"Here you go, ladies. Enjoy."
A slender woman with fox ears and a fluffy tail approached the table, pushing a food cart. Her uniform was a simple, tight-fitting apron that did little to hide the curves of her body.
Sitting at the long table were four young women: two blondes, one with pink hair, and the last with blue hair.
She placed many small bowls of food on their table, each one steaming and smelling wonderful.
"Nothing better than a hot meal after a dungeon raid," the fox-girl said with a giggle.
"Totally!" one of the blondes agreed, reaching to pick up a piece of grilled fish.
"Thank you," the blue-haired one said with a polite smile.
The fox-girl just winked and left, her tail swishing behind her.
"Let's eat!"
Without further ado, the four of them dug in, their hunger from the dungeon raid making the food taste even more delicious.
"How's the injury, Nana-chan?" asked the blonde girl, turning to the pink-haired one.
"It's much better now, Ella, thanks to the guild's healing points," Nana replied, touching her shoulder. There was no scar there at all. "But it still hurts a bit when I move my arm too much."
"The price is a bit steep, though," the other blonde, a girl named Jane, said with a sigh. "But it's worth it."
"Speaking of steep prices," the blue-haired girl, Sarah, who seemed to be the leader of their group, started. "The items we got in the dungeon should fetch a good price at the market. We can split the money and..."
"Sarah, can you pass the sauce?" Ella interrupted her.
"Sure."
Sarah handed her the sauce.
But as Ella took it, she 'accidentally' spilled a few drops on her own chest.
"Oops."
"Seriously, Ella? Again?" Sarah sighed.
Ella just giggled, and then, without any warning, she grabbed Nana's head and pushed it towards her chest.
"Here you go, Nana-chan, clean it up for me."
"E-Eh?!" Nana's face turned red as she found her face inches away from Ella's breasts. The sauce glistened on her skin.
"Go on," Ella urged her, her voice dropping to a husky whisper. "Lick it off."
Nana hesitated for a second, her eyes darting towards the other two girls. Jane just shrugged and continued eating, while Sarah had a small smile on her face.
Seeing that no one was objecting, Nana leaned in, and her small pink tongue darted out, licking the sauce off Ella's skin.
Ella let out a soft moan.
"Good girl," she praised her, her hand stroking Nana's hair.
Nana's face became even redder, but she continued to lick until every drop of sauce was gone.
"All clean," she said, her voice barely a whisper.
"Good," Ella said, then she let go of her.
The two of them went back to eating as if nothing had happened.
"You two are hopeless," Sarah said, but her tone was more fond than annoyed.
"We're just having fun," Ella replied with a wink. "Right, Nana-chan?"
Nana just nodded, her face still flushed. Ella was her best friend, and she trusted her. If this was what Ella wanted, then she would do it, no matter how embarrassing it was.
It's just that during a dungeon run, Ella risked her life to protect her. When Nana asked what reward she wanted, Ella jokingly said, 'A kiss on the lips would be nice.'
But Nana, influenced by Morgana's teaching and her Arachne blood, took it literally. And since then, their friendship had a new, intimate layer to it.
"Anyway," Sarah continued, trying to get the conversation back on track. "I was thinking, instead of selling the materials, we could use them to craft some new gear. Our guild just hired a professional blacksmith, and with our materials and her skills..."
"Sarah, can I have the fish?" Ella interrupted her again.
"...Sure," Sarah said, handing her the fish.
"Thanks," Ella said, then she looked at the fish. It was a whole grilled fish, with its head and tail still attached. She took a bite, chewing slowly, her eyes closed in enjoyment.
"Hmm... delicious," she said.
Then she looked at the fish head.
"You know what's the best part?" she said, looking at the others. "The eyes."
"Eww, Ella, that's gross," Jane said.
"It's not gross, it's a delicacy," Ella replied. "Here, Nana-chan, you have to try it."
She carefully picked out one of the fish's eyeballs with her chopsticks and held it out to Nana.
"...."
Nana looked at the small, white sphere, then at Ella's expectant face.
"Go on," Ella urged her. "It's good for you. Full of... protein."
Nana's cheeks were burning now. Everyone in the dining hall was looking at them. A few even giggled.
A team of four beautiful young women was bound to be popular in the guild. And this little scene was certainly a source of entertainment.
Nana had a choice. She could refuse and embarrass Ella. Or she could do it and embarrass herself.
She chose the latter, and since she was an Arachne, it meant that she had a different palate.
She slowly opened her mouth and closed her eyes.
