“I have a feeling Zig’s gotten himself involved in something dangerous again!” Siasha said to herself, having been awakened by Zig earlier than usual.
Her hair was a mess as she stared at where Zig had been just moments ago. Usually, she looked hungover when she woke up, but this morning she was much more alarmed.
Zig had been looking into something recently. He still accompanied her on her requests, but he was clearly investigating something else on the side.
He had probably gotten into a fight last night. Whoever he fought had been strong enough that Zig was still tense when he came to wake her earlier. The change was subtle, but Siasha had spent enough time with him by now to notice the difference.
“He’s so passionate about his work…”
For the most part, Zig didn’t talk about his side gigs. Even when things got dangerous, he tried to pass them off as business as usual. That was his policy and outlook regarding his work.
“‘Consistency is key,’ he says,” she said sleepily, washing her face and then brushing her hair with a comb. “Not if it consistently gets you in trouble.”
Siasha didn’t quite understand, but respected it nonetheless, since Zig considered the way he worked as important. If he came back with the stench of blood on him, she could just heal him. She also erased the smell of women off him whenever he came back with that. Having him brush her hair for two hours did the trick.
However, that was another matter.
“I’m getting bored just waiting here,” Siasha said, deciding that a woman couldn’t just sit there and wait all day. She didn’t quite know what that fully meant, though. Zig getting hurt was a given. He was that kind of person, and he wouldn’t appreciate her overreacting to it. However, she was annoyed that he seemed oblivious to how much it bothered her.
Siasha put away her comb and wet a towel hanging by the sink. She flipped her lustrous black hair back, and it glistened in the sunlight as she slipped out of her nightgown, revealing the ethereal beauty of her bare body. Her perfect form and aura as a witch gave her a truly captivating air. Her beauty alone could drive men mad; she was a beauty so sensual and mysterious that weak-willed men would likely lose their minds and assault her.
However, Siasha herself was unaware of her loveliness, despite her long years of existence. It only added to her fatal allure.
“Phew.”
It was good to be naked. Not that she was an exhibitionist, but not having to wear anything in the comfort of her own room was nice. The last time she had invited Zig when she was naked, he had sternly asked her to stop. Given by how calm and composed he usually was, his quiet distress left quite an impression on her.
She couldn’t figure out why he was so flustered, but she went with it, since he wouldn’t look at her while she was nude.
The towel glided over her unblemished, porcelain skin. Having wiped the sweat off her body, she put on her underwear and then her clothes—an azure one-piece Zig had picked out for her. While not her only piece of clothing, this one was her favorite.
These clothes and this place, they all came from him.
The human called Zig had broken into Siasha’s world. It only made sense that she entered his world too. That was what it meant to be equals.
Siasha nodded, reassuring herself of that, and exited the room. She was neither going fast nor moving slowly, but the swaying of her black hair was enough to tell anyone that she was in a good mood.
Siasha headed to the guild after she got ready, though she was technically taking a day off from adventuring today. She checked his room before she left, but Zig was already gone—probably out to work.
She chewed on a fish sandwich she got for breakfast and walked the streets downtown. She paid extra for some more mustard, an excellent addition to the sandwich. The bread was on the tougher side to keep prices down, but sauce seeping into it softened it slightly.
“Zig likes meat, so I end up wanting to eat fish when I’m by myself.”
The fish was an unknown species. Whatever it was, it was white and cheap, since it was caught in bulk, and fried whole. The shopkeeper smiled and said that her next order might not taste the same.
Her thoughts went to Zig as she kept eating the crispy fish. “He’s been acting weird since the blade bee incident. That much is certain.”
She would have to take the long way to get to the truth. She knew him well enough by now that he wouldn’t answer questions about his job if she asked him directly.
“I think our conversation with the wolves was about that…”
However, she had been so occupied with Seb’s tail that she couldn’t remember any of the others’ names. What she did remember was that they talked about whether the blade bee incident had been done on purpose.
“So, he’s looking for the culprit.”
If Zig had gotten into a fight because of his investigation, there really must be a culprit.
She didn’t care about that, of course. She didn’t care if humans wanted to kill each other. What she did care about was her favorite human coming out of it in one piece.
“But the rating I got from that last emergency request was pretty good… Then again, it doesn’t amount to much since the hunting area got restricted after that.”
As she weighed the pros and cons, Siasha seemed to reach a conclusion. She crushed the sandwich wrapper and looked at the sky.
“All right—the fiends! We mustn’t let them get away with this!”
Her own personal interests and overflowing sense of justice made her determined to crush the unknown perpetrators.
“As an adventurer, I will not sit by and allow my comrades’ deaths to go unavenged… Yes, this will do!”
Now that she had a plan figured out, all she had to do was put it into action. By this time, Siasha had reached the guild and opened the familiar doors. She slipped through the busy crowd, exchanging greetings with whoever called out to her, and headed toward the reception area.
Zig was very tight-lipped when it came to his work. Even Siasha couldn’t get him to talk if she tried. He would only give her the shortest possible description of it.
“All I have to do is change my approach.”
What about his client?
Zig was incredibly unique among humans. Siasha didn’t know any other that was so principled and strong-willed.
And so, she would ask his client—a perfectly normal human. Fortunately, she had a hunch as to who it was. A person asking Zig to investigate matters involving the guild would probably be related to the guild. Likely, it was someone with the authority to commission such a task. Someone in a senior position.
While putting out a contract for purely personal reasons was possible, it would take far too much time to determine who it could be if that was the case. It was better to give up and take a different approach.
“Oh, hello, Siasha. I thought you were taking today off?”
Sian smiled when she came up to her desk. She was one of the few people Siasha considered herself close to, especially since the receptionist had been looking out for her since day one.
Siasha greeted her and stated what she came here to do today.
“Hello. I’m here on a slightly different matter. There’s someone I would like to meet.”