I won't lie and I say I wasn't disappointed that the guy I beat to death with his own arm was not the man who touched Cici. Then again, he did have a disgusting soul, and from what the girls had told me, he more than deserved it.
The girls had quickly ran me through the series of events that happened, and I had to bite back a few curses. I was getting real sick of assholes ruining our days. The 2nd day in this city, and 2nd day in a row some crazy shit went down. They also told me what happened with Valerie, and that made my anger spike all over again. Those assholes were from the same place that treated her like a fucking animal. As I looked over at her, I saw the turmoil of emotions on her face, and I could only imagine what was going through her mind. She was a strong woman, but she was emotionally scarred, and still not quite over being a slave for so long.
Also, I have to say, my badass little kitten truly fucked these guys up. The guy who had touched her tail was very dead, his chest caved in through his heavy armor. She had used said tail to smash him into the wall of this shop, which I just found ironic. The other was dead in the street, as Cici quite literally kicked him through the wall. The one guy who was alive probably wished he wasn't, and honestly, without proper care, he would probably die pretty soon, and I wasn't gonna help him. More than anything though, I was just glad that they were okay. I currently had Cici wrapped in my left arm, and Clarissa in my right. Cici seemed to be doing a lot better than Clarissa, who still shook a bit from the situation. Valerie was currently making sure this woman who owned this shop was okay. According to these girls, her name was Quesha, and apparently she was a solid woman. Cici seemed to really like her.
"Sorry you were interrupted again..." Cici into my chest, and I just shook my head as I rubbed her hair.
"It's not a big deal. You three are much more important to me than any of that." I said, then used my other hand to rub Clarissa's back, who then rubbed her cheek against my arm as her tense body relaxed.
"Come on, I'm going to go over to her." I said, looking towards Valerie, and the girls nodded against me.
I gave them both one last squeeze, before I released them, and began walking towards the other two. Both girls trailed behind me as I began making my way over to Valerie. As I was doing that, I heard running footsteps far off in the distance. The guards in this city were apparently really fucking slow, because I was pretty sure I heard multiple armored forms heading this way only just now. They should have already been here, given the severity and the damage.
As I neared, I saw the older woman, Quesha, watching me the cautious optimism. I did just murder a guy with his own arm, but the dude had it coming. I also probably seemed pretty intimidating right now, so I never held that against people. Still, I put on my best smile as I approached, the sound of my feet finally registering to Valerie, who seemed to have finally broken out of some kind of funk.
"Valerie... are you okay?" I asked, slowly approaching her.
She turned to face me, her eyes full of something I didn't like seeing in those beautiful red pools. There was fear, but not like I would normally see it. It was fear of what could be, and what once was. I could see pain flashing in her eyes and across her features. I was reaching out to take one of her hands comfortingly, but she acted faster. She lunged at me, her arms going around my torso as her face met my chest. I caught her, one arm going around her back, and my other hand going to her head, gently stroking the soft jet black strands. Soft cries reached my ears, and any lingering anger I was feeling was pushed aside for another time. That city would get its due in time, but for now, Valerie needed me.
"Warm... and safe." I heard her mutter, making me smile as I kept running my hand through her hair.
"You're safe. I won't let anything happen to you." I said, and she squeezed me tighter.
This woman was strong, A rank, yet the things she went through had destroyed her confidence, and her faith in herself and her abilities. Not to mention, she was literally the sweetest girl. Some would call her a monster given she was half vampire, but that was the furthest thing from the truth. She didn't want to hurt people, and she didn't want to fight. All she ever wanted was to be free, but now that she was, she didn't know what to do, or how to handle it. It would take time, but we had time... we'd teach her how, and we'll help her find her happiness.
"You truly are an interesting man, aren't you?" I heard Quesha say, and I glanced up to look at her, a questioning look in my eyes. She smiled, "When you appeared outside, I almost wet myself from how terrifying you were. But now, after seeing you with those young woman, and with Valerie here... I've never seen someone be so violent, and then so gentle afterwards."
"Anyone who threatens those I care about get no chances. I am what I need to be to protect those around me." I said firmly, which only made her grin, before she slowly reached over and rubbed Valerie's back softly.
