Chapter 44: Morning Errands

Thadius woke up to the sunlight warming his face. He had managed to find an inn last night, and had checked in as soon as he left the coliseum. Then he slept like the dead after eating a hot meal from the restaurant on the first floor. Today, he would be running the errands he’d put off yesterday. It wouldn’t be as exciting as visiting the coliseum, but it would be a busy day nonetheless.

.

He looked at the shield that lay beside him. The steel shield now had a huge circle of mythril in the center, like a white sun shining through grey clouds. Then as he sat up, the Silver Champion’s Belt fell off his chest.

[Silver Champion’s Belt

Type: Belt Accessory Durability: 1475/1475

Quality: Normal Defense: 500

This belt can only be obtained by defeating the Silver Champion in single combat.

+Permits special privileges when worn in the coliseum]

Thadius smiled as he looked down at his prize. It had come in handy when he went to visit Sarene behind the kitchen in the amatuer waiting room. One glance at the belt over his shoulder and the old woman had led him to her room in the back.

’Or was it because she knew who I defeated to get it?’ Thadius shook his head as he made his way out the room to the restaurant downstairs, frowning at the lack of handrails for the stairwell.

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He stopped just before the door that lead outside and pondered where he wanted to go first. He needed to find Beth; the mage his master befriended. He also wanted to stop by the Adventurer’s

Guild for a status card. The reason for his pause was the last two destinations. He didn’t check in on Yuna and Christina yesterday like he told them he would, so he had planned to go see them first thing in the morning. Yet, he also wanted to start his enterprise today, and that would involve him using his gift from Marshal and his new Pretender skill.

Thadius weighed his options. Then after a few moments, he set out for the Church of Thena. At the end of the day, he was a man of his word, and arriving any later than he'd stated would hurt his pride further.

He walked the streets with caution, and kept his eyes open for any potential assailants or pursuers. Before long, he arrived at the steps of the church without incident. Statues of Thena seemed to look down at him in disgust as he walked for the doors.

’If people knew what you really were, they’d look at you the same way.’ Thadius thought as he entered the premises.

As with the Grand Temple in Yune, the Church of Thena was a lot nicer inside than it was outside. The white stone walls were spotless and smooth, and the silence that fell on the halls gave the entire building a sense of purity.

Three paths opened up, and Thadius stood at the fork, looking for someone who could help him. He'd figured that the path ahead of him led to the actual church, but the paths on either side of him could lead him into trouble. With no one in sight to help him, he choose to go right.

The path led him down the hall and to the left, leading him further into the compound. When he came to another split, he took another right instead of continuing straight. That’s when he saw a group of priests down the hall. They were whispering amongst themselves, and Thadius hid his presence so as not to alarm them with his Fighting Spirit.

“When did she arrive?”

“Yesterday, I gave her the tour!”

“Wow...Thena has truly blessed her.”

“Only a woman blessed by the Goddess could look as beautiful as that…”

The priests were absolutely enthralled by a young woman that was scrubbing the floor further down the hall. There were other young girls beside her, but Thadius knew exactly who they were talking about. Christina wasn’t your average woman.

Thadius just shook his head. It wasn’t a surprise that she’d become the hot topic of the priests upon her arrival.

“Just imagine how she looks under the robe…”

Thadius snapped his head to look at the man who spoke. He was a thin, gangly man with the top of his head bald. Thadius recognized the hunger in the man’s eyes as he watched Christina. The other priests looked reluctant to say such things out loud, but the sudden declaration by their fellow priest made them brave.

“Her fair skin would be quite the sight.”

“I’d rather have her sight on me. Having a woman like that would be a dream come true.”

“Staring down into her eyes as we-”

Thadius cleared his throat and revealed himself. The group was startled as they turned around.

“Good evening gentlemen. It’s a fine morning isn’t?” he asked kindly.

The thin priest spoke up first. He seemed to be the leader among them, and was the first to recover. “It’s a fine morning indeed, stranger. What brings you to the Church or Thena?”

“I’m looking for a young woman who came in yesterday. She wouldn’t be hard to miss.”

“Is that her?” the priest pointed to Christina.

“Ah, there she is. She’s already been put to work I see.”

“How do you know her, exactly?” one of the other priests asked.

“She’s one of my companions. We just arrived yesterday, and I came to check in on her.” Thadius replied as he watched the girls scrub away.

“Well, you won’t have to worry about her here. We’ll take good care of her.” the thin priest spoke up.

“I know I shouldn’t worry so much. I’m sure she’ll be just fine in your care.” Thadius frowned at the scrawny man while he leaked some of his pressure on the group. “But if anything happened to her...I don’t know what I’d do.”

The priests were all stunned into silence. Not even the thin priest could find his voice in the presence such a man.

“Thadius!” Christina called as looked up from her work. She dropped her brush and ran up to him, leaping the last few feet to put her arms around his neck.

“You act like I’ve been gone for weeks.” he laughed as he caught her. Seeing her smile first thing in the morning was better than any cup of coffee. It filled the body with the power of goodness.

“You didn’t show up yesterday after you said you were going to the coliseum. I was worr-”

“Is that him!? That’s the guy right!?” a voice said from behind Christina. Thadius was surprised to find a legit cat girl jump up to him. Yuna wasn’t far behind. Thadius could feel her circling around the girls.

Christina quickly let go and introduced her friend. “Thadius this is Esaa. She sleeps in the bunk next me.”

*Tink**Tink**Tink*

Thadius looked down at the small girl that was tapping on his belt. “And this is?”

“That’s Teta.”

Thadius looked down at the girl. Her spectacles made her eyes look bigger than normal.

“Hi.” he greeted her curiously.

“Hi.” she replied as she met his eyes briefly. Then she went back to tapping.

