CHAPTER 48: CH:48 SLIMES CLEARED, SECRETS REVEALED, SILVER SHARED

As they finally stepped back inside the bustling Exonory Guild Bar, the noise of chattering adventurers and clinking mugs welcomed them like a chaotic old friend.

Dila raised her hand high, scroll in the other, and grinned.

"Yehey~! Now I can finally use this reward money to get myself appraised!"

But before she could even think about heading to the counter, Sarios cleared his throat. Loudly.

"Ahem!"

He did it, while glancing sideways at Fran, then back at Dila with those subtle "ahem-you-forgot-something" eyes.

Dila blinked. Then blinked again.

"Ohhh—right!" She clapped her hands together. "Sorry, sorry! We should split the reward money fairly and squarely!"

Fran nodded so hard and fast, her head nearly became a blur. Her cat ears bounced with every enthusiastic jerk like a bobblehead on caffeine.

"I’ll split yours too, Sarios," Dila added sweetly.

But Sarios puffed out his chest, placing one heroic hand over his heart.

"No, no, my Princess. Keep my share."

...Silence.

Absolute silence.

The entire Guild Bar went dead still as if someone had pressed pause on the world.

Forks stopped mid-air. Tankards froze halfway to lips. One bard hit the wrong chord on his lute.

All eyes turned.

Sarios was suddenly sweating bullets as realization struck him square in the armor.

Dila’s eye twitched. Her right foot began tapping—a dangerous rhythm.

And then, with the most forced grin in recorded history, Sarios chuckled and threw his arms wide.

"Hahaha—what I meant was—she’s Princess Slacker! Haha! Get it? Because she slacks off? Haha...?"

Dila’s icy blue stare could’ve frozen the Guild’s fireplace.

"Take. It. Back."

She said each word with the pressure of a ticking time bomb.

Fran, standing beside them, raised a finger shyly.

"Y-Yeah... she’s the P-Princess of... of bag carrying..." she mumbled.

Dila slowly turned her face and slapped her own forehead in utter defeat.

The tension lasted only a moment longer...

Before the entire Guild Bar erupted into laughter.

A dwarf fell off his chair. The bard kept replaying the moment on his lute. And someone in the back shouted, "LONG LIVE PRINCESS SLACKER!"

Dila groaned softly.

"...Why do I travel with these people."

Nari’s voice chimed in faintly inside her mind.

☆ For the comedy, Master~ definitely for the comedy ☆

Dila sighed.

"I need better taste in companions..."

"Welp, let’s go redeem this quest," Dila said with a stretch, scroll in hand and a bright grin on her face.

The three of them walked up to the reception desk, where the same well-groomed receptionist stood like a statue of order amid the Guild’s chaos. She looked up from her paperwork and adjusted her glasses.

"Oh, back already? That was quick," she said, clearly surprised.

Dila gave a proud nod and puffed her chest.

"Well, if it wasn’t for Fran, the mighty assassin..." she paused, turning to gesture dramatically.

Fran blinked and looked left, then right, then behind her, as if trying to find who Dila was talking about.

"...You are the mighty assassin, Fran," Dila whispered, amused.

Fran’s ears twitched and she blushed slightly, standing up straighter with a little awkward smile.

"And," Dila added with a flat tone, "the mighty hero..."

Sarios, hearing that, immediately struck a dramatic pose with one hand over his chest and his eyes gently closed, as if basking in divine glory.

Dila just stared at him, deadpan.

"...Seriously?" she thought, watching him glow with pride like a kid getting gold stars in kindergarten.

☆ That title does carry recognition, Master, ☆ Nari chimed in sweetly in her mind. ☆ Heroes are honored symbols in most kingdoms.☆

Dila scoffed in her thoughts.

"Pfft. Recognition or not, he’s acting like he just won a lifetime supply of cake."

Still, she couldn’t help but giggle a little under her breath.

"Anyway," she handed the scroll over, "mission complete!"

The receptionist smiled faintly, taking the quest scroll.

"I’ll log your quest as completed and prepare your reward. Great job, team—especially you, Fran."

Fran blinked again and whispered to Dila, "She remembered my name again?"

Dila winked. "Told you you were cool."

Fran looked down, ears twitching from the compliment.

Meanwhile, Sarios—still posing—whispered to himself, "I am the mighty hero..."

Dila rolled her eyes and sighed.

"This is my party..." she muttered.

☆ And what a party it is~ ☆ Nari chimed, cheerfully.

After a few minutes of paperwork and scribbling from the receptionist, the group waited patiently near the counter. Dila tapped her fingers on the desk lazily while Fran was subtly adjusting the strap of her dagger, and Sarios was... just flexing his arms for no reason at all.

Then the receptionist suddenly snapped her fingers.

"Oh! Wait—sorry, I nearly forgot. I’ve been so swamped lately."

She looked at Dila. "May I see your slime core evidence for verification?"

Dila froze. Sweat started forming on her forehead like water collecting on cold tea.

"Uhh..." she muttered, trying to hide her panic, "my... god—how do I even show this thing..."

☆ Master, ☆ Nari chimed gently into her mind, ☆ you can just summon the item normally. In this world, Spatial Storage is accepted. No one will freak out.☆

"Oh..." Dila replied in her thoughts. "I forgot I’m in a fantasy world again..... am i right?"