"So I see." She said, and her genuine care for Valerie really made me understand why Cici liked her so much, "I'm glad someone like him found you, Valerie. He's a good one." She whispered.
"Holy hells!" I voice yelled from outside, and I turned to see a group of guards had finally made it to the shop, and were staring in disbelief at the bodies laying outside, especially at the man at the front door, who was missing his arm, with said arm and most of the man's head being beaten nearly into paste.
"Good thing my wife was here. The response time from these guys really sucks." I said, and that made Quesha laugh.
"Nothing bad ever really happens in this part of the city... they probably weren't even in the area." Quesha said, and I did keep that in mind as more bodies appeared outside.
Not to my shock, I also saw those I had left behind coming down the street as a small job. Terroth, Marina, and Sheila all were following behind another group of guards of whom they must have followed here. Kelsa was not present, but it's not like she could just leave work for something like this, after all. I was kinda peeved about getting my Guild time interrupted by a bunch of dickheads again, but these girls were far more important to me than anything else. It was just annoying that people couldn't stop being pieces of shit for even 24 hours, and to us no less.
"Hey! Don't move!" One of the guards said, and from his get up, he looked to be a cut above the rest. A captian, probably.
Abyssal Eye told me he was a B ranked Swordsman named Frederick. Nothing special, but definitely stronger than any of the guards present. Clarissa and Cici stood by patiently as this man came up to us, and the man stared at everyone warrily, hand on his sword. However, once he saw Quesha unharmed and waiting near us, he relaxed, but still kept up his guard.
"You four, step away from the shop owner. I don't know what's going on here, but you're all under arrest." He said, and I just raised my eyebrows at him.
"You arrest people for self-defense in this city?" I asked, and the man's face turned red, probably from misplaced anger.
"NOW!" He yelled, his hand going back to his sword.
"Calm the hell down, Frederick!" Quesha yelled at the man, which made him jump, and then blink rapidly as he looked at her, "These men came into my shop, harassed my customers, and then one of them put his hands on the young miss over there."
She pointed at Cici as she said this, and then jabbed an accusatory finger at Frederick.
"They came in here calling my customers beasts, talking about Farendell and their Beastkin slaves, and then verbally assaulted them, and threatened sexual assault.. If it wasn't for her, and this fine young man, things could have been a lot worse." Quesha said, and once again, my opinion of her shot even higher.
"I... see. Farendell, you say? That does change things..." He said, and now I saw anger on his face that wasn't directed at me, but seemingly at the notion itself.
"So, are you done yelling?" I asked him, and he went to shoot me a glare, but now that he looked at me, he seemed to really, truly take me in for the first time.
"Hey, hold on... it's you!" He suddenly yelled, his eyes now wide, "You're the guy that took out Delvin and his party!"
"That is indeed me. Elias Crosse." I said, and that seemed to change the man's stance on us entirely.
What followed next was a much different and more relaxed man asking us questions about what happened, and about how events played out. The girls went first explaining their part, with Cici explaining her absolute demolition of the men before I arrive, which Clarissa and Quesha adding their perspectives. Valerie only spoke when spoken to, and even then, it was very little. The captain was actually patient with her, and was incredibly kind to Cici, which brought my view of him back up from the negatives. When it came my turn, I stretched the truth a bit, but only a bit. I told him that I had a skill that told me when my wife needed me, which is how I knew to come here, and he accepted that without any questions. I mean, it wasn't a lie.
"And... what about him?" Frederick asked after a bit, looking back and pointing at the body in the doorway.
"He threatened the people I care about. I made sure he couldn't do that again." I said simply, and the man just looked at me, and then just slowly nodded.
"I... see..." He said, and then just shook his head, seemingly to clear it, "I will have to report this... but after hearing all of your accounts, and knowing that Quesha is very respectable and wouldn't lie... I am making the call right now and ruling it as self defense."
I did like when people actually stopped to think, ask questions, and then used common sense to make their decisions.
"Thank you sir." Cici said, giving a cute little bow, and the man actually scratched the back of his head, and smiled.
"Honestly... my wife is like you. A cat Beastkin, and we've faced no small amount of problems because of that. People are not always kind in places where Beastkin are treated well... let alone from that gods forsaken territory. If someone did any of this to her..." He said, his hard eyes speaking the words he didn't say, and I nodded at him.
