing on the registration sheet.

"You’re registered. Welcome to the Adventurers Guild."

---

They moved away from the desk toward the open space near the bulletin board. The crowd had thinned slightly. Joan saw them and pushed off her pillar. Kieran followed at a careful distance.

She walked over with her usual grin.

"Look who finally registered."

Her eyes went to Lumi, then to Yumiko, then back to Julius. The grin widened.

"And working through the racial chart, I see. A Nekari and a Lycan. That’s two for many." There was a small laugh at the end of her words

Julius didn’t react. Lumi narrowed her eyes while Yumiko remained as she was. Until Joan leaned a bit closer into his personal space than necessary. She was a bit shorter than Julius so he had to tilt his head down to address her.

"Want to add a Kitsu to that chart," She said watching Yumiko’s reaction. Her breath was close enough for him to feel. Julius noted Kieran’s body language as she did this.

Julius glanced around the hall. "Joan..."

"Yes?" She had a sly smile and her eyes lit up for a moment.

"Why are there a lot of people here today? It wasn’t this full last time."

The light in the kitsu’s eyes dimmed for a bit. A small expression of surprise had replaced it.

"You haven’t heard?"

"Heard what?" Julius asked. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

A grin formed on her face as she uttered the next words.

"There’s a new dungeon gate."

Julius kept his face still as he asked the next question.

"Dungeon gate?"