Ryan tossed a stone into the steep cave-hole; the stone rolled for a few seconds, struck something hard, bounced a few times, and went silent.
Ellie kindled a flame in her hand and sent it down the hole. Ryan made out its structure: about twenty or thirty meters down there was a near-vertical bend, and that was what had stopped the stone.
Monsters like goblins came from the underground world; maybe this was where they'd crawled out.
Maeve pointed at the hole and said eagerly, "Master, should we go down and take a look?"
Ryan ignored the little mutt and turned to Ellie. "Have you ever been underground?"
"A few times."
"Is it dangerous? I've heard the depths are full of monsters — a world completely unlike the surface, hiding countless treasures." Ryan had heard many legends about the dungeon at the tavern; plenty of mercenaries had found great fortunes after venturing deep underground.
At the word "treasure," Maeve's eyes lit right up, and she grabbed Ryan's hem, itching to go down.
"The deeper you go, the more dangerous it gets. The monsters down there are all deadly," Ellie said flatly.
The words were like a bucket of cold water over Maeve; her ears drooped.
Money was the kind of thing where you might live to earn it but not live to spend it.
Without a clear sense of what lay below, you could give Ryan a hundred times the nerve and he still wouldn't dare take Ellie down there.
"So what do we do now?" Maeve leaned against Ryan and said lazily.
She really was too familiar; they'd only met yesterday, yet she acted as easy as an old friend of Ryan's.
"It's so hot out, stop leaning on me all the time." Ryan waved her off in distaste and dodged to the side.
He looked at the cave mouth without thinking much of it and said, "Ellie, seal this hole up."
Goblins liked to dig holes all over the place anyway, and holes leading to the underground world weren't rare; sealing this one up was a good deed while he was at it.
Ellie nodded, crouched, and pressed both hands to the ground, and the hole gradually filled with rock.
Ryan gave it a few hard kicks; it was sealed quite solidly.
"All right, gather the loot. We'll head back to the city and eat. That's it for today."
"Wonderful." Maeve smiled in pure contentment.
Today's earnings were fairly bountiful; buying Maeve really had been the right call. Annoying as the little mutt was, Ryan had always been clear about rewards and punishments when raising small animals, so tonight she'd definitely get an extra portion.
On the way back, Ellie scouted ahead while Ryan and Maeve carried the crate, one on each side; by the time they arrived they were drenched in sweat.
Ryan first sold the goblins' weapons and clothes to a merchant in the market, then sold the crate of cloth to a tailor who owned a shop, for fifty silver in all.
Gazing at the bulging purse, Ryan fell into thought. He glanced back at Ellie and, seeing her still in that old outfit, bought her and Maeve each a light-brown long dress as work clothes, fifteen silver in all.
Hugging the new dress, Maeve smiled wider than ever, her grin nearly stretching to the back of her ears. "Master, please accept my loyalty! I, Maeve, have decided to serve you for life!"
[Maeve's Loyalty increase detected. Current Loyalty: 80%]
Her Loyalty was climbing fast — sixty when he'd bought her yesterday, eighty now; at this rate it would probably max out tomorrow.
Watching the grinning Maeve, Ryan shook his head. "One perfectly ordinary dress and you're bought off?"
"Of course! This is my very first new outfit!" Maeve's tail swayed gently behind her, her gray ears standing straight up. "All my clothes before were my big sister's hand-me-downs — my family couldn't afford to put me in new clothes."
Ryan was momentarily lost for words. "Is it really that bad...?"
"It's like that for everyone where I'm from. You, Master, you can tell at a glance you came from a wealthy family — not a single patch on your clothes, and clean too."
"Not really."
Ryan was from an ordinary family, but even so, the living conditions back then were far beyond anything in this world.
At least back then, nobody dumped their piss and shit straight into the street.
"If a new dress is all it takes to buy you off, then if someone gives you a prettier one down the road, won't you just wag your tail and run off after them?"
Maeve shook her head firmly and began pledging her loyalty. "Master, what do you take me for? Do I look like that kind of person?"
Ryan briefly recalled Maeve's behavior and unconsciously nodded. "Honestly, pretty much..."
Maeve patted her ample chest in assurance. "No way. Getting fed and getting new clothes — good fortune like this doesn't come often! In short, I, Maeve, am sticking with you."
"All right, all right, if you say so." Ryan waved a hand.
Seeing Ellie silent at his side, Ryan looked down at her jade-fair feet.
Those old straw sandals were nearly worn through.
After a moment's thought, Ryan took Ellie to the shoemaker and spent twenty silver on a presentable pair of ankle boots.
Even the shoemaker, after a glance at Ellie, couldn't help muttering, "Is it worth putting such good shoes on a slave? Better to buy a cheap pair of straw sandals."
"Of course it's worth it," Ryan replied offhandedly.
Ellie sat on the stool, the ankle boots cradled in her arms, looking somewhat at a loss.
"What's wrong? Wrong size? Or uncomfortable?" Ryan stroked her ear.
Before Ellie could speak, the shoemaker cut in. "Impossible. I'm one of the finest shoemakers in Caridon — plenty of noble lords come to me for their shoes..."
Ellie shook her head. "No, they fit well."
"Then why don't you put them on?" Ryan asked, puzzled.
After a brief hesitation, Ellie finally put them on, then stood and walked around a bit; they did fit well.
Maeve stood by watching Ellie, envy written all over her face.
She first bumped Ryan with her head, then mumbled, "Master, Master, my straw sandals are about to fall apart too."
"Well, nothing for it — buy a pair of straw sandals to make do, and we'll get you a good pair once we've earned more." Ryan asked the shoemaker for another pair of straw sandals.
A single pair of ankle boots cost twenty silver; with the clothes money on top, he now had only seventeen silver left.
Tomorrow, then — he'd buy Maeve good shoes after earning more tomorrow; for today she'd make do with these.
Maeve looked down at the straw sandals, smiling brighter than ever, circled Ryan several times, then said, "Thank you, Master, you're so good!"
"Really? Then will you let me touch your ears?"
At those words Maeve instantly froze, as if someone had hit pause on her.
She pursed her lips and mumbled, "If Master really wants to touch them... I guess it's not impossible."