Mema led the two of them back to the bar counter, next to the kitchen entrance. She walked around to the other side and leaned on the counter, her face curious with expectation.

"Okay now Steel; show this beautiful young lady what you have brought for her today."

Coughing suspiciously, Steel pulled the food possibilities out of his bag and handed them over to Mema, who inspected each one carefully, like a jeweler looking at a gem.

"Hmm, let’s see what we have here." She muttered, separating out the items in front of her,

She picked up the turtle first. Steel hadn't organically planned on keeping it, but it had chomped at Hunie and she killed it in annoyance. Apparently, rabbits and turtles had some long standing rivalry over some nonsense. "This here is a common snapper, native to the woods. Not a common sight, but not a rare ingredient, sorry dear."

She looked at the mushrooms next. She nodded appreciatively, "Very good, these mushrooms are rare enough to find without years of experience, so they go for a lot on the market. I can make a delicious hors d'oeuvre with the turtle meat and these." She handed him 3 silvers for the two items.

Mema raised an eyebrow at the last thing they had brought her, the strange fruit they had found.

"Well well, didn't expect you to find this in the forest."

"Is it rare and valuable?" Steel asked excitedly.

"Is it delicious?" Hunie asked in the same tone.

"It's poison." Mema declared. The two of them fell off their seats in shock.

Mema chuckled, "Is what most people would say, but master chiefs like myself know how to cook away the poison. It's rare in this part of the kingdom, usually found close to the mountains in the north. I'll cross this off your list as thanks for bringing me a challenge. It's been a while since I cooked one of these." She mused to herself, and air of nostalgia rising around her.

"So how much is the commission?"

"I said I'd pay you for rare things Steel, not hard things." She waggled her finger at him, "Be grateful I haven't seen one of these in a long time, otherwise you'd have only brought me 1 interesting thing."

Steel knocked his head, "Sorry Mema, forgot something else." He brought out the last bit of demon wolf meat from his bag and handed it over. Mema smiled happily.

"Oh, this is demon wolf meat. Not as good as the devil wolf meat you brought me before, but still rare and tasty. Okay boy, you've brought me three interesting things, bringing your total up to 4. Only 6 more before I teach you the cooking skill."

She winked at him, leaning in closer to him, her generous cleavage growing before his eyes, "I cannot wait to give you, private lessons." Steel felt himself start to be dragged into the darkness of her dress, when an arm yanked his neck into a choke hold and pulled him toward the door.

"Good to hear Ma'am, but we have an appointment and can't miss it, have a good day." Hunie said curtly as she swiftly dragged Steel out the door and back into the city streets, Steel choking the entire way. Mema blinked in surprise, and then pouted. Her prey had escaped, both of them.

A patron laughed near the bar wall, "Shame Mema dear, you almost had him that time. Looks like you've got competition in your old..."

He stared down at the knife between his fingers, still shaking from its landing. "Cough, I meant to say, that little girl is no match for a beautiful young lady such as yourself."

"Oh you, thanks for the compliment,” Mema giggled, putting down the other knife in her hand. She picked up the ingredients and bustled back into the kitchen, eager to see what new flavors she could create with her new toys.

The patron at the end of the bar slowly pulled his hand away from the knife, checking to make sure his fingers were still attached. He sighed in relief as each digit moved properly.

“Toast fellas, to pray her new toy doesn’t break as fast as the last one, rest his soul.”

The other midday patrons raised their glasses in homage of his fate, then starting discussing low tones the betting rate for how long he was going to last.

-----------------------------

Hunie didn't let Steel go until they had turned a corner away from the Adventurer's Guild. Sputtering, Steel gulped in air as it were the lifeblood of gods. He gave a dirty look to Hunie.

"Not cool Hunie that was one of the wonders of life, mountains and valleys that nature intended to be appreciated by mortal men."

"Stupid Master, you were just ogling her like a beast! Your maid does not approve of beast like behavior." She crossed her arms defiantly.

"Really, but aren't you a beast?" He accused, "You would know more about ogling like a beast then I would."

"What, what is Master saying! Is Master aware of my actions while he is asleep, while he's cleaning himself. It is a maid's duty to watch her Master at all times after all, fufufu, to make sure he doesn't stray off the path. Yes, have to watch him and his body, ahem, for his own protection." Hunie muttered most of this under breathe, Steel hearing only the first sentence.

"Uh, Hunie, I'm sorry if I said something weird, but you’re making a real scary face right now, and I feel a need to run." Steel backed away from the strangely panting rabbit, who snapped out of her delusions at his words.

"No, my bad Master, I was just reliving some rabbit days, nothing important." She smiled brightly at him, her previous atmosphere gone as quick as a wind. "Where are we going next? You promised me food, and that place with the scary lady didn't have any." She frowned.

Steel was in a bind. He did want to keep his promise to Hunie, but at the same time he really wanted to visit Mary and check up on her. The captain had knocked her out before, and he felt he owed her in some way to make it up to her.

