Lucious stood before the main reception desk, his ruined clothes still caked in dried mud and the dark blood of the forest goblins they had slaughtered.
He tossed the blood-stained leather pouch containing the severed goblin ears onto the wooden counter.
The bored-looking clerk peered inside the pouch, her eyes widening slightly at the gruesome proof.
She processed their quest completion with a stamped piece of parchment, finalizing the forty gold pieces they were to go as a reward.
With the official guild reward secured and their F-rank status officially updated, Lucious led Dori away from the crowded boards and toward the attached tavern hall of the guild.
The tavern was incredibly loud, packed with seasoned warriors boasting about their kills and robed mages arguing over the price of mana potions.
The air was suffocatingly warm, filled with the smoke of roasting meat.
Lucious navigated through the sea of humans, finding a small, sticky wooden table tucked away in the darkest corner.
Despite having a heavy, clinking bag of forty gold pieces in his possession, he ordered the absolute cheapest items the tavern had to offer.
When the tired barmaid returned, she slammed two chipped wooden bowls of thin, watery potato stew and a single loaf of hard, stale bread onto their table.
Almost immediately, a loud, abrasive burst of laughter erupted from the adjacent booth.
A group of heavily armored, experienced adventurers were sitting there, feasting on massive slabs of roasted beast meat and drinking from oversized tankards of premium, foaming ale.
They pointed their greasy fingers directly at Lucious and Dori, openly mocking their ruined, swamp-stained rags and the pathetic bowls of watery stew sitting in front of them.
One of the men made a crude joke about peasants pretending to be warriors.
Lucious felt a slight prick of annoyance in his chest, but his cold calm quickly smothered the rising anger. He did not care about the opinions of ignorant, loud-mouthed humans who would likely die in a ditch before the year ended.
He needed to be strictly frugal with his newly acquired funds if he wanted to properly gear himself and his growing faction for the future.
He picked up his wooden spoon and looked across the small table.
Dori was completely frozen. Her eyes were locked onto the laughing adventurers, her pupils shrinking into thin, lethal slits.
Her hands gripped the edge of the wooden table so tightly that her pale knuckles turned white, and a low, feral growl began to vibrate deep in the back of her throat.
She was entirely prepared to leap across the room, bare her fangs, and tear their throats out for daring to disrespect her master.
"Stop," Lucious commanded softly, his deep voice instantly cutting through her rising bloodlust.
Dori flinched slightly, her glowing eyes snapping back to his face.
She immediately released her grip on the table, lowering her head in absolute submission, though her chest still heaved with lingering hostility.
"You get to eat more if you work harder," Lucious told her, keeping his tone flat and authoritative as he broke the stale bread in half and slid a piece toward her. "For now, this is exactly what you get. If you want a feast, you will have to earn it on the battlefield."
The harsh words were meant to discipline her, to remind her that survival in this brutal world required endless effort and calculated restraint.
But Dori’s feral mind processed his command entirely differently.
She stared down at the watery stew, and a profound, adoring warmth blossomed in her chest.
To her, humans were incredibly selfish creatures who hoarded their resources and left the weak to starve in the dirt. But her master was purposely withholding luxury to push her limits.
He was actively trying to make her stronger, forging her into a lethal weapon that could stand proudly by his side. She could never see even a single ounce of evil or cruelty in him. Everything he did was out of a deep, protective care for their survival.
A massive, breathtaking smile stretched across her pale face.
She picked up her crude wooden spoon and began to eat the tasteless human food with absolute enthusiasm, savoring the cheap meal as if it were a royal banquet simply because he had provided it.