By the time Austin’s footsteps disappeared down the hallway, I had already decided that our room had one major advantage over the forest.
Nothing in it was trying to eat me.
At least, I hoped that included the furniture.
I stood beside the bed and gave it another suspicious look. It had three functioning legs, one questionable leg, and a mattress that sagged in the middle as though it had accepted defeat years ago. After everything that had happened since leaving the estate, I wasn’t asking for luxury anymore. I just wanted something that could hold my weight without collapsing under the burden of my existence.
I pressed one hand against the mattress.
The frame groaned.
I stopped.
I pressed again.
The entire bed shifted slightly to the side.
I slowly removed my hand. "This is going well."
From the mattress, Asura lifted his head and lazily opened one eye. "You have been staring at that bed for several minutes."
"I’m deciding whether I can trust it."
"It’s a bed."
"Yes."
"You sleep on it."
"That is why I need to know whether it intends to kill me."
Asura yawned and stretched across the mattress like he had already forgotten the danger. "If it kills you, I’ll take the bed."
I looked at him. "Very considerate."
"I am known for my kindness."
"You’re known for being annoying."
"I was also known for ruling the Great Sea."
"I know. Your royal achievements have not improved your manners."
I ignored the offended expression that followed and carefully sat down.
The mattress sank beneath me, the wooden frame gave a low creak, and I held completely still. Nothing happened. I slowly released the breath I had been holding.
Then something underneath the mattress made a strange, muffled sound.
Fwump.
Asura’s ears shot upright.
He looked at me.
I looked at him.
Then his nose twitched.
"Did you just fart?"
I stared at him in disbelief. "No."
"That sounded like a fart."
"The bed made it."
"It happened when you sat down."
"Because I’m sitting on the bed."
"That is not a very convincing defense."
I got up and pointed at him. "You have lived for ten thousand years, and this is what you use your ancient wisdom for?"
He looked completely serious. "It was a reasonable question."
"It was not."
"I smelled something strange."
"You’re standing in a building that smells like wet wood, old clothes, dust, and something I refuse to identify. Of course you smelled something strange."
Asura seemed to consider that argument, but I could still see the amusement in his eyes. I decided not to give him another chance to speak and crouched beside the bed instead. One of the supports had slipped out of position, which explained the sound. The repair was simple enough. What wasn’t simple was finding something strong enough to wedge underneath it.
I checked the room and found very little worth using. The chair looked unstable, the little table was crooked, and there was a cup beside the window that had probably survived more owners than Austin had customers. Then I noticed an old book sitting underneath the dust.
I picked it up and wiped the cover with my sleeve. The book was thick and worn, its leather cover nearly colorless from age. When I opened it, I found rough maps, roads between towns, common plants, travel advice, notes about food, prices for basic supplies, and pages covered in handwriting from travelers who had apparently considered the original author too stupid to explain things properly.
It was actually useful.
Asura came closer. "What did you find?"
"A travel guide."
"You like books."
"They’re useful."
"You said that before."
"And I’m saying it again."
He stared at the book, then at me. "Can I read it?"
I handed it toward him. He looked at the page for a few seconds, turned it sideways, frowned, and handed it back.
"No."
I smiled. "Can’t read?"
"I can read."
"Then what happened?"
"The writing is unpleasant."
"That is the worst excuse I’ve heard today."
"I simply don’t enjoy this particular language."
"This is the common language."
"I knew that."
I laughed quietly and slid the book beneath the damaged support.
As soon as I adjusted it into place, the bed settled.
I pushed down on the mattress.
Nothing happened.
I sat on it.
Still nothing.
I leaned back with a satisfied nod. "There. Problem solved."
Asura stared at the book under the bed. "You used a book to fix furniture."
"It worked."
"You destroyed a book."
"You tried to bite my notebook yesterday."
"That was different."
"How?"
"I was hungry."
"You were also on top of a table."
"I had a difficult childhood."
I looked at him for a moment, then laughed despite myself. Somehow, every conversation with him ended up becoming nonsense. Perhaps that was his true ancient power.
I turned toward the window and let myself enjoy the quiet for a while. The town outside had none of the danger we had become accustomed to. People were closing stalls, merchants were finishing their work, and families were making their way home. It was exactly the kind of ordinary scene I had wanted when I left the estate.