Ella placed the fish eyeball on her tongue.
Nana closed her mouth and chewed. It was soft and squishy, and a little salty. Not as bad as she thought it would be.
She swallowed.
"Well?" Ella asked, a smug smile on her face.
"...It's not bad," Nana admitted.
"See? I told you," Ella said, then she popped the other eye into her own mouth and chewed with a satisfied expression.
"You two are impossible," Sarah sighed, but she was smiling.
"And you love us for it," Ella replied, then she leaned in and gave Nana a quick peck on the lips. "For being such a good girl."
Nana's face became even redder, but a small smile appeared on her face too.
"Okay, okay, enough of that," Sarah said, clapping her hands. "We need to decide what to do with the dungeon loot. Let's be serious for a moment."
"Serious? Where's the fun in that?" Jane giggled, gently pushing a piece of carrot into Sarah's plate.
"I'm serious," Sarah insisted. "This is important for our team's future. We need to think strategically."
"Strategically?" Ella raised an eyebrow. "Sarah, we're an adventurer's team, not a kingdom's council. Our strategy is 'go in, kill things, get loot.'"
"There's more to it than that," Sarah argued. "We need to manage our resources, upgrade our equipment, plan our next moves..."
"Boring," Ella cut her off. "We're just four friends having fun."
"It's more than just fun, Ella! We have a responsibility..." Sarah tried to argue, but Ella had other plans.
She leaned over the table, her face inches away from Sarah's.
"Responsibilities can wait," she whispered, her breath warm on Sarah's skin. "But fun can't."
Then she kissed her.
It wasn't a quick peck like the one she gave Nana. It was a deep, passionate kiss. Her tongue snaked into Sarah's mouth, exploring and tasting.
Sarah was caught by surprise. Her mind went blank for a second. Then she snapped out of it and pushed Ella away.
"Ella! What are you doing?!" she exclaimed, her face flushed.
"What? You looked stressed," Ella said, her innocent expression betrayed by the mischievous glint in her eyes. "I was just helping you relax."
"In the middle of the dining hall? In front of everyone?" Sarah was fuming now, but there was also a hint of something else in her eyes, a flicker of desire, quickly suppressed.
"Why not? We're all women here," Ella said, then she looked around. "And it seems like we're not the only ones having fun."
She was right. The little scene they made had attracted some attention. A few tables away, two women were locked in a passionate embrace, their hands roaming freely over each other's bodies. Another woman was kneeling under her table, her head bobbing up and down in her partner's lap.
It seemed that their little display was just one of many in this vibrant, sensual atmosphere.
'Sigh....' Nana shook her head, but a small smile played on her lips. When she established the all-female Spiders Guild, she didn't expect it to become a den of lesbians.
But then again, she wasn't complaining. The guild was thriving. They had some of the most skilled adventurers in the city, and they were all loyal to each other. They were a family. A very... touchy-feely family.
The guild's rules were simple. 'Don't be a dick. And have fun.' And they were having a lot of fun.
Nana took another bite of her fish, her eyes shifting to the blonde girl sitting opposite her, Jane.
The blonde stalker who, for some reason, didn't stalk her for the past month.
It was like that previous obsession she had with Nana had vanished.
And Nana didn't like that.
'What happened to the girl who was always following me around, trying to get information about Morgana?' she thought. 'Did she finally give up? Or is she planning something?'
Her spider senses were tingling. She didn't trust Jane. There was something off about her. Something hidden beneath that cheerful, bubbly personality.
She decided to keep an eye on her. Since her mother, Nora, refused to kick Jane out of the guild, claiming that 'she is a good girl, she just has a crush on you,' Nana had to deal with her herself.
What she didn't know was that Jane already got the answer she wanted.
She knew about Morgana, or at least she found out that Nana was linked to her grandmother.
During one of the dungeon raids, the final boss was a giant serpent, and Nana felt that she had met her natural enemy, which caused her to freeze for a good five seconds, allowing the serpent boss to slam her with his tail, breaking a few of her ribs.
Fortunately, Jane was able to snap her out of it, and with Ella and Sarah's help, they managed to kill the beast.
When it was all over, Jane managed to collect drops of Nana's blood, and back in her room, she used the necklace that her grandmother gave her.
And it came as no surprise that the necklace started to glow, confirming that Nana's bloodline was indeed linked to Jane's grandmother.
'My grandmother is alive!' Jane broke down crying, hugging the necklace to her chest.
She finally had a lead. A real one.
'I'll find you, grandmother... I promise.'