The Non-Human Society

Chapter One Hundred and Eighteen - Vim - Lumen

      Renn hummed a happy tune as she chewed on the somewhat burnt breaded snack.

The bread she ate had some sugar icing on it. Something that was expensive. Expensive enough that if she had been any normal human woman, she would have thrown a fuss over the burnt bread it was slathered on.

"I uh... like this. A lot," Renn said as she nodded and took another bite.

"I can tell," I said. Wonder if the burnt bread was what she liked the most. Maybe it gave it that extra bit of flavor to make her happy.

Renn licked her lips, which had gotten smeared by the sugar. "This place seems lively. But I like how it's not as busy as Telmik, too," Renn said.

Ah. So that was why she was as happy as she was. It wasn't just the tasty food and drink we had just enjoyed, that she was still enjoying, but also the lack of traffic.

"It gets busy in certain areas. We're avoiding them," I said.

"Oh? Thanks!" Renn smiled at me, telling me she had understood very quickly that I had been doing so on purpose.

I sighed at her, and decided to let it be.

While we walked I studied the familiar city. Lumen like always was very clean. Too clean. It made me feel uncomfortable somehow, even though it shouldn't.

The city was also busy... although not busy enough to bother Renn and make her queasy, there were still quite a few people walking around. Like usual most of the city was full of commoners. Most stared at us as we walked by, but I knew it wasn't just because we both carried weapons but also Renn's appearance.

She was a beautiful young woman, and it was very obvious she was enjoying life. She was dressed well, seemed very healthy, and was genuinely happy. To most people that was a rarity. Especially here in Lumen. With her huge happy smile as she chewed down on the snack, people's first impressions of her only became that more set in stone.

Seeing such a woman with a man like me, while dressed like a mercenary and carrying weapons on her back...

Yes. She was a unique sight.

Those merchants in that line had found her just as fascinating. It had been humorous to see them glance at her, only to look away quickly. As if they had never even seen a woman before.

"Where we going now?" Renn asked as she swallowed the last bit of her snack.

Watching her lick her fingers, I sighed at the sight. She was wearing gloves...

I reached over to wipe a line of sugar icing off her cheek. She let me do so, and I licked the stuff off my thumb. "The Society has a guild here. We'll be going there first," I said.

"Oh...?" Renn sounded odd, but I ignored her as we crossed an intersection. The roads here were larger than normal, to accommodate the large wagons and carts. None of those carts or wagons were here now, but I was making sure no one was following us. Some of those guards and merchants had been a little too intent on staring at Renn...

But what did I do? It's not like I could make her less attractive. The only thing I could do was dress her in rags, and make her unhappy. But neither of those things would let me sleep comfortably.

It was my job to make those I protected as safe and happy as I could... and here I was sniveling that I was actually doing a good job for once.

"This place is neat, though. Where do they get all the stone from?" Renn asked as we passed a strangely shaped building. It was oval instead of square. Reminiscent of the architecture found farther south.