Beside the point, after seeing Hunie and Mema meet, Steel had no desire to see how Mary would react to seeing Hunie. He could see Mary finding out Hunie was his maid and having some sort of problem with it. She did seem to be high strung about things.

Watching her master struggle with his decision, Hunie was struck by a thought of inspiration.

“Master, you obviously need to go somewhere, and me being there would be troublesome right?”

“No Hunie, you’d never be any trouble for me.” Steel protested; his feelings conflicted.

“It’s alright Master, I can sense you aren’t up to any of your stupid ideas.” Hunie patted his back, “How about you give me some money and I can explore the town on my own.”

Steel entered a deep train of thought, weighing the pros vs the cons of her suggestion. "What if you con across any slavers Hunie, what if they try to sell you? I’d never forgive myself"

"Don’t worry Master, I’d beat them up."

"But what if they have some special potion or magic that they use on you and you forget about me?"

"I’d still beat them up, then go and ask the scary guard or scary lady about what I should do."

"But..." He whined, unwilling to put his precious slav…maid in possible danger. He had already almost lost her once after all.

"I.Woud.Just.Beat.Them." Hunie emphasized each word, "Honestly, I’m not that weak Master, that's why I'm letting you go have some fun on your own. I have been taking care of myself for years after all." She puffed out her chest in pride.

Steel blinked at her words. “So you’re telling me you’re older than you look and can beat up grown men?”

Hunie punched Steel hard in the shoulder.

"Stupid Master, not considering a girls pure feelings, what does he think I am, a brute and old lady. That scary lady before is obviously older than I am?" Hunie muttered under her breath.

(Mema pokes her head out of the kitchen door, her face the form of a Hanako demon as she searches for the culprit. Her head reseeds slowly back into the kitchen.)

"You say something Hunie?"

"Nope, not a word Master.” Hunie said. She held out her hands to Steel, “Please Master, this way I can prove to you my worth and strength, a good maid has to be able to help her Master after all, not hold him back.”

Hunie’s pouting eyes and lips sunk the dagger deep into Steel’s heart. Relenting, he removed his money pouch from his inventory and started counting out the coins to give her. With a snatch, Hunie grabbed the entire bag and dashed back into the crowded streets, calling, “Thanks Master, meet you back at the scary lady place!”

Steel took a moment to realize what had just happened.

"But, but, my money." Steel knew he would never see his hard earned silver again. Women of every type, race, and world loved to shop. For anything.

Sighing, he headed toward the Mage Tower, eager to see Mary again. He had two things on his agenda: first, make sure Mary was okay, second, tease her if she is okay. Hunie was fun, but Mary still had her cute innocent reactions to enjoy. He really wanted her with him for the expedition, after all she was his better in magic and having a mage would increase his survivability.

It didn't take him too long to get to the tower, though for some reason it looked burned at parts. Steel figure it was part of the ever changing decorum. He walked up the stairs with a whistle, admiring the obvious abstract art across the doors, which kind of looked like burn marks.

When he walked in, Steel couldn’t help but admire the lobby. Even the inside looked like it gone through a change: the floors were shiny, the walls were black obsidian, and the furniture looked like marble.

'They made some amazing renovations' Steel thought, 'It's almost as if they went over everything with a blowtorch.

The receptionist was busy reading something as Steel walked up. She was so engrossed in the book that she obviously hadn’t noticed Steel’s presence. The title was half hidden, but Steel could kind of make out some of the visible part.

How to sur… a volcanic eru

He placed his hands on the desk and whistled. She looked up and gave a squeak, jumping in fright at the sight of his face, and then grew quite flustered.

"Ah! Um, Pardon me sir Steel, I didn't notice you come in." She bowed in apology, "I've been very distracted lately."

"Don't mind me, must have been a good book." Steel said diplomatically, "Learn anything useful?"

"You have no idea." She muttered, before smiling up at him, "I trust you are here to see the beautiful, young, Mary correct? You have missed her correct." She almost seemed to be pleading with him.

"Um, sure." He said slowly, having a rare meaningful thought that theorized magic might have spying uses, "I did come here with the intention of seeing her again. Is she okay?"

"Oh yes sir, never better. She's been looking forward to seeing you again."

"Really? That is great to hear.” He smiled happily; glad Mary was willing to see him again. “Can you call her down?”

“Already done sir Steel, she is on her way.” The receptionist smiled at him.

Steel glanced around the room again. “While we're waiting, I have to say, the decorations in this place look amazing. How did you get everything to look and feel like the real thing?" He rubbed the white, stone table. It really felt like real marble. The receptionist hid a sigh.

"Oh you." The receptionist chuckled nervously, "The Archmage's daughter decided it was time for something...new after her last discussion with her father. The poor dear desperately wanted to explore the outside world, but he was adamant against it. He's the overprotective type you know." She whispered that last bit to him.

"I understand." Steel nodded," Mary wanted to come with me outside the wall, but the captain stopped her. I guess she and the Archmage’s daughter have a lot in common then. I least Mary doesn't have an overprotective father guarding her." He joked.

