“
“Severin stopped in his tracks and also turned around.
“You guys?!”
“What? You think you could leave just like that? That we wouldn’t follow you and go straight to work?” asked Bandur, who seemed to act as everyone else’s spokesperson.
Severin’s response to this was to exaggeratedly throw his hands into the air.
“Well, if you guys are already here, you might as well lend a hand. Come help us carry. And welcome your new co-workers, will you?”
“Who are you?” he asked his fellow dwarf, who he still hadn’t taken his eyes off since the moment he first learned his name.
“Just a cook,” came the friendly sounding answer delivered with a grave expression.
“What kind of question is that?” Milly demanded of her friend, unaware of the significance of the exchange. And so she didn’t wait for an answer and instead rushed towards the self-proclaimed cook. She grabbed his hands and announced, “It is my understanding we will be relying on you? My pleasure.”
The following second of silence almost made Severin sweat in apprehension. Completely in vain, as it turned out.
“Likewise,” he replied, disarmed by the woman, who was so obviously eager to leave a good first impression with her future colleagues.
Nel! Introduce yourself,” she admonished again when her son still hadn’t reacted to her previous request.
““Milly. Just call me Milly.”
“Miss Milly. I heard what you said earlier. How busy you’ve been all night. I think you should accept Sev’s invitation to get some breakfast! Replenish your energy and do our introductions with a full stomach.”
“Oh, my. What a thoughtful girl you are,” Milly said, delighted, not understanding why all of Severin’s staff suddenly started laughing as if the girl had said something particularly funny.
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The food was tasty, the atmosphere welcoming, and everyone seemed eager to introduce themselves and get to know their new co-workers. And with Severin’s employees having been unaware of his plans themselves, there was more than enough to talk and speculate about while occasionally prodding Severin for some more details.
The overall atmosphere was friendly and casual.
Still, Milly wasn’t oblivious to the restraint some of the people were showing, with Emily, as the youngest and least experienced of the group, being the most obvious about it; several times the woman caught the thoughtful girl eyeing the newcomers or suddenly clasping her hands over her mouth when talking about matters like the most recent over-night changes or her responsibilities as a potion crafter.
‘real adventurers was all he cared and could talk about.
And then he remembered that this was the place where that food had come from. The one that had made him feel like an adventurer himself.
Now seeing his antics, Milly could only tiredly shake her head and hope her boy would find a good friend and influence in the girl.
Surprisingly, Gorik, who most people thought of as a rough drunkard-also understood something was going on. Just that, unlike the elf, Gorik didn’t know what exactly it was; only that apparently Milly was somewhat in the know.
After eating his fill, stuffing his pockets with leftovers, and ensuring that Milly and her brat were being taken care of, the grouchy dwarf excused himself of his own volition and without making a fuss; that was after throwing a last indecipherable look towards the only other dwarf in the room.
Krill? Sabina? I promised you two some answers. And you two, as well.”
“Only then did Milly catch on. ‘Not everyone here was actually initiated!’ In her tiredness and stress, she had somehow forgotten about maybe the most important part Severin had told her about. She had almost jeopardized their future with her carelessness.
Not revealing anything about that strange System to the uninitiated, was the one condition she had been warned about not to violate.
‘And to think I was worried about Nel,” she sighed to herself.
They were simply happy to finally get some answers to their question.