The guild was filled with usual chatter of adventurers and mini-bosses picking fights with newbies. Everything was normal. Until he came in.
Izaru walked into the guild with a serious face that was obviously there because he was definitely gonna get chewed out by Lily.
Behind him walked Liora with her new robe and boots. She made sure to stomp them extra loud just to show them off.
Izaru leaned on the counter. "Lily."
She wasn't looking at him this time. She was facing the other way, gripping some parchment so tightly it looked like it might crumble. Because she knew the moment she turned around, she'd have to face Izaru's nerve-wrecking logic.
"…Not today," she muttered to herself. "Please, not today."
"Today," Izaru said.
Her shoulders slumped. Slowly, like someone marching to the gallows, Lily turned to face him. "Back already. And alive. Great. Why am I not surprised?"
Izaru dropped a large cloth sack on the counter. The guild hall went quiet at the thud it made.
Lily stared at it. "…Please don't tell me that's what I think it is."
Izaru untied the bag and let it spill. Ten wyvern heads rolled across the counter, some bouncing and hitting the floor with wet thunks. Adventurers nearby gagged, cursed, and leapt out of the way. One guy ran to the corner and threw up in a bucket.
"You asked for proof," Izaru said simply.
"I asked for their cores!" Lily's voice cracked like a whip. "You were supposed to bring the CORES, not—" she gestured wildly at the carnage—"start a cursed bowling league!"
Liora leaned against the counter, smug as a cat. "Don't blame him. I cut them off. It was fun. Very therapeutic."
"Therapeutic?!" Lily barked. "You're a walking HR nightmare!"
Liora winked. "HR's dead. I checked."
Lily slapped her forehead and groaned. "You two are going to be the end of me." She pointed at Izaru, her finger trembling with pure exasperation. "You. Do you even know what the word instructions means?"
"Yes." Izaru didn't even blink. "Also, I got the cores but I forgot what you wanted for proof so I brought the heads."
"And I cut them!" Liora bounced, waving.
"Efficient teamwork."
"That's not efficient, that's terrifying!"
"It's still efficient."
"Efficient doesn't mean traumatizing the staff!"
The guild hall erupted with whispers.
"Did he just wipe out a whole nest?""With his fists?""Wait—who's the demon girl? She's hot—ow, my wife's here!"
Liora tilted her head proudly. "Yep. That's me. Demon. Cut off all the heads. Envy my precision."
"You're not helping!" Lily practically screamed, her face red. "You two make a mockery of the system. The guild has rules, order, sanity!"
Izaru shrugged. "Then rewrite them." He moved his hands in the air as if writing. "Also, I'll grade your grammar."
"What are you, a teacher?!" Lily yelled.
"Uh... yeah?"
The receptionist slammed both hands on the counter so hard the wood creaked. "I should ban you. I should. But…" She trailed off, glaring at the wyvern heads like they personally offended her blood pressure. "Damn it, you did complete the quest. Perfectly. Over-completely."
Liora grinned like she'd won a prize. "See? She likes us."
"I do not!" Lily barked. "I tolerate you. Barely!"
Izaru leaned closer, voice calm but firm. "Then give me another quest. High rank. Something worth my time."
The silence that followed was heavy. Lily looked up into his eyes and saw it again—that same unshakable determination that made her stomach twist. Reckless. Infuriating. Unstoppable.
"…Fine," she said at last, shoving a sealed parchment at him like it burned her hand. "One more. But if you come back with something like this again, I swear, I'll personally make sure you never step foot in this guild."
Izaru took it without a word.
Liora peeked over his shoulder, reading the details. "Subjugation of an ogre horde? Ooooh, I like this one. Smashy-smashy."
Lily groaned, pressing her head to the counter. "Why do I even bother?"
As they turned to leave, Izaru paused just long enough to toss a single line over his shoulder.
"Next time, I'll bring whole corpses."
The sound of Lily screaming could probably be heard three towns over.(Someone give my girl some time off.)