"Yes thank goodness." The receptionist said, shaking her head, "Otherwise he would plot a way to kill you in your sleep, or castrate you."

"Yeah, that would be terrible." The two of them shared a laugh, one humorous, the other regretful.

"In a few days, I'll be joining the expedition to the wolf lair outside town; I hope Mary can convince her father to let her join me this time." He sighed, "It would make things so much easier with a powerful mage like her by my side."

A stumble on the stairs alerted them, and they turned to see Mary regaining her footing using the railing, her face bright red.

"Oh hey Mary, great to see you again, are you okay?"

"Um, yes, sorry I tripped over the heel of my new shoes, still getting used to them on these stairs. I’m still not used to these new stair materials." She giggled trying to regain a dignified pose to walk down the stairs with. She posed herself, and continues down.

Reaching the bottom, she cleared her throat and regarded Steel professionally.

"So my apprentice Steel, did you manage to learn any magic while you were gallivanting outside the wall like a barbarian? Or are you still unable to grasp such an easy concept as magic?"

He smiled at her, "I was able to master the earth spell you taught, and it really came in handy."

"Did you know; okay then, show it to me." She commanded, crossing her arms.

Steel activated his Earth Armor, and let it flow over him until his mana ran out. Mary nodded, pleased.

"Yes, it seems that you can cast the spell now. Congratulations." She smiled at him, then remembered the situation and formed a sneer on her face. "Of course it was my teachings that made this event possible." She continued haughtily.

"Of course Mary, it thanks to you I learned how to do it in the first place." He decided to let her have it since she did teach him.

Her head raised its angle, her arrogance showing, “I see you know your place now Steel. Praise my greatness more!"

Annoyed by Mary’s tone, Steel decided to rain on her parade some, saying, "Why would I do that? You may have shown me how to use magic, but I’m the one who had to figure it out.”

Mary looked him smugly, “Of course, that’s how Masters teach, they show an idea and the student then figures it out on his/her own. I’m so great for being able to do that.” She seemed off in her own little world now, praising herself internally.

“Really Mary, that’s how you’re going to be?” Steel got confrontational, hearing how his efforts had nothing to do with his achievement. “I’ll have you know everything you tried to teach me war worthless, it didn’t help me at all, and by the time I had figured out the right way to cast magic, a friend of mine had died!” He shouted this last part at her, angry from the memory.

Mary’s eye widened at his words, the hurt evident within them.

“I’m sorry Steel, if I had been there…”

He turned angrily from her, “You weren’t there Mary, that’s the point. I had to go through the experience by myself, I had to figure out magic, and I did it all without your help. I even learned some new spells by myself, without your so called “master guidance”.”

He turned to leave, Mary sputtering behind him.

"Er, wait! I, er can't let you go." She flustered as Steel turned to regard her with a raised eyebrow, "As your teacher I, um, have to inspect your magic to make sure it isn't, uh dangerous yes!"

"I think I can handle it Mary." Steel smirked at her, happy to see her confused face, and then turned to leave.

“Steel wait! Please listen a moment, let me explain…”

“No! Just go back to your redecorating and “master” teaching.” Steel said scornfully, “I can do this on my own.”

Suddenly, Steel felt something click.

Skill activated: Instinct[tr/You failed to listen to a girl while she was talking to you. Your title as activated.[/tr]

'Oh shit.' Steel thought, whirling around to look at Mary.

Mary was tearing up, little bursts of flame coming from her fingers. The receptionist had disappeared somewhere, no doubt to hide until the storm had blown over. Mary looked at him, angry, "Stupid Steel, I was worried about you for 3 days! You could have died out there, and I was trapped here unable to help you." Tears starting pouring faster and faster down her cheeks. The room started feeling warmer, and Steel's sweat became double.

She wailed, "Why are you so mean!" An explosion of fire burst out of her, knocking Steel into the air, sailing out the doors of the mage tower and into the street. He rolled on the ground, on fire.

-5 fire damage

-5 fire damage

-5 fire damage, minor burn inflicted

-5 fire damage

-2 burn damage

"Son of a biscuit! Frack, frak, fraccc!!" Steel desperately tried to put himself out, his leather armor obviously not built to take infernos. He managed to save himself from dying just as the doors to the mage hall closed.

He lay on the ground for a little while, cursing his insensitivity. Now Mary was upset with him and wouldn't join him on the expedition. He sighed, annoyed he had ruined an NPC relationship he had so carefully groomed. He had even liked talking with Mary, and he had taken out some of his pent up anger on her when she was just being herself.

He felt like a jerk.

Brushing himself off, he set out to rejoin Hunie at the guild, hopefully she had an easier time with her errands.

----------

And that's it guys. So I'm going to try for two chapters tomorrow, the usual one, and one from Hunie's point of view. That one will be long, so it may take me till Saturday to get it out, but it'll be here to read before the weekend is over. Thoughts, comments, ratings, and follows always loved and appreciated. Cya

---Phew, "No Longer A Game" has one less chapter than me, but so many followers and votes. That's quality right there that is

---Allright, better version is done, with 800 more words too