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Chapter 30 - Renya Rown Makes her Return!
🕑 Added 2022-02-13 23:25:18 +0000 UTCAlt link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F6vYWUt7sPoEa_oZPtZ5pQ-5cdpXfMeB1PAZLrNclI8/edit?usp=sharing
Chapter 30
"You've got a lot of nerve barging into our place like this!" Arenade stomped past them into the room to confront the intruder. Hands on her hips and nose pointed to the ceiling, the demigoddess put on her most haughty attempt yet to look intimidating. "Just who do you think you are, lady?"
Renya took another drag of her pipe and exhaled through her nostrils. "I'm glad you asked! My name is—"
"She's Renya Rown, adoptive daughter of Solasta Rown, and captain of a band of pirates masquerading as a shipping business off Port Kandis," Kanae said.
"That was my introduction to give!" Pouting, the dark elf captain sprung from her seat on the bed and beat her fists into his arm. The punches didn't hurt, but she was clearly throwing a tantrum for having her moment taken from her. He had only known to do this after witnessing her encounter with Redmane. It seemed to be her weakness, doing so to see this cute side of her again was worth it.
However, for Renya to come herself despite being a busy elf must mean Kanae and his party had really messed up.
"So, those mana-vamp starfishes belong to you? They really threw us for a loop in the forest, you know? I think you should be compensating us for the trouble you caused," Edina said, picking the worst possible way to redirect the conversation.
Sure enough, Renya's tantruming child-like demeanor shifted into a more intimidating and imposing state. She walked to the window and drew the curtains closed, then reached into her pocket to do something they couldn't see. It sounded mechanical, but that was all they could glean.
"Shut the door," Renya ordered.
None of them moved to do so.
"I said, shut the door," she repeated, this time glaring over her shoulder and scaring Edina to do just that.
The elf finally turned around and pointed a flintlock pistol at them with the firing mechanism pulled back, ready to shoot. All three of them tensed up as the situation took an abruptly dire turn. Kanae's mind was dancing with thoughts of whether or not charming her would work, especially considering they previously had a sexual encounter.
"Sorry, love. You still aren't a high enough level succubus to charm me. And to show how outgunned you are— Mirror Image!" Renya suddenly became three, and now each of them were looking down the barrel of a gun.
"Ahh… S-Supreme One, save me…" Arenade stammered through chattering teeth.
"D-Didn't you profess to The Many instead?" Edina retorted.
"There are no gods here, just us and enough firepower to blow you harder than a succubus gives oral." Renya winked.
"Wait, wait! We didn't even know those monsters were from you! They randomly attacked us, so can you really blame us for defending ourselves?" Kanae reasoned with the pirate captain.
She raised a brow. "Really? Because I found nearly two dozen of my precious babies dead in a pile out in the forest. It also just so happens, one of my crew saw you frollicking away with an egg one afternoon. If I didn't know any better, you purposefully lured them there to slay. The cabin around the burnt forest, it belongs to you, yes?"
Did Renya encounter Takumi and the others out there? Kanae shuddered at the thought. Hopefully not, and they were okay. Right now, he needed to somehow placate her. Instead of trying to silver tongue his way out of it, he explained truthfully and in detail what happened that day, including the events leading up to it and immediately after.
Renya listened intently and took particular interest when Kanae recounted the part where he had sex with a goblin, orc, and minotaur.
"So, you see, it wasn't that we were out there purposefully trying to kill them. It really was an accident," Kanae implored with emphasis.
"Oh, I see. All just a big misunderstanding!" Renya laughed so uncontrollably that her clones disappeared. The other two began to laugh, too, as the contagiousness of it reached them. Then the fun stopped at once when she tightened her grip on the pistol pointed at Kanae. "It doesn't change that over 20-million gold worth of those monsters went down the drain because of you. Now, say your prayers—"
Kanae heard his friends scream his name.
The flintlock's hammer mechanism slammed forward, but he didn't see the flash of the barrel. He saw Arenade's back instead.
"Arenade!" Kanae and Edina rushed to check on their priest, but she was perfectly fine if not a little spooked. There was no bullet wound or blood. Though some black powdery substance did fall onto her ivory robes.
"I… I still hear my party members… Does that mean… I'm in the three hells now?" Arenade asked, her eyes still squeezed shut and as stiff as a statue.
Kanae turned to Renya for answers and saw the smoking barrel of her flintlock pistol. Did it misfire? Miss? What happened?
"Just kidding~ I wouldn't hurt any of you! It's bad for business! All I wanted to do was get back at you for taking my introduction, but I didn't expect that to happen," Renya said, stowing away her pistol.
Arenade collapsed to the ground, her legs were shaking so much. Edina helped her to a chair, and Kanae was left astonished that the demigoddess had put her life before his.
"What are you really here for?" Kanae glared.
"I came to find out what happened to my mana-vamp starfishes, and I have. That concludes that. Now if you will excuse me, I shall be on my way—"
"I don't think so!" Edina summoned a group of skeletons, brandishing their weapons at Renya. "We deserve a better explanation than that after the little stunt you pulled!"
Renya sighed, then opened her coat to show what she was reaching for an inner pocket rather than the flintlock pistol. They watched closely until she plucked out a magic crystal in the same shape as the ones the starfish monsters poop out.
"Maybe you have already figured it out. These are pure magic. They are highly sought after, making them worth more than their weight in gold. Imagine my surprise when I heard there was a dragon here? By the gods, the amount of magic crystals those things could produce if they got their hands on the beast. A little dragon bait in the forest led the thing straight there and would have timed perfectly with their hatching. Unfortunately, we know what happened next."
