Siron's Tsundere Quest and the Price of Provocation
"Well, if you bump up the pay a bit more, it's not like I couldn't consider it."
"Uh, how much are you looking for?"
Siron, who'd been flashing me that provocative smile, instantly straightened up, composing herself before shooting a sharp glare at the busty recruiter who'd approached.
"How much? That's for you desperate folks to suggest, not me."
"R-right, of course. J-just a second!!"
Stung by Siron's sharp retort, the busty recruiter blinked wide-eyed for a moment before muttering to herself and frantically racking her brain.
"You really gonna go?"
"If they pay big, yeah. Why, you want me to stay?"
Siron crossed her arms under those ridiculously full tits, turning her head just enough for me to see her smirk. Damn it...!! The girl who squeals and clings when I poke her clit dares to provoke me like this. I'll make her pay for it later.
"Nah, not like that. I can earn my own money now, y'know? A shit-ton of it, even."
"Hey. Fuck. You expect me to spend a man's money just because I'm a woman? I'd rather go drop dead."
Siron furrowed her brow. Come to think of it, roles are reversed in this world—women are the breadwinners. I'd forgotten amid all her cute bedroom antics.
Hmm... Yeah, even I'd feel my pride take a hit living off a girlfriend's cash. If she was a sex goddess who satisfied me every night, it'd be a fair trade, but unfortunately, Siron's a quick-squirter who taps out after a few clit flicks. No deal there.
No point pushing it—she wouldn't buy it anyway. I decided to drop it clean. Not like I'd beg her to stay, either. Me, clingy? As if.
"We'll keep the side conditions the same and make the fee one gold coin. How's that?"
"One gold coin, huh."
The pay just jumped by a whopping 30 silver. That's what I'd earn in a full year of grunt work.
"Hmm."
"……."
Siron pretended to mull it over while sneaking peeks at me. She started the provocation—might as well see it through instead of checking my reaction like this. Not that it isn't cute.
I chuckled inwardly, keeping a straight face and ignoring her glances.
"S-so, what do you think?"
"The pay's tempting, sure."
"R-really?"
"But y'know, the other quests have solid terms too. Especially this one—no need to go far."
Siron showed the busty recruiter the guard squad's ice bear extermination request.
"You mentioned the logging camp, so it's probably Galant Forest to the east. Even if there are a ton, four days tops to wipe 'em out. But yours needs at least a month, right?"
"W-well…."
"Escort to Bazelan? That's straight west—total opposite direction. If the routes overlapped, maybe I'd multitask, but nah."
The pay was good, but the time efficiency sucked. Obvious rejection, even to me—so the busty recruiter got it too, biting her lip hard.
"There've gotta be three more cities en route. Why not hire another silver-rank from one of their guilds ahead of time? One gold's plenty for anyone not glued to their ass."
Plenty? Silver-rank talk. Bronze-ranks scraping by day-to-day would've frothed at the mouth hearing that.
"And Golden Reed's a big caravan—don't you have in-house talent…?"
"……."
Siron tilted her head suspiciously, eyeing the busty recruiter. Then, true to her hot-tempered, quick-to-cool nature, she lost interest fast.
"Eh, whatever. None of my business anyway."
She waved the woman off dismissively, her face screaming I'm done.
As the busty recruiter hesitated despite the clear dismissal, the guild doors burst open with a racket, and a familiar figure in light armor strode in.
"Oh, perfect—you're here."
"Guard Captain?"
The city's most stunning blonde bombshell, Guard Captain Kernax, spotted Siron next to me and approached with a bright smile.
"Oh, yeah. Was just about to come find you over this."
"Aa, same here. Adventurer Siron."
"Huh? Really?"
Kernax took the guard-issued request from Siron's hand and tore it up on the spot.
"What the—?"
"What else? Quest's done, so I scrapped it."
"Who the fuck stole my kill?!"
"We issued it to you, but no name tag said it was your ice bear."
"Aah!! Whatever—who's the bitch poaching my turf?!"
"Poaching? It's not like…."
Why's my face heating up when it's not even about me? Kernax looked equally baffled, giving Siron—who was fuming—a wry smile.
"Calm down. Wasn't some other adventurer or hunter."
"Then what? Your squad handled it?"
"Wish it were us, but no. Remember when Smith here got nabbed? Filoria Viscount sent the knight order to bail him out."