Unfortunately, ordinary life had one unavoidable requirement.
Money.
I reached into my pocket and counted what remained.
Twenty rums.
I counted them again.
Still twenty.
When I put them back, Asura noticed the expression on my face. "How much do we have?"
"Twenty."
His ears lowered. "That’s all?"
"That’s all."
"You were a noble."
"I am still a noble."
"You had money."
"I still have some."
"You lost the rest."
I turned toward him. "Yes."
He stared at me for several seconds, then seemed to reach an unpleasant conclusion. "You lost our money in the forest."
"Most of it."
"While running from the Guardian Wolf."
"Exactly."
He looked genuinely offended. "You had a pouch."
"Yes."
"You had a pocket."
"Yes."
"You had hands."
I narrowed my eyes. "Be careful."
He ignored the warning. "And somehow you still lost it."
"I was being chased by a giant two-headed wolf."
"You could have tied the pouch."
"I was being chased."
"You could have checked your pocket."
"I was being chased."
"You could have—"
"Asura." I held up one hand. "I understand that, in your perfect ancient mind, I should apparently have paused during a life-or-death chase to conduct a complete financial audit. Unfortunately, at the time, my priorities were breathing and not becoming wolf food."
He thought about that, then nodded. "That does sound reasonable."
"Thank you."
"But you still lost the money."
I closed my eyes.
"I take back my thanks."
Asura grinned.
There was no point being angry. He hadn’t caused me to lose the money. That distinction was important, especially because I was fairly certain he would enjoy reminding me of it every day until the end of time.
I looked around the room again and then at the twenty coins in my pocket. Twenty rums were enough to survive for a short time, but not enough to continue traveling properly. We needed food, supplies, and eventually transportation. If I kept spending without earning anything, our journey would end with me selling the clothes off my back while Asura complained that I had bought the wrong kind of chocolate.
"We need work," I said.
Asura immediately perked up. "What kind?"
"Something easy."
"Monster hunting?"
"No."
"Treasure hunting?"
"No."
"Guarding?"
"Maybe."
"Assassination?"
I turned slowly toward him.
He shrugged. "You never know."
"I am beginning to think you need supervision."
"We need money."
"We do."
"Then where do we find work?"
"The Hunter Headquarters."
He seemed surprised by the answer. "Hunters?"
"It’s not only about hunting monsters. The guild handles all sorts of requests. Hunters can take escort jobs, deliveries, gathering work, searches, protection assignments, and other tasks depending on their rank and experience. Monster subjugation is just one of the more dangerous kinds."
"So people go there when they want to get paid for doing something useful."
"Exactly."
"That sounds less exciting than I expected."
"That’s intentional."
He gave me a doubtful look. "You want a boring job."
"I want a job that finishes without anyone trying to tear off my head."
He nodded thoughtfully. "That is a very low standard."
"It’s a standard I’m willing to keep."
I picked up my shoulder bag and checked it before leaving. We didn’t have much, but what mattered was that I still had enough to start over. I wasn’t trying to become a famous Hunter or earn some grand title. I needed money, nothing more.
There was even a specific kind of work I had in mind.
Low-ranked delivery requests were usually simple, and the guild posted them for new Hunters because they required little combat ability. Carry a sealed package to a nearby village, deliver a letter, escort a merchant over a short route, gather ordinary materials—jobs that rewarded reliability more than strength.
For once, my knowledge of the original novel was useful in a completely boring way.
I knew exactly where beginners could make money.
I smiled.
"This might actually work."
Asura looked at me. "You look happy."
"I am."
"That worries me."
"Why?"
"Every time you become confident, something terrible happens."
I stopped for a moment.
He had a point.
"Then I’ll try being cautiously optimistic."
"That is better."
We left the room and went downstairs. I checked the lock before leaving, then checked it again because the building had managed to make me suspicious of doors, beds, tables, and possibly gravity itself.
Asura watched patiently until I finished.
"You don’t trust the lock."
"No."
"Why lock it, then?"
"So no one gets inside."
"We have almost nothing worth stealing."
