Chapter 60: The Missing Party

She closed her hands into fists.

The tears came before she could stop them.

She didn’t wipe them away. She just sat there, in the quiet house, and let herself feel it.

She had lost so much. Her legs, her future. And now she was losing hope.

She didn’t know how long she sat there.

Eventually, the tears stopped. She wiped her face with the back of her hand. Took a slow breath.

She looked at her hands again. They were still empty.

But they were still hers.

She couldn’t lose hope. She had to keep fighting. That was all she had.

—

Emeric returned just before sunset.

He looked tired. But there was something else in his expression. A satisfaction of sort.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"Fine. Yours?"

"Productive."

He crossed to her. Kissed her forehead. Then he crouched down beside her chair.

"I got the reward for the rift I cleared."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Guild credits. Gold. Quite a bit, actually."

He reached into his coat and pulled out a leather pouch. It was heavy. He set it on the table beside her.

"Thirty-two thousand guild credits. Two thousand gold from selling some things."

She stared at the pouch.

"That’s a lot of gold."

"It is."

"What are you going to do with it?"

He smiled. Small. Wry.

"I was thinking we could use it. For you. For whatever we need."

She looked at him. At the man who had walked into her life a stranger and was slowly becoming the center of it.

"You’re going to spoil me," she said quietly.

"That’s the plan."

She reached for his hand and held it.

"Thank you."

He squeezed her fingers.

"You don’t have to thank me. This is what I want to do."

She held his gaze.

"I know."

—

[DEVOTION LOGGED: PROVIDING RESOURCES — INVESTING IN TARGET’S FUTURE]

[DP AWARDED: +10]

[BOND METER: 87 → 89]

---

He quickly read the notification. He noticed her face change.

"What’s wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Come on. Let’s get you dinner." He said, getting behind her chair and wheeled her into the kitchen.

---

The Vessel Guild was quieter than the last time.

Midday. Most Vessels were out on rifts or recovering from morning dives. Only a handful of people milled about the hall, checking bulletin boards, nursing drinks, comparing notes.

Emeric crossed to the reception desk.

The woman behind the counter looked up.

She was younger than he expected. Mid-twenties, maybe. Dark hair pinned up in a loose style that let a few strands escape and frame her face. Her uniform was Guild-issue—deep blue with silver trim—but she wore it differently than the other clerks. The jacket was unbuttoned at the top, revealing a glimpse of a white blouse beneath. The blouse itself was cut lower than regulation, showing a generous amount of cleavage. A silver pendant rested against her skin, drawing the eye downward.

Her lips curved into a smile as he approached.

"Well, hello there."

Her voice was warm. Honeyed even. She leaned forward slightly, resting her elbows on the counter, and the movement gave him an even better view of what she was offering.

Emeric kept his eyes on her face.

"Name and purpose?"

"Emeric Halden. Here to turn in a rift clear."

She pulled a form from a stack without looking away from him. "Rift designation?"

"Slime Caverns. E-rank."

She wrote it down, her handwriting elegant and looping. "Party members?"

"None."

Her pen stopped.

She looked up. Her smile faltered. Then it widened.

"Excuse me?"

"I went in alone."

She stared at him. Blinked. Then her expression shifted—surprise, disbelief, something close to delight.

"You took on a rift solo?"

Her voice carried.

The hall went quiet.

Emeric felt eyes on him. Whispers starting. He ignored them.

The clerk noticed. She waved a hand at the gawkers without looking away from him.

"Mind your business."

She turned back to him. Her voice dropped, but the shock remained.

"Why would you do that?"

"The bulletin board said it was permitted."

"I know what the board says." She set her pen down. "But solo rifts are a novelty. We post them because the Guild requires it. No one actually takes them seriously."

She leaned forward again. The pendant swung gently against her chest.

"Besides, there haven’t been any solo rift requests in three months. I would know. I handle the bulletin board myself."

Emeric frowned.

"What?"

"The board. I maintain it. Every posting goes through me." She studied his face.

"There was no solo request posted for the Slime Caverns."

Emeric was quiet for a moment.

"I saw the flier. I took it off the board myself."

"Do you have it?"

He shook his head. "I left it in the rift."

She sat back. Her expression was unreadable.

"Interesting."

She was quiet for a moment. Then she spoke.

"I’d like you to meet with the Guild Master. Later this week. Would that be possible?"

Emeric blinked. "Why?"

"Because something doesn’t add up." She picked up her pen. "And because an E-rank clearing a solo rift—especially one that wasn’t supposed to be available—is worth noting."

She began writing in a hurried manner.

"Wait here. I need to calculate your reward."

She worked for several minutes.

Emeric stood at the counter. The whispers continued behind him. He didn’t turn around.

The clerk glanced up at him once. Twice. Her eyes traveled over him—his shoulders, his arms, the way he stood.

She smiled to herself and returned to her work.

Finally, she set her pen down.

"E-rank Slime Caverns. Cleared solo. Boss defeated. Please be sure to turn in the materials and the cores over there." She said, looking up as she pointed down to right of where she stood. "Thirty-two thousand guild credits."

Emeric nodded.

"That’s your reward. It will be transferred to your Vessel License." She paused. "For future reference, higher-ranked rifts yield higher rewards. If you continue at this pace, you’ll be eligible for D-rank postings within the month."

"Understood."

She handed him a slip. Her fingers brushed his as she did. Deliberately.

"The credits are on your license. You can access them at any Guild counter or licensed merchant."

"Thank you."