"It shouldn't be that way, but it is, and it's up to us to keep them safe." I said, and I felt a small kinship with this man as he gave me the most resolute nod I've ever seen.
"If I remember correctly, I heard you are staying with the Duke?" He asked, and I nodded, which prompted him to continue, "I would recommend going to see him as soon as possible. He'll probably already have word of this by the time you get there... he will not be very happy about Adventurers from Farendell causing problems like this in the city."
"Oh, I will be." Was all I said. I was 2 seconds away from flying to the Farendell capital city and leveling it to the ground, so I didn't trust myself to say much more.
The questions didn't last long after that. He was actually just sending us on our way. I mean, we didn't technically do anything wrong, but he also was aware that I had destroyed Delvin handedly, and knew that no one present could do anything even if they tried. Thankfully, we seemed on good terms now, and that man even had a gleam of respect in his eyes when he looked at me now.
"Eli?" Cici asked once Frederick went to start having his men clean up the mess we had made.
"Yes dear?" I asked, and she smiled sweetly at me.
"I hate to ask this... but..." She said, but I just smiled as I summoned a large amount of gold coins, and quickly used my Abyssal Manipulation to create a medium sized pouch for them in the same moment.
"Already ahead of you." I said, and she smiled and kissed my cheek, before I turned and offered it to Quesha.
"I... couldn't possibly..." She began, but I just smiled as I continued to hold the pouch out to her.
"You can, ma'am. To fix your shop, and a little extra for being so kind to my girls." I said, my words causing Cici to grin brightly, and Clarissa and Valerie to blush quite heavily.
I knew what I was saying. It was honestly only a matter of time at this point. Plus, given the shit that keeps happening, I was feeling particularly possessive and protective right now. I cared about Clarissa a lot more than as just a friend at this point, and whether or not something happening between Valerie and myself, I told her I'd take care of her, and I would keep her safe. I already cared about her a great deal as well.
Quesha looked between all of the girls, Cici's smile, and the way the other two blushed, and then, she just began to laugh as she gingerly reached out and took the bag of coins.
"My my, such a popular young man... you must be very busy." She said, winking at Clarissa, who somehow blushed deeper, before saying, "How can I say no to such an earnest young man?" She asked, then paused as she felt the weight of the bag, and opened it, causing her eyes to buldge, "Holy hells, boy. Are... you sure? This is a lot."
I nodded, and gave her a smile.
"I am. Sorry about your shop." I said, and I saw the way her eyes shimmered, mositure gathering for a moment, before she blinked, and smiled warmly at all of us.
"All of you are welcome in my shop at any time. You and any of your friends." She said, and we all smiled, and thanked her for her kindness.
A few more pleasantries were exchanged before we decided to say our goodbyes. Apparently, the girls had never went clothes shopping, and they still wanted to before we headed back. No reason to throw away your plans just because some assholes tried to ruin it. As we turned around, and started towards the door, Quesha called out.
"Remember Miss Clarissa, 1 day. 24 hours. Anything before that, and you'll have little ones running around before you know it. A man like that has to be incredibly virile." She called, making Clarissa blush so hard I actually thought her face would produce steam.
Cici and I just laughed. Valerie seemingly had no idea what exactly she was talking about, which was just cute, but also sad. She was a grown woman who experienced no shortage of tragedy in her life, yet was still so innocent in many ways. I wanted to protect that at any cost.
"I can attest that Eli is... very potent." Cici said to Clarissa, making the woman blush harder.
While I didn't exactly plan on having sex with Clarissa right away, I also knew that stuff jusf happened when emotions got involved. Ultimately, that was up to Clarissa. Probably better to just be safe, as I did not trust my pull out game one bit. Even so, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Things just seem to happen to me these days.
As we stepped outside, and around the admittedly comical sight of guards gagging and wincing as they began to pick up pieces of the dude who I had maimed with his own arm, we spotted Sheila, Terroth, and Marina waiting for us just outside of where the guards were stopping people from coming closer. Once they seen us coming, they all moved out of the way, and I walked up to the three, with Sheila giving me a particularly cute fanged grin.
"Trouble really seems to like you, doesn't it?"