Nari didn’t respond for a moment and than she responded.

☆ Happens to the best of us.☆

Dila took a deep breath, then stepped forward with mild theatrical flair.

"Alright, here goes nothing..."

She lifted her hand slightly in front of her chest and whispered softly, "Access."

A shimmering blue light flickered in her palm, like the glimmer of a gentle star. Then—WHOOSH!—a soft swirl of magic wind appeared, and a bunch of Cracked slime cores 96 neatly dropped into the tray on the counter.

The guild bar went silent.

People stopped drinking. Spoons hovered mid-air. One rogue dropped their cup of milk. Even a bard in the corner stopped tuning his lute.

Fran blinked twice, her ears standing up.

"I knew it," she whispered, squinting like a cat sniffing mystery tuna.

Sarios took a tiny step back. "Okay... I’ll admit, that was really cool."

The receptionist blinked, then slowly pushed up her glasses and muttered, "That’s... a clean Spatial Storage summon. That’s not beginner level at all."

Dila stood there, awkwardly scratching her cheek with one finger.

"Uh... surprise?"

Then someone in the background whispered,

"Did she just drop loot like a raid boss?"

Another adventurer gasped. "Wait, is she noble class? Or a rare item user!?"

The axe guy near the door shouted, "I WANT THAT STORAGE MAGIC!!"

Fran, sensing the growing attention, pulled her hands to her face covering a little and subtly stepped in front of Dila.

"You’re glowing. Not literally. Just... everyone’s staring now."

Dila sighed and mumbled, "This is why I can’t have nice things..."

☆ You can have nice things, Master, ☆ Nari whispered, ☆ but not quietly.☆

The receptionist, flustered but recovering, quickly took the cores and stamped the verification paper.

"Ahem! Quest officially complete! You may now receive your reward!"

Sarios leaned over to Dila and whispered, "I feel like we just broke the local economy’s logic."

Dila whispered back, "And I just wanted to return some goo balls..."

And with that, the whole guild slowly returned to normal—though people kept glancing at Dila like she might summon a treasure chest next.

The receptionist set a small pouch onto the counter with a friendly smile.

"Here you go—10 Silver Moons for a job well done. Yehey~!" she cheered, doing a tiny victory pose with her arms.

Dila blinked at her, expression deadpan.

"...This is awkward."

Fran quietly giggled behind her hand, and Sarios chuckled aloud, crossing his arms.

But then the receptionist leaned in again, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Actually..." she said, lowering her voice like she was about to share a juicy secret, "since you wowed the room with that Spatial Storage spell, I’m going to give you a bonus Silver Moon. Just for flair."

Dila’s eyes lit up. "Wait, really?"

The receptionist’s eyes practically sparkled now, nodding dramatically. "Yes, really~! I reward performance!" she smiled, placing the 1 extra silver moon coin onto the pile.

Sarios burst into a full laugh. "You’d think Dila just won a treasure chest."

Dila, a little overwhelmed, looked left and right like a trapped animal. "I-I wasn’t even performing... I just needed to show the loot..."

The receptionist was now leaning very close, her face right near Dila’s, almost like she wanted to snuggle the elf. Her cheeks puffed with glee. "You’re just so efficient and mysterious! I love that~"

Dila leaned back slightly, eyes twitching. "Uhh... personal space...?"

Meanwhile, Fran stood behind them, smiling sweetly and watching Dila’s flustered reactions like it was the best show in the world.

Fran softly muttered to herself,

"Princess gets embarrassed easily. Cute."

And Dila could only think in her mind, I should’ve just thrown the slime cores outside instead...

After a moment....

Dila smiled and held up the reward pouch. "Alright! Time to split the Silver Moons."

She looked at Fran thoughtfully and said, "You worked really hard, so you deserve more. You take 7 Silver Moons, and I’ll take 4. Deal?"

Fran blinked, then softly said, "It’s okay, Sister."

She gently slid back 2 coins and accepted only 5 Silver Moons for herself.

Dila stared at her, stunned. "R-Really...?"

Fran smiled shyly, her cat ears twitching. "Yeah... really, Sister."

In Dila’s mind:

Ohhhhhhh... she’s like an angel...!

She gazed at Fran like she was surrounded by divine golden light, a soft glow sparkling behind her in her imagination.

Meanwhile, Fran held her pouch with both hands and tilted her head. "May I... know your name, Sister? I only know Sir Sarios from his Guild Bar International Card."

Sarios blinked. "Wait, you saw that from all the way back there an hours ago?"

Fran nodded proudly. "Yup. Sharp eyes." She smiled again, looking back at Dila. "So... what’s your name?"

Dila smiled warmly. "My name is Dila. I’m a support mage and an alchemist."

Fran’s eyes lit up. "Woooow, really? That’s why you don’t carry a weapon? You’re a support type?"

Dila nodded. "Yeah, something like that."

But inside her mind...

Well... it’s actually because you two wiped everything out. No need for me to show my golems. Total win-win. No mana wasted. Hah!

She chuckled to herself inwardly.

Fran just smiled sweetly again, completely unaware.

Sarios, off to the side, crossed his arms with a grin. "Y’know... we’re turning into a real party."

Dila looked at them both, and for the first time in a while... she felt something warm.

Maybe... this kind of party’s not so bad.