04 — Girl Talk

04 — Girl Talk

About twenty or so people worked at the Adventurer’s Guild in Merratoni, and nearly all of them were women. This had less to do with hiring practices and more to do with the nature of being an adventurer.

It should come as no surprise that a great deal of aspiring adventurers, particularly young men, looked up to heroes and believed their own potentials were limitless. But the real world was hardly that simple. More often than not, this bravado only put them in danger when faced with monsters they had no business challenging or caused them to run themselves into the ground on rigorous escort duties they had no prior experience with.

Adventuring was essentially freelance work, which meant the income wasn’t stable. Oftentimes, this meant that many adventurers eventually had to find a different job or take out loans, but at that point they might as well have announced directly to the guild how shortsighted they were, and that in itself removed any chance they had of landing a nice position with the guild right off the bat.

One might think the guild would surely hire successful adventurers with an eye for profit, but they would be wrong. Being successful as a mid-rank adventurer and being successful as a guild staff member were two very different things, and life as the former suited wayward souls far better. All the more so for high-ranking adventurers who made a living without issue. Plus, working for the guild wasn’t easy; it required extensive knowledge and expertise that only a mind open to learning could handle. And frankly, that just didn’t describe the average adventurer.

Now, while this was true for the vast majority of men, female adventurers were far less common, which meant that the few who did exist were rather exceptional. While not many reached the upper echelons of success in the field, a good deal of them found their place in guild work. The fact was, the barrier of entry for adventuring as a woman was higher than normal, so most who made it to that point were inherently more qualified. Some also attributed the prevalence of women in guildhall positions to a stronger desire for stability than men, who were apt to seek fortune and fame, while others said that Adventurer’s Guilds were just great hunting grounds for marriage candidates (a feature that Healer’s Guilds lacked for want of...well, desirable partners).

Regardless of the reasons, women made up the vast majority of the guild’s workforce. And a young healer who’d started living in one in Merratoni about a year before had become a common topic of discussion among the staff.

This strange afternoon, when the Adventurer’s Guild was devoid of adventurers, was no different.

“Hey, so what’s the scoop? You’ve been chatting up Luciel a lot lately.”

“Yeah, don’t act like you two haven’t been getting buddy-buddy over lunch.”

Melina and Mernell smirked playfully at their less experienced coworkers, Nanaella and Monica.

“There’s not really anything to tell. We’ve just been talking.”

“Yeah, we’re just friends, and not even close ones yet.”

“‘Yet,’ she says. Go on, spill it. I wanna hear what you’ve ‘just been talking’ about,” Melina pressed.

“Nothing special,” Nanaella said. “We just share our days with each other. You know, just random stuff.”

“And you, Monica?”

“Same here. Nothing special. I really enjoy chatting with him, though. He’s such a good listener.”

“Oh, I know what you mean,” Nanaella chimed in cheerfully. “We’ll just talk and talk sometimes, and he never looks bored.”

“Right? He’s so mature for his age.”

The older receptionists stared at the girls with raw envy. Luciel was like a younger brother to Melina and Mernell, and they hardly considered him remotely romantically viable, but men who truly listened were few and far between. The ability to engage in a conversation that had nothing to do with oneself was a rare skill.

“I might have to borrow that kid one of these days.”

“You girls mind? I could really go for some venting,” Mernell grumbled.

“Nope, not at all!”

“Give him a try!”

Neither Nanaella nor Monica felt safe challenging the intensity emanating from their friends.

Mernell nodded, proud of her polite colleagues. “You know, I feel like I’m not getting the attention I used to. I might need to start getting serious about finding a guy to settle down with.”

“You think so too?” Melina asked. “I guess some of us just aren’t that young anymore.”

The two glanced at their younger counterparts and stared in silence. Monica and Nanaella waited with bated breath, praying for the awkwardness to pass.

“We’re just messing around,” Melina giggled. “There’s no point in rushing to find the right person. I’m only, what, three, four years older than you girls?”

The pair opposite them finally sighed in relief, but they weren’t convinced it had entirely been a joke.

“So Luciel’s a good talker, huh?” Mernell asked, changing the subject. “What does he even have to talk about other than how many times Brod’s punched him?”

“Yeah, I’m impressed you two can even keep a conversation going.”

Everyone at the guild knew the deal with Luciel. He ate, slept, trained. There was nothing more to him. Or so they thought.

“He’s plenty talkative,” Nanaella smiled. “He’s been telling us his favorite foods and the kinds of clothes he likes lately.”

“And he has all sorts of stories he’s made up himself. They’re wonderful to listen to.”

“Stories? Didn’t know he dabbled in that,” Mernell remarked. “And wait, he actually has opinions on fashion? All he wears is the stuff people give him. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen him come upstairs in anything but torn-up rags.”

“Me neither,” Melina said. “And it’s all either too tight or too baggy. I thought he went shopping with you, Nanaella?”

“He says he only wears those clothes on his days off. He doesn’t want to ruin them during training.”

“Brod’s been tearing up a lot of his stuff now that they’re using swords and spears, so most of his wardrobe is hand-me-downs from other adventurers.”

“Sounds rough. So, what’re his tastes like?” Melina asked.

“Fairly average? I think the outfits we chose when we went shopping looked nice, but it wasn’t a lot, so it’s hard for me to say.”

“They at least fit him, right?”

“Of course. He tried everything on first.”

“Well, I’m glad he has that much sense. I swear, you never know with that kid,” Mernell sighed. “Oh, we’ve got a live one.”

A party of adventurers came in as the other three were nodding in agreement.

“They’re probably gonna go to one of you,” Melina said, smirking at the younger girls.

“Oh, I could cry,” Mernell added dramatically. The ladies took much delight from Nanaella’s and Monica’s nervous reactions.

This was just one quiet moment out of many that the Adventurer’s Guild receptionists shared.