I thought about the room.
He was right.
"We have the book."
"They can have it."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because it’s holding up the bed."
Asura stopped walking.
He stared at me.
Then he nodded slowly. "That may be the most useful book I’ve ever seen."
"Now you’re learning."
Outside, I kept a steady pace toward the Hunter Headquarters. I didn’t need to stop and admire the town. We had already been walking through it long enough, and more importantly, I wanted to get this done before we spent any more money.
Asura was unusually quiet beside me.
That lasted less than a minute.
"How do you know so much about the guild?"
I glanced down at him.
"Books."
He narrowed his eyes. "Again?"
"Again."
"You know where the headquarters is, what kind of jobs they offer, how their work is organized, and which jobs are suitable for beginners."
"I read a lot."
"Which books?"
My smile remained, but I felt a tiny tension appear in my chest.
That question was becoming dangerous.
There was nothing strange about reading books, but there was something very strange about knowing the world because I had once read a story about it. I still didn’t know how much Asura had figured out about me. His questions were usually mixed with jokes, but every now and then, he looked at me with the sharpness of something far older than the body he wore.
"The boring ones," I said.
He looked unconvinced.
I continued walking before he could dig deeper.
After a moment, he said, "I want to read them."
"You’d get bored."
"I am ten thousand years old."
"That doesn’t improve your reading ability."
"It improves my patience."
"You couldn’t read five lines of that travel guide."
"I understood the important parts."
"What important parts?"
He thought about it.
"Food."
I laughed. "Of course."
Soon the Hunter Headquarters came into view, and even Asura stopped joking for a moment.
The building was enormous compared to the surrounding structures. Several floors of stone and timber rose above the street, with the guild emblem carved prominently above the entrance. Hunters came and went carrying weapons, packages, bows, shields, maps, and all sorts of equipment. Some wore proper armor. Others looked barely better prepared than I was.
Asura stared upward.
"This is where they give out jobs?"
"Yes."
"Then why does it look like a palace?"
"Because a lot of people make money here."
His ears perked up.
"How much?"
"That depends."
"On what?"
"Rank, difficulty, risk, distance, and the kind of request. That’s why I want something simple."
"Which one?"
"I don’t know until we get inside."
We climbed the stairs.
Asura’s pace quickened.
He seemed more excited about earning money than I was.
"What will our first job be?"
"Probably a delivery."
"How much?"
"Maybe ten or fifteen rums."
His eyes widened. "For carrying something?"
"If you’re lucky."
"That is excellent."
"You’re surprisingly enthusiastic about work."
"I am enthusiastic about chocolate."
"Of course you are."
He walked beside me with his tail wagging.
I couldn’t help smiling.
The plan really was simple.
We would register, find a beginner request, finish it, collect the reward, buy supplies, and continue our journey.
No grand adventure.
No dangerous ruins.
No ancient secrets.
Just a job.
I reached the entrance and placed my hand against the huge wooden door.
Asura stopped beside me.
"Ready?"
"For what?"
"To become Hunters."
I looked at the building, then at the twenty rums in my pocket.
"Let’s just say I am ready to become less broke."
"That is a noble goal."
"Finally, something we agree on."
I pushed the door open.
The noise from inside rolled over us immediately. The headquarters was far busier than I had expected. Hunters crowded around counters, argued over requests, collected rewards, checked notices, and discussed routes. Large boards covered one side of the hall, filled with dozens of jobs divided into different sections and difficulty levels.
I looked toward the board.
There they were.
The beginner requests.
Simple work.
Simple pay.
Exactly what I needed.
I smiled as I saw one notice near the top of the board: a low-rank delivery request to a nearby village, a sealed package, no combat required, reasonable travel distance, and enough reward to cover several days of food.
Perfect.
I took one step toward the registration counter.
Then the receptionist looked up.
Her eyes moved from me to Asura.
She paused.
Then she pointed at him.
"Dogs aren’t allowed unless they’re registered beast companions. Is he one?"
Asura immediately straightened.
His chest puffed out.
His tail rose.
The expression on his face was one of ancient dignity.
"I am the King of Shadows."
I slowly closed my eyes and asked the gods
"Why my companion had to be this guy?"