I, Ovis, Scurus, and Sergio were sitting by the small table with breakfast served. He told us to eat but I was reluctant to do so. Considering what happened last night, I felt terribly ashamed.

“I’m sorry Sergio, but I don’t think I can do the job.”

“I see, go finish your breakfast first.” Sergio responded.

“Why? We actually do not have the right to-“

“You’re hungry right? That’s enough reason for you to eat.”

I was about to grab my spoon to do what Sergio requested when Scurus suddenly got up from his chair. His claws scratched the surface of the table, he looked furious. “Why the hell are you letting these cowards eat when they did not accomplish their damn job?” he shouted.

“Don’t be like that. I’m sure they have their reasons.” Sergio then looked at me.

“I guess I owe you an explanation.”

I went back to the room Sergio lent us to get my Beastiary. I flipped it to the page where an illustration of a Ratichi was shown. I placed it at the table for everybody to see. “This is a Ratichi. According to the quest we received, this is the kind of beast we were tasked to slay.” I explained.

“That definitely looks the same but something seems different.” Sergio rubbed his chin with his fingers.

“A-ah! T-those beasts have t-three tails!” Ovis uttered.

“Exactly, those beasts were not Ratichis.” I turned the book to the next page were illustrations of Ratinis and Ratisans were shown.

“That’s those damn bastards!” Scurus pointed at the illustration of the Ratisans.

“Right, the ones infesting your farm are called Ratisans.”

“And so what? As if an additional tail or two matters!” Scurus raised his voice again.

“It actually does. The more tails they have, the more powerful they are. Ratichis are only E ranked beasts, on the contrary Ratisans are D ranked or C if in numbers.”

“T-that’s two ranks h-higher!” Ovis gasped.

“Right, as you know I’m only an E rank tamer taking an E rank quest. I made the decision not to engage them for our own safety, I’m sorry.” I bowed.

“You don’t have to be sorry. The fault does not lie with you,” said the old man.

“I’m glad you understand but, why does it indicate that the beasts were Ratichis in the quest?”

“I don’t know anything about beasts to be honest. So before filing for the quests, I met a tamer in town and described it to him.”

“And he was the one who identified that it was a Ratichi?”

“Yes, but I’m sure I did not fail to tell them that they have three tails.”

“Say, do you know the tamer’s name?”

“No, but he’s a guy with a light colored hair with clothes that makes him stand out.”

That was definitely Dusty, I was sure of it. He even used an old guy for a plot against me, a troublesome fool he was proving to be.

“I see. My plan now is for us to leave soon so we can report this to the guild. The guild should change the quest details and have a higher ranked tamer to do the quest.”

“When you say that, does that mean that the quest fee will be bigger?”

“Yes, it increases with rank.”

“By how much?”

“I’m not sure since I haven’t looked at the higher ranking quests yet. But if I had to guess, maybe it will at least double.”

“I see. Please just tell the guild that I am cancelling the quest.”

“Pardon?”

“You see, the reward money was already everything I had saved. Going further than that, I do not have anything more to give.” Sergio stared at the table.

“I told you to just let me get rid of them!” Scurus interjected.

“No way, you already tried last night. Did you kill one?” Sergio stared.

“Ugh…” Scurus backed down.

“I’ll just think of something else. I’m sorry for all the trouble, Mest”

“No, don’t think much about it. But what are you planning to do exactly?”

“I’ll try to ask at the village, maybe they can help.” Sergio’s voice shivered.

“Not a chance! You already know how the villagers hate you!” the young boy shouted.

“They do but they will also feel the loss if I don’t harvest much this season. I’m sure they’ll lend a hand.”

“And then what? Let them insult you as they please? They’ll probably just say that you are just experiencing what you deserve!”

“Th-that’s…”

“I’ll doubt it will work. They’ll probably ask you to get rid of Scurus in return.” I intervened.

“H-huh? W-why would they?” Ovis asked.

“The reason why the villagers hate you, it’s because of Scurus, right? They think you betrayed them by helping a Beastkin.”

Sergio looked at Scurus. On the other hand, the boy’s sights became limited to the ground as he bit his lip.

“Oh yeah? Thank you rubbing it in that I’m the problem!” Scurus swung his arm in the air with rage. “So what do you suggest then, huh smart pants?”

“How about this, I can formulate a plan to defeat those beasts. But since Ovis and I are outnumbered, I’ll also need Scurus’ help.”

