“Wait,” Rodrick stammered, taking a step back. “That’s not possible. You can’t be the smith. You were fighting!”
“You’re better at fighting than I am!”
“How?” Rodrick demanded. “A crafter shouldn’t be able to do that!”
Arwin shrugged in response. “Not every class is built the same, and not every person is content with their lot in life.”
“I’ll be damned,” Anna said, shaking her head and letting a smile slip across her lips. “You’ve got a Unique class?”
Arwin paused. He didn’t have a good excuse to avoid the Demon Queen. It didn’t look like either of them were going to blow the other’s cover, but it was still stressful. Still, she hadn’t done anything to justify his reluctance.
Beyond that, there were some things he needed to ask someone who understood Monsters – and Lillia probably understood them better than anyone else. Arwin sighed and nodded. “I suppose so.”
“Yes!” Reya cheered, pumping a hand in the air. “Let’s go!”
She darted down the street and over to the tavern. Arwin shook his head and followed after her at a much more leisurely pace, arriving several seconds after Reya had already entered the building.
The heavy darkness that followed the Demon Queen remained exactly as it had been before, cloaking the tavern before Arwin had even gotten a chance to step through the door. He squinted as he ducked through the doorway, but to his surprise, there was actually some light within it.
Several faint spots of orange flickered on the walls, cast by candles within old lanterns. Their glow barely made it a few feet out, but it was just enough to see by – at least, if one was close enough to the light.
Lillia had also managed to procure several new mismatched chairs by her counter. One was far too short for its purpose, but chairs were still chairs. Reya had already taken one for herself.
Walking up beside her, Arwin tested one of the other chairs before lowering his weight into it. The piles of dust and rubble that had covered the floor of the tavern had been removed as well – Lillia had been hard at work. It still didn’t look anything like a proper tavern, but it was several steps in the right direction.
A shadow stretched out in the dim light as Lillia stepped out from the kitchen, a pan in her hands. She smiled as she saw Reya, then paused as she spotted Arwin behind her. Her eyes flicked down to the pan and her cheeks reddened.
“One moment,” Lillia said, darting back into the kitchen.
“Oooh,” Reya whispered, leaning closer to Arwin. “She likes it. She took your advice about the monster theme as well! She’s trying to make the tavern look like a dungeon.”
“I – yeah. I suppose so,” Arwin said, looking around again. Lillia really did look like she’d liked the pan. She must have, if she was using it.
Arwin still had a small frown on his lips when Lillia came back out from the kitchen, wiping her hands off on her apron. “What can I get for you two?”
“I got my class!” Reya exclaimed, unable to control herself any longer.
“I thought you were going to wait until the food came,” Arwin said.
“You got your class?” Lillia repeated, her eyes lighting up. “That’s incredible! Congratulations! What class did you get?”
Ah, wait. Maybe we shouldn’t be telling the Demon Queen–
“A unique one called Warden,” Reya said without a second of hesitation. Arwin repressed a grimace, watching Lillia’s expression closely to study how she reacted.
To his surprise, the only thing he found in it was shared joy. Lillia was genuinely happy for Reya. It didn’t look like she had any ulterior motives in the slightest.
Perhaps I’m more caught up in the past than she is. We already called a truce, but some part of me never thought that the Demon Queen would be able to just… start a normal life. Care about people like she cares about monsters.
Could I do that if I were in her shoes? I’m not sure.
“I’ve never heard of Warden,” Lillia said. “That’s incredible. Great job, Reya. You have to be really proud of yourself.”
“I had a lot of help,” Reya said with a grin, looking back to Arwin. “Also, my armor got completely destroyed.”
“So I see,” Lillia said with a wince. “You look like you got healed, though. What hit you?”
Lillia’s eyes bulged out of her head. “A Wyrm? You survived a Wyrm at your Tier?”
“Yeah. If it wasn’t for Arwin, I wouldn’t have. It was terrifying,” Reya admitted. “But we lived. That’s what matters, right?”
“I – yeah. It is,” Lillia said. “Well, what can I get for you? It’s on the house in celebration of your new class.”
“Oh, really? Could I have cake?”
Lillia cleared her throat. “I should amend my offer. I only have ingredients to make a steak right now.”
“I’ll take a steak, then.”
“Coming right up,” Lillia said, flashing Reya a grin before darting back into the kitchen. It didn’t take long before the sizzle of cooking meat filled the air. Arwin glanced around the tavern while they waited.