When I finally gather my bearings, I sit up on the ground and notice that I've been launched about 20 meters into the forest. I notice Nina running up to me with a smile on her face, but then I sense mild annoyance emerge when she gets closer.
"Tch…you're just ridiculous, Mizuki! I put an amount of concentrated fire element into that arrow that scared even me, and that's all it did to you?" (Nina)
I look down to my hand where she's gazing. There is a slight burn on the hand that was holding the arrow, but I'm otherwise unscathed. I quickly heal it then look back up at her. When I meet her gaze again, she's back to a huge smile, though.
"However, that's all I needed to win our wager. So, I look forward to our bath tonight." (Nina)
Crap…the realization makes me tense up. I let out a deep sigh and hang my head in defeat.
"Tch…yeah, you win. A deal is a deal, and I will honor ours." (Mizuki)
I wear a frustrated expression as I initially respond to her, but then I meet her gaze and smile warmly.
[Plus, it's important to me that you know I'll keep my promises to you.] (Mizuki)
Her eyes go wide, and I see a little more color than usual in her cheeks. Then, she quickly begins smirking, but I can sense deep appreciation and happiness from her through our connection. Good, she knows I mean it.
"Alright, Nina, how about we make our last stop at the guild to get you registered?" (Mizuki)
She smiles softly at my question, then nods her approval. She helps me up off the ground, and we go collect our things.
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As we enter the guild, it's about an hour until sunset. Adventurers are already starting to pile up in the guild hall, and most of the tables are occupied. Drinking seems to have started in earnest, and several people notice our entry. Remarks towards us can be heard as we make our way to guild reception.
"Ho ho, hey there little lady! Do you need a personal tour around the guild?"
"Aye, bean pole, introduce me to your big sister there!"
"Oi kid, if you needed a babysitter, you didn't have to bother that young lady. We could've helped you out!"
I honestly find the last one borderline considerate, and it makes me smile softly as we approach the guild reception. In contrast, I sense Nina's agitation steadily increasing at the suggestive remarks towards her. However, she seems to be keeping her anger in check, until…
The burly adventurer that once harassed Ilina walks over and slings his arm around Nina. I guess he didn't learn his lesson.
He begins talking to her, ignoring me, with a surly tone.
"Well now, aren't you a pretty thing. Why don't you ditch that worthless brat and come…"
He doesn't get to finish his sentence. I sense a spike of rage from Nina, and immediately cast a max time slow spell to assess her reaction.
I look over, and her fist is already most of the way to his chest. Nina, I know he's scum, but that will kill him! It's going to be such a pain for us if he dies!
I quickly cast a max body enhancement on the burly man and leave it in place until Nina's punch connects, then remove it as he goes flying. After all, crashing through a few walls shouldn't totally do him in. I've got to be fair to Nina, you know?
The burly man flies about seven meters into the entry door, and I use gravity magic to move the one person he would have hit. He slams into the door and shatters it, then lands on the ground outside unconscious. Nina looks down at her fist in confusion, probably wondering why it's not covered in his blood.
She turns to me with raised eyebrows.
[Yeah, you caught me, sorry. Killing him would have really inconvenienced us. I let him feel the pain of crashing through that door, though!] (Mizuki)
Nina glares at me in response, but I do sense a trace of amusement. Then, she turns to address the guild hall. The whole place has now registered what happened, and the room is dead silent.
"The next one of you that even thinks about touching me like that, or insulting Mizuki, will be dead before he gets to plead for his life!" (Nina)
After a tense pause, one brave fellow calls out.
"Hey, yah know I always said that John's wandering hands were going to get him killed one day! I just thought it'd be by his wife. All the same, I say he had it coming."
The guild hall erupts in laughter, and they quickly seem to carry on with their afternoon. That's adventurers for you, I guess. Seriously, though, somebody married that scumbag!?
I reach over and squeeze Nina's hand briefly, and I sense a flutter of surprise and excitement from her. She turns back to me and smiles. Good, looks like she's forgotten about dropping bodies for now.
I turn to face guild reception again, and the day receptionist, Melanie, is just managing to clear the shock from her face. It's being replaced by annoyance, and I'm guessing that's because of the damage to the guild hall. It's best if I'm proactive about this.
"Hey, Melanie, I'm very sorry about the damage and the commotion, I know you don't appreciate this kind of trouble when you're working. Will this cover the repairs, and you can take whatever's left for yourself as an apology from us?" (Mizuki)
I place two gold coins on the counter, and Melanie's eyes fly open in surprise. After taking a moment to recover, she sighs deeply and picks up the coins. Then, she meets my gaze and smiles wryly.
"Well, welcome back, Mizuki. I was going to give you a truly undesirable lecture, but between that guy's behavior and you being so nice, I guess I can overlook it this time. What can I do for you two?" (Melanie)
Good, that was a close one.