After I followed Hatsumi back in, it hadn’t taken her long to find a set of clothes from some drawers and a wardrobe I hadn’t taken note of earlier. She’d already managed to strip me just by grabbing my gown and yanking it up. She already had me squeezing into an undershirt and was buttoning a rather loose-fit shirt over it. I really hadn’t even comprehended what was going on by the time she pulled out a knee-length skirt with some hide and fur boots. By the time it was all over, I swear I could have been feeling whiplash.

“Now look at that; you look absolutely adorable.~”

The rather suddenly lively beast woman chimed as I was getting over my weariness. Her choice of words I could feel was flushing my face some, but it probably should have been expected. She eyed me like I was some doll when she had been finishing it up.

“Are you okay? You seem a bit overwhelmed.”

“Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit out of it. Feeling weak and… I don’t exactly know where I am, so….”

Frowning some, she shook her head and patted my shoulder.

“We’ll be able to answer any questions you may have after we eat. Sorry for overwhelming you, Kiyomi.”

“No, it's fine. And yes, I would appreciate it. I’m really hungry.”

I tried to respond without seeming too nervous; I barely managed to keep myself from stammering, so I’d say a solid seven out of ten……she’s giving me a weird look….never mind three out of ten.

Patting me on the head, she stretched some herself then made for the door.

“Follow me, Kiyomi, let us get that meal in you.”

“Yes ma’am!” And hurriedly, I followed behind.

……….

We began to make our way out of the room, and as we passed through a hallway, it seemed to open up to a rather comfortable-looking living area with a kitchen to the side. There was a gigantic fireplace with some coffee tables and chairs next to it, some couches and more chairs just behind them, and the floor was covered in a bunch of different fur pelts. Looking to the walls as we walked, the paintings became more ornate, with a few looking like family portraits. Anywhere there wasn’t a painting, there seemed to either be various weapons mounted to the wall or rather large looking hunting trophies….Is that a damned lizard?!

“Hmmm?”

At the sight of a lizard head larger than myself, I ended up freezing in place out of fear. I was accustomed to monsters of some degree, but something this big?! Hatsumi had been tilting her head at my reaction before following my gaze to the large head.

“Ah, it's okay. It’s dead, see?”

Trying to calm me, she placed her hands on my shoulders as she came up behind me, then flopped her tail over the thing’s snout.

“See, dead as a doornail.~”

After the emphasis, I managed to compose myself. I was still wrapping my head around its size when I subconsciously commented.

“The thing must have been tough. It’s massive.”
Releasing my shoulders, she continued to walk towards some double doors that were centered on the corner of the room.

“Hmmm? Oh, it was nothing; that was my qualifying kill for my adventurer's license. That’s a beginner's game. You should be able to hunt one by your first bleeding.”

She waved over her shoulder as if it were the most casual thing to say. As I followed behind, I stared at each of the other trophies mounted on the walls or stands.

How the hell did you kill any of this woman?! Let alone did you say by my first period?!? How could I kill something like that as a teen?!

I screamed to myself in my head, trying to hide any sign of visible distress. Did I get tossed into some kind of hell world?! The more I looked, they appeared to be more fanciful.

Is that a giant owl?

…..oh fuck me… those exist here?!

Along one of the support beams, I noticed a rather large taxidermized animal. At first glance, I mistook it for an owl, but a second glance gave me the full view. An Owl Bear, the size of a sedan, was mounted in a striking pose on a large wood base that looked like a stump.

“*Gulp*.”

Okay, Aidan, eyes forward. Let’s set a fifty-meter goal. The goal? Don’t get eaten.

When I was alongside Hatsumi, she finally opened the double doors, and the lingering scent of food and the rumbling noise of people talking hit me at once. It was no longer muffled or dulled.

I was greeted with the section of the building people must have been coming in and out of so much. Looking over the rails of the second-floor balcony, the room alone looked similar in size to an auditorium. Only it was filled with tables of people eating and drinking. Waitresses and waiters weaved around with purpose and seemed to be capable of carrying so much. Looking to the room's longest wall, it was lined with numerous booths with clerks that looked to be attending to customers as they walked up. Opposite of that was the entrance. On the far end was a rather large counter next to a larger entrance than all the others. There appeared to be carving monsters over there? And distributing money? It was hard to tell from this distance, really. And below me, a crowd of people slowly moved to and from what appeared to be a notice board. The ones who walked away all either had a paper or wooden tablet in their hand.

I threw my gaze back over the packed building and was astonished by the sheer variance of the crowd. Bouncing my attention back and forth, I saw all matter of fantastical race. Aside from humans, there were elves sprinkled here and there, many beast kin, and some ogres? Coo- wait. Oohhh demi-humans!

One of the people helping with the monster carving at the far end was clearly an Arachne. Her lower half looked like a tarantula, and she was using her legs to force the monster's limbs to relax after having clenched. From the other side came a male Arachne, assisting in the cutting. His lower half looked reminiscent of a huntsman spider.

Aside from those two, suddenly, someone came down from the ceiling. A hole? Looking back to the person, they were a harpy. Dropping a larger bag next to one of the clerks before receiving another and taking back off through the hole in the wall near the ceiling.

“First time taking something like this in?”

“Y-yes ma’am”

“Welcome to the Brenton branch adventurers guild, frontier territory~.”

In all of my amazement, I forgot I was supposed to follow Hatsumi, but thankfully she was being patient. She simply nodded and motioned for me to keep following as we continued along the balcony to a staircase headed up another level. This was more than I could have ever expected. Especially from this place supposedly being on the frontier? This place seemed like a bustling city rather than that. It’s for sure amazing regardless.

Off-hand, I decided to ask why we weren’t headed down when we're going to breakfast.

“Ummm, Ms. Hatsumi? You said we were headed straight to breakfast? Shouldn’t we go down?”

“Hmm? Oh, no. We’re going to be having breakfast with the Guild Master. We both had questions for you and figured as we ate, we could answer any of yours as well. We also figured you’d be better off with a private breakfast rather down there where it’s crowded.”

“Ah, sorry. Thank you.” I responded, trying to sound thankful. But how many times was I going to be blindsided with sudden revelations?! The Guild master? This soon? This is bad for my heart, damnit!