part0021

It was already dark outside by the time they reached the city of Shtut and the guards were not happy that they’d arrived so late. They weren’t going to let them in, forcing them to spend the night outside the city walls. Luckily for them, Milly was there and she talked them into letting them in. He watched, fascinated, as the guards fell completely under her spell and gladly moved to the side to let the past.

Sam’s Mind Over Body skill had continued progressing over the day, and for some reason, increased at an even faster rate than before. In fact, he’d received a new notification just an hour before.

After the skill had ranked up, Sam had found that Milly’s skills were doing even less to him than before, and sometimes even had no effect at all. His skill’s progression had slowed after that, but had still continued increasing and was now at Intermediate 23.

“So, where is this place we’re supposed to be escorting you to?” Sam asked as they entered the city.

They were standing in a wide-open courtyard, which he imagined was very busy during the day. The stone walls stretched out behind them, curving slightly until they disappeared behind the houses and buildings to either side. There was a guardhouse set against one wall and Sam could see men moving in and around it, in various states of undress.

A small training ground was fenced off near the barracks and he could make out a few training dummies and straw-padded targets in the dim lighting of the square. A stable was set on the far side and he could hear the sound of soft nickering and scraping hooves. Ahead of them and to the sides, stretched a few cobbled roads, some wider than others, heading further into the city.

“I believe that it’s this way,” Milly said, pointing to the widest of the cobbled streets and leading them in that direction.

Her arms were wrapped tightly around one of his. Sam wasn’t really sure when this had happened, but had long since given up on trying to get her to let go.

Yes, she had fucked with his brain, but now he had a real defense against it. And what 19-year-old virgin wouldn’t give up a literal fortune to be in his situation?

Sam strolled along, the sound of their boots scuffing against the stone, accompanied only by the light clicking of Gordon’s claws as he followed behind. Looking around as they walked, Sam could see signs for all types of shops that were now closed. He saw a jeweler, blacksmith, weapon shop, magic shop, and supplies store. There were also several taverns, but these were most definitely not closed. People were streaming in and out of them, all in various stages of inebriation.

Finally, they stopped before a large wooden building that had an elegant sign swinging over its door. Sam peered up at the sign and sighed.

Not for the first time, Sam had to wonder which moron was in charge of naming places here. If it was this Overlord, then maybe he didn’t have as much to fear as he’d originally thought. Milly’s arms tightened slightly around his and she took a few deep breaths before nodding to herself.

It was only then that Sam realized what kind of change this would be for her. Leaving the town where she’d been living for 10 years to move to an unfamiliar city and start a new life. That was scary as hell. He placed his other hand over one of hers and she gave him a grateful smile.

She took one more deep breath and nodded. Then they walked forward and pushed the door open. A light bell tinkled overhead as they walked in, and Sam looked around at an elegantly decorated dining room. There was, of course, a bar set against one side, but it looked just as elegant as the rest of the room and fit in perfectly.

The floor was richly decorated with smooth, polished mahogany that gleamed in the light of the flickering lanterns set in silver sconces in the walls. The dining area was covered in lavish maroon carpeting and the tables were set with crisp, white tablecloths, already set with cutlery and glasses.

Looking to his right, Morgan could see a small window, which he assumed was to hand over their coats, and straight ahead was a staircase leading upstairs to what Sam guessed were the inn’s rooms.

This place is indeed The Classy, Sam thought, as an older man dressed in a crisp black version of a medieval suit walked up to them.

“Welcome to The Classy. Do you have a reservation?” he asked.

Sam wanted to punch him in the face.

The pompous bastard knew they didn’t have a reservation and had pitched his voice in a way that implied they didn’t belong here.

“No, we’re not here to eat,” Milly said, letting go of his arm and stepping forward.

“My name is Milly. Class Cee made me a job offer and I’m here to accept.”

Sam felt like face-palming at the ridiculous name, but somehow resisted the urge. Now the inn’s name made a lot more sense. Although whoever this Class Cee guy was, Sam felt bad for him. He knew the burden of being stuck with a shitty name.