’Awww.’

“Teta! You can’t just invade people’s personal space.” Christina cried as she pulled Teta away.

“What was she tapping on?” Esaa asked as she looked under Thadius’ robe. She was just as bad as Teta.

“Esaa!” Christina shouted as her face turned red. Her new friends were embarrassing her, even after she warned them not to!

“What? I’m just taking a lo- Oh, cool! That’s a Silver Champion’s Belt!”

Now Christina was interested, and she moved closer to get a look. “Did you get it from the coliseum?” she asked as she looked at Thadius in wonder.

“I won it yesterday. That’s also why I was late.” he smiled. The priests all turned pale when they saw the belt on Thadius’ waist, and they started to slink away while they thought Thadius was distracted.

Christina smiled in return. Thadius had returned safe and sound, and that was what mattered.

Yuna, on the other hand, wasn’t happy. While Thadius was showing off his belt, she kicked his shin. Apparently, she was still upset that she had been left out.

“Excuse Mr.Thadius," Esaa moved in closer to Thadius so she could whisper, "Do you think you could make us-” Christina came and covered Esaa’s mouth quickly. She wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about Thadius’ Wolf Gear, so the fact that Esaa knew would definitely get her in trouble with Thadius. That was not an option.

“So Thadius,” she started as she kindly smothered the struggling Esaa, ”Where are you going after this?”

“Well, first I need to talk to Yuna." Thadius quickly glanced at the hidden Goddess. "Then I was going to run some errands that were neglected yesterday.”

“Will you go back to the coliseum?” she asked worriedly. Esaa continued to struggle feebly. Unfortunately for her, a determined Christina wasn’t to be trifled with.

“I was thinking about it.” Thadius smiled. Then he received another kick to the shin.

“Well then, just be careful ok?” Christina said as she dragged the fainted Esaa back to their work area.

Teta tugged on Thadius robe when Christina was a few feet away. “Can we have undies too?” she asked kindly.

“........!” Christina was absolutely livid.

Thadius shot a glare at Christina before he dropped to his knee to address the girl. “Unfortunately, I can’t help you, but I know someone who can. When he starts up his shop, I’ll be sure to let Christina know. Then you all can go shopping for them. Sound good?”

Teta nodded and skipped of back to work. Christina didn’t even have the energy to scold her. The glare of Thadius was worse than any sugar crash. It sapped energy from the limbs and dampened the spirit.

“Now,” Thadius turned to the ‘Vanished’ Yuna, “Do you want to explain why you feel the need to inflict harm upon my person?”

“No.” she pouted.

Thadius looked around to make sure no one was looking before he placed his hand on her head. She didn’t object, but she turned her head as if to say ‘Nothing you do will quell my anger’.

“Yuna, I’m your scapegoat right?”

“....Yeah”

“So you know it’s my job to protect you from harm if I can, right?”

Yuna glared at him. “What does that have to do with it? You left us so you could go have fun!” she whispered fiercely.

“You think killing another person is fun?”

“.....”

“It wasn’t what you’d expect Yuna. It’s nothing compared to how we sparred on your mountain. I almost died…”

“.......!” Yuna’s fury had completely disappeared. Now she looked at Thadius with eyes filled with concern.

“As your scapegoat, it’s my job to test the waters. I learned some valuable things in the coliseum while I put my life on the line, and you can be sure that I’ll tell you everything so you won’t make the mistakes I did. I’d have no problem dying once or twice if the lessons I’d learn improve your chances of survival. Still, I would have taken you with me if it was just us. You know that right?”

“...Yeah, I get it.”

“Good.” Thadius said as he turned to leave.

“Thadius.”

When Thadius turned to look, Yuna pulled him into a hug. “I’m sorry for kicking you. Try not to die, okay?”

“I’ll be careful.” Thadius replied softly. “And I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a little fun.”

“I knew it!” Yuna whispered as she poked Thadius in the cheek.

Thadius laughed as he felt Yuna run off down the hall towards the other girls. Thankfully, none of them had seen him talking to himself, or so he hoped. Any future talks with Yuna would have to be done in a secluded space. At least until Christina becomes a full fledge priestess.

Thadius left the Church in a hurry. The next place he wanted to visit was the Adventurer’s Guild, so he continued his walk from where he was attacked on the first day. He remembered the directions he had been given, and soon, he was standing in front of a three-story building. Outside was the same stone that all the other buildings were made of, but Thadius had no doubt that the inside was well furnished.

He walked into the building and was surprised to find it mostly empty. The first floor reminded him of the amatuer waiting area in the coliseum, except for the four-sided counter in the middle of the room. The clerk behind the desk greeted him when he walked in.

“Good morning, sir. How may I help you?” she said as he approached the desk. She showed no reaction to his Fighting Spirit as he approached the counter.

’She must be used to it.’ he thought.

“I thought this place would be full in the morning.”

“We serve breakfast a lot earlier. Adventurer’s like to get to hunting as soon as the sun comes up, so we assist in their efforts by serving before dawn.”

“How thoughtful.”

“We take pride in our services. Now how may I be of service to you?” she smiled as she stealthily looked Thadius up and down. She was obviously influenced by his charm stat.

“I seem to have misplaced my status card. I was told to come here to get it replaced.”

“I can do that for you, but you must understand that your previous status card will be destroyed by an enchantment once a new one is made. Are you okay with that?”

“Yes.”

“Then if you’ll wait a moment.” she said as she ducked under the counter. She reappeared with a blank status card and a needle like object. “Have you needed to replace your status card before?”

“No. I’m embarrassed to say this, but I don’t really know much about my status card other than the fact that it hangs around my neck. I hit my head a while back, you see. It healed well enough, but my memory hasn’t been the same since.” Thadius flashed his devilish grin.