The Gentle Hero

Yuril woke up several hours later, the room was dark enough that when Yuril slowly pulled his arm out from under the bedsheets and extended it towards the ceiling. He could not see his hand when he fully extended the limb and a moment later he dropped his arm down at his side, he laid in the bed for a long time before he eventually forced himself to sit up. The pain in his chest hit him like a brick being hurled at his chest and he had to take several deep breaths to get his breath under control.

Once he was sitting up he looked around the room, outside the window it was dark outside and the only light in the room was the light glow of the moon. He used his right hand to fling the sheets off of him and turned his body in place to the right and his legs dangled off of the bed as the tips of his toes just grazed the floor lightly. He had to get up and move around, the kinks in his back and being stuck in the room was starting to get to him. So taking several deep inhales through his nose and out through his mouth he placed his hands at his sides and pushed himself up off of the bed, for a solid second he was standing on his own.

Then his knees buckled and his legs gave out and he was sent crashing to the floor with a rough thud, Yuril laid still on the ground for several minutes until he was able to pull himself up off of the ground. He had been feeling around in the dark with his right hand and found the leg of the chair Syr had been using and pulled it over towards him, he used it to lift himself up off of the ground and stabilize himself.

He used the chair as a replacement for his left leg which was the weaker of the two given the damage that it had suffered, he scooted the chair across the floor towards the door. Once he reached the door he started feeling around and found the handle. He pulled open the door and as he did the cheerful sounds from downstairs could be heard as the Hostess must have been in the middle of the evening service which gave Yuril an estimated timeframe. As the light from the hallway entered and illuminated the room Yuril noticed that on the bookshelf next to door laid his clothes. He pulled the chair up and sat down, he knew that if he sat down there was the chance that he would be unable to get back up but it was a risk he was willing to take. He knew that there was no way he would be able to get dressed on his feet so he needed to sit down, he noticed that the bandages around his leg were a familiar light green and white but in the moment he did not pay it much attention. He started with his pants and as he pulled them off of the shelf and unrolled them he was surprised that the pants were almost brand new, the several gashes and slices in the fabric had been sewn together. There was a light brown patch over the right knee where the hole must have been too massive to simply stitch together and repair normally. He started with his right leg, rolling the pants up as far as he could before repeating the process with his left. He stood up for a quick second and slipped his pants on the rest of the way and sat back down on the chair roughly making it creak loudly.

Yuril had to take a moment to get his strength back before he reached over and grabbed his jacket, he would have put on his shirt but putting on the extra piece of clothing would just come back off in a short time. He slipped his arm through the right sleeve and a moment later did the same thing with the left, as he went to go and do up the jacket so that his bandaged torso was not exposed he had a moment of terror and patted down his jacket. He blew out a deep sigh of relief, he slipped his hand inside of the jacket and found his grandfather's journal right where it belonged in the coat's inner lining pocket.

Resting easy that his journal was still safely in his possession he continued to do up the front of his jacket and once the coat was done up he prepared to try and stand up for the second time. He placed his hands on his knees, he noted that just like his pants his jacket had been repaired. The sleeve that had been torn to shreds just like his arms had looked as if nothing had ever happened. But Yuril was positive that he had gone to the dungeon that night, in a quick realization he knew one way that he could make certain that it was not just his imagination. He reached into his left pants pocket and felt the small item he was searching for, pulling the tiny object out of his pocket. It glowed ever so slightly in the darkness of the room.

A monster crystal.

The single crystal that Yuril had managed to scavenge from his expedition down into the dungeon, all of his suffering for a single crystal. One crystal was not going to solve his money problems, while he had killed several more monsters in his fight of life and death he did not have the time to properly harvest the crystals from their corpses. All he had managed to bring back was his own life and the one measly crystal.

But it was proof enough to Yuril, that everything that did happen to him was not just some lucid dream. He had been nearly positive before but now he was certain, which with the amount of uncertainty in his life he was happy to have something cling onto.

Yuril tucked the crystal back into his pocket and with a small groan he stood up from the chair, he felt himself falling backwards after a second on his weak legs and he reached his left arm out and grabbed a hold of the doorframe to keep himself from falling over. He used his free hand to pull the chair around to his right and started to make the slow journey down the hallway. He skidded the chair along the floor with him like an old man would use a walking cane, after what felt like an eternity of walking he reached his first real challenge since he got up from his bed.

The stairs.

Setting the chair at the top of the stairs to use when he returned to the second floor he grabbed onto the railing tightly with both hands and slowly started making his way down the staircase one at a time. With each step it could feel his bones being rattled inside of his leg, but if he wanted to become an adventurer he would likely eventually experience worse pain so getting used to it now sounded like a smart idea to the albino boy. Conditioning his body to deal with the pain better may help him in the long run, he got to the platform halfway down the stairs and did a right turn to go do the second half of the stairs. He took several more painful steps and once he reached the bottom he felt exhausted and was debating if he would be able to get back up the stairs.