“But of course. Monsieur Class has been eagerly awaiting your arrival. Please, follow me,” he said, motioning them to follow him.

“My, this is quite the classy establishment,” Gordon commented, earning him a look from the older man. He didn’t, however, ask them to take Gordon outside, which Sam thought was very strange.

They walked through the dining room and headed for a smaller door set near the bar. The older man pushed the door open and they all followed him through, emerging into a very chaotic kitchen. There was staff running all over the place, from the chef’s assistants to waitresses dressed in classy, but still revealing, outfits. Among the chaos, stood one man. He was not a human man, but not a dwarf or elf either.

Sam had never seen anything like the man before. He was squat, like a dwarf, but didn’t have nearly the width of one, nor their facial hair. His skin was an odd purple color and the hair that peeked out from under his white chef’s hat was a bright yellow. Not blonde like Milly’s, but a bright, lemon yellow. He immediately used Inspect, more than a little curious at the odd looking man.

“He’s a gremlin?” Sam asked as they approached the small man. “Aren’t gremlins considered to be monsters?”

“Yes. Gremlins are technically part of the monster race, but there are several sub-races that are intelligent and aren’t interested in fighting. Dusk gremlins are known to be the finest chefs in Somerset and any King or Emperor would consider themselves lucky to have one in their service.”

“Wait, there are both Kings and Emperors in Somerset?” Sam asked.

“There are also Czars, Pharos, Chancellors, Monarchs and even Presidents, depending on the country you live in.”

“Wait, seriously?” Sam asked, but before he could get his answer, they had stopped before the gremlin, who was screaming and cursing at everyone around him.

“No, you idiot! You need to add more shallots, or the stew will become too heavy! Not that much, you fucking moron. Who taught you to cook, a half-blind beggar?” He swatted the unfortunate cook over the head with a long-handled ladle and turned his ire on another cook who had caught his attention.

Sam was surprised by the gremlin’s accent.

He sounded just like an angry French chef.

He resisted the urge to laugh when the short man lashed out with his ladle, catching another cook in the head as he was about to add some kind of spice to another pot, which he just assumed was a different type of stew.

“Not cinnamon, you idiot! What sort of cook doesn’t recognize the difference between cinnamon and paprika?! Out! Get out now! You’re fired!”

Sam winced as the unfortunate cook ran from the kitchen, casting fearful glances back at the purple gremlin, who had now turned his beady black eyes on them. They narrowed for a moment when they landed on him, but all traces of anger vanished from his face when they fell on Milly.

“Ah! Milly! My darling, I am so pleased that you have come to accept the position I offered!” he exclaimed, leaping off his small stool and taking her hand in his.

“None of these morons know the first thing about cooking, but with you here, I can at least be confident that everything outside of the kitchen will run smoothly!” He leaned down, placing a wet kiss on the back of her hand and to Sam’s utter amazement, Milly laughed. After a long moment, Class Cee started laughing as well.

Milly leaned down and gave him a tight squeeze, which the purple gremlin returned in kind.

“It’s good to see you again, Class,” Milly said, disengaging from the hug and beaming down at the gremlin.

“It really has been too long, but as much as I would like to stay and catch up, there’s work to be done and these idiots would burn my entire kitchen down if I left for even a moment!”

Milly laughed, releasing the gremlin’s hand and taking a step back.

“You haven’t changed a bit. Just tell me where to put my things and where to find my new uniform, and I’ll get started right away.”

Sam swore that the gremlin actually grew teary-eyed at that.

“You are a blessing from our illustrious Overlord, Milly! You can get the key to your new living quarters from Quinten, the concierge. Your uniform is waiting for you in your room.”

“Speaking of rooms, would you happen to have an extra one for my friend, Sam? He escorted me here from Farmer’s Rest, keeping me safe from monsters and he even saved me from a group of bandits.”