Which explained why the dragon showed up in the forest when it was supposed to be in the mountains. Renya had her people lure it there to be food for mana-vamp starfishes. If Estaline hadn't forced the dragon to escape, the parasitic monsters would have feasted on it.
"So… We're good, right?" Kanae asked.
Renya's eyes went wide and a chuckle escaped her lips. She pushed past the skeletons to Kanae and planted a deep, sloppy kiss on him. They started making out, hands getting gropey on each other, as their bodies remembered the touch and taste from their previous escapade.
When they parted, Kanae swallowed a mouthful of her saliva and turned red. So did Edina and her skeletons who were next to them, hands up to their faces and peeking past their fingers.
"Estaline, that damn Knight of Silver, was the one who really messed up my plans anyway. I'm not so vengeful as to take it out on you who were in the wrong place at the wrong time," Renya said, licking her lips and wiping the drool from her chin.
"Y-You're not planning to go after Estaline, are you?" Kanae was more worried about losing the chance to have sex with her than them actually fighting.
"Oh, three hells, no!" She shook her head. "Turic isn't the only place I put those cute little things. No need to tango with the Knights of Colors, especially not with Bardell dipping his horse cock into that place."
Kanae and Edina gasped.
"What do you know about Bardell, and what does the Knights of Colors have to do with him?" Edina grabbed onto Renya's coat and asked.
Renya glanced over to Arenade, who was still recovering from the shock of her near-death experience.
"Perhaps we can talk over something to eat? Allow me to treat you for so rudely interrupting your day," she suggested.
Whatever they wanted to eat downstairs, Renya was willing to pay for it all. At least within reason. Today, their table was stacked full of food and wine. Even Arenade had found her energy again, stuffing herself on someone else's gold.
"You heard me right. Bardell is being considered as a member of the Knights of Colors," Renya said.
"I thought they were a group of righteous knights. Isn't someone from a criminal organization the wrong fit? What am I missing here?" Kanae scratched his head.
"Your guess is as good as mine." She shrugged. "He is not a very good person, but he keeps his ends of the bargains, fights like a monster, and treats his associates… with some semblance of respect."
"I can't believe that bastard is getting it good for all the shit he puts people through…" Edina grinded her teeth, unable to stomach any food after learning about the news.
Bardell and Estaline were two very different people from very different backgrounds. How could they possibly be in the same organization?
"You're not a member of the Outriders, are you?" Edina cautiously questioned her.
Renya let out a long, drawn out, "Noooooo. Gods, no. Fuck that group with a fireplace poker. They pay me well to move their cargo and that's it, but Bardell and I have very contrasting ideas of how to lead."
Come to think of it, Renya's crew adored her like an idol. Kanae could tell why after spending more time with her. Meanwhile, the men who barged into the bathhouse seemed to follow Bardell out of fear and through existing mutual benefit. At any point they stopped being useful to him…
Someone at the entrance of the adventurer's hall beckoned to Renya, and she stood up to stretch her arms and legs.
"Well, this is where I say farewell for now. I have business in the grand city of Sin and Piety. If you would like to see me again and I do hope to see you again, you know where to find me, love. Until then, the brothels await and many a whores' beds need warming!" Renya bowed to Kanae and his party, then strutted out like a flamingo.
"First Rosaline, then those guys in the forest, now her… Kanae, you're friends with the most eccentric people," Edina remarked, slightly amused by Renya's exit.
"You're one to talk." Kanae rolled his eyes which then landed on Arenade, who was stuffing herself like a pig.
The moment where he thought he was about to be shot replayed in his head. Of all the things she could have done, even though the fake shot turned out to be Renya's idea of a joke, taking a bullet for him was the last thing he expected from her.
Later in the afternoon, Kanae was leading his party through the city with a spring in his step.
"Where are we going?" Arenade asked. "I thought you wanted us to start doing quests?"
"Renya told me she used to run a shop here that was a front for her people to launder money. They don't use it anymore and said we could do whatever we want with it. I was hoping to convert it into a shop for us to use," Kanae explained.
"Wait, you want to quit the adventuring life? Running a shop means you need things to sell. We don't have anything!" Edina chimed in, her two skeleton guards mimicking her confusion.
"We need to start earning money, and the best way is to own businesses. I used to work at a convenience store, so I at least know how to handle customers and sell things. As for what to sell…" He pulled out of his satchel a slime in the shape of a pocket pussy and another like a dildo.
"Uwah…" Both of his companions gagged.
"I-I haven't used these particular ones, I swear! Look, I've noticed that I can shape the dead slimes into whatever I want, and they stay that way. It doesn't seem like anyone in this world is selling sex toys, so I figured why don't we try? If it kicks off, we can hire a salesperson to run the place while we continue adventuring. It's passive income we could be making!"
"Selling sex toys is another thing, but I can at least get behind making gold!" Edina psyched herself up over the prospect of wealth.
They got to the abandoned shop which was sandwiched between a much larger flower boutique and a weaponsmith. However, Kanae ran into their first problem when the door wouldn't budge. Edina ordered her skeletons to push it open only to break it off its hinges. The door fell backwards into the shop, kicking up a layer of dust that made them cough and wheeze.
The whole place was the size of their room back at the adventurer's hall, rundown, and shabby in appearance. A couple of rats skittered across the floor. Cockroaches were running up the walls. It was in total disrepair. Their only saving grace was that it was in the middle of the busy market square, but no one would give it a second glance with how crappy it looked.
"Yeah… Nice place we got here," Arenade remarked with disgust just as a ceiling board fell down and crushed a rat.