“But even if you do slay them, I don’t have anything else to offer.”

“Don’t worry about it. In fact, you don’t have to pay me any money.” I then put my left arm around Scurus and pulled him towards me. “I want this guy instead.”

“Eh?” Scurus looked at me with his mouth partially open.

The kid might be a little immature but he would be a really great addition to my team. Not only that he was able to watch my back last night, I also took a peek at his color. It was red. If I would be able to get a free familiar after the quest, then it would be all worth the risk.

“No.” Sergio quickly answered.

            “I understand.” I readily unhanded Scurus.

“Why? If we do what this guy suggested, we can get rid of those beasts without the village’s help!” Scurus said.

“In exchange for being this guy’s familiar?”

“I think he lacks the guts but I don’t think he’s a bad guy! I don’t mind being his familiar in exchange for his help!”

“I know that Mest is not bad, but do you know what happens when a Beastkin becomes a familiar? Not only are you exposed to danger every day, you’ll have to obey his orders! Even if you do not want to, if he wants you to do something, you’ll still have to do it!” Sergio raised his voice.

“So what? You’d rather have the villagers scorn you? Joining him will not only fix the problems with the beasts but also with the villagers! If I no longer live here, they won’t have to hate you anymore!” Scurus shouted back.

“In exchange of being a slave? A meat shield? A sacrificial pawn? The term familiar was only made to mask those words!”

“But if the villagers did request him to leave this place alone, he will be captured by someone else sooner or later.” Ovis joined the conversation without stuttering.

 “That’s…”

“I may be Master’s familiar but I never had experienced being treated like a slave or a meat shield. He treats me like a companion.”

“I hope you aren’t saying this just because he commanded you,” Sergio replied.

“Look closely, it’s not glowing, I am saying this in my own free will.” She then adjusted her clothes so she could show the Tamer’s Seal on her shoulder. Ovis looked daring and determined. It was another side of her that I saw for the first time. I could not help but feel proud and happy at the same time.

“But are you sure you want him as a familiar? Not only that he is impulsive, he’s a Rodkin! That race is physically inferior to the other Beastkin races!”

He decided to argue about Scurus’ capabilities. What a lucky boy, Sergio must have really cared for him. He already knew what he must do but he just could not accept it. He was trying hard to find at least a single logical reason to prevent Scurus from going.

“I’m sure, I trust him.” I looked at him straight in the eyes.

I decided to continue the negotiation with short answers. It would just allow him to find another point to argue about if I spouted more than I should. It would merely lead to a battle of tenacity. Sergio just stared at me. The expression he had was hard to look at. It was not like he was completely angry but not sad either. It seemed like a mixture of worry and doubt. I was not entirely sure what was going on in his mind.

The noisy room that was filled with loud voices suddenly became stagnant. Everybody was silent while waiting for Sergio to give out his answer.

Sergio’s heave broke the silence.

“Fine, I am not in the place to stop him. Knowing Scurus, he’ll do what he likes sooner or later anyway.”

“You mean it?” I could not help but smile.

Even Ovis and Scurus looked happy about it. I was glad they felt that way.

“But you have to promise me that you’ll treat him well, understood?”

“I promise.”

“And another thing.”

“What is it?”

“Nothing, never mind that. But if you fail to slay the beasts tonight, the agreement is considered broken. Understood?”

“I understand. I’ll make sure to go by my word.”

“Alright, I’ll be sure to take my revenge for last night!” Scurus announced before he went closer to Sergio and hugged his arm. “I love you, you old man!”

“Get off me! That’s disgusting!” Sergio uttered even though he definitely looked like he was about to cry.

“Oh sorry! I forgot it is that girl that you like!” Scurus said after he let go of him.

“There’s no such thing!” Sergio got a ladle near him and pounded it at the boy.

“Ow!”

“Stop saying nonsense and finish your food first!”

“Yes sir…” Scurus unenthusiastically responded before he sat down.

I and Ovis also went back to our seats to eat. We needed to fill our stomachs so that we could do the quest correctly. The nervousness that I got from when I took the quest turned into motivation. I would actually get a free familiar, and a red one at that. They might think that I was actually doing it for them, but it was actually my selfish desires at work.

I was glad I was able to win the negotiations, but the hard part was still yet to be conquered. I needed to come up with a plan or else the opportunity would come to a waste.