"What does that have to—oh, fuck."
"Yeah, pretty much."
What the hell? Tell me too, damn it. While Siron ground her teeth, I turned sparkling eyes to Kernax beside the busty recruiter.
"Ahem…!!"
Kernax flushed and averted her gaze. Dude, no—Captain. To stop Siron from jumping to weird conclusions, I had to speak up.
"H-hey, don't leave me out—spill it. So who got the ice bear?"
"……Ahem!! R-right, gotcha."
Realizing her misunderstanding, Kernax blushed deeper and cleared her throat curtly.
"Smith, you remember Filoria Viscount dispatching the knight order to rescue you, yeah?"
"The knights…? Oh."
Got it. Those reliable big-sis types in shiny silver plate. They'd swung by Molingta using me as bait for a sweep op and cleaned up the local pests while at it.
"Quest closed. Adventurer Siron."
"……Fucking knights."
"Ahem. I'm Filoria Viscount's subordinate too—watch the mouth. Anyway, duties call."
Kernax coughed once more, cited business, and bolted from the guild.
Did she really need to come herself? She'd usually send a grunt. As I pondered that, the busty recruiter—who'd eavesdropped every word—slyly looked up, gauging Siron.
"Um… s-so, about our quest…?"
"……."
Sting. My left cheek burned; I rolled my eyes to find Siron glaring daggers.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"I'm taking this one?"
"Huh? Uh… yeah, if you wanna go."
"……I'm serious."
"What can I do?"
"……."
Obvious puppy eyes begging me to stop her—but no dice. I love you, Siron, but you tried playing push-pull on me? Eat it.
"……Hey."
"Y-yeah?"
"When do we leave?"
"Huh? Oh, th-the sooner the better! Ideally tomorrow if possible…."
"……Be at the west gate early morning. Prep accordingly."
"……Y-yes!! Thank you!! I'll make sure the trip's comfy!!"
Forgetting she was the employer, the busty recruiter bowed at 90 degrees to Siron repeatedly in gratitude.
"See you tomorrow morning."
With a final polite nod to Siron—unlike her heavy entrance—she practically skipped out.
Siron, who'd kicked the doors in so boldly, now had a face like stone. Watching her stiffen up made me uncomfortable.
Shit, did I overdo the teasing? On second thought, just giving in would've been smarter. Guy being petty over pride with a girl? Lame.
Regret hit hard.
"H-hey, Siron."
"……What."
Her voice screamed I'm pissed.
"Sh-should I tag along?"
"Ha? Why the hell would you? You got kidnapped like two days ago. Stay put."
I was just trying to smooth things over, but that glare stung….
"Still, we'll be apart too long. I'll get lonely without you—maybe I come too?"
Twitch twitch. Did her lips just quirk up?
"……Too dangerous. Stay here like a good boy."
"You'll protect me, right?"
Squeak. There—she smiled.
"……Duh. But fuckhead, it's not a vacation—I'm working. Why drag you? No means no. Got it?"
"Alright… if you say so, I'll wait nicely."
"Ahem, if you're that bummed, why not beg me to stay earlier?"
"Eh, felt too nosy."
"Ahem ahem!! Nah, I'd be fine with that much meddling. Think I'd get mad over us?"
Her pouty, sulky face from moments ago? Gone. Now she beamed like spring cherry blossoms, puffing her chest to brag to the other adventurers. Kid-like, adorable. I chuckled inwardly.
Since she'd shown everyone me doting, might as well amp it up.
"Gonna miss you awhile… anything you want before you go?"
"Something you wanna… do?"
"Yeah. Month apart at least."
Gulp.
Siron's throat bobbed hard. Not just her—the other adventurers and receptionists eavesdropping all swallowed in sync.
"W-well… if you insist, y'know… that place."
"That place?"
I glanced down at my crotch naturally. Already missing it?
"I-idiot!! Well, yeah, but… the spot you liked."
"Spot I liked?"
My eyes shifted from dick to her tits.
"……Not there."
She didn't snap like with my junk. Unfair.
"Goddamn it, moron!! I'll pick you up tonight—just stay in your room!!"
Siron yelled, kicked the guild doors open, and stormed out.
"Wait… so where is it…?"
I scratched my head, clueless on the mystery spot.