He was about to make his way over and get himself a glass of water from the kitchen when Lunoire approached him quickly, she was not wearing the common uniform of the Hostess of Fertility. She still wore the brown ankle high boots of the Hostess uniform with a short brown skirt that ended just above her knees and the top was a light tanned red vest. "Yuril, what are you doing out of bed? You were really banged up, if Syr sees you she is going to flip her lid… you know that right?" she asked him with a slight tilt of the head.

"I know, but I needed to get up and stretch my legs… laying in that bed was starting to kill me I swear to the Gods..." Yuril said with a slight smile as he acted as confident as possible. She seemed to notice that he was straining himself to stand at the bottom of the stairs as normally as possible as he tried to keep his weight off of his left leg.

"Alright, well I think you have stretched your legs plenty for today… why don't I sit you down at a table for a little bit?" Lunoire offered as she tucked her wooden tray under her left arm and smiled at him slightly.

"'That sounds grea—"

"Perfect, I have a nice table for you right over here." Lunoire said as she turned around and took a quick step back, looping her right arm around his left arm and starting to slowly walk forward with their arms locked.

"L-Lunoire… what… what are you doing?" Yuril asked as he lightly stumbled and he started to have to drag his left leg across the floor slightly and limp along.

"What do you mean? All I am doing is walking someone to their table, do you think that it has something to do with you being cute? Pffff, you wish Yuril…"

"I… I don't understand what is happening anymore.."

"Are you saying you want me to let go?" Lunoire jokingly asked him and the small face of terror he gave her made her smirk slightly. They were halfway to the free table she had pointed out and there was nothing around him that he could grab onto to prevent himself from crashing to the floor. Meaning that if she let go of him, he would be sent tumbling to the ground with no way to stop himself.

"N-no! The armlock is fine… it's fine I didn't say anything!" Yuril said with a nervous smile.

"Mhm, that's what I thought." Lunoire complimented as the two reached the table and she pulled out her chair for him and sat him down. "I am going to go get you a glass of water you must be thirsty after that long and hard journey Yuril." Lunoire said in an amused tone as she exaggerated the trip slightly.

As she went to leave to fetch him his glass of water Yuril raised an index finger to pause her to ask her a question that had been on his mind since he had first seen her. "Lunoire, what is with your outfit? Is it something the Hostess is doing? I mean, everyone is still in their uniforms from what I have seen so far." Yuril said in a respectful tone as he had noticed both of the trademark catgirls of the Hostess, Chloe and Anya walking around in their uniform moments prior.

"Oh, this old thing?" Lunoire asked as she pinched the edge of her skirt and raised it slightly with a small shrug. "I had to wear something for work, I tried to fit into some of the other spare uniforms but nothing fit right, so until the new one I am getting arrives from the tailor I am stuck in this for now. Though I doubt any of the customers will be complaining about it, I have made more tips tonight than I have in a week." she said with a smug smile.

"I see, what happened to your uniform though? Did you get a stain on it or something that you couldn't get out?"

Lunoire smiled slightly and pointed downwards towards his leg. "Actually, it's around your leg." she said with a small chuckle.

"Wait you…." Yuril remembered seeing the bandages a short time ago and the green strips of fabric had reminded him of something but in the moment he could not quite place it, it was the light green fabric from the Hostess of Fertility uniform. "You ripped up your uniform? Why would you do that for me? I mean, I appreciate it and thank you for doing it but you didn't have to wreck your uniform just for me." Yuril asked as he adjusted himself in his chair slightly and sat up a tad straighter.

"Come on, don't be like that… you were pretty pale when Ryuu found you. I am pretty sure that your life is worth a little more than some dinky uniform, honestly it's nice to get out of it for a few days so I should be the one thanking you." Lunoire said with a slight smirk and gave him a thumbs up before walking away before he could argue with her any further.

As Lunoire walked away he noticed that several people in the pub were eyeing him and he did not quite know why so he just pretended to not notice, he drifted off into space and closed his eyes for a few minutes and he did not even notice that Lunoire had returned and placed the glass of water on the table in front of him. He was on the verge of falling asleep until he heard a soft "meow" and purr close to him, he opened his eyes and across the table from him was Anya with just her head in sight. The rest of her body was hidden by the table as she was crouched down, her ears twitched and he could see her tail dancing back and forth from side to side behind her back.

"Nyahh? Hello Yurilll, are meow feeling better nyah?" Anya asked him softly as she kept her body tucked under the table. "Meow was in puurrrty rough shape nyah," she added with a slight tilt to the head that made her ears twitch.

"I am feeling better now… a little bit anyway… I heard that you helped out too… I appreciate it… I will find some way to properly thank you someday." Yuril said as he noticed the glass of water and reached out and picked up the glass, he brought it to her lips and took a decent sized sip. Compared to several hours earlier where he needed Syr's help to drink he had regained at least a small amount of his strength. Despite the fact that his body felt heavy and weighed down he did try to sit up somewhat in his seat to not look like a slob.

"Tuna nyah."

"H… huh?"

"Meow just said that meow would purroperly thank me nyah, that's what niii want tuna nyah." Anya said cheerfully as her ears flapped, tail wagged widely and she drooled slightly at just the thought of the fatty fish.

"Well when I have some spare cash I will get you one as payment Anya, my treat." Yuril said as he picked up the glass of water again and took another sip as Anya shot upwards with her arms above her head and let out a small cheer which drew even more attention to the table where the albino boy sat. Anya ran around the table and gave him a quick hug, he winced slightly at the pain of getting tightly squeezed by the catgirl. She was far stronger than he had expected or had any right to be with her gentle, cute appearance.

"Niii nyahew that meow was a good purrrson nyah," she said softly before she pulled her arms back and stood next to the table with a slight smirk.

"If meow are getting her a tuna I want one toom" Yuril heard a soft familiar voice whisper into his right ear with a slight puff of warm air and he jumped in his seat slightly and spun his head around. He was greeted with Chloe's face only mere inches away from his as she smiled and licked her lips and giggled softly as the boy's face started to go slightly red.

" I owe you a fish too. I take it?"

"That is right! Meow are a clever one." Chloe said with a slight smirk, she replaced his half empty glass of water with a fresh one.

"Alright, well when I get some spare cash Anya and you will get your fish… promise."

Chloe smiled and reached out and gave him a gentle pat on the head and ruffled his hair. "I will hold meow too that Yuril." she said playfully as she did a slight spin and poked his nose with the tip of her tail jokingly making him blush a shade darker than his own eyes.

"I was getting worried that meow were not going to wake up… I was relieved to hear from Syr that meow finally woke up and was a little active anyway. How are meow feeling after your little trip to the dungeon?" Chloe added, which shocked Yuril to his core for a moment as his body froze. The owner of the pub had known and promised not to speak, but if Chloe knew too then the chance of it getting out was double and the odds were not in his favor.

"H-how did you…?"

"How did I know? It was easy silly, I may not be the smartest cat in the world but I recognize dungeon wounds when I see them.." Chloe said with a slight smile.

"I-Is it just you that knows…?" Yuril stuttered out as he felt the pressure start to build up inside of him.

"Nope~! I knew too nyah!" Anya said as she stuck her head back over the edge of the table and raised her right arm up and waved it back and forth like she was a child begging to be called upon in a classroom.

"A-Anya you know too…"

"Not just her, Yuril. Lunoire and Ryuu figured it out too you know?" Chloe added as she leaned closer towards him and giggled softly.

"W-wait! S-so everyone knows!?" Yuril was scared to his very core, the likelihood of all of them keeping quiet was extremely low, just one or two he could live with but the stress of all of the waitresses knowing was almost enough to kill his poor heart and send him into a heart attack. In the corner of his eye he even saw Lunoire give him a wink that was like an arrow through his already crippled heart.

"Not everyone Mr. Cranel… I do not think that Syr has come to the same conclusion as the rest of us…" Ryuu said as she suddenly appeared from seemingly nowhere and joined the two Catgirls.

"Y-you don't think so…?" Yuril worryingly asked the Elf that had an ice cold expression on her face.

"Well, I can not say for sure but I do not believe so… she has never been to the dungeon so I highly doubt that she would be able to recognize your wounds like the rest of us were able to."

"I-I see… .so… what are you all going to do..? Report me to the Guild and get me exiled from Orario I take it….?" Yuril said softly under his breath and hung his head, directing his gaze towards the floor.

"Why would we do that nyah?" he heard Anya say softly in his direction.

"W-what do you mean?" Yuril said as he raised his head up enough to be able to see her just in his line of sight.

"We have no real reason to report you Mr, Artwaltz, we have nothing to gain from reporting you and if we did it would likely crush Syr's heart… it is very clear she has already grown rather attached to you… so we have all sworn to a pact of secrecy and to keep silent on the matter…" Ryuu said in her iconic calm tone.

"R-really?" Yuril said as he raised his head to look up at her and she nodded. Yuril was even more stunned, all the waitresses of the Hostess had agreed to protect his secret and not report him for his reckless behaviour. Now he was not only indebted to Syr but all of the waitresses of the Hostess of Fertility, another thing that he would need to pay back in the future.

"Yes Sir! Plusss, if you got kicked out I wouldn't be able to sink my claws into that sweet… suculant… tussy of meowers." Chloe said as she reached her hands towards his bottom before receiving a slap on the back of the head from the Elf waitress that made her hiss slightly and turn her head around swiftly. "What was that for?!" Chloe blurted out as the ears on the top of her head were pressed flat against her short black hair.

"For trying to sully Mr. Artwaltz with your paws, keep your hands to yourself… it is against policy to touch customers." Ryuu sternly said, which just made the Catgirl frown slightly and slip away to continue waiting on her tables, while promising under her breath that one day she would manage to sink her claws into the white haired boy.

"Well, I should return to work Mr. Artwaltz… have a pleasant evening and do try to get some rest..." Ryuu said as she did a slight bow and walked away from the table without another word.

"Bye bye Yuril!" Anya added as she scurried away from the table after giving him a small wave which made him smile. He was left alone in the pub, though with all the eyes from other customers he did not feel alone as many of them shot him glares that felt like they could kill.