“But of course! Any friend of yours is a friend of mine,” Class Cee said, leaning in and taking Sam’s hand, placing a wet kiss on the back of it.

Sam, for his part, just tried not to gag.

“It’s nice to meet you as well. Anyone who would treat Milly well is alright in my book.”

Milly flushed a bit at that and Class raised an eyebrow in surprise, then a very different smile curled his lips and he wagged his long yellow eyebrows at them.

“I never thought I’d see the day when Milly found a decent partner. Try not to be too loud and disturb the other guests, ah!” He then burst out laughing at the expressions on both their faces.

“I am only teasing, of course!”

Then his eyes fell on Gordon and his smile widened even further.

“I see we have another guest. Do excuse me for not introducing myself,” the gremlin said, bowing slightly at the waist.

“Your manners are impeccable, good sir,” Gordon replied, as Class pulled something from his pocket and tossed it to him.

“Thank you for the compliment, my dear canine. I haven’t seen your like around since I left the Grempire. ”

“You can understand me?” Gordon asked, as he snapped the treat out of the air and chewed with an appreciative expression on his doggy face.

“But of course! Doesn’t everyone?”

Gordon and Sam both shook their heads at the same time.

“No one’s been able to understand him, other than me,” Sam said, wondering if perhaps the gremlin knew why.

There was a loud crashing sound and Class Cee spun, already screaming at the poor server who had dropped the stack of bowls. Sam couldn’t be sure, but he was fairly certain that the man would not be keeping his job for long.

“Well, guess we should head up then?” he asked Milly, whose face was still a little flushed.

He found himself wondering why she was the one who was flushing. After all, she was the one who made men clumsy around her.

“Yeah. Class can be a little hard to work with, but I think I can manage just fine,” she said, heading out of the kitchen and back into the dining room.

After fetching their room keys from Quentin, who didn’t seem at all pleased that he’d now be taking orders from Milly, they headed upstairs.

Just by looking at tapestries and paintings decorating the walls, Sam could tell that Class Cee had poured a lot of money into the inn. There were a total of thirty rooms, each one marked by a gilded bronze number that softly reflected the flickering light of the lanterns.

They finally reached their rooms at the end of the hall. His room was 29, and Milly’s 30. After the day they’d had, Sam was more than ready to get some sleep, supper or not. Before Milly went into her room to prepare for the evening, he stopped her.

“Alright, Milly. I believe that I’ve completed my quest. I’m exhausted and want to get some sleep,” he said, covering a wide yawn.

“Aww, I was hoping you’d forget that,” Milly pouted. “I was going to use it as an excuse to keep you around.”

“I’m not planning on going anywhere, at least not for the next week. There’s probably a lot to do in a city and I wanna learn more about Somerset before I set out.”

“Oh, alright,” Milly said with a sigh. “You’ve completed the quest.”

Sam swiped the notification away and Milly handed him 10 silver coins, which Sam immediately stuck in his pocket.

He would have to transfer it to his Spatial Wallet later.

“Thanks for that,” Sam said, rubbing at his eyes. “Have a good night.”

Before he could turn away, Milly launched herself at him. Caught completely off guard, Sam had no choice but to catch her as his back hit the hallway wall. Before he knew what was happening, Milly’s lips were pressed to his in a passionate kiss.

Sam was so shocked that he just stood there like a statue, as the beautiful elf proceeded to turn his brain to mush. Then, she pulled away, slightly breathless and he just stared at her, heart pounding a mile a minute and his face a deep scarlet.

“Looks like my charm hasn’t completely worn off then. I was beginning to worry,” Milly said with a sly grin.

Sam just nodded dumbly, then felt his heart rate spike alarmingly as she leaned in and kissed him again, this time on the cheek.

“I expect I’ll be seeing you soon enough, so I can show my gratitude .” She winked at him, and with a light giggle, walked into her room, closing the door behind her with a soft click.

Sam stared after her for a long minute, his mind still not completely